The Place is Different…

…The Purpose is the Same!

I have a wonderful friend named Dee, and she notices things. The other day, she sent me a text, and the exchange went like this…

Dee…You ok?

Yes…why? Did I miss lunch? (We try to have lunch once a month, and I’ve been messing up dates big time this month!)

Dee…No…you seem nostalgic on FB.

Just trying to move old blogs over to the new site, it’s amazing how they are still so relevant. I’m really good.

Dee…I’ve been reading them…hard to believe it was 2012! End of text.

I’ve had some time to think about Dee’s inquiry, and you know what I’ve decided? While it is true that I am trying to get all the blogs in one spot, doing so has made me a bit nostalgic. Although I know I am exactly where God wants me at this moment, looking back at what God has done in my life, the places I’ve had the chance to go, and the people I have met reminds me of how much fun, though sometimes challenging, God’s plans can be!

As I went through my emails looking for something entirely different, I found this one from Pastor Charles Bagonza. I met Pastor Charles and his wife, Joyce, when I spoke at the Arise Women’s Conference in Masindi, Uganda. We were in Uganda from September 27 to October 8, 2012, and on October 7, I spoke at Pastor Charles’s church. On October 9, I awoke to the following email from Pastor Charles, which I hold near and dear to my heart.

The word of God is full of people who prophesied and saw visions. I believe God still gives visions and prophecies, and he used Pastor Charles to confirm our move to South Africa and the path I am on today.

On 6, October 2012, in the evening, I had a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the wonderful conference we heard in Masindi through the team from the US. God gave a message in that night of meditation after prayer. God showed me, Wendy Roseman, during her ministry in Masindi, Uganda. I saw the Lord taking me into the jungle area, a very swampy land. It looked like the place the brickmakers had been using to make bricks. The swamp has a lot of deep cutting by the brickmakers. That place looked like Africa. The jungle was busy and I saw Wendy with a team of African brethren in a night of prayer. The prayer was held in the jungle, you (Wendy) and the team were in an open pit where the soil was cut to make bricks. The pit was covered by water and you were inside together with others praising and worshiping the Lord God. It rained on you with the whole team that night and you didn’t give up the night prayer. That was the time I came across walking on foot in the jungle. Around you (Wendy) was a glorious light that I followed to reach where you were in the jungle. In a distance, you saw me and shouted, “Charles, why are you moving at such a time of the night?” I told you that I was sent to tell you, “You have been sent to serve in the dark part of the world, your purpose is to reach people in the jungle and minister God’s grace.”

Now I can hear some of your wheels turning as you say, “But you’re not in Africa; you’re in the US. No jungles are here, so how are you still in your purpose?” My response is this, “Though my feet are no longer on African soil, there are still jungles and dark places. A jungle is a wild, tangled mess of vegetation or other things. Our minds can be a dark jungle of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, shame, and confusion. So, in essence, my purpose remains to shine the light of Jesus and minister God’s grace to those caught in the vines and the grip of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, shame, and confusion.

Philippians 1:6 AMP I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in your will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of He return].

What is the point of the story? I may not be in Africa, but I will shine so bright with the love of Jesus that people will see His light through the darkness and jungle of their minds. When they ask, I will share with them, through mercy and grace, the only One who can bring them out…

Jesus!

New Season

Original post-December 29

We’ve said goodbye and shed many tears. We’ve been blessed by the prayers, encouraging words, and financial offerings. There was a time in my life when I never thought God would forgive me, much less use me, but I was wrong. Through His strength, we packed up 27 years of memories into six blue totes, said goodbye to our families, and now we head off on this grand new adventure. Thank you for your continued love, both through prayer and finances. We love you all and can’t wait to send back the great news of what God is doing!!

7 Days to God

Original post-December 22, 2012

Wendy and I have always loved the outdoors and over the years as our kids were growing up, we took them on many camping and hiking trips. They always loved getting near the top, getting to that point in the trail where there was barely a trail, the point where it was more like hand-over-hand climbing than hiking. For one thing, it was fun but they also knew that just beyond was a spectacular view, that the tough climb at the end was all worth it.

