Another week has flown by, wow. Hope everybody has had a blessed time this week. What struggles have you turned over to God? Or are you still hanging on to them.
Momma T reported she had a good turnout for breakfast last Saturday. You just never know what each day will bring. Momma T's help did not show up on time, but God brought a new person and they cooked breakfast together. It was a blessing.
Matt said the visits with our outdoor friends went well. Unfortunately, Dale's camp has been told they will have to move. Turner's camp is also moving. Railroad people and state people are moving the camps. Joey has tried to find out why, but as yet has not been able to get any answers.
Sunday afternoon, Krysten and Joey brought several of the community kids to the Highland neighborhood to watch one of the Mardi Gras parades. By the look of the smiles on the children's faces and all the beads around their necks, everybody had a great time. Pictures are on our face book page.
With the spring like temperatures this week, our afternoon tutoring has taken on outside play time. In fact, Ms Lisa was a trooper as she was the only one to show up Tuesday. She had 15 kids running relays and keeping them busy for an hour. Way to go Ms Lisa.
Matt, his son Eric and a friend Blade, Joey and mr brian were involved Tuesday afternoon moving Dale's camp. Really moving Tim and David, Dale was still reluctant to move. Under the bridge has been Dale's home for over 5 years and he was struggling with the fact he was having to move. Matt and Joey went back Wednesday to persuade Dale to move and got him to spend the night at their new camp but Dale was still not sold on the idea.
Tuesday evening, the men of the community met and shared what was on their minds and hearts. Matt read about how we need to humble ourselves, lift others up, and all use the gifts God has given us to glorify His name. In so doing, we all will be blessed beyond our imagination.
Thursday afternoon at our meal time was awesome. We had the pleasure of having Spencer Keller, a long time friend of ours from Brookwood come and share his gift of song with us during our chapel time. We have purchased a new portable sound system which we used for the first time. Mr Scott from Grace let us borrow his projector and Joey displayed the words on the brick wall. The chapel was filled with God's people praising God, it was awesome. A video will be coming. Thank you Spencer, Mr Scott and Joey for using your gifts.
Ms Sarah brought some of the youth and young adults from Grace as they helped serve supper. Supper was supplied by one of our churches. Pete shared ashes with us and we received the mark of Christ. We had Ash Thursday, hope God doesn't mind we missed it by a day. We all had a great time.
Ms Sarah and the young adults will cook, serve and lead worship on the third Thursday in March. Very exciting.
We continued our mountaintop experience from chapel into our Bible study as Joey led us in the reading in Ephesians. I am still amazed that God lvoes us so much, He provides away for us to be a part of Him through His Spirit who lives with in us.
Prayer concerns, William as he continues to recover from his addictions, Ms Abbie and Joe. She took Joe to the hospital Thursday morning for congestive heart failure again. Fluid is building back up and he was having a hard time breathing, Dr Phil recovering from sickness. Prayers for those who struggle with depression and dealing with life issues. Prayers for Dale, Tim and David as they are having to deal with a change of a new camp and new surroundings. Lomax on his travels in California. Beth's dad, at the age of 93, dealing with the sickness of his wife and becoming the care giver, Pat, one of the teachers of our adult education class, deals with sickness in her grand children. Ms Sarah and Momma T as they lead the youth in a retreat this weekend.
This weekend, Brookwood is having their Mission Fair. It will be Saturday night and Sunday morning. Common Ground will have a booth set up. If any of you would like to come and stand by the booth and meet and great, please feel free to do so. Ms Abbie and mr brian will be there around 5:30 Saturday night. Ms Lisa, Joey 8'ish Sunday morning and not sure who will be there for 11.
Church, where is it. For many months I have been thinking about church. I am in my truck all day every day riding around the city and country side. The one common theme I have noticed with churches is that they are closed all week. Most have gates across their driveways, fences around their property, and doors locked. Usually I do not get out on Sundays, but I was this past week. I noticed as I drove around, the parking lots that sit empty all week, that are gated and closed up Monday through Friday, are filled with cars and people. It felt strange to me to see this activity and got me to thinking, church and where is it?
We have been taught, we are the church, so go forth and be the disciples of Christ during the week. And I hear, hard to tell a Christian Monday through Friday, so where is the church? When someone needs help, who has no one, where do they go for help? Usually they think about a church, but what if the doors are locked, where do they go? When life is dealing you the worst possible hand you could have, you have lost all hope, where do you turn? You start to look for some help, you see a church where the doors are locked, but the liquor store next to the church is open. Where is the church?
One of our challenges as we move forward along God's path, is to be available, to be open, to lvoe all the time. Not when it is convenient for us but all the time. Some will say, that's great, but that takes money to pay people to do that. I am not convinced that it does. God is showing us daily, He will bring people into our lives with special gifts. Our challenge is to use these new and unique gifts in the building of God's Kingdom. It may not look the way we thought. It may not happen the way we had planned. But if we are obedient, then God will provide and all things will be possible.
