Another week has come and gone, in fact another month has come and gone! Wow, not sure where time goes, but it does. Hope your week and month were filled with joys and blessings. Hope you were able to overcome your challenges with God's help and guidance.
I apologize for no report of our Saturday event. I was out of town and did not contact Mr Scott. I did get to see the results of John's work in the kitchen from Saturday. We now have a new doorway into our new pantry area. The beams for our ceiling have arrived. Our new triple rinse sink is here and ready to be installed. Each day, we get a little closer. Patience folks, patience mr brian.
Afternoon activities continue with the children. We had 17 children Monday and Wednesday. For some reason and as Joey said, Tuesday, there were no children, the first time that has ever happened since he has been with us. Basketball, jump roping seem to be the popular activities. If you are not busy, come and play with the children in the afternoons. School is winding down and your opportunity will pass you by.
Tuesday evening was another blessing as Matt led us in our community men's bible fellowship. We read from a little book in the Bible, Philemon. What I took away from the evening, anything is possible with God's help and in God's Kingdom. Something we all should strive to be a where of as we go through our journeys.
One ministry you can see immediately the results of hard work is the garden area. Just about every afternoon, you can find Ms Patty in the garden. Monday afternoon, it was past time for the children to come. At some point we heard some laughter and the children's voices. Looking around we saw the children in the garden with Ms Patty having a great time. Even Joe was out there weeding a bed. If you have not walked through the garden area recently, do so. There are plants everywhere. There are signs explaining what every thing is. There are chairs to sit and enjoy the beauty. There is lvoe.
We had another great Thursday evening. We had the pleasure of hearing Rev Eddie Buchanann and his wife share God's word through song and scripture. We have met Rev Eddie several times, a rather small, meek, quiet man. But when he goes to sharing the Word of God, man does the Spirit flow through him. Lots of Amens and hand clapping were going on. He shared his story, similar to the one we read in Philemon, anything is possible in God's Kingdom, if we just believe and have faith.
Once chapel was finished, we walked into the fellowship hall where a Sunday school class from Christ United Methodist was serving up our meal. Delicious.
Ms Lisa and her team of lawyers were there, helping the community with their legal issues.
Following our meal, Ms Abbie gave out all the bags we had and then had to make more. One of the largest crowds we ever have had. With the end of the month, a lot of folks were in need.
Following all the activities on Thursday, we gathered in the chapel, as Joey led our Bible study. Joey was still fired up from our discussion on Philemon, so we went back to it and talked more. Amazing how you can come back to the same story and still talk about other points that were not brought up before. God's Word is truly alive and has impact on our lives.
We had special guests with us Thursdy evening, our own Chanel and her husband, Justin joined us. Chanel invited her friend Joseph. We need to thank Kroger for arranging time off, so all the young people could be here at the same time. Joseph was so touched by Rev Eddie, he got up and shared a few words with us before we left chapel. Dawn, had shared a story with Dr Phil several weeks ago about meeting a young lady at Krogers that effected her day. Dawn told Dr Phil, when I was checking out, I could see Jesus in the eyes of this young cashier. That young lady was Chanel, who was sitting across from Dawn in our circle, how cool was that.
We had another special guest with us, Izzy came by and sat in our circle for a little while. What a treat, first time that has happened. Prayers that God will continue to direct Izzy to us and that God will become an important part in his life.
Prayer concerns were lifted up for a friend of Ray's who was going through a strained relationship. Noah and his new job search and his friend struggling with a relationship. Health concerns for a friend of Grace, Linda. Prayers for those who are in authority over others in the work place. Chanel preparing for her GRE test to get into graduate school. Continued prayers for Sinotra and Byron as they deal with life and Joey as he decerns his role in their lives.
Ok, you've asked for it. You've prayed for it. You've talked about it. You've dreamed about it. Let's do it! Saturday, May 5th, 11:30 will be our first official Community Walk. In our Tuesday mens fellowship, a couple of weeks ago, we talked about how Jesus sent out the 12. They took nothing with them other than the Holy Spirit. We have that. At one point a large crowd gathered and it came time to feed them. Jesus said divide them up into groups of 50. We can do that. Jesus had a loaf of bread and some fishes. Jesus first prayed to His father. We can do that. So let's go forth and see what blessings we can find.
It will take commitment on our part. Our outdoor friends know on Saturday mornings the "church" will be coming. Mr Scott will have the van there, whether it is raining or snowing or 100 degrees outside. The children of the neighborhood know someone will be at the center every afternoon. The community knows there will be a meal and groceries served and handed out every Thursday. No matter if that Thursday is on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Now there is a mens Bible fellowship every Tuesday evening, whether it storms outside or it's cold, we will be there. The weather is nice now, but in another month it will be hot and humid, are you willing to walk and meet your neighbors? It will take a commitment. Often programs are started with good intentions. People come to the center because they want to help. But in a few months they leave. Maybe they were expecting some kind of results? Maybe they were doing it for the wrong reasons? But in the long run, they eventually do more harm than good. The community was abandoned and the community's hopes and trust were gone with it. We can not let that happen.
