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??!!