As I stand here this morning, with a mere 7 days to go before we leave for South Africa, I pause for just a moment on this trail to catch my breath. I look back at how far we’ve come, thinking about the rough and rocky terrain we’ve covered in the last nine months, the “scraped knees” and the “cuts and scratches” from the “thorns” and “brush” we’ve come through, the unexpected obstacles we’ve had to cross. To this point, we have gone mile by mile.

I look around at where we are, with all that needs to be done, think about how I had it all planned out and how we’ve had to give up our plan and give in to God’s plan…to trust Him completely and more deeply than we’ve ever had to before.

I take a moment to look ahead at the next 7 days. The path is barely visible. It is so steep and rocky, so thick with vines and thorns. We are tired, our muscles ache, and we have the toughest part of the climb right in front of us…hand-over-hand, foot by foot, only able to see one step in front of us.

BUT, at this point, there IS NO turning back, we have come TOO FAR, sacrificed TOO MUCH, and worked TOO HARD, to give up now. All the adversity we have faced has done nothing but strengthen our resolve that we are on the right path and make us all the more determined to reach the top! I KNOW that just ahead, just beyond, the path will suddenly open up and we will behold the most spectacular view of God’s Glory and the destiny He has for us.

Call Back

The original date for this post was December 20, 2012, however, as I read back over it this morning, I realized that the message is still important. We must encourage those lost in the fog of life, just as we were encouraged by those who went before us.

Streams in the Desert December 19, 2012

If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back-
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;
And if, perhaps, Faith’s light is dim because the oil is low,
Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.

Call back and tell me that He went with you into the storm;
call back, and say He kept you when the forest’s roots were torn;
That, when the heavens thunder and the earthquake shook
the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the lofty air was still.

O friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your face;
They say it glows with triumph, and your feet sprint in the race;
But there are mists between us, and my spirit eyes are dim,
And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.

But if you’ll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,
And if you’ll say He saw you through the night’s
sin-darkened sky-
If you have gone a little way ahead, O friend, call back-
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.

Why, you may ask, did I open today with such a poem? I’ll tell you why! As I read this yesterday (December 19, 2012), I recalled many stories of faith that my grandparents, aunts, uncles, mom, dad, and yes, even myself, have told through the years. Telling your story is a way to “call back” to those going through life’s struggles. People need to hear how God has brought you out of the storms of life. They need to hear how God’s light shone brighter when you were walking through darkness to show you the way. They need to hear that as you walked through the desert of a particular season, you found an oasis in Him.

Today, I am reminded of the story my granddaddy Robbins told of being in a foxhole and hearing a voice say, “Get out of this hole.” He asked his buddy Crawford, “Did you hear something” and Crawford said, “You’re dreaming; go back to sleep.” He covered up with his blanket, settled back down, shut his eyes, and again he heard, “Get out of this hole and get out immediately.” He grabbed his stuff and headed out of that hole with Crawford behind him. As soon as they got out of that fox hole, it collapsed! Every time he told that story, and believe me, it was a lot, I got goosebumps. Instead of being buried alive in a foreign country, he came home to preach the gospel. Every time he told that story, he was “calling back” to someone. Encouraging them that the voice of the Lord is real.

My dad is a giver…period. He loves to give! Many years ago he was out and someone bought his meal. I remember him telling us kids that his prayer was that one day, he wanted to be at the point where he would be able to do the very same thing. Today, he is at that point. He is at that point because he came to understand the value of the tithe and he began to act on it. When he shares this story he is “calling back” to those going through financial struggles that if you’ll do what God asks you to do, He will bless you!

I recall the time my mom spent many a night in prayer over her wayward daughter. The times that Brett lay on the floor crying out for God to restore our marriage. Now they can “call back” to those whose daughters, sons, wives, husbands, and children are not living according to the Word of God and say don’t give up hope! God answers our cries for the lost!

These stories of faith will carry us into the next journey of our lives. We are headed into a world that needs people willing to “call back” and tell them that the road they are traveling may be hard, but God is traveling with them. There may be times while we are gone that we will need someone to “call back” to us that God is doing a great thing and to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I’m encouraging you today to “call back” to those struggling in their lives and let them know your story of triumph. “Call back,” as Abraham did to Isaac. As Isaac did to Jacob. “Call back” and tell of the goodness of the Lord! Call Back!!

