Lvoe

It's Friday!! Hope you week was a good one. What stories can you share with us about God's work in your lives?

Another busy Saturday last week. Pastor Rich from Grace, brought us pulled pork, buns, barbeque sauce and we made sandwiches to take with us on our visits, Yummy! A few minutes later, Gus and a group of his students showed up. Gus has given his students a project to write a paper on a service project. Krysten gave them a tour of the center. Then they joined us for our visits. Great group of young people.

While we left for our visits, John stayed behind and continued work in the kitchen. Unfortunately, with spring break starting for the area schools, many of the guys John called, were headed out of town. John has torn down the walls of the old pantry and removed the counters to allow for the new stove and range hood. He is out of town this Saturday, but starting next Saturday, April 7, he will be working every Saturday. Come by and help him, lots of work for us all to do.

Mr Scott led our visits to Turner, Smokey, Richard, Robert and Tim. We asked Richard if the students could take a look inside the station to see the conditions he is living in. He took them and you should have seen the expressions on the young people's faces. Looks of disbelief, of sadness, for someone living that way. Mr Scott gave Richard a broom to sweep up the trash and clutter that surrounds his counter "bed". Smokey continues to make his way to the VA for treatment. He is doing good. Leroy was there, one of Smokey's roommates. Smokey told us, since Dale and Tim have left from under the bridge, people have begun to use that place for using drugs and having parties. Smokey said the Circle K had been robbed and the police raided his camp, scarring Leroy to death as they flung open his tent looking for the robber. Tim was cleaning up around their new camp. Looking better every week. Matt has begun to bring his truck on our visits, hauling trash bags away from Tim's camp. Thanks Matt, trying to keep that camp semi clean will be a huge undertaking. Right now, it looks very nice.

Also on Saturday afternoon, Krysten and Momma T took several of our young ladies to a performance at the Strand. Michelle got tickets to local high school dance teams. The children seemed to really like the performances.

This week has been spring break for the local schools. So no tutoring was going on, just playtime outside. Lots of playtime! Children everywhere. Playing football, basketball, skipping rope, coloring with sidewalk chalk and playing games. We lots of new children, looking for something to do. The city of Shreveport has community centers around the city with activities going on during the week. How can we get our children involved in that? Why don't our children go there? I need to ask them and find out why they don't go? Maybe a trip to AB Palmer community center is in order for some of us?

Matt led our men's community bible study Tuesday evening. A small group, but usually when you have smaller numbers, those that don't speak up, feel more comfortable to do so. That happened Tuesday evening. What a blessing to have a place where men feel comfortable to be able to share what is on their hearts. A place where they know they will not be judged or ridiculed. Thank you Matt for allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you and providing a place of peace and lvoe.

One of the men mentioned Tuesday evening, wow, these are nice chairs. Through another miracle of God, Grace was blessed with new chairs in their worship area, so we were blessed with their slightly used chairs, so now our chapel is full with beautiful new chairs that all match! Very nice. Pictures to come.

Tuesday afternoon, we had the blessing to meet a new prospective intern of ours, looking on joining us for the summer. Lauren, came by to see what we were all about and another miracle of God, she was not scared away by all the controlled confusion! Krysten is going to meet with her and talk about the summer plans. She is a sweet mate of one of our Centenary students, Kayla. Thanks Kayla for sending Lauren to us.

It was time for mr brian and Ms Abbie to cook hamburgers for our community meal on Thursday. We cooked 120 hamburgers and they were all gone by 5:30. We had lots of folks and lots of seconds. Our lawyer came by and hosted the legal clinic. At some point, we had to close the back door, just to get the children to go home. Everybody was having fun playing basketball. Some were having fun meeting Matt's dog Rosey. Our children only know Pit Bulls, so when they see a new dog, one that lvoes them, they can't get over it and only want to lvoe on the dog, pet it and walk it around. Thanks Matt for bringing Rosey by for a visit.

