Last Friday Night at the Bridge

Every Friday night, Reed and I, unless we are sick or out of town, head downtown to one of Dallas' homeless shelters, the Bridge. We've come to love and cherish the time that we spend at the Bridge. When I talk to people about this, sometimes it makes them feel uncomfortable or like they could never be around homeless people, but it's really not too hard. Homeless people are people too. They all have different stories and reasons for why they are homeless, but in the end, they are broken humans, just like the rest of us. I'll admit, I was super uncomfortable when we first decided that this was something we were going to be obedient in because Jesus calls us to love and serve the poor. I kept thinking that I would have nothing to relate, nothing to say to encourage, nothing to share.

God showed me just how wrong I was. He's also shown me how His plan for His people in Dallas is far bigger than me. If Reed and I didn't go to the Bridge, God would still be doing amazing things to bring the broken back to Himself for His glory...we are just blessed to be a part of that.

On Friday nights we help teach a life skills class. Usually this is over a certain life topic that Wayne, the Director of OurCalling, picks. The really neat thing is that we teach biblically based life skills classes. There is nothing subtle about how we tie the class into what God says in the bible about that particular subject. Just being able to talk about God's Word is evidence of His sovereignty every week because the Bridge is a city run shelter and we're not technically supposed to have anything religiously affiliated. Yet ever week, we go inside the shelter and teach a class painted with the gospel. God truly is good.

This past Friday was one of those nights that God just took the reigns and captivated everyone. Wayne chose to talk about our purpose this week. What is our purpose on this earth. What will our purpose be this year? What about this summer? What about this week? What about today? We talked about seeking God's purpose for our lives because God loves each and everyone in the room and has a specific purpose for them. I remember as Wayne was emphasizing that point over and over (that God loves us exactly how He created us and that He created us for a purpose), that my eyes went around the room to all the people sitting around me.

I saw one man who had earlier confessed to me that he had taken 11 of his psych meds to give him a nice high. His hands were shaking and he was proud of the high he was feeling. God may not love his choices and actions, BUT GOD LOVES THIS MAN.

Another man was sitting next to me, shaking his leg uncontrollably (could be a health issue, could be drugs, I'm not sure), and he smelled like he had been walking in the Texas heat (it has been over 100 most days in Dallas) for 2 weeks straight without washing himself or his clothes. This man who's story I do not know, GOD LOVES EVERY PART OF HIM.

One of the woman in the room is a lady that God has intertwined in my heart. By all means, she is nasty, rude, racist, manipulative and throws a fit if you don't give her money. But my heart has always ached to see the impossible come true with her because GOD LOVES AND CREATED HER TO BE EXACTLY THE WAY SHE IS. I know she wasn't created to carry the certain evils in her heart and that God does not love the, but there are moments when I see her sweet spirit come out and I praise Jesus for the hope of His salvation.

As we all sat there thinking of our purpose as God's children, whom He loves EXACTLY the way we are, poor or not, the whole room was silent. This may not seem that amazing, but on Friday nights we also hand out coffee and Gatorade during the class. We know that many people come solely for the coffee which usually brings LOT of side conversation. Some nights it is more of a distraction than others, but without fail there is usually some side conversation going.

Not this Friday. Every single person in the room was captivated by the message that Wayne was sharing. To know that God had a specific purpose for them captivated them. Each person in the room, including myself, was challenged to choose the purpose God has in store for us, instead of our own purposes.

I'm not sure how everyone else was affected by the message, but I was so convicted. We talked about how we were to find our purpose in Christ and that it may look different for each person as far as individual actions go but our purpose would be found when we continually run the race set before us, seeking diligently after our prize, Christ Jesus.

I cannot tell you how much that does not reflect my life. Ever since I began working last September, I have chased after nothing but my selfish desires. Work is so hectic that I feel sorry for myself and therefore I feel like I deserve my own free time all the time.

I know, not a good year.