William McDowell…I Give Myself Away

Original post-January 14, 2012

As Brett and I enter these last 15 days here in the US, we are leaning on the words of this song. We are giving ourselves away, giving ourselves to the call that God has placed on our hearts. I’ve had many ask “Why would you want to do that” or “How can you leave your family?” My answer is simple “Because it’s what God has called us to do.”

We are not all called to leave our homes and family and travel across the globe to minister, I understand that. We are, however, called to give ourselves away daily so that God can use us right where we are. We are called to surrender our will to His and be ready to do what He calls us to do.

So today as you watch the video below, decide that you want to surrender your will to His will and become a living sacrifice for Christ.

For With God

Original post date December 1, 2012

In my daily devotional, Streams in the Desert, there’s a story about a little flower that blooms from the Soldanelle plant. This plant grows on the snow-covered Alpine mountains. Following is an excerpt from Streams.

Imagine this flower surrounded by snow!
By Stemonitis – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16597571

When spring came, life stirred even beneath its shroud of snow, and as the plant sprouted, it
amazingly produced enough warmth to thaw a small dome-shaped pocket of snow above its
head. It grew higher and higher, and as it did, the small dome of air continued to rise just above its head until its flower bud was safely formed. At last, the icy covering of the air compartment gave way and the blossom burst into the sunshine. The crystalline texture of its mauve-colored petals sparkled like the snow itself as if it still bore the marks of the journey it had endured.

This fragile flower sounds an echo in our hearts that none of the nestled flowers in the warm
grass of the lower slopes could ever awaken. Oh, how we love to see impossible things accomplished. And so does God.

During this time in our lives, this resonated deep within our spirits. Brett and I have felt as if we’ve been in a winter season for a while. You know, that time in life where you know where you want to be but it’s not your time to bloom? The time has come for us to bloom! We are now pushing against the snow. We are in that time that lots of people call impossible.

Sell your house during the holidays?!

Impossible!

Raise monthly support to live in South Africa?

Impossible!

Get everything done in the next 30 days?

Impossible!

But I’m here to remind those same people that I serve the God of the impossible! I serve the God of selling homes in the holiday season! I serve the God of provision! I serve the God of getting things done! I serve the God of the impossible!!!

For everything you may be facing, during whatever season of life you may be in, I want to remind you to cling to Luke 1:37 For with God NOTHING will be impossible!

The Journey

When Brett and I were first married, I informed him “I will never move more than two hours away from my family.” In 2012, God said, “Think again,” and He spoke to us about moving to South Africa. The blogs I wrote about that journey are available on another blog site, but I am going to move them to this blog site since it is the one I use now. Anyway! Over the next several days, you will see what the journey looked like from 2012 until the present day.

Be Still and Know 11/24/2012

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 146:10a

Let’s take a moment and ponder three words of this verse, BE, STILL, and KNOW. Please bear with me for a slight lesson before I get to the heart of my thought.

BE simply means to exist. We can all do that. If we are living, breathing beings, we can be. We can be a lot of things. We can be happy, sleepy, grumpy, or tired. But most everyone likes to BE active. We need to always be doing something or we don’t feel like we’re getting anything accomplished.

STILL means remaining in place or at rest. This word is much harder for most people to do than be. It seems we’re simply not encouraged to be still or we just don’t know how to be still. When someone tells us we need to just rest so that our bodies can heal, we come back with “But I’ve got so much I’ve got to do” or, “REST! I can’t REST! Are you crazy!” If we have thirty minutes where the kids aren’t home we can’t just sit and Be Still because we simply don’t know how.

KNOW means to apprehend clearly and with certainty. I always like to say “I know, that I know.” Meaning no one could ever tell me any differently or sway me to think in another direction.

Brett and I are entering into a season of be still and know. When you are moving 8243 air miles from your family, you better be still and know. When people try to talk you out of moving, you better be still and know. When you’re cleaning out your home and have years of taxes and stuff you’ve collected, you better be still and know. When you’re selling your home and want it sold in a month, you better be still and know. Being still in your spirit is very important when you’re taking on moving across the world to do what you know God has called you to.

