friday update

Blessed Portion Friday Update 3-9-18

Hello Everyone--

Tonight was again a blessing because The Ladies from the Greek Orthodox Church fed our friends - and me as well!! They always serve a good hot meal for everyone and we are blessed by their generosity and servants hearts for our community.

Tonight we were able to give out so many needed items--especially for those few who had just left prison and county jail the night before. Two men shared how they had nothing except what they were wearing...and we were able to meet their needs......again thankful that we have items each week to give. So many needed gloves as the temps were pretty low and again we had enough. Also emptied the bin of pants, 3 shirt bins which are large, extra large and 2x and above, the hats and gloves and hygiene items. Some just needed a few batteries to keep their radios and flashlights working and thankful we had enough to go around.

We heard some good news at each stop tonight and that is refreshing. Its easy to get caught up in the negative no matter where you live and so hearing good news is vital. Was able to help one young mama to be with a voucher to Treasure House to get the items she needs for her job....that she leaves an hour and half early to walk to!!! She is pregnant and yet is working hard to support herself--she works at a clothing store and there are strict guidelines as to what she can wear and when you don't have anything that sure makes it hard. Thankful to those who donated those Treasure House vouchers because she needs shoes and clothing. Hearing her story and how far she walks to work without complaining sure is inspiring. Also talked with a friend who just got out of jail. He is happy to say the least and he let us know he was baptized while he was incarcerated....again thankful for those who serve in jail/prison ministry....it is so vital. Lets not forget that the man who asked Jesus to remember him when He went to Paradise was a criminal.....and again Christ's love for us is not measured by what we do or don't do...He loves us regardless and we need those ministries to reach all people.

Heard once that you can learn a lot from a person by looking at their Bible. What passages they highlight, prayers maybe they write on the inside pages. You can learn by looking at the outside of the Bible. Is it dusty? Does the Bible look worn? Does It look as though someone has been reading it? Well tonight our team was blessed, humbled and in awe of one man. Each week we try to at least have a time of learning about God and His ways and this week was no different. We talked about when Jesus called ordinary men to be his disciples and to "Follow Him" and they DID! They didn't ask "Well how much does it pay?" "Will I have a retirement fund?" They didn't ask to sit and think about it. They didn't negotiate terms, or try to have their schedule revolving around His. They didn't ask where they would live, how they would eat, or even for how long they would be gone....the Bible says that "That they followed Him." They gave up everything for Jesus who even at the beginning as He was commanding men to follow Him had no idea what was about to come. They didn't see the miracles happen when He asked them...nothing to cause them to give up everything...except that deep down gut driven desire to know Him....and so they........ followed Him. As we were sharing these thoughts there was a man who we had never seen before and he asked me where the verses were found at so he could follow along in his TATTERED New Testament. At first as I glanced down I was struck by how many passages he had underlined, the notes he wrote in the small spaces on the sides. I was struck by how again those Bible pages were worn, wrinkled, tattered and yet how beautiful it was. Tears at that point started to come and I thought quickly how this man loves Jesus. His Bible is his compass, its his lifeline...and he follows Jesus. I talked with him after we were done praying for a few minutes and he has really poor eyes sight so he would hold the Bible so close to his eyes as he explained passages he had underlined-- and one of those was the same passage we talked about...about Jesus telling Levi to follow Him. He also shared about how he loves when the Bible says "I am." He shared where in the Old Testament those words were used to describe God....and our friend said so simply yet so powerfully said ...... He is I am! Oh how powerful his words are..and how true it is that God Almighty is I am!! I asked this man if I could take a few pictures of his Bible and he let me. So the pics with this post are a couple of the pages...notice where I highlighted in yellow about Levi? Well he had that underlined....about following Jesus!

So ...... this Friday was a good night. Heard lots of praises, heard lots of prayer requests. Saw lots of amazing people, saw hearts fired up for Jesus and many who decided to "Follow Him" from here on out and that everyone is the best news ever!! Thank you to those of you who donate EVERYTHING!!! Not only do we give away tangible items, but we give those Bibles away you donate, those AA Books, Na Books, and Christian reading material... so thank you for always thinking of those we serve and may we all have tattered worn Bibles. May those Bibles be our compass, our encouragement, our conviction, our hope and may we all completely with all we are , no excuses, no agendas....just FOLLOW HIM!!!!

Thank you to Pathway Community Church, Grace Summit Church, Hamilton Church of Christ, Auburn Massage and Wellness, Mjs Apparel, Mark Stebing, Jennifer Lynne Stebing, Sarah lapadot, Lori Williams, Jacquie Aldrich, Community Harvest Food Bank, Cherrilyn Thomas, Claudia Wessner, Toby, Jackie Mangas and her crew, Michael Jordan, Rochelle Bloomfield-Wilson, Laura Mock, Christina King, Scott Wright, Nick Reinoehl,Sasha Gravante and everyone who drops off items each week--thankyou