Dog days of summer! Not sure why they don't call them the "cat" days or the"bird" days of summer? But for whatever reason we are in them! Hot humid days and nights are happening in our part of the world. Hopefully you are able to escape them where you are?! How did God bless you this week?
Our Saturday was busy in and around the center. Work was done at the Bright House II, wrapping bread was happening, office work got done and visits were made. The frozen water was a big hit last week, so don't forget to bring your empty milk jugs. Anything cool is always appreciated this time of year. The camps seem to be ok or as well as they can be in the heat!
Another good week of summer camp came to a close. Hard to believe, but next week will be our final week! For the field trip this week, the children got to go to Sci-port and experience science projects going on in their lives everyday. Lots of smiling faces were prevelant Thursday afternoon as they returned home.
Tuesday evening, Rickie led the community men's fellowship, talking about the tongue. What a powerful instrument we have been given to use. As it says in James 3: 10, "out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be". Let's use our tongues for lifting others up, not tearing them down.
Wednesday evening, Lisa held a Board meeting. Lots going on is an understatement! Many blessings and many challenges are before us. With God's blessings, it will all work out to His glory!
Thursday evening, got started off with our Brother Chester and Ms Abbie leading us in chapel. A packed house of community, hearing the Word and singing His praises! Abbey hosted a big youth group from a Baptist church from Haughton for the evening. They brought clothing, groceries, served, cleaned and shopped their way through the evening. Our folks in the clothing room have not opened up a baby room! In a room across the hall, you will find all sorts of items for a baby! On a sad - happy note, we said goodbye to a long time family member. Dr Phil is leaving us, moving to Colorado to continue his studies and help organize a school he is involved with. Dr Phil has been a long time supporter of our community in many ways. He will be missed terribly, but it is a comfort knowing he is following the path God has laid before him.
Prayers for our country. Opening up the newspaper this morning to read more killings happening in another movie theater. This time it is getting closer to home, in Lafayette. I am reminded, God is in charge and greater than anything Satan can throw at us. Continued prayers for Ginellen as she continues to heal from her last procedure. Prayers for those who are traveling.
As it was said at the Board meeting, not sure Ms Lisa how you do your "day" job, by all she does for our community. In one of her hand outs was a list of everything going on and what it takes to run our campus. I still can't believe the word "campus" being used, but it is true. From starting out, handing out groceries and clothes from the trunks of our cars or the back of our trucks, we now have a campus! We had a heart for meeting the needs of our community then and still do to this day.
Unlike most other groups, we continue to have very little paid staff to meet those needs. All the work is done by those who have fallen in lvoe with our community. Some times it can be overwhelming. Some times it can be painful. Many times it does not go the way we want it to go. But it happens. It gets done. God is glorified.
We are learning as we go. We don't have all the answers, really we don't have any answers! We continue to put one foot before the other, having faith God will provide and lead us along the way. He has done it so far, no reason not expect it to continue.
God continues to bring people before us. He continues to challenge us with dreams too big to comprehend. He is always pushing us to new levels of relationships, deeper than we could have ever imagine. We are part of a community were lvoe is not only felt but experienced in ways we did not dream of.
God is preparing us. God is laying a path before us that will be beyond our imaginations. God is providing a way for us to make a difference in the lives of our children and our community. God is asking us to have faith in Him. Not to seek answers to our questions or have doubts but to be obedient and have faith.
Will you join us? Tell those you meet, fellowship with, your family, your friends, your church. God needs you and your friends to help our community grow closer to Him. Tell your family, if you want to see God working in a world where there is so much pain, join us on Thursday evening. Explain to your church, miracles are happening in today's time, just come on Saturday mornings or Tuesday evenings and watch the children. Share with others, get out of your comfort zone, pray, be open to new ways and come during the week for camp or after school reading times. It will take us all, being obedient, praying, listening and lvoing as we move along the path God has laid before us! Amen.
Hope you all have a great week. May God's blessings abound in the coming days as you get to share in what God is doing in our community.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Friday, July 17, 2015
I will set out
We are in the middle of our summer heat! Hopefully it is not as hot where you are?! Hope your week was full of many God surprises!
Saturday got the week started off in the right direction. I was honored to have two of my high school friends join in on the fun around the center. One of the guys, who was a high school all state basketball player, stayed around the center and worked with the basketball team, while the other friend joined us visiting our friends. The heat and mosquitos were the main topic of the morning. Don't forget to bring your empty milk jugs, so we can fill them up with water, to provide cooler water. Ms Abbie and Jada got the bread wrapping started off in good fashion. Tim did work in the garden. John continues his work in the Bright House II. A busy morning.
Camp concluded this week by a visit to Gator and Friends. The children got to feed all sorts of animals and watched the alligators get their daily feeding. Fun and games were going on during the week. Great to see our young leaders lead our children in learning how to work with each other and have fun at the same time.
Hopefully most of you saw Abbey's email about a visit from First Methodist's youth on Monday. Always great to see how God works in the hearts and minds of the little ones.
Tuesday evening the men gathered for Bible fellowship as Rickie led the study reading from Luke 15, starting at verse 11, reading about the lost son coming home. As we talked about the passage, it was agreed, we all have had a part of the prodigal son in us at some point in our lives! Thank goodness our God has compassion for us when we decided, it was time to come home!
No better way to start Thursday's activities than to have Brother George and Spencer led us in song and scripture in chapel. A delicious meal was prepared by Peaches. Our Market was busy as well as the clothing room. Lisa and I had the opportunity to visit with the new president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, Michael Tipton. He was touring the state visiting with recent Angel award recipients and seeing how they can continue to support our efforts. A good evening.
Prayers for those who are traveling this weekend and next week. Prayers for healing. Prayers for our friends living outside.
"I will set out", a phrase that stuck with me this week. In verse 18, the lost son, after he had spent everything his father had given him, came to his "senses", facing starvation, decided, I will set out and go back to my father.
