Looking foward to what God has in store!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited to see what God has brewing once I leave Montgomery, Alabama!! I am headed to Philadelphia Biblical University to pursue a degree in Christian Counseling. The Lord has called me to the ministry, and my heart is in the hood. The Lord began to reveal to me what he had for me to do. I begin to be burdened for the urban community and those that were lowly and abused physically, sexually,and emotionally. My heart would ache and go out to the hood because I know what goes done in rough places. The place I ran from is the type of place my heart yearns to be (pretty ironic)! I know what it feels like to feel hopeless and lost in the world. I know what it feels like to hate life and even your own life. Many people in improvished communities are suffering internally, crying out for help. If I don't go to the hood; my heart won't rest, and I will miss out on seeing God work in dynamic ways. I see God in a way I have never seen him before when I am going through trials and working with inner city youth. I grew to understand God's grace through little girls on the Westside of Washington Park in Montgomery, Alabama. Those kids lived in an urban setting where they were familiar with hurt and pain. I want to enter into the suffering of others and watch the Lord work.

Why Philly?
I feel in love with the city of Philadelphia when I was in high school. I told myself that I was going to come back to live in Philly and that is where I am headed!!!! Yay!!!! I believe that the Lord is calling me to Philly because there is a need for strong believers on the eastcoast. The eastcoast is a lot different from southern culture. I have been in the bible belt for four years and now it is time to go back to my home front. Philly is about sixty-five percent Muslim and is pretty dangerous. To profess Christ on the eastcoast is bold and courageous. I want to be uncomfortable and sacrifice my time and life for the sake of the Gospel. I have a strong desire to move into an urban community in Philadelphia and work with abuse victims and drug addicts. Prayerfully (in Jesus name), I will get married and my husband and I will serve God in the urban community. Right now, I am praying for a place to live and a church to serve in. I am also praying for the funding to attend school for free. I am stepping into the unknown because I don't know what Philly will encompass but I have to trust the Lord.

Justice and Mercy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Matthew 23:23

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the things.

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

Psalm 89:14

Rigtheousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.

If God is a just and loving God and has a heart for the poor, oppressed, and widow, why does the church seem to turn the other cheek? Why do we seem to be so focused on our relationship with God when our neighbor is hurting and injustices are flooded our communities. Why do we walk by on the other side when we see a human being created in God's image hurting and crying out for help? Why? Why? Why?

As I am sitting in a bible study and hearing God's heart for injustices and oppression, my heart is aching. As I look around the world, I see racial division, inferior educational systems in poor areas, police corruption, violence, divisions in churches, and hurting, bitter people. As Christians, what are we doing? Martin Luther King Jr., an advocate for Civil Rights, spoke up for the rights of black people. He gave up his life and risked the life of his family to see whites and blacks join together. His letter from a Birmingham jail was a plea and a declaration for his stance on justice in America. The white clergy men in the church wanted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to stop his nonviolent protesting and speeches on justice and equality. He did not stop fighting and died for the we should stand up and never stop fighting for the injustices in the world.Some whites were on Dr. King's side while many were against what he was doing. God's hates evil and when people are treated unfairly. If a person is treated unfair and taken advantage of, what is our response?

What is God up to this summer? (Continuation)

A BROKEN VESSEL by Linda Stevenson

You may break this earthen vessel
And set all the contents free;
Lord, do whatever you must do
Just to bless someone through me.

I will not gain if I stay whole
And just passively exist,
If selfish gain my whole contain,
That's of all my life consists.

I would rather, Lord, be shattered,
Crushed and spilled out just for Thee,
If others will find your healing
And encouragement through me.

Don't spare me pain to live in vain,
Miss the opportunity
To lift someone who has fallen,
Lord, A soul in need of Thee.

Now, You've made this earthen vessel;
I relinquish it to Thee.
Release the healing fragrance, Lord;
Bless a hurting soul through me.

The Lord has me in a place of brokenness this summer; Man, it hurts but I praise God for the struggles because through the struggles I see my need for him. I was an intern for Common Ground Montgomery last summer and I am also an intern this summer. Common Ground Montgomery is a non-profit ministry located on the Westside of Montgomery. Their aim and goal is to see children as well as their families transformed by the power of the Gospel. They are passionate about racial reconciliation and seeing healing and transformation in the urban community. They started an internship for college students to assists them in their efforts to love and preach the Good News to hurting children. This is the second year that Common Ground has hired and used college students to impact the lives of these children. I absolutely LOVE Common Ground!!!! Through their ministry, the Lord has used the precious lives of young girls and boys to draw me closer to him. I have a better understanding for God's love and grace because of them. We are reading a book entitled "Divided by Faith" which stresses the need for racial reconciliation and how we as Christians contribute to the division between whites and blacks in the Church. Last summer as an intern, I lead the bible study teaching for the younger girls (6-8) along with a small group. This summer I am not a leader and I am assisting another intern with a small group. There is a reason for that. My walk with the Lord has been works based rather than relying on God's grace and believing that through his blood I am righteous in his eyesight. I have been trying to prove to God that I am worthy through my Christian duties and Pharisee lifestyle that I missed out on true intimacy with my King. I am broken because I can no longer depend on my own efforts to make me righteous but I must rest in God's grace. It is by grace that I have been saved and works will not get me into heaven. The Lord is also forcing me to deal with past abuse that I have not dealt with. When you think you are over something, God has a funny way of bringing things back up!!!!! I am learning about the purpose of suffering and trials along with God's heart for the poor, oppressed, and widow. I am hurting because I am seeing so much sin, but I trust him so much more then I have in the past. The Lord has me where he wants me and I am fine with that. Sometimes I wish he would stop crushing me, however; I want the Lord to do whatever he must do to bless someone through me.

