Who is Jesus?

And we're off!

The first week of camp has come and gone! Great to see all the activities going on. Lunch, artistic pieces being created, discovering new worlds and adventures, learning, playing, smiles everywhere, little ones being lvoed on. Thursday was water mountain fun time in the green area at the center. One of the side objectives was to wear out the children, so they would be quiet the rest of the evening! Guess what, that didn't work! Great times, adventures continue next week.

Tuesday evening, the men gathered for Bible fellowship. Joey shared the Word from Luke 7. John the Baptist sent some of his men to see if Jesus was the Messiah? Instead of Jesus telling the men who he was, Jesus says watch. Jesus could have shared who He was but He was a man of action. Are we? Do we talk the talk or do we walk the walk?

Wednesday morning, we had the youth from Grace Community come and help out around the center. Our chairs and tables are all nice and clean as well as the dining hall. Lots of hard work, thanks for coming by.

Thursday was a busy afternoon and evening. Our new education building had a ribbon cutting ceremony. Our friends from the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, Bossier Parish Community College, Willis Knighton, all came to be a part of a new adventure we are about to enter. BPCC will be hosting adult education classes at the building. A long time dream of many coming into reality! Praise God! Ms Abbie and the community choir led our singing and praising in chapel, as a new pastor shared the Word. Our friends from Elizabeth Baptist church showed up in full force helping us in all the areas at the center. A busy, blessed evening.

A question was asked Tuesday evening, How do you answer the question, are you a Christian? Yes, I go to church. I go to Sunday School. I sing in the choir. I am in a small group. I work in the Market. I help in the dining hall. All good ministries, but does that make you a Christian? How does that look to someone else who is not a Christian? Are we boasting? Are we bragging?

John the Baptist's men asked Jesus, Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? Jesus could have shared in Words who He was, but He did not. He chose to cure those who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. The messengers got to see first hand the miracles. Don't you think that made a huge impact on them?! We can hear about storm damage, but until we see it for ourselves, it does not have the same impact on our lives.

We have that opportunity everyday of our lives in our community. We need to be able to share who Jesus is and what He has done in our lives, but we also need to be able to share the miracles He is doing in our lives. We need to be able to go out and serve a meal to those living outside the walls. We need to make a place for God's children to come experience His lvoe for them. We need to lvoe on those who may not lvoe us back. We need to provide a place for young boys to learn to be young men of God. It is happening in our community everyday. God's Kingdom needs us all to be the hands and feet of Christ. Amen.

Wherever you go!

Good morning to all! It has been a couple of weeks since our last note. We have been spending time with our grandchildren, so all our energy has been on them. I will admit I have become proficient in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, P J Masks of the world, Alvin and the Chipmunks and many others! Glad to be back among our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Shawn, Joey and others visited our friends living outside. They all seem to be doing well. Not much drama last week. An update on Smokey. We visited him Tuesday, finding him sitting in his wheelchair wearing his coveralls! He is going to rehab two or three times a day. He is still having problems with his wound, which the doctors have changed their approach to it, so we are hoping it will heal sooner. With the help of Joey, he has applied for new housing and hopefully will hear back soon on that. His Medicaid has started, allowing him to stay where he is. William needs our prayers. Prayers for William to make the right choices for his life.

We now have a huge 20 something seat van for our use! It is parked in our parking lot for the moment ready for our first trip!

Tuesday evening the men gathered for their Bible fellowship. Brother Rickie led the discussions from Joshua. When God promises something,  it will happen. It may not be when we want it to happen, but it will happen when God is ready for it to happen.

Thursday evening was full of exciting prayers, songs, groceries, clothing and food! We had lots of help from the youth from Broadmoor Baptist. A blessed evening.

Next Thursday, the group Stomp from Broadmoor Baptist will be performing at our meal at 5:30. They came several years ago and it was amazing. You don't want to miss it this time!

The basketball teams are about to start playing in a new league this summer. As soon as we get their schedules, we will let you all know. Most of the games will be at First Baptist in Shreveport. The team is working hard improving their new building, working around the campus, earning points so they can take trips during the summer months. Call Matt or Vicki if you need help from the boys.

Sunday, the new summer camp team will be preparing for summer camp. Prayers for them all as they begin a new adventure. Lots of new faces will be joining us this summer. Can't wait to see what God will do in the building of relationships?!

God is encouraging Joshua to leave where they are and go into a new land. God is reminding Joshua, I will never leave you nor forsake you. In verse 9, God says to Joshua, "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."

Where are you going? Where is Common Ground going? We can get comfortable at times doing the same thing over and over, there is not much faith involved in that. To venture into un chartered waters is scary and uneasy to us. God was asking Joshua to prepare his people to move into a new land, to have faith. God reminding Joshua He would be with them.

God is asking the same of us. Where is your heart leading you? Where is God leading Common Ground? We maybe asked to move into a new land, to do something different, to take a risk, to change our surroundings, will we do it? Or find a reason not to? It is easy to continue to do what we have been doing, it may not be easy to move into a new land? But I want us to remember, to be strong and courageous, don't be afraid, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go! No better safety net can be found anywhere! Amen!

Hope you all have a blessed week. God is good!

Friends

It can't be Friday already! Where does our time go? Hopefully your time was blessed spending time with God!

Visiting our friends Saturday morning is always a treat. It is a reminder to me, how blessed we are to have each other. We had not see Robert in several weeks, but he came out of his apartment. He is struggling with multiple health problems but continues to bless us with his prayers. We have two ladies who have moved inside. Michelle blessed us by sharing some of her story with us. Oglivie camp was feeling no pain that morning. One of the guys came over to me and said, sorry mr brian for being this way. Life is hard. Some resort to means to make life tolerable. We continue to pray for them and allow the Spirit of the Living God to take control of their lives. Smokey has moved. They have transferred him to a rehab facility on Irving Place, Highland Place. He is in room 104. He has a direct phone number 318 841-8752. His other leg is beginning to swell, which is concerning.

Tuesday evening, Brother George led the men's fellowship as we read from  Romans 14.

Thursday evening was busy. St Luke's Medical van joined us for the evening. Brother George and a Methodist pastor from England led chapel. Z and Ms Abbie had prepared a feast, The Market and clothing room was full of activity. Z found eggs from the Food Bank, so the Market was trying to give away eggs and not breaking them in the process! We had two big groups helping us all out, a blessed evening.

This Sunday, we will have our first Mitzvay Day! Friends from a local Jewish temple will be at the center helping out. Come and join in on the fun, Sunday 10 -12.

Several weeks ago, Ms Sarah shared a story in chapel. In Luke 5 verse 17 - 26, is the story about the paralyzed man and his friends trying to see Jesus. You remember the story, the friends couldn't get close to Jesus, so they went on the roof and lowered their friend through the ceiling. Jesus was so impressed with the friends, He forgave their sins, as well as healing the paralyzed man. A nice story. Sarah visiting her Aunt in the hospital, said her Aunt was troubled by the story, made her sad?

Sarah, asked why does this story make you sad? Her Aunt said, this paralyzed man had 4 friends who went out of their way to help their friend. I don't have any friends who would do that for me? Sarah says to the community in chapel, Common Ground is your group of friends!

Life is hard, especially when you are living a life in poverty. You don't seem to get any breaks. God has created a community where our community can catch some breaks from life when needed through all of you. It maybe showing up on a Saturday morning under a bridge, listening, smiling. Helping to feed the little ones at our meal on Thursdays. Preparing a meal. Helping through reading a book to a child. Helping shop for groceries the community wants.