How many times have we strayed from the path we should be on? How many times have to tried to do things our own way? How many times have we taken things into our own hands and tried to fix it? How many times have we messed up and decided to set out and go back to our father?
It is hard, really hard to admit I have messed up. I marvel at the lost son, who had wealth and power growing up, loose it all. Then humble himself enough to acknowledge I must go home in order to survive. We all need to do the same.
As it says in the last part of verse 20, the father of the lost son sees his lost son still along way off, the father was filled with compassion, he runs to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. We have the same father! We have a father, that does not judge us, but lvoes us. We have a father, who wants the best for us, not the worse. We have a father, who will care for us, who will comfort us, who will lead us down the path of righteousness. All we have to do is make the decision to "set out" in his direction. Amen
Hope the coming week will find us all setting out in the right direction! Hope to see you around the center! Our Father is good!
Saturday got the week started off in the right direction. I was honored to have two of my high school friends join in on the fun around the center. One of the guys, who was a high school all state basketball player, stayed around the center and worked with the basketball team, while the other friend joined us visiting our friends. The heat and mosquitos were the main topic of the morning. Don't forget to bring your empty milk jugs, so we can fill them up with water, to provide cooler water. Ms Abbie and Jada got the bread wrapping started off in good fashion. Tim did work in the garden. John continues his work in the Bright House II. A busy morning.
Camp concluded this week by a visit to Gator and Friends. The children got to feed all sorts of animals and watched the alligators get their daily feeding. Fun and games were going on during the week. Great to see our young leaders lead our children in learning how to work with each other and have fun at the same time.
Hopefully most of you saw Abbey's email about a visit from First Methodist's youth on Monday. Always great to see how God works in the hearts and minds of the little ones.
Tuesday evening the men gathered for Bible fellowship as Rickie led the study reading from Luke 15, starting at verse 11, reading about the lost son coming home. As we talked about the passage, it was agreed, we all have had a part of the prodigal son in us at some point in our lives! Thank goodness our God has compassion for us when we decided, it was time to come home!
No better way to start Thursday's activities than to have Brother George and Spencer led us in song and scripture in chapel. A delicious meal was prepared by Peaches. Our Market was busy as well as the clothing room. Lisa and I had the opportunity to visit with the new president of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, Michael Tipton. He was touring the state visiting with recent Angel award recipients and seeing how they can continue to support our efforts. A good evening.
Prayers for those who are traveling this weekend and next week. Prayers for healing. Prayers for our friends living outside.
"I will set out", a phrase that stuck with me this week. In verse 18, the lost son, after he had spent everything his father had given him, came to his "senses", facing starvation, decided, I will set out and go back to my father.
How many times have we strayed from the path we should be on? How many times have to tried to do things our own way? How many times have we taken things into our own hands and tried to fix it? How many times have we messed up and decided to set out and go back to our father?
It is hard, really hard to admit I have messed up. I marvel at the lost son, who had wealth and power growing up, loose it all. Then humble himself enough to acknowledge I must go home in order to survive. We all need to do the same.
As it says in the last part of verse 20, the father of the lost son sees his lost son still along way off, the father was filled with compassion, he runs to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. We have the same father! We have a father, that does not judge us, but lvoes us. We have a father, who wants the best for us, not the worse. We have a father, who will care for us, who will comfort us, who will lead us down the path of righteousness. All we have to do is make the decision to "set out" in his direction. Amen
Hope the coming week will find us all setting out in the right direction! Hope to see you around the center! Our Father is good!
Friday, July 10, 2015
left behind
How was your week? In this part of the world, we have begun to experience the joys of summer!
Saturday was kind of strange around the center, very quiet! Matt and Vikki took the weekend off to go visit his mom and relax a bit, so no basketball practice. Ardis was on vacation. Momma T and Ms Abbie picked up the slack, wrapping bread, working with the girls, and spending time in the garden. We visited our friends, living outside, trying to convey cool thoughts! It is hot and humid, mosquitos are everywhere, making life miserable. Don't forget to bring your empty milk jugs, so we can fill them up with water, freeze them, providing cooler drinking water during the week.
We finished another week of camp. It was a good week. Thursday afternoon, walking up to chapel, there were a sea of children sitting on the steps eating watermelon! What a treat to see the little ones enjoying their slices of heaven! I won't be surprised, next year to see watermelon plants growing around the chapel, there were seeds everywhere!
Tuesday evening, we read from Luke 17 starting in verse 20, talking about The coming of the Kingdom of God. Are we ready? Is it coming? When will it get here? The world was doing what it wanted and God said, it is time, so the floods came. Have we strayed away from God's Word?
Thursday evening, chapel was led by Willie and Wes. There is a connection between those two, Wes starts playing, Willie starts singing, the Holy Spirit moves in ways that can not be explained! A good meal was served, the Market was busy, clothes were given away, a blessed evening.
Prayers for those on the road this weekend. Momma T headed to College Station. Dr Phil, who's birthday is Wednesday, Ms Sarah and her youth group will be heading back from a week long visit in Haiti. Continued prayers for healing for Ginellen. Her doctor was pleased on her progress. Willie having kidney issues. Prayers for our community and the hot, summer days.
This week in different settings, conversations have developed, asking where is our society going? Have we gotten so far away from God's Word, that we are living in a world with no morals? What is right - what is wrong, sometimes is hard to determine?
In Luke 17, verse 27 Jesus tells the folks, people were eating, drinking, marrying . . . then the flood came and destroyed them all. Verse 28 talks about the people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building . . . fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Is God's Word relevant today as it was back 2000 years ago?
When the Son of Man returns, there will be some of us left behind and others will experience the glories of Heaven. We talked about a book series called Left Behind. I think the first book, when the first group of believers was taken, there was a character in the book left behind, a pastor. I have always identified with the pastor. He thought he was doing what Christ wanted him to do. He was sharing the Gospel with others. He thought he was a man of God, but he was left behind?
