Be strong and courageous!

The morning after! Did anybody eat too much turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, dressing, pies, and cakes?! Hope your time with your family and friends was special!

Saturday was another day in the neighborhood full of joy and excitement. Our visits with our friends living outside was nice. Our bread got wrapped. Garden work was done. Basketball was happening. Clothes were washed. Lots of laughter was everywhere. It was a good God day!

With the Thanksgiving holiday break happening in the schools, no tutoring happened but we are excited to get started next week!

Tuesday evening the men and women gathered for their Bible fellowship. Rickie led the men's gathering reading from Joshua, talking about stepping up when God calls you to do something. A lesson we can all learn to do.

Several nights last week, the servants from The Church at Red River continued their work on the Bright House II. The sheet rocking is just about done thanks to their hard work!

Thanksgiving evening, Joey and Tim turned on the ovens at 3 and by 5 o'clock we were serving our meal! We had more people to join us than expected, coming to sit and visit, watch a football game on TV while enjoying our time together. Hunger does not take a day off. Opening the doors allows our community, who does not have family, to gather together. We have become family to a lot of our neighbors! Very cool.

Prayers for those traveling and keeping them safe on their journeys. Prayers for the families who have love ones not feeling well. Prayers for families who are going through the holidays without their love ones for the first time.

Common Ground will be busy this holiday season with events happening all across our city. If you can be there at any of these happenings please do so. There will be a book signing at Barnes and Noble, December 7th, in the evening with our long time friend Judy Christie promoting her new book .As part of their Joy Fund annual drive, The Shreveport Times is putting on an event aimed at young professionals to get toy donations for Common Ground's Christmas Market.  It will be held at the Great Raft Brewery on December 11th from 6 - 9 PM. For those who attend Grace, Lisa is looking for help to man the table in the gathering area to receive items for the Christmas Market for the next 4 weekends. Our Christmas Market will be happening on Saturday December 19th, everybody's help will be needed.

Reading Joshua 1: 1-9, God tells Joshua, I need you to step and lead my people into the promised land. Joshua had been a leader in training, helping Moses along their journey. When Moses was called home to be with God, Joshua stepped in and became the leader God needed. Joshua was going to take his people into uncharted territory, a new land, a strange place, a scary thought, but God tells Joshua, don't worry I will be with you every step of the way. He reminds Joshua to be strong and courageous. Then end of verse 5, God says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous . . . 

Verse 7 starts off with Be strong and courageous. And in verse 9, God says,"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." 

Joshua was groomed to be a leader. You all are being groomed to be leaders.We need to learn from those who have become before us to step up and lead when it is our turn. When I was asked to take a truck load of can goods to a church in an urban setting, was I scared, you betchua, but I knew God was with me. When we started attending a church where we were not always greeted with compassion, did we stop going, no because we knew God was there with us. Be strong and courageous.

When God wanted us to start serving a meal because our community was hungry, we stepped up. We didn't have the answers of where the money and food was coming from, we just did it, knowing God was with us and He would provide. Be strong and courageous.

When we saw the children of the community needing help with school work, we opened our doors. Did we have a clue what we were doing, no, but we did it, knowing God was with us. Be strong and courageous.

When we decided to buy some property in the neighborhood did we have a clue what God's plan was at that time, no way! But He wanted us to Be strong and courageous.

When we began to turn a drug selling house into a place where we could gather as a community, did we know that this process would change lives, no clue! But He is reminding us to be strong and courageous.

When we dreamed of having a building where ministries could happen to help our community break the cycle of poverty, did we stop and wait for answers, no we moved ahead, painting, repairing, cleaning, hearing God tell us to be strong and courageous.

We have many new opportunities awaiting us. We will always want to know the answers before we move forward. In God's Kingdom, there is only one who knows the answers. It is my experience, God will challenge us to do things that are not expected or out of our comfort zones. He will asks us to move in directions that we had not planned for. He will put dreams in front us that seem impossible. Is it scary, will it make us nervous,  it does not seem logical, but that is ok, because like God told Joshua, be strong and courageous because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go! How comforting is that! Amen!

Let us be strong and courageous in our journeys this week. What blessings and joys will we get to experience! Hope to see you around the center and at our events. Is God good??!!