Common Ground is a community made of friends who will lower through the roof a friend to see Jesus. Common Ground is a community is more concerned about others than themselves. Common Ground is about lvoe not love. Common Ground is you allowing Jesus to work in and through you to build His Kingdom! Amen!

Have a great week. God is busy, join in on the fun!

Hearts

It's been a couple of weeks since we last emailed?! I was not feeling well last week and just couldn't get anything going to share with you. Feeling better this week, so watch out!

Lots happening in our community. Isn't that a sign of God being busy? We celebrated Tuesday week of Giving for Good. A local foundation asking for the community to support the non profits of the Shreveport Bossier area. Thanks to a lot of hard work, Bryce and Lisa led the way as we achieved our goal of $20000 to fund summer camp and then some! Common Ground had the fourth largest contributions of all the non profits! Thank you God. 

Our camps continue to decline as Joey and Jerry have moved inside. Moving inside is great, now we just need furniture?! Smokey continues his recovery at the VA. Last week was his birthday. So Smokey being Smokey, bought ice cream and cookies and distributed it all out to the patients and nurses on the 8th floor! He would appreciate a quick visit from you all if you have a chance, 8th floor, room 24.

The men of the community met Tuesday evening to talk about Luke 19, Zacchaeus, the tax collector. Through the actions of Zacchaeus, his house was blessed, is ours?

Lisa and the Board met Wednesday evening to discuss upcoming events.

With the threat of rain Thursday evening, our numbers were small. But that didn't stop us from having a spirit led worship in chapel. Then we all enjoyed our meal and made our way to the Market and clothing room. The highlight of the evening for me, was the appearance of one of our long time family members, Dr Phil. He was on his way to the east coast to help one of his sons move, so he stopped by to say Hi! He is about to graduate and then see what God has in store for him in the next chapter of his journey.

Day of Caring is happening today. We will have folks at the center today helping out. We would love to see you there, come if you can.

Sunday is Mom's Day! Happy Mother's Day to all our moms out there. You are special to us and our community. Thank you for all you do with little or no recognition for your labors of lvoe!

Zacchaeus was a wealthy man, being a head tax collector. You would think, he did want for much if anything? But when he heard Jesus was coming, he climbed a tree to get a view of Jesus. Jesus was so impressed by his actions, Jesus told Zacchaeus, "Today salvation has come to this house"  .  .  .

Two thoughts came to mind while we were talking about this story. When Jesus sees Zacchaeus in the tree, Jesus tells Zacchaeus to come down immediately. He did and then Zacchaeus says to Jesus, Look Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. I doesn't take long for a heart to change when they find Jesus! Our jobs as we move along our paths, is to lead others to Jesus. It is not our jobs to change their hearts, we can't. Real change in the community will come when hearts are changed.

Zacchaeus, showed his faith by climbing up a tree to see Jesus. Jesus sees our actions, hears our voices, listens to our prayers. If we are sincere, if our actions are of God, not ourselves, if our voices are for others, if our prayers are for our brothers and sisters, then Jesus will bless us. Jesus wants to bless us, it's up to us!  Amen!

Hope we get to see you today or next week around the center. Have a blessed week, God is good!

Relationships

Is God good or what!? Not sure where you are all in your life's journeys, but rest assured God is with you!

Friday evening, the Board of Common Ground and friends shared a meal and their hearts on what makes Common Ground special. Then Sarah led us on a journey through time as we shared some of the beginnings of Common Ground and traveled along the river of life to the present. Amazing to see all the people who have been a part of this adventure. Saturday morning the Board continued their journey as they talked about where God is leading us. Exciting times ahead!

Saturday morning, as Scott and Shawn went around visiting our friends living outside, they introduced their new visitor to them, mr brian! It was great to see our friends. Over these past few years, we have learned so much from our friends. Saturday was another blessing! Z who blesses us with meals to take to the guys, gave us some frozen cuts of meat she had left over. As our friends went through the meats, you would have thought we had brought them a million dollars! Turner had to go through every item, to pick out just the right cut for him. One camp, could not wait to get their fire going, and then they said, we are going to invite others to come and share our food! Isn't that amazing! Someone who has nothing, wanting to share with others their blessing! Wow, we were overwhelmed with the generosity of our friends! Smokey is still at the VA recovering.

Hate to say, but this was our last week with our children in the afternoons. Testing starts next week for the kids, so we said goodbye for this year. What a treat it has been to get to know each one of our children. Relationships that were formed will last a life time. Prayers for Allison and her family with the passing of her mother. 

Tuesday evening the men of the community gathered for food and fellowship. Brother Rickie sharing the Word from Deuteronomy 11. Verse 13 says, "If you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today-to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul- then I will send rain on your land in its season . . " God wants to bless us, He wants the best for us, we just have to be faithful!

Thursday evening was magical. Not sure what was in the water, but chapel was special. Brother George got us started with praises from the community, Ms Abbie led us in song, Brother Chester shared the Word, the community was praising like no other time I had heard! We had lots of help with our meal and The Market. It was a blessed night. To top it off, we took Joey and Jerry to their new apartment! They had a chair and a couch but to listen to them you would think they had just moved into a castle! As we drove them to their new place, the excitement in their voices, oh look there is Dairy Queen! a book store! the bank! a hospital across the street! New surroundings, new beginnings, hopefully a new start!

I told Sarah, I did not sleep much Friday night, thinking of all the names I left off her river of life display. Common Ground is not about programs, not about things, not about projects, it is about people, relationships. Sarah had asked the group to break down the time line into people, events, ministries. She had colors for each category. As we completed our time line, she asked what color was the most dominant on the board? By far, the color which represented people, was the most prevalent. Our journey started in 1995, not many of us around now, but it was humbling to see the names of everybody who has been a part of our community.

One of the names I had not remembered Friday night, one I had left off, walked into the center Tuesday afternoon. They had not been to the building in eleven years! They were leaving St Vincent mall, normally taking another route to get on I 49, decided for some reason to get on the 70th st entrance. As they past by the building, they saw cars along the street, they stopped. As I was walking down the hallway on my way to see Smokey, a figure walked through the doors. I said Hi, how are you doing and kept walking. Then this person turned and said, Brian! I looked again, and it was Anna Jackson! 

Ms Anna was the first lady of Faith United Methodist church. She always had a heart for our community, always a huge supporter of our ministry, was always there for us. Every Sunday morning, during announcement times at church, she would tell the congregation what was going on with Kitchen Angels, or tutoring, asking for the congregation to get involved. I remember one of our young girls who came for tutoring, always showed up in dirty or mismatched clothes. Ms Anna would take her into the clothing room or always had clothes for her to wear. Ms Anna always had a smile for everyone! I asked her if she had a few minutes to show her around her building. She said she had 15 minutes or so.

So we walked and talked. She remembers the old, dark walls in the dining hall, now bright and inviting. The dark paneling in the kitchen. She was amazed to see the expanded, cheerful kitchen we now have. The church parlor is now a place where children can learn. The pastor's office is where the library is, allowing the children to create all sorts of adventures. She  was excited to see The Market, to hear about where it is a place where our community can shop, not a place where forms are filled out and a bag given to them. An hour later, we sit in the new, colorful chapel talking about the last eleven years!

