Julie

Can you please pray for my friend, Julie?

She came to bible study during the summer when we were studying John. She was so enthusiastic about what we were learning. I remember the Friday after she came to the Sunday woman's bible study, she came up to me and gave me a big hug and wanted to talk about what she learned the week before to see if she could remember everything.

After that couple of times seeing her, I hadn't really seen her at the Friday night life skills classes or our woman's bible studies on Sundays. Before I met Julie, I had already gotten to know her boyfriend, Louis, pretty well. Once I met Julie, I would get tid-bits here and there about how she was doing. Although Louis wasn't very specific, he would tell me that she would run-off with other men and to the other side of the bridge (not the Bridge, the shelter, but the bridge that was near the shelter that lead to a REALLY, REALLY bad neighborhood).

Last Sunday was the first time I have seen Julie in a long time. I didn't get a chance to talk to her because I was helping a couple of woman finish the bible study questions, but she seemed a little off.

Then we get to the Bridge last night and before class I see Louis and we start chatting about nothing too particular. The next thing I know, I see Julie walking up. I was really excited to get a chance to talk to her, but again, when I saw her something was off and I realized that most likely she was high. I asked her how life was and she said really up and down. I asked her what that specifically meant, if she wouldn't mind sharing, and she definitely didn't mind...

She shared that she has a crack problem and that it feels like it calls to her constantly. She wanted to stop because she knew she was going to lose Louis. While she is sharing all of this, I can tell that part of her wants to stop, but part of her doesn't care and wouldn't mind going back that night...which she did.

We prayed right then and there...I asked God to save her from this addiction and asked Him that He would pour out His love on her so that she would not run to the drugs to fill the voids in her life. I prayed in confidence knowing that Jesus is our more than a conqueror.

Later, Wayne (the director of OurCalling, who used to have a serious drug problem when he was younger), talked to her about what it was going to take to quit.

She told him she really wanted to.

But, when it came down to what she needed to do, she kind of smirked and didn't really believe us. It was very apparent that her words and her desires are not in the same place. Her words say she wants to quit, but her actions are contrary. When we prayed earlier that night, she left and got high, and then came back to get candy. That's when I asked her if she was serious about quitting, and that if she was we needed to talk to Wayne. We pleaded with her, trying to convince her that nothing is going to fix her, that SHE has to want it. Wayne said this: It's not a "salon" where you sit there and they "fix" you; YOU have to be the hardest working person in the room. What's sad is I don't think she's ready to make that commitment.

Driving home, I don't know how to pray for this. Not at all. Nights like these at the Bridge I have to SURROUND myself with truth so that I don't let satan lie and tell me that God isn't doing anything at the Bridge and that the truth won't set anyone free there. I listened to 3 songs the whole way home. One was "Awakening" by Chris Tomlin and I prayed this over Julie...that Jesus would awaken her soul to HIM AND HIM ALONE. Like the rising sun pierces the darkness. The second song was "Our God", again by Chris Tomlin...I just needed to hear scriptural truth that OUR GOD IS STRONGER, that NOTHING can conquer Him. I thought and prayed to truly believe that satan could be vanquished, no matter how "far gone" someone was. The last song I listened to was "He Loves Us" by David Crowder Band. I needed to just keep reminding myself of the truth that God loves us more than we could ever imagine. He is jealous for Julie...loves her, including all the mess, more than she could fathom.

Could you guys join me in praying for Julie? Jesus is mighty to save, mightier than the drugs and the lies that satan is feeding to her.

Our Sustainable Food Day

Reed and I watched Food, Inc. yesterday/today and we were kind of in shock at the lack of attention we have paid to the things we buy. FACT: The things we buy directly affect other people. It's not just about health, although also very important, its mainly about what we are doing to the workers "making" our food. The movie is pretty crazy with all it reveals about the practices of the corporations that produce most of the food in our country.

Anyways, all that to say, Reed and I really think its time to stop pretending we don't know what is going on and make sure that our purchases honor God...even if that means spending a little more money.

So here is me documenting our sustainable food day adventures...

We started the adventures off (after we hung out with Rachel this morning) with lunch at Chipotle, a "sustainable" restaurant, ie. a restaurant that uses local produce and meats.

Reed couldn't finish his burrito and was very distraught about it. This has nothing to do with being aware and conscious about our food choices, but I thought it was cute :)

Next we headed downtown to the Dallas Farmers Market. This thing is intense...I think it is one of the biggest in the country (don't quote me on this, but just know its rather large). Before we actually got to the food, we decided we wanted to spruce up our apartment with some fall decor, so we picked out some pumpkins! P.S. I love that downtown is in the background of the farmer's market...something about it just makes me want to giggle.

Our pumpkin! Reed was thrilled that he was the one showcasing it :)

They had some seriously BIG pumpkins!

And some seriously cool mini-pumpkins!

Next we ventured to Shed 1, which had the local farmer's produce! You can't really tell from the picture, but the shed is really long and you can drive and park in the middle and the vendors line either side. They all had AMAZING samples...I mean the cantaloupe we tried was just spectacular!

In the end we came home with all these wonderful veggies AND some natural pork chops! As in not the "manufactured" pork you get in a store. You'll have to watch Food Inc. to understand what I mean by "manufactured". We got to see a glimpse of how cows/pigs are raised these days and also how they are slaughtered (they featured the largest pork slaughter house in the WORLD). They didn't show the gory stuff as much as how they are raised and treated. Anyways, we were really pumped to find some local butchers who are raising their animals naturally. And here is our bounty...

I'm definitely pumped. It ended up being pretty darn fun going through the Farmer's Market with Reed. And the people were so nice and helpful. I'm pretty sure I never know what to look for in each vegetable (as far as ripeness), but these people GREW them, so they were able to help explain what to look for in something you want to eat soon and in something you may want to eat in a couple days. Pretty neat.

Also, just as an FYI, after typing the word "pumpkin" so many times, it no longer feels like a real word to me. Maybe I need to go to bed...