Exciting times are ahead of us. God has plans for our community, our center, our lives beyond what we could ever imagine. Exciting because we do not know, but have faith. Exciting because we have each other, traveling together, lifting each other up. Exciting because we have a God who is awesome, lvoing and compassionate, wanting only the best for us all. This will take everybody, those who have traveled with us so far and those who have yet to come. Please come, join in on the fun and be a part of God's church. Church, where is it? It is in the hands and feet of us, in the hearts of the ragamuffins of Christ, following a God that will lead us to new beginnings.
Have a great weekend and a great week. See you around the community. Amen.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
What is God up to?
We were in a serious drought, this year, but reading an article in the newspaper this week, we were only down 5 inches with all the rain we have had this winter. I suspect with the rain this week we should be pretty close to normal. Our winter this year has not been cold but it has been wet. Hope everybody has had a good week.
We had a great Saturday last week. So much going on. We had a husband wife team from Brookwood join us. He painted while the wife hung clothes. We had a Life group from Brookwood join us on our outdoor friends visits. They made goody boxes for all the guys and they went with us to distribute them. We had a group of students from LSUS join us for our visits. And we had a student from La Tech come and got to experience our time together with our friends.
Momma T and Ms Patty, with the help of Joey rounded up transportation and took some of our children to the Walter B Jacobs nature trail and park for U2 Saturday. Ms Lisa took lots of great pictures of their time together and have put them on Face book.
Monday - Wednesday, the rain came with the cold weather, so we did not have many children. For those that did, some did homework while others watched movies. It is great our young adults can adjust to whatever obstacles are thrown at them.
Tuesday evening, our circle of men continues to grow. More new faces and some faces we have missed seeing were there. Matt led us in reading from Proverbs, asking, how do we stay on the path God has laid out for us. How does sin enter into it and how do we overcome our sin. Lots of good discussions about how God has made a difference in our lives.
We have been very fortunate with all this rain, not to have any roof leaks. Well, our good luck has run out and we are experiencing a new leak in the fellowship hall. John is working with our roofer to see if it can be repaired without a major expense. Ms Lisa, has reminded me, prayers are needed for a financial blessing to help us with our roof repair and maintenance. Please add that to your prayer list.
Thursday was full of activity as always. We had another new group prepare our meal. A family from Brookwood prepared spaghetti and helped serve it. Delicious. Lots of new faces. Lots of old friends coming together. Ms Abbie and her crew serving the meal, working in the clothing room and then handing out our grocery bags. What a blessing to see it all happening, working together.
After our meal, we gathered in the chapel and had our Bible fellowship. Lomax led our study, in the reading of the first three chapters of Revelation. One of his favorite passages. The chapters are letters from John to seven churches telling them what they need to do before Christ returns. Some were doing good at the beginning but have lost their way, forgotten their first love, now worshiping new idols. Some have become lukewarm in their faith. Others were allowing Satan to live in their churches, folowing false prophets. Other churches were looking like a church, but were really dead. Good conversations, about how our churches today would react if we got one of these letters. Does Common Ground look alive but really is it dead? Are we lukewarm in our faith? Do we worship the wrong gods? Tough questions to ask, good questions to think about.
Prayers were lifted up for Lomy. His last night with us for a couple of months. He will be leaving Tuesday on his journey. mr brian has asked him, told him, demanded him to send us updates as much as he can so we know he is safe. Prayers for William. He had a good check up this week and he wanted us to know, he got the good report because of the prayers of his church family. Jonathan, a friend of Dawn's struggling with life issues and how to deal with those challenges. Our friends who live outside and their efforts to make changes in their lives. Our family who are struggling with relationships, dealing with the challenges of how to overcome them.
Don't forget, this Saturday is our monthly breakfast. Momma T will need help in the kitchen starting at 8. If you can't get there by 8, we will begin serving around 9. Biscuits, eggs, bacon, hot coffee and good conversations will be happening. Hope you can come.
What is God up to? There have been discussions among ourselves about various dreams and thoughts about where God is leading us. God continues to bless us with the opportunities to share our dreams with others. Then they begin to dream and great ideas begin to flow. We continue to have groups from across the state come and experience our little part of God's Kingdom. We continue to be asked to speak to civic groups and Sunday school classes. We have young adults, searching for God's direction in their lives, ask to come and live and be a part of our community. So what is God up to? God gives us a building beyond what we could ever expect or pay for and challenges us to use it for His Kingdom. He brings people into our lives that challenges us to our very core and asks us to lvoe them like He lvoes us. Why, for what reason? God sends us a Pastor of a church down the street and wants to work with us to feed the children this summer. The obstacles, our challenges, those relationships, we all go through them, have to face them, learn to let go of them, try to go to God with them. Why? Why can't we live on the mountaintops all the time and not have to endure the valleys? God what are you up to? God continues to send us followers, ragamuffins, who have the same heart as ours, wanting to serve others, why?
