Life is challenging!

Another week has come and gone. God is busy. All sorts of things happening in and around our community. Hope your world was busy with God's many blessings this week.

Scott had a full crew with him as they made their rounds visiting our friends living outside. The city has moved Robert from under the bridge. They have been talking about doing it for a year, it finally happened this week. After the visits, Scott went back and loaded up his truck with Robert's stuff and moved to his old place down the road. An old friend, Donny was back at his camp, hopefully not for good!

Others of us on Saturday morning were walking with the firemen of the area, installing smoke alarms in houses. It felt good to get out and meet and greet with our community and introduce our neighbors to the firemen. Our basketball team continued to practice preparing for their next game.

Later on in the morning, more of us attended the graduation of Sonatra. Sonatra is a product of our community, no supervision leading to undesirable actions in his young life. With his mentor, Matt, who encouraged him to stay the course, enabling him to accomplish this milestone. He has his GED, has 15 hours of college hours and looking forward to what life has in store for him. This is a start for our young men, hopefully others will see the example Sonatra has accomplished and will do the same.

Our learning to read afternoons continue with new and energetic helpers. We could always use more servants, so please join us.

Tuesday evening, Rickie led our men's Bible fellowship, reading from Psalm 121. Reading about how the creator of the heavens and earth, is concerned for each one of us, watching over us morning, noon and night! What good news is that!

Some of us had the opportunity to visit with the young people of the Yellow House Wednesday night as they hosted the author Jonathan Wilson Hargrove. Jonathan, friends with Shane, lives in a community with Phil's son Matt in North Carolina. He then came by our community on Thursday morning for a short visit. Good thoughts and ideas shared by Jonathan.

I was gone for Thursday's activities, so others will have to let us know how things went.

Lisa spent most of her week, showing young leaders of the community, our community. New people are inquiring about our community, churches wanting to do more with us, all exciting prospects challenging us! God is good!

Many new opportunities will be happening this coming week! Can't wait to share the good news!

Continued prayers for my sister's family as they go through the death of their daughter. It was good to see family from all over the country, coming down and supporting the family. You begin to ask God, why, but no answers are adequate. Life is precious folks, don't put off things until tomorrow, because tomorrow may not come. Prayers for Matt and his family for his mother and her declining health.

God will only put before you what you can handle. I have heard that for many years. Sometimes, especially this past few weeks, I wonder? We try to comfort love ones. Try to stay strong when others are weak. Try to offer support to our family members who are hurting. I am realizing, I can't do this by myself, God has to be my rock.

Hugs are given, not by me, but the Spirit within me. Tears are shared with others, not by me, but Christ within me. God wants us to come him, when we are hurting, He is there for us. He will be our comforter during these times of struggle. Something I am realizing, my relationship seems to be getting stronger, the more I ask Him for support. Isn't that what He desires of us, a closer relationship!

When we are pulled 14 different ways, stop and ask God to be our director. When death occurs, stop and ask God to wrap His lvoing arms around us. When life doesn't go as we would like, stop and ask the Holy Spirit to be our comforter. Christ is there for us, He yearns for us to be our supporter. He wants nothing more than to have a personal relationship with us. It is up to us to make the first move! Amen!

Hope your coming week is fruitful, full of God's blessings! Life is good, God is better!

What is God up to?!

This week has been a blur! I have talked about, how sometimes our daily lives become routine. We wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed and start back the next day. But this week has been different. When a family member passes, your routine changes, at least for awhile. With the passing of Ginellen's daddy, your perspective on life changes. Things we take for granted, like Papa saying the blessing at the table, will not be there anymore. His funny nature, always cutting up for a laugh, the house is now quiet. His unique way of being sure everybody was ok, his comforting presence will not be there.

Mr Joyner's brother, 92 years of age, also struggling with life, told the family Thursday morning, at his brother's bedside, I had a feeling I needed to call Hubert last week, but I never did. We were sad for his brother, longtime buddies, not saying goodbye to his friend and brother. Another example of what we have learned and heard over the years, don't put off today because tomorrow may never come. Lvoe those who have harmed you today, lvoe those around you today, lvoe those who you might not even know today.

Life goes on, certainly in our community! Visits happened Saturday morning, basketball was played, reading after school was done, meetings were attended, new friends were made, scripture was read and talked about, chapel was full of song and Word, meals were served, groceries were handed out, clothes were given away, life goes on.