I think the word that might define this last year for me is "purposeless". I just was kind of existing. Trying to get by with the crazy life of a public accountant and wife. Jesus wasn't my reason. He was always there and there were moments when I connected with Him, but He wasn't EVERYTHING.

I don't want to have my purpose this week to be to just get through the work week and then serve at the Bridge during the weekends. I want every second of my life to have a purpose in Jesus. To be pointed towards Christ. I don't want to waste my days just getting by and choosing my own selfish ambitions.

This past Friday night, while I was supposed to be serving coffee, I stayed seated with the homeless and I started praying for the woman I feel so intertwined with, for the man who admitted he was using his medication for the high and for the man who was kind of stinky next to me. In all earnestness, I prayed that they would be impacted with God's Word about their purpose and that they would gaze upon Jesus and know that He alone is sufficient. I prayed for a revolution at the Bridge, that the hatred and cut throat nature that is accepted there would dissolve and that Christ's love and peace would inundate this place. That Jesus would be magnified in this shelter. I prayed that the impossible can be done in the lives of the addicted, faithless, and lonely. I prayed that the homeless would rise up with more faith and resiliency in Christ than this city ever imagined.

The Holy Spirit is moving in the Bridge and although we may not see the fruits of God's work there just yet, I believe He is the Redeemer of all...not just the clean people at my church, but the dirty, smelly, broken people in the shelters, under the bridges and in the woods. He loves them just the way they are. And He has a plan and a purpose for each one of them.

June and July

I realize it has been quite a while since I’ve written about what’s going on in our lives so I’m going to give a little bit of an update. I apologize in advance if this post is really lengthy, but if you’re curious, this is what we’ve been up to…

June
In June we celebrated our 1 year anniversary! I probably already wrote about this, but it was a wonderful time for us to celebrate 1 year of being husband and wife. It was a restful and relaxing weekend. We celebrated mostly on Saturday, because we had bible study with the men and woman down at the Bridge on Sunday and we didn’t necessarily do anything super spectacular, but we did sit with each other and cherish the past year. We looked at pictures from our wedding and went to Hobby Lobby to put our wedding picture book together. We also just got to hang out and enjoy each other’s company. It was perfect J I can’t really explain how amazing of a husband I have. He’s the best husband God could have ever created for me. I can’t imagine anyone else who could be as patient, loving and sensitive as Reed. It all just shows that God orchestrates beautiful things J One of my favorite things about our first year of marriage is finding a church and a place to serve (OurCalling) with Reed. It’s amazing to see how the Lord is shaping Reed through his involvement in OurCalling. By serving together, I feel as if our hearts have become more and more entwined. In serving others, God has also drawn us closer to each other. It’s amazing how much more united you feel when you have a God-given passion inside of you. And it is so amazing to share that with your spouse J

The first week of June was also the week that I started a new client at work. It has been a challenge but overall pretty good. I’ll be out at this client for another 3 weeks and then I get to start on a different one J I’m semi-nervous about this new client. It will be a lot of responsibility and a good opportunity to step up and be a leader. But I would be lying if that didn’t also bring me a bit of nervousness. I’ll be doing things that I have never done before and I want to be really good at them from the get-go. All of this reminds me of my need to feel good about myself through the work and accomplishments I have. This past Sunday at church, the guest speaker talked about the “badges” we wear to make ourselves feel as though we matter in life. We then talked about how to REALLY matter in life, because the world does not have the answer. Paul explained that he would boast in his weaknesses because he knew that we are NOTHING without Jesus and that in our weaknesses God’s power is perfected. The same is true of me. I am absolutely nothing apart from God. No matter how much money I make. No matter how well I do at work. No matter how many friends I have. We’re nothing without the power of Christ. I think in my heart I still cling to my badges. That I’m intelligent. That I’m a hard worker. That I’m “spiritual”. I think work and life has humbled me…but for the better, so that I may not exalt myself, but exalt Him who creates and gives life to all things. Also, it has helped me let go of the worldly things that I seek daily…it’s a slow process and my life is still littered with this sin, but God is patient to refine me. Because in the end there is nothing that I have that has not been given to me from above. It’s humbling, it’s hard, but it’s good because it keeps my attention focused on the one who deserves all honor and glory.