What is God up to? I have no idea, and to be honest, I don't want to know. I don't think I could handle it. Might even scare me to death and my flesh would say, don't try it, you can't do it. God continues to work on me to be faithful, obedient, persevere and my least favorite word to have patience. God doesn't show me the answers because He knows, I will mess it up. If we say, God is control, then we need to let Him control. He brings to us those who will make His Kingdom grow. All of you have been so faithful to allow Him to use you to make our community sustainable.
This is only the beginning. I do know, God has big plans for this community. We are about to experience something that we have only dreamed about. God is preparing a way for our community to make real changes in all our lives. Relationships, caring, compassion, lvoing will take on a new meaning. How exciting to be a part of all of this. Thank you for being who you are. God is good! Amen.
We had a great Saturday last week. So much going on. We had a husband wife team from Brookwood join us. He painted while the wife hung clothes. We had a Life group from Brookwood join us on our outdoor friends visits. They made goody boxes for all the guys and they went with us to distribute them. We had a group of students from LSUS join us for our visits. And we had a student from La Tech come and got to experience our time together with our friends.
Momma T and Ms Patty, with the help of Joey rounded up transportation and took some of our children to the Walter B Jacobs nature trail and park for U2 Saturday. Ms Lisa took lots of great pictures of their time together and have put them on Face book.
Monday - Wednesday, the rain came with the cold weather, so we did not have many children. For those that did, some did homework while others watched movies. It is great our young adults can adjust to whatever obstacles are thrown at them.
Tuesday evening, our circle of men continues to grow. More new faces and some faces we have missed seeing were there. Matt led us in reading from Proverbs, asking, how do we stay on the path God has laid out for us. How does sin enter into it and how do we overcome our sin. Lots of good discussions about how God has made a difference in our lives.
We have been very fortunate with all this rain, not to have any roof leaks. Well, our good luck has run out and we are experiencing a new leak in the fellowship hall. John is working with our roofer to see if it can be repaired without a major expense. Ms Lisa, has reminded me, prayers are needed for a financial blessing to help us with our roof repair and maintenance. Please add that to your prayer list.
Thursday was full of activity as always. We had another new group prepare our meal. A family from Brookwood prepared spaghetti and helped serve it. Delicious. Lots of new faces. Lots of old friends coming together. Ms Abbie and her crew serving the meal, working in the clothing room and then handing out our grocery bags. What a blessing to see it all happening, working together.
After our meal, we gathered in the chapel and had our Bible fellowship. Lomax led our study, in the reading of the first three chapters of Revelation. One of his favorite passages. The chapters are letters from John to seven churches telling them what they need to do before Christ returns. Some were doing good at the beginning but have lost their way, forgotten their first love, now worshiping new idols. Some have become lukewarm in their faith. Others were allowing Satan to live in their churches, folowing false prophets. Other churches were looking like a church, but were really dead. Good conversations, about how our churches today would react if we got one of these letters. Does Common Ground look alive but really is it dead? Are we lukewarm in our faith? Do we worship the wrong gods? Tough questions to ask, good questions to think about.
Prayers were lifted up for Lomy. His last night with us for a couple of months. He will be leaving Tuesday on his journey. mr brian has asked him, told him, demanded him to send us updates as much as he can so we know he is safe. Prayers for William. He had a good check up this week and he wanted us to know, he got the good report because of the prayers of his church family. Jonathan, a friend of Dawn's struggling with life issues and how to deal with those challenges. Our friends who live outside and their efforts to make changes in their lives. Our family who are struggling with relationships, dealing with the challenges of how to overcome them.
Don't forget, this Saturday is our monthly breakfast. Momma T will need help in the kitchen starting at 8. If you can't get there by 8, we will begin serving around 9. Biscuits, eggs, bacon, hot coffee and good conversations will be happening. Hope you can come.
What is God up to? There have been discussions among ourselves about various dreams and thoughts about where God is leading us. God continues to bless us with the opportunities to share our dreams with others. Then they begin to dream and great ideas begin to flow. We continue to have groups from across the state come and experience our little part of God's Kingdom. We continue to be asked to speak to civic groups and Sunday school classes. We have young adults, searching for God's direction in their lives, ask to come and live and be a part of our community. So what is God up to? God gives us a building beyond what we could ever expect or pay for and challenges us to use it for His Kingdom. He brings people into our lives that challenges us to our very core and asks us to lvoe them like He lvoes us. Why, for what reason? God sends us a Pastor of a church down the street and wants to work with us to feed the children this summer. The obstacles, our challenges, those relationships, we all go through them, have to face them, learn to let go of them, try to go to God with them. Why? Why can't we live on the mountaintops all the time and not have to endure the valleys? God what are you up to? God continues to send us followers, ragamuffins, who have the same heart as ours, wanting to serve others, why?