Just as we were beginning our Bible study, we got a phone call from our friend in California, Lomy. He is doing great, still in the Los Angeles area, taking in all the sites. He did sound a little spacey and "like really dude" and "just hanging man". Hurry home Lomax, don't let the "left" coast get to you too much!

Joey led us in the reading of chapter 4 in Ephesians. Talking about unity in the body of Christ, gifts of the spirit, all working together. Building each other up. Sharing with those who are poor. Be kind and lvoing to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ. Pretty straight forward, no sugar coating here, don't need to add anything, just do it. So simple, yet we for some reason we make is so complicated.

Prayers for Ms Beth as she prepares for surgery Monday helping her with her kidney stones problem. Prayers for Ms Sarah and Mr Scott as they return from their mission trip, Saturday evening. Great job. Prayers for our friends who will receive their checks this weekend. Prayers they use their money wisely and not on sinful things. Some are going to call William today and Saturday to help him make wise choices. Prayers for James as he continues to struggle with his past and how to move forward. Prayers for Ms Judy Livingston. Ms Judy has become a loyal friend of ours helping us with our weekly meals. She has had knee replacement and is in the process of rehabbing. Prayers for one of our former outdoor friends Izzy. Izzy lives behind Dr Phil. He went to the emergency room yesterday because he could not catch his breath. They took an X-ray and found something on his lung. The doctors scared him, but Dr Phil assured him, if he stop smoking, go see a doctor, he will be ok. Prayers for God's miracles in grand babies. Prayers for their parents and grandparents.

This coming Thursday is Maundy Thursday. Grace is hosting a unique spiritual journey, starting at 6pm. Some of folks will be there helping out. Please go and try it out.

Some of us brought our eggs and candy others did not, oops. For those who did not, we need you to bring them next Thursday. We put some eggs together Thursday, but not nearly enough eggs for the neighborhood visits. We have asked some of area churches to help with our Easter egg hunt at our meal, so we should be covered for that. We hope to have an Easter egg hunt at our meal on Thursday. Ms Sarah, if she can, will have help to hide the eggs while the children are eating. We will then divide the children into groups and let them find the eggs as they go home. Come by and help if you can. With our regular Easter bunny in California, we are looking for a replacement. Let Joey know if you are interested or know of someone who might be.

Thank you all for being the Body of Christ. Living your gifts, so that we all are blessed. God is an awesome God, wanting only from us to lvoe others as He has lvoed us. Can't we do that? As Dawn said Thursday night, as Matt said two weeks ago in our Bible fellowship, it is very simple. We don't need to add any more words to the Bible. We don't need to create new rules or traditions. We don't need to allow for new times or ways. God is lvoe. We should be also. Amen.

Boldness, confidence and faith

What a beautiful time of year. The azaleas are blooming, the dogwoods are full of pedals.  Pinks, reds, purple colors are everywhere. Thank you God. Thank goodness it is Friday, ooops, it's not! Sorry for the late note, was in Dallas all day Friday and busy all day Saturday. Will do better next week. Hope everybody's weekend is going good.

Last Saturday was another full day of activities. Momma T and her crew prepared a breakfast fit for a king. Pancakes, bacon, strawberries, cantaloupe, coffee were enjoyed by all. We had a special treat, Allison joined us while she was on her spring break. Also, Gus joined us for breakfast and our visits. Thank you to the ones who cooked and thank you to ones who came and enjoyed the meal.

After breakfast, Mr Scott led us around on our visits. Turner is doing fine, still happy to be at his camp. Richard is back at his gas station. Richard is still Richard, hanging in there. He took some of us inside the station, pretty bad conditions. He sleeps on top of a counter to get off the ground and away from critters who run around the station. Smokey had just returned from a visit from the hospital. He is having some work done on his ear and his legs. He was on some medication that was making him sleepy. There was a new guy sitting in a chair by the entrance of his camp. We asked Smokey who he was and Smokey said he did not know. He said the guy needed a place to rest for a moment. So Smokey gave him a chair and a bottle of water. Smokey said, if you want to wait there for a moment, the "church" will be coming by. They can help you if you need something. There was no one at Dale and Tim's camp. Smokey told us, Dale was in jail for flying the sign. To be honest, that may not be a bad place for Dale to be right now? He was pretty sick, needed some rest, medicine and food in his body. Joey said, he has written a letter to see if he could go and visit Dale next week.

