special week

Wow and Wow! Didn't we just say last week, it can't get any better than this, well I think we topped it! God continues to bless our little community!

Our week got started off by our visits with our outdoor friends. Mr Matt and myself were there to carry the torch as most of our folks were out of town or had other commitments. Richard felt sorry for me traveling by myself, so he rode along with me! Still no report on Robert, not sure where he is. Others are doing fine, just trying to hang in there with this heat and bugs.

Saturday afternoon, we met our new friends from Sherman, Texas. Youth group from Grace Methodist church. Yep, same name just a different location. They stayed at Grace through Tuesday. I told the youth pastor, you sure drove along way to get to Grace!

Sunday afternoon, we met the youth group from Sherman at the center and they worked all afternoon. Pictures are our web site, working in the garden, walking around the area picking up trash, helping us in the Bright House II, helped Lisa and Mark clean up around the yellow JJ house. 

Shortly after the Sherman youth got started, our new friends from Illinois showed up. 47 folks from Winstanley Baptist church, Krysten's former church, came by to see where they would be working all week. We showed them around, shared our story, and got them settled in. They stayed at a church in Marshall during the week.

Winstanley showed up Monday morning ready for work. There was a group of folks who showed up around 6:30 to begin working on the Bright House II. Then the youth showed up around 8:30 to play with our youth and then they helped with summer camp. Both groups enjoyed breakfast and lunch provided by our feeding program ladies. Something unique about a lot of the youth from Winstanley, were the youth was from the inner city of St Louis. What a treat to have young people who loved the Lord, share their stories and struggles with our children. You could see the bonding of the two groups by weeks end.

Tuesday evening, Mr Matt hosted our men's Bible fellowship. Again our circle was full of men wanting to share and learn from each other. We had two neighborhood men show up for the first time. Talk was centered around God's grace in our lives and our relationship to Jesus. Do we continue to sin, knowing God's grace is sufficient? Of course not, but why do we struggle so? We talked about our relationship with Jesus. What if Jesus was sitting in the chair next to us, would we act differently? Would we talk about others? Would we continue to sin, knowing Jesus sees us doing it? We talked about how important our relationship with Jesus is. A good evening of sharing.

Not sure how to describe our Thursday time together. Winstanley brought their cooks over from Marshall and they prepared our meal. The youth taught our children how to praise God through dance. The work team continued working on the Bright House II, a very special day. Lots of pictures and videos will be coming to show you the work performed by these special servants of God.

During the afternoon, we had a short visit by some of our old friends of, Hennington Methodist church. They helped bag our groceries and cleaned up around the center. Very nice to see them.

We were treated by song and dance by some of the youth from Winstanley. Amazing group of young ladies praising God by their hearts through dance. The youth leader, shared the Word by reminding us, we can put our problems before God and He will take care of them. The closing dance was performed not only by our new friends, but by our own children. Very emotional and uplifting showing us where God is leading us.

Our delicious meal was served by our Illinois friends, who also helped clean up and wash. Ms Abbey said it was one of the largest crowds we have ever had. Ms Lisa and Momma T handed out the groceries. Some of the work group wanted to finish up their work on the house, so after supper, they worked until dark to compete the task. Not sure words can describe the hearts we felt, the smiles we saw, the passion to serve we experienced. God has created a special group of disciples, our community was blessed to be a part of.

Don't forget our breakfast this Saturday. Momma T and Tim will be cooking biscuits, eggs, bacon, cheese grits, and serving hot coffee. Come and enjoy the morning.

We will have another youth group with us next week. Cypress Point Baptist church will be joining us all day every day. Come by and say Hi, letting them know how much we appreciate them spending their week with us. They will be leading our chapel time.

Prayer concerns. James as he looks to solve his housing problems. William in his struggles with addictions. Prayers for our young people in our community. There is pressure put on them from their community to not be a part of our community. Hard for our young people to say no to Satan and yes to Jesus.

Hope your week was full of God's blessings. For those of you in town, come by and experience what God is doing in our community. For those of you out of town, please continue to pray for us and enjoy our pictures and videos. Even though you may not be able to join us, know you are important to us and our community. 

We hope everybody has a great week, knowing Jesus is walking along side of us to help us through the days. God is good! All the time! Amen

Darkness and Light

There is not enough time to write down everything we have experienced this week. Truly amazing what is going on in our community. God is sooo good!!

Last Friday we had our new friends from Bossier, with Mr Billy and Mr Matt leading the way as they continued to scrap, prime, pick up paper, clean up around the center. In all the heat, they continued to laugh, tell jokes, work without ceasing, what a group of young people.

Saturday, we made way around the camps. Our visits concluded early because Richard and Robert were not home. Richard was in the hospital he said, Robert, we do not know where he is? I think the highlight of the morning, was seeing Turner laughed as we talked about our visits.