July
I guess that was kind of a mixture of June and July, but one thing we did in July that was super fun was spend the week with my family in Boerne! It was a whirlwind and went by way too fast, but it was soooo good to see family that we haven’t seen in a while. We started the week with my brother and his wife and three kids came through Dallas to stay the night before heading down to Boerne. We had a ton of fun and left the next morning to make the 5 hours trek to Boerne (with kids I think it ended up being 7 haha)! During our time in Boerne we had a fourth of July party, we went shopping with my grandma Josie, we swam with kids (a ton!) and we just played around a lot. It was all around wonderful to be with family. I’m hoping to post pictures soon so that you can get a little bit of visual too!

Since we’ve been home, Reed and I have been trying to get back into the swing of things and back into our routine. We missed a couple of Friday night Life Skills classes at the Bridge so it was really great to go back and see all of our friends. It’s amazing how much these people have touched our hearts J Okay, so enough blabbering about myself, I want to leave you guys with some updates on a few of the ladies/men that we know at the Bridge. Please feel free to pray for these men and woman…they are some amazing people and we love them dearly:

Kathryn and Marlene – These two ladies have been waiting for housing for a while and when their expected move in date of July 7th got moved back, Kathryn began to lose hope and give up even caring about getting an apartment. The biggest issue has been the people who already live in this area…they are afraid that the people moving in will bring drugs and violence to the area. I cannot vouch for all of the men/woman moving into these apartments, but I know that Kathryn and Marlene are as sweet as can be and do NOT fit into the drug/violent stereotype that these people have labeled them with. Pray for patience for them and for trust that God’s will is good. Also, specifically pray for Marlene…she was mugged on Thursday night and her body is sore and her eyes were completely black all around on Sunday when I saw her last (she’s been wearing sunglasses to hide the bruises). From what I understand, the people who mugged her stole 11 cents and her cell phone. Marlene is our fire cracker and its hard seeing her down and out. I love her enthusiasm and joy at our bible studies. Also, please pray for Kathryn and her two sons. Both have been in jail recently. One was released and the other just got moved to a state prison. She has really been down about it lately (along with feeling overwhelmed with the apartment drama and feeling like she has no stuff to fill an apartment with) so just pray that she would find joy in the Lord. Kathryn really enjoys and asks such good questions at bible study. I pray that the rest of the woman at our study have the hunger to understand and discuss God’s Word like she does. She is such a beautiful woman inside and out.

Anderson – This is one of our really good friends who recently got housing! We were actually able to help him move into his apartment (and give him an extra vacuum cleaner and tv that we had around the house) about a month ago. The sad thing about apartment moves is that we don’t usually get to see the men or woman as much anymore, so it is always encouraging and exciting when they give us a call. Recently, Anderson called Reed about some apartment “starter kits” that OurCalling recently had donated to them. It’s basically just the cleaning products and other “basics” that you would need for an apartment. We’re hoping that soon we can go visit him and deliver his kit. Also, he promised us some “soul” food…soooo I’m a little excited about that too ;)

There are many more people to update you about, but for now, I’ll leave you with these 3!

Have a wonderful day and I promise to blog more frequently for anyone who wants to hear more about what’s going on with us.

Prayer Request

This weekend is Easter weekend...the celebration of Christ taking on our sin, suffering to death and ultimately enduring the wrath of God for you and me.

This is love. That a perfect God would lay down His life for us.

Tomorrow night and throughout the weekend I believe, there will be events going on with Our Calling to minister to the homeless of Dallas. I know they are showing a video on Friday night (the time we normally go) and they have other various activities going on around there to share the gospel news to the downtrodden of Dallas.

