"I Hope You Dance"

'Dancing with the Stars' has recently become a big hit and many people have discovered the beauty and grace that can be found in ballroom dancing. I heard a quote not long ago that said ""The reason we love God is He has "acted upon" us and we have responded to Him. It is "The Dance" where He moves and we respond" (John Juneman; Saturation Study part 1 session 7)

We love God because he has 'acted upon' us. We hear of God's love for us, realizing that He loved us so much that He would stop at nothing, even the death of His only son on a cross, to win our heart. When the realization of that love and His great sacrifice takes hold of our mind and our heart, it is then that He approaches, curtsies and holds out his hand; the invitation to the dance.

It is up to Him to lead, He is a strong and confident leader, His arm is strong and mighty, yet His hand guides us gently. His fingers apply gentle pressure to our shoulder blade to show us which way to turn and his steps are always perfect, never too fast and never too slow. It is an exhilarating dance, making our heart beat faster and putting color in our cheeks, yet it is never too much, too fast, or too dizzying for us to keep up.

When we respond to his leading the dance becomes graceful and beautiful and the bystanders watch with rapt attention, mesmerized by the beauty of the movements, some imagine themselves in your place, dancing in perfect step with the perfect partner, and some will long to be the next one asked to dance.

In ballroom dancing these are the instructions given to the man on how to lead his partner:

“Using your right hand as the guiding force of the lead:

• a gentle pull will move her toward you
• a cup in and gentle push will move her backward
• a gentle scoop and pull with the fingers will pull her to your right
• a gentle push with the heel of the hand will push her to your left”

So it is with God as he guides us through life. A gentle pull, a gentle push, a gentle scoop and pull with the fingers, a gentle push with the heel of His hand, as He gently guides us forward and back, to the left and to the right.

The instruction for the woman on following are as follows:

“Women, your responsibility in dancing is to follow your partner and adapt to any rhythm or style he dances. To do this, light resistance must be maintained. If you are too relaxed, leading becomes very difficult. Arm and shoulder contact with the man’s upper right arm and shoulder should be maintained to provide more resistance and stability.”

It is up to us to respond to God’s leading, to follow where he leads us, to adapt our lives to His rhythm and style. We must not get too relaxed, thinking He will do all the work and we need to do nothing. We must maintain firm contact with His right arm to provide stability.

God’s right hand and arm have always been symbolic of His power. The power to dance this dance comes from Him, from His right hand and arm. He leads us gently into His will and it is up to us to respond to him. The more we dance with Him the more we anticipate his moves, we become more sensitive to the gentle pull of His fingers and the cupping of His palm. The more we respond the more responsive we become. The more we dance with him the more we become one unit, in sync, in rhythm, gracefully and beautifully moving across the ballroom of life.

When others see us gliding across the floor of life it will ignite in many of them the desire to dance too, and this will lead them to seek out our partner for themselves. Normally this would be a problem, but not with God, He has many dance partners and room in his heart for many more. 

A popular country songs talks of the singers desire that her daughter not miss out on the good things in life by singing “When you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.” Similarly I say to you, “When you get the chance to reject Him or accept His invitation to the dance…… I hope you dance.”

A Mighty Rushing Wind

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Acts 2:2

The wind, you cannot see it, yet it blows. It sends its coolness across hot sweaty skin and brings comfort and pleasure all at once. It moves my hair, and the branches of trees, and flowers growing in the fields. It pushes clouds and affects weather patterns. When it is blowing hard, you can hear the roar and whistiling of it moving through the things it touches; you can see the changes it leaves in its wake. It takes the pollen and seeds of plants and blows them where it will; so that new life can be created. It blows in rain clouds to water them. We cannot see it, but we can feel it and hear it, and  we can see the effects of it all around us.

So it is with the Holy Spirit, we cannot see it but we can feel it. It blows on my heart and life and brings comfort, joy, and peace all at once. It moves my cold dead heart with the things of God; it pushes my hand in the air toward my God and causes my soul to reach for him. It changes the patterns of my life, it blows away the clouds of despair and guilt, and though it may bring the clouds of testing and trial from time to time, it is only for a season, and then it blows them out again. When the spirit is really moving you can hear and see the effects of all it touches, you can see the drug addict set free from addiction, the hopeless sinner's character completely change, the nature of a liar turned to truth. You can feel the guilt being lifted off, and see the difference in others when it is lifted off them. It takes the seeds of hope and salvation and blows them ahead of us. It comes behind, waters, and nourishes those seeds so that new life is created. We cannot see the Holy Spirit, but we can feel it and we can see the effects of it all around us. He who has ears to hear let him hear, and he who has eyes to see let him see.