Our plans now, are to take some trash bags, maybe some candy for the kids, a notebook to take notes and go out and meet our neighbors. We need to get to know their names, their families, their needs, their hopes, their dreams. One house at a time. If that means for our hour, we meet only one person and household that is perfect. It is not about quantity but about quality. Then on the 12th, we go back to that same house, check in on them, visit with them and if time allows we go to the next house.
We will need someone to be the point person. We need someone who can be sure we have trash bags, have candy. May be the one who writes down the information about our neighbors. Maybe talk about our time with our neighbors to other groups. Please pray about it and let mr brian know.
Very exciting times ahead of us. Rev Eddie said, if we believe and have faith, God will provide. God will do it, in us and through us. We can not get comfortable in our journeys. We must continue to reach out. We must continue to move beyond what we as individuals can do. If we do, God will bless us, our community beyond our greatest expectations. Are you ready? Are you willing to step out? Are you willing to let go and let God?
Blessings and peace to you all. Amen.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Being called out
What a beautiful week we had in our part of the country. Cool nights, bright, sunny days. Hope your week was as nice.
Last Saturday was filled with planting, pulling and nailing. Momma T and Ms Patty led the attack in our garden area. Seeds were planted, compost was spread, beds were prepared. We had some help from Brookwood and the neighborhood. Can't wait in couple of months to see the result of their hard work.
While they were outside enjoying the pretty weather, John was busy in the kitchen. We now have a new entrance going into our cleaning room. The original kitchen area will be for preparing and cooking food, the room next to the kitchen will be for cleaning the cookware and dirty dishes. The kitchen area will almost double in size. Amazing to see it all coming together.
While all of this was going on, Mr Scott was leading our visits with our outdoor friends. Their first stop was to see Turner. Turner was not there, which is unusual but as they approached the camp, they found a note left by Turner. "Noodles, gatorade, leave in the box"! Priceless! Mr Scott did have some drama at Smokey's camp. The word is out on the streets that the church is stopping at Smokey's, so some of the guys were there in the parking lot waiting on the van. One guy pulled out a shopping list! This is not what we are about, we have been there done that, so we need to come up with another plan. Smokey has suggested we move our stop to another location. Smokey has finished his new walkway and he told us where to park, so we will try that this Saturday. Dave and Travis seem to be doing fine. Tim was not in his camp.
I had the opportunity to attend a homeless discussion Monday afternoon at Centenary. Jeremy led the program. One of his friends from Houston, Ms Gay gave a talk about her story of living on the streets and how she managed to survive. How her addiction to alcohol cost her everything and how she was able to remain sober for 3 years and counting. Met some folks from different organizations. They want us all to get together and see how we can work together in helping our outdoor friends. I talked with Cassie for a few minutes. They are close to opening up their new center.
Krysten and her crew continued to offer a safe place for the children to come in the afternoons. With the pretty weather, games and playtime was done outside this week.
Tuesday evening, the men of the community came together for Bible fellowship. I agree with Matt, the highlight of his week has become Tuesday evenings. We read and discussed what it must have felt like to the disciples to be present with Jesus, when He fed the 5000.
Wednesday afternoon John was again busy in the kitchen preparing to meet with the air conditioner and vent man and John Williams our electrician. Also John is preparing the ceiling for our new beams which will be arriving soon. John was trying to explain all that is about to take place, he lost me with all his technical talk. But I want you all to understand what a blessing it is to have John on board and running this remodel. It would not happen if God had not sent him to us.
Thursday meal was busy. We had Airline Baptist church serve our meal for the first time. Red beans and rice were served to over 100 people. One of our neighbors came to me and asked if he could say the prayer, pretty cool. Ms Abbie and Mr Pete passed out over 40 bags of groceries. Lots of excitement.
Following our meal, Joey led us in rereading the first parts of Ephesians asking, what is church? Conclusion, ones being called by Christ for Christ.
Prayer concerns were expressed for Ms Sarah, not feeling well. Ms Sarah, you need to slow down. Prayers for James who is sick. Henry and his mom Peaches. Henry struggling in school, Peaches was sent to the hospital with a low blood count.
Krysten and Joey told us Sinotra was back from Boot Camp. He did not complete the program but both noticed a change in Sinotra. Krysten, worked with him in filling out a job application. Krysten was blown away, by Sinotra taking notes on things she was telling him. Hopefully his new attitude will continue with our support and prayers.
Many of us had the opportunity to share some of our stories by being videoed from Airline Baptist video crew. They are putting together a video about Common Ground. The video will be presented to the congregation during church one Sunday morning. Very exciting Airline will be becoming more involved in our community.
So many wonderful things going on in our community. So many things are about to happen, God is up to something. Continue to live your lives as Christ has called upon you to do so. Blessings will flow from you and through you.