John got his building permit for the kitchen remodel Friday afternoon. It is posted on Krysten's window in her office. It is great to see it posted. We now can begin the long awaited remodeling. John has already done some demolition in preparation of the installation of our new range hood. Keep an eye out for work days and come and help John out. It will be amazing to see it all happening.

For those who attended Grace over the weekend, we had a special treat of watching our Allison perform her interpretive dance during the worship times. Maybe Allison, when you are around this summer, you could teach your dance moves to some of our young ladies and we could have them dance during one of our chapel times.

We continue to have play time with the children in the afternoons. Tuesday afternoon, we had storms come through and as usual we had several kids walk in the rain and show up. Obviously, they are getting something from us they are not getting at home.

Tuesday afternoon, during one of the storms, I text Matt, do you think we should cancel our men's Bible study? Matt text back and said, no, let's see what happens. mr brian of little faith, was afraid, Matt and I would be the only ones there, boy was I wrong. We had the largest group of men ever. More men from the community came, it was great. Great conversations and great insights into how God is working in the men's lives.

Thursday was a day full of activities. We got an invitation from Rachael Scott from Noel, asking us if we would like to host a work team from Oklahoma. We told her yes and they came Thursday morning at 9am. Around 25 youth and adults full of energy and life, wanting to help us out. One group spent all day in the garden. Ms Patty left instructions on what to do and they did it. Another group, spent their day tearing out walls and cabinets in the kitchen. They were pretty dirty by the days end, but wanted to come back for our meal, so they went back showered, cleaned up and back they came. They played jump rope with our children. They threw the frisbe with our children. Played basketball with the boys. They then came inside at suppertime, prayed for us, served our meal and cleaned up. What a great group of young people. It was a blessing to have them.

Following our meal, Joey led us in our Bible study, reading from Ephesians, 2 and 3. As Dr Phil said, no matter how many times we have read a passage, we always seem to find something new and revealing to us. We talked about, because of God's grace, God has created us to do good works, which God has planned in advance for us to live our lives doing. Did you get that? Our way of life, should be all about God and doing good works. Not after we retire, not when we can work it in our schedules, not just going to worship on the weekends, every day, every hour of lives, wow! In Chapter 3, through Christ, we can come before God with boldness and confidence through our faith, sharing the Good News with all we meet.

Prayer concerns: Beth with her continue struggle with kidney stones. William as he continues to deal with addictions. Dawn, for quick delivery of her new hearing aids. Dr Phil's stepdaughter, Jerah. On Monday, she will deliver her baby and make Dr Phil a grandpa. Dale as he continues to be incarserated. Lomax on his continued travels in California. His blog is:  www.xanga.com/lomaxwebb. A friend of Dr Phil's, Happy, having just find out she has cancer. Robert, as he searches for a new camp.

Amazing things are going on in our community. As time goes by the more I realize, it is not about me but about God. The more my relationship grows in Christ, the more God gets the glory. The more it is about God, the more things happen. And it is not about things happening, but about the right things happening at the right time. The more we allow God to be in control, the easier it is to lvoe each other and lvoe others. I was asked twice this week, what are your plans for the center. My answer to them was, I have no clue. God is asking me to have faith, to open the doors, to be obedient, allow others to share their gifts, to lvoe others. If we continue to listen, lvoe and laugh along the way, we/our community will be blessed beyond our imginations.

We concluded our Thursday evening, by reading a prayer Paul gave to the church at Ephesus 3: 14- 21. Can't think of no better way to conclude this note. So I bow in prayer before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name. I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through his Spirit. I pray that Christ will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. And I pray that you and all God's holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ's love-how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. Christ's love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God. With god's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.