Jesus could have easily strayed from His duties while He was here on earth, but he didn't. He knew what his ministry was and stayed focus on that vision. We need to do the same. When the world around us seems to be going another direction, Common Ground needs to stay on the path that we have been following all these years. We will be persecuted. We will be ostracized. We will be look at strangely. We will be looked down on.
Jesus tells us in Chapter 17, don't stray from what I have taught you, or things will not go well for you. As Noah did, he followed the path God led out for him and he and his family was sparred. We can be the Noahs or our time! People will need a place where they need comfort, peace, harmony, and especially lvoe, we can provide that through the Holy Spirit working in and through us! Amen
Hope your coming week is filled with joy and blessings of God's mercy and grace! How exciting to be a part of a community where lvoe is shown to others in ways God had intended!
Saturday was kind of strange around the center, very quiet! Matt and Vikki took the weekend off to go visit his mom and relax a bit, so no basketball practice. Ardis was on vacation. Momma T and Ms Abbie picked up the slack, wrapping bread, working with the girls, and spending time in the garden. We visited our friends, living outside, trying to convey cool thoughts! It is hot and humid, mosquitos are everywhere, making life miserable. Don't forget to bring your empty milk jugs, so we can fill them up with water, freeze them, providing cooler drinking water during the week.
We finished another week of camp. It was a good week. Thursday afternoon, walking up to chapel, there were a sea of children sitting on the steps eating watermelon! What a treat to see the little ones enjoying their slices of heaven! I won't be surprised, next year to see watermelon plants growing around the chapel, there were seeds everywhere!
Tuesday evening, we read from Luke 17 starting in verse 20, talking about The coming of the Kingdom of God. Are we ready? Is it coming? When will it get here? The world was doing what it wanted and God said, it is time, so the floods came. Have we strayed away from God's Word?
Thursday evening, chapel was led by Willie and Wes. There is a connection between those two, Wes starts playing, Willie starts singing, the Holy Spirit moves in ways that can not be explained! A good meal was served, the Market was busy, clothes were given away, a blessed evening.
Prayers for those on the road this weekend. Momma T headed to College Station. Dr Phil, who's birthday is Wednesday, Ms Sarah and her youth group will be heading back from a week long visit in Haiti. Continued prayers for healing for Ginellen. Her doctor was pleased on her progress. Willie having kidney issues. Prayers for our community and the hot, summer days.
This week in different settings, conversations have developed, asking where is our society going? Have we gotten so far away from God's Word, that we are living in a world with no morals? What is right - what is wrong, sometimes is hard to determine?
In Luke 17, verse 27 Jesus tells the folks, people were eating, drinking, marrying . . . then the flood came and destroyed them all. Verse 28 talks about the people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building . . . fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Is God's Word relevant today as it was back 2000 years ago?
When the Son of Man returns, there will be some of us left behind and others will experience the glories of Heaven. We talked about a book series called Left Behind. I think the first book, when the first group of believers was taken, there was a character in the book left behind, a pastor. I have always identified with the pastor. He thought he was doing what Christ wanted him to do. He was sharing the Gospel with others. He thought he was a man of God, but he was left behind?
Jesus could have easily strayed from His duties while He was here on earth, but he didn't. He knew what his ministry was and stayed focus on that vision. We need to do the same. When the world around us seems to be going another direction, Common Ground needs to stay on the path that we have been following all these years. We will be persecuted. We will be ostracized. We will be look at strangely. We will be looked down on.
Jesus tells us in Chapter 17, don't stray from what I have taught you, or things will not go well for you. As Noah did, he followed the path God led out for him and he and his family was sparred. We can be the Noahs or our time! People will need a place where they need comfort, peace, harmony, and especially lvoe, we can provide that through the Holy Spirit working in and through us! Amen
Hope your coming week is filled with joy and blessings of God's mercy and grace! How exciting to be a part of a community where lvoe is shown to others in ways God had intended!
Friday, July 3, 2015
Our busyness
Hope your week was filled with God's blessings and joy!
Sunday morning, we had the opportunity to hear one of our own share the Word at Grace. Alison Sauls, or I should say, Pastor Alison led worship with her talk about stepping out and doing what is not natural, following God's Word in our lives.
Saturday was filled with excitement everywhere. Bread was being wrapped, the basketball team was busy with games, visits were happening, Bright House II work going on. A big group from The Church at Red River worked most of the day laying down flooring, repairing ceilings, moving doors, adding electrical boxes and more. Our friends were doing ok. Mosquitos are a problem. Robert is still waiting for his voucher for inside housing. The hot humid weather is making life harder. A request from Scott for frozen water would help. Each year at this time, we bring frozen jugs of water to each camp. It helps supply the guys with cooler water longer during the week. Please bring your milk jugs and we can fill them up with water and put them in one of our freezers.
Another week of camp is in the books. Each year we have challenges with temperment, feelings, anxieties, and life. Our children's environments are not ones that create harmony and they bring their anxieties with them to camp. It is a challenge every year to get past those feelings and help them to choose lvoe instead of hate. Please pray for our young adults as they deal with those challenges.
Thursday was hot and lively around the center. Joey and Ms Abbie got us into a rhythm of harmony by singing some songs and hearing the Word. Being the first of the month, our numbers were small. Hot dogs and mac and cheese was a hit with all. Our market continues to provide opportunities for relationships and bonding. Our clothing room helps provide much needed clothes to our community. New friends showed up, new opportunities to lvoe one another were provided.
Continued prayers for healing for Ginellen. She is doing ok, still sore, but hanging in there. Prayers for others who are in need of healing. Prayers for our community and dealing with the challenges of living in poverty.