Continued prayers for Ginellen and her family. Prayers for Jerry, who had another episode and more stints put in his heart Tuesday. I forgot to mention, Ms Abbie's Joe had another seizure a couple of weeks ago. He passed out on the front porch, ended up in the hospital for a night and is now home recovering. 

Monday we hosted, not only Centenary students, but members of the fire, police departments, the Mayor's office, public officials, Carl and I were able to attend a meeting Wednesday night with other Angel Award recipients to discuss an upcoming grant application. Grant monies awarded to us. Lisa and Carl attended another meeting Thursday evening with more than 16 other non-profits. This week the question many are asking, What is God up to?

One of the non-profits we talked to Wednesday night, talked about numbers, you need to run 200 kids through to make a profit. Other non-profits there, were big names, all we know about, with big budgets and big payrolls. Lisa and Carl spent most of their night telling others about who Common Ground is, no one has heard of us.

Common Ground is unique among non profits. Most non profits start off with a good idea, but then along the way, they start hiring people. Then you change from seeking funds for your cause to seeking funds for your payroll. We always hear, it takes money to hire the people to run your program. I understand that, but common ground is not most agencies. We have always been about our community, not about ourselves. We have always been about God, not about us looking good.

We must stay true to our vision of who we are and who we are about. I tell the story, many years ago, of my longing for the old vacant church building sitting there decaying, wanting to open it up for a community center. If God would have given me the keys then, I would have not known what to do with it. Lisa shows up for our tutoring in the afternoons, saying this is where God is calling me to be. I say to her, I think God has more in store for you than just tutoring, and the rest is history so far.

We want our community to have all the opportunities it can have, but we must understand, those opportunities will come in God's timing not ours. There are plenty of people in the world who can share their gifts and time with our community, we just have to be there and show them the way. As we talked about in the end of Matthew, we are to go out and make disciples in all the world.

Our jobs, are to share our lvoe of community with others. Our jobs are to share the lvoe of Christ with others. Our jobs are to be ready, listen and obey. We have to be patient, something I am not, and have faith God will provide. He has brought us this far, for a reason. He wants to show other communities, His Kingdom can exist on earth, as it is in heaven!  What is God up to?! Amen!

Shout, Praise, Sing

Another week has come to a close in our new year. Hope your week was exciting and full of laughter!

Scott, Hat and Dawn started our week off right by taking lunch Friday to our friends living outside. It was much appreciated by them all.

Saturday we checked in on them again. The cold temperatures continued but the warm hearts of our servants helped endure the day. It was great to have our long time friend back with us Dawn. Also, Phil was able to join us, almost fully recovered from his knee accident. The basketball team practiced at a community center due to the cold weather. Ardis and Momma T were there to wrap our bread. Later in the day work continued on the Bright House.

Monday, we did not have our reading time with the children due to the bus driver being sick. Carl was able to push things along and get a substitute driver for Wednesday. When Carl called the parents of the children on Monday telling them their child would not be able to come, the parents told Carl how much they were disappointed because their children love to come so much. We had lots of help from some new friends on Wednesday. Thanks to all of you for helping us out.

Tuesday evening Rickie led our men's Bible fellowship, reading from Isaiah 12. The Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. Where does your strength come from? Verse 4, Give praise to the Lord Verse 5, Sing to the Lord Verse 6, Shout aloud. All He has done for us,  the least we can do is to shout praises!

Following our fellowship, we were blessed to be spectators of our basketball team's first game. The Cedar Grove Chargers represented themselves well through sportsmanship and their hard play. Thanks to Matt, Vicky, Byron, Tim and Chuck for being so obediant, faithful, and caring for the past few months, giving our young people the opportunity to participate and learn the ways of our Lord.

Thursday evening, Brother George shared the Word and led the singing. TJ and friends prepared a delicious meal. We had a nice surprise at our meal, as one of the Mardi Gras crews shared their fun loving activities of marching and bead throwing. Pictures are already up of the evening. What a great time.

Thank you for your kind thoughts and ask for your continued prayers for Ginellen and her family as they deal with the loss of their daddy and husband. I remember years ago Sione saying, just because the person is no longer with you, your love does not stop. A marriage of 65 years, a devoted father to the girls, a loving Papa to the grand children, makes the hurt even harder. 

In the coming weeks, we will begin to work Saturday mornings at the Bright House. We will start around 8:30. The bathroom plumbing is just about done, so our part will be starting. We have taken down doors in between the rooms and we will need to cover them up with new sheet rock, painting will be done, windows will be ordered and we will have to put them in, a new attic staircase will be installed, lots to do in a short amount of time. Alan or Brian should be there to get you started in one of our projects.