Common Ground is about people, about relationships, about Jesus. The relationships we are making today will last a life time. The last eleven years for Ms Anna has been hard, but Jesus has brought her though it. Jesus has brought us this far, He will not leave us if we do not leave him. How exciting it is to be a part of something so special, unique and full of life! Amen!

Have a great week. Enjoy all Jesus has for you! God is good!

What's up?!

Another week in the books! Almost the end of April, 4 months gone in this new year, wow! God is busy!

Easter Sunday, Momma T, Ms Abbie and Joey continued our tradition of sharing God's lvoe with our neighbors in the form of eggs, hiding them throughout the neighborhood. Always a good time and a blessing to all!

Saturday we continued our visits to our friends living outside. Some have moved inside, others are waiting for that to occur, but we still visit them. Even though they are inside, most friends have no income, so the food we bring is a necessity. Scott continues his vigil every Saturday by making sure our friends are lvoed on for a few moments. Smokey had his foot surgery, Thursday morning, seems to be doing fine. Prayers for a speedy recovery.

We only got to visit with our children in the afternoon on Wednesday of this week, Monday was a holiday. Not sure but, I think the noise level was a little higher Wednesday with all the excitement of the children as they learned, played and ate! Great to have them with us. Prayers for Alison and her mom. Her mom is not doing well at the moment.

Tuesday evening, the men of the community gathered for some good food and good fellowship. We read from Deuteronomy Chapter 11. We read 13 verses but didn't get very far as we talked about lvoing the Lord your God! Smokey said, he had a surprise visit from Noel Wednesday afternoon. Noel continues to heal from his neck surgery. Willie Jackson came by to see Smokey. Prayers for Willie as he continues his dialysis treatments.

Coach Chuck, Matt and Vicki continue their unbelievable schedules of games, tutoring, and practices. As Chuck said, if we don't keep the boys busy they will fall back into their old ways.

Thursday evening was different. One of our basketball boys had a seizure outside. He had not taken his medication. Then later on, we had an incident with a couple of neighbors reminding us, even though God has created a safe place, Satan is still busy trying to disrupt the atmosphere. Z and Ms Abbie created a feast of meats for our meal, The Market and clothing room was busy all night long. Ordered was restored and the night went along, ending on a high note, with a first time visitor coming up to us saying, thank you for all you do.

Prayers for the Board as they come together to discern God's direction for Common Ground Friday night and Saturday morning.

Love and Obey the Lord, is the heading of Chapter 11 in Deuteronomy. If you love them, don't you want to obey them? God lvoes us, He had done so much for us, we should gladly, willingly want to keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands.

Looking back on where we have come from as followers of Jesus with our community, what a ride it has been! Meeting new people, learning from our neighbors, trying to understand the pressures of living in poverty, seeing our children grow up to young adults. Seeing our young girls becoming new moms, our boys learning about the trials of life. The lack of education, health and money issues, poor job opportunities, inadequate housing choices, addictions of all kinds, just some of life we have experienced over these past few years.

Common Ground has been a part of all of these challenges. From a group of followers sitting around a table, wondering what God wanted us to do. Some of us stepping out of our comfort zones to go visit people living outside. Others wanting to help the children. Some wanting to feed. A few wanting to care for their health. At times we were chastised for feeding the poor, being asked to leave the church, being homeless but not alone. People of authority saying we were never going to make it, not raining for two years on Wednesdays, funding coming when there was none.

Verse 7, the people were reminded, "But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done." And here we are! A place where God has created, where young and old, rich and poor, black and white can come together and be in community. A place where the people of God can come and live out what they are reading in the Bible. A place where you can find lvoe not love. A place where you can get a hug and not expect anything in return. A place where judging is left to God.

God had done this, not us. Yes it has been our hands and feet, our sweat, our passion, but it is not ours but God working in and through us.

It has been an amazing ride. One I have been proud to be a part of. And now I am looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future. He continues to bring people of God into our mist, creating something unique and special, creating a Kingdom where He will say, I am well pleased! Amen!

He is risen!

Good Friday! Never liked this Friday to be called Good, when Jesus suffers so on this day, but it is what He had to do, so we could have life with him. Thank you Lord for loving us, so much! Indeed a Good Friday!

I will have to change my updates for awhile because, we are spending time with our grand children on the weekends, so I am not around as much, as Scott and Shawn will a test to! Jerry and Joey seem to be moving in the right direction to getting an apartment. Still waiting for a phone call to load up the truck! Smokey's leg began to swell again, so they operated on him. He was doing ok Tuesday. His toes are not the color they should be so more conversation about removal of them is continuing. Smokey would like to move to the VA hospital as soon as he can. He feels more at home there.

Monday and Wednesday afternoon we met with our school children. Wednesday, they colored Easter eggs and made crosses. You can see the crosses on the table in the Market waiting room. They are beautiful.

Tuesday evening, the men of the community met to talk about God and listen to Brother Rickie share the Word, reading from Joshua 24. Rickie, for the last several weeks has been asking for prayers for an upcoming surgery to repair his back from his car accident. He went in for x rays to see the damage. To the amazement of the medical staff, the damage was gone! Rickie was praising God for his miraculous healing! Carl was back with us after recovering from his injury.

Thursday evening was full of adventure and excitement. We had some new friends spend the morning with us decorating the tables in the dining hall. Later on, they came back and helped hide our Easter eggs on the grounds. Ms Abbie got the evening started leading us in song. Then our local pastor shared a few Words of encouragement leading us into our meal and The Market. We had lots of help serving, cleaning up and shopping. The children were released at 6 pm and a mad dash out to the green area was made! Everybody seemed to have a good time.

Don't forget our annual Easter "egg" -travagansa in the neighborhood will be Sunday morning. We will meet at the center around 6:30 am, awaiting sunrise at 6:45. We have eggs or if you want to bring some you are welcomed to do so. Momma T will be there to lead us. Everybody is welcomed to join in on the fun. 

Joshua was reminding the people of Israel what God had done for the Jewish nation. Took them away from slavery, saved them over and over, provided for them, reminding them how great God is. 

We forget sometimes, maybe take for granted, the many blessings God has showered down on us. As Common Ground begins to discern God's direction in our journey, we sometimes forget where we started from. A group of people, sitting around a table, talking about life, talking about God, praying, listening to each other, listening to God, wondering what we should be doing. Building relationships with the children of the community, then meeting their moms. Learning from them, seeing their struggles, feeling their pain, allowing God to work in and through us to provide comfort, hope and lvoe.

Not sure we had a plan, not sure we knew what we were doing, not sure we had the money, but we just did it! Years later, we can see, I can see the hand of God in all that we accomplished, because most of what we did was beyond anything we could have ever done on our own.

This Holy weekend, God lvoing us so much, He asked His son to die for us, so that we can have life with Him, is the same God who will carry Common Ground into the next steps in our journey. He will bless us, beyond our wildness imaginations as long as we stay focused on Him. Joshua said to the people, "But for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Let's serve the Lord and let Him lead us along our paths! Amen!

Humility

On the calendars spring has come, but God has had other ideas. Azaleas bushes have just about all bloomed out, dogwood trees are all full, birds and the squirrels have been busy building nests for weeks! Gorgeous time of the year! Thank you Jesus!

We had our March Madness already as our Cedar Grove Chargers were playing in the championship game last Saturday. Unfortunately, the other team made a desperation shot at the end of the game to win. A big disappointment to the boys and coaches, but a great season of building of character took place. Thank you all for your attendance, support and prayers for our team. Everybody was doing well at the camps. Lots of good food was served from our kitchen in the form of to go boxes.