Obedient and Faith

Another week has flown by. Beginning to look a lot like spring in this part of the country. Trees are budding out, flowers are starting to bloom. God is good!

Not sure how to describe last Saturday. Too much going on, but what a blessing the day was for all. We had our Brookwood friends show up, a bus load of them! Some of the young ones wanted to go with Mr Scott on the visits, so they took the bus. Others  stayed around the center and help out. We had Gus, and his friends, Katy and Gabriel join us Saturday morning. So good to see Gus. Gus wanted his friends to meet his outdoor friends. Mr Scott took our new friends to the camps. Children have a way of knocking down any barriers and lvoing folks where they are. Dale continues to struggle with his move and his health.  Momma T and Ms Patty set up for U2 Saturday with tables full of activities. Some of us stayed around the center and begun the process of getting the kitchen ready for the make over, some painted the outside, some hung the new chapel window coverings, others worked in the clothing and food pantry rooms. We got a lot accomplished.

After Brookwood folks left, we headed over to Barnes and Noble for Judie Chrisitie's book signing. A good crowd was there, buying books Krysten had picked out for our children.

Then later on that afternoon, the tutors took the children to a movie.

All and all a great day, a long day, but a day full of God's blessings. Thank you all for helping out and being there for others.

Sunday morning, Ms Lisa and mr brian spoke to a Sunday School class at Christ Methodist church. Always good to share our stories with others. This group has helped us by bring food for our community meals. But they want to do more, so Ms Lisa shared all what was going on.

Our afternoon activities has turned into outdoor activities for the most part. To be honest, with the pretty weather, it is fun to be outside with the children playing, running and having a good time. As Joey said, it is fun to play with the kids and see everybody getting a long. I tried to take a picture of Ms Abbie playing baseball with the children Wednesday afternoon, but she wouldn't stand still long enough. Just know, don't get in an argument with Ms Abbie if she has a bat in her hand, she was hitting the tennis ball a long way!

Tuesday evening at our men's Bible study was filled with lvoe. We had Ms Abbie's Joe join us for the first time, praise God! We had a young man, join us for the first time, who is living in an abandon house around the corner from the center. Matt took him home, so he could get his clothes and come back to the center and wash them. Joey visited with him while the clothes were washing. We read from James, talking about faith and works. Good discussions. Smokey made the comment as we were leaving, I use to live my life, like God, I have already done what I was suppose to do for you, so now I am living for me. Never thought about that before. You just never know what the Spirit will bring forth or who we will meet on Tuesdays.

Last week, we were able to get the organ in the chapel repaired. An organ repair person, especially an organ from the 60's, is hard to find. But we did, through our relationships. He came last Friday and got it working. There a few minor flaws with the organ, but for the most part, he said, he thought we could get many years of enjoyment out of it. Now, the task at hand is to get Ms Abbie over there and practicing on it, so one afternoon we can sing hymns at our chapel time. How cool will that be.

Thursday meal time was handled by the Grace Young Adults class. Ms Sarah and Mr Scott, had a huge group of young people, preparing the meal, serving, cleaning up, what a great evening. Michelle, I want you to know, mr brian did enter the kitchen once during the whole time! They were doing all of this, with heavy hearts as one of their family, Emily Smith, passed away earlier in the week.To see the enthusiasm, the energy, the lvoe of this group was inspiring. Ms Sarah and Mr Scott, please come back anytime.

After our meal, some of us had a Board meeting. Ms Lisa had several things, she needed to discuss. One was the new Missionary application. We have applied for a missionary to come and be in community with us. Our application has been approved but there were some particulars that needed to be resolved with housing and transportation. The conscientious was to proceed with the application and if we have to make changes, we can at the time the missionary comes. That won't be until August, if they find a match for us.

The other topic was the summer feeding program. We have been asked to be a site and discussions were about whether the timing is right for us to proceed. The biggest obstacle to the program will be the status of our kitchen. We have until the beginning of June to apply for the feeding program so a decision will be given as we see where we are with our kitchen remodel.