We had the priviledge of having our 3 year old grandson with us this week until Wednesday evening. I took off a few days and we all played together. Wednesday evening as we met our son in Tyler to return our grandson back to his dad, our grandson ran from his dad's car because he did not want to leave his pawpaw and nelly! Tears of joy and sadness filled all our eyes as we said goodbye to our grandson.
I was thinking, about our experiences over the week and hear Jesus saying, it is not about the doing, it is about the relationships. I am not sure I have ever taken a few days off, stayed home and played?! I have a mentality of, if I am doing something constructive I am being lazy.
We find ourselves busy all the time, everyday, every hour for what? I understand we have our day jobs to maintain our life styles but we need to remember it is not about the stuff but about relationships. Our grandson does not care about my day job, he cares about us, his grandparents being there for him. He starts soccer practice this weekend, he asked, pawpaw are you going to be there?!
Our community provides a place for our children to come and be safe for a few hours everyday during the summer. At the end of camp, the children will remember the relationships they have formed with our young adults not about all the stuff they did. We work with the children after school during the year. Yes the children get help with their reading and enjoying their snacks, but they run up to us and give us a hug. It is about the relationships they form during the year that they will remember. The basketball players enjoy being able to play and practice, go different places, but they enjoy the relationships that are being formed with Matt, Vikki and Chuck more. We see our young community children grow up into young adults. They come around and visit with us every year. The relationships that are formed will last a lifetime.
Our relationships begin with Jesus. As Joey shared in chapel, then that lvoe of Jesus we receive, we are able to share with others. Then as we talked about from 1st Corinthians 13: 4, we are able to share the lvoe that is patient, that is kind, that does not envy, does not boast and is not proud! Amen
Hope the coming week will be rich in God's blessings to you and all you meet. May we all remember it is not about being busy but about our lvoe for one another.
Sunday morning, we had the opportunity to hear one of our own share the Word at Grace. Alison Sauls, or I should say, Pastor Alison led worship with her talk about stepping out and doing what is not natural, following God's Word in our lives.
Saturday was filled with excitement everywhere. Bread was being wrapped, the basketball team was busy with games, visits were happening, Bright House II work going on. A big group from The Church at Red River worked most of the day laying down flooring, repairing ceilings, moving doors, adding electrical boxes and more. Our friends were doing ok. Mosquitos are a problem. Robert is still waiting for his voucher for inside housing. The hot humid weather is making life harder. A request from Scott for frozen water would help. Each year at this time, we bring frozen jugs of water to each camp. It helps supply the guys with cooler water longer during the week. Please bring your milk jugs and we can fill them up with water and put them in one of our freezers.
Another week of camp is in the books. Each year we have challenges with temperment, feelings, anxieties, and life. Our children's environments are not ones that create harmony and they bring their anxieties with them to camp. It is a challenge every year to get past those feelings and help them to choose lvoe instead of hate. Please pray for our young adults as they deal with those challenges.
Thursday was hot and lively around the center. Joey and Ms Abbie got us into a rhythm of harmony by singing some songs and hearing the Word. Being the first of the month, our numbers were small. Hot dogs and mac and cheese was a hit with all. Our market continues to provide opportunities for relationships and bonding. Our clothing room helps provide much needed clothes to our community. New friends showed up, new opportunities to lvoe one another were provided.
Continued prayers for healing for Ginellen. She is doing ok, still sore, but hanging in there. Prayers for others who are in need of healing. Prayers for our community and dealing with the challenges of living in poverty.
We had the priviledge of having our 3 year old grandson with us this week until Wednesday evening. I took off a few days and we all played together. Wednesday evening as we met our son in Tyler to return our grandson back to his dad, our grandson ran from his dad's car because he did not want to leave his pawpaw and nelly! Tears of joy and sadness filled all our eyes as we said goodbye to our grandson.
I was thinking, about our experiences over the week and hear Jesus saying, it is not about the doing, it is about the relationships. I am not sure I have ever taken a few days off, stayed home and played?! I have a mentality of, if I am doing something constructive I am being lazy.
We find ourselves busy all the time, everyday, every hour for what? I understand we have our day jobs to maintain our life styles but we need to remember it is not about the stuff but about relationships. Our grandson does not care about my day job, he cares about us, his grandparents being there for him. He starts soccer practice this weekend, he asked, pawpaw are you going to be there?!
Our community provides a place for our children to come and be safe for a few hours everyday during the summer. At the end of camp, the children will remember the relationships they have formed with our young adults not about all the stuff they did. We work with the children after school during the year. Yes the children get help with their reading and enjoying their snacks, but they run up to us and give us a hug. It is about the relationships they form during the year that they will remember. The basketball players enjoy being able to play and practice, go different places, but they enjoy the relationships that are being formed with Matt, Vikki and Chuck more. We see our young community children grow up into young adults. They come around and visit with us every year. The relationships that are formed will last a lifetime.
Our relationships begin with Jesus. As Joey shared in chapel, then that lvoe of Jesus we receive, we are able to share with others. Then as we talked about from 1st Corinthians 13: 4, we are able to share the lvoe that is patient, that is kind, that does not envy, does not boast and is not proud! Amen
Hope the coming week will be rich in God's blessings to you and all you meet. May we all remember it is not about being busy but about our lvoe for one another.
Friday, June 26, 2015
What do you want me to do for you?
Another summer week has come and gone. Was your week a good one? How did God bless you this week?
Not being around Saturday, I can not report on our activities. In addition to all our regular activities on Saturday, bread wrapping, basketball, garden work, visiting we now have Bright House II goings on! The Church at Red River, John Williams' church, is beginning to host Saturday events there each week. If you are looking for something to do and want to meet some great folks, please join in.
Summer camp concluded week number 2. It was a great week of fun and activities, concluding with a trip to a skating rink! Please come by for a visit and see what great fun is happening.