What is God up to? I have no idea, and to be honest, I don't want to know. I don't think I could handle it. Might even scare me to death and my flesh would say, don't try it, you can't do it. God continues to work on me to be faithful, obedient, persevere and my least favorite word to have patience. God doesn't show me the answers because He knows, I will mess it up. If we say, God is control, then we need to let Him control. He brings to us those who will make His Kingdom grow. All of you have been so faithful to allow Him to use you to make our community sustainable.
This is only the beginning. I do know, God has big plans for this community. We are about to experience something that we have only dreamed about. God is preparing a way for our community to make real changes in all our lives. Relationships, caring, compassion, lvoing will take on a new meaning. How exciting to be a part of all of this. Thank you for being who you are. God is good! Amen.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Stomping around
How was your week? What special blessings did God share with you?
Last Saturday, we had a big group visiting our friends. At one of our stops, a new friend Pat was having problems, so Mr Scott put him in the van and took him to the hospital. Turner is still looking for a new camp. We are trying to come up with places for him. As Dawn said, God will provide. You just never know what drama you will experience each week, isn't it cool to be a part of their lives.
Ms Abbie, Joey and mr brian went to Ms Ruby's funeral Saturday morning. The funeral home was packed with friends and family. Great talks were given by various preachers, some we will invite to speak to us in the coming months. Ms Ruby's pastor said about Ms Ruby, I noticed a change in her in the last several months. She started going to church to bring her grandson who was having trouble. When her grandson stop going, Ms Ruby went by herself. The pastor said, he started seeing Ms Ruby smiling all the time. He said, God has got hold of her heart. Wouldn't that be a nice way for folks to speak about us, smiling all the time, saying, God has got a hold on their hearts.
Ms Sarah and Mr Scott along with Krysten, were in the last hours of their 30 hour famine with the youth, joined us at the center. They worked in the garden, cleaned up around the center and gave our hallway a nice new coat of paint. The hallway looks great, gives a fresh feeling when you walk into the center. Thank you guys so much.
Afternoon activities continue to go along, spending time inside the center or like Wednesday, with the afternoon feeling more like spring time than winter time, we spent the afternoon playing football and games. Great to see our young adults leading the way as they continue their relationships with our community children.
Another blessed evening on Tuesday, as Matt led our men's Bible fellowship. Noel brought Catfish and Smokey for the first time. Never know what God will do, if you let go and let Him lead. We talked about letting go, letting God lead our lives. Serving, not for the recognition but for God. Trying to get past our egos and our pride and letting the Holy Spirit fill our souls.
Thursday was full of activities at our meal time. We had the blessing of Summer Grove Baptist group hosting our meal. It was great to have them. The food was delicious. We also had a group of young people from various churches, working out of Broadmoor Baptist, called Stomp, perform for us. It was funny as the young people were bringing in their trash cans, ladders, paint buckets, one of the Summer Grove men came up to us and said, looks like you guys are fixing to do some serious painting! Told him, no, this stuff is their musical instruments. Ms Lisa has already posted some pictures, I took some video and will try to get them posted this weekend. In between each song, the young people would share their testimony about what God has done in their lives. One young person shared, we see these containers as trash, God sees them as treasures. Another said, what we throw away, God uses for His glory. Amazing young people. It was great to see our children interacting with the Stomp youth as they were leaving. Hopefully this is only the beginning of a new relationship.
We celebrated Lomax's birthday in the chapel following our meal. Unlike Allison's blaze of candle's, Joey lite just two of them for his 26 years. We talked about his trip, leaving in a couple of weeks. If you have any family members in the California area, email Lomax with the information. He will be returning the end of April, so he can travel with the Yellow House group as they make their way to Haiti in May.
We had a small number Thursday evening, and ended up we talked about everything. I thought, man we can get away early tonight, but as we talked and shared, looked down at my watch and it was 8pm! We talked about Sinotra. He is not in school. On probation. Not doing good. How do we help? We talked about jobs for our community. But not just jobs, but how do we minister to the whole spirit of a person. We talked about our favorite books of the Bible. How some are harder to read than others, but Joey shared, a lot depends on where you are at personally as you read them and remembering it was written for the people many, many years ago. Dr Phil said, it is amazing how those stories were written for the people so many years ago, but they still apply to us today. It was a good evening.
Prayers were lifted up for Beth's neighbor. Prayers for U2 Saturday, as Momma T and Dr Phil will take the group to an outdoor park. Prayers for William. He was having heart attack problems Tuesday evening but would not go to the hospital. He was doing better Wednesday but still reluctant to go. Prayers for William, for God to fill up his heart with joy and peace, not leaving room for addictions. Prayers for Hat's back.
We have several groups coming to the center this Saturday. Brookwood will be joining us. A life group from Brookwood will also be coming to go with us on our visits. They have been making care bags for our friends and want to meet them. We have another group from LSUS coming. They came a month or so ago, and have more young people who want to join in. We also have a student from Louisiana Tech who will be joining us. Lots happening, very exciting.
