Born again, are you?

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Well us Southerns, don't get to see much of the white stuff, so everybody was excited to see the 10 snow flakes we had Thursday evening! Now that it is over with, we can move on with warmer temperatures! Hope you had some exciting times in your week!

No better way to start off our week, than to gather around the tables for our monthly breakfast. Momma T and Joey were busy cooking biscuits, bacon, eggs, gravy and hot coffee. Everybody enjoyed the meal and conversations. Right after we finished our breakfast, Ardis and her crew, began to wrap our weekly delivery of bread.

With a few leftover biscuits we took them to our camps. Everybody was doing ok. We got to see some old friends who have moved back outside, Evelyn, Sodapop and ol'man Dave. We met some new friends and had good visits with them all. Matt leads our neighborhood visits and finds time to have Bible study with some of the children. An amazing Saturday, which happens every Saturday, come and join in on the fun.

With a holiday on Monday, we were again blessed to have a big group of Centenary students join us for the morning. Over 40 students and supervisors joined in to transform several areas of the center. All the trash cans were full of things that needed to be thrown away. It was great to see them and experience all their energy.

Our afternoon homework sessions are back in motion again. Lots of help for our children, allowing us to have one on one relationships. Great to see everybody working together and having a good time.

Tuesday evening, the men of the community met for Bible fellowship. We read from John Chapter 3. Lots of good discussions on how God is working in our men's lives. A packed house, lots of new faces joining in on the talk. Young and old, experiencing what God can do in your life.

Wednesday, we gathered at the Bright House for our family time. Joey, Lomax and Ricky hosted the evening will good food and fellowship. Joey performed a passage from Mark for us, performing the parable of Blind Bart! Questions were asked and lots of discussions about our relationships with Jesus.

Thursday brought our cold weather and snow flakes, but that didn't stop most of our community. Ms Abbie and our community choir got us started with songs and Pastor Eddie led us into the discussion of Luke 6 and the man with the crippled hand. Pastor asked us what is crippling us? You want to be free of what is holding you back, turn to Christ!

Abbey and her crew, prepared a meal, served by the community and cleaned up by others. Grocery bags were handed out, the clothing room was opened and everybody had a great evening.

Henry Youngblood, Ms Abbie's grandson will be graduating this Saturday. Henry will be receiving his high school equivalency and starting a new chapter in his life. Congratulations to all who have helped Henry through this process.

Don't forget, we will be having a memorial time for Richard at his gas station, this Saturday at 12:30. Come and share your stories with us about your experiences with Richard.

Got a phone call this week from a youth group who wants to join us again this summer. Abbey will need help this summer with supervision. Please begin to think about how you can help out when we have friends visiting with us. Guaranteed to put a smile in your heart.

Prayers for those who are traveling. Dr Phil made it home safely from a trip to Israel, we can't wait to hear all about it! I think I saw Sarah and Scott at the "X" games doing tricks on their snow mobiles! Prayers for Momma T. The passing of her dad Thursday night and continued challenges with her mom. It is hard, very hard when our parents who have taken care of us all their lives, have challenges with theirs. Prayers for our friends living out in this cold, cold weather. Prayers for my wife, Ginellen, who is starting to experience more health issues. And having to deal with our socialize medicine procedures. Very upsetting to us all.

Tuesday evening, we read from John 3, Nicodemus coming to Jesus, asking questions of Jesus about how he performed all those miracles. Verse 3 Jesus says, . . unless one is born again, he cannot be in God's Kingdom. Verse 5, Jesus says, I tell you the truth, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter God's Kingdom. Then in Verse 7, Jesus says, don't be surprised when I tell you,, You must be born again.

Been thinking about, being born again. Obviously to Jesus, He is trying to make a point of how important it is for us to change our ways. Over and over again, you hear the phrase, easy to tell a Christian on Sunday, hard to tell a Christian on Monday. 

We go to church on the weekends, look the part of what a Christian should look like, maybe go to Sunday school and still our hearts are not changed. We lie, steal, gossip, slander on Mondays. How is that born again?

When Saul saw the Light, literally, he became a new person, even changing his name. Isn't that what we should do? Not saying we should change our names, but when others see us, shouldn't they say, who is this person?

Over the last few months, I hear some of us talk about how their lives have changed since they have allowed Christ to lead their lives. Seeing Ardis on Saturday mornings, having breakfast, wrapping bread, leading groups, is not the Ardis of old. Her friends have asked her, who is this person? Tim, who use to solve his problems by drinking or fighting, now turns to the Lord for guidance, leading others to Christ. The guys under the bridge, says this can't be the Tim of old?