Tuesday evening, the men of the community gathered for Bible fellowship as Rickie led in reading from Luke 18: 35-43, the blind beggar receives his sight! We talked about an individual in society who was the lowest of the low, not just a beggar but a blind beggar! Having the boldness to speak out to Jesus. Can't we all have the same type of faith!
Also on Tuesday, if I may boast for a moment, Ginellen and I celebrated our 42 wedding anniversary! How time flies when you are having fun! Hopefully we can have 42 more years of wedding bliss!
Wednesday evening, our family gathered at the Bright House for family time. It was been many months since we gathered. Thanks to Joey and his passion for community, many of us were able to come together to share bread and share the Word. It was good to be together.
Thursday is always a special time of the week, starting off with our long time friend Spencer and one of our pastors George, leading our chapel time. I think we have found a new them song for our community, Lean On Me. The song seems to get out juices flowing and the Spirit moving! Our longtime friends from Clearview church helped us in the kitchen, dining hall, clothing room and Market place. People were everywhere enjoying the evening. What a blessing.
Prayers for the week. Continue to lift up Ginellen. The doctor was pleased in what he saw and what he did. He said, now it is time for healing. We know who the best healer is, don't we!! Pastor Willie called and said, his kidney functions are declining to a critical stage. Discussions going on what the next steps should be. Our long time friend Izzy continues to have severe back pain. Looks like surgery is in his near future. Continued prayers for our community. Life is hard, even more so when you are faced with poverty.
Lisa has worked her magic again and obtained the property behind the parking lot in the back. There were some issues of parking and this area should help with that situation.
Just want you all of you to know, God is at work in our community. There are people, churches, organizations who are becoming aware of what Common Ground is about and wanting to be a part of our community. Very exciting times ahead for us all.
I am always amazed at God's Word. His Word has such an impact on us, we can read about a blind beggar getting his sight back, 8 short verses and talk for an hour about it!
The verse that stills haunts me this morning, is verse 41. After the beggar shouts above the crowd noise to Jesus as he walks by. Was told by others to be silent and not bother him. The beggar ignores the crowd and shouts even louder to Jesus. Jesus stops, calls out to the crowd to bring this man over to him. Jesus looks at him and asked him, What do you want me to do for you? The beggar says, Lord I want to see.
I got to thinking, of course the blind beggar wants to see. The lame wants to be healed and walk. The man wants the demons out of him. The women wants the bleeding to stop. But when I call out to Jesus and Jesus sees me and asks, What do you want me to do for you? What do we say?
Do I say, heal my wife? Take care of my family? Aliveate poverty? Increase my faith? Be more like you? Make our community stronger? I don't know, what would you say?
What is most important in your life? What is keeping you away from the relationship with Jesus He so desires for us? The blind beggar risked everything to be with Jesus, can we do the same? Can we let go of what is holding us back?
The blind beggar showed his bold faith to Jesus and in verse 42 Jesus says to him, Recieve your sight, your faith has healed you. Will Jesus say the same to us? Let's hope so! Amen.
See you Saturday at the Bright House II or in and around the center. See you at camp. Lots of God's work going on, come and join in on the fun. Have a great week and may we all have an answer for Jesus when He asks, What do you want me to do for you?
Not being around Saturday, I can not report on our activities. In addition to all our regular activities on Saturday, bread wrapping, basketball, garden work, visiting we now have Bright House II goings on! The Church at Red River, John Williams' church, is beginning to host Saturday events there each week. If you are looking for something to do and want to meet some great folks, please join in.
Summer camp concluded week number 2. It was a great week of fun and activities, concluding with a trip to a skating rink! Please come by for a visit and see what great fun is happening.
Tuesday evening, the men of the community gathered for Bible fellowship as Rickie led in reading from Luke 18: 35-43, the blind beggar receives his sight! We talked about an individual in society who was the lowest of the low, not just a beggar but a blind beggar! Having the boldness to speak out to Jesus. Can't we all have the same type of faith!
Also on Tuesday, if I may boast for a moment, Ginellen and I celebrated our 42 wedding anniversary! How time flies when you are having fun! Hopefully we can have 42 more years of wedding bliss!
Wednesday evening, our family gathered at the Bright House for family time. It was been many months since we gathered. Thanks to Joey and his passion for community, many of us were able to come together to share bread and share the Word. It was good to be together.
Thursday is always a special time of the week, starting off with our long time friend Spencer and one of our pastors George, leading our chapel time. I think we have found a new them song for our community, Lean On Me. The song seems to get out juices flowing and the Spirit moving! Our longtime friends from Clearview church helped us in the kitchen, dining hall, clothing room and Market place. People were everywhere enjoying the evening. What a blessing.
Prayers for the week. Continue to lift up Ginellen. The doctor was pleased in what he saw and what he did. He said, now it is time for healing. We know who the best healer is, don't we!! Pastor Willie called and said, his kidney functions are declining to a critical stage. Discussions going on what the next steps should be. Our long time friend Izzy continues to have severe back pain. Looks like surgery is in his near future. Continued prayers for our community. Life is hard, even more so when you are faced with poverty.
Lisa has worked her magic again and obtained the property behind the parking lot in the back. There were some issues of parking and this area should help with that situation.
Just want you all of you to know, God is at work in our community. There are people, churches, organizations who are becoming aware of what Common Ground is about and wanting to be a part of our community. Very exciting times ahead for us all.
I am always amazed at God's Word. His Word has such an impact on us, we can read about a blind beggar getting his sight back, 8 short verses and talk for an hour about it!
The verse that stills haunts me this morning, is verse 41. After the beggar shouts above the crowd noise to Jesus as he walks by. Was told by others to be silent and not bother him. The beggar ignores the crowd and shouts even louder to Jesus. Jesus stops, calls out to the crowd to bring this man over to him. Jesus looks at him and asked him, What do you want me to do for you? The beggar says, Lord I want to see.