Community

What a cool crisp morning it is in North Louisiana. The leaves on the trees are all sorts of colors, flowers blooming from the fall rains, God is busy creating another master piece!

Last Saturday was a busy day in and around the center. The servants from The Church at Red River gathered at the Bright House II and began the next phase of the restoration. Over 20 men, women and children were nailing, hammering, laughing, as the sheet rock began to go up! Even one of our long time pastors, drove up from New Orleans to be a part of the day! As we were leaving Saturday afternoon, Matt and Vicki were busy hosting the basketball team with their meal, Bible study and play. Scott and Jim went around to the camps, finding all doing well. Ardis and Momma T were busy wrapping bread. Shannon and Pam were busy in the Market putting away a huge donation of can goods. What a day! God is good!

Monday, our children came to learn, study and play. Great to see so many children and tutors come together learning from each other.

Wednesday, Scott and a new friend Bruce delivered a big donation of food to the Market from a Boy Scout food drive. Most Wednesdays you will find Pam and her dad working hard in the Market preparing for Thursdays. Every Wednesday morning you will find Ms Abbie and Stephanie working in the clothing room straightening, sorting and hanging clothes. What true servants of God, working behind the scenes and not getting the recognition they deserve.

Tuesday evening, Noel led the men's Bible fellowship, reading from John 15, the vine and bushes. Joey led us several weeks ago in this passage, but as usual, new thoughts and ideas arose from our discussions.

Thursday evening was a night to remember.Ms Abbie and Brother George got the evening off with praises and Words of wisdom in chapel. Not sure I have seen so much food, so many servants, so many community members at one time! Record number of people being served and going through the Market. Allison and Momma T spent Tuesday evening decorating the tables, the community came into the dining hall sat down and they were served a meal. We had long time friends, Tom and Judy join us for the evening, supplying us their food specialties to make the evening even more special. We had Brother George's church and a group from The Church at Red River help us serve, clean up and be our hosts for the evening. One of our long time supporters, Sherry, turn our back hallway into a photography studio and took portraits of the community all night long. Allison has a surprise for us all with the pictures after they are developed.

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you today, Beth. Hope your day is special.

We have enough food from Thursday night to have left overs for this coming Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. We will warm them up, and serve those who come. If you want to get out of the house, we will be gathering around 4, pretty low key, visiting with each other and community.

This Saturday, Joey and his cooking crew will be hosting a breakfast for us all. Breakfast will be served at 8:30. A long time tradition of ours, that was postponed for awhile but Joey felt the need to get it going again. Joey will have a sign up sheet asking others to host upcoming breakfasts. Please come and enjoy the hot coffee and good conversations.

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody! What a special time of year to be with family and friends.

I saw in the newspaper several weeks ago about a promotion honoring several charities. The promotion was very nice but started me thinking about the word charity. I saw in an email last week asking of their members, to get involved because this is a good way to do charity work. All the organizations are doing good work for their clients but I thought to myself, common ground is not a charity, we don't do charity work.

As the community gathers in chapel each week, they visit with each other asking how their week went.  Each week they ask how my wife is doing. Recently, one of our members told me not to worry about her, she would be gone for the next two weeks. They share with the community, their hurts and their joys. The kids run in and out of chapel, as they do at home. They come dressed up or in their work clothes. We get hugs from our community. We hear jokes, some I can't repeat here! When the community needs a place to gather for a funeral, a baby shower, a wedding, they gather at the center. We get to celebrate a graduation or morn a loss. We are family!

I put in a search for the word charity in the Bible and nothing came up?! Charity is not listed but the word love is. That is what common ground does, we lvoe! Lvoe puts you on a different level with community. There is no us and them, no better than, mentality, When our community hurts we hurt. When we see the darkness that surrounds our community, we fight to bring light. When we experience the challenges of living in poverty we long to break those chains of oppression.

In Colossians 3: it talks about the forgiving one another, forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. Then in verse 14  it says, "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Our community is bound together in the lvoe of Jesus, no one better than another, no color is seen, just all of us trying to be the kind of people Christ is asking of us. When we fall, we have each other to help us get back on the paths we need to be on. Amen!

Have a great week of food, family and celebration of what God is doing in and through your life. You are an amazing group of people, doing God's work through lvoe!