Lost by Da Truth featuring Tia Pitmann

I absolutely love this song!!!!!!!!! This is one of my favorite Christian Hip Hop songs.

The chorus:

Where would I be if he hadn't died for me and if he never gave his life for me; I would be lost, you would be lost, we would be lost, this world would be so lost. What if there was no remission of sins, you got what you deserved, what would you do then.

This song means so much to me because Jesus Christ who was God in the flesh did not have go to cross for me, but he did. He who knew no sin became sin for me (2 Corinthians 5:21). Without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I would be lost in a crooked and perverted world. My life would be meaningless, and I would be comfortable in sin as well as a slave to sin. My life has so much more meaning now because I know the Lord. I know the creator of the universe, and I am now declared righteous in his eye sight. He is the reason for my very existence because through him all things were made (Colossians 1:16). I have seen and tasted that the Lord is good! His brings joy to my heart and tears to my eyes to know that the God of the universe loves me and gave up his life for me; I am truly thankful!!! He loves me!! Oh, how he loves me!!!!

Before I became a believer, my heart yearned for his love.

I was born in Bronx, New York to a woman addicted to crack. My sister, who is eleven months older than me, was also a crack baby. I left the Bronx at the age of four because I burned down my grandmother's apartment (I was playing with matches). We moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to start a new life. As a little girl, I was oblivious to my mother's drug addiction, but I knew I loved her and desired for her to be apart of my life. She would come back and forth to New Orleans to visit and even stayed with myself, my grandmother, and my three other siblings for a long period of time. I am the youngest of four on my mother's side; she has two girls and two boys. She never really knew how to be a mother, but my young heart loved her anyway. My mother would hit us a lot, and I don't remember receiving much affection from her. However, my grandmother affirmed me and allowed me to cuddle with her in bed. I loved every moment of it!!!!!! I left New York with my sister (Nikki) at the age of thirteen; Nikki was fourteen. I was so excited to live with my mother and be apart of her life that I couldn't wait to leave New Orleans. My mother showed her true colors rather quickly, and her crack addiction was out. She stole our money that our grandmother would send us; she paraded us around men, we were hungry at times because she was not responsible, and she beat us. We were taken away from her and given to our father. Although he did not touch us physically, he verbally abused us. I remember being called stupid repeatedly and being told I would never amount to anything. I was treated so harshly by my father that I hated men. My self-esteem was low because my family circumstances sucked. My father was Muslim, so I tried the Muslim religion but it was all rituals. I gave my body very easily to guys because I wanted to be loved and I was convinced that my body was all I was worth. The first time I was intimate with a guy, I told myself that this is the only guy i will ever have sex with. I HATED myself and I wanted relief. I moved with my Uncle who was also a harsh man. I attempted hurting myself but I was too scared to actually go through with it. My escape from my miserable life was college after high school graduation. I craved love and affection from people because I was deprived of it as a young girl. I wanted to be loved and affirmed by both my mother and father, but they gave me the total opposite. Now that i am a believer, I understand that God made human beings with a God sized void that only he can fill. I wanted total acceptance and love from human beings but what I was looking for, only God could give. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast". God shows me undeserved favor. I deserve eternal separation from a holy and righteous God, yet he has great love for a sinner like me. His grace is truly sufficient and his mercy endures forever. He died for me while I was still died in sin (Romans 5:8)!!!!! Man, that is true love!!!! God's very nature is love, and he freely lavishes his love on all of his creation. He is light and in him is no darkness. Nothing I do can make me more valuable or worthy in the sight of God, I am worthy because of the blood of Jesus Christ. My savior loves me and I am honored to be called a child of the King!!!!!!! My heart has found what I was looking for!!!

How I came to know the Lord!

I have been a believer for 3 years now, and the Lord has showed me so much of himself along with my sin, yet his love and his grace abounds. I came to know the Lord in Atlanta, Georgia at a summer project entitled "The Atlanta Training Project". It was there that I heard for the very first time in my life that my identity was only found in Christ. I heard the bridge diagram and understood that man was separated from God because of his sin and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was sufficient to allow man to have a loving and intimate relationship with God the Father. It was June 2, 2007, when I decided that life without christ was meaningless and I surrendered my life over to him. I remember praying with a friend and sister in Christ in a parked car in Piedmount Park with tears running down my face. I told the Lord I needed him, and I could not live this life without him. He did exactly what I had asked and my life has never been the same. I literally felt like a burden was lifted of my shoulders. The Lord embraced me that day and it felt soooooooo good. The peace of God consumed me and I became a new creation in Christ. I owe a special thanks to Campus Outreach in Montgomery which no longer exists for my coming to know the Lord and my spiritual growth. They taught me how to study the Word of God, share my faith, pray, memorize scripture, and live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. Shout out to Alonzo Brown, Byron Johnson, Paul Rogers, Caleb Galloway, and the other men and women of god who invested in me. I am forever thankful!!!!