Reading the 12th chapter of Isaiah the other night reminded me of the joy and peace that has come into my life as I allowed the Holy Spirit to work through me. Shouldn't we shout to the roof tops about that! We have often shared our stories about our indescribable joy we feel when we humble ourselves to the Lord.

The end of Matthew, verses 19 and 20, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."  We are commanded to do so, not because these are some words we need to learn, but it is something that will change your life! When you feel the change that comes over you, you want everybody to feel the same way! You want to shout, to sing it, to praise His Holy name! Amen.

This week, may we shout to the Lord, sing His praises and yes, maybe dance a jig to His Holy Spirit! Have a great week. 

The one inside of you

I know there is a time for every season, but may I say, I don't really like this season of cold and wet! Some of our coldest temperatures of the season in this part of the world has hit us. Not good for plants, people or our pets. Hope your week has been enjoyable staying inside by the fireplace!

Saturday was a cold rainy morning. Scott continues to make the rounds to visit our friends living outside. We can get into our warm cars, go inside the house and turn on the heat, living outside, you have no options like that. Staying inside your tent or cardboard house in your sleeping bag covered with blankets provides the only relief from the cold. All our camps were doing ok, the hot coffee and a little conversation helps break the cycle of cold for a few minutes.

The bread ministry continues to share their efforts with the community on Saturday mornings. A request was made by Ardis for some help on Saturday mornings. If I may say Ardis, it was not the usual request, but one of support to help her resist the bagels and sweet rolls! The ladies work for a couple of hours sorting, wrapping and freezing the bread each Saturday, from 9 - 11. Your help would be appreciated!

Our basketball team continues to prepare for their upcoming league play. With the bad weather, they have been practicing at a local community center. The community center's director came to help us one Thursday and she commented on how well the boys behaved at her center. Then she said, one boy couldn't stay any longer because he had to get to Bible study at common ground! She was very impressed. Our team first game will be Tuesday. Matt will let us know the place and time. It would be nice for as many of us who could make the game to show our support for the boys.

With the start of a new year, our learning to read program got going again in the afternoons. With some of our college student's change in their schedules we could use your help. We meet from 3 - 5 Monday and Wednesday.

Tuesday evening was our first time in the chapel in a long time when we had heat! Thanks to God, donations came in to allow us to purchase a unit for the chapel and we are blessed now to worship without shivering! We had a treat, Carl was back with us after a month of rehab from his pace maker procedure. He looked good and he felt good he said. Matt read from Matthew 18, starting at verse 15. We ended up for most of the night talking about verses 21 on, forgiveness. Surely I don't have to forgive someone who has wronged me! Why, I am perfect, I did nothing wrong! What did God do for us? Unless we forgive, God will not do the same for us!

Another reminder of our faithful ladies, Stephannie and Ms Abbie, every Wednesday morning come to help sort, hang and arrange our clothing room. We have received a bountiful amount of clothes at the end of the year. The ladies could use your help. They start around 9 and finish up at 11.

Thursday afternoon chapel got started off with our pastor unable to be there, but as usual God provided us His servant, George, who blessed us with song and words. Wes, shared his gift of playing the piano and chapel time was never better. Amazing how that works! A good meal, lots of help from our children of the community and another good evening.

Following our meal, Lisa had our monthly Board meeting. Some things that were discussed. With our abundance of donations from the following year, we have begun the remodeling of the Bright House I. Some changes in the bathroom, laundry room and mainly the insulation of the house will be done. Lisa shared, Lauren our longtime intern, has asked if she could have her wedding in the garden the end of May! Not sure we had to vote on whether we would allow that! All the ladies on the Board are already planning the event! Lisa shared, we had a big year in donations. Mainly donations were small but more of them. We had donations from all over the country. Our Facebook page, newspaper articles and other media outlets touch people and they give.

David gave a report on the Christmas Market. A great success. Some tweaking will be done for next year, but all in all, a great time was had by all. Saturday, January 17th, Momma T will host our second open house. Next Thursday, we will have our fist Mardi Gras parade hosted by "real" Mardi Gras folks! One of the crews will be marching around the fellowship hall, in their full regalia, throwing beads and having a good time.

