Passions, Pitfalls and Plenty of Prayer

“Encouragement”-to give courage; to stimulate; to embolden. We ALL need an advocate, we ALL want to be built up, we ALL desire people to rally around us and let us know that we are NOT ALONE!! 1 Thessalonians 5:11-“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up” Today I had the privilege of going to Cobb Street Ministries…a local program that takes in homeless women…often times these women are pregnant and/or have small children and are escaping abusive situations. Many needs are met at Cobb Street…not just a warm bed and a roof over their heads…their bodies are fed, their souls are nourished, they are shown that they are worthy of love; they are taught life skills, encouraged to get a job and to take responsibility for their lives.

Today, my 2 daughters…ages 9 and 12…went with me. They picked vegetables in the community garden, made crafts for the kids that are currently living there and helped provide lunch for all the hard-working folks that came to do repairs, yard work and help around the grounds. Not only is it a kind thing to do for others, but it is a “teachable moment” for my kids. They get to see first hand how fortunate they are in their own lives….they have a stable home life (HAHA), their parents are under one roof and love one another…and them; they are well-fed, clothed and safe! So many things that we all take for granted on a daily basis.

We didn’t do anything monumental: we helped in the garden..we did some crafts…we served a meal…I had a conversation with someone about their Crohn’s Disease and some ways to alleviate the pain a bit…I gave a smile….I WAS ENCOURAGING! These are all such small things as the giver but HUGE to the receiver. That is how I want to be known and remembered: as an encourager, a bright light, “an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1) Probably the biggest blessing I saw today, was that Cassidy (age 12), said she thought we should start a garden at Cedarcrest Church…she said, “the older kids can teach the younger kids, we can provide food for those in need” and simply have a community project to be involved in. Will the garden yield any “fruit”? It seems to me that maybe it has already started growing!!

Many times, people lament and say, “Why me?” and it is in regards to a tough situation, going through a rough patch, “bad things happening to good people”…but in my case, I want to know WHY AM I SO BLESSED?

Why was I born in the United States? Why am I well fed? Why do I have “decent” healthcare? Why do I have access to an education? Why do I have religious freedom? WHY, GOD? WHY, ME? I’m so grateful but it’s just so mind-boggling. You’ve probably hear the saying, “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”..???…I certainly view these as gifts, don’t you? “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” -Luke 12:48
“God is no respecter of persons”, right?…He loves ALL his children…He doesn’t love ME more than His other children, so WHY do I have so much when others have so little?

I have friends that started a program called No Hungry Children and they feed children in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya; but you don’t have to travel to another continent to see hunger and deprivation….there are children right down the road from my home in Acworth, GA/USA that probably wish it WEREN’T summer break right now. At least when they go to school, they know that they will get to eat a meal that day; many churches help prepare bag lunches for hundreds of children each day during the summer months and deliver them to disadvantaged children. MY kids, on the other hand, have three meals a day and snacks, too and still act as though they are starving in between meals!!

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”-Proverbs 19:21…I’m so glad I don’t have to know it all and that He is leading me down the correct path.

“But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?”-Romans 9:20 He is omniscient….all knowing…not me….not you…“Trust in the Lord, with all your heart and lean not on your OWN understanding”-Proverbs 3:5…I can have questions, I can be unsure of things, I can even get angry at God…He is ok with that…but look to HIM….not the world.

Joshua 24:24 says, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”….therefore, I will be kind, I will do for others, I will teach my children to be compassionate and I pray that we will continue to be “the hands and feet of Jesus.”

.I have so much to be thankful for and I will always be ETERNALLY grateful to Him…“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!”-AMEN

For about 2 years now, I have been dragging my heels, plugging my ears, running from God, disobeying, procrastinating….however you say it….I wasn’t doing what I KNEW God had called me to do! I was standing at the kitchen sink, doing THE MOST horrific of household chores….washing dishes…when He very clearly told me to write a book…a Christian book…on jealousy….very specific, I know….but He is a God of details! WHO…ME?!..I’m no BETH MOORE….I didn’t go to Seminary, I’ve only been a Christian for 15 years….I’M NOT EQUIPPED for this task! 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says, “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” Well, sure…the ones He calls to go to other countries to live, the ones who are called to run food pantries, the ones that are called to be foster parents, the ones that are called to be worship leaders, the ones that write bible studies….but NOT ME!!

God will pursue you…relentlessly pursue you…when He wants something done! I would go into a bookstore and the owner and I would start to chat and he would mention a writer’s group he was a part of; I friend of mine that is quite successful with her essential oil business mentioned that people follow her blog; I know people from my area that have had articles published and even written their own book….I was involved in a Priscilla Shirer Bible study and in one of her videos, she made the comment that if you ever feel like you came up with some crazy idea, something that is clearly not in your comfort zone and is not in your personality to want to do….THAT’S GOD prompting you!

Oh, my imperfections, my sins, my humanness….they are so apparent: I yell at my kids way too much, I have impure thoughts, I said a BAD word in traffic, I drink wine, I don’t always forgive…I WANT to “be the hands and feet of Jesus” but let’s face it…HE is the only perfect one…“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”-Romans 3:23

SO….this is my first attempt at honoring God, obeying Him and taking a stab at this writing thing….follow along on this journey…only HE knows where the journey will take us!