Jesus is asking us, demanding of us to change our lives, to be born again. We can not be the same person we were. We can say we are Christians, but does our lives reflect that change? When Saul became Paul, his friends did not believe him, but his actions convinced them he was a Christian. Does our actions do the same? Ardis and Tim's friends see a change in them. Do your friends see a change in you?

Being born again, is hard but so rewarding. Letting go of the old ways, trying new ways is not comfortable. Your friends, may talk about you, your family may laugh at you, but Jesus will lvoe you. Isn't that what matters, the lvoe of Jesus, who changed our hearts, working through us will change the hearts of others. Amen.

Hope you all have a great week. Think warm thoughts!

Relationships

Another week is in the books! Wow, time is passing so fast! How was your week? How did God bless you and your family?

We had a full team on our visits Saturday. Forgot to mention last week, we had new folks joining us from Grace Methodist. They have heard about our outdoor friends, so they wanted to see for themselves what it was like. They enjoyed their time with us so much, they came back and some brought their children. 

While our visits were going on, we continue to walk the streets of our neighborhood, meeting new friends, picking up trash and letting others know, God is here. So good to see young men of the neighborhood, laughing, learning and sharing what is on their hearts.

To end our Saturday, we attended two funerals. One for a long time friend from Grace and the other one, was our friend Ms Dororthy. Both churches were packed, with friends and family wanting to share their love. We had the honor to get up before the church at Ms Dorothy's funeral and share a few words about why we lvoed her. 

After dropping off Joey at his house, I ended up behind Ms Dorothy's funeral procession. Don't know where the tradition of pulling over as the family passes, but as I followed the procession, I thought how appropriate for others who did not know Ms Dorothy to pull over and honor this lady, who lvoed Christ and lvoed us.

In Sunday's newspaper was a nice article about feeding the hungry. The reporter and photographer attended several of our Thursday meals to gather the information. This is the link to the article: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/section/hunger#part1

Our afternoon activities have started back. Come and enjoy the blessing of teaching our young children. Times are 4:30 - 5:30 Monday and Wednesday.

Tuesday evening, Brother Elbert led the men's fellowship as he read from Phillippians 3: 1-21. Paul continues to encourage us all to follow Christ, don't get distracted.

Also on Tuesday, we attended our third funeral of the week, as we remembered another long time friend of ours.

Thursday evening was started off by Ms Abbie and our community choir leading us in song, then Brother Bob, Beth's dad, shared the Word. A 95 year old man, a lover of Christ, sharing his wealth of knowledge and understanding in how to live our lives, doesn't get any better than that. Nice to have Sarah back from her sickness, as she and Scott led children's church. We had an old friend join us, Pete Bollinger was back and hopes to start coming on a regular basis. A great meal, lots of help, opening up of the clothing room, a good night.

Don't forget, this Saturday at 8:30, January 18th will be our breakfast. Biscuits and all the trimmings will be there for you. Come and enjoy the food and fellowship.

Continue to prayer on God's direction for a women's Bible fellowship circle. Prayers for all who are nursing a cold or recovering from the flu. Prayers for the possible opening of the chapel on other nights allowing the Spirit of Christ to come into more lives.

We are planning a memorial service for Richard next Saturday, January 25th at 12:30 at his gas station! The gas station is located on the corner of Texas and Linwood Ave. We could not think of a better place to come together and share our stories about him. Please let everybody know. For those of you who do Face Book, please post it. It will be simple, reading of some scriptures, sing Amazing Grace, time for sharing your stories about Richard and a closing prayer. Let Joey know if you have questions.

Monday on MLK Day, we will be hosting a group of students from Centenary. Abbey has various projects planned for them and we could use your help to help lead the young people. The fun starts at 9!

Attending 3 funerals this week, kind of puts a different perspective on life. Looking around the packed sanctuary's, I started to think, everybody there had some sort of relationship with the person. Some knew them from work, others through extended families, some through volunteering, some were neighbors.

I started to think, what is the one constant in all of those relationships and it is their lvoe of Jesus. If we had not turned our lives over to Christ, we would have not crossed paths. We would have missed out on all the blessings we have experienced over the years knowing these people. Our lives are not about the goals or the stuff we accumulate but about the relationships we build as we go through life.

There is something unique in a bond between Christians. As individuals, with our pride and selfishness, we can fight, alienate each other and even loose those relationships. But for those who keep focused on God, when we face those challenges, we learn it is not about us but about God and our relationships continue. We learn to accept each other in all our sins and faults. In a community where God is the center, we are accepting of everybody. We even learn to accept folks from Tonga!

In this new year, may we learn to keep our focus on Christ, not on ourselves. May we learn to lvoe each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. May we remember it is not about the stuff, but about the hearts. Amen

Have a great week. May God continue to bless you and your families.

