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.

www.flintnewlifenaz.com