John Sauls assumed his duties at the sink Thursday evening. We talked about the upcoming kitchen do over. It is close to beginning. Plans are at the final stop where the permits will be approved. Equipment is purchased, companies are lined up, we are close. Patience, patience, patience.
Dr Phil and his crew are having the same issues of permits and zoning approvals for his community village. You take one step forward and two other obstacles stand in your way. If we were trying to do this ourselves, the obstacles would seem too large. But we are not in this by ourselves, God is in charge, God has people who deal with these challenges and we move forward. How does it go, "with a little faith, I can move mountains". Another example of mountains being moved in order for the Kingdom to be built.
So cool to experience all of what God is doing in our little community. We have youth groups writing to us asking to come this summer. We have young adults sending in applications to come and experience community. We have new ideas and dreams coming to us everyday, challenging us to follow His path. We have new groups joining us every weekend, wanting to experience God's blessings. We have come so far, but we have so far to go. We are just at the beginning of what God has in store for us. It is so exciting to think about the possibilities of tomorrow. Thank you all for allowing God to work through you to get us where we are today. Thank you all for allowing God to work through you tomorrow to expand the Kingdom of God here on earth. God is sooo good!.
Have a great weekend with your family and friends. Hope you can join us around the center next week. Amen and amen.
Last Saturday, we had a big group visiting our friends. At one of our stops, a new friend Pat was having problems, so Mr Scott put him in the van and took him to the hospital. Turner is still looking for a new camp. We are trying to come up with places for him. As Dawn said, God will provide. You just never know what drama you will experience each week, isn't it cool to be a part of their lives.
Ms Abbie, Joey and mr brian went to Ms Ruby's funeral Saturday morning. The funeral home was packed with friends and family. Great talks were given by various preachers, some we will invite to speak to us in the coming months. Ms Ruby's pastor said about Ms Ruby, I noticed a change in her in the last several months. She started going to church to bring her grandson who was having trouble. When her grandson stop going, Ms Ruby went by herself. The pastor said, he started seeing Ms Ruby smiling all the time. He said, God has got hold of her heart. Wouldn't that be a nice way for folks to speak about us, smiling all the time, saying, God has got a hold on their hearts.
Ms Sarah and Mr Scott along with Krysten, were in the last hours of their 30 hour famine with the youth, joined us at the center. They worked in the garden, cleaned up around the center and gave our hallway a nice new coat of paint. The hallway looks great, gives a fresh feeling when you walk into the center. Thank you guys so much.
Afternoon activities continue to go along, spending time inside the center or like Wednesday, with the afternoon feeling more like spring time than winter time, we spent the afternoon playing football and games. Great to see our young adults leading the way as they continue their relationships with our community children.
Another blessed evening on Tuesday, as Matt led our men's Bible fellowship. Noel brought Catfish and Smokey for the first time. Never know what God will do, if you let go and let Him lead. We talked about letting go, letting God lead our lives. Serving, not for the recognition but for God. Trying to get past our egos and our pride and letting the Holy Spirit fill our souls.
Thursday was full of activities at our meal time. We had the blessing of Summer Grove Baptist group hosting our meal. It was great to have them. The food was delicious. We also had a group of young people from various churches, working out of Broadmoor Baptist, called Stomp, perform for us. It was funny as the young people were bringing in their trash cans, ladders, paint buckets, one of the Summer Grove men came up to us and said, looks like you guys are fixing to do some serious painting! Told him, no, this stuff is their musical instruments. Ms Lisa has already posted some pictures, I took some video and will try to get them posted this weekend. In between each song, the young people would share their testimony about what God has done in their lives. One young person shared, we see these containers as trash, God sees them as treasures. Another said, what we throw away, God uses for His glory. Amazing young people. It was great to see our children interacting with the Stomp youth as they were leaving. Hopefully this is only the beginning of a new relationship.
We celebrated Lomax's birthday in the chapel following our meal. Unlike Allison's blaze of candle's, Joey lite just two of them for his 26 years. We talked about his trip, leaving in a couple of weeks. If you have any family members in the California area, email Lomax with the information. He will be returning the end of April, so he can travel with the Yellow House group as they make their way to Haiti in May.
We had a small number Thursday evening, and ended up we talked about everything. I thought, man we can get away early tonight, but as we talked and shared, looked down at my watch and it was 8pm! We talked about Sinotra. He is not in school. On probation. Not doing good. How do we help? We talked about jobs for our community. But not just jobs, but how do we minister to the whole spirit of a person. We talked about our favorite books of the Bible. How some are harder to read than others, but Joey shared, a lot depends on where you are at personally as you read them and remembering it was written for the people many, many years ago. Dr Phil said, it is amazing how those stories were written for the people so many years ago, but they still apply to us today. It was a good evening.