Later on in the afternoon, Ms Vicky hosted a baby shower for Octavia at the center. Very nice of her to take time out of her busy schedule to help Octavia out. While that was going on the inside the center, Matt and Tim were working with some of the guys from the Macroni  finishing up our work on the Bright House II. I think it was one of the hottest days of the year, but all the guys were out there working, very inspiring!

Monday, we got our summer camp started off by hosting the youth from Brookwood Baptist church. The youth sang, danced, drew art, read Bible versus, hugged our children for three days. Mylie, said to them Wednesday as they were leaving, please don't go, can't ya'll stay with us forever! Lots of good relationships were started hoping it will lead to more interactions in the future. Lots of great videos on Face book of the week, check them out.

Monday evening, some of us met with our community members as we continued to share ideas of what God is leading us to do in our neighborhood. Most of the members want to focus on the youth of the community, asking other agencies who have programs going on, if they will bring their ideas to our neighborhood. Transportation continues to be a stumbling block, so we thought if the programs came to our kids, then we don't have to worry about providing transportation.

As Ms Lisa has told us what Joey did on Tuesday, I will only add God is good. Christ Methodist has started a food drive each month and has committed to helping us with grocery donations. Tuesday they brought 60 bags of groceries, Joey and his friends from Brookwood helped unload the bags and put the items on the shelves. The pantry has never looked so full.

Tuesday evening, Matt hosted the men's Bible fellowship, reading from Mark 2. The thing that I remember most, was at the beginning of our time, we had to get up and make the circle bigger! Record number of men and young adult men came, wanting to learn, wanting to share and all having the opportunity to do so. It is awesome, the circle provides a place where young and old can share their feelings about their lvoe of Christ and listening to others as we share what God has done in our lives. Following our time together, we celebrated the birthday of Mr Karl, complete with ice cream and cake!

Wednesday, Brookwood said goodbye to all our children. One of the leaders said, as they were saying their goodbyes,  make sure everybody gets a hug! Remarkable!

Our summer feeding continues to provide meals to the neighborhood, 5 days a week. Yes there are challenges that comes along with this, but it also provides a way for us all to become closer. As Joey was sitting on his front porch one morning, he said to some of the young boys hanging out with him, I've got to go inside and pray. The boys said no Joey, let's pray right here! WE lvoe you, we lvoe God. Isn't that cool! 

Wednesday evening, Ms Ardis hosted our family time at her house. Great food, great conversations as we discussed Chapter 8 of Dr Phil's book, the heart. As the book talked about, as we talked about, the heart is the key to everything. Your actions, your attitudes, your talk reflect your heart. Jesus is not concerned about our looks, our appearance, He is after our hearts. I have come to realize, mr brian is not going to change the community, change will come about when Christ changes the hearts. Thanks Ms Ardis for a great evening.

Thursday got started off with our chapel time. One pastor could not be there, but Pastor Jackson filled in and boy did he fill in! Ms Abbie gives me a few titles, the words are put on the wall, and the chapel is filled with the Holy Spirit through music. I have been around music most of my life. You have choir rehearsals, practice, practice, practice, but to be honest, the music we have in chapel is just as inspiring then anything I have ever heard. Pastor shares his thoughts often going another direction then what is planned. Why? Most of our chapel time, is led by the Holy Spirit, wanting only to glorify God, not ourselves. Inspiring to us all!

Our meal, our groceries, our clothes are all provided by God through folks who allow the Spirit to flow through them. Consequently, the nights are a blessing to us all.

Prayer concerns for the week, continue to lift up William. He is still at the McAdoo, but still struggling with life. Our guys in the camps, hot weather, bugs, are making for trying times.

We will have two youth groups with us next week. One group is from Krysten's former church in St Louis, Winstanley Baptist. They will be arriving Saturday evening, staying in Marshal. They will be with us all week. We will have another youth group from Sherman, Texas join us Saturday. They will be staying at Grace, working with us Sunday afternoon, meeting other folks on Monday and leaving Tuesday. Prayers for safe travel for them all.

Next Saturday, July 20th, we will have our family breakfast. Starting at 8:30 we will have good food, good talk and good friends to enjoy it all. Come and join us.

Momma T, Tim and Scott and Sarah will be busy with Weekend of the Cross, next weekend. Keep them in your prayers as they work with the Methodist youth from all over Louisiana as they share their lvoe of Christ with others.

As I was sitting in chapel Thursday afternoon, typing up the words to put on the wall, I began to listen. As we got closer to 5, more and more folks came in. They sat down, greeted each other and I could hear them ask each other, how was your week. They would talk about, how hot it was. One of their sisters was in the hospital, another one said, we will pray for her. Not enough to eat this week another one said, glad it is Thursday. I heard one say, I love "our" chapel time on Thursdays.

As I was sitting down at our meal, visiting with one of the men of the community, Big Man comes up to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. Didn't say a word, just laid his hand on my shoulder.