Monday we welcomed our children for our afternoon tutoring session. Unfortunately the school was closed Wednesday due to a rash of illnesses, so we missed our kids. Spring breaks next week, so the center will be quiet for a week!

Tuesday evening the men of the community gathered to discuss what God is doing in their lives as Brother George read from Philippians 2, imitating Christ's humility. Are we doing that?

Thursday evening, Bryce and Ms Abbie got us started in chapel praising God. Brother Chester shared the Word. We then enjoyed Mexican night in the dining hall, with tacos and all the trimmings provided by Z and Ms Abbie. The Market was stocked full of groceries and the clothing room was being shopped all night long. We had lots of help from our friends at Elizabeth Baptist church, so everything flowed smoothly. A fun evening.

Prayers for our long time friend Noel. He was involved in a car wreck Wednesday evening and is in the hospital. Continued prayers for Abbey as she continues to struggle with her health. Joe Barefield is back at home after a couple of days in the hospital. 

Have those of you who go to Grace on Sundays, ever wonder what it would be like to go to a Saturday night service? This weekend would be a great time to try. We have the Simple Church coming Sunday morning from 9:30 - noon to work around the center. We could use your help and supervision! We have lots of projects for them to do, so we need lots of help to show them where everything is!

Imitating Christ's humility, hard thing to do. Verse 3, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Not possible if we are in this business for ourselves. Then verse 3 continues, rather, in humility value others above yourselves, verse 4, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

During my wife's health issues these past several years, I tell people, the only time I see her smile is when our grandchildren are around. Yes some of it is the grandchildren, but mainly it is we are putting first the kids and focusing our efforts on them, not on ourselves. We receive the blessings of the lvoe of our grand kids. Jesus is asking us to do the same for others.

One of our guys Tuesday night shared some of his past. 20 years ago, drugs and alcohol ruled his life. He was living in abandoned houses, under bridges, stealing, living a life of utter depravity. He didn't care who he hurt or what it took to get his next fix or bottle. He was in Mobile, with nothing to eat, smelling from the oppressive heat and no shower, his feet were beginning to get sores on them. He made his way to a shelter where he knew they gave out clothes and food. He went in, asking a lady for a pair of socks. She said, Sir, I don't know if we have any but I will look. She came back and said Sir, I don't have any that match but will you take these two that don't? He gladly did and walked out. 20 years later, our new Christian brother still remembers this act of kindness from a stranger, living a life imitating Christ's humility.

Verse 8, shares how Jesus lived a life as a servant, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross! We are asked to be obedient in our journeys. We will have questions, we will wonder, we will not understand sometimes where God had placed us. But God know, He only asks us to be obedient.

The last thing that struck me listening to our brother share his story, was becoming a servant. We often think of being a servant as a lowly occupation. In the world it is, but not in God's Kingdom. Jesus could have been anybody he wanted to be, a king, a ruler, but he chose, he chose to be a servant. Being a servant should be what we strive to be, not something we have to be.

As our brother shared his story, tears came to his eyes, all our eyes. He stopped for moments in his story to compose himself, as the tears flowed. This lady, being obedient in her journey, imitating Christ's humility, was still having an effect on our brother 20 years later.  She called him Sir, when he felt he was not worthy to be called Sir. She took time to show him compassion. We never know what kind of effect we will have on others because it is not us that is showing lvoe it is the Christ within us showing the lvoe. As we all know, Christ can do amazing things, if we just get out of the way and let Him go! Amen.

Have a great weekend, hope to see you at the center Sunday morning. Let's practice imitating Christ's humility this week and the weeks to come!

The Body

Is it me or did God's masterpiece of flowers and trees come into full bloom this week! For our friends who are living in the north country, we feel for you, but it is beautiful in our part of the world! Thank you Jesus!

My first thought this morning is for our friends and families who are hurting. Please keep Abbey Rubel in your prayers. She is having health problems that are keeping her away from her community. Long time friend, Pete asked for prayers for him and his wife Cari as she continues to struggle with her disease. The chemo treatments have stopped working so they will be starting another stem cell therapy the first of May. One of our leaders in our tutoring activities, Linda Cox is having health problems. In and out of the hospital this past week.

A large gathering of men of the community gathered Tuesday evening, as Joey led the discussion concerning Job. Joey asked in the beginning of the study, who would want God to say to Satan, " have you considered my servant Job, there is no one on earth like him, he is blameless and upright, a man who respects God and shuns evil." Everybody said, you betcha! Then Job goes through all he went through for God. Joey asked, how many of us now want to be like Job? No takers! Sometimes it is hard to be a follower of Jesus?!

We missed our chance with our children Monday afternoon, due to transportation problems, but we got to meet with them Wednesday. No matter where you are in the center, you can always tell when the children arrive! The sweet sounds of life accompany them along with their enthusiasm!

Wednesday evening the Board met to talk about the many activities Common Ground is involved with. God is at work in our community with many, many exciting possibilities in the future.

Thursday evening, we gathered to share the Word, music, food, groceries, clothing, games. Brother George shared the Word, Ms Abbie shared the music, Z shared the food, the Market shared the groceries, and the clothing room opened the doors to the community. Everybody having a good time.

The Cedar Grove Chargers have had a busy week, playing games in the playoffs. They won Tuesday and Thursday evenings, putting them into the finals Saturday. Not sure of game time Saturday. Vicki, could you let us know. Please try to support the boys and their coaches by attending the game if you can.

Several Saturdays ago, we were blessed to have Momma T join us in our visits to the camps. She wanted to share the blood and body of Christ, as she served communion to our friends living outside. All our friends participated in the receiving of the bread and juice, reminding us all, who's is the Body of Christ.

It was a powerful statement. The "church" going to the people where they were, just as they were, who they were. Brother George reminded us in chapel Thursday, Jesus has taken the sins of the world upon his shoulders and died for us all, so that we might have life eternally with Him. We don't have to clean up our act. We don't have to get all dressed up. We don't have to go into a building. We just have to say, here I am Lord, I am yours. We can't change, we have tried, only God can change us. He will change us from inside out!

Being a part of our community puts us in a position where we have the opportunity to share the lvoe of Christ with those who may never feel worthy to step foot in a church building. Wouldn't that be a shame for our community, to never experience the blessings of our Lord and Savior! So continue to give out hugs, to listen, to laugh, to give hope, to lvoe because we are all the Body of Christ! Amen!

Our refuge and strength

March wind is blowing here. It was a good week, how was yours?

We have become the hit of the camps these past few months. Z and Brother George have blessed us with meals to take to the camps, so we heat them up Saturday morning and share our blessings with the guys and gals. They get to enjoy a warm, delicious meal, indeed a blessing. Just as Scott and I were thinking this ministry is drawing to a close, God continues to bring new friends into our lives. We don't go looking for new friends, they find us! Everybody seemed to be doing well. We have a special treat for them this week?!

Monday and Wednesday we continued to meet with our children in the afternoons, learning all sorts of things from them. With this pretty weather we are having, some spring time fever has crept in, making sitting and learning a challenge!

Tuesday evening, the men of the community came together, as Brother Rickie shared God's Word, reading from Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength. Is He for you?

Later in the evening, our Cedar Grove Chargers were winning their ninth basketball game of the season! Coach Chuck is waiting to hear about the playoff schedule. We will let you know as soon as it is available.