John reported the applications have been approved for the state and city fire marshals. John is now waiting on the permits which have been approved, just not yet printed up. That should be coming today. The new vent hood and air conditioning units have been ordered and should be installed in the next several weeks. John Williams will begin the process of wiring the kitchen and the plumber will begin his task of tearing out some of the flooring for a new grease trap. John is in the process of scheduling tasks and work schedules. We will have some work day Saturdays coming up, so if you can help, John will really appreciate it if you can help him. Very exciting to see it all finally coming together.

Building Common Ground is the name for Dr Phil's dream of building houses in the neighborhood. We purchased and were given several lots across the street on Southern. Unfortunately, the lots where the houses are going were zoned commercial. So Dr Phil and our builder, Dan Poole have made application to the zoning authority to get it rezoned. That process will take place on April 4. Hopefully after that, the building will begin. Joey and Beth have agreed to help Dr Phil with the process of who will be getting the houses. Great to see a dream come true. God is so good.

Ms Patty talked about upcoming plans for the greenhouse. A scout has taken on the huge task of replacing all the glass in the greenhouse as part of his eagle project. Adults will take down the glass and then the scouts will replace it with Plexiglas. Can't wait to see it all happen. Another group of scouts are going to start the process of making a brick patio. Once it is complete, another group of scouts, who are making picnic tables, will set them on the new patio. Some new flower beds are being designed, new irrigation systems are going in place, amazing things going on. Ms Patty brought up the idea of opening up the fence along Southern, where the community can walk into the garden. Maybe have a flower cart set up with vegetables. The dream of Ms Patty is to have the garden become a truly community garden.

Beth brought up an idea, she and Ms Abbie have talked about, teaching sewing to the community ladies. There have been new sewing machines donated and ready to go. Beth will host the activities in the friendship room. That will be cool.

Discussions about summer camp were shared. The hours will be Monday through Thursday, 1 - 4. Ms Lisa and Krysten have been interviewing prospective interns already. We have several who have applied and are eager to go. Ms Mary will be back to help out also. Momma T and Ms Lisa will host orientation activities for the new interns, with the culmination of the orientation with a sleep over at Momma T's. I am jealous! As we continue to walk along our journey, we are learning. We want our time together to be one of joy and lvoe. We need to learn from our past and our future will be full of blessings.

Our electricity bill was high for March. John said he would call SWEPCO to see if we can get someone out to the center to point out things we can do to be more energy efficient.

Continue to brainstorm, pray about an upcoming fund raisers. Lots of good ideas are out there, what can you add. We are open to anything.

We will have a group from Oklahoma join us next Thursday and Friday. Come by and meet them if you can.

Don't forget to be buying or be on the lookout for Easter eggs and candy. Ms Sarah has already done her part and getting leftover supplies from Grace and First Methodist. We will have our community Easter egg hunt, Thursday, April 5th at 5, around the center. This is not to be confused with our Easter sunrise egg hunt for neighborhood!

This Saturday, is our breakfast Saturday. Pancakes, bacon, strawberries will be provided. This maybe our last breakfast for a couple of months while our kitchen remodel is going on. Come at 8 if you want to help cook, come at 9 if you want to eat!

As I type this note, amazing to see everything that is going on. Everything that is going on, is something that has been brought to us, not something we have created ourselves. Another reminder to me, it is not about me, but about God. When God wants it to happen, He will bring folks to us to make it happen. The only thing God is asking of us, is to be obedient and have faith. Isn't that amazing! Something so simple, yet we make it so hard. Continue to dream, continue to pray, continue to lvoe. God is with us, enjoy the ride! Amen.

Springing forward

Don't forget this Sunday to spring forward. I don't know who came up with all of this time change stuff, but I don't like it. With each passing year, my aging body, needs that one hour of sleep and when it doesn't get it, I am worthless. All you young people can not relate right now, but one day you will!