Streams of Living Water

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:37-38

I was thinking earlier about the different elements that the Holy Spirit is compared to. All three of them living and moving things. You have the wind, fire, and water. The wind can be a gentle breeze; it can be a tornado, or a hurricane that decimates entire cities. Fire can be the flame of a single candle or it can burn down entire forests. Water can be a single drop of rain or it can be a tsunami that decimates part of a country. All these things are very interesting and I have many thoughts about them, however today I want to focus on water.

Have you ever been thirsty? I mean REALLY thirsty, your lips dry and cracked, your tongue sticking to the roof of your mouth, and that little hanging thing at the back of your throat called a uvula sticking to the back of your throat. Have you ever just wanted to plunge your whole head under the faucet or into a pool or river so you could suck in as much water as possible, or maybe guzzled down a whole glass of it without stopping to breathe? Have you ever tried to quench your thirst with something other than water, like a soda, and then after you’re done felt even more thirsty than when you started? I can't help but recall a Bugs Bunny episode I watched with my dad where Daffy was lost in the desert, and he saw a mirage and tried to dive into it, only to discover it was only sand.  It made me laugh so hard, but have any of us ever really felt that thirsty? Have we ever been lost in the desert like that? Have you dove into a mirage hoping for water, only to find that all it was is sand? Probably not.

Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:37-38 and in the Sermon on the Mount he said, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled" Matthew 5:6. We covered hunger yesterday; today I want to talk about thirst. Have you ever really been thirsty? I mean really thirsty. With your heart dry and cracked and hard, and your cries for mercy sticking in your throat? Have you ever just wanted to throw yourself down at the feet of God and beg him for mercy? Have you ever wanted to run into his arms or climb into his lap and just be enveloped by him, to get as much of him as you can? To drink your fill, guzzle it down until you’re satisfied? Have you ever tried to quench your thirst with something else and come away even more thirsty than when you started? Have you ever run full tilt toward a mirage and dove in only to find all you gained was a mouth full of gritty dry sand?

Come to Jesus, and he will give you living water, so that you will never thirst again. Not only will you never thirst again, you will be so filled that streams of living water will flow from within you.

All who are thirsty

All who are weak

Come to the fountain

Dip your heart in the stream of life

Let the pain and the sorrow

Be washed away

In the waves of his mercy

As deep cries out to deep

Kutless "All Who are thirsty"

Biblical Chocolate Cheesecake

"Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every

Word going out of the mouth of God." Deut. 8:3

When it comes to the bible, you don’t want to go on a diet, you want to get fat. That is the goal. My husband likes to describe the kingdom of God as an upside down kingdom. Here is one more way that is upside down. With physical food, you can eat too much. You can eat the wrong thing. Sometimes what you eat can make you sick, or give you a tummy ache, or give you gas. Sometimes food can spoil. If leftovers sit too long in the refrigerator they will eventually grow mold and have to be thrown away. Physical food has an expiration date; it is recommended you eat it by that date. We once got a load of food donated to the mission that had expired 5 years prior. The pasta crumbled to dust, and when you opened cans or jars you would often find black stuff floating in whatever was supposed to be there. People can have allergies to food. If they eat the wrong thing their throat can swell shut and they can die. Sometimes it can give you a rash. Americans are often told we eat too much and we need to cut down. When we do it can make us healthier, it can cause us to lose weight and make us feel better, and make us have more energy. We love to eat, it brings us great pleasure. It is rare to find a person who doesn't like to eat. Most people rarely go a day without eating, and often won’t even go a few hours without eating.

The bible as been described as our bread of life. It feeds us just as physical food feeds our physical body. Without it, we will starve to death. There may be a few more parallels between physical food and the spiritual food of the Bible; but when it comes to all those things I mentioned above, that’s when the kingdom get turned upside down. You can never eat too much of God's word. You will not find any part of his word that is bad for you. All of it makes you spiritually healthy; no part could make you spiritually sick. It won't make you feel bloated (pride). It never spoils, the leftovers will always be as good as the first time you tasted it. It will never grow mold, we never have to throw it away. It doesn't expire; the recommended date is today, tomorrow and forever. The only people who may have an allergic reaction to this food are the ones who choose to reject it and the God who spoke it. It brings life and not death. You can't eat too much.  You will never be told you need to cut down. If you eat less of it, it will never improve your health, give you more energy, or make you feel better. Do you love to eat this bread? Does it bring you great pleasure? Do you ever go a day without eating it? Are you suffering from spiritual malnutrition? Are you settling for stale bread left on somebody else’s plate once a week; or are you getting your own fresh hot loaf to enjoy daily*?