Thursday evening in chapel, Joey prepared our hearts, as our longtime friend Pete and Pastor Kaylan marked our foreheads with the sign of the cross, as we prepared for the Lenten season. Z and Ms Abbie prepared our meal, friends served and cleaned up. The Market was busy with our community finding all sorts of treasures!

Prayers for our family members, Elizabeth and David McCormick, as they help their community recover from a terrible typhoon that hit that area of Africa.

Verse 10 of Psalm 46, God says, "Be still, and know that I am God; As it was talked about Tuesday evening, Psalm 46 is about God and who He is. No matter what happens in our world, God will still be God. Who is in charge, of your life, your world?

I was reminded again Thursday night, it is not about us but about God. We have been placed in a community where there is more darkness than light. Most of the time we are blessed to see the light, but at times we experience the darkness. It is no fun to be in the mist of the darkness, so how do we get out? How do we find that light? We have to be still and know that God is with us.

I was reminded Thursday evening, we have come along way in our passion to share the lvoe of Christ with our community. But we also have a long way to go in our journeys. God's work is never done and never will be. In this mornings Common Prayer reading, "Pandita Ramabai, a nineteenth-century Indian activist, said, -"People must not only hear about the kingdom of God, but must see it in actual operation, on a small scale perhaps and in imperfect form, but a real demonstration nevertheless."

We have the opportunity today, tomorrow and beyond to share the Word of God to our community. We not only get to share it in words but get to live it out through our lvoe. There will be times when it seems no one is listening or seeing. Then there will be other times when we have the opportunities to see the blessings of God. When we experience the challenges before us, verse 11 reminds us, The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Amen

Where do you find God?

Is it spring yet!? Here it is February, temperatures in the 80's, flowers and trees are blooming, the birds are singing, squirrels are making nests, can it be spring? Thank you God for this day, for this time, for this life!

Another busy Saturday got our week started. We visited our friends living outside. As Shawn and Scott mentioned as our morning concluded, God is needed! Robert, who has been living inside for several months now, is having medical problems. His past is catching up to him. He loves the Lord, is not worried about the end of his life, but also, when you face your mortality, life becomes precious. As Robert spoke of his problems, his tears of concern began to flow. He said, he knew he had a mission for the rest of his life. That mission was to share with others to not live a life style he once did. To turn the lives over to Christ. The next camp, more of the drama we have been seeing the last several weeks. Alcohol was prevalent again, with many unable to stand or barely able to be coherent. One of our long time friends, finally able to get up, comes over to me, with big tears in his eyes, saying mr brian please forgive me for my short comings. We need prayers for our friends. Satan is busy in their part of the world.

We only had our children Wednesday afternoon this week. Monday was a holiday, so we missed out on our fun times with them. It was good to be back with the children and all their excitement and enthusiasm.

Tuesday evening, Brother George led our men's Bible fellowship reading from Luke 13: 1-8 titled repent or perish. Have we asked God for forgiveness for our sins? If not, how can we forgive others?

Also on Tuesday, our Cedar Grove Chargers were winning another game!  Their last game of the spring season will be Tuesday February 28 at 7:15 at Bill Cockrell Park.

Thursday evening, was full of blessings as Ms Abbie and Bryce shared their gifts of music as the community choir led us in praise. Brother Chester shared the Word, focusing on lvoe, God's lvoe, not the world's love! We had many friends helping us serve and clean up in the dining hall, helping as our personal shoppers in the Market and bagging clothes from the clothing room. A busy, blessed night.

Prayers for our long time friend William. Prayers for the leaders of Common Ground. Prayers for God's direction in our journeys of faith.

The past several weeks, as I was working in and around the center, I have had two different groups of people come up to me and say, this is amazing what you are doing around here. They have been on a tour of our center with Abbey or Bryce and they were in awe of what they saw. I thank them and say thank you, but it is not me but this is of God.

Last night as I was setting up our sound system for chapel, waiting on our computer to update for an hour or so, I sat and listened to the community as they began to come in. Two different community members came over to me and were excited to introduce me to some visitors they had brought with them. Others were sitting together talking about life. One member had just lost a family member and was struggling with the lost. Others were offering their support and kindness to help their friend through their struggle. Tears were shed at some point, but also laughter replaced those tears before we left chapel. Another friend's phone rang, with them saying we are already at "church", are you coming, there's still time?

I listened to a preacher this week say, where do you go to find God? Some people go to a building on Sunday. Some go to a classroom. Hopefully they will discover God there, but what if they don't? Will they come back? For us who were raised up in church, it was my understanding, you found God on Sunday mornings in church, dressed in a suit, on my best behavior, for an hour or two. After church was over, I could be myself again!

Our community finds God when they find you! We are not about church but about God. For those of our community who will never set foot in a church building, their only to see God will be through you. The work you do, the time you spend, the sacrifice you make for our community is what God is expecting us to do. It is our opportunity to show God's lvoe,  to minister through our actions, what God is all about. When we show God' lvoe to others, we are blessed, we all are blessed!

I know when the kids are running around the center, the adults are arguing, the young people are cussing, it doesn't feel like church at that moment. But take a moment and think about where they are. They are with you, because they know you lvoe them, that God lvoes them, something they do not get another place in their lives!

Allowing God to work in and through your lives, you have created a sacred place. A place where our friends are proud to bring their friends and family. A place where your hearts are open for support and to give hope. A place, which is really not a place, but a person, who lvoes God enough to allow His Holy Spirit to work in and through you in amazing ways, blessing us all! Amen!

Enjoy this spring weather. Enjoy God's blessings. Enjoy being the hands and feet of God.

God's people

Life is good! God is good! What more could we want!?

We have talked about for the last several years, the ministry of visiting our friends living outside, to dissolve as our friends slowly find places to live inside. God must have other plans? Scott shared last week, do you realize we are visiting 12 friends now! Wow, don' t know it that is a good thing or not, but we are there, showing the lvoe of Christ to those who don't have a chance to see His light during their week.

Monday we continued our tutoring activities. Wednesday afternoon, we had a group of ladies sharing with the children, how to eat right. There were lots of fun activities all the children got to experience.

Tuesday evening, Brother Rickie shared the Word as the men of the community read from Genesis 4: 1 - 9, the story of Cain and Abel. Cain was mad at God and took his anger out on his brother Abel. Are we guilty of doing the same with our love ones?

Chapel time was rocking Thursday evening, with the community choir singing their hearts out as Ms Abbie played the piano. One of our own friends from the community, wanted to share the Word, so he preached and preached and preached. Brother George, had to get a hook out and pull him off the stage as he continued to share the Word! It was great! Our community was treated to a banquet created by Z and Ms Abbie, while members of one of the local crewes marched around the dining hall throwing beads and cups! The Market and clothing room were also rocking with people everywhere! A fun night of God's blessings.

We only have one basketball game this week, Tuesday evening at 8:15 at Bill Cockrell Park. Our Chargers lost last week for the first time. Did everybody see the great picture on Facebook of the team praying before their game?! Awesome!

Prayers? How are we doing? What can we pray for you this week?

Talking about Cain and Abel Tuesday night, reminded me of how awesome God is and how sinful we are. Listening to a sermon series this week about an over view of the Bible, I am reminded of how much God lvoes us and how much we mess it up. God created beauty for us as Adam and Eve enjoyed the blessings, but at some point, we messed it up. Nothing has changed over all these years. God wants nothing but the best for us, but our prides and egos, get in the way and we miss out on the blessings God.

