Grace Notes Keep on Keeping on

By Debora Coty

All Pro Dad Experience Takes Place At Raymond James

By Jonathan Hurst

vid, and later, Jesus Christ.

The past few pandemic years have been hard on all of us, believers and nonbelievers alike. We’ve encountered obstacles we’ve never before faced, some we never even knew existed. Disruptions to our sense of security that seemed to have no resolution in sight.

Whatever our foe - unemployment, divorce, rejection, abuse, personal loss, illness, fatigue - we may feel beaten down and don’t see how we can possibly endure.

But my friend, take heart. Others have done it. Because of Immanuel (”God with us”).

Ruth tragically lost her husband, friends, and home but chose to follow God’s guidance to accompany her mother-in-law to a foreign country, where Ruth was diferent.

Rather like you moving to a remote Kenyan village. Hard. Lonely.

But because Ruth persisted, she was blessed with new love and new life, completing the lineage that produced King Da-

Hannah not only had to share her husband with another woman, she was barren - a public disgrace in her day. For years she endured cruel taunting from “the other woman.” Hannah was greatly distressed and wept bitterly. But here’s our takeaway: she kept on praying. She made the decision to trust God through horrible circumstances.

The Lord mercifully blessed Hannah with her heart’s desire, and Hannah’s child grew to become the mighty prophet Samuel.

Jesus, of course, was our gold standard example of endurance through hardship. He persevered through ridicule, beatings, imprisonment, deception, and desertion by his closest friends. People failed Jesus again and again. But He rose above disappointment and hurt. He kept His eyes on His deeper purpose - saving the very ones who had wounded Him most.

So what about you - are you feeling beaten down? Struggling daily to endure? Can’t seem to rise above it? I totally get that. I’ve felt the same way.

But what we can’t rise above, we must pass through.

Jesus will help us do it.

“God blesses those who patiently endure,”

(James 1:12 NLT)

Debora M. Coty is an inspirational speaker and award-winning author of over 40 books, including the bestselling Too Blessed to be Stressed series. Visit with Debora anytime at www.DeboraCoty.com.

All Pro Dad, a Tampa-based nonprofit, has completed yet another successful event, this time on March 25 at Raymond James Stadium. The sold-out All Pro Dad Experience event had over 1,000 dads and their kids in attendance. Attendees were able to engage in a variety of football-oriented activities from the start at 9 a.m. until the event ended at 12 Noon. There were football drills as well as tickle-tackle and touchdown dancing available across the field; plenty of laughter and smiles were also had.

While All Pro Dad might have started in Tampa, where it operates to this day, it has extended far across the nation, as there are now over 1,000 All Pro Dad chapters across over 40 states. This growth has allowed founder Mark Merrill to impact thousands of children and dads across the country.

“Over 20 years ago, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy and I founded All Pro Dad. With the mission to help fathers love and lead their families well, All Pro Dad ofers resources, training and events. We believe a great way to help fathers become even better leaders in their families is by dedicating one minute a day, one hour a month and one day a year to this goal,” Merrill said.

With increasingly large national operations, All Pro Dad continues to maintain a strong presence in the Tampa area, having 62 active chapters within

Hillsborough County.

These chapters have ingrained themselves within the culture of the schools and engage with the dads and kids in several ways, one of which is the breakfast program. Through this program, dads are able to have breakfast at school with their children, which in turn helps build their relationship through one-on-one time and camaraderie with other dads and children. Attendance at these events can reach up to 200 dads and kids.

All Pro Dad has recently developed multiple new programs to help foster healthy relationships between dads and their children. One of these is a national curriculum for middle and high schools that allows for the All Pro Dad message to efectively reach all ages. An additional program Serve, , gives dads the opportunity to volunteer at the school to allow teachers and administrators to focus on what they do best: helping to provide the best educational environment for the kids. This could be anything from operating the car line in the mornings to lunch assistance, or any other applicable school need.

Through its numerous programs and extensive outreach, All Pro Dad is making a positive impact among youths and hopes to continue to do so in larger and larger ways. For more information, visit its website at www.allprodad.com or its Facebook page, All Pro Dad.

