Love and Lvoe

The thing that comes to mind this week is love and lvoe. As Pastor Willie said in chapel, never seen so many balloons and flowers in all shades of red this week! Then feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit as we got to celebrate God's Lvoe in so many different ways! What a God!

An unexpected cold wind got us shivering as we made our way around to the camps last Saturday. Hot chocolate was in high demand! Turner was in his camp waiting on us. One thing Mr Scott has done for Turner is to get him a small thermos bottle. Now we can fill up his thermos with hot chocolate. Turner brings it with him every week or when he wants us to fill it up! Richard was still missing in action, we did see him on Tuesday. He is ok. Robert was waiting on us in his camp. mr brian has a sickness or don't know what the correct terminology is, to fire. We asked Robert if we could start a fire in his grill, so we did. Hard to get mr brian to leave once the fire was going, felt so warm. Robert said thanks for the fire, I am going to move my chair out by the fire and stay warm. Smokey was doing fine. Matt, Ms Sarah L and Tim visited the other camps downtown.

While we were having fun, Momma T was having her sacred moments in the garden! Fighting the cold by digging dirt, is therapeutic to some. Garden is looking good, getting ready for more planting.

We went by the JJ house to check on the guys there. Dale, Willie and Travis were working hard in getting the new house put together. Awesome to see the second house coming together so fast. Wondering who God has in mind to be the newest members of our community?

With my apologies to Pastor Roger for not attending Saturday night services as regularly as I should, I was blessed to hear Roger talk about the challenges put before us when we decide to follow Jesus. Roger mentioned our misfortune concerning the vandalism of the JJ house. I had two different members come up to me and offer to help following the service. Sunday afternoon I get a phone call from another member offering to make a donation. God is always working, always touching hearts and we always seem to be the recipients of His lvoe. Amazing God!

Tuesday afternoon many of us had the opportunity of attending the memorial service for Dale. I think it was appropriate, we were gathered together on a cold, drizzly, windy, bone chilling afternoon, like many of our visits with Dale. The only difference, we did have a burn barrel with pallets a blaze, coughing from the black smoke billowing out! It was good to see old friends in Brian and Charlotte Lewis, who took Dale in after his first hospital stay. Many stories were shared about Dale and the effect he had on each of us. The one common theme most of the stories had, were about the love Dale had for others. Both Tim and Dale were always offering what they had to others as they passed through their camp. Amazing lvoe, not having much but giving to others.

Tuesday evening, the men of the community gathered to share their stories. Matt read from Philippians chapter 3. Paul sharing his story of how he thought he was living the perfect life until he met God, then everything change. So many of us go through life thinking we are doing what is right, what is expected of us, but in reality it is a life that will not bring us closer to God. What's important in your life? Is it things or is it Jesus?  Good discussions about how the men of this community is striving to live a life where it is all about Jesus!

Wednesday was the beginning of the Lenten season. Many folks use this time to do a self analysis of their life and determine things that hinder their relationships with Jesus. mr brian being the kind of guy he is, has decided to give up the eating of brussel sprouts and to give up training for marathons! Seriously, what is keeping you away from the type of relationship Christ is wanting with you? Is it time to let go of it and focus on God?

Thursday was another afternoon full of blessings. Chapel was led by Pastor Willie, accompanied by Wes on the piano. I told Wes, 30 minutes is not long enough for chapel when you two get together! Can't wait for the sanctuary to open, maybe having more time to celebrate the lvoe of Jesus through song and words. We had our friends from Northwestern School of Nursing join in. They helped us cut up the tomatoes, shred the lettuce and serve the meal. Hamburgers, barbeque beans and all the trimmings were served to a packed house. All the ladies got to take home Momma T and Krysten's flowers. Matt and Ms Vickie brought the children goody bags. Smiles and laughter were present all around the center.

Don't forget, breakfast this Saturday, 8:30 at the center. Pancakes, bacon, hot coffee and good conversations will be happening. Come and enjoy the morning with us. Bring a friend with you.

Prayers for Wes and Ms Shannon. Their son will be leaving soon for the Marines. Continued prayers for Cari and Pete as they endure the treatments Cari is going through. Continued prayers for Ms Sarah as she continues her journey in hosting teams as they share the lvoe of Jesus with the folks in Haiti. Prayers for William. He is back in the hospital dealing with his addictions. William needs to let go and let Jesus take over his life, a hard thing to do for some of us. Prayers for our community. While sitting in chapel Thursday afternoon, listening to Pastor Willie talk about the amazing lvoe of God, you could hear loud voices of folks fussing with each other on the outside. Pastor's wife asked him to go into the fellowship hall and pray for everybody, a good start into reaching out to others.

Others? Something that's been on my mind, listening to our community talk about new and exciting dreams, one thing that comes to mind is we need to constantly be thinking about inviting others to share in those dreams. We can't build God's Kingdom by us doing it all on our own. God is bring folks to us for a purpose, one to share the lvoe of Christ with others but also to get those he brings to be a part of His Kingdom. As we shared with the community on our first meal in the community hall, this is not mr brian's center, not Momma T's center, this is everybody's center. If we don't get the community involved than we are missing on the blessings God wants us to have. We have to flexible into accepting things might not go the way we want them to go or look the way we thought they would but in the end God will get the glory and His Kingdom will prosper.

This week, is all about lvoe, not the "love" the world wants us to feel, but the remarkable lvoe of a God that wants us to experience through others. A lvoe that knows no boundaries, no judgements, no criticism. A lvoe that is unconditional in its compassion and understanding. Let go of whatever is keeping you from experiencing that special unique lvoe and strive to share that lvoe with others. Guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a glow in your heart! Amazing God!

Have a great week. Blessings to all! Amen!