Watching Princess and Henry visit after our meal inside the fellowship hall and sitting on the curb after they had finished cleaning up from the meal. Watching Princess work with one of young boys trying to get him behave during our meal.

Joey sharing his experiences with the children during the week. Lvoe being challenged while Satan leading others to destruction.

We had a new family last night, all dressed in LSU colors and t-shirts. While the parents were in the clothing room and getting their groceries, one of the youngsters, was cleaning off the tables and putting up the chairs.

We always seem to pick up on the bad, rather than focus on the positive. The child who acts up gets our attention, more so than the one who is not causing trouble. Ms Dawn went to Sinotra last week and told him how proud she was of him cleaning up around the center. Our children don't ever hear positive attitudes at home. The only time they are praised is around us.

Slowly, very slowly, the Light of Christ is beginning to shine. You have to be quiet and listen for it. Sometimes you have to look real hard. Sometimes you have to stand back and let it shine. But it is happening. It is happening because all of you are allowing the Holy Spirit to shine through you. The darkness is deep. It has been growing in our community for a long time, so our patience will be tried at times. Many times it will seem there is no light.

But when you get a hug, when you get a pat on the shoulder, when you get an Amen, when you get a thank you, when you get a smile, when you get a prayer, there you will find that light. As a pastor said one time, one little light can light up an entire room. We have to pray for that one little light to light up our community. We have to continue to allow that little light to shine in our neighborhood. And then one day, the darkness will be gone and God will be glorified in all His splendor! Isn't that exciting! Much to look forward to as His Kingdom grows in our hearts and in our community! Amen!

Come and join us this week, meet our new friends from St Louis. Many blessings to you all! Amen!

Where are the Christians?

Happy Fourth of July week! Hope everybody had a great time with family and friends. God is good!!

We got our week started off visiting our friends living outside. Turner and Richard were doing fine. Richard had a story for us. Robert Harp is back with us. Robert was one day from completely his rehab, but bolted and has relapsed again, alcohol controlling his life. Terrible, terrible, he was not in a good frame of mind, wanting to quit but mad he did not. Prayers for Robert, he is struggling. We met Brad's friend Charles, who takes Brad to church each week and helps him out from time to time. Smokey had lots of stories to share with us. Matt, Sara and Tim made their way around to the other camps, visiting Catfish, Tim, Joey, Joe, Andy, Brian and Jimalee. Prayers for our friends living outside. Life is hard in normal circumstances, you add heat, mosquitoes, chiggers, sweat,  troubles follow.

We had some friends visit us Monday afternoon. The youth from Temple Methodist church in Ruston came over. They helped with summer camp, picked up trash around the center, worked in the garden, all the while - smiling and having a good time.

Tuesday evening, the men gathered in the Fellowship hall for a full barbeque spread and then talked about Ephesians chapter 4, about supporting each other and lifting each other up. It was suggested we lift each other up in prayer during the week. One of the camps, told us they talk about our gatherings during the week, to help them get through the week, very inspiring.

The Summer feeding program continued. We lost our cook, but the other ladies have pulled together to continue serving our meals. It is great to see a play pen in the fellowship hall. One of the moms brings her child with her to work, pretty cool.

Sports was the theme for summer camp this week. Did you all see the pictures of the week, playing ball, jumping rope and completing the week by going to a skating park. The interns are doing a great job, the children seem to be having a great time. Thanks so much everybody making it all happen.

Travis and Dave have begun preparing the window frames for the windows we have ordered for the Bright House II. They have repaired holes around the house, getting it ready to start painting.

We got a text from our folks who come to chapel on the first Thursday of each month, telling us they were having a church function and could not come. We decided to just have our meal and hand out groceries. Not an hour later, Pastor Jackson texts and says, he would like to come sing and preach if we needed him! Isn't that amazing, God took care of everything. So Ms Abbie and the choir sang a couple of songs and Pastor Jackson shared the Word. TJ and his family spent all afternoon preparing a meal, Ms Lisa and Ms Abbie handed out groceries. All had a great time. We had a small number of folks show up, but that was ok, we got to sit down with many of them and visit for awhile. Thanks to all for coming out and sharing the lvoe of Christ.

Prayers for our Lomax as he, some from the Yellow house and some from First Methodist are helping in Haiti this week. Prayers for Lomax that he doesn't get lost from the group and doesn't come back home!

Prayers for William. The first of each month William has money. He usually spends it all on his addictions. He is trying to not do that this month but it is hard because he has been doing it for so long. Prayers for those involved with William that they can help him through this week.

Our electrician again, has performed his magic for us. He did so, taking time out of his holiday to unhook the electricity wire going into the Bright House II. Now our groups can scrape, prime and paint the house without having to worry about the electricity. Thank you John Williams.