Please be quiet!

What a gorgeous fall morning in our part of the world. Hopefully your home is enjoying God's majestic canvas also.

We were spending time with the grand children last Saturday, so I was not around the center. I know it was busy as usual. God's work is never done, even if we take a day off sometimes!

Mondays and Wednesdays continue to bring us joy. After our snacks and exercises, we now have Bible story time! Great to see the kids sitting, listening to Bible stories, learning about God and seeing how God is working in their little lives. We can always use your help and heart, come join us.

Tuesday evening, the ladies and mens Bible fellowship were happening. Brother George shared from 1 John 5: 15-17 talking about spiritual problems. We live in a world hurting and dark, we are the light, needing to share that light with others. Do we or is our light covered with a shade?

Thursday evening got started off with Willie and Wes sharing their gifts in chapel. Wes and I were outside chapel talking, the door of the chapel opened up and Willie was already singing! Looked down at my watch, it was 5:30 and we were still singing, Praising God! Allison and Ms Abbie worked all afternoon making their world famous hot dog casserole and banana pudding, a bit hit with the community. We had some new friends from the nursing school help serve and clean up. The Market continues to be a hit with the community choosing items they will use during the week. Our new friend Jim opened up the clothing closet to help others in need of the basics of life. You just never know what and who God will bring each week, part of the joy and mystery of being a part of His Kingdom.

Next Thursday is our traditional Thanksgiving meal. Your help will be needed. Please come.

This week has been a busy one for the Bright House II. With God's timing, all the inspections are done and the next phase of our resurrection can start. The Church at Red River will have a big crew of servants working this Saturday starting the process of sheet rocking. Work will begin at 8 am. Joey will be cooking hamburgers at noon. Please come and join in as we become the hands and feet of Jesus.

Continued prayers for Ginellen. Her doctor said to her this week, maybe we should send you to a tent revival! You need to heal lady, the doctor said! Prayers for Matt and Vicki and the health of Matt's mom. Prayers for our community. Life is hard, the pressures of evil is strong in our community and God's light needs to shine bright.

I told Willie, last week in chapel the noise level was high and tempers were hot, just be prepared for the messiness of life. He reminded me, Jesus' ministry was anything but quiet. Some crowds praised him, some crowds wanted to kill him, nothing quiet about that!

We all grew up in church where you left your problems outside the church, you got quiet for an hour and then when you got back in your car, the arguing could start up again. That was the way church was for me. But do you think that is what Jesus wanted for His church?

Willie reminded me, our community is noisy. The music is loud, the conversations are loud, the neighborhoods are loud. God is providing a place where the noisyness of life can come together and worship, find peace, find hope and find lvoe.

Is it easy, no. Is it the way we want, no. But I am reminded again, it is not about us, but about God. We have young men who come on Tuesday and Thursday nights that are loud. You can hear the music playing even through their ear phones. Even the ring tones are loud! But guess what they are with us, not on the corners selling drugs! Our jobs are to open our hearts and our doors to plant the seeds of the lvoe of Jesus and let God grow the fruit.

I can't tell you how many times, my mom had to poke me, pull my ear, bribe me with candy to be quiet in church. But I was there! We need to do the same with our community. My mom and dad have both past away, not sure they would believe what their little mischievous boy is doing now. We may never see the fruits of our labor but that is ok, that is not our job or our purpose. We are providing a place where the seeds are being planted and one day the fruits of God's lvoe will be shown throughout our community! What a joy and a blessing to be able to do God's work! Amen!

Hope your week is full of God's richest blessings. Please join us this week and experience the fruit God is producing!

Is it love and lvoe?

Let there be rain! For months we have been needing rain and now we have it! How are you doing in your part of the world?! God knows what we need, even though some of us like to complain about it!

We had another rainy Saturday to get our week started off. When you live outdoors, you find ways to try and stay dry. Abandon warehouses with empty loading docks provide a way to get out of the rain, under over passes while cars speed along on top keeps us from getting completely soaked. You find a way to survive. What is the saying, one man's curse is another man's blessing! With the rain, many soccer games were canceled so Jim and John had a full house of folks working in the Bright House. No better way to spend a rainy morning than wrapping bread, Ms Abbie, Momma T, Alice and Ardis can attest to that! Vicki comes in later in the morning and her crew gets lunch ready for the basketball players. A full morning of fun and joy.

