There have been many days over the past few months that the Lord has given me a revelation while ministering. I usually compose my post in my head while traveling home but rarely am I able to go straight to the computer once I arrive.
Hence, my folder.
The folder originally just contained my aliases- the names I use to protect identities- because even though I could just make up a name each time, sometimes I like to provide updates.
Then I started added future post ideas.
These were just lessons I was in the MIDST of learning and as soon as I was ready, I'd share them.
Then I started struggling.
I'd get a message but just NOT FEEL LIKE writing.
How many times do you ignore tasks at hand because you just don't feel like it?
While ignoring a pile of laundry or a sinkful of dishes doesn't make them disappear, I've discovered that ignoring something the Lord gives you can have dire consequences.
I knew I'd been given some profound words to share. They were so profound that all I had to do was give them a title and I knew exactly what the message was.
And He WAS patient.
It was the middle of February (I only know this by the Valentine message on the front of the paper I'd used a scratch sheet) and I started to worry I'd forget my titles.
So I jotted them down.
I'll write in a day or two, I said.
My list grew to 15.
My days turned into weeks, then months.
Finally, FINALLY, I emerged from my cocoon.
There was no shortage of words to share.
But there was some still unsaid.
The Lord gave me some tasks and they sat uncompleted.
Today I pulled out my list.
It'll be exciting! Kind of like Impromptu Speech from high school. Only I get to CHOOSE which one I want to write back.
As I unfolded the paper, the titles were familiar:
You Deserve That Bumper Sticker!
Tsunamis, End, Times, and the Streets
Condemned in More Ways Than One
I can even remember exactly where I was when the Lord revealed the messages to me.
There was only one little problem.
The message itself was gone!
I racked my brain.
What was I going to say? What was the revelation?
What do tsunamis have to do with the streets?
I was leaving the Wal-Mart parking lot when I came up with that title.
How can I remember THAT but not what it meant?
Because I failed Him.
He gave me a precious gift and I just carelessly tossed it aside.
At this point the devil would normally try to come in and tell me it's over.
But he's still under my foot and unable to taunt me with his lies right now. Besides, God's already been faithful to reveal even more.
He shouldn't. I don't deserve it.
Yet that's who He is.
He gives and gives and just wants us to receive.
I'm sorry that I let those messages go. Maybe in the future you'll see one of those titles pop up and know that He gave it back to me.
I've asked.
But even if he doesn't, I received a message greater than all 15 combined:
Don't let an opportunity with the Lord pass you by!
Saturday, April 30, 2016
New Opportunities
If you just stand in the center of God's will long enough, He will use you.
And you won't have to search very far to know how.
It has not escaped my attention that when I'm sitting on my couch more focused on books and puppies (which are great for downtime but not FULL-TIME) I don't face many opportunities to minister.
But when I am about my Father's business He definitely sends opportunities my way.
The latest are two opportunities for helping the homeless get off the streets PERMANENTLY.
The first is an incredible opportunity to create a pilot program that, if successful, may be used all over the country. I am interviewing chronically homeless men and women to find 4-6 candidates to move into apartments with no expenses for three months as they work to reacclimate into society. Drugs and alcohol are not allowed and they must actively seek employment or be approved, but waiting on disbursement of disability. Weekly monitoring, scheduled and unscheduled visits, and pastoral counseling are mandatory. No overnight guests are permitted and at the end of three months, they must be able to self-sustain. Choosing candidates is tricky; you must find those truly wanting help and not just a three-month free ride. But unlike some federal programs, this is open to ANYONE, felons included. It is an opportunity to show both the individual AND society what the Lord can do to transform a life.
The second opportunity is even more amazing. At least to me. A local agency has received three permanent apartments to house chronically homeless individuals indefinitely. Our ministry has been given TWO of those apartments. Because of our track record we were selected. We can put two people in apartments forever OR we can give them time to get on their feet and then once they are self-sufficient, find another client. Like the opportunity above, while federal guidelines have no requirements, our ministry can select people based on their willingness to be monitored and receive Christian counseling. Because ultimately, it is Christ who will make the difference.
I'm excited about these opportunities and we are still working out the details. There are going to be uncovered expenses (toiletry items, household goods) but I am certain that the Lord has a plan for that as well.
Please be in prayer for our ministry as we navigate the lines of church and state, an endangered part of our country these days.
And you won't have to search very far to know how.
It has not escaped my attention that when I'm sitting on my couch more focused on books and puppies (which are great for downtime but not FULL-TIME) I don't face many opportunities to minister.
But when I am about my Father's business He definitely sends opportunities my way.
The latest are two opportunities for helping the homeless get off the streets PERMANENTLY.