Next week, summer camp will be treated to the enthusiasm of Brookwood's Baptist youth. For the third year in a row, the youth will host their Vacation Bible camp for our children. One of the biggest treats is our kids will get a t-shirt for the week. There will be lots of songs, dance, and activities going on. Come by if you get a chance and check it all out.

An old saying, it is hard to tell a Christian Monday through Saturday, has been rattling in my head this week. Matt talked about Tuesday evening, we need to support one another, lift each other up every day, not just on Tuesdays or Thursdays or when we meet. Pastor Jackson talked about the fig tree, bearing leaves, but no fruit, explaining to Jesus, it is not my season to bear fruit. Jesus saying, we need to bear fruit all year long, just not when it feels right for us.

How often have we said to someone in need, not now I don't have time for you. Why don't you come on Sunday? Or I will see you on Thursday? If something happens between us, we go to someone else and start gossiping behind their backs, instead of sharing our thoughts with each other. We criticize each other instead of lifting them up. Hard to find a Christian when all of this is going on. No wonder folks don't come to church, when they see Christians, fighting, spreading rumors or back stabbing.

The last verse in Ephesians Chapter 4 says, Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ. Good words to follow, to live by, to show others the lvoe of Christ. Our community is about lvoe, not hate. Our community is about passion not greed. Our community is about others, not selfishness. Let's continue our walks, learning to lvoe others as we grow closer in our relationships with Christ.

Have a great weekend and a blessed week. See you around the center. Amen!

Where do we go from here?

It's not Friday, it can't be Friday, another week has happened, wow, God you are amazing!

I am afraid this week's note will be less than expected due to me being gone on Saturday and a couple of days during the week. The one thought about not being around, life goes on, God is still in charge, His Kingdom is growing. Thanks to all, who continue to live out your passions for Christ, every day, every week. Our community continues to be blessed by your hearts and Christ's lvoe.

Did everybody see the videos and pictures of Science week from our summer camp, priceless. With the making of bubbles, to making volcanoes of smoke, to exploding bubbles and a trip to Sci-Port, the children got to experience things they have never done before. The smiles, the laughter seen in the videos and pictures are what camp is all about. I saw the children last week and did not know half of the children. We have new children from the neighborhood, which I think is great. A big thank you goes out to all our interns and helpers for lvoing our children.

Tuesday evening, Mr Matt continued leading the men's group in sharing their thoughts about life and their journeys. As we were telling someone about the men's Bible fellowship, it is more of a healing circle of guys than a circle of men reading the Bible. No one is being forced to come, but they come to hear from others, to learn from others, to understand no one is greater and we are all going through the same challenges of life.

Wednesday evening, Ms Lisa held a Board meeting. I will admit, this is not my favorite thing to do, but after it is all over, it always is a blessing to attend. Some of the highlights of the evening. 

Financially we seem to be doing ok. Bills are being paid, grants we have applied for have been filled allowing us to move forward on several fronts.

Ms Abbey talked about having meetings with folks from other organizations about partnering in helping the Cedar Grove neighborhood. Creating jobs, improving educational opportunities, maybe housing these opportunities in the second story, very exciting.

Momma T talked about the great time everybody had at our first garage sale. Some money was made but visiting with the neighborhood, seeing some of regular Thursday evening folks, was more fun. They talked about, let's do this next weekend!

Ms Lisa talked about the summer feeding program doing well, more than just serving meals, but the ladies are teaching the children about Jesus, manners, how to dress, life skills, a blessing. Joey shared how much fun it is to sit down and visit with everybody as they come for the meals. We are serving around 50 meals at breakfast, 100 meals at lunch time.

Dr Phil talked about the conclusion of the building of the second JJ house. There are some tree issues in getting the electricity connected but other than that, it is completed. I was thinking, ho hum, we have completed a second house! But what an accomplishment by God to have two brand new houses in a neighborhood where there is nothing new, where there is no hope, where there is only struggles. God has now allowed us to have a yellow and blue house where the light Christ will begin to shine through and amazing things will begin to happen as that light moves from house to house.

It was voted on by the Board to hire Dave and Travis in helping us install new windows in the Bright House II. With our new roof on the house, the installed windows will allow us to work inside in the coming months.

Ms Abbey talked about a meeting she and Ms Lisa had with Travis White from Tyler. Travis has a ministry in Tyler similar to ours and he wants us to partner with him. He wants his community to come over and work at our center and help us in reaching out to the community. Exciting times ahead with the possibilities of the two of us working together.

A community hall meeting was discussed. Maybe start off with a suggestion box, allowing our neighbors to put in the box things they would like to see happen in the community. Then have a meeting with our neighbors to talk about them. The center is for the community, the community needs to have input, needs to feel a part of all of this and needs to play an active roll in making it all happen. We have always wanted their involvement, maybe now is the time to make that vision come true. We have identified several folks in the the neighborhood who will make good leaders, so we are contacting them to see if they will led the community hall meetings.