Monday and Wednesday afternoons continue to bring more joy to us all. Watching the kids get off the bus and all of the children run up to Lisa giving her hugs is priceless. One of the girls needed a shirt for school, so we take time to go get her one. You won't find that in any report! Waiting with the children who don't ride the bus, playing games, laughing, joking with them all adds up to a lifetime of memories. Pardon me while a boast for a moment, we had a new helper Wednesday afternoon! My mother-in-law came to help out! Mrs Joyner has heard me talk about Common Ground for all these years. She has helped us with donations, but for some reason she decided to come, what a miracle! Don't you want to be a miracle in someone eyes, come and experience what God is doing.

Tuesday evening, Joey led the men's Bible fellowship talking about the beginning and the end of Jesus' ministry. Jesus says to his disciples, he says to us, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." Pretty simply, why do we make is so complicated! Momma T and Ms Abbie was leading the ladies Bible fellowship in the friendship room. I noticed as we were leaving for the evening, the lights were still on and they were still talking about God! Awesome!

Wednesday evening the Bright House II was lit up with men and electricity! Did you all see the picture on our Face book page? The Church at Red River is working nonstop to make God's house live able. No greater witness to see men work all day at their day jobs and then spend hours working for God's Kingdom. What a blessing.

Thursday evening rain was predicted but God had other plans. A packed house for chapel led by Joey and Ms Abbie. Joey talked about lvoing others as Jesus has lvoed us. It was hard to do in chapel, with the noise level being so loud. You have a lot of people packed into a small room and noise is going to happen. We need to pray for the doors of our sanctuary to open, so we can fill that room up with the Spirit! Allison and Ms Abbie worked tirelessly Thursday afternoon to bring us a meal everybody enjoyed. We had new friends from Grace join us to help serve and clean up. The Market was busy as usual with new helpers helping the community pick out items they needed. A steady stream of community was "shopping" for clothes for their families. The rain came but not until everybody got home, thank you God!

Continue your prayers for Ginellen. She had a new pain this week but the doctor assured her it was nothing bad. Your prayers worked a miracle for Noel. Noel shared with the men Tuesday evening and again in chapel, one week he had colon cancer, the next week he did not! Praise God! Pray for one of our community members' husband. Listening to her talk about her husband's upcoming heart surgery, she was scared. Another reminder to me of what our community faces everyday. Ginellen and I have been suffering through her illness for almost two years. We are educated and still don't understand everything that is happening to her. Our community is not educated and the doctors tell them what is about to happen and they have no clue what the doctors are about to do.

Joey talked about the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Matthew 3: 13-18. The first order of business for Jesus to begin his ministry was to get baptized. As Jesus came out of the water, heaven was opened, the Spirit of God came down and a voice said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Then in John 15, as Jesus is concluding his ministry, he tells his disciples in verse 10, If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love."

Joey asked us, what is the common theme in these two passages and really in the ministry of Jesus? Of course it is all about love. It is the kind of love that we can not produce but the kind of love that will produce fruit that will last. Verse 16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit-fruit that will last . . " Fruit that looks like shoppers at a Market, servers in a line, cooks, dishwashers, hammering a nail, teaching, visiting friends living outdoors, making the books balance, paying bills, sweeping the floors, giving hugs, keeping quiet when you want to scream, doing things you don't want to do, attending meetings, coaching, giving talks. As Joey reminded us it is all about love or as we like spell it around our community "lvoe"!

In John, Jesus is empowering his friends, his disciples not to worry, I am about to leave you but you are not on this journey alone, I am with you always. In verse 14, Jesus says, "You are my friends if you do what I command." And He finishes his conversation with verse 17, "This is my command: Love each other." Do you want Jesus to be your friend, lvoe others. Do you want Jesus to be with you always, lvoe others. It is not our love that Jesus is seeking, but the "lvoe" of Jesus lvoing others! Amen

Hope you have a great week and a blessed time with Jesus. What will your "lvoe" moment look like this week?! Hope you can join us at the center this week, but if you can't or for those of you out of town, please show your "lvoe" by praying for our community! Peace and joy to all.