Random thoughts!

As I sit here I am in AWE at the fact that my God has chose me to help lead such an awesome ministry. Folks this week has been a roller coaster its been filled with highs and lows. As I look back at it I would not change one thing instead I acknowledge the blessing of being able to serve God another week. Getting to see God move in my life and the lives of others leaves me speechless at times. This week I have been able to start mentoring a man named James. He is one awesome guy who has had ONE HELL OF A LIFE. But on the 14th of May he asked the God of the universe to come into his heart and since that day he has been following Jesus hard. Getting to spend time and mentor this man is an awesome experie bynce for me. Your prayers for him and for me are much needed.....Thanks in advance for them! I am also excited because on Tuesday we can start construction on the Homeless shelter(BUILDING 302) And with the help of some awesome people hopefully finish the lobby within 2 weeks and then start on the bed sleeping areas! Now for some more random thoughts my wife and children are doing great and the baby in my wifes belly is doing great as well, only 4 more months then we will have our 3rd child. My wife and I have decided(mostly my wife) to wait til its born to find out the sex of the baby which is driving me nuts! I WANT TO KNOW NOW! ha ha Well its late and im off to bed lots to do in the morning much love to all of my peeps! and always remember ONE GOD,ONE LOVE, ONE WAY! John 14:6

"REAL TALK" Story 1

This story from Jasmine is incredible I pray this story rocks your world and challenges you to JUMP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!!!!! "Hello. My name is Jasmine Marie Smith. I am 19 years old. I lived on the streets for 3 years. It hasn't always been this way. My mother wasn't a hooker, my father wasn't a drunk. My parents divorced when I was 3. My father died ,when I was 5, in a car wreck. My mother dated many men none seriously until David. She started dating David when I was 13. He moved in with us when I was 14. At first David was really nice. He bought me things. He even went as far as buying me and my mom a new house. But then 6 months after he moved in with us he started beating my mother. He would go to the bar as soon as he came home from work at about 5 and not come home until 1 or 2 in the morning. He would come home and yank my mom out of bed and start barking orders at her. If she didn't do it fast enough he started to beat her. He would beat her until she passed out. Then he would go in get a beer and pass out on the couch. During this time he never touched me. He threatened me but never touched me. I begged my mom to leave him but she kept telling me she loved him and things would get better. She was wrong. They just kept getting worse. About six months after he started beating my mother he started molesting me. He would tie me down and molest me for hours. I told my mother but she didn't believe me. When she asked David he just denied it. This went on for just a little over a year. Then one night he came in and tied me up. But this time was different. This was the first time he raped me. That is when the problems got even worse. He continued to rape me on a nightly basis. About 2 months after he started raping me I found out I was pregnant. I knew who the father was. I didn't know what to do I waited 3 months to finally tell my mom I was pregnant and that David was the father. She called me a slut and liar. She packed my clothes and threw me out. That is when my life on the streets began. The first few nights I stayed in the park across the street thinking she would come for me. She didn't, she still hasn't. Six months after my mother kicked me out I delivered a beautiful baby girl. I delivered her in a phone booth and wrapped her in some of my clothes. I walked the 3 miles to the hospital and dropped her off there. I knew I couldn't take care of her. I knew she needed someone who could but it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I cried the whole walk to the hospital and the whole walk back to the park I was staying in. I had no money, no job, and no roof over my head. I knew I had to find some way to make money. So I started selling my body for money just to get by. I am ashamed now of what I did. I started eating at the homeless shelter and staying in them sporadically. I developed several friendships. The best one was with a girl about my age named Elizabeth. She had a similar story to mine. I remember one thanksgiving we walked together 5 miles in the snow to get a turkey dinner. It was a memory I'll always carry with me. That night was when I met Jordan. He was working in the homeless shelter. He offered to give Elizabeth and me a ride back to the park we were staying in. He took us to our "home". I thought that would be the last time I would see him but he continued to come back. I fell in love with him. He helped Elizabeth and I get jobs. He helped us get in contact with some people who would help us get an apartment so we didn't have to live in the park. He was like an angel. Eventually we started dating. I got pregnant again with his baby. We decided to get married. Six months after we got married I delivered a beautiful baby girl. We named her Ella Grace. My husband and my daughter are my world. Elizabeth moved into the apartment across the hall from me. Not to long after Jordan and I got married she married John. They are expecting there first baby next spring. Our stories have a happy ending but we need to continue to help the needy. Not all stories end this way. That is the reason Jordan and I have started the HTN(Help For the Needy) program. Anybody can make a difference in somebody Else's life if they get out of their comfort zone and just do something."

To My Kids!

I am not sure of the author.... but I want to be like this for my children. This poem will rock your world. *Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play *Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together. *Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles. *Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by. *Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned. *Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them. *Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys. *Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you. *Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry. *Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars. *Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows. *Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that JESUS has given me the greatest gift ever given. *I will think about the mothers And fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms , and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore. *And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank JESUS for you, and ask Him for nothing, except one more day!