Ms Amanda has agreed to set up our center to host an open house on National Night Out in October. Very exciting, something we have wanted to do for years. We will have food and games for everybody, helping us meet our neighbors.

We had discussions about adopting an outdoor friends policy. Some of our actions with our outdoor friends has offended some organizations in the city. These organizations have spread their gossip and insults to others, causing others not to trust us. Our visits to our friends was started as a desire to reach out. We have been blessed to have known our friends for all these years. As God has opened doors to us and move in other directions, we will continue to support our friends for as long as there are camps to go to. A policy was adopted, one to follow Jesus and one to allow those who visit each week, to make decisions on whether the needs of our friends can be met.

Our final business matter of the evening was the election of new board members. It was with great gratitude we said good bye to Beth and John as board members. They have supported our community for many years and will continue to do so in other ways. We will not let them leave!  The two new members on the board will be Tim and Ardis. We will share their stories next week.

Thursday evening at chapel, we were treated by song and praise from Pastor Eddie and his wife Ms Jean. He talked about the storms we go through, needing Jesus to help us through them. Then we were treated to a meal prepared by our friends at the Rescue Mission. We had lots of food and lots of folks. Ms Abbey said, we had our largest crowd of the year. I sat down with a gentleman there for the first time and he said, how nice everything was. He will be back he said. Momma T and Ms Lisa had out over 75 bags of groceries, Ms Lisa opened up her legal clinic. A busy fun night.

Prayers for us all. Prayers for our community. Prayers for our country. Prayers for Christ's light to shine in and through us everyday, all day.

Surprise, surprise, surprise!! Isn't that what Gomer always said on Andy Griffith. We had originally had our board meeting scheduled for Thursday evening, but Ms Sarah asked us to move it to Wednesday because she wanted to come in early and surprise Scott! We did and she did!! Welcome back Ms Sarah!! We lvoe you and excited you are back with us again. Can't wait to see your smiling face and your big hugs!!

Wednesday evening, we were reminded again, our community is in a dark, hopeless place. One of our director's car's window was smashed out as were meeting inside. Many years ago, as I was first beginning to meet the community, I thought, if mr brian smiled enough, gave out enough snacks, handed out groceries, then miraculously everything would be alright. Well my truck was broken into, the center was broken into, the Bright House was broken into, the appliances of the JJ house was stolen, windows continue to be smashed at the center, candy was stolen, bikes were stolen. People in their right minds would have quit long ago, but we continue to come.

Our latest obstacle Wednesday night again reinforces why we are here and why Christ's light needs to shine in our neighborhood. Whoever did this damage does not know us, does not Christ. Our job in the coming months is to make sure everybody in our neighborhood knows us and knows Christ. Several years ago, we had one of our friends, who helped with our meals, have a window broken out in her car, that was the last time we saw her, Satan won that one. Satan will not win this one. God is greater, God will prevail. Amen!

Have a great weekend and a better week! Lvoe, lvoe, to all!!

God is in charge

Welcome to the first day of summer! Oh boy, temperatures around this part of the world has been in the 90's already! Hot and humid, just 3 more months to go!

Our week got started early, with the beginning of our orientation for our summer interns Friday morning. Momma T, in Momma T fashion had us sitting in a circle, sharing stories with each other, alter filled with flowers from the garden and an old wooden cross standing tall. They spent Friday getting to know each other, Momma T hosted a dinner for them Friday evening. We have some returning interns and some new young faces, a great group of young people. Please go by and meet them all, they will be a blessing to our children.

Also, Friday afternoon we had a special group join us. A friend of Matt's is ministering to a group of young boys from the inner city of Bossier. Billy owns a gym where he instructs them on lifting weights and their souls. A part of his ministry to show the young boys part of serving Christ is serving others. So he brought them to us and they started the process of scrapping and priming the Bright House II. Amazing to see to these young boys climb the ladders, laugh, joke with each other as they worked. Billy asked if they could come back and continue their work.

Saturday, we had our family breakfast, complete with French toast, bacon, hash browns, fruit and almost hot coffee! All our new interns made it! or most of them, Lomax was arriving late as we were leaving, early for him! Thanks Momma T, Tim and Sonotra for making it all happen, delicious.

Chiggers, chiggers where are the chiggers?! They are on our legs! This is the summer for chiggers! As we walk through the grasses to get to the camps, the red bugs have been getting on us. We are now spraying our legs and feet to help keep them off. We got to visit with Turner, I mean Bernard, Richard, Brad, Charles, Daniel, Smokey. Tim and Matt go out to Catfish, then back to the Macroni camps. With the hot, humid weather, cold water is desired by the guys. So we are asking again this summer for water jugs. When you finish your milk, please wash out the jugs, fill it with water and freeze it. Then bring it by the center and we will give them out to the guys on Saturday.