Brett and I take time every morning to have a devotional and pray together. This is our time of being still and know. This morning our time was touched so very sweetly by the calm, reassuring Presence of God as we chose to be still and know.

All…

…another word that is bigger than we give it credit for.

Psalm 103:3 who forgives ALL (emphasis added) your iniquity, who heals ALL (emphasis added) your diseases.
ESV

In today’s blog, I will break down the first part of this verse. However, I think it is important to get a firm grip on that little three-letter word ALL. For if we do not grasp how much all is, we will hang onto things God forgives us for and heals us from.

Strongs: all H3605 kōl: 1. all, the whole. (A) all, the whole of (B) all, the whole of (C) any, each, every, anything (D) totally, everything. Websters all: the whole number. Whole: (1) all; total (2) complete; entire; not defective or imperfect (3) unimpaired, unbroken; uninjured (4) sound; not hurt or sick (5) restored to health and soundness; sound; well. Totally: wholly; entirely, fully, completely.

I’m going to say this really loud for the people in the back…

ALL IS ALL!

If, as we are looking at the rest of this verse, we start thinking about all the things we’ve done or said and you start falling into the “There is no way God could ever forgive me for that,” trap, stop immediately and reread the definition. Now, let’s move on.

Strongs who forgives (who pardons KJV) H5545 sālah: forgive, pardon. Websters forgive: To pardon; to remit, as an offense or debt; to overlook an offense, and treat the offender as not guilty. The original and proper phrase is to forgive the offense, to send it away, to reject it, that is, not to impute it, [put it to] the offender. But by an easy transition, we also use the phrase, to forgive the person offending.

Strongs your iniquities H5771 āôn: 1. perversity; depravity; iniquity; guilt or punishment of iniquity (A) iniquity (B) guilt, guilt (as great), guilt (of condition) (C) consequence of or punishment for iniquity. Websters iniquity: (1) injustice; unrighteousness (3) A particular deviation from rectitude; a sin or crime; wickedness; any act of injustice. (4) Original want of holiness or depravity. Guilt: Criminality; that state of a moral agent which results from his actual commission of a crime or offense, knowing it to be a crime, or violation of law. To constitute guilt there must be a moral agent enjoying freedom of will, and capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, and a wilful or intentional violation of a known law, or rule of duty. The guilt of a person exists, as soon as the crime is committed; but to evince it to others, it must be proved by confession, or conviction in due course of law. guilt renders a person a debtor to the law, as it binds him to pay a penalty in money or suffering. guilt therefore implies both criminality and liableness to punishment. guilt may proceed either from a positive act or breach of law, or from voluntary neglect of known duty.

“Guilt renders a person a debtor to the law, as it binds him to pay a penalty in money or suffering,” hit me hard, especially the words it binds him. I have heard people say, “But if I hold onto the guilt it will remind me to never do fill in the blank again. Which is, in essence, saying, “I would rather bind up my heart with guilt than allow Jesus to heal it. Why?!

I mean think about it…how many of us want someone to bind our hands and feet to a chair? I don’t believe any of us would! We would struggle and do everything we could get out of it and if we couldn’t, we would pray that someone would come and untie us. Even our favorite movie heros will fight to get free…

Indiana Jones and Dr. Henry Jones didn’t sit and allow the fire to consume them, thinking, “I’m not going to try and get free because this will teach me not to search for ancient artifacts.” No! They fought to get free.

Here’s the absolute amazing thing, our freedom is not dependent on us frantically trying to figure out how to get free. Our freedom comes in the form of surrender. Surrendering that thing that wants to keep us bound. Surrendering that shame, guilt, sin, heartache, etc. that we think will keep us from doing whatever it is we did again. Because the only way we will not do it again, is to allow Jesus to set us free from it. And how do we allow Jesus to set us free from it? We remember that Jesus forgives ALL and all we have to do is surrender it.

Father thank you that you forgive ALL our iniquities! Thank you Jesus for going to the cross on our behalf and forgiving ALL our iniquities! Thank you Holy Spirit for speaking to our hearts concerning the things that bind us and helping us to surrender them ALL. You have forgiven ALL, I will surrender ALL and I will accept the freedom offered in Jesus. In Jesus name, Amen.