Offense or Defense REPOST!

by John Mason.....Never try to defend your present position and situation. Choose to be a person who is on the offensive, not the defensive. People who live defensively never rise above being average. We're called, as Christians, to be on the offensive - to take the initiative. A lukewarm, indecisive person is never secure regardless of his wealth, education, or position. Don't ever let your quest for balance become an excuse for not taking the unique, radical, invading move that God has directed you to take. Many times the attempt to maintain balance in life is really just an excuse for being lukewarm. In Joshua 1:6-7,9 the Lord says three times to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous." I believe that he is saying the same thing to all believers today. When you choose to be on the offensive, the atmosphere of your life will begin to change. So if you don't like the atmosphere of your life, choose to take the offensive position. Taking the offensive is not just an action taken outside a person; it is always a decision made within. When you do choose to be on the offensive, keep all your conflicts impersonal. Fight the issue, not the person. Speak about what God in you can do, not what others cannot do. You will find that when all of your reasons are defensive, your cause almost never succeeds. Being on the offensive and taking the initiative is a master key which opens the door to opportunity in your life. Learn to create a habit of taking the initiative and don't ever start your day in neutral. Every morning when your feet hit the floor, you should be thinking on the offensive, reacting like an invader, taking control of your day and your life. By pulling back and being defensive usually you enhance the problem. Intimidation always precedes defeat. If you are not sure which way to go, pray and move towards the situation in confident trust. Be like the two fishermen who got trapped in a storm in the middle of the lake. One turned to the other and asked, "Should we pray, or should we row." His wise companion responded, "Let's do both!" That's taking the offensive.

NO GOOD WORKS

John 6:28-29 Then they ask him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent." JESUS made a way for us and we could never earn our way into heaven by doing good works. We have to believe in JESUS CHRIST the Son of God through FAITH, that's what saves us. Then we are FREE INDEED! So today live like your a child of God. If you believe in JESUS CHRIST as Savior and Lord you are his and nothing can pluck you from his hands! Let's live everyday as VICTORS AND NOT VICTIMS! Be blessed I LOVE YOU ALL, Jason(I'M IN AWE)

LOVE

Good morning to everyone reading this and if your not your missing out! Nah just kidding! Today's blog is going to be about LOVE I pray this post changes the way you LOVE your family, your friends and more importantly your God. "Love shows the true character of a man, according to the object which he loves more than anything else: for as is the love, so is the man. According to his love, so might you confidently designate the man. If he is a lover of honour, he is an ambitious man; a lover of pleasure, a sensual man; and if he chiefly love the world, he is a covetous man. If a man loves righteousness, he is a religious man; if the things above, a heavenly-minded man; and if he love Christ with a pre-eminent love, he is a sincere man: "Rightly do they love you.," Song of Songs 1:4.
If Christ has our love, he has our all; and Christ never has what he deserves from us, till he has our love. True love withholds nothing from Christ, when it is sincerely set upon him. If we actually love him, he will have our time, and he will have our service, and he will have the use of all our resources, and gifts, and graces; indeed, then he shall have our possessions, freedom, and our very lives, whenever he calls for them. In the same way, when God loves any of us, he will withhold nothing from us that is good for us. He does not hold back his own only begotten Son, Rom.8:32. When Christ loves us, he gives us everything we need-- his merits to justify us, his Spirit to sanctify us, his grace to adorn us, and his glory to crown us. Therefore, when any of us love Christ sincerely, we lay everything down at his feet, and give up all to be at his command and service: "And they loved not their lives unto the death," Rev. 12:11."

CHANGING LANES!

Everyone well almost everyone hates the word CHANGE! However CHANGE is not a bad thing. In our culture its sweeping a lot of people by! The world is constantly CHANGING but we as adults don't like to embrace it! Today I'm going to talk a little bit about CHANGE and how if we take the right steps toward CHANGE it can be one of the best things that we can ever embrace. First I am a firm believer that we will never become who God intends us to be by remaining what we are. It's not enough to be open to CHANGE, we need to pursue it. We should not CHANGE to just run from our problems-we should CHANGE enough to solve them. We should not CHANGE our circumstances to improve our life-we should CHANGE ourselves to improve our circumstances. Let's face it the same old things don't work like they used to. If we continue to turn to the same old things we should not expect great results-we should try something new and expect different results. Don't view CHANGE as something hurtful that must be done-see it as something helpful that can be done. In scripture we see James talk about this in the first chapter verses 3-4. "When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." Building our character is a slow process; it happens day by day not overnight. Whenever we try to escape the hard times in life we think we are shortening the process when we are actually prolonging it. It delays our growth and it always ends up hurting us worse if we ignore it. So be very open to CHANGE and be very willing to pursue it, CHANGE is a good thing!I Love You all, Jason