1st Day of Summer Break

Summer has always began the 1st day after school ends, not what the calendar states for this girl.

Today, summer officially begins. Brooke is now a Junior, an upper class-man.

The start of a new summer brings hope, fun, and unexpected treasures and memories. We're already off to a fabulous start with my working from home on Friday's and the new ATV's, dirt bike, and Polaris RZR for summer adventure.

Dates on the calendar of of upcoming events/day trips, and me excited to kayak for the first time.

My dad pulled my overgrown shrubs yesterday. Once pretty and new 14 years ago, now overgrown and dated. The front of my house is being prepped for a fresh and new look.

Lots of news, actually.

Winter is over, summer is here.

Oh magical season, I actively and warmfully embrace you!

Prayer

Each month in the Meal Ministry, the last week of each month, I select a focus-topic and dedicate the whole week of devotions to it to drive home importance and teach others they are called to action.

What I have especially learned over the last several years is that when I am ready for break-through with anything above the normal an invisible target is on my back. I fully believe it is a target to unravel and take me off course.

Anger, bitterness, resentfulness, ready for war becomes my attitude.

Then, a still small voice reminds me that person(s) isn't the real enemy.

When life becomes ridiculous with too many annoying situations happening at once, because if Satan wants to defeat you, he has to pull our several "unraveling" situations. One situation at a time is typical life.

This weeks focus topic in the Meal Ministry is prayer.

"Prayer is the portal that brings the power from heaven down 

to earth. It is kryptonite to the enemy and to all his ploys 

against you." 

                                                                                                       - Fervent

"Despite what we may or may not understand about prayer, God has deliberately chosen this particular vehicle as the one that drives His activity in people's lives," Priscilla Shirer shares in her "must-have" book Fervent. 

I've been studying books on prayer, my office/prayer poom has become a new part of my home that I find peace in, and last week I participated in my first-ever, full hour of just prayer with a small group of community leaders I meet with weekly.

I was curious and apprehensive a full hour of praying with others. I knew God's presence would be powerful. I knew if I needed specific prayers, this would be the most powerful time.

What I didn't anticipate was the prayers, the ones I always request faithfully, wasn't what I asked for when it came time for me to make a personal ask. 

"I want ... I need ... and please ..." suddenly in a raw moment of prayer directly connected with God, in a holy moment, other priorities in my life became more real and my asks became far different than my daily pleas. 

I was surprised! 

If you were truly in the presence of God, the small things fall away and if you were truly to ask for something, anything, you may surprise yourself, too.  

One special request that wasn't even spoken out loud, but I slid up while others were praying came to fruition only days later! What I couldn't do, God handled and handled it so fast and through an unlikely source that I was laughingly impressed and gave God a, "Well done!" 

There comes a moment after prayer when you know that God has answered your prayer and you know your hearts desires are in the almighty hands of God. 

Life happens. Satan's personal attacks in the invisible realm will happen when he knows that I am about to teach hundreds of people the power of prayer this week, his kryptonite.

Often, I have to regroup when all seems to be going wrong, dig deep into prayer connecting to God, then I say out loud to my attacker, "This is going to happen regardless of the bulls-eye you've put on my back ..."

Prayer Partners. 

A prayer room at the rescue mission.

A prayer request page.

A God-focused topic dedicated for a full week each month to hundreds of hurting people.

A prayer room in my home.

The topic of prayer, this week, is going to happen.

Congratulations Across the World

I wrote to Akhil for the last time. 

Over 10 years ago, I began sponsoring Akhil through the Dalit Freedom Network, providing his education and corresponding with him since his first letters and colored pictures were scribbles. 

He is 17 years old now and in India, students graduate in 10th grade. 

It has been a privilege to support him across this world of ours and I will always wonder what became of his life. 

Today was saying "Goodbye, I wish you the best in life, be happy ..." to a friend I will never meet, yet helped in some small way.

Happy Honeymooner's Are Home!

The happy honeymooner's are home and I was so excited to see them!

I agreed and was fine waiting, respecting their boundaries and requests to not see their house until they were finished renovating. Working up until the wedding on home renovations, as soon as they got home from their honeymoon we went over.

Her new home is beautiful! Jeremy gutted and remodeled the kitchen, knocked out walls and remodeled the living room and bedroom. Talented, he created a beautiful home for his bride.

I loved his earthy, rustic, clean and open color theme.

Walking up to their door to see my daughter after her honeymoon, I felt as if I was paying attention to all things, knowing her so well. She is glowing and happy.

Tons of hugs, a tour of their home, and they opened their wedding presents.

What a wonderful way to start off their life and at 20 years old, she has walked into home-complete.

Laying in bed the sweetest text came through my phone ...

I love our relationship and I cannot wait to spend time with her and hear her heart about her new life. 

Prayer Room/Office

It's done! My new prayer room/office is complete as of this morning.

Thanks to my dad & mom for painting, my desk is in place with my comfy chair sitting in the corner for a reading place. The room is simple and that is how I want it.

I just put Brooke's prayer board up and I went downstairs to get a couple prayer cards I'd had as a start to put on the walls. Yep, I'm going to cover the walls in prayer. I grabbed my bible and my book Fervent for this room.