We had a great time meeting new family and friends last Saturday. Mr Scott led as as we visited with our friends. Turner, says, he has been given more time to find a place, so he is hoping the railroad folks will leave him alone. Time will tell. Ms Dawn, got friends together and we visited Tim and Dale's new camp. Their camp is on top of a hill. Chairs with a little tarp covering them and the tents are set up around the camp. Smokey was doing fine. On our return to the center, we were greeted by Krysten's mom and dad and her grandparents. Very nice to meet them all. First time for them to be in our part of the country. Krysten gave them a tour of the center and her house and other places around town. They weren't here very long, but long enough to see what their daughter spends her life doing. Thank you mom and dad for sharing one of your daughters with us, she is indeed a blessing to our community.

Monday and Tuesday, we had lots of help, so tutoring was spent inside the center reading books and doing homework. Wednesday, was spent outside jumping rope. Next time you see Worm, ask her about her jump roping skills! For a little one who can dance, hard for her to get the rhythm of jumping. We all had a good time watching her try to get it!

Tuesday afternoon, the officers met with a pastor who has offered to set up a summer feeding program. Rev. Eddie Buchannon would set up the program for us, train us and help us run it, with the idea of us running the program by ourselves next year. Lot of good to come out of the program, jobs, feeding the hungry, advertising, but also some concerns on how this would affect our summer camp. With an upcoming board meeting, we will discuss the issues and make a decision on what is best for the community.

Our men's Bible fellowship was good as always Tuesday evening. Our numbers were small when we started but gradually grew as the night went on. You can tell how important something is to someone, when they have a meeting at the same time. When that meeting is over, instead of going home they come to the fellowship. Matt read from Hebrews 11, What is Faith? Abraham was so faithful, he was willing to sacrifice his son. God knows me, so thankfully he does not me to do the same. Good discussions on what our faith looks like, why are we doing what we are doing, whose blessings are we seeking? Smokey, concluded our discussions with an observation, don't we want God patting on our backs and saying, I am well pleased with you!

We had a small group at our meal on Thursday. The storms were coming and we guess scared a lot of folks away. We did have lots of help. Heather and TJ from Brookwood brought the main course again for us, jambalaya, yummy. Some of their life group came along to help serve. Then Matt brought some men from Airline to observe. The men from Airline Baptist are going to bring a meal next month. Just as we were finishing up around 5:30, we had Broadmoor Methodist youth come. They helped us clean the tables, empty the trash and wash dishes. It was a great evening. Tom came up to me and said, looks like his job of cooking every week is over. He said it with a big smile. If we are obedient, then God will send folks to help us out.

Following our meal, we just stayed in the hall and had our Bible study, listening to the rain and wind hit the windows. One of the reasons, we stayed there, was to observe our new roof drain that John Sauls had put in. We have a praise report, that all roof leaks are now fixed, can I have an Amen! Momma T read a devotion about Insufficiency. How it comes natural to a lot of us, we don't need to create more for God. God wants us to depend on Him, not go it alone.

Prayer concerns. Beth and Charley, Beth is in bed fighting through the pain of kidney stones. Charley is scheduled for cataract surgery Friday morning. William as he struggles with addictions. Alma, as she continues to recover from foot surgery. Noel is going by to build her a chair ramp. Dr Phil's step son Grant and his church will be traveling to Haiti during their spring break.

John also sent out a note that our kitchen plans have been approved. Now he will take the plans to the city to receive the necessary permits to start the kitchen remodel, can we have another Amen!

Joey was not our Bible study because we was visiting Tim and Dale. Unfortunately Joey got caught in the storms and was soak-in-wet as he arrived later on after having to walk from various bus stops. Our transportation system is terrible for those who need to ride the bus.

We called Lomax on Thursday evening, but as usual we did not get an answer. We left him lvoe notes on his phone. Lomax has a blog, www.lomaxwebb.xanga.com. Check it out. He is on his way. Lots of adventures. Keep him in your prayers.

Lots of activities happening on Saturday. Brookwood will be coming for their Second Saturday. With TJ talking about us in church, Heather thinks we will have a lot of adults coming. We will have lots of Brookwood youth coming, both their junior and senior high will be joining us to help around the center. Some will be going on our visits.