Hope you all have a great weekend and a better week.
Last Saturday was filled with planting, pulling and nailing. Momma T and Ms Patty led the attack in our garden area. Seeds were planted, compost was spread, beds were prepared. We had some help from Brookwood and the neighborhood. Can't wait in couple of months to see the result of their hard work.
While they were outside enjoying the pretty weather, John was busy in the kitchen. We now have a new entrance going into our cleaning room. The original kitchen area will be for preparing and cooking food, the room next to the kitchen will be for cleaning the cookware and dirty dishes. The kitchen area will almost double in size. Amazing to see it all coming together.
While all of this was going on, Mr Scott was leading our visits with our outdoor friends. Their first stop was to see Turner. Turner was not there, which is unusual but as they approached the camp, they found a note left by Turner. "Noodles, gatorade, leave in the box"! Priceless! Mr Scott did have some drama at Smokey's camp. The word is out on the streets that the church is stopping at Smokey's, so some of the guys were there in the parking lot waiting on the van. One guy pulled out a shopping list! This is not what we are about, we have been there done that, so we need to come up with another plan. Smokey has suggested we move our stop to another location. Smokey has finished his new walkway and he told us where to park, so we will try that this Saturday. Dave and Travis seem to be doing fine. Tim was not in his camp.
I had the opportunity to attend a homeless discussion Monday afternoon at Centenary. Jeremy led the program. One of his friends from Houston, Ms Gay gave a talk about her story of living on the streets and how she managed to survive. How her addiction to alcohol cost her everything and how she was able to remain sober for 3 years and counting. Met some folks from different organizations. They want us all to get together and see how we can work together in helping our outdoor friends. I talked with Cassie for a few minutes. They are close to opening up their new center.
Krysten and her crew continued to offer a safe place for the children to come in the afternoons. With the pretty weather, games and playtime was done outside this week.
Tuesday evening, the men of the community came together for Bible fellowship. I agree with Matt, the highlight of his week has become Tuesday evenings. We read and discussed what it must have felt like to the disciples to be present with Jesus, when He fed the 5000.
Wednesday afternoon John was again busy in the kitchen preparing to meet with the air conditioner and vent man and John Williams our electrician. Also John is preparing the ceiling for our new beams which will be arriving soon. John was trying to explain all that is about to take place, he lost me with all his technical talk. But I want you all to understand what a blessing it is to have John on board and running this remodel. It would not happen if God had not sent him to us.
Thursday meal was busy. We had Airline Baptist church serve our meal for the first time. Red beans and rice were served to over 100 people. One of our neighbors came to me and asked if he could say the prayer, pretty cool. Ms Abbie and Mr Pete passed out over 40 bags of groceries. Lots of excitement.
Following our meal, Joey led us in rereading the first parts of Ephesians asking, what is church? Conclusion, ones being called by Christ for Christ.
Prayer concerns were expressed for Ms Sarah, not feeling well. Ms Sarah, you need to slow down. Prayers for James who is sick. Henry and his mom Peaches. Henry struggling in school, Peaches was sent to the hospital with a low blood count.
Krysten and Joey told us Sinotra was back from Boot Camp. He did not complete the program but both noticed a change in Sinotra. Krysten, worked with him in filling out a job application. Krysten was blown away, by Sinotra taking notes on things she was telling him. Hopefully his new attitude will continue with our support and prayers.
Many of us had the opportunity to share some of our stories by being videoed from Airline Baptist video crew. They are putting together a video about Common Ground. The video will be presented to the congregation during church one Sunday morning. Very exciting Airline will be becoming more involved in our community.
So many wonderful things going on in our community. So many things are about to happen, God is up to something. Continue to live your lives as Christ has called upon you to do so. Blessings will flow from you and through you.
Hope you all have a great weekend and a better week.
Friday, April 13, 2012
The Body
Sorry for the very late note. Been gone all day. It's Friday, yeaaa! We made another fast moving week. For those of you who have a superstitious nature, it's the 13th also. So watch out for the black cats, broken mirrors or leaning ladders!
What a treat we had last Saturday. As I got out of my truck Saturday morning at the center, out of the Bright House comes our favorite person from Kansas City, Kelsey! What a blessing to get a hug, see her smile and hear about all her adventures. Lots going on in her life, especially in July when she will be getting married. Later on in the morning we had the opportunity to meet her finance Jon, and both the moms. How special it was for us, that they would take their time and energy to drive nine hours down here, so Kelsey could introduce her Shreveport family to her Kansas City family. Very special.