Prayers were lifted up for Beth's neighbor. Prayers for U2 Saturday, as Momma T and Dr Phil will take the group to an outdoor park. Prayers for William. He was having heart attack problems Tuesday evening but would not go to the hospital. He was doing better Wednesday but still reluctant to go. Prayers for William, for God to fill up his heart with joy and peace, not leaving room for addictions. Prayers for Hat's back.
We have several groups coming to the center this Saturday. Brookwood will be joining us. A life group from Brookwood will also be coming to go with us on our visits. They have been making care bags for our friends and want to meet them. We have another group from LSUS coming. They came a month or so ago, and have more young people who want to join in. We also have a student from Louisiana Tech who will be joining us. Lots happening, very exciting.
John Sauls assumed his duties at the sink Thursday evening. We talked about the upcoming kitchen do over. It is close to beginning. Plans are at the final stop where the permits will be approved. Equipment is purchased, companies are lined up, we are close. Patience, patience, patience.
Dr Phil and his crew are having the same issues of permits and zoning approvals for his community village. You take one step forward and two other obstacles stand in your way. If we were trying to do this ourselves, the obstacles would seem too large. But we are not in this by ourselves, God is in charge, God has people who deal with these challenges and we move forward. How does it go, "with a little faith, I can move mountains". Another example of mountains being moved in order for the Kingdom to be built.
So cool to experience all of what God is doing in our little community. We have youth groups writing to us asking to come this summer. We have young adults sending in applications to come and experience community. We have new ideas and dreams coming to us everyday, challenging us to follow His path. We have new groups joining us every weekend, wanting to experience God's blessings. We have come so far, but we have so far to go. We are just at the beginning of what God has in store for us. It is so exciting to think about the possibilities of tomorrow. Thank you all for allowing God to work through you to get us where we are today. Thank you all for allowing God to work through you tomorrow to expand the Kingdom of God here on earth. God is sooo good!.
Have a great weekend with your family and friends. Hope you can join us around the center next week. Amen and amen.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Living
We have completed the first month of the new year. Wow, did we breathe, did we get a chance to enjoy it?
We had a special time with our new friends from First Methodist Church, Crowley, Louisiana last weeken. I think Krysten said there were 26 including the youth and their leaders. They arrived around noon on Friday. Mr Scott L got them settled in at the Warehouse and then took them over to the center, where Krysten led the show. They worked tirelessly until supper and then came back Saturday morning for more. Momma T, Krysten, Lomax and others fixed a yummy breakfast of pancakes and bacon for them as they started their day.
The leaders wanted all the youth to go with us on our outdoor visits, so they loaded up their bus and followed Mr Scott and others in the van. What a treat to expose the young people to a life where our friends live without walls. Leroy was at Smokey's camp and showed them some of his creations. The kids loved his art and bought all he had. As we were leaving, the children asked if they could take pictures with each of the guys. You should have seen the tears of joy coming from the children and leaders as they were sad to leave their new found friends.
The group worked all day Saturday until we concluded with a gathering in the chapel. Gus had pulled in to pick up his group for his supper, so we asked him if he would share his story with the youth. He did and the tears began to flow. Krysten got up and shared her story and more tears. Michelle and Pat were there and shared their story about the New Room, emotions welled up in all, Ms Patty shared her story about the garden and where God is leading her, Momma T told us what she felt about adults. Our chapel time was not planned but we just allowed the Holy Spirit to flow. What an uplifting time for all. My soul was filled with God's special lvoe.
Our community is growing up. Monday, we had a situation that needed to be taken care of concerning some of the children. Another learning experience for both. Krysten led the discussions and the young adults, who are leading our afternoon activities, got together and shared what needed to be done and it was taken care of. Great job and reassuring to know our afternoon times with the children are in good hands. Wednesday's weather was so pretty, we stayed outside, played kick ball, walked Ralph and played games, very nice.
Monday afternoon, I met with Pete to talk about our chapel times. Lots of great thoughts and exciting possibilities in our future. Ms Abbie and her pastor will led our chapel time in February. Ms Dorothy and her pastor will led us in March.
Tuesday evening was again another blessing to be a part of our men's Bible fellowship. Matt reads, asks a question and off we go. What is so great about our gatherings, is each man is feeling more comfortable with each other and they are beginning to share what is on their hearts. We come from different backgrounds, so it is great to hear and learn from each other. Great discussions started from what a neighborhood friend shared about the flesh and the soul.
Wednesday evening, Joey and I went out to the New Room for a visit. Pat had called, asking us if we wanted to share in a blessing. He had backpacks full of stuff someone had donated for our outdoor friends. It was good to see some old friends and meet new ones. We talked to Michelle and Pastor Chuck about the camps and how we can work together to be sure everybody is looked after.
Ms Abbie told us Wednesday, Ms Ruby Horton's funeral will be this Saturday at 11am at the Patterson Funeral Home. The funeral home is located at 1220 North Herne Ave. Ms Abbie, Joey and I will meet at the center around 10:30 if any of you would like to join us. Ms Ruby has been a friend of ours for many years. She was one of the first to be a part of our community. She was always helping out. Her health had been declining for several months but she still came over to the center when she was able to get out. Her smile and special heart will be missed.