It's been a trying week

The start of a new year, new beginnings, a fresh outlook on life and then the phone rings, you get a text, see it in an email, the passing of a friend, a love one, a fellow brother or sister in Christ. Puts you in a different perspective. You are again reminded, our time on earth is short. What you thought was important to you may not be?

This past Friday we got a call about our outdoor friend Richard. We talked about Richard Saturday morning. In typical Richard style, not one but 3 different cars hit him as he was trying to get across the road and he was killed. Richard has been with us for many years. Richard taught us how to laugh, how to listen, how to lvoe. He showed us, life was hard for those who live outside. He showed us how to survive the trials of living on the streets. Those that went to visit our friends on Saturday, stopped at Richard's gas station, held hands and prayed. We prayed for those who are still on the streets, we prayed for God to be able to listen to Richard's stories! We prayed for Richard's family. We will miss our Richard. Hopefully in the coming weeks, we will have a memorial service for Richard, so we all can share our stories about the man!

The next day, we get the terrible news we lost our sister in Christ, Ms Dorothy. Ms Dorothy, loved the Lord in everything she did. She had put up a good fight against her cancer. Ms Dorothy had been with us for many years, helping, serving, singing, laughing, working together trying to make our community a better place. There will be service honoring Ms Dorothy, this Saturday, January 11th at noon at her church, Mt Olive Baptist Church. Edward said for us to turn on 73rd street off Line Ave and you will see the white church building at the end of the street.

Jesus lvoes the children. I can see why. To help us through these struggles, we were blessed to have several different youth groups from churches in Bossier City. Through the help of Momma T and Ardis, they helped prepare several meals, straighten the kitchen shelves, rearranged the clothing room, helped mr brian trim out the office floor, went with us on our visits, all the time doing so with laughter, enthusiasm,  and joy. It helped us take our minds off of our loses of the week.

Sunday, we lost another long time friend of mine, Wilton Broadwell. Wilton and I were at the start of Grace Methodist. We went to breakfast on Sunday mornings, after setting up the church at a high school Grace was using. Wilton, sponsored me into a happening called Walk to Emmaus, helping me to learn to let go and let God into my life. We attended a Men of Grace Bible study every Monday night. Wilton and I kind of took care of Grace in the beginning. One day he asked me, do you think it would be alright to cut down that branch? I said to Wilton, if you don't do it, it won't get done! Almost 20 years later, Wilton carved out a sanctuary in the woods where families have been married, where you can sees God's miracles of growth for generations to come, provide a place where you can listen to God's quiet voice. A job well done Witon, a loyal and faithful servant.

Monday brought bitter cold to this part of the area. Some of our guys went to a shelter. Others stayed in their camps. We checked on them Monday night, brought coffee and hot chocolate. The temperatures have finally started to rise but now the rain has started providing more challenges. We did get some good news on Monday. As we were checking in on the Macroni camp, Outdoor Tim got a call from the VA and they approved his application for housing. We were able to take him to his new apartment. The timing couldn't be any better, getting out of the cold air was a blessing. Tim, thinking of others, brought Jerry with him to spend the night, to get out of the cold.

Tuesday evening, Tim hosted our men's Bible fellowship, reading from Isaiah 43:18-28. God provides a way for us, why do we go down a different path? Our path usually leads to destruction. God's people had strayed away from Him, just like we do today. God wants a relationship with us. Why do we take God for granted? Why can't we take a few minutes each day, and devote it to our understanding of Him? 

Wednesday evening, Ardis opened up her house as we gathered for our family time. It had been awhile, so it was nice to see everybody and catch up with everyone's activities. We finished Dr Phil's book and will move on to reading one of the gospels in the coming months.The last chapter of Dr Phils's book, the State of War. We are in a battle, a spiritual battle for our souls. Satan will do everything to take control, but we have God at our side, fighting our battles, so we will be victorious. Don't let Satan win!

Thursday, the rain started. Pastor Jackson and Wes got our chapel time started off by singing and praising God like no other. Someone in the back started singing a hymn, Willie starts and before you know it, we all are singing! No words on the wall, just a song in our hearts. In this new year, we need to listen to God to hear how He wants us to share His lvoe with others. My feeling, is it will take more than just Thursday evenings, for 30 minutes! 

Following chapel, we got to enjoy the meals that were prepared by our helpers last Saturday. It was delicious. The thing that struck me Thursday night, was all of the help we had from the community. Great to see the young ones handing out the drinks, serving the meals, cleaning the tables, stacking the chairs.

Lomax introduced us to his sister and niece this week. They were in town for a visit. Great to finally meet them after all these years.

Prayers for all who are suffering with a cold or flu. Lots of that going around right now. Prayers for Momma T's mom and dad. As our parents get older, life gets harder and more and more responsibilities falls on us. Challenges at every corner, wears on your soul.