The first is an incredible opportunity to create a pilot program that, if successful, may be used all over the country. I am interviewing chronically homeless men and women to find 4-6 candidates to move into apartments with no expenses for three months as they work to reacclimate into society. Drugs and alcohol are not allowed and they must actively seek employment or be approved, but waiting on disbursement of disability. Weekly monitoring, scheduled and unscheduled visits, and pastoral counseling are mandatory. No overnight guests are permitted and at the end of three months, they must be able to self-sustain. Choosing candidates is tricky; you must find those truly wanting help and not just a three-month free ride. But unlike some federal programs, this is open to ANYONE, felons included. It is an opportunity to show both the individual AND society what the Lord can do to transform a life.
The second opportunity is even more amazing. At least to me. A local agency has received three permanent apartments to house chronically homeless individuals indefinitely. Our ministry has been given TWO of those apartments. Because of our track record we were selected. We can put two people in apartments forever OR we can give them time to get on their feet and then once they are self-sufficient, find another client. Like the opportunity above, while federal guidelines have no requirements, our ministry can select people based on their willingness to be monitored and receive Christian counseling. Because ultimately, it is Christ who will make the difference.
I'm excited about these opportunities and we are still working out the details. There are going to be uncovered expenses (toiletry items, household goods) but I am certain that the Lord has a plan for that as well.
Please be in prayer for our ministry as we navigate the lines of church and state, an endangered part of our country these days.
Friday, April 29, 2016
The Parable of the Little Red Hen
You remember the story...
The Little Red Hen asks her friends for help in baking a cake only to be met with a chorus of...
Not I
Not I
Not I
Not I
UNTIL it's time to EAT the cake.
Then EVERYONE wants to help...
Depending on which version you read, The Little Red Hen then eats it alone while the others watch or goes ahead and shares it with them anyway.
I know which version is the best to teach kids kindness.
I also know which I would probably do. (Hint: the two aren't the same)
But now I have to take this fairy tale and use a real-life application to its events, determining which ending I will use.
The Parable of the Little Red Hen...
We moved Mr. Raleigh to Biloxi last week. He was accepted into a program that will closely monitor him and help financially with his rent.
It is a perfect deal for him, as he needs assistance following his stroke last year.
But when it came time to move him, there was no-one around.
When we moved him INTO the original house, there was no shortage of people wanting to "help." At any given day there were 4-6 people sleeping in various parts of this one-bedroom house. Three times he was almost evicted because of this traffic, which included quite a bit of alcohol and drug use as well. We tried to help remove the people but many were those we were also helping so it was a delicate situation. Eventually, this opportunity opened up for him to move away into an expenses-paid apartment with one catch: he had to go alone.
I know he was worried. Not only did he have to give up drinking, he had to give up his friends as well.
The day before he moved, I called to make sure he had everything boxed up. There were 8 people over there and I told him to make sure they'd be there the next morning to help load.
Of course, NO-ONE was around.
When he'd almost been kicked out, they still didn't leave.
But now, he was of no use to them and they disappeared.
His stroke left him partially paralyzed so he was unable to lift anything.
As my husband, another lady in our ministry, and I loaded everything up, I could see those who'd been staying there for the last few months watching us from behind the liquor store nearby.
I was furious.
I was still on the ropes (See "Me and Muhammed Ali" April 28, 2016) and I admittedly didn't handle things well.
"Not ONE of those people over there better EVER EVER call me again for ANYTHING!" I seethed.
My husband gently pulled me aside, "Baby, you can't react like that when you're ministering."
Fortunately, I had enough of the Spirit operating in me to receive his admonishment gracefully and I changed my tune.
At least outwardly.
Inside I was still furious!
And I couldn't help but point out their absence to Raleigh so when he began to think life on the streets with his friends might be preferable to a free apartment all alone, he'd remember that these so-called friends vanished when he was no longer of use to them.
All I could think about was the Little Red Hen!
How upset she must have been!
But now he's moved and those people are still out there and they still have needs.
So I will share my cake.
They just probably won't get any sprinkles.
The Little Red Hen asks her friends for help in baking a cake only to be met with a chorus of...
Not I
Not I
Not I
Not I
UNTIL it's time to EAT the cake.
Then EVERYONE wants to help...
Depending on which version you read, The Little Red Hen then eats it alone while the others watch or goes ahead and shares it with them anyway.
I know which version is the best to teach kids kindness.
I also know which I would probably do. (Hint: the two aren't the same)
But now I have to take this fairy tale and use a real-life application to its events, determining which ending I will use.
The Parable of the Little Red Hen...
We moved Mr. Raleigh to Biloxi last week. He was accepted into a program that will closely monitor him and help financially with his rent.
It is a perfect deal for him, as he needs assistance following his stroke last year.