Mr Scott took us around on our visits. Turner is fine. As we were walking with him, I said, man it's cold this morning. Turner said, isn't it Easter tomorrow? I said, yes it is. Turner said, this is our Easter cold weather. I said, I guess it is. We need to bring Turner Easter eggs next year! Our next stop was to visit with Richard. He had a husband and wife with him. Not sure how they ended up there, but they were waiting for us, to see if we could take them to find a place to stay for the night. They had been in a car accident, the man was in a wheel chair, his wife had a neck brace on. They had been turned away from one organization, but had found a room at the Salvation Army. Thank goodness, Matt had brought his truck, so we loaded up the couple and made our way to the Salvation Army complex. All the way there, they kept saying how grateful they were for us to be taking them to the shelter. You just never know what surprises you will find each week. Smokey and Leroy are busy, blazing a new entrance to their camp. They have completed half of their front walkway. Lots of brush to be cleared and poison ivy to get rid of. Tim was in the camp by himself. Dale was released last week but the next day, went back to flying the sign and was arrested again. Tim is worried Dale has given up and does not want any part of the new camp. Tim, who is working regularly now, is trying to get an apartment so both he and Dale can move into. Tim is hoping that will make Dale feel better.
Sunday morning, we gathered for our Easter tradition of hiding Easter eggs around the neighborhood. This year, with the chapel being open, we started our fun by gathering in the chapel for a devotional time hosted by Momma T. We had our own Sunrise service, awesome. As Momma T said, she had all her peeps with her. She had Kelsey, Krysten and her special peep, Georgette. Great to see Georgette. We had a great group of crazy people join in on the fun. It was awesome. As we were walking back to the center, with our empty bags in tow, Kelsey's mom said, I've waited for this day for so long, to be with you all and now it's over! I text Sione Sunday morning, saying we missed him and he said, he started his sermons Sunday morning telling his church about how we start our Easter Sunday. Can't wait until next year! Wonder what God has in store for us?
Krysten planned some indoor activities for the children Monday and Tuesday. Not sure the moms liked it, but on Monday they made slim. They put their creations in bags to take home. On Tuesday, they conducted a science experiment, mixing, baking soda and vinegar in a bottle and shaking it up. Wow what a mess that makes! But the balloons were beautiful! Who would have thunk it, the children had a great time and didn't realize they were learning something at the same time.
We got a report from Dan Poole, who is the contractor helping Dr Phil with the Building of Community. Dan went to the Metropolitan Planning Commission hearing about our application for changing the zoning from commercial to residential on two lots. The application was approved. Now the signs go up for 6 weeks for neighborhood comments. Then the application goes before the City Council for final approval. We contacted our City Councilman, Oliver Jenkins to let him know of our plans and asked him for his support. Once the Council votes, then we can begin building. Do I hear patience being said for us all!
Another great evening at our mens Bible fellowship. What a great atmosphere the Holy Spirit and Matt has created. A place where men can come together and share what is going on in their lives. The struggles that is facing them, knowing this is a place where they will feel lvoe and encouragement.
Wednesday, John met with the plumber and they were able to iron out the plans for the new kitchen. Need to take more pictures, but our sinks are gone, in fact everything is gone except the walls. All the demolition is just about completed. The plumber made the job sound pretty simple. A big relief to John. He also said he has a sink and stainless steel counter he will bring us for the new kitchen.
We have another God story concerning our kitchen. John has been concerned about providing support in the ceiling for the new air conditioner and the new range hood. He was planning to run three ceiling support beams, at a cost of around $1500. Not sure where the money was going to come from, God stepped in. One of the cooks from Brookwood, comes into the kitchen last week to wash his hands from all the chicken he had just finished grilling. He starts to look at the construction and says, do you need some structural beams for the remodel? I said, I think so but let me have John call you. So John and Sheldon have worked out a deal, where we will get three 19 foot beams, normally costing over $1500 for $275! Is that amazing or what! God is good.
At some point on Wednesday, Ms Lisa gets a text from a lady who is wanting to bring a group from Kilgore College on Thursday to work. Gus had gone to talk to a group of nurses at the college during the fall semester and he told them about us. The group of nurses was needing some community hours for one of their classes so they thought about us. They showed up Thursday morning at 8 am and worked all day long. Ms Patty met them in the garden and she kept them busy most of the day. They also went with Joey and walked down 67 st visiting with our neighbors. Great group of young people. We are hoping they will come back again.
Joey calls me Thursday afternoon and asks, where is the sound system for the chapel. I said, why Joey, he says his group is coming to lead worship. I had forgotten about it, but Joey asked a couple of weeks ago, if his long time friends could come. Heather and Derek came and what a time it was. Heather sang and Derek played his guitar. Then Derek's dad, Richard got up and shared a few words with our community. The chapel was rocking with, arms waving, Amens going on, Halleluias being shouted, it was great. Everybody commented how much they liked it and want more! The only problem, the chapel is packed, we need more room! Ms Lisa, is the Sanctuary ready yet!
Thanks to Ms Sarah and her boldness to change the way we serve our food, as the folks left the chapel they made a line and got their own plates. Some of the older folks, go and sit down and the plates are brought to them, but it seems to work out pretty good this way. We had Summer Grove Baptist supplying the meal with all the trimmings. It was really great. In fact this month, we have a different group serving our meals each week. Pretty amazing, thank you God.