Also on Thursday, got a text from John Sauls of the passing of a  long time friend, Butch Owens. Butch and his wife Ruby, were true servants of God. Butch was a master carpenter and helped us build a house for a lady living in a town north of Shreveport. Every Saturday, Butch, John and I would drive the 20 miles, work on her house and drive back. Never once did I hear from Butch any grumbling's of this is too much.

You just never know what the next day will bring. You just never know when God will say, it is time. Are you ready? Knowing Richard, Dorothy, Wilton, Butch, they were ready. They lvoed the Lord with all their hearts. The light of Jesus shined through each one of them, drowning out the darkness they faced. We are so busy with our lives, I worry, we are not preparing our souls for when God decides to takes us to Him. All the wealth, the stuff we strive, consuming our liives means nothing in the eyes of the Lord. It is our relationships with each other, our moments of laughter together, is what is important. Our relationship with Jeus, is what will lead us home.

Yes, it is sad when we loose someone we lvoe, but it is also a blessing to have known them. Seeing them live their lives is an example of how we can live our lives. Let's start the new year, living like Richard, Dorothy, Wilton, Butch did! Amen.

Hope you have a great week, living life to the fulliest for Jesus!

Decide, Act, Persevere

Happy New Year to everybody!! First week of the year is in the books, hope it was a good one for all of you!

Scott and Dawn made the rounds to visit our friends. Everybody seem to be doing ok. We will need to bring some warm clothes this week, suppose to be cold.

With school out for the holidays, children's activities are still quiet. School is back in Monday, so our next semester will get underway this coming week.

Tuesday evening, New Year's Eve, the men gathered to listen to Rickie led in the reading from 1 Peter 1: 1-13. We talked about submitting to God's authority in our lives. Only then we will experience the full blessings from God. Why do we try to resist so and try to do everything ourselves?

Thursday we got the evening started off with our friends Heather, Derek and Richard in chapel. Followed by a meal cooked by Abbey and her crew. Lisa and Rickie gave out groceries bagged up by Ms Abbie. We are in the process of moving our clothing room, so it is not opened yet. Our older neighborhood boys continue to provide a challenge to us in their behavior. We are trying to see if some of our community men can talk with them to settle down their emotions. The guys from our Macroni camp washed and cleaned all the dishes. Summer Grove youth pastor led children's church. All and all it was a good night.

We have youth groups from Bossier coming Friday and Saturday of this week to help around the center. Lots of work will be done in the clothing room. Rickie is putting in a new floor for us in the office. Almost completed, go by and take a look. We are trying to decide if we want to continue this flooring in the hallway and fellowship hall.

Ms Abbie said Ms Dorothy has been released from the hospital and into the care of Hospice. Prayers for her and her family as she goes through the final stages of her life. Not sure if she is home or with her sister.

Pastor Richard talked about Nehemiah in chapel Thursday. He came up with a word DAP. Nehemiah "decided" to follow God's word in building the wall. He "acted" on his decision and Nehemiah "persevered" in his endeavor. A good way for us to remember as we begin a new year, decide, act and persevere.

Many of us will have new challenges in the coming year. Some will have the excitement of new jobs. Others the challenges of being born again in Christ. Some, the responsibilities of leading others to Christ. We will face financial challenges. Some will be facing the obstacles of sickness in ourselves and our love ones. We just don't know what is ahead of us in this new year. We will have God with us to meet these challenges.

Nehemiah decided to go to Jerusalem and build a wall, only to find resistance and persecution. We will do the same in our journeys. Following the will of God is not the way of the world. But that is ok. As long as we stay in God's will, He will provide. 

Many times our challenges this year will seem overwhelming. It would be easy to say this is too hard. I can't do this. This is not what I signed up for. But remember, who is in charge! It is not "I" but God within me doing this. God will be with you every step of the way.

The other thought is persevere. Or sometimes I think of the word I hate! patience. Often times when we are going through the challenges of our decisions, struggling with what people are saying about our actions, we do not see the blessings of it all, unless we persevere. The older I get the faster I want to see things happen! God's timing is not ours, so sometimes we must persevere in order to reap the awards of God's timing. Something I am learning, not sure I like it, but always, things work out for the best when we follow God's timing.

All of this goes along with what the men talked about Tuesday evening, submitting to the will of God in our lives. We can not, should not go it alone as we go about our lives in this new year. God is in control, accept it, embrace it and live a life worthy of His glory.

Exciting times ahead for us. Let's "decide" to follow Christ, "act" as Christ would and "persevere" in our journeys this year. Can't wait to hear about all your stories! Amen.

Hope your week is a filled with many blessings!