But when it came time to move him, there was no-one around.
When we moved him INTO the original house, there was no shortage of people wanting to "help." At any given day there were 4-6 people sleeping in various parts of this one-bedroom house. Three times he was almost evicted because of this traffic, which included quite a bit of alcohol and drug use as well. We tried to help remove the people but many were those we were also helping so it was a delicate situation. Eventually, this opportunity opened up for him to move away into an expenses-paid apartment with one catch: he had to go alone.
I know he was worried. Not only did he have to give up drinking, he had to give up his friends as well.
The day before he moved, I called to make sure he had everything boxed up. There were 8 people over there and I told him to make sure they'd be there the next morning to help load.
Of course, NO-ONE was around.
When he'd almost been kicked out, they still didn't leave.
But now, he was of no use to them and they disappeared.
His stroke left him partially paralyzed so he was unable to lift anything.
As my husband, another lady in our ministry, and I loaded everything up, I could see those who'd been staying there for the last few months watching us from behind the liquor store nearby.
I was furious.
I was still on the ropes (See "Me and Muhammed Ali" April 28, 2016) and I admittedly didn't handle things well.
"Not ONE of those people over there better EVER EVER call me again for ANYTHING!" I seethed.
My husband gently pulled me aside, "Baby, you can't react like that when you're ministering."
Fortunately, I had enough of the Spirit operating in me to receive his admonishment gracefully and I changed my tune.
At least outwardly.
Inside I was still furious!
And I couldn't help but point out their absence to Raleigh so when he began to think life on the streets with his friends might be preferable to a free apartment all alone, he'd remember that these so-called friends vanished when he was no longer of use to them.
All I could think about was the Little Red Hen!
How upset she must have been!
But now he's moved and those people are still out there and they still have needs.
So I will share my cake.
They just probably won't get any sprinkles.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Me and Muhammed Ali
The year was 1974.
For me, it was the year of Raggedy Ann, mommy & me matching sundresses, and the arrival of a new baby sister.
For Ali, it was the infamous Rumble in the Jungle match against George Foreman.
And the move that would forever live in infamy: the rope-a-dope.
Much controversy has arisen over the years as to whether it was a calculated plan or a force of necessity, but the end result was the same. After battling repeated blows while languishing on the ropes, Ali came out swinging and beat a tired, and likely confident, Foreman.
Forty-two years later, I feel like I've replicated that move.
It wasn't calculated; in fact, I thought I was still in control. At least at first.
But looking back, the devil has had me on the ropes for months. My halfhearted jabs and fancy footwork were no match for him; he could see me steadily withering. As the attacks grew stronger, I retreated even more.
I was still doing the work, but at a safe level. Trips on the street became routine, almost formulaic, as I rushed to accomplish my tasks and return to the safety of my home.
A lingering cold provided a valid reason to stay home with a barrage of books and blankets.
How could I write? It would be dry, textbook accounts of my day. There'd be no message, no resonation throughout my audience. In short, there'd be no Spirit.
It was ironic almost, because in times past when I'd found myself feeling so far from the Lord, there was usually an identifiable stronghold involved. Mostly addiction.
Yet here I was, still DOING all the right things. SAYING all the right things. Really NOT doing anything wrong. Yet within me I knew the difference. I'd quenched the Spirit; I'd affected the anointing.
First I had to figure out why. It took a couple of days but I got it.
I'd been discouraged.
I felt defeated.
And I believed the devil's lies when he told me I wasn't making a bit of difference in the world.
I had gotten so discouraged at the people who'd returned to their own vomit (Proverbs 26:11) that I stopped seeing those who became new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The realization created my own spiritual "rumble in the jungle" because I came out swinging.
How dare the devil tell me my ministry is pointless?
And how stupid was I for believing him! Especially when I KNOW that he only messes with people who are a threat to him anyway.
I guess that's where the problem began. I didn't see it as an attack of the devil. I thought my own intellect was showing me that I was wasting my time.
In the flesh is no good thing, right? (Romans 7:18)
While a cut man treats physical damage to a fighter during a fight; the Holy Spirit can repair spiritual wounds. All He's waiting on is the green light from you. You don't even have to wait til the bell rings and you retreat to your corner. Call on Him mid-fight, or better yet, before the bout begins.
Maybe, just maybe, the reason addiction is so powerful with the homeless in my area is because no-one has stood up to the devil and refused to back down until this particular battle is won.
Bring it on.
For me, it was the year of Raggedy Ann, mommy & me matching sundresses, and the arrival of a new baby sister.
For Ali, it was the infamous Rumble in the Jungle match against George Foreman.
And the move that would forever live in infamy: the rope-a-dope.