Ms Abbie handed out her groceries and we also got another donation of milk, which she gave away. I talked to one of our friends who was catching their breathe from their long walk to us. I said to them are you alright, they said, fine, just my pressure gets high from walking. They said, you people are so nice, you give us such a nice meal and you give away such good food, I need to come every week because I really need it. Wow, often you forget, I forget, how much God has blessed us with. I forget how much our community really appreciates what God is doing through us.
Joey led us in our Bible study as we finished reading Chapter 5 and all of Chapter 6 of Ephesians. Talking about husbands and wives and the armor of God. God lvoes His church more than anything, the way a man and a wife should love each other. The tools are provided for us by God to defeat evil. We need to use them to do so. It is the only way we can defeat Satan and his attacks on us.
Prayers for Beth and Charley as they prepare for the Fair Trade day on Saturday. If you want a cool looking t-shirt, go by and visit them downtown. William and his struggles with life. Lomax on his journey. He has a new installment on his blog. He got to visit the Dream Center. Prayers for Ms Sarah and Mr Scott as they travel back home from a week of work on the slopes of Colorado. Prayers for U2 Saturday this Saturday, as we hope for more participation from the community.
Don't forget, Brookwood will be joining us again this Saturday.
Prayers for mr brian for Monday at 5pm. Got a phone call Thursday afternoon from Laura Vaughan. She is a longtime friend of Common Ground, from Centenary. She has been the leader of the Christian Leadership Center. She asked if I would sit on a panel talking about homelessness. Never done that before, so don't know what to expect. They are calling the event, "Living on the Streets – Called to Care". One of our Centenary students, Jeremy will be the host. You all are invited, Monday 5pm at the Shell (the outdoor Amphitheater) on Centenary's campus.
I am truly amazed how God continues to bring folks and opportunities to our community. We do not have to go out and seek folks, they are coming to us. Why, because you all are living a life worthy of being called a follower of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately in this day and time, that is something the world is not use to seeing. You all are the Body of Christ. You are all the Church. You are all special to God because you are living out your gifts. He is honoring us because we continue to be obedient and faithful in our journeys. Thank you all, you are very special people. Please know that. Please know God is proud of you for who you are.
See you Saturday at the center. Have a great week. Amen.
What a treat we had last Saturday. As I got out of my truck Saturday morning at the center, out of the Bright House comes our favorite person from Kansas City, Kelsey! What a blessing to get a hug, see her smile and hear about all her adventures. Lots going on in her life, especially in July when she will be getting married. Later on in the morning we had the opportunity to meet her finance Jon, and both the moms. How special it was for us, that they would take their time and energy to drive nine hours down here, so Kelsey could introduce her Shreveport family to her Kansas City family. Very special.
Mr Scott took us around on our visits. Turner is fine. As we were walking with him, I said, man it's cold this morning. Turner said, isn't it Easter tomorrow? I said, yes it is. Turner said, this is our Easter cold weather. I said, I guess it is. We need to bring Turner Easter eggs next year! Our next stop was to visit with Richard. He had a husband and wife with him. Not sure how they ended up there, but they were waiting for us, to see if we could take them to find a place to stay for the night. They had been in a car accident, the man was in a wheel chair, his wife had a neck brace on. They had been turned away from one organization, but had found a room at the Salvation Army. Thank goodness, Matt had brought his truck, so we loaded up the couple and made our way to the Salvation Army complex. All the way there, they kept saying how grateful they were for us to be taking them to the shelter. You just never know what surprises you will find each week. Smokey and Leroy are busy, blazing a new entrance to their camp. They have completed half of their front walkway. Lots of brush to be cleared and poison ivy to get rid of. Tim was in the camp by himself. Dale was released last week but the next day, went back to flying the sign and was arrested again. Tim is worried Dale has given up and does not want any part of the new camp. Tim, who is working regularly now, is trying to get an apartment so both he and Dale can move into. Tim is hoping that will make Dale feel better.
Sunday morning, we gathered for our Easter tradition of hiding Easter eggs around the neighborhood. This year, with the chapel being open, we started our fun by gathering in the chapel for a devotional time hosted by Momma T. We had our own Sunrise service, awesome. As Momma T said, she had all her peeps with her. She had Kelsey, Krysten and her special peep, Georgette. Great to see Georgette. We had a great group of crazy people join in on the fun. It was awesome. As we were walking back to the center, with our empty bags in tow, Kelsey's mom said, I've waited for this day for so long, to be with you all and now it's over! I text Sione Sunday morning, saying we missed him and he said, he started his sermons Sunday morning telling his church about how we start our Easter Sunday. Can't wait until next year! Wonder what God has in store for us?
Krysten planned some indoor activities for the children Monday and Tuesday. Not sure the moms liked it, but on Monday they made slim. They put their creations in bags to take home. On Tuesday, they conducted a science experiment, mixing, baking soda and vinegar in a bottle and shaking it up. Wow what a mess that makes! But the balloons were beautiful! Who would have thunk it, the children had a great time and didn't realize they were learning something at the same time.