Did not think we had a big crowd Thursday for supper, but Krysten said we fed over 80 people. They were slow arriving. Someone mentioned they might have thought we changed our time to 5:30. Last week with chapel we did, so need to remind the folks we still serve at our regular time. Had some new friends show up and helped serve. Some old friends wash the dishes. We got some coffee mugs from Pastor Rich and his company, so everybody got a new coffee mug along with their groceries. Mr Scott got some grapefruit from the Food Bank, so the bags were fuller than usual.
Joey hosted our time together Thursday night, allowing us to sit in silence as he read the Lord's prayer, with other versus telling us about the uniqueness of our God. We all have a tendency to talk too much, to ramble on about what we think about things, not allowing God to be heard. Having a time where we said nothing, listening to God's words about how to live our lives, was awesome and inspiring. Thank you Joey for allowing God to use you and being the kind of prayer warrior we need.
Prayer concerns. Byron asked for prayers for his family here in town and in New Orleans. James' mom in her upcoming knee surgery. One of Dr Phil's daughters, Charlotte. She is back in the states for a month making plans for her future. William to denia the temptations of addictions during the first of the month. Prayers for our nation as God seems to be taking a back seat and sin is becoming more and more prevelant. Prayers for Ms Sarah and Mr Scott as they lead their youth this weekend in the 30 hours of famine. Prayers for Beth's step mother.
Prayers were lifted up for Lomax. Joey read a note from Lomax, telling us about his upcoming bicycle trip. Lomax will be leaving February 21st, on a bus to California and then riding up the west coast. Very excited for Lomax. If you have any family or friends in that area, let Lomax know, he will need places to stay. What stories he will have to share when he gets back.
As I talked with the leaders of our Crowley group, I began to realize how special and unique this place is, we call Common Ground. Often when you live day to day and are living a life devoted to God's will, you don't feel any different. It is who you are. This community is different and special because you have allowed God to work through you and you have touched other lives. Krysten said, the time she spent here several years ago, changed her life. Now she realizes, it was not this place, but it was God working through us, that changed her life. This community is living, breathing, constantly changing, just like a baby. Every day is different, every day presents a challenge, every day has a blessing. Speaking for me, I am very selfish and I need these experiences in my life. To see children run up to you, giving big hugs are a blessing. To see our community come on Thursdays, proud to wear their new common ground shirts is uplifting. Taking our community home, picking them up for activities is special.
Seeing new friends experience what we do every day, seeing the tears of joy and excitement is overwhelming.
This community is unique because you allow God to work through you. It is not about us as individuals but about God as a Body. We may think we know how things should be done, but God has His way. We are allowing God's ways to flow through us, not ours. I am realizing, in the end, if we live a life following God's will isn't it better! If I take me out of the picture and put God in the picture, then things seem to flow better and living takes on a whole new meaning. We don't have time to worry about our problems because God needs His Kingdom to be built. Living a life for God is one where blessings flow and amazing things happen.
Let's start this week, living a life where God's will is how we do things. Let's start this week by being quiet and listening for God's voice. As we heard last night, in the silence of prayer and meditation, God is there for us, we don't have to go looking around the corner, go read a book, He is there, He is in our hearts, we just have welcome Him in.
Have a great weekend. Have a great week. Amen.
We had a special time with our new friends from First Methodist Church, Crowley, Louisiana last weeken. I think Krysten said there were 26 including the youth and their leaders. They arrived around noon on Friday. Mr Scott L got them settled in at the Warehouse and then took them over to the center, where Krysten led the show. They worked tirelessly until supper and then came back Saturday morning for more. Momma T, Krysten, Lomax and others fixed a yummy breakfast of pancakes and bacon for them as they started their day.
The leaders wanted all the youth to go with us on our outdoor visits, so they loaded up their bus and followed Mr Scott and others in the van. What a treat to expose the young people to a life where our friends live without walls. Leroy was at Smokey's camp and showed them some of his creations. The kids loved his art and bought all he had. As we were leaving, the children asked if they could take pictures with each of the guys. You should have seen the tears of joy coming from the children and leaders as they were sad to leave their new found friends.
The group worked all day Saturday until we concluded with a gathering in the chapel. Gus had pulled in to pick up his group for his supper, so we asked him if he would share his story with the youth. He did and the tears began to flow. Krysten got up and shared her story and more tears. Michelle and Pat were there and shared their story about the New Room, emotions welled up in all, Ms Patty shared her story about the garden and where God is leading her, Momma T told us what she felt about adults. Our chapel time was not planned but we just allowed the Holy Spirit to flow. What an uplifting time for all. My soul was filled with God's special lvoe.