I got to thinking, of course the blind beggar wants to see. The lame wants to be healed and walk. The man wants the demons out of him. The women wants the bleeding to stop. But when I call out to Jesus and Jesus sees me and asks, What do you want me to do for you? What do we say?
Do I say, heal my wife? Take care of my family? Aliveate poverty? Increase my faith? Be more like you? Make our community stronger? I don't know, what would you say?
What is most important in your life? What is keeping you away from the relationship with Jesus He so desires for us? The blind beggar risked everything to be with Jesus, can we do the same? Can we let go of what is holding us back?
The blind beggar showed his bold faith to Jesus and in verse 42 Jesus says to him, Recieve your sight, your faith has healed you. Will Jesus say the same to us? Let's hope so! Amen.
See you Saturday at the Bright House II or in and around the center. See you at camp. Lots of God's work going on, come and join in on the fun. Have a great week and may we all have an answer for Jesus when He asks, What do you want me to do for you?
Friday, June 12, 2015
Serving the Lord
Another week in the books! Here's hoping your week was full of many joys and blessings.
Saturday was filled with excitement in and around the center. Our youth from Luke Simpson were with us to go on our visits to see our outdoor friends. What an impact the children have when our friends can visit with them and let them know, they are being prayed for all across the state. Basketball and bread wrapping was going on in full force.
Sunday evening, we attended part of the Methodist Conference. Some of us attended the opening ceremonies, while others attended the closing part. Some of our children were participants in the opening ceremony. Common Ground was asked to receive the bread brought by the churches to the conference Sunday night. We kept some of it, but also shared our blessings with other organizations around the city.
Tuesday at lunch time we hosted a small gathering of folks. We had the opportunity to with Dr Elaine Heath, she was one of the speakers at the conference. She wanted to see what the Common Ground place was all about. We shared some stories of our beginning and showed her around the campus. She was so impressed by what she saw, she talked about us and Grace in her talk on Wednesday at the conference.
Tuesday evening, the men gathered. Rickie led us in the reading of Joshua 24: 1-16. We had a special guest. Sione joined us for the evening. Joshua was sharing with his people, God has brought you out of captivity, fed you, kept you safe and still you worship your idols. What other gods do we worship, that takes us away from our God?
Thursday evening, we gathered in chapel as Willie and Ms Abbie shared their gifts. Our food was prepared by Brother George's church. Our market was busy all night long. Our clothing closet was full. A good evening of fellowship.
This morning and Saturday morning, Lisa and Momma T will be hosting our summer camp orientation. It was great to see Thursday evening, some of our returning interns. Can't wait to see how God will us our camp to build relationships.
Summer camp will begin Monday. Lunch will be at 12:30, with camp starting at 1. We have a full compliment of children and interns. Exciting times ahead for all involved. Come by and check out camp, guaranteed you will have a good time.
This coming week we have basketball games happening. If you can make it, the boys and Matt and Vikki would really appreciate it. The 14 year old games will be Monday June 15th at Princess Park. The game will start at 10pm. Their next game will be Thursday evening at Princess Park, starting at 9pm. The 12 year old games are Tuesday June 16 at Southern HIlls starting at 8pm, Wednesday at Bill Cockrell Park starting at 7pm and Thursday at Airport Park, starting at 8pm.
Prayers for my wife Ginellen for her upcoming surgery this coming Friday. We knew this may happen, but it is still a shock to your system when the doctor says, I need to do more work. She has come a long way in her recovery and to hear more surgery is needed has been hard on both of us. Prayers for Sunday afternoon at 2pm as a new church family will be meeting to determine if they want to support our community both financially and prayerfully. Prayers for our upcoming camp, that it is not about all the stuff that will happen but about the relationships that will occur. Prayers for the Methodist pastors as they can take back what they heard and saw and are able to share that with their congregations.
Joshua says in the last part of verse 15, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord". Famous line, good one to remember, but do we do it? Joshua is sharing with the people, you and your ancestors have been brought out of bondage, given fertile land to grow crops on, protected from their enemies and still you turn away from the Lord. How could they?! How could they worship other gods? But don't we do the same thing today?
The questioned was asked Tuesday night, what gods are we worshipping? Are we after that pot of gold? Fighting to get that bigger house? Allowing our egos and pride to dominate our lives? Trying to get more stuff, to make us happier?
God has brought us this far and still we turn away from Him. We take over our lives, because we think we can do it better. We make decisions concerning our families without going to God in prayer. Willie asked in chapel, does your God talk to you? Does your pot of gold, does your new car, or your bigger house bring you comfort and peace? Do they answer you?
But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. No better way to live our lives. No better way to find comfort and peace. No better way to let go of our trials and obstacles, our anxieties and frustrations. Only one way to find joy in your life, serving the Lord. Amen.
May our prayer be this week, letting go of those gods we might be holding onto and let's serve the Lord. Amazing things will happen. See you at camp this week. God is good!
Saturday was filled with excitement in and around the center. Our youth from Luke Simpson were with us to go on our visits to see our outdoor friends. What an impact the children have when our friends can visit with them and let them know, they are being prayed for all across the state. Basketball and bread wrapping was going on in full force.
Sunday evening, we attended part of the Methodist Conference. Some of us attended the opening ceremonies, while others attended the closing part. Some of our children were participants in the opening ceremony. Common Ground was asked to receive the bread brought by the churches to the conference Sunday night. We kept some of it, but also shared our blessings with other organizations around the city.
Tuesday at lunch time we hosted a small gathering of folks. We had the opportunity to with Dr Elaine Heath, she was one of the speakers at the conference. She wanted to see what the Common Ground place was all about. We shared some stories of our beginning and showed her around the campus. She was so impressed by what she saw, she talked about us and Grace in her talk on Wednesday at the conference.