What is your favorite meal? What is your biblical chocolate cheesecake? Please share.

*From Dan Bohi; Revival at Central Church of the Nazarene, Flint, Mi.

Revisiting the Widow's Mite

I wanted to say that it started out like any other sunday, but that just is not true. Our children's director and her family; as well as another helper; were on vacation and so Pastor Bob had to go across the street to run the childrens dept. A guest Pastor came in to deliver the sermon for the adults.

Things started out a bit rough. Pastor Bob had asked one of our congregants to officiate the service. He was supposed to welcome everybody including the visiting pastor, invite the congregation to come to the altar for opening prayer, then close the prayer time by praying out loud. Then he was supposed to ask everybody to stand for our time of praise and worship. I don't know if it was because of a stroke he had that resulted in short term memory loss, or if it was because he was nervous, but things didn't go as planned. He invited everyone to stand and worship straight off and said we would pray second. We have prayed first for a couple of years now and he is a faithful attender, not sure how he messed that one up.  I suppose I should explain why we pray first. We are an inner city mission church, many who attend our church are not regular attenders and not living holy lives, we believe that in order to worship in spirit and truth there will most likely be some business with God that may need to be taken care of first. The altar is generally full at the opening prayer, confirming our belief that it needs to be done first. God is good and no matter how rocky our start I believe he was still working and we continued as planned.

The sermon was excellent, exactly as I had predicted. I love it when a preacher gets up and doesn't hold back the truth that people need to hear, but then offers God's grace, mercy and forgiveness to any who would ask it at the end. I myself was reminded of some things God wants me to work on. We ended the service and went downstairs for the meal that is provided every Sunday after the service. We put everyone in the vans and took them all home.

I was sitting on the stage near the podium in the coolness of the sanctuary waiting for my van to be done being used so that I could go home. I was contemplating the day and how things had gone. I was a bit discouraged by the fact that half of our normal congregation hadn't been in attendance that day and was reminding myself of Galatians 6:9 "Do not grow weary in doing good". My husband came bounding into the sanctuary, he is a naturally high energy guy and this is normal for him to do. Then I noticed the man who had followed him in. He was obviously homeless, he looked the stereotypical part, complete with cardboard sign he was wearing on his back that said. "61 year old Veteran. Will Work for food. I am a Christian. God bless you" There was more, but those are the words I recall at this moment. I admit I've been skeptical when I've seen these signs that say "I am a christian" and "God bless you", I always figured them to be a ploy to get people to want to help them. The man put his bag down and handed my husband some money. I could not hear what they were saying. The man thanked my husband and said "God bless You" and he picked up his bag and left, sign still on his back.

Being the naturally curious person that I am I asked my husband "What was that all about" and what he told me blew me away. As I sit here I still hardly know how to react to it. He said "He wanted to know if he could give us his tithe." I'm sure he said more but that's what stands out, and those are the words pertinent to this story. This 61 year old christian veteran who is homeless had been hired by someone to do a job, paid cash, and having probably been blessed by the mission in some way, came here to pay his tithe.

I can't help but think of a time before my husband was a pastor. He worked as a supervisor in the shop, I was a medical assistant. We were considered strongly middle class. We had a home and a mortgage, 2 car payments, a pool in the back yard, cable, the internet and many other toys of a middle class suburban family. We struggled in the area of tithing, there was always an excuse; "we won't have enough for the bills" , or "I don't need to give a full ten percent, the amount I'm giving is more than most people give". I have since learned that tithing is not a matter of "following the rules" it is a matter of the heart. When you have an obedient heart it is not a burden to pay your tithe but one more way to please the one who died to give you eternal life. To thank the Father who blessed you with what you have in the first place. If this homeless man can tithe then what excuse can any of the rest of us have for not being obedient? God bless HIM for his obedience.

