At our YMCA, we lift up the “C” every day.
You’ll find a Bible in our lobbies. Our meetings, summer camp days, and youth sports events begin in prayer. We include weekly motivational posts on our social media and a Chaplain’s Corner in every monthly newsletter. Contemporary Christian is included in our music rotation.
We honor our organization’s roots as a Bible study and remain committed to our Christian values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility amid a world so often in turmoil.
Are you struggling? Do you need to talk to someone? You have friends here. We can help.
Meet Our Chaplains
Karlis Burton
Tim Fox
Shaun Pillay
Angela Stephens
Brian Stocks
Visit this page regularly for our rotating guest columns focusing on faith in real life.
Thankful Thinking
guest column by Chaplain Tim Fox
Hey, we have turned the calendar – it’s November!!! So, we get ready to celebrate with family and friends one of the best holidays all year long - Thanksgiving! However, being thankful is not about just a day. It should be a way of life – especially our thought life.
PHILIPPIANS 4:6-9 says, Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Our minds need to undergo renovation. Unfortunately, we are bombarded by social media, news channels, people, work, school, etc. Philippians 4 is encouraging us to pray about everything and thank HIM for all HE has done. Like a home under construction, transformation occurs when our mind undergoes a renovation.
What kind of renovation does your mind need? What are you focused on? All of us experience unwanted thoughts. So, how do you and I experience thankful thinking? Follow the commands found in verses 8 & 9: “Fix your thoughts” AND “Keep putting into practice” what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable!
Here's the key - your actions flow from your thoughts.
"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
Each of us must grow in our thankfulness! Being grateful/thankful is not always natural. It must be a way of life!! Decide this Thanksgiving season to practice thankful thinking so that God will flood your life with peace. If you do so, my prayer is the God will help make this Thanksgiving season the best you have ever experienced.
God bless you!!