Monday was filled with excitement and some reservations, as our summer camp got started. You never know what to expect, but as usual God has it under control and the afternoon was a great one as the children were introduced to each other. Lots of activities kept everybody busy and the camp got off to a great start. Camp is going on, Monday through Thursday in the afternoons, come by and hang out, a cool bunch of people!

Our summer feeding program is going really well. Pastor Eddie called and said everything is going good. He is pleased with the turn out of the neighborhood and the workers. We have some special ladies working with the program. They are doing more than just handing out food, but sharing their lvoe of the Lord with the children.

Tuesday evening, Mr Matt led the men's Bible fellowship in reading from Second Corinthians, talking about Paul asking God to remove the thorn in his side. Jesus saying to Paul, my grace is sufficient. We know God's grace is sufficient, but we still continue to do it ourselves? Patience with us Lord as we try to become the people of God you want us to be!

Forgot to mention last week, Joey and Lomax hosted a group of young people from the Yellow House of Highland on Wednesday. The Yellow House was started by one of our first interns, Anna. Anna and her friends wanted to live together and share community with their neighbors. The Yellow House is now a member of Community Renewal family. A group of young people, some going to college, some working, have committed to live in the Yellow house for a year and learn what it is like to be a community and sharing that with their neighbors. Joey and Lomax shared with our new friends their journeys with common ground and how they live in community. They gave them a tour of the gardens, the JJ houses, and the center, showing them what God is doing here. They all promised to get together on a regular basis to reflect on their journeys.

Thursday morning, I happen to drive by the center and could barely get down the street with all the young people running around! It was great. We had a big group of youngsters from Grace, working in the garden under the direction of Ms Patty. Others were playing basketball, some were just hanging out, some were climbing the tree. The area seemed alive, full of God's lvoe.

Thursday afternoon, we had our first challenge of the summer. It is hot, nerves are on edge, tempers are high, but God is in charge. Joey and Abbey were able to use their skills, with the help of our policeman friend to help get everything under control. Life is hard, many, many challenges. We have opened up our doors and our hearts and we can expect to have these challenges to be a part of our gatherings. Just because you are at "church" doesn't mean the troubles stop at the door. We have to be a community where those struggles can be listened to and prayed for. Thank you God for being in charge.

No better way to get our Thursday evening started than to hear Ms Abbie and our common ground choir sing their songs, then to have Joey share the Word about lvoing others, chapel doesn't get any better than that. Mr Tom cooked our meal, many folks helped serve and clean up. Ms Lisa, Ms Abbie and Momma T handed out the groceries. Everybody got fed, good food for the soul and the stomachs!

The image that comes to mind this week is seeing Joey walking hand and hand with one of our younger campers down the street as Joey took her home. Here this young man, shoeless! a big smile on his face, talking and joking with the little one as they shared their lvoe with each other. You can talk all you want about reading what others think you should be doing for God. You can go to church every Sunday and not have a clue what it is to be a Christian. We have young people who are living life as Christ lived, for others. Not wanting anything in return only lvoing them unconditional. I can only imagine what this little one must be thinking  of this strange young man. Walking her home, caring for her, lvoing her like no one has ever lvoed her before. What an impression this single of act of kindness will make on this little girl. 

What a priviledge we have to be a part of such a community. A community that is concerned for others, not themselves. A community where praying is first. A community where God is in charge. A community where when one of our young people is struggling with life, our community opens up their hearts to them. A community where there is hope for those who have no hope. A community that can come together to help each other. All of you are awesome children of God.

Hope everybody has a great week, many blessings to you all! Amen!

People

The week has flown by on one respect, then the week has taken it's time! Where do you stand? Excitement, jubilation, dread, anxiety? Another month has come and gone, Wow!

We started our week Saturday on a sad note by saying goodbye to Ben. Ben was with us all week and did an outstanding job of working his heart out for our community. The biggest task he accomplished was the organization of the 2 story building in preparation of our garage sale. Don't know when he found time, but he built a wheel chair ramp for the chapel, attached shelves in our kitchen refrigerator, served our meal on Thursday, cleaned the tables, fixed the wind chimes at the Bright House and went with us on our visits! Words are not sufficient to say Thank You Ben, just know you have a special place in our hearts.

Everybody seemed to be doing fine as we went around on our visits .Turner, really Bernard, was fine, Richard had his story, Robert was not in his camp because he has gone to rehab, Brad and Charles were waiting in their camp for us and Smokey was full of stories and thoughts. Tim and Matt made their way out to Catfish, Daniel and the Macaroni camps.

While most of us was enjoying a holiday on Monday, Lisa and her family was putting up a chain link fence behind the JJ houses. It looks great and will help with the foot traffic not crossing through the houses. Great job guys.

Matt led the men's Bible fellowship Tuesday evening, reading from Luke 15, reading about the prodigal son. Can't we all identify with both of the sons? Some of us have been lost, some of us has shown jealousy and envy, but in the end our Father loves us and isn't that what is important!