Care partners of those with any type of memory loss, whether family, friends or professionals, need to be equipped with the knowledge to best support their loved one. Gain this knowledge at our NEW hybrid support groups being held via Zoom and in person at Tessera of Brandon.

Hybrid Dementia and Alzheimer’s Support Groups

Once again, it is the first Tuesday of the month in Kings Point. And once again, thanks to the kind invitation and support of Vesta’s Matthew Permuth, Mabel Corcuera and Eddie Jacobs, Our Lady’s Pantry was invited to host a food drive on April 4.

“We appreciate this opportunity to restock our shelves with food,” said pantry director Tom Bullaro. “In fact, most of the donations collected in Kings Point on April 4 were probably in our families’ homes by the following Saturday, April 8. All in all, we received an estimated 3,000 pounds of food, plus monetary donations as well.”

According to Bullaro, the pantry’s supply of unexpired, nonperishable foods is low right now because of more individuals and families coming for food all the time, so donations are always welcome — and needed.

If you wish to donate, you can bring food donations directly to the pantry on Tuesday or Friday mornings. The pantry is located in the classroom building on the far right-hand corner of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission campus, just south of Sun City Center Blvd., at 16650 U.S. Hwy. 301 S. in Wimauma. Some easy-tograb-and-donate food ideas are: pasta; boxed macaroni and cheese; sauces; canned food, such as tuna, chicken, beef stew, soup, beans, potatoes, vegetables, tomatoes and fruit; dried fruit; cake mix; crackers; cookies; rice; peanut butter; jelly; nuts; snacks (granola bars, individually wrapped candy and chips); condiments (salad dressing, ketchup and mayo); cofee, tea and cocoa; microwave popcorn; pie crusts; cereal; pop tarts; and drinks (juice, pop and water).

“We thank Kings Point residents for their care of those less fortunate than themselves,” said Bullaro. “We also thank pantry volunteers Karen, Mike, Joyce, Helen, Rhonda, Geri, Lyle and Doug for helping to make this food drive a success. Our Lady’s Pantry looks forward to being invited to Kings Point again, one day next fall.”

Our Lady’s Pantry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, run entirely by volunteers. If you are part of a neighborhood or group that would like to include Our Lady’s Pantry as a project, to volunteer or learn more about the pantry, please visit www.ourladyspantry.com or email tom@ourladyspantry.com.

SouthShore Christian Women’s Luncheon

SouthShore Christian Women’s Connection is inviting you to join in the fun on Wednesday, May 10 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the United Methodist Church of Sun City Center’s Life Enrichment Center on 1971 Haverford Ave. in Sun City Center. The luncheon’s entertainment guest is Arthur Hallett — a vocalist and songwriter who evangelizes in prisons and churches across the country and abroad. Also invited are the Happy Stitchers — a prayer shawl ministry of women who enjoy knitting, crocheting and having fun.

This luncheon is a celebration of spring, Mother’s Day and Kentucky Derby Day, and guests are encouraged to wear their favorite spring hat to the luncheon.

Call Amy at 317-414-9062 or email sscwcflorida@gmail.com for reservations. The cost is $20, and it is due by Friday, May 5.

Save Te Babies - Walk For Life, First Baptist Brandon

Come out with the family for an easy, fun way to get involved and make a diference for life at First Baptist Brandon’s Walk for Life. Join in as a pledge-raising walker. There is also a kids’ fun-run opportunity. Participants are encouraged to get sponsors to help them reach their fundraising goal. Local churches and groups are encouraged to register as a team.

There will be refreshments, games, face painting, balloons, music and more. The Walk for Life inspires a culture of life in our community. The walk takes place on Saturday, May 6 from 9-11 a.m. at First Baptist Brandon, located at 216 N. Parsons Ave. in Brandon. For more information, call 813689-1204 or visit www.fbcbrandon.org.