For…A Bigger Word Than You Think

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of these three notebooks…

These notebook are filled with over 100 scriptures that tell us of God’s healing power, and it took me a little over a year to complete. Using Blue Letter Bible, Bible Gateway, and Webster’s 1828, I took a deeper look into what the key words of the passage meant. Sometimes, we may think we know what a word means, like Vizzini in The Princess Bride, when in reality, we are way off base…

Working on this word study, I thought my eyes were the only eyes that would see it…I was wrong. At church the following Sunday, some friends at church were sharing a diagnosis with Brett and me. As soon as they told us what was happening, I knew the Lord was speaking to me about giving them my journals. Have you ever heard the Lord speak to you about giving someone your own personal journal? It is a very vulnerable moment. Why? I didn’t just write what the words of the verse meant in Greek, Hebrew, or Webster’s 1828; I wrote out what it was saying to me at that moment. Vulnerable! The moment I saw this couple the following Sunday, they shared how they were using them and how grateful they were for them…and they were even able to follow my rabbit trails! With all that said, I thought I would move into a different word study…wrong again! I tried to start a different word study but kept returning to healing. I knew I was to start again. In the last study, I focused only on the cross-reference that pertained to healing; this time, it feels like I’m to focus on all the cross-references…I’m pretty sure it will take longer than a year this time!

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray FOR (emphasis added) one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
NKJV

We will be focusing on the first part of this verse: confess your trespasses to one another, and pray FOR (emphasis added) one another, that you may be healed.

Strongs: confess G1843 exomologeō: to confess. Websters 1828: confess: to own or acknowledge. Own: in general, to acknowledge; to confess; to avow; to admit to be true; not to deny; as, to own our weakness and frailty.

Strongs: your sins G266 hamartia: that which is done wrong, sin, an offense, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act.

Strongs: to one another G240 allēlōn: one another, reciprocally, mutually. Websters: mutually: in the manner of giving and receiving.

Let’s stop and clarify who we are confessing to. We are not confessing to our hundreds of Facebook, Instagram, X, or any other social media platform you can think of. We are not confessing to the person we know will share our confession as a “prayer request,” (please don’t be that person!) We are confessing to the people who are actually in our lives, those we do life with: spouse, trusted friend, small group, etc. This is a two-way street, we do it for one another. We confess to the people we know will take the next part of the verse seriously.

Strongs: and G2532 kai: and, also, even, indeed. Websters: and: is a conjunction, connective or conjoining word. It signifies that a word or part of a sentence is to be added to what precedes.

Strongs: pray G2172 euchomai: to pray to God. Websters: pray: to supplicate; to entreat; to urge. Supplicate: to entreat for; to seek by earnest prayer. Entreat: to make an earnest petition or request.

Strongs: for G5228 hyper: in behalf of, for the sake of. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: for, i.e. for one’s safety, for one’s advantage or benefit (one who does a thing for another, is conceived of as standing or bending ‘over’ the one he would shield or defend).

Normally, because I know what the words mean, I ignore the little words like and, as, in, for, etc., but on this particular day, I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit to look a little deeper into the word for. When I read that for is conceived as standing or bending ‘over’ the one he would shield or defend, I was stopped in my tracks. Do we realize when we pray for one another, it’s like we are forming a shield of protection around them? When we pray for one another, we are using our shield to cover them. I picture it like this…

https://youtu.be/w31hkqM_vtk?si=LdWn62aOKSGYngFE

You can watch the entire clip, but my focus is on what happens between the beginning of the clip and the 1:46 mark. “Whatever comes out of these gates, we’ve got a better chance of survival if we work together.” As you will notice in the clip, those who panicked and separated themselves from the group, were quickly picked off. They had no protection from the enemy that was coming out of the gate. Sound familiar?

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
ESV

They needed one another to survive the arena. We need one another to survive the arena of life! Jesus, the Son of God, shared his joys, frustrations, and sorrows with twelve men. If Jesus, the Son of God, shared his life with people, what makes us think “all we need is Jesus” and nobody else?” Hear me…Jesus is our all in all. He should be the person we call on first. But! I firmly believe that Jesus knows we need others in our life to form a shield of prayer around us when life gets too much, we’re making dumb decisions, we’re facing a sickness, or any other reason you can think of.