Wednesday afternoon, Ms Lisa had a small informational meeting with some of the interns, talking about plans for the upcoming summer camp. Joey shared his thoughts about getting to know the children and where they are coming from. After the meeting was over, Joey took Ashley, one of our new interns and they walked down the street to meet the children and their guardians, very cool.

Also on Wednesday, we walked the neighborhood handing out flyers for our upcoming feeding program. We even had one of our neighbors offer to walk and hand out flyers in her block, very nice.

Wednesday evening for our family time, Lomax was apologizing profusely about putting the lasagna in late, so we worked in the 2 story for a couple of hours getting things all priced. Dr Phil accused Lomax of making us work for our supper, I think he was right! We had a nice group of folks helping us price things, then enjoyed the late, very late supper prepared by Lomax and Sinotra! Thank guys it was great.

Thursday was filled with more excitement as Ms Abbie and the ladies shared their gifts of music and Brother Brown shared his gifts of words as he shared his thoughts about God. Mr Tom, served up his meal, Ms Abbey and Ms Abbie gave out grocery bags, Ms Lisa conducted the Legal clinic and handed out garage sale coupons, Ms Ardis handed out the juice, Momma T and Ms Dawn washed dishes, a very busy night!

Prayers for the week include, William as he gets settled into his new home. Robert as he goes through his rehab. Ms Patty's daughter, Megan as she has surgery today. The folks from Haiti returning home. Lift up our summer feeding program that it will be a blessing to all who come and for those who will serve. Prayers for our interns as they are introduced to our community and share their hearts with our children. Prayers for our new group of youth arriving Thursday. Roger's former church, Luke Simpson in Lake Charles, is making a return trip to visit with us. Prayers for relationships. Relationships are hard, they need to be nurtured, lvoed on, listened to, spoken softly, prayed for. Prayers for mr brian as he and his wife travel to Dallas for a grandson visit. It has been 2 months, 6 days, 13 hours since we have been there, but who is counting!

Don't forget, our first raising the roof garage sale will be happening this Saturday, June 1st, from 7am to noon in the 2 story. Come by, visit, help, walk through the building, imagine rooms filled with laughter in the coming months, very exciting.

Starting Monday, June 3rd at 8:30 for breakfast and noon for lunch, our summer feeding program begins. Come by, encourage those that are working, sit down with those who are eating and let's get to know our neighbors.

The thing that over whelms me this week is  thinking about community. Often when someone say the church, you first think about the pretty buildings, the fancy sign, the big steeple, the manicured lawn. When I think about Common Ground, is not about the buildings, the clean restrooms, the good food, the clothes, the groceries, it is about people, it is about all of you. If all you do do not show up, open your hearts, allow the Spirit to flow through you, Common Ground would not exist.

Ben shows up from Lake Charles by himself. How easy it would have been to call and say, I am not coming because nobody else decided to come. We have folks taking time out of their busy schedules to buy food, pick it up and bring it to the center. We have folks who take it upon themselves, to build fences, mow weeds, make flyers, offer legal advise, over see the funding, supervise. Others, on Saturday mornings, instead of sleeping in, visit with our friends, offering hope, listening to their problems and lvoing them. We have people who hang clothes, hand out juice, water the gardens, plant seeds. We have people who open up their homes, open up their hearts to those who have no where else to go. We have people who allow the children of the neighborhood to come and find a safe place to stay for awhile. Our people, show up to help get things ready for a huge garage sale. Our people, play the piano, si ng, share the Word. Our people reach out to those who are hurting, through a circle of compassion or a visit in their homes.Our people share the lvoe they experience with others, allowing more to come. Our people are flexible, meeting the needs of others. Our people greet and meet our families from out of town.

All of you are special in the eyes of God. Continue to reach out in the name of Jesus. Blessings will follow and God's Kingdom will grow. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you all! 

Have a great week, see you Saturday at the sale and next week during the meals. Amen!

Neighbor, you are lvoed!

How is everybody doing this week? What challenges did God help you through? What joys did God bless you with this week? What an amazing God we have!

We got our week started off Saturday by checking in on all our friends living outside. Everybody seems to be fine, except for Robert, Dale's former camp mate. Robert had just gotten back to camp as we arrived, with tears in his eyes, sharing with us, he has stomach cancer. Ms Dawn, Mr Scott and I sat there listening to Robert talk about his life. He was heading to a rehab facility Monday and then to John's Hopkins hospital for treatment of his cancer. So much emotion was flowing from Robert, worrying about telling his mother of the news, wondering what God was up to in his life and what tomorrow may bring. Robert's mother is a preacher. Robert grew up in church, but as he shared with us Saturday morning, as we were sitting in broken down chairs, under tarps made to keep shade from the heat, swatting away mosquitoes, Robert told us, he never knew lvoe until he met the folks of Common Ground. God came alive for him, by us coming every week to visit with him and his friends, not judging him, but just talking and listening to him. Amazing visit.