Momma T and Ms Patty will be hosting their U2 Saturday. Lots of activities are planned.

Our Book signing will be happening at Barnes and Noble. Go by and say hi to Judy and all the folks there supporting us. Krysten is bringing some of our kids so they can see what is going on. Also, as a treat for coming to tutoring and being good, she and a group of helpers will be taking the children to a movie Saturday afternoon. Very cool.

A reminder, Easter is fast approaching and we need to be collecting eggs and candies for our Easter egg hunt. For those of you who are new to our community, many years ago, we started hiding Easter eggs around our neighborhood Easter morning. We gather at sunrise and make our way into the neighborhood until all the eggs are hidden. Everybody is invited to come and be a part of this special time. Bring your family, friends to help us out. Momma T, said, this year she will have all her "peeps" with her for the event! Come and meet her "peeps"!

I am again overwhelmed with all that is happening in and around our community. We talked about Tuesday night, faith. God is asking us to take the next step, to have faith, He will guide us. We should not be concerned about the results, sometimes we will not see them, it is not up to us to determine what the outcome will be. God is in charge of that. He is only asking us to walk with Him, lvoe those who He puts before us, and amazing things will happen. Max Lucado this morning put it this way.

Compared to God's part, our part is minuscule—but necessary.  We don't have to do much, but we do have to do something!  Faith with no effort is not faith at all!

Write a letter.  Ask forgiveness.

Call a counselor.  Call a mom!

Visit a doctor.  Be baptized.

Feed a hungry person.

Pray.  Teach.  Go.

God honors radical, risk-taking faith.  And He will respond.

God is responding because of your faith and your tireless efforts in the building of God's Kingdom. We are just at the beginning of something very special.

Many blessings to you all. Hope you have a great weekend and a better week. Lvoe to all. Amen.

Our journeys

We are at the start of the third month of this year. Is time flying or what? Hope your week has been a good one. Hope your blessings and challenges were met with God at your side.

Mr Scott led us on our visits. Turner is still at his camp but says he will be leaving in a week or so. Turner says he has a new place, but we don't know yet where it is. Hopefully he will let us know. We visited with Smokey and Leroy and was joined by Tim and Matt. It was strange not walking across the bridge and going under it to visit with Dale. Tim has moved Dale to their new camp. Dale was not feeling well, so we did not go to the camp. Tim asked for a new tent for Dale. I found one in our room and took it to the camp. Dale was sitting in his chair, coughing and not looking good. Hopefully in time, Tim can get things set up to where Dale can feel at home but right now it is hard. Tim has a regular job now and is looking at getting a small house so he can move Dale and himself into. Let's pray that happens.

This past Saturday and Sunday, Common Ground was part of Brookwood's Global Mission weekend. They invited ministries from their church, the city, the state and global to come together and share the passion each has with the congregation. We were in good hands Saturday night with Heather,TJ and  their children. On Sunday, Abbey, Ms Lisa, Joey all helped out. TJ was asked to speak at each service about what he and his family does on the Second Saturdays. He talked about how Common Ground has become a huge part of their lives. Always thinking about what they can do for us and our community. It was a great feeling to see how God is working in this family's life and how they feel a part of our community.

Not sure what it is, the nice weather, getting later in the school year, but we have had a huge increase in the number of children joining us. It is not just the Mitchell family anymore, the Smalls and others are coming. In fact too many to go inside, so outside games have been happening. There is football games going on on the grass, word games happening in front of the chapel, jumping rope contests happening. It is good to see all the activity happening and different families coming together.

Tuesday evening, Matt led 13 men in our Bible fellowship. What a blessing it is to have all the men come and share how God is working in their lives. We read about the mustard seed and Jesus asking us, to only that much faith, then He could move mountains. Why is it so hard for us to let go and let God in our lives? Are we so controlling we want to do it ourselves, thinking we know best? It is especially hard for men, who society has told us to be strong, to be the leader, thinking we need to be in charge. Our pride gets in the way, so we fight to let go.