Picking up my prayer cards I found one from two years ago. It was a promise that reads ...

Recognizing the unlimited measure of God's

love and that He chooses to use us, in spite of our state, 

on this, Fifth Day of May, in 

the year Twenty and Fourteen, I/we do 

hereby commit and affirm our devotion to

God and to His service by this decree:

To love beyond

measure and

pray fervently

for the things in

life that matter 

most.

This was my decree.

Did you catch the date? The fifth of May, 2014. Today is the fifth of May, 2016.

To pray fervently, my book Fervent sits on my desk.

Coincidence? No. This room was predestined, I didn't know it until today.

Life in the Rescue Mission 2016

Life in the rescue mission continues to evolve in a way it is supposed to, for what ever reason, and while that makes no sense, it does.

In 2015, my team fed 89,157 meals. This year, I have seen significant increase.

Significant increase in dinner guests and donations. Statistically, I am tracking an average of 400-700 additional meals per month served versus last year.

Significance in food donations. Somehow, I have managed to be the donation of choice for people and businesses to give to. I make it easy. My rescue mission is now overflowing in donations, so much that I keep what I want and call other meal sites/food pantry agencies who literally bring trucks and we pass off hundreds of pounds of food a couple times per week.

I am under budget in an all-time low since the mission opened almost 10 years ago for cost of meal per person. Calculations are based on number of people served on what I have to spend for extra items not donated. That number was climbing before I came and averaged $.48 per meal. I have it continually decreasing and now averaging $.27 per meal.

Being the only staff member present when a meal is served, plus being single, I have secured a police officer that swings by every evening on his patrol route for a police presence with a population who does not respect boundaries. Officer Watkins and I have become good friends. He makes our mission a priority on his route.

Yesterday evening he needed to charge his phone, so I gave him the key to my car to get my charger. Getting in my car, the guys asked him what he was doing. The shelter residents keep an eye on me, I feed them and am good to to them. Office Watkins was questioned as to why he was getting into my car and I thought that was funny! He had to answer. Well, he didn't, but he assured them all was fine.

Sitting in my office, I heard three of the residents, early 30's, start yelling. They are all good guys, never a problem, and the one was clearly really upset over something. As guys do, they took it outside. Not to fight, but for fresh air and away from everyone else since it was quiet inside.

I'm putting up posts on the bulletin board, when the realization hit me, I don't let my girls argue at home, I am not letting these boys argue here. So, I go outside and ask them if they've worked it out. They were all smiles and assured me all was well. Dust settles quickly with guys.

It wasn't my place to intervene in their situation, but I did explain I don't let my girls fight at home and I am not letting you boys fight here. There is something about those boundaries they love. There is comfort in knowing someone cares about each of them.

At the mission, I am a mom, a friend, the law, a nurse, a boss, a boundary definer, a spiritual leader, an advocate, a community liaison, a financial officer, and the list goes on. My hats change on a moments notice.

With over 300+ workers/volunteers per month coming through my kitchen to serve, working with the courts, transitioning shelter residents, workers/volunteers, dinner guests, the mission is growing to a new level. It is actually getting easier now that I understand all these dynamics.

I am in my groove and multi-task at levels that makes myself dizzy at times.

I've got this though.

Pruning and Purging

The last week of each month in the meal ministry I pick a topic for devotions and it becomes the focus for the entire week. We just ended the week yesterday with: Pruning.

Pruning is a verb. To cut off, clear away or remove.

God says in the bible ...

A whole week on pruning was a lot. The focus and purpose is to drive the message home. If someone says, "pruning" there is a community, under me, that knows exactly what it means.

Pruning is a painful process and I am open to God showing me what or perhaps who needs removed from my life that has become a dead branch or simply preventing me from being more fruitful. I cannot teach this stuff and it not become so personal in my life.

On the home front ... I am SO proud of Brooke! My girls are hoarders. Getting Mariah packed up and moved out was much harder than it needed to be because she hoards. Her sister, Brooke, was a fount of comments and judgment, anxious to push her out the door to take her room.

With Mariah's room renovated and transformed into Brooke's new room, the focus was now on Brooke's old room, hoarder #2. 

Flashback: When Brooke was little, I would send her into her room to purge trash and old things in a cleaning process. She would spend hours going through stuff and would happily want to show me what she was willing to get rid of. Four toys. Truly everything was a treasure.

Yesterday it was time. Time to tackle the monstrous project of purging Brooke's old room, although she was fine living out of both rooms, it isn't fine with me. 

Trash bags for trash, bins for Goodwill. 

She purged like a champion! 

Five large trash bags filled, two extra large totes + miscellaneous pieces hauled to Goodwill.

Everything she has hoarded for years, she let go of. The best part was her dad's things she let go of. Just stuff that had become sentimental treasures that took space and was never used. She made the decision and was perfectly fine with it. It is truly part of her healing process.

Her old room is now empty. She has let go of the old and open for the new season in her life an uncluttered beginning.

Renovations in the empty bedroom begin this week. Painting to refresh the walls and ceiling, changing the look to make open for the first open room in our home since I bought it almost 14 years go.

I may make the room an office. Brooke is thinking a prayer room.

Whatever this room becomes, it has been purged of the old and made way for the new.


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