Tuesday evening, the men gathered. Rickie led us in the reading of Joshua 24: 1-16. We had a special guest. Sione joined us for the evening. Joshua was sharing with his people, God has brought you out of captivity, fed you, kept you safe and still you worship your idols. What other gods do we worship, that takes us away from our God?
Thursday evening, we gathered in chapel as Willie and Ms Abbie shared their gifts. Our food was prepared by Brother George's church. Our market was busy all night long. Our clothing closet was full. A good evening of fellowship.
This morning and Saturday morning, Lisa and Momma T will be hosting our summer camp orientation. It was great to see Thursday evening, some of our returning interns. Can't wait to see how God will us our camp to build relationships.
Summer camp will begin Monday. Lunch will be at 12:30, with camp starting at 1. We have a full compliment of children and interns. Exciting times ahead for all involved. Come by and check out camp, guaranteed you will have a good time.
This coming week we have basketball games happening. If you can make it, the boys and Matt and Vikki would really appreciate it. The 14 year old games will be Monday June 15th at Princess Park. The game will start at 10pm. Their next game will be Thursday evening at Princess Park, starting at 9pm. The 12 year old games are Tuesday June 16 at Southern HIlls starting at 8pm, Wednesday at Bill Cockrell Park starting at 7pm and Thursday at Airport Park, starting at 8pm.
Prayers for my wife Ginellen for her upcoming surgery this coming Friday. We knew this may happen, but it is still a shock to your system when the doctor says, I need to do more work. She has come a long way in her recovery and to hear more surgery is needed has been hard on both of us. Prayers for Sunday afternoon at 2pm as a new church family will be meeting to determine if they want to support our community both financially and prayerfully. Prayers for our upcoming camp, that it is not about all the stuff that will happen but about the relationships that will occur. Prayers for the Methodist pastors as they can take back what they heard and saw and are able to share that with their congregations.
Joshua says in the last part of verse 15, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord". Famous line, good one to remember, but do we do it? Joshua is sharing with the people, you and your ancestors have been brought out of bondage, given fertile land to grow crops on, protected from their enemies and still you turn away from the Lord. How could they?! How could they worship other gods? But don't we do the same thing today?
The questioned was asked Tuesday night, what gods are we worshipping? Are we after that pot of gold? Fighting to get that bigger house? Allowing our egos and pride to dominate our lives? Trying to get more stuff, to make us happier?
God has brought us this far and still we turn away from Him. We take over our lives, because we think we can do it better. We make decisions concerning our families without going to God in prayer. Willie asked in chapel, does your God talk to you? Does your pot of gold, does your new car, or your bigger house bring you comfort and peace? Do they answer you?
But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. No better way to live our lives. No better way to find comfort and peace. No better way to let go of our trials and obstacles, our anxieties and frustrations. Only one way to find joy in your life, serving the Lord. Amen.
May our prayer be this week, letting go of those gods we might be holding onto and let's serve the Lord. Amazing things will happen. See you at camp this week. God is good!
Friday, June 5, 2015
The little things
Let the flooding begin! I guess it won't be as bad as Noah had to face, but . . . With all the rain in our part of the country, the river that runs through Shreveport is overflowing it's banks. Please pray for those who are having to move out of their houses and dealing with this disaster.
With me out of town, this past weekend can't report on our Saturday activities. Others will have to fill in the blanks. I do know, the basketball team is in a SPAR league, that plays most of it's games late at night. The City is trying to give the boys a place to go that is safe and a place where the boys can get off the streets. I know they had a game Monday night. Matt and Vikki are doing their part by being there for the boys.
Tuesday evening, the men gathered for Bible fellowship. Always a good time to hear what God is up to in the men's lives. It is a time where men, who may not have a place to go, can come, eat and be welcomed to share their stories.
Wednesday evening, Lisa had a Board meeting. Lots going on in our community. We were introduced to a new ministry partner, KC and the Geaux Bags partnership. KC provides bags filled with the essentials to families who are sheltering children displaced from an abusive situation. She has served over 900 children these past two years. She has a great story and a huge heart for the children.
Our summer interns will be arriving this week, with our orientation taking place, next Friday and Saturday mornings. Then camp will start the following Monday, June 15th. Camp will start with lunch at 12:30 prepared by Ms Abbie and Peaches. Activities will start at 1 going through 4, Monday through Thursday. Most Thursdays, the children will go a field trip. The Bright House will house the boys. Bright House III will house the girls. Exciting times, new relationships being formed, lives changed. You are always welcomed to come by and join in on the fun and magic that will be happening.
Shannon shared a new idea of filling our Food Market, "Adapt an item". Your Sunday school class, small group, work, adopts a food item like a can of beans, corn, peanut butter, whatever, each time you gather as a group, you bring your food item with you! Isn't that cool! Start it with your group and report on how it goes.
Shannon and Vikki talked a little about their visit with a community in Detroit, Cass. This community is always on the lookout for things that will help their community. Their community needed jobs, so they created two unique opportunities for them, picking up old tires and shredding papers. Started very simple and now has grown into big businesses. The key, is to just do it, start small and see where God leads you.
We have another new partnership as a part of our community. Shannon will now be employed by a counseling service called Family Plus. They will be housed in the Friendship room during their sessions. Another tool for our community in helping them cope with their environment.
The Board was presented with two new ideas. One for the potential funding of the restoration of the two story and the other a church family adapting the Bright House II. Please put these two proposals on your prayer list and let's see what God can do! Very exciting!
Thursday afternoon our youth group from Luke Simpson showed up and got started right away in helping us out. They attended chapel hosted by Ms Abbie and Joey. Then they helped with the meal provide by First Methodist, served, cleaned up, were shoppers in our Market, and played with the children. A great night for everybody. It was also great to see our long time friend and almost official minister, Allison Thursday evening.
Allison is back in town, about to be ordain as a Methodist minister. Her ceremony will be at First Methodist church, Monday night at 7:30. Please come and cheer her on!