Sunday afternoon, we met our friend, John Williams, our electrician. He again worked his miracles and got us light into the second story. God continues to bless us with special people who share their gifts with us. We walked through each room seeing things we had never seen before, what a blessing!

Monday afternoon, Ms Lisa and her newly graduated boys were weeding, mowing, and spraying the weeds around Ms Dawn's house. It will take awhile until the grass can take over but it will happen, so lots of work will be needed to keep the vines from growing back. If you have some time and want to help out, Ms Dawn can always use the help.

Tuesday morning, we had an old friend join us for the week. Ben, from McNeese Wesleyan community in Lake Charles arrived to share his gifts with us. Unfortunately, we did have others come but it was not time for them yet, so we have been blessed by Ben's presence. His main task, has been organizing the second story in preparation of our garage sale June 1st. Ben has worked tirelessly all week and now we have a building where you can walk through and see what is there. Thank you Ben for your heart.

Later on Tuesday, we had our first Summer Feeding Program training session. Under the direction of Pastor Eddie, he shared with the ladies on how to prepare the food, store the food and serve the food to our community. Our supervisor will be the daughter of one of our longtime friends Vonita. Cornisha is a brand new mother with a willingness to support her family. Our cook will be the sister of Ms Dorothy. Gerlien, has worked in the kitchen before and will be able to get everything all organized. Our server will be Gloria. Gloria and her family has been with us for many years. What a blessing to have a program where we can feed our children and give jobs to our community.

We had strong storms predicted for Tuesday evening, so we decided not to have our mens' Bible fellowship.

Wednesday afternoon, we met with the health inspector to get our kitchen certified for our summer feeding program and we passed with flying colors. Pastor Eddie had walked through with us several weeks ago, telling us things we needed to have. We got them all done and the inspector was very impressed. Thanks to all for making our new kitchen the best kitchen ever!

Also on Wednesday, Pastor Steve from Grace, brought supper from the New Room. He wanted to keep the food warm until his helpers could pick it up to serve to the homeless population downtown. Glad we were able to help them out and great that Steve called us when he needed the help.

Joey told us Wednesday, Robert Gibson has finally completed all his requirements and has passed his GED! Yea! Lomax had been working with him in areas he was struggling with and it paid off. Robert is still living at the Grace house on Southern. Robert is now wanting to continue his education and look into getting some college courses done! Wow, that is awesome.

Don't know if you all know, but early every Thursday, Ms Abbey and Ms Abbie and others gather at the community center and get our grocery bags ready, begin to prepare our meals, make sure the clothing room is ready, get our paperwork done, check the center in preparation for our neighbors. What an outstanding job they do behind the scenes, thank you ladies.

Without much rest from all their doings on Thursday, mr brian walks in and asks Ms Abbie and the ladies to bless our chapel time with their gifts of singing and playing. I think I heard Ms Abbie say, she is getting the locks changed to keep out mr brian! What a great way to start chapel, by hearing the ladies sing and Ms Abbie play the piano. Pastor Jackson filled in for us and shared the Word to all. Much of chapel is not planned, but what an experience of the Holy Spirit filling the room each and every week. It is awesome.

With a large crowd of folks, great to see everybody working together to make our supper, clothing room and grocery bag giveaways so smooth. Ms Abbey said we gave out 70 bags of groceries. Thank you all for making it happen.

Prayers concerns this week. William and Robert Harp. William continues to recover at the hospital and not knowing where he is going when he gets out. Continue to keep Cari Bollinger in your prayers. Cari is back home recovering from her stem cell treatment. Everything is looking good but still a long way in the recovery process. Momma T as she travels to see Georgette this weekend. Dr Phil as he returns from his trip. Prayers as we continue our journey that God has laid before us. Let those plans be of God and not ours. As we celebrate Memorial Day this weekend, prayers for all of our military, the sacrifices they have made to make this the great land that it is and the liberties we enjoy.

As far as I know we are planning on opening the doors to the second story and having our garage sale Saturday June 1st. We will need help to monitor, answer questions and hopefully help load items into cars. Start time 7, going to noon. Come if you can and help us out.

Monday June 3rd, we will begin our summer feeding program. Breakfast will be served from 8:15 to 9:15, lunch will be from noon until 2. Come by and say hi, maybe enjoy some Cheerios and support our folks in this new adventure.

Lots going on, God is busy, He is up to something, preparing us for bigger and greater things to come. Won't you come. Won't you share in God's majesty. For those of you who are far away, please continue to pray for us. As Pastor Jackson said Thursday, together, all things are possible through Christ. A favorite saying at chapel time, holding hands with the person next to you saying to them, Neighbor, I lvoe you and there's not a thing you can do about it! Know you are lvoed by us and especially by God, doesn't get any better than that! Have a great Memorial Day weekend and a great week ahead. Amen!