I have a couple of prayer requests:

-They are in desperate need of volunteers. Reed and I are visiting my parents this weekend...but really whether we are there or not, God provides and I just ask that you pray for believers to step up and volunteer to share the good news of Christ Jesus.
-That hearts would be stirred for the Lord
-That God would be glorified in the activities of this weekend
-That impossible things would happen in Jesus' name
-That there would be healing for the hurt that will be there (healing from drug addictions, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and any other health problems)
-That the even those that are not easy to love, find the love of Christ
-Finally, that God's love would abound

Please pray and if you're in Dallas, consider helping out. The website for Our Calling is http://www.ourcalling.org/.

Our Calling

The Bridge - Homeless Shelter in Dallas

Over the last couple of weeks the Lord has created a stirring in Reed and I's heart to serve...to get our hands dirty and to minister to people who are broken.

We are truly blessed because our church provides many different types of outreach opportunities. Finally, we settled on serving at a Homeless shelter in downtown Dallas. We go on Friday nights from 6:30 until usually 10.

It has been a mind-blowing experience and truly a blessing.

I've been very hesitant to share this because serving people is new for me. I mean, I went to soup kitchens etc., but this ministry is truly focused around KNOWING people and helping them with biblical truths to deal with whatever is going on in their lives. We spend 1-2 hours just visiting with people, hearing how things are going and then about another hour and a half helping with the life skills class that is taught by the minister at Our Calling, the organization we serve with. PLEASE go check out this website...they really have an amazing ministering going on here. The main reason I said I was hesitant is because of this verse:

1"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
3"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:1-2

I know that this is heart thing Jesus is talking about and I'm sure this isn't saying, "hey, don't ever talk about how God is moving in the hearts of the homeless", but rather, "hey, don't talk about this if you're just trying to make yourself look good."

SO I held off from sharing. But honestly, I can't help but share the wonderful stories we have been a part of over the past two weeks (we have gone the past two Fridays).

I don't know if I will get to all the stories, but overall, one thing I have been seeing is how judgemental we are towards the homeless. Reed asked our community group from church to pray for our friends at the bridge that had asked for prayer. Not 5 minutes after we told them what we'd experienced, someone cracked a joke about someone who loses a job can just go to the Bridge.

It saddened us. The bridge isn't a place you want to go...it's not a good second option. Their lives are controlled by their addictions, their fear of sleeping because the person on the next mat might steal your stuff, fear of getting kicked out because of all the rules set up by the bridge (a city run organization)...it's just sad because those of us on the north side of Dallas (and most other parts for that matter) have NO clue how to have grace with people. We scoff and think, "oh they CHOSE that life, they could get a job".

Well, I've discovered things aren't that easy. Some people are crippled by addictions, by health issues and by depression. Sure, they make choices everyday, but we spend time with people who are at the bottom of the gutter in life and they can't seem to find a way out. It is heart wrenching to talk about the abuses that they have gone through in their lives and how they just want to get over that.

There were stories shared recently about what the scariest thing you've ever seen was. Some people said a scary movie or a car accident. Then one lady shared one of the most intense/scariest thing I've heard: when she was little she watched her parents beat to death her 2 year old sister for crying too much. Then they started beating her with a shovel until she buried her in the backyard....

This isn't a movie. This is a real person.

The one thing I've learned is that we all have our demons, we all have quirks and sins in our lives...we truly are no different than these people that we see lying in the dirt. They just get their dirtiness exposed to the world. It's made me rethink the way I look at these people that GOD created.

I'm just as dirty and just as in need of my Savior every day.

There is hope at the bridge. It's not just this place of sad, sad stories. It is also a place of immense faith. I'm humbled by the walks of the men and woman that are there. Not everyone is a believer, but there are some truly extrodinary men and woman of God. All I can say is that it is humbling me so much.

Okay, I'm going to take a break and leave this story here for now...Next time I write about the bridge, I really want to tell you about my friends Big J and Old L (sorry for the names, but I want to respect their privacy and keep them somewhat anonymous).