Our community is growing up. Monday, we had a situation that needed to be taken care of concerning some of the children. Another learning experience for both. Krysten led the discussions and the young adults, who are leading our afternoon activities, got together and shared what needed to be done and it was taken care of. Great job and reassuring to know our afternoon times with the children are in good hands. Wednesday's weather was so pretty, we stayed outside, played kick ball, walked Ralph and played games, very nice.
Monday afternoon, I met with Pete to talk about our chapel times. Lots of great thoughts and exciting possibilities in our future. Ms Abbie and her pastor will led our chapel time in February. Ms Dorothy and her pastor will led us in March.
Tuesday evening was again another blessing to be a part of our men's Bible fellowship. Matt reads, asks a question and off we go. What is so great about our gatherings, is each man is feeling more comfortable with each other and they are beginning to share what is on their hearts. We come from different backgrounds, so it is great to hear and learn from each other. Great discussions started from what a neighborhood friend shared about the flesh and the soul.
Wednesday evening, Joey and I went out to the New Room for a visit. Pat had called, asking us if we wanted to share in a blessing. He had backpacks full of stuff someone had donated for our outdoor friends. It was good to see some old friends and meet new ones. We talked to Michelle and Pastor Chuck about the camps and how we can work together to be sure everybody is looked after.
Ms Abbie told us Wednesday, Ms Ruby Horton's funeral will be this Saturday at 11am at the Patterson Funeral Home. The funeral home is located at 1220 North Herne Ave. Ms Abbie, Joey and I will meet at the center around 10:30 if any of you would like to join us. Ms Ruby has been a friend of ours for many years. She was one of the first to be a part of our community. She was always helping out. Her health had been declining for several months but she still came over to the center when she was able to get out. Her smile and special heart will be missed.
Did not think we had a big crowd Thursday for supper, but Krysten said we fed over 80 people. They were slow arriving. Someone mentioned they might have thought we changed our time to 5:30. Last week with chapel we did, so need to remind the folks we still serve at our regular time. Had some new friends show up and helped serve. Some old friends wash the dishes. We got some coffee mugs from Pastor Rich and his company, so everybody got a new coffee mug along with their groceries. Mr Scott got some grapefruit from the Food Bank, so the bags were fuller than usual.
Joey hosted our time together Thursday night, allowing us to sit in silence as he read the Lord's prayer, with other versus telling us about the uniqueness of our God. We all have a tendency to talk too much, to ramble on about what we think about things, not allowing God to be heard. Having a time where we said nothing, listening to God's words about how to live our lives, was awesome and inspiring. Thank you Joey for allowing God to use you and being the kind of prayer warrior we need.
Prayer concerns. Byron asked for prayers for his family here in town and in New Orleans. James' mom in her upcoming knee surgery. One of Dr Phil's daughters, Charlotte. She is back in the states for a month making plans for her future. William to denia the temptations of addictions during the first of the month. Prayers for our nation as God seems to be taking a back seat and sin is becoming more and more prevelant. Prayers for Ms Sarah and Mr Scott as they lead their youth this weekend in the 30 hours of famine. Prayers for Beth's step mother.
Prayers were lifted up for Lomax. Joey read a note from Lomax, telling us about his upcoming bicycle trip. Lomax will be leaving February 21st, on a bus to California and then riding up the west coast. Very excited for Lomax. If you have any family or friends in that area, let Lomax know, he will need places to stay. What stories he will have to share when he gets back.
As I talked with the leaders of our Crowley group, I began to realize how special and unique this place is, we call Common Ground. Often when you live day to day and are living a life devoted to God's will, you don't feel any different. It is who you are. This community is different and special because you have allowed God to work through you and you have touched other lives. Krysten said, the time she spent here several years ago, changed her life. Now she realizes, it was not this place, but it was God working through us, that changed her life. This community is living, breathing, constantly changing, just like a baby. Every day is different, every day presents a challenge, every day has a blessing. Speaking for me, I am very selfish and I need these experiences in my life. To see children run up to you, giving big hugs are a blessing. To see our community come on Thursdays, proud to wear their new common ground shirts is uplifting. Taking our community home, picking them up for activities is special.
Seeing new friends experience what we do every day, seeing the tears of joy and excitement is overwhelming.
This community is unique because you allow God to work through you. It is not about us as individuals but about God as a Body. We may think we know how things should be done, but God has His way. We are allowing God's ways to flow through us, not ours. I am realizing, in the end, if we live a life following God's will isn't it better! If I take me out of the picture and put God in the picture, then things seem to flow better and living takes on a whole new meaning. We don't have time to worry about our problems because God needs His Kingdom to be built. Living a life for God is one where blessings flow and amazing things happen.
Let's start this week, living a life where God's will is how we do things. Let's start this week by being quiet and listening for God's voice. As we heard last night, in the silence of prayer and meditation, God is there for us, we don't have to go looking around the corner, go read a book, He is there, He is in our hearts, we just have welcome Him in.
Have a great weekend. Have a great week. Amen.
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