I heard a statement this week, that I can't get out of my mind. When we are born again, sin no longer rules our lives, but still remains in us. We want to do God's will, we know what is right and wrong, we know if we go down that path of ours, the consequences will not be good, but we still do it! We tell our children don't do that, don't go there. We say to our children, I have, it didn't work out, but our children do it anyway. We did when our parents told us not to. God talks to Cain in verse 7, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you don't do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it." The very next verse, Cain takes Abel out into the field and kills him. Sin is powerful. Sin is silent. Sin is always present. 

That is why God created us for community. We need each other to help us through our trials. We need each other to hold us accountable for our actions. We need each other to listen. We need each other to pray for us. I wonder if Cain had someone to talk to, a community of believers, of followers, would the fate of Abel been different?

Common Ground is exploding with new ideas, new directions, new paths, new people. Which way should we go? They all do good. They are all important. As a community we need to sit down together, discern, pray, talk and listen to each other to decide which of our paths are of God. It might be hard to say no, or not at this time, or maybe later, but it will be important to remember, we are God's people, doing God's will, in God's time. Amen.

Have a great week. Enjoy all the blessings God has for you. He is good beyond our imaginations!

How long will it last?

What a gorgeous morning God had planned for us this morning! Hopefully your morning was just as pretty!

We visited our friends living outside Saturday. Everybody was doing good. Our friend, who was not doing well last week, assured us he did not mean to be that way and said he was ok.  Our 14 year old and under Cedar Grove Chargers were winning their 6th game of the season Saturday afternoon. They are now 6 - 0! Work continued in the garden. Our girl scout troop was meeting at the Bright House II Saturday morning. Lots going on in our part of the world.

We continue with our afternoon activities of fun, games and learning on Monday and Wednesday. Lots of help to go with lots of children!

Tuesday evening, we had some new faces at our community men's Bible fellowship. Joey led our discussions, reading from Lamentations 1: 1 - 22. How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! Our center was once deserted, now full of life, what will tomorrow bring?

Thursday evening, chapel was full of music, praise and worship. Our piano man, Wes, played for us, as Ms Abbie led our community choir. Brother James shared the Word, talking about the compassion and the lvoe God has for us no matter what we do. Z and Ms Abbie prepared a feast, as new friends helped serve and clean up. The clothing room and Market were busy with community enjoying their time with us. A blessed evening.

Our undefeated Chargers have two games this week! Tuesday February 14th at 8:15 pm at Bill Cockrell Park. Then on Thursday February 16th at 7:15 pm at A B Palmer.

I want to wish all our ladies out there a Happy Valentine's Day. You are the key to our community, often not getting any recognition for everything you do. Please know you are lvoed and appreciated by us all.

This Thursday at our meal, we will have our annual Mardi Gras parade. The Gemini Crewe will be joining us, dancing and throwing beads to our community, always lots of fun.

We now have a new family member joining our community, Sarah Shoup. You will see Sarah around the campus helping coordinate all our activities making sure everything runs smoothly. She has a heart for community and will be a valuable asset to our community. When you see her, please welcome her into our community.

How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! Part of the first verse of Lamentations 1. I was thinking about that Tuesday morning working on the yard at the new building across the street from the center. Weeds and trash was covering the entrance into the bank building. As we removed the weeds and trash, I discovered beautiful granite steps into the building. It got me to thinking about all the lives, the families, the homes this building must have been a part of when it was built. Now, for whatever reason, it was vacant, deserted!

I don't what to think about it, but this could happen to our community? Those that built the bank building had a passion for our neighborhood. Don't you know, the people of our community were grateful for the presence of the bank and it's employees. Now, many years later, the building is empty, neglected and deserted.

We see this happen all too often. Those who have a passion for something, get together, start living their passion. For awhile, everything is great, a blessing to all, then as time goes on, sometimes that passion subsides. Sometimes those that start the group move on to other projects, or life gets in the way, changes occur and gradually their presence subsides.

Common Ground was started from a passion of several. Some have left, others are still around. Will the passion live on? We need to ask ourselves, where does our passion come from. Is it our passion or the passion of Christ's? We are about God, God's plan, not ours. God's plan will never die. 

The future of our community is exciting. Many new people are coming to us with great passion and desires for our community. As long as we follow the plan God has laid before us, our passion for lvoe and understanding will last for years to come. Amen

Have a blessed week, God is good, isn't He!

Do we have to pray!

Good morning to all! God is good and so are ya'll!

Busy Saturday morning as usual around the center. We made our visits to the camps. Always a joy to see our friends living outside, but also a reminder of how life is hard. A new friend of ours, Shawn, has started going with us on our visits. The past two weeks as Turner finishes his shopping, Shawn whips out his Bible, reads a couple of verses and prays with Turner. We don't hold hands yet, but this is a start with Turner. Turners stands there, listens and then walks off to his home. Wonder what he is thinking?! Our next camp finds our new group waiting for us, sitting on the railroad tracks in the sun, trying to stay warm. Their camp dog, Bo, comes up to mr brian and gets his usual dog treats. I ask Bo where his daddy is? The group says over there on the tracks. We look over and there is Donny, passed out on the tracks. 10:30 in the morning passed out! Sad, sad. Shawn and Dawn walk over to be sure he is breathing, wake him up and he stumbles over to the truck. We have prayed this week, for the taste of alcohol in Donny to not be tolerated. No way to live. Lunch was being prepared for the basketball team as we returned from our visits.

Monday and Wednesdays we continued meeting with our children in the afternoons, having fun playing games, learning and lvoing on them. You can be sure it goes both ways!

Tuesday evening the men of the community gathered for their Bible fellowship. Brother George shared the Word reading from Hebrews 6: 1-12. Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity , . . is how the first verse starts. Are we moving or standing still?

Wednesday morning, the garden was busy with activity! Bryce had a tiller going or I should say Ms Abbie had a tiller going, tilling up the old garden making way for the planting of potatoes. The new beds look great!

Thursday, our chapel time got started off with our new community choir praising God with their hearts and voices, while Ms Abbie played the piano. A new pastor joined us in chapel, asking us, what type of bags we are carrying? Bags filled with garbage of the past, bags filled with today's struggles or bags filled with God's Word?! It was Mexican night in the dining hall. Z and Ms Abbie created all the fixins you would find at a mexican restaurant. The clothing room was busy as well as the Market. A fun night!

The Cedar Grove Chargers have a basketball game this Saturday, February 4th at noon at Bill Cockrell Park. No games next week. Come if you can.

Prayer keeps coming to me this week. I will ask Joey for something or an idea I might have and the first thing out of Joey's mouth, let's pray about it. I don't want to hear that, I want to do it! Many years ago, I had an idea of feeding the community at Faith church. I was so excited about "my" idea, couldn't wait to get to Pastor Jackson's office to tell him. The first thing out of his mouth, he said, brian we need to pray about it. My frustration level got higher. I like to do things now, not pray about it! Well after several months of painstakingly prayer, for me! God shared a story in the Upper Room with me early one Tuesday morning, telling about a church who provides a meal to their community. God even gave us a name, Kitchen Angels! And we are still doing it!

When the church moved out of the church building which is now our center, sitting there vacant for months, I told everybody we need to move into it now! There was no budget, no money, no idea of how to get it renovated, no help, our small group prayed about it. Several months later, as we worked across the street at the Bright House, wishing we were in the building, Lisa shows up to tutor. We find out she is a lawyer with a passion for our community, likes to get things done and well we see what has happened!