We got a report from Dan Poole, who is the contractor helping Dr Phil with the Building of Community. Dan went to the Metropolitan Planning Commission hearing about our application for changing the zoning from commercial to residential on two lots. The application was approved. Now the signs go up for 6 weeks for neighborhood comments. Then the application goes before the City Council for final approval. We contacted our City Councilman, Oliver Jenkins to let him know of our plans and asked him for his support. Once the Council votes, then we can begin building. Do I hear patience being said for us all!
Another great evening at our mens Bible fellowship. What a great atmosphere the Holy Spirit and Matt has created. A place where men can come together and share what is going on in their lives. The struggles that is facing them, knowing this is a place where they will feel lvoe and encouragement.
Wednesday, John met with the plumber and they were able to iron out the plans for the new kitchen. Need to take more pictures, but our sinks are gone, in fact everything is gone except the walls. All the demolition is just about completed. The plumber made the job sound pretty simple. A big relief to John. He also said he has a sink and stainless steel counter he will bring us for the new kitchen.
We have another God story concerning our kitchen. John has been concerned about providing support in the ceiling for the new air conditioner and the new range hood. He was planning to run three ceiling support beams, at a cost of around $1500. Not sure where the money was going to come from, God stepped in. One of the cooks from Brookwood, comes into the kitchen last week to wash his hands from all the chicken he had just finished grilling. He starts to look at the construction and says, do you need some structural beams for the remodel? I said, I think so but let me have John call you. So John and Sheldon have worked out a deal, where we will get three 19 foot beams, normally costing over $1500 for $275! Is that amazing or what! God is good.
At some point on Wednesday, Ms Lisa gets a text from a lady who is wanting to bring a group from Kilgore College on Thursday to work. Gus had gone to talk to a group of nurses at the college during the fall semester and he told them about us. The group of nurses was needing some community hours for one of their classes so they thought about us. They showed up Thursday morning at 8 am and worked all day long. Ms Patty met them in the garden and she kept them busy most of the day. They also went with Joey and walked down 67 st visiting with our neighbors. Great group of young people. We are hoping they will come back again.
Joey calls me Thursday afternoon and asks, where is the sound system for the chapel. I said, why Joey, he says his group is coming to lead worship. I had forgotten about it, but Joey asked a couple of weeks ago, if his long time friends could come. Heather and Derek came and what a time it was. Heather sang and Derek played his guitar. Then Derek's dad, Richard got up and shared a few words with our community. The chapel was rocking with, arms waving, Amens going on, Halleluias being shouted, it was great. Everybody commented how much they liked it and want more! The only problem, the chapel is packed, we need more room! Ms Lisa, is the Sanctuary ready yet!
Thanks to Ms Sarah and her boldness to change the way we serve our food, as the folks left the chapel they made a line and got their own plates. Some of the older folks, go and sit down and the plates are brought to them, but it seems to work out pretty good this way. We had Summer Grove Baptist supplying the meal with all the trimmings. It was really great. In fact this month, we have a different group serving our meals each week. Pretty amazing, thank you God.
Ms Abbie handed out her groceries and we also got another donation of milk, which she gave away. I talked to one of our friends who was catching their breathe from their long walk to us. I said to them are you alright, they said, fine, just my pressure gets high from walking. They said, you people are so nice, you give us such a nice meal and you give away such good food, I need to come every week because I really need it. Wow, often you forget, I forget, how much God has blessed us with. I forget how much our community really appreciates what God is doing through us.
Joey led us in our Bible study as we finished reading Chapter 5 and all of Chapter 6 of Ephesians. Talking about husbands and wives and the armor of God. God lvoes His church more than anything, the way a man and a wife should love each other. The tools are provided for us by God to defeat evil. We need to use them to do so. It is the only way we can defeat Satan and his attacks on us.
Prayers for Beth and Charley as they prepare for the Fair Trade day on Saturday. If you want a cool looking t-shirt, go by and visit them downtown. William and his struggles with life. Lomax on his journey. He has a new installment on his blog. He got to visit the Dream Center. Prayers for Ms Sarah and Mr Scott as they travel back home from a week of work on the slopes of Colorado. Prayers for U2 Saturday this Saturday, as we hope for more participation from the community.
Don't forget, Brookwood will be joining us again this Saturday.
Prayers for mr brian for Monday at 5pm. Got a phone call Thursday afternoon from Laura Vaughan. She is a longtime friend of Common Ground, from Centenary. She has been the leader of the Christian Leadership Center. She asked if I would sit on a panel talking about homelessness. Never done that before, so don't know what to expect. They are calling the event, "Living on the Streets – Called to Care". One of our Centenary students, Jeremy will be the host. You all are invited, Monday 5pm at the Shell (the outdoor Amphitheater) on Centenary's campus.