An Evening With

Bob Gof At FishHawk Fellowship

FishHawk Fellowship

Church presents ‘An Evening with Bob Gof ’ on Friday, May 12 from 7-8:30 p.m. Gof is a renowned author of the newly released New York Times bestseller Undistracted, as well as the New York Times bestselling books Love Does, Everybody Always and Dream Big. He is a gifted public speaker who will bring an inspiring message of hope and joy, encouraging you to love others well and make a diference. General admission tickets are $20. There are also VIP meet-and-greet tickets, which include a signed copy of Everybody, Always, an exclusive meet and greet and advanced seating time. FishHawk Fellowship Church is located at 15326 Fishhawk Blvd. in Lithia. For more information visit www.fishhawkfc.org.

Win A Dream Home Rafe To Support Forgotten Angels

With your support, Forgotten Angels now has not just dozens of youth assisted, but also hundreds of kids now with jobs, cars, degrees and homes. The next stage of growth will be epic and will require a gigantic movement of people and resources as it expands into new cities, states and possibly other countries. Proceeds from Forgotten

By Kelly Wise Valdes

Angel’s Dream Home Rafe go toward benefiting our youth, building more tiny homes and expanding the circle of compassion Forgotten Angels provides. Tickets cost $25 for one entry, $100 for five entries and $1,000 for 50 entries.

Visit www.forgottenangelsflorida.org to purchase your tickets and help this amazing organization.

Get Ready For Te 17th Annual Bay Life Car Show & Craft Fair

The public is invited to come out to enjoy the 17th annual Bay Life Car Show and Craft Fair on Saturday, May 27 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., located at 1017 Kingsway Rd. in Brandon.

View more than 500 show cars, trucks and customs with live music and a DJ. There will be 50/50 drawings, door prizes, local craft and artisan vendors and yummy foods and beverages.

All proceeds fund student and adult mission trips. To enter your vehicle for the car show, please register your car at www.baylife.org/car-show/. Registration is free.

30th Annual National Day Of Prayer Brunch

Taking place in accord with the National Day of Prayer Task Force for the past 29 years, the Tampa Bay National Day of Prayer Brunch has brought together Bay area Christian men and women in prayer over our country and its leaders.

This 30th annual event is taking place on Thursday, May 4 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Armature Works located at 1910 N. Ola Ave. in Tampa. For more information, call 813-250-3725.

Finding a good home for things you don’t use anymore is a solid move any time of year. Donate items to ECHO’s new thrift store and you will be giving to people in crisis in our community.

ECHO’s mission is to assist residents of Hillsborough County in crisis with emergency food and clothing, ofering life-stabilizing programs and resources. ECHO has two resource centers, one in Brandon and one in Riverview. Its Brandon thrift store has provided clothing and housewares for the resource centers since 2021.

A second ECHO Thrift store is opening on Thursday, April 27 on Bloomingdale Avenue. The additional space will allow ECHO to process more donations, support more neighbors in need and create additional funding for ECHO’s many community initiatives.

ECHO Thrift’s manager, Annmarie Macaluso, loves the mission and community focus of ECHO.

“ECHO is community-based. We live here. We work here. We help here,” Macaluso said.

According to Macaluso, the new Bloomingdale store will primarily support the Riverview resource center. The support process will be the same as it has been for the Brandon resource center. Resource cen-

By Jane Owen

ters send invoices of what they need, the thrift stores fill the items and then they are picked up and taken to the centers daily.

Leftover items at the thrift stores are sold, and the profits support ECHO’s programming.

Macaluso explained that the new store provides more giveback to what ECHO is already doing but beyond that, it gives back to this area of the community.

“I look at our thrift store as its own give back to the community. We try to keep things here reasonable. People can come and shop and find nice things for their family. A lot of people are struggling who might not need assistance, but things are a little tight and we are more afordable,” Macaluso said.

ECHO’s Bloomingdale thrift store is located at 815 W. Bloomingdale Ave. It is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Donation hours are 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on those days.

Donations of clothing and housewares are accepted. Baby seats, large toys and furniture (with the exception of small accent pieces) cannot be donated.

Visit https://echofl.org/. For specific thrift store information, select the “ECHO Thrift” tab on the website.