Well, I'm back from AZ. I had a blast. I would type a real deep blog today, but quite honestly I don't feel up to it :) I think I have jet lag :) and am still trying to adjust back to Eastern time! So, I'm going to leave you with this: I love each of you and covet all of your prayers being thrown up for me and our community throughout this call that God has on my life. God is without a doubt working . . . .
Love Deeply
Will pick back up next week :)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
"What do you want me to do for you?"
Hello from the state of AZ! I am here with my best friends awaiting Saturday, where Kathryn Jean Stevens will be getting married! We have already had some great times and many more to come throughout the week.
This morning I was reading Matthew 20. Verses 29-34 really stuck out to me. To give you a little summary, Jesus and His followers were leaving Jericho. Two blind men sitting down on the side of the road yelled out to Jesus, "have mercy on us." The crowd that was following Jesus rebuked the men and told them to be quiet. The two men then yelled even louder in their persistence. "Jesus stopped and called them. 'What do you want me to do for you?' he asked." They replied, "we want our sight to be restored." Jesus healed the two blind men.
I feel that so many times we are afraid to ask Jesus what we really want. Whether it is out of fear, or we think it doesn't matter to Christ, or other circumstances; we hesitate, we don't ask. My friend Gao and I were visiting another friend in the community last week. As our friend expressed her hurt and frustrations concerning her life and her family, we asked her a simple question; "What is it that you want Jesus to do for you and your family." She responded and we prayed in boldness for her request. I was reminded of this story while reading the passage out of Matthew this morning.
God turns his ear to the cries of His children. He wants us to seek Him. He wants us to ask Him. He wants to have compassion. He does have compassion for us. I just want to encourage those who are reading this to ask...to not be fearful, but to ask. Whatever it may be, ask our King exactly what you want Him to do for you. May the peace that surpasses all understanding be upon each of us as we wait for the answer.
Love Deeply
This morning I was reading Matthew 20. Verses 29-34 really stuck out to me. To give you a little summary, Jesus and His followers were leaving Jericho. Two blind men sitting down on the side of the road yelled out to Jesus, "have mercy on us." The crowd that was following Jesus rebuked the men and told them to be quiet. The two men then yelled even louder in their persistence. "Jesus stopped and called them. 'What do you want me to do for you?' he asked." They replied, "we want our sight to be restored." Jesus healed the two blind men.
I feel that so many times we are afraid to ask Jesus what we really want. Whether it is out of fear, or we think it doesn't matter to Christ, or other circumstances; we hesitate, we don't ask. My friend Gao and I were visiting another friend in the community last week. As our friend expressed her hurt and frustrations concerning her life and her family, we asked her a simple question; "What is it that you want Jesus to do for you and your family." She responded and we prayed in boldness for her request. I was reminded of this story while reading the passage out of Matthew this morning.
God turns his ear to the cries of His children. He wants us to seek Him. He wants us to ask Him. He wants to have compassion. He does have compassion for us. I just want to encourage those who are reading this to ask...to not be fearful, but to ask. Whatever it may be, ask our King exactly what you want Him to do for you. May the peace that surpasses all understanding be upon each of us as we wait for the answer.
Love Deeply
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tough Times
This last week and a half or so has been pretty difficult. Myself personally, and our staff as a whole have hit some pretty tough times. Some of you have heard me mention the "2 month mark." This mark is where I feel around every 2 months or so, I need a break; for restoration and quite honestly to just get away. It's as if once that 2 month mark comes around things become so heavy and so intense, I need to take a step back. And wouldn't you know, it's been about 2 months since I took my last break and went home. Thankfully, I am headed to Arizona on Saturday for my best friend's wedding. I am spending a week there and expect many good times, some tears, and tons of laughing that brings you to the floor!
I know some of you are wanting an update on Layla. Unfortunately, after a week of being at the hospital undergoing rehab Layla is back on the streets. We went to visit her every other day, and our visits were always so good. We would play cards, we would talk, we would watch tv, we would pray. I was very honest with Layla and the steps she needed to take in order to get long term help. The problem was that Layla did not want that help. She would say respectively, "Steph, I understand what you are saying and I really do listen to you, I do, but I don't want to go through with that." The first time I saw her out on the street again, she was on the corner. As you could imagine, this shattered my heart. What do I do now Lord? "Love her. Love her as I love her."
Some of the people we really pour into here have taken big steps backwards this past week. This obviously brings much burden to our hearts. As my friends and I were doing street time yesterday we talked about how hard it is to take a step back, and let God be God. When the Lord has placed a specific burden on your heart for specific people, it is natural to want to reach out and meet needs they have. I think what a couple of us here are learning is that God wants us to fight the battle first and foremost through prayer.