I am truly amazed how God continues to bring folks and opportunities to our community. We do not have to go out and seek folks, they are coming to us. Why, because you all are living a life worthy of being called a follower of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately in this day and time, that is something the world is not use to seeing. You all are the Body of Christ. You are all the Church. You are all special to God because you are living out your gifts. He is honoring us because we continue to be obedient and faithful in our journeys. Thank you all, you are very special people. Please know that. Please know God is proud of you for who you are.
See you Saturday at the center. Have a great week. Amen.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Is it a "Good" Friday
The first week of April has come and gone, time is flying by. Beautiful weather, gorgeous flowers, moonlight skies, what a special time of year. Hope your week was special and filled with God's blessings.
Mr Scott led our visits last Saturday. Our outdoor friends seem to be doing good. Turner is happy not to be worried about finding a new home. Richard was not at his gas station, it is the first of the month, Smokey, Leroy were hanging out. Smokey is making a new trail to his camp. He said, there is roomers about closing down the bridge and he may not have access to his camp, so he is making another entrance. He will show us his new "front door and walkway" this Saturday. Dale is back in camp, looking and feeling better. A heavy beard covers his face. He was glad to be back home. Dave has a new roommate, Travis. Yept, Travis is back from a stay in Florida. Hope things work out for the two of them there at Big D's.
A young man came by the center Saturday morning, no one was there. He called me and wanted to find out more information about us. I talked to him for a moment, then Mr Scott and the others pulled up in the van. Matt shared our story with him and he said, this is the place where God wants me to be. He came by Monday and Tuesday wanting to meet more folks. His name is Henry. He asked Joey and I Tuesday afternoon, if he could coach our boys in a basketball league. Wow, wouldn't that be awesome. We are hoping he and his wife will become a part of our family.
Our afternoon tutoring is now, playtime activities. The kids come to play, get snacks and hang out. Not bad, just sad, their studies have taken a back seat. Can only imagine what they are doing in school. Come by for a visit, if you are looking for something to do for an hour or so. Krysten and Joey could use your help.
Tuesday evening, Matt led the men's Bible fellowship in another adventure of God's Spirit reaching out to all. God continues to bring us new faces and new thoughts. Matt likes to keep our discussions to our hour, but Tuesday night nobody wanted to go home. The talk continued past our allowed time, sharing how God is working on and in us everyday. Very powerful and uplifting discussions.
And then came Thursday. What a blessing seeing community in action. Matt and his wife, Vicki brought a ton of eggs from their church, others brought more from their church, Ms Sarah brought stuff from Grace, Ms Emily brought things from First Methodist and our children had a blast. Eggs were hidden in the garden and in the green area by the sign by Ms Sarah's young adults. Just before we began eating, the children went outside and discovered the eggs. While they were outside, the adults began to line up for barbeque chicken provided by TJ and his crew of chefs from Brookwood. The smoke from the grill was smelt everywhere, bring in new faces. After the first 80 pieces of chicken were gone, they cooked up another 40, folks hanging around for seconds, it was great. Ms Abbie handed out her bag of groceries and gallons of milk we got from another agency. A great afternoon of the Body, each doing it's own thing, but coming together for the glory of God. Thanks to all for making it such a special afternoon.
Joey led us in our Bible study, reading from Ephesians 5. Joey reminded us, Paul does not live you hanging about how to live your life. We don't need to fill in the blanks, Paul does that for us. You want to know how to live? Paul says, in verse 2, live a life of love just as Christ loved us. In verse 8, live like children who belong to the light. Verse 16 says, use every chance you have for doing good. And we concluded our time together, reading in 20, always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayers for Beth as she continues to recover from her successful surgery. Kelsey and her family as they drive today down to see her Shreveport family and return home on Sunday. Dawn as she struggles with a skin reaction. Izzy in his treatment of his lung infection. Robert in the setting up of his new home. Lomax in his continued journeys in Los Angeles. William and James as they cope with the stresses of life. Ms Sarah and Mr Scott as they travel next week.
With all the goings on Thursday, we did not have time to pack our eggs for our sunrise adventure, so for those of you who can, please come by the center, this Saturday around 9 and help us.
Don't forget, this Sunday, April 8, Easter Sunday, meet at the center around 6:30 AM. As soon as it gets daylight, we will walk into our neighborhood sharing God's lvoe with all in the form of Easter eggs. Please bring your family and friends along for the adventure. It usually last for an hour or so, so you will have plenty of time to get to church.
Good Friday, I will admit I struggle with the "Good" part. Remembering what Jesus went through on that "first" Friday, hard to get excited about today being so good. But Jesus showed us today just how much He loved us. He let his body endure such pain. He died for us. Can't imagine having to endure that, thank goodness God did not ask me to do that. As Max Lucado said this morning, The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint! Jesus did that for us, can't we do a little something for Him? Can't we lvoe others like He lvoed us? Can't we feed the hungry? Can't we clothe the naked? Can't we visit the lost? Can't we take care of the orphans and widows? Are we so busy with our own lives, we have no time for others? Don't let what Jesus did on this day for us so many years ago, be for nothing. Is today Good Friday, you betcha! Let's live today giving thanks to God for everything and tomorrow, and the next day and the next.