Break my heart for what breaks yours

     I went to the Casting Crowns concert last night with a friend, and I was struck by many of the lyrics in their songs. There seemed to be a theme that said "We as Christians need to stop judging and pointing our fingers at the "sinners" and start showing mercy and love". One of the songs contained the line "break my heart for what breaks yours". I was reminded of the conversation I had with a friend about Kaylee Anthony and how surprised she was when I commented. "What I see when I look at Kaylee Anthony is a girl who is broken and lost and in need of God's grace, and who is being condemned by the entire world." Where did this view of her come from? I am a little surprised myself to realize that Christ is changing my heart, and I believe I saw her not through my own eyes but through His.
     Which brings me back to the east side of Flint. When Casting Crowns sang the song "Does Anybody Hear Her?" I couldn't help but picture in my mind the women we come in contact with through ministry there. Broken, hurting, sad, and hopeless women. They are desperate for someone to offer them hope. There are too few of us there offering them the hope they long for. I got all choked up during the song just thinking about all those women, and seeing each ones face as the song progressed.
     It seems God is answering that prayer of my heart; "break my heart for what breaks yours".
     I don't know what else to say except please pray for these women, and if God is breaking your heart for them, get out there and into the frontlines of the mission field; that can be found in our own back yard; and share the hope He gave you.

"Does Anybody Hear Her"

She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying
But the canyon's ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She's another two years older
And  she's three more steps behind

Does Anybody hear her? Can anybody See?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
with all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

She is yearning
For shelter and affection
That she never found at home
She is searcing
For a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day
And in walks her prince charming
And he knows just what to say
Momentary lapse of reason
And she gives herself away

If judgement looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can't see past her scarlet letter
and we never even met her

He is running
a hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction

I have been know to say that I will go back to college when I figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I am 4 credits shy of an Associates of Science degree. I wanted to be a psychologist, but let's be realistic. I'm 42 years old. Do I really want to spend 6 more years in school? Well honestly I would love it, I love learning and could be a student forever, but who could afford the student loan payments for that.
I had a revelation this morning. I love to write. Why not be a writer? I read an article online about how to make money as a writer and have come to several conclusions. 1. I need to get my "little brown handbook" out and study it front to back until I can properly punctuate a sentence. (Got straight A's in everything, unless punctuation was figured into the grade.) 2. I should go back to college and get a degree in something like English Literature with several creative writing classes in there somewhere. 3. I love to read, I love to write, I love to learn and I love to teach. Why not do something that incorporates all those things into a career of some sort.

I am beginning to get a clearer vision of my future. So glad I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up.

Pastor Bob asked us to write a Father's Day letter to God; this is mine:


Dear Heavenly Father,

 You are the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, and so mighty that when Isaiah saw you on your throne all he could see was the hem of your robe, because it filled up the whole room. Like Isaiah I have had unclean lips, and came from a people of unclean lips, deserving of death, unworthy to stand in your presence, and yet you did not abandon me

Since I was a child I have been afraid of being abandoned. I reacted to that fear in ways that would try any parents love and patience. Yet the earthly father that you sent to adopt me stood unmoving, ever patient, ever gentle, ever loving. No matter how much I disappointed him he would not be moved. Even the few times he showed his anger at my actions, it was not the anger of rejection, but of correction. Now, looking back at those years of emotional turmoil I can see that he was a rock in my life, never changing, never leaving, never condemning, always loving. Thank you Lord for giving me an earthly father who modeled so well your love for me. 

Just like I was adopted by my earthly father, who told me I was special because I was chosen, you chose me to be your little girl. Just like him you stood unmoving, ever patient, ever present, always loving, while I chose to live like an orphan. And when I reached the end of myself and came to  you with my head hung down in shame and desperation, you ran out to meet me. You placed the robe of adoption on my shoulders, the ring of authority on my finger, the sandals of access to all that is yours on my feet. Then you killed the fatted calf and rejoiced over me with singing and dancing.

Now I stand confident of your love, no longer afraid you will abandon me, a daughter of the King, a princess with power and authority and access to all that is yours; but most of all I get to press my head upon your chest, up against your heart, and lose myself there, and say "I love you Daddy!"

Revival in Flint

Only God knows the whole story, all I can tell you is the part of the story I know. I dont believe God is 'bringing' revival to Flint, I believe it's already come. The story I know started several years ago. Pastor Jon Grimshaw had suggested I read a book by Jim Cymbala called "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire". I didn't read it until a couple years later, but when I did I was so moved I suggested to my husband that he read it. To be honest I really didn't think he would, I tell him he should read books all the time and he seldom does, anybody who knows him knows his eyes are bad and it's very difficult for him to focus on the pages of a book for any length of time. But he read the book, that night. And he also was moved by the book and decided to start a prayer meeting at New Life Church of the Nazarene on Friday nights. No worship service, no sermon, no message, just corporate prayer. God gave us the scripture from 2 Chronicles 7:14 as our theme. "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land". Sometimes a lot of people would come sometimes only a few, but we prayed. 