Though difficult weeks have come and gone our Savior still reigns. He is our King of Kings, our Lord of Lords. He is my Provider. My Shelter. My Protector. My Healer. My Redeemer. My Everything. My Encourager. HE IS VICTORIOUS! Amen.
Love Deeply.
I know some of you are wanting an update on Layla. Unfortunately, after a week of being at the hospital undergoing rehab Layla is back on the streets. We went to visit her every other day, and our visits were always so good. We would play cards, we would talk, we would watch tv, we would pray. I was very honest with Layla and the steps she needed to take in order to get long term help. The problem was that Layla did not want that help. She would say respectively, "Steph, I understand what you are saying and I really do listen to you, I do, but I don't want to go through with that." The first time I saw her out on the street again, she was on the corner. As you could imagine, this shattered my heart. What do I do now Lord? "Love her. Love her as I love her."
Some of the people we really pour into here have taken big steps backwards this past week. This obviously brings much burden to our hearts. As my friends and I were doing street time yesterday we talked about how hard it is to take a step back, and let God be God. When the Lord has placed a specific burden on your heart for specific people, it is natural to want to reach out and meet needs they have. I think what a couple of us here are learning is that God wants us to fight the battle first and foremost through prayer.
Though difficult weeks have come and gone our Savior still reigns. He is our King of Kings, our Lord of Lords. He is my Provider. My Shelter. My Protector. My Healer. My Redeemer. My Everything. My Encourager. HE IS VICTORIOUS! Amen.
Love Deeply.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
He Meets Us on The Hospital Floor
I found myself in a movie type atmosphere last week that I will try and put into words. My friend Layla, who has finally been reaching out for help decided to make a huge step this past Wednesday. As a reminder, she is a crack addict, homeless, and lives a life of prostitution. From an outsiders point of view, people would probably identify her as "hopeless." I beg to differ. My friend Diz and I found ourselves taking Layla to her sisters house. Layla believes her sister is there for her always and will allow her to stay in her home. This is not the case. However, I decided to agree to take her there, because the second part of the deal with Layla, was that if her sister wasn't home, she would be taken to a hospital for rehabilitation. (Please understand that our relationship is strong enough now where I speak very, very boldly to Layla - without apology). We arrived at her sisters house. She wasn't home.
Layla wanted me to write a letter to her sister. She was saying everything, and I was just documenting it. "I want to come home. I am sorry. Please forgive me." She started to cry. Even though Layla has many, many issues - she feels an enormous amount of pain that she cannot hide at times. I held her hand and asked her if she was ok. "I am never ok, she tearfully replied back." We proceeded to go to the local hospital. As Layla was going through the initial process of being admitted, I sat and prayed. My heart broke for the amount of emotional pain Layla felt inside, along with her addiction. I was in a private waiting room as the time went on; she wanted me to wait until she was completely admitted.
The nurse came in and said I could go see her. I walked into what seemed to look like a holding cell with one cot. We were on the Psychiatric Unit, so you could imagine why. However, Layla had taken her one sheet with her pillow and laid it on the ground. I saw a frail, sick body laying on the hospital floor. I couldn't help, but envision our Lord and Savior huddled over her, the Healer of all Healers. I will never forget that image. I believe Jesus met Layla right there, in here brokenness, in her despair.
I have since then, gone and visited Layla a couple of times. It is evident that God is at work. He has not brought her this far, to just leave her out to dry. I will have more of an update next week. Please be in prayer for Layla.
God Is Love
Layla wanted me to write a letter to her sister. She was saying everything, and I was just documenting it. "I want to come home. I am sorry. Please forgive me." She started to cry. Even though Layla has many, many issues - she feels an enormous amount of pain that she cannot hide at times. I held her hand and asked her if she was ok. "I am never ok, she tearfully replied back." We proceeded to go to the local hospital. As Layla was going through the initial process of being admitted, I sat and prayed. My heart broke for the amount of emotional pain Layla felt inside, along with her addiction. I was in a private waiting room as the time went on; she wanted me to wait until she was completely admitted.
The nurse came in and said I could go see her. I walked into what seemed to look like a holding cell with one cot. We were on the Psychiatric Unit, so you could imagine why. However, Layla had taken her one sheet with her pillow and laid it on the ground. I saw a frail, sick body laying on the hospital floor. I couldn't help, but envision our Lord and Savior huddled over her, the Healer of all Healers. I will never forget that image. I believe Jesus met Layla right there, in here brokenness, in her despair.
I have since then, gone and visited Layla a couple of times. It is evident that God is at work. He has not brought her this far, to just leave her out to dry. I will have more of an update next week. Please be in prayer for Layla.
God Is Love
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)