Much controversy has arisen over the years as to whether it was a calculated plan or a force of necessity, but the end result was the same. After battling repeated blows while languishing on the ropes, Ali came out swinging and beat a tired, and likely confident, Foreman.
Forty-two years later, I feel like I've replicated that move.
It wasn't calculated; in fact, I thought I was still in control. At least at first.
But looking back, the devil has had me on the ropes for months. My halfhearted jabs and fancy footwork were no match for him; he could see me steadily withering. As the attacks grew stronger, I retreated even more.
I was still doing the work, but at a safe level. Trips on the street became routine, almost formulaic, as I rushed to accomplish my tasks and return to the safety of my home.
A lingering cold provided a valid reason to stay home with a barrage of books and blankets.
How could I write? It would be dry, textbook accounts of my day. There'd be no message, no resonation throughout my audience. In short, there'd be no Spirit.
It was ironic almost, because in times past when I'd found myself feeling so far from the Lord, there was usually an identifiable stronghold involved. Mostly addiction.
Yet here I was, still DOING all the right things. SAYING all the right things. Really NOT doing anything wrong. Yet within me I knew the difference. I'd quenched the Spirit; I'd affected the anointing.
First I had to figure out why. It took a couple of days but I got it.
I'd been discouraged.
I felt defeated.
And I believed the devil's lies when he told me I wasn't making a bit of difference in the world.
I had gotten so discouraged at the people who'd returned to their own vomit (Proverbs 26:11) that I stopped seeing those who became new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The realization created my own spiritual "rumble in the jungle" because I came out swinging.
How dare the devil tell me my ministry is pointless?
And how stupid was I for believing him! Especially when I KNOW that he only messes with people who are a threat to him anyway.
I guess that's where the problem began. I didn't see it as an attack of the devil. I thought my own intellect was showing me that I was wasting my time.
In the flesh is no good thing, right? (Romans 7:18)
While a cut man treats physical damage to a fighter during a fight; the Holy Spirit can repair spiritual wounds. All He's waiting on is the green light from you. You don't even have to wait til the bell rings and you retreat to your corner. Call on Him mid-fight, or better yet, before the bout begins.
Maybe, just maybe, the reason addiction is so powerful with the homeless in my area is because no-one has stood up to the devil and refused to back down until this particular battle is won.
Bring it on.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Facing Your Demons
First, just let me say this: I love Hallmark movies.
Even though they follow a format that allows you to predict the ending (as well as every major plot point along the way) within the first five minutes, this formula contains a lot of heart.
And no foul language or questionable material.
So even though my husband claims to have already seen every Hallmark movie I put on (let's face it, just because it's airing for the first time doesn't mean it is "original") he will indulge me because, quite frankly, it beats the alternatives out there for what we call entertainment.
But something just really struck me as wrong last night and I can't stop thinking about it.
Our protagonist was going through the usual reckless playboy to caring philanthropist steps when an older family friend offered some guidance.
"You just have to face your demons."
We've heard that phrase a million times. I've said it myself. But I've never given the phrase much thought.
I know the writer's view mirrors the standard worldview: stand up to your demons...your fear, your hurts, your past...and then let go of them and get on with your life.
But why are we even facing our demons?
We should be facing God. When your eyes are focused on God, those demons will be fleeing YOU.
Somehow we give the devil so much power and precedence in our lives that we elevate him into a position he doesn't have.
Yes, you are going to have to acknowledge things sometimes. Addiction, past abuse, anger...but you don't have to face those demons alone.
Submit yourselves therefore TO GOD; resist the devil and he will flee from you...James 4:7
Even though they follow a format that allows you to predict the ending (as well as every major plot point along the way) within the first five minutes, this formula contains a lot of heart.
And no foul language or questionable material.
So even though my husband claims to have already seen every Hallmark movie I put on (let's face it, just because it's airing for the first time doesn't mean it is "original") he will indulge me because, quite frankly, it beats the alternatives out there for what we call entertainment.
But something just really struck me as wrong last night and I can't stop thinking about it.
Our protagonist was going through the usual reckless playboy to caring philanthropist steps when an older family friend offered some guidance.
"You just have to face your demons."
We've heard that phrase a million times. I've said it myself. But I've never given the phrase much thought.
I know the writer's view mirrors the standard worldview: stand up to your demons...your fear, your hurts, your past...and then let go of them and get on with your life.
But why are we even facing our demons?
We should be facing God. When your eyes are focused on God, those demons will be fleeing YOU.
Somehow we give the devil so much power and precedence in our lives that we elevate him into a position he doesn't have.
Yes, you are going to have to acknowledge things sometimes. Addiction, past abuse, anger...but you don't have to face those demons alone.
Submit yourselves therefore TO GOD; resist the devil and he will flee from you...James 4:7
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