One of my favorite prayer stories is our lack of rain! As we became homeless, the church asked us to leave the building, we started serving our meals at the Bright House. We first tried to eat inside but it was too crowded, so we moved to the driveway area. For two years, our small group prayer was each week was, for it not to rain on Wednesday evenings for our meal. Well, in spite of two hurricanes, multiple thunderstorms, we were never ever forced to not have our meals outside. Some Wednesdays, we had to eat in a hurry, but we ate! God will provide.

In chapel last week, really every chapel begins with asking the community if they have prayer requests. You can see and hear the community getting more comfortable speaking out, with their prayer requests. One couple spoke up last week, needing prayers to find a home or a place to stay. When Brother George asked for prayer requests this week, the lady spoke up and said, they found a place to stay! Everybody clapped!

Several weeks ago, Brother George shared his heart of wanting the young men, who come for the meal on Tuesday night, to also stay for the men's Bible fellowship. You can tell they are hunger, maybe getting the only good meal for the day at the chapel, but he also wanted them to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So we prayed for them as we opened up our fellowship. This past Tuesday the young men were there and guess what, they stayed the entire night! 

We all have prayer stories. Things God has done for us. The one common theme I am reminded of when it comes to prayer, if God thinks it needs to happen, it will in His time, not mr brian's time. There is a method to His madness. It is all about Him and His Kingdom building. Over the years, I have learned patience when it comes to prayer.  He has taught me obedience when we go to God in prayer. And my faithfulness has increased because I know if the prayers are of God's will, then God will provide. He provides in ways that I had no idea or expectations of it happening the way it did. God has a plan for the building of His Kingdom. We don't know the plan, that is not our job to know the plan. Our jobs are to pray, to be obedient, to be patient, and  to have faith God will provide. He will because He is God, because He is Good! Amen!

God is with us!

Can it be possible, another week has come and gone! Wow, God is busy in our part of the world, what about yours!

Last Saturday, the weather was not nearly as cold as it has been, so our visits were nice. All seem to be doing well. Met some new friends at one of our camps. As we open the tailgate of our truck, it is heart warming to see our longtime friends helping our new friends with God's gifts to them. Basketball practices continues as well. We hosted a garage sale, helping students from one of our elementary schools raise funds for a trip. A busy morning!

Monday and Wednesday, we hosted our afternoon tutoring activities. Tables and chairs are set up with each table having a different color of table cloth. The children come in and go to their table, with their name tag and snacks waiting for them. They stand, waiting to say their prayer, then sit down and enjoy their snacks. For a few minutes, their table leader, shares a Bible story and talks how God works in their lives. Then one of the leaders comes into the dining hall, telling each table to go with their tutor to their private area to begin their learning session for the afternoon. At 5, a bell is rung, the children line up in the hallway waiting to get on their bus. Another snack or treat is given them as they leave for the afternoon. An amazing experience to see it happening every week. Hugs, smiles, conversations about "their" child is awesome to hear!

Tuesday evening the men of the community gathered for a delicious meal and conversations about God working in their lives. Brother Rickie led the discussions from Isaiah 43: 1-7. God saying to the people of Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine!" Wow, we are His! How awesome is that!

Tuesday evening, we also had a basketball game going on! As Coach Chuck said, with the help of the Charger cheering fans, the Chargers came back from a deficit in the first half to win their game! Chuck said, it was great to see all the fans in the stands, supporting them. Thank you all for being there.

Thursday evening, was a blessing as always. We had a big crowd in chapel as Brother George shared the Word and Ms Abbie played the piano! Our community choir got into one of the songs and wouldn't stop singing! What a blessing! A delicious meal was prepared by Z and Ms Abbie. Lots of helpers served and cleaned up afterwards. We had many servants helping in the clothing room and the Market. It was great to see our friend Ms Pam back in the Market from a 3 month absence! You were missed Pam!

Next basketball game for the Chargers is Tuesday, January 31st at 7:15 at AB Palmer. Then there is another one on Thursday February 2nd at 7:15 again at AB Palmer. The boys and the coaching will appreciate having a cheering section in the stands!

Monday night in another men's Bible study, we read Psalm 139. King David is singing his praises to God, "Lord you have examined me and know all about me. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them, You know thoroughly everything I do. Lord, even before I say a word, you already know it. You are all around me, in front and in back and have put your hand on me". Isaiah tells us in verse 2, When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you".

Two reminders this week, God is with us. God knows us. God is there for us. Life presents challenges to us everyday. We live in a world of corruption and deceit. Half truths and bickering. Sometimes it feels like there is no way out. We take one step forward, then something happens, we take two steps back. I try to do it my way, and things mess up! We get frustrated. We get angry at people. We get mad at the world. How can we possibly go on?!

The life God has chosen for us to be in community has obstacles and challenges. Often things don't go the way we think they should go. People don't act the way we think they should act. Decisions are made in ways we don't understand. But there is a way we can get by. There is a way we can understand and lvoe. 

In the first part of verse 4, God tells Isaiah,"Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you . . . " God lvoes us. We are precious to Him. He will not let anything happen to us that is not of God, as long as we are focused on Him. In Deuteronomy 31:8, says, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged". God is there with us, in our times of trouble and misunderstandings and in our times of joy and blessings. God knows our challenges and has already worked a way out for us. God won't let our obstacles overwhelm us, for He loves us too much. We must trust Him. We must obey Him. We are precious to Him! Hallelujah!

Have a great week. Blessings to all. God is mighty! God is true! God is good!

Grumbling?

We go from cold, to warm, to wet? Hopefully your weather in your world is not as crazy as ours!

A full crew of folks met our friends living outside. If you think we are tired of this wet weather, you should try living outside! Nothing is dry you touch, your bed, your shoes, your clothes. Hard, hard life. Our 14 and under basketball team, had their first game of the new season Saturday and are undefeated for the season! Congratulations to all.

Monday was a holiday, so we only had our afternoon children with us on Wednesday this week. It was fun just the same. Lots of helpers to be a support to our loyal team of teachers.

Tuesday evening, Brother George led our community men's Bible fellowship reading from Philippians 2: 12 - 19, do everything without grumbling. Is that possible?

Thursday evening, our community came and came! We had the St Luke's Medical van and their staff joining us for the evening. Chapel was led by another new pastor, while Ms Abbie played our hymns of praise. Z, with help from Ms Abbie cooked up a banquet. Our clothing room and Market was full of community shopping and looking. Lots of help from our students from Centenary, making the evening go smoothly and full of blessings.

Prayers for the process of growing. Change is never easy, but sometimes necessary. Prayers for a longtime friend of ours Terry Strain. Terry started the Pool of Siloam, which was housed at Faith Church in the very beginning of their ministry. Terry is having health issues causing her to become unemployed at the moment.

This week, we have two opportunities to see our basketball team play. On Tuesday, January 24th at 6:15 pm at AB Palmer and then Thursday January 26th at 6:15 pm at AB Palmer. If your schedule allows, please come and cheer on our Cedar Grove Chargers.