Tuesday evening, Joey, Chanel and her husband Justin were invited over to Gert's house for a family picnic. Gert considers Joey a part of her family. Sinotra has been in a kind of boot camp in Minden for two weeks and she wanted Joey to know, when the family can go for a visit, she wants Joey to go with them. Very special.

Our Thursday meal was nice. Being the first of the month, our numbers were small, so we got to visit with our community. With the nice weather, some fishing has been going on. Some are working on their houses. Others are dealing with tragedy. One of the men walked over to me and said, how much he has enjoyed our men's Bible fellowship and misses it when he can't come.

Michelle got us together to talk about scheduling for our meals. She brought big calendars, to put on them when folks will be working. She will hang them in the fellowship hall and maybe more of our community will sign up.

John S brought our roofer over and they have found our leak in the fellowship hall. There is a roof drain in that area. The old copper pan has cracked allowing the rain to come through. Unfortunately, Mr Woods had to order a new drain and it is not in yet, so let's pray our rain showers do not come too hard until the repairs are made.

After our meal, Joey led us in reading in Ephesians, 1:15 - 2:10. We also celebrated the birthday of Charley. We talked about works. We talked about light. We talked about lvoe. We talked about living. We talked about encouraging each other. Amazing to think, how every part of our lives, God is there.

Joey and I left early, so we could get Joey to the BCM. Joey had been asked to be on a panel to talk about missions and his experiences with Common Ground. He was hoping that what God placed on his heart would come through and that some of the young folks would want to come and experience some of the blessings Joey has. Joey, said, missions should be a form of worship. We have grown up in church, thinking we come to church to worship. We do, gathering together for song and praise, but we need to also think along the lines of worship outside the walls, like serving a meal, clothing the naked, visiting the homeless.

Prayer concerns for Ms Abbie and her family. Joey and I want to apologize for the slow notification of the death of Ms Abbie's great grand son. We found out about the death last Saturday. I had planned to let everybody know today, thinking the funeral would be next week. Unfortunately the funeral was held Thursday. The little one had just returned from the hospital from a simple procedure. The next morning, the new mom found the baby lifeless. Very, very sad. Go by and give Ms Abbie a hug and let her know you lvoe her.

Prayers for Dr Phil as he returns from Panama. He again is a miracle worker as he and his group of doctors and nurses sees over 300 children per day in clinics. What a amazing thing these people do. Prayers for one of our community folks, Curtis. He just found out he has liver cancer. He still is in shock and trying to deal with the news and
the next steps of treatment. Prayers for our young adults who are in the process of discerning God's direction in their lives as they begin their seminary journeys. Our friends at the B'nai Zion Jewish temple on Southfield. A group of teenagers desecrated a statue in the back of the Temple with swastikas markings. You would think we have gotten past all of this hatred, but we haven't. Unbelievable this would happen in our own back yard. We are still waiting on our permits for the kitchen remodel. Prayers for our patience. We are still waiting on permits and bureaucracy with Dr Phil's little village. Prayers for patience

Our journeys are different. But all important in the building of God's Kingdom. But they are journeys. We do not know where we are going, what we will see along the way, what we will find at the end. We are moving along a path one day at a time. As Momma T said, God lights our next step but not the whole path. If we saw the end, some of us may not make the next step. If we truly believe, have accepted Jesus as our lord and savior, then why shouldn't we walk in faith? God asks us to have the faith of a mustard seed, He will take care of the rest. Isn't that something we can do? We don't have to worry about tomorrow, God is control. We can't change things anyway, we can't change people, so why not let God take charge? Some of us, need to know the outcome before we take our next step. But in God's world, that is not going to happen. I think God knows us too well. He knows we would mess up our journeys, if we knew where we were going. God only asks us to walk, to say I am yours Lord, use me.

I pray, we all let go, we find the path we are called to be on. I pray our faith grows to a mustard seed and we allow God to lead our way. What amazing people you all are and what blessings you are and will be to those God brings into your lives. Have great weekend and a great week. Amen.