Prayers for Matt's mom. Next week the family will be making a decision of long term care for her. Hard decisions, when our parents age and their health begins to decline. Prayers for Matt as he has a hernia procedure scheduled for Tuesday. Outdoor Jerry, had another heart scare Monday and was transported to Highland hospital. He was back with us Thursday but didn't look too good. Ms Abbie's Joe's youngest daughter in Houston had a heart attack this week. The family has a history of heart disease. Prayers for our neighbors. There was a fire at a house across the street from Alan and Phil. An elderly man and his bed ridden sister lived there. The man covered up his sister from the fire to allow her to be pulled to safety by the firemen. He unfortunately died at the scene. He was always nice to us when we visited him. I remember asking him one year if he would like a Thanksgiving meal. He said, that would be nice, but could I have two meals! Always thinking of his sister.

Brother George read from 1 John chapter 4, talking about the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Lots of good discussions in the Board meeting of ideas, dreams of what we would like to see for our community in the coming year. There will be challenges associated with these ideas and dreams. We will not know the answers to the questions we will have, but don't let that stop us from moving forward. 

Working in the Kingdom business is different than working in the world. In the world, we plan, execute the plan and get the results. We don't deviate from those plans, we don't move forward until we know all the answers, we put all our faith in those plans.

God doesn't work that way. He asks us to listen, to obey and to be patient. We move forward when we fill His spirit inside of us saying it is time. God will bring whoever He needs, He will supply the needs, He will guide us along the way, we just need to have faith in Him. The one who created the universe is inside of us. Nothing is too great to get it done as long as we do it in God's time.

Exciting times are ahead for us and our community. We have no idea what blessings God has in store for us but know they will beyond our imaginations. The one who is inside each one of us, together will be the community He desires for the building of His Kingdom! Amen!

Try to stay warm and dry in this season! Blessings to all!

Traditions

These holiday weeks pass by fast. You anticipate family coming, getting the meals prepared, attending various holiday events and before you know it, the week has come and gone.Now we are at the beginning of a new year! Wow, hope your week was filled with joy and blessings!

No better way to start off the week, then visiting our friends who live outside last Saturday. We had a nice surprise, Gus and a friend joined us. Scott made his way around, checking on our friends, all seem to be doing fine. I had a special time, as my 3 year old grandson joined me at the center to make coffee, helped me mop the kitchen floor and then we went to visit Turner and Smokey. Lane loves trains, so guess what we saw on Turner's train track! Then we visited Smokey and Lane got to turn on and off Smokey's Christmas tree lights! A great morning!

Tuesday evening, the men gathered for Bible fellowship reading from Matthew chapter 15 verses 1 - 20. Jesus says to the Pharisees, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Ouch. We thought we were doing all the right things, but it was for man not for God. Who are we doing things for?

Thursday evening, Peaches cooked up a delicious meal of ham, peas, cornbread and salad, There was a small crowd of community to come and enjoy the evening. Good for us to visit with those that came. Sonotra was there, on his last break from school. He will be graduating from his school the end of January! What an accomplishment!

With school getting back and running Monday, we will continue our Learning to Read program. We can always use your help. Please come and enjoy the time together with the children, each Monday and Wednesday from 3 - 5.

Continued prayers for Ginellen. She continues to be without pain but struggling with her 'appliance". Prayers for all of us to allow God's will to control our lives and the decisions we make. Prayers for safe travel of family and friends traveling home after the holidays.

Jesus asked in Matthew 15 verse 4, "Why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?" It is easy for us to get comfortable in our lives. We get up, go to work, come home, eat supper, go to bed and do the same thing the next day. Not much room for Jesus there. Where do we step out in faith in our traditions of life?

It is easy for us to worship the traditions of our lives, because it is easy to do so. We can have traditions in our worship and in our lives. Traditions are good if they bring us closer to God. 

Years ago, I was helping in the sound booth at a church. It was time to open the doors for worship. Someone asked were are the bulletins? One person asked another, I thought you printed them up. The other one said, no, I thought you were getting them done. Then they all panicked, no bulletins, there can be no worship! There were always bulletins to hand out, how can we have church without them? How do we know the order to sing, pray, collect the offering, preach? Even though they had been doing the same order of worship for many years, they still needed a bulletin to worship! That was their tradition. Our focus each week can easily take us away from God. Our traditions can become our gods if we let them.

As we begin a new year, let's focus our lives on our God and His traditions. Man has created many traditions. God only has two, lvoe the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. Lvoe others as you would have them lvoe you. Worshipping God's traditions will bring us closer to Him and to others! Amen!

Hope your new year is full of lvoing God and lvoing others!