Do everything without grumbling, is the headline in the passage we read on Tuesday night. Easy to not grumble when we are doing things we want to do. Hard to do when we do things not of our liking. I enjoy playing golf on Friday afternoons with the guys. I don't like it when the weather is too cold, too wet or I have a meeting. I grumble when I can't go play golf. I grumble all the time when things don't work out the way I want them to work out! I grumble when I have to go out of my way to take home folks from the community. I grumble when a child is running down the hallway.  I grumble when I have to pick up after someone else. It is in my nature to grumble, because mr brian is not holy.

In verse 13, Paul tells the folks, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." I need to get past myself and allow God's will to flow through me, realizing the grumbling will subside! 

Reading on, the men talked about, there is a reward if we allow God's Spirit to fill us. If we do everything without grumbling or arguing, the last part of verse 15 - "Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. verse 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. If we get past ourselves, realizing it is not about us but about God, His Spirit will flow through us producing the light of Christ in us. I can't think of a brighter, more pure light than that! Amen.

Have a great week, hope to see you around the center or at the basketball games! May God's light shine in and through us this week and the weeks to come in this new year.

Grumbling?

We go from cold, to warm, to wet? Hopefully your weather in your world is not as crazy as ours!

A full crew of folks met our friends living outside. If you think we are tired of this wet weather, you should try living outside! Nothing is dry you touch, your bed, your shoes, your clothes. Hard, hard life. Our 14 and under basketball team, had their first game of the new season Saturday and are undefeated for the season! Congratulations to all.

Monday was a holiday, so we only had our afternoon children with us on Wednesday this week. It was fun just the same. Lots of helpers to be a support to our loyal team of teachers.

Tuesday evening, Brother George led our community men's Bible fellowship reading from Philippians 2: 12 - 19, do everything without grumbling. Is that possible?

Thursday evening, our community came and came! We had the St Luke's Medical van and their staff joining us for the evening. Chapel was led by another new pastor, while Ms Abbie played our hymns of praise. Z, with help from Ms Abbie cooked up a banquet. Our clothing room and Market was full of community shopping and looking. Lots of help from our students from Centenary, making the evening go smoothly and full of blessings.

Prayers for the process of growing. Change is never easy, but sometimes necessary. Prayers for a longtime friend of ours Terry Strain. Terry started the Pool of Siloam, which was housed at Faith Church in the very beginning of their ministry. Terry is having health issues causing her to become unemployed at the moment.

This week, we have two opportunities to see our basketball team play. On Tuesday, January 24th at 6:15 pm at AB Palmer and then Thursday January 26th at 6:15 pm at AB Palmer. If your schedule allows, please come and cheer on our Cedar Grove Chargers.

Do everything without grumbling, is the headline in the passage we read on Tuesday night. Easy to not grumble when we are doing things we want to do. Hard to do when we do things not of our liking. I enjoy playing golf on Friday afternoons with the guys. I don't like it when the weather is too cold, too wet or I have a meeting. I grumble when I can't go play golf. I grumble all the time when things don't work out the way I want them to work out! I grumble when I have to go out of my way to take home folks from the community. I grumble when a child is running down the hallway.  I grumble when I have to pick up after someone else. It is in my nature to grumble, because mr brian is not holy.

In verse 13, Paul tells the folks, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." I need to get past myself and allow God's will to flow through me, realizing the grumbling will subside! 

Reading on, the men talked about, there is a reward if we allow God's Spirit to fill us. If we do everything without grumbling or arguing, the last part of verse 15 - "Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. verse 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. If we get past ourselves, realizing it is not about us but about God, His Spirit will flow through us producing the light of Christ in us. I can't think of a brighter, more pure light than that! Amen.

Have a great week, hope to see you around the center or at the basketball games! May God's light shine in and through us this week and the weeks to come in this new year.

Born again

What's the old expression, if you don't like the weather now, just wait until tomorrow, things will change?! Well, from the subfreezing temperatures of last week, we now have the high's in the 80's this week! What a world, what a God!

We visited our friends living outside Saturday with the temperature of 18 degrees happening! The only saving grace, was the wind was not blowing. I excitedly walked to Turner's camp hoping to see his fire going and we were not disappointed! In fact, I asked if we could come down the hill to his camp to enjoy the heat, he agreed! The heat from the fire was nice, he even went over to his pile of leaves and threw some leaves on the fire to spruce up the heat! It was so cold that morning, Jerry never left his tent during our visit. I had gotten a call from one of our former outdoor friends, Smokey, inviting us to his apartment for lunch. As usual, this man of God, had hot bean soup, cornbread and pop for us to enjoy and warm us up! What a treat!. By the time we arrived back at the center, Ms Vicki was hard at work in the kitchen preparing breakfast for her boys on the basketball team.

Monday and Wednesday we welcomed back our children for our afternoon tutoring activities. It was good to have their energy and excitement around the campus as we all had missed each other.

Tuesday evening, the men of the community met to enjoy a delicious meal and talk about God's lvoe for us all. We read from John Chapter 3. Nicodemus had witnessed some of Jesus' miracles and wanted to know how he could be a part of all of this. Have you asked God to be a part of your life?

Wednesday evening, Lisa held a Board meeting. Lots going on in our part of the world. It had been awhile since I have attended a Board meeting. I had forgotten how many decisions need to be made to continue our work with the Lord. Sometimes those decisions are hard, but necessary. Please tell our Board members, how much we appreciate all the hard work they put into their responsibility as board members.

Thursday evening, we had a special treat as Wes joined us to play the piano, as we sang songs of praise. Brother George, introduced us to a new lady, who shared the Word of God. A meal of gumbo and all the fixins was enjoyed. The clothing room and Market was busy all night.  We have begun offering a time during chapel, where our moms of the community can read books to their children. It is great to see this new part of our evening activities happening. Praise God for all the blessings of the evening.

Prayers for God's peace in our lives. Lots going on, our time is taken up by stuff, where do we find time for God? Prayers for those who are traveling. Prayers for relationships that need mending, where we can find common ground to resolve those relationships.

A new season of basketball games for the Cedar Grove Chargers is about to start. There is a game, this Saturday January 14th at 3 pm at Bill Cockrell Park. This game is  the 14 and under boys. They would enjoy seeing you at the game!

We have a big group of students from Centenary joining us Monday morning for a work day to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. We can use your help and supervision, please come.

The men read in John 3 about this man called Nicodemus, a leader of the Jewish council, wanting to talk to Jesus about His miracles. He was a teacher of the law, but didn't understand what Jesus was up to? In verse 3 Jesus tells Nicodemus, " very truly I tell you,no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again." We must let go and let God in our lives to be able to be born again. That is a concept Nicodemus struggled with and we do today. We try to make it difficult. We add man's rules and traditions. As educated people, it can't be that simple. But it is! All we have to do is let go of our pride and egos and let God be our power.

When we let go and let God in our lives, we are a new person. A new body full of the Spirit that is alive and raging through us. This Spirit of God, is not quiet but mighty. This Spirit is of lvoe not hate, jealousy or envy. This Spirit will not let us be the same person we were before. This Spirit will make us live our lives for others not for ourselves. In Acts 9 verse 20 after Saul, the hater of Christians, had met the Spirit and was born again, "At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Verse 22, "Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah."

People knew something was different with Saul. People need to know there is something different about us. Saul spoke the words of Jesus, but he also lived a life like Jesus. Common Ground is made up of people living a life like Jesus. We need everyone of you to be our Saul, now Paul. The light of the Spirit is bright with one, but when there are many lights of the Spirit, the darkness goes away in a community. We need the darkness in our community to go away! Amen.

See you at the game Saturday, or around the campus this week. God is good