Then in spring of 2010 a couple named Bill and Tina Etter, who had witness the group Time to Revive in another city, started praying for them to come to Flint. At that same time God led Pastor Bob to start 'OPERATION EVANGELISM' and we began to walk the streets of the Eastside of Flint, praying with people, mowing lawns, giving away wheelchairs, handing out sack lunches. God was moving although we kept praying for more, and we didn't know about Bill and Tina till a year later.

In September of 2010 my husband, Pastor Bob, went to Cali Columbia to a conference there about making disciples. It was a life changing experience for him and he came back with a renewed resolve for praying and decided to replace the Wed. night Bible study I had been teaching. (where we simply went through books of the bible and studied them, we had done Matthew, Revelation, and the Life of Moses in the 3 years I taught it) He started discipleship classes on Wed. nights, teaching our core group of about 12ish people how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ so they could then go make disciples.

In late winter, early spring of 2011 we were joined a couple times by another group praying for revival in Flint. A group made up of people from several different denominations all with a call to pray for revival in Flint. Several other churches from other denominations were contacting us wanting to be a part of 'OPERATION EVANGELISM'.

Well God answered Bill and Tina's prayers and Revive Flint happened in the spring of 2011. I heard about it a couple of months before it happened and mentioned to my husband that he should get involved. He said no. God had taught me a lesson already when he had once said to me; "when you nag him he cant hear me, he only hears you nagging" so I didn't say anything else about it even though I was sure it was something God wanted him to do. Another lady from New Life heard about it also several weeks later and she also told Pastor Bob he should get involved. He said no. She was disappointed. Then a lady named Renee Davis, who had been given the task of calling Flint area churches to see if they would get involved with Revive Flint, called him. Our church was not on her list, but thats her story to tell. Bottom line, He said yes. It was a life changing experience. In the time that Revive Flint was happening there was not one homicide in the city of Flint. There are many amazing stories of what happened during that time, they are on the ReviveFlint facebook page and Time to Revives website. They had divided the city into 12 tribes and the eastside was the Naphtali tribe and when it was over Pastor Bob was put 'in charge' of the Naphtali tribe and handed a list of 6000 homes on the eastside whose door nobody had knocked on yet. 

Pastor Bob has a renewed resolve to continue 'OPERATION EVANGELISM' but to do it a little different this time. He has that list, and is going out every day, tuesday thru Saturday, starting at noon, to knock on every door on that list. If its not pouring rain, a heat index over 100 degrees, and he has at least one other person to walk around with him he goes. The people see them coming and come out to meet them, come walking down the street, because they know their coming and don't want to wait till they get to their house, the people are hungry, and their waiting for some 'fresh hot bread' and 'living water'. People are coming to the Lord, praying, repenting, God is healing our land.

As if that isn't enough, there is more. Central Church of the Nazarene fasted and prayed for 40 days, and then Dan Bohi came. Their intention, a revival that would change the city of Flint. We went on Friday night and took 6 of our core group from New Life with us. When Dan started calling people forward for prayer our pew became a popcorn popper, our people going forward several times and when he called for them to come forward for entire sanctification 4 of the 6 went forward, one elderly lady who was feeling dizzy prayed in her seat.

That was Friday. Pastor Bob had asked about 8 people to write letters to God for Fathers day, and on Sunday he said, today we aren't going to find our what God can give us, we are going to give Him his Fathers Day gifts. So we all read our letters to God in front of the congregation. One lady, who had come Friday night, and gotten sanctified, read from her letter. "Father, help me let go of this bitterness and unforgiveness in my heart" . After the letters we simply had a praise and worship service for over half an hour. That lady sought out another lady in the congregation during that time and took her up to the altar and confessed that she had been offended by her a while ago and had been holding unforgiveness and resentment in her heart and they forgave each other. The sanctuary was like a popcorn popper, people getting touched and spontaneously going forward to the altar and others coming around them to pray for them. There was such a sweet spirit there, so much love, so much joy. At the end we listened to "The Father's Love letter" and then went down to eat the meal we always eat after the service.

As some of them sat at a table one lady said to another, who only comes occasionally, "I am so glad you came" and the lady responded "Anger brought me here" and as she tried to explain she began to cry, and everyone at that table got up from their meal and surrounded her and laid their hands on her and prayed for her.