Joey's birthday is today! He has been with us for 8 years. Can't imagine our community without Joey's heart and prayers for our community. Please stop for a moment and send our Joey a note. And as he told me this morning, it is also National Doughnut Day! Doesn't get any better than that.
Prayers for our community, that we stay focused on God's direction in our lives and the lives of our community. Prayers for Ginellen as she meets with her doctor Tuesday afternoon to determine the next course of action for her.
We heard a story at our Board meeting that brought tears to our eyes. A person, who was down and needed help, was told they couldn't get food because they didn't have all the paperwork needed at a food bank in town. They were very discouraged, distraught, filled with fear and anxiety, overwhelmed with emotion, came to us and was treated with respect, lvoe and went away with everything she needed. Now back on their feet, never forgetting what they received from us, wants to give back to us for our kindness.
We did nothing special. Offered them some food, a lvoing hug, treated them as a person, not an object, and they went away with a new self esteem of them self. It is the simple things in life, that often has the greatest impact on people. Always showing God's lvoe and spirit in our every day lives will have the greatest impact on God's Kingdom.
It is hard sometimes to feel lvoing when your world is crashing around you, but that is when God's light and mercy needs to shine the brightest. Your smile, an extra spoonful of food, a new shirt off the rack, a cup of coffee in the mornings, helping a friend shop, all makes a difference. We may never see the impact of our actions, but that is ok, that is not our job. Our job is to lvoe, plant the seed and let God take over. Amen.
Let us be able this week to show God's lvoe in the simple things we do each day and brighten someone's life tomorrow. Have a great week. All the time, God is good!
With me out of town, this past weekend can't report on our Saturday activities. Others will have to fill in the blanks. I do know, the basketball team is in a SPAR league, that plays most of it's games late at night. The City is trying to give the boys a place to go that is safe and a place where the boys can get off the streets. I know they had a game Monday night. Matt and Vikki are doing their part by being there for the boys.
Tuesday evening, the men gathered for Bible fellowship. Always a good time to hear what God is up to in the men's lives. It is a time where men, who may not have a place to go, can come, eat and be welcomed to share their stories.
Wednesday evening, Lisa had a Board meeting. Lots going on in our community. We were introduced to a new ministry partner, KC and the Geaux Bags partnership. KC provides bags filled with the essentials to families who are sheltering children displaced from an abusive situation. She has served over 900 children these past two years. She has a great story and a huge heart for the children.
Our summer interns will be arriving this week, with our orientation taking place, next Friday and Saturday mornings. Then camp will start the following Monday, June 15th. Camp will start with lunch at 12:30 prepared by Ms Abbie and Peaches. Activities will start at 1 going through 4, Monday through Thursday. Most Thursdays, the children will go a field trip. The Bright House will house the boys. Bright House III will house the girls. Exciting times, new relationships being formed, lives changed. You are always welcomed to come by and join in on the fun and magic that will be happening.
Shannon shared a new idea of filling our Food Market, "Adapt an item". Your Sunday school class, small group, work, adopts a food item like a can of beans, corn, peanut butter, whatever, each time you gather as a group, you bring your food item with you! Isn't that cool! Start it with your group and report on how it goes.
Shannon and Vikki talked a little about their visit with a community in Detroit, Cass. This community is always on the lookout for things that will help their community. Their community needed jobs, so they created two unique opportunities for them, picking up old tires and shredding papers. Started very simple and now has grown into big businesses. The key, is to just do it, start small and see where God leads you.
We have another new partnership as a part of our community. Shannon will now be employed by a counseling service called Family Plus. They will be housed in the Friendship room during their sessions. Another tool for our community in helping them cope with their environment.
The Board was presented with two new ideas. One for the potential funding of the restoration of the two story and the other a church family adapting the Bright House II. Please put these two proposals on your prayer list and let's see what God can do! Very exciting!
Thursday afternoon our youth group from Luke Simpson showed up and got started right away in helping us out. They attended chapel hosted by Ms Abbie and Joey. Then they helped with the meal provide by First Methodist, served, cleaned up, were shoppers in our Market, and played with the children. A great night for everybody. It was also great to see our long time friend and almost official minister, Allison Thursday evening.
Allison is back in town, about to be ordain as a Methodist minister. Her ceremony will be at First Methodist church, Monday night at 7:30. Please come and cheer her on!
Joey's birthday is today! He has been with us for 8 years. Can't imagine our community without Joey's heart and prayers for our community. Please stop for a moment and send our Joey a note. And as he told me this morning, it is also National Doughnut Day! Doesn't get any better than that.
Prayers for our community, that we stay focused on God's direction in our lives and the lives of our community. Prayers for Ginellen as she meets with her doctor Tuesday afternoon to determine the next course of action for her.
We heard a story at our Board meeting that brought tears to our eyes. A person, who was down and needed help, was told they couldn't get food because they didn't have all the paperwork needed at a food bank in town. They were very discouraged, distraught, filled with fear and anxiety, overwhelmed with emotion, came to us and was treated with respect, lvoe and went away with everything she needed. Now back on their feet, never forgetting what they received from us, wants to give back to us for our kindness.
We did nothing special. Offered them some food, a lvoing hug, treated them as a person, not an object, and they went away with a new self esteem of them self. It is the simple things in life, that often has the greatest impact on people. Always showing God's lvoe and spirit in our every day lives will have the greatest impact on God's Kingdom.
It is hard sometimes to feel lvoing when your world is crashing around you, but that is when God's light and mercy needs to shine the brightest. Your smile, an extra spoonful of food, a new shirt off the rack, a cup of coffee in the mornings, helping a friend shop, all makes a difference. We may never see the impact of our actions, but that is ok, that is not our job. Our job is to lvoe, plant the seed and let God take over. Amen.
Let us be able this week to show God's lvoe in the simple things we do each day and brighten someone's life tomorrow. Have a great week. All the time, God is good!
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