God is Risen . . . He has Risen indeed! Go out and make it a great, Good Friday! Amen.
Mr Scott led our visits last Saturday. Our outdoor friends seem to be doing good. Turner is happy not to be worried about finding a new home. Richard was not at his gas station, it is the first of the month, Smokey, Leroy were hanging out. Smokey is making a new trail to his camp. He said, there is roomers about closing down the bridge and he may not have access to his camp, so he is making another entrance. He will show us his new "front door and walkway" this Saturday. Dale is back in camp, looking and feeling better. A heavy beard covers his face. He was glad to be back home. Dave has a new roommate, Travis. Yept, Travis is back from a stay in Florida. Hope things work out for the two of them there at Big D's.
A young man came by the center Saturday morning, no one was there. He called me and wanted to find out more information about us. I talked to him for a moment, then Mr Scott and the others pulled up in the van. Matt shared our story with him and he said, this is the place where God wants me to be. He came by Monday and Tuesday wanting to meet more folks. His name is Henry. He asked Joey and I Tuesday afternoon, if he could coach our boys in a basketball league. Wow, wouldn't that be awesome. We are hoping he and his wife will become a part of our family.
Our afternoon tutoring is now, playtime activities. The kids come to play, get snacks and hang out. Not bad, just sad, their studies have taken a back seat. Can only imagine what they are doing in school. Come by for a visit, if you are looking for something to do for an hour or so. Krysten and Joey could use your help.
Tuesday evening, Matt led the men's Bible fellowship in another adventure of God's Spirit reaching out to all. God continues to bring us new faces and new thoughts. Matt likes to keep our discussions to our hour, but Tuesday night nobody wanted to go home. The talk continued past our allowed time, sharing how God is working on and in us everyday. Very powerful and uplifting discussions.
And then came Thursday. What a blessing seeing community in action. Matt and his wife, Vicki brought a ton of eggs from their church, others brought more from their church, Ms Sarah brought stuff from Grace, Ms Emily brought things from First Methodist and our children had a blast. Eggs were hidden in the garden and in the green area by the sign by Ms Sarah's young adults. Just before we began eating, the children went outside and discovered the eggs. While they were outside, the adults began to line up for barbeque chicken provided by TJ and his crew of chefs from Brookwood. The smoke from the grill was smelt everywhere, bring in new faces. After the first 80 pieces of chicken were gone, they cooked up another 40, folks hanging around for seconds, it was great. Ms Abbie handed out her bag of groceries and gallons of milk we got from another agency. A great afternoon of the Body, each doing it's own thing, but coming together for the glory of God. Thanks to all for making it such a special afternoon.
Joey led us in our Bible study, reading from Ephesians 5. Joey reminded us, Paul does not live you hanging about how to live your life. We don't need to fill in the blanks, Paul does that for us. You want to know how to live? Paul says, in verse 2, live a life of love just as Christ loved us. In verse 8, live like children who belong to the light. Verse 16 says, use every chance you have for doing good. And we concluded our time together, reading in 20, always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayers for Beth as she continues to recover from her successful surgery. Kelsey and her family as they drive today down to see her Shreveport family and return home on Sunday. Dawn as she struggles with a skin reaction. Izzy in his treatment of his lung infection. Robert in the setting up of his new home. Lomax in his continued journeys in Los Angeles. William and James as they cope with the stresses of life. Ms Sarah and Mr Scott as they travel next week.
With all the goings on Thursday, we did not have time to pack our eggs for our sunrise adventure, so for those of you who can, please come by the center, this Saturday around 9 and help us.
Don't forget, this Sunday, April 8, Easter Sunday, meet at the center around 6:30 AM. As soon as it gets daylight, we will walk into our neighborhood sharing God's lvoe with all in the form of Easter eggs. Please bring your family and friends along for the adventure. It usually last for an hour or so, so you will have plenty of time to get to church.
Good Friday, I will admit I struggle with the "Good" part. Remembering what Jesus went through on that "first" Friday, hard to get excited about today being so good. But Jesus showed us today just how much He loved us. He let his body endure such pain. He died for us. Can't imagine having to endure that, thank goodness God did not ask me to do that. As Max Lucado said this morning, The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint! Jesus did that for us, can't we do a little something for Him? Can't we lvoe others like He lvoed us? Can't we feed the hungry? Can't we clothe the naked? Can't we visit the lost? Can't we take care of the orphans and widows? Are we so busy with our own lives, we have no time for others? Don't let what Jesus did on this day for us so many years ago, be for nothing. Is today Good Friday, you betcha! Let's live today giving thanks to God for everything and tomorrow, and the next day and the next.
God is Risen . . . He has Risen indeed! Go out and make it a great, Good Friday! Amen.
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