That night I knew I was supposed to bring my friend, who I have been praying for for a long time, to the revival at central. She told me later she didn't want to go and gave some excuses, but God would not let me take no for an answer. When she realized that, she gave in and came, and got healed from depression. 

God is here, the Revival is happening, lets go out and walk around and burn this city down, then clean out the ashes and start again. God is Good

When God builds a puzzle.......

I heard that the Cali Church of the Nazarene in Columbia never starts and new ministry until they've prayed about it for 3 months. I knew our womens ministry at New Life needed to be revamped, rethunk, and retooled; so I decided to pray for 2 months before planning anything. God sent a group of women into my path all of whom had a burden for lost, broken, hurting women on the East side of Flint. (and beyond) I asked each of them to pray for God to give us a common vision about what this new phase of the womens ministry would look like. We had the first planning meeting today at the mission. From opening prayer, to closing prayer, with introductions included the meeting took less than an hour. It was amazing. We prayed, we all went around the table and introduced ourselves, we all laid our pieces of the puzzle on the table, the picture it made was beautiful, we picked a date, (July 13th) we prayed again, we went home.

So I suppose you all want to know what a puzzle that God built looks like....its radical, its a litte crazy maybe, it's outside the box, it's just like Jesus to do things this way. There will be no lesson, no craft, no games, no speakers, no registration, no attendance, no meetings (for now). Here's what we are going to do. We are going to eat lunch. Thats it. Lunch. 

Wednesdays from 11:15 to 1:30 we will have pretty tables decorated  upstairs in the sanctuary and we are going to invite the ladies to bring their plates upstairs and eat lunch with us. We are going to love them, regardless of race, color, creed, profession, lifestyle, appearance or smell, we are simply going to be Jesus with skin on, eat lunch and love them. Crazy? Maybe! Radical? You bet! Outside the box? Yep! Perfect? Perfect! Maybe we'll see you there. Bring your puzzle piece.

July 5th  I shared this post on Facebook:

"Some ask why we keep doing it. It's the prostitutes boyfriend sitting in the back row with his head hung down while Pastor Bob preaches about the prodigal son, and who goes up to the altar to pray after church. That's why!!"

The prostitute came into church with her boyfriend on Sunday. Why? Well it wasn’t because of any pointing or wagging fingers, or because of the condemnation of anyone with a false sense of their own righteousness, or judgmental glances or whispers, or shaking heads. It wasn’t because somebody put a sign on the corner that said “No hoe Zone”, It wasn’t because anybody yelled “dirty hoe” at her as they drove by in their car. It wasn’t because some well meaning person informed her of God’s Law and her destiny in Hell either.

It was, in part, one faithful servant of Jesus Christ. Who has poured herself out as a thank offering and willingly went where He told her to go, to speak to whom He told her to speak, and to love who He told her to love. Saturday night wasn’t the first time she went out of her way to speak to the prostitutes that work near the corner of Franklin and Delaware, Christ’s love spilling out without condemnation and soaking these ladies. It wasn’t the first time she walked away with a breaking heart and tears pouring down her face. Saturday night the prostitute expressed how she didn’t want to live that way, but felt unworthy to enter the church because of what she was doing. The beautiful servant of Christ; again with a breaking heart and tears expressed to me on the way home that she hoped that she had spoke well the words God gave her to speak; she talked about her feelings of helplessness at not being able to do more, and wondered if she would ever get to see the fruit after pouring out so much of herself. She prayed at the stop light for the prostitutes, for her to get to see fruit, and not to grow weary in doing good. We both felt weary and discouraged, but later that night chose to praise Him and rejoice in spite of our weariness. The prostitute came into the church with her boyfriend on Sunday.

We are just a small mission church on the corner of Franklin and Delaware. On Sunday at 2pm our sanctuary is filled with the lost, broken and hurting; the poor and hopeless; the unwashed and the mentally ill; prostitutes, drug addicts, alcoholics and thieves. They are broke, or on welfare or on SSI. We literally collected 2 dollar bills and some change in the offering plate this Sunday. We have been doing this for 5 years. Fighting the discouragement that tries to set in when we see those we’ve poured ourselves into start to be choked by the weeds, or fall under the weight of their circumstances. Believing in faith that God will provide the finances to keep our vans on the road, and to be able to pay the rent for the St. Mary’s school where we have between 30-40 kids every Sunday coming to church. That someone will provide us a meal after church on the two Sundays a month one of our sister churches don’t, and that God will finish the good work begun on this corner 14 years ago. Sundays like this make it all worth it. Please pray for the people of Flint’s East side, please pray for us.

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