Why are we confessing and praying for one another? Healing!

Strongs: that (so that) G3704 opōs: how, that. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: Used after verbs praying, entreating, asking, exhorting, to denote what one wishes to be done.

Strongs: you may be healed G2390 iaomai: 1. to cure, heal. 2. to make whole. a. to free from errors and sins, to bring about (one’s) salvation.

I don’t know about you, but I want everyone in my life to be healed! Healed from whatever would hold them back from receiving God’s best for them. I want my prayer to form a shield of protection around them so that the enemy does not devour them. And! I want others to do the same for me! But guess what? In order for that to happen, we have to go back to the beginniing of the verse and remember that it says to confess to one another. Tell others what we’re struggling with and allow them the opportunity to pray.

Jesus Walked

No, we are not going to talk about the song Kanye wrote. We are, however, going to talk about something my neighbor Vikkie and I talked about yesterday.

When Brett and I were looking for an apartment closer to his work, we never imagined what God had in store for us, but God knew and he gave us Vikkie and Zoe. Zoe is a young woman who is not so wrapped up in herself that she doesn’t see the ones around her and she will do anything she can for her neighbors. Zoe checked on me many times after I had my ankle surgery. When I was finally able to get around, I took my books and went to have breakfast and study. When I got home, she happened to be outside and she would not let me carry my backpack up the steps. To Zoe’s mom, you raised an incredible young lady and her neighbors are glad she lives in our building!

And now to Vikkie! God knew I would need Vikkie and she would need me. It was not long after Vikkie moved in that I saw a bougainvillea plant on her patio. When I stopped to introduce myself, I learned she had lived and taught art in Kenya. Our friendship was quickly forged with talks about our beloved Africa. Vikkie currently has her hands full taking care of her beautiful mom, Ms. Addie. As Brett and I have walked this road, we have assured her that if she needs us, we are here. As many of you will know, Brett can put anything together, and most of the time he does it in less time than the instructions say and he doesn’t read the instructions! We all laughed when Vikkie realized I wasn’t lying about his ability! She and I both said it would have taken us all day to put something together that took him 30 minutes! At this point you’re probably asking, what does this have to do with Jesus walking? Let me tell you!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I went down to help Vikkie with Ms. Addie. We sang songs as we scooted her up in the bed and then Vikkie and I sat down to chat a bit. She had a National Geographic magazine opened to a map showing the areas where Jesus walked…see, I told you I’d get there! Anyway! According to the map, there were times when Jesus walked nearly eight miles to get where he needed to be. Vikkie and I took a moment to try and figure out how far eight miles would be for us. Eight miles would be from our apartment to Friendly Center…not something I would want to walk, but Jesus did it to fulfill the purpose God had given him for the day. In his walking, Jesus would have left footprints wherever he went. Vikkie said while she was looking at the map she began to wonder, “What kind of footprint am I leaving?” I have asked that question many times since 2020. Since coming home, I have often asked the Lord, “Am I making a difference?” And then it happened! The Lord used Vikkie to confirm that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing.

As often happens when we chat, our conversation spiderwebs and today it spiderwebbed to the picture above her mantel.

Remember I told you Vikkie is an artist? Y’all she is an incredible artist and although she didn’t paint this one, she did say she wanted to. I laughed and said, “Can you make baby Jesus a little darker?” And her reply brought tears to my eyes. She looked me straight in the eyes and said, “No. Because when I look at that picture I don’t see the color of the skin that Jesus is wrapped in. Just like I don’t see the color of skin you’re wrapped in. What I see when I look at that picture is you, wrapped in Jesus, making a difference in our lives. You are leaving a footprint and it is beautiful.” Cue waterworks!

As I’ve heard many a minister say, “I’m not bragging on me but on what God has done.” Well, I’m not bragging about me, but about what God has done. God has taken a group of people who are as different as night and day and brought them together as neighbors. Every single one of us looks past the skin that we are wrapped in and sees the beautiful person we are on the inside. And each of us is leaving our footprint on those around us and those in our community. We may not walk eight miles like Jesus, but we walk up and down stairs to take care of one another.