A Virtuous Woman--You Surpass Them All

"Who can find a virtuous and capable woman?  She is more precious than rubies...She is energetic and strong, a hard worker....She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy...There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!"  Proverbs 31: 10, 20, 29

There are so many special friends who dedicate so much of their personal time, money, prayers, and talents to the Mission Athens team.  These people are truly servants of our Lord--they wake up each day searching, seeking, and yearning for ways to serve Him and be his lights in this dark world.  It is truly a blessing to work with this team, and they are all a true inspiration to me.  Each week, our team is growing, crossing traditional congregational barriers, extending down the street and across town, and watching it grow is a testimony to the answered prayers of our group.  As we grow, we are finding more and more people to help and more and more ways to serve.  It is a beautiful thing to witness.

But there is one very special member of our team, a truly virtuous woman who surpasses us all.  This woman gets up at 4:30 in the morning, and she takes care of her husband and two children.  Then, she goes to her job, which is dedicated to helping homeless children.  All day long, she works with special kids and their families, trying to help them improve their situation.  After work, she volunteers countless hours with the Mission Athens team, and many of us may never know all that she had done in service to our Lord.

"She gets up before dawn to prepare food for her household and plan the day's work."  Proverbs 31:15

Many of us who are working in dual-career marriages and who are trying to raise kids often say, "If only I had the time."  "If only I had the time to help those in need, but I have so much to do with my job and my kids.  I will try and make some time next week."  This woman never says those things, but if you say them to her, she will smile and nod and ask you about your kids.  She will try and find a way to help you with your busy week, and she truly listens to you as you go on and on about your work and your kids' sports.  During the week, you may receive an encouraging text message or email from her, as she has thoughtfully remembered your big presentation or your child's big game.  She just finds a way to make time to make everyone feel loved and appreciated, all the while going about her business, letting her light shine for all to see. 

"When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instruction with kindness."  Proverbs 31:26.

She will never tell you, but she may be found on any given day hanging out in the projects playing with some kids who have no one else to love them, waiting to meet some one who needs food at a drug infested hotel, or picking up a man who just got out of prison who needs a ride.  When we are asked to go out and help some of these people as part of our Mission Athens work, I have felt uneasy at times, even worried we would not be safe, but not her.  She just smiles, opens her car door, and says, "Let's go." 

"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future."  Proverbs 31: 25. 

Her husband and children are among the most generous people I know.  They will free up their schedule, cancel their plans, fill up their truck with gas and bring their chainsaws and strong backs if you are in need.  On the morning after the tornado in April, they were the first to arrive at my house, clearing my driveway of the trees that were blocking it, climbing dangerous ladders to get trees off my roof, and then going on down the road to help even more people.  They didn't call first to ask if there was anything we needed because they knew we would say we didn't need help--they just showed up and got to work.  So many people worked so hard in those weeks following the storms, and these men were at the forefront, generously supplying money, strong backs, and helping hands.

"Her children stand and bless her.  Her husband praises her."  Proverbs 31:28

Over the past few weeks, unbeknownst to any of us working with her, she has been lovingly caring for her mother as she was in her final days of Alzheimer's.  This special lady never asked for help, never let on what she was going through, but simply kept smiling, kept working, kept loving all of us.  She would work all day, host our Mission Athens meetings in her own home, cook us food, love us all, and sneak away in the night to sit by her mother's side at her sickbed. 

"Her lamp burns late into the night."  Proverbs 31:18

As we begin a new week, this special, special child of God will say her final goodbyes to her mother.  Yet in the last few days of her mother's life, she continued to find time to serve her Father.  She worked tirelessly over the weekend preparing a home for a family who would surely have been homeless without her help, slipping away to go visit her Mom, and then coming back with a cup of coffee and a smile and cheery words of encouragment for the team. 

"She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy." Proverbs 31:20

A few weeks ago, several of the members of the Mission Athens team were talking about how to define success of the work we are doing.  Sure, it would be great to keep a scoreboard of the number of people who have committed their lives to God and have begun to walk anew, but it just isn't that simple.  We may never see many of these people again, and we are OK with that.  We want to plant seeds, to demonstrate God's sacrificial love in action by sacrificing for those who need our help.  We trust that God will bring those seeds to harvest in His perfect time.

But one of the greatest blessings of this Mission is the change that is happening in each of our own lives.  God is working in us, and He has certainly changed me.  He has blessed me with this beautiful friend whom I have grown to dearly love.  He has shared one of His most special angels to shine her light and show all of us the kind of woman, the kind of Christian, He is calling us to be. 

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised."  Proverbs 31:30

This week, our hearts are broken for her as she says goodbye to her Mama, and we know she will tell us she is OK and change the subject to ask us about our project, our kids, our lives.  She will work late into the night on her computer finding resources and houses and jobs for people who truly need them.  She will love her husband and her children, and she will be strong for her sisters.  She will go on being the amazing inspiration that she is because she knows no other way to live.  We thank God for her, as she is a living example of His most beautiful creation--a woman who has truly, completely, and fully dedicated her life to serving Him.  We are praying that He will comfort and bless her family this week and that she will know she is loved by all of us who thank God for her each day.

"There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!" Proverbs 31:29

Extreme Makeover Mission Athens Edition--Episode 2

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken." 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

This weekend, we have the opportunity to help another family who is on the verge of being homeless.  We have found this family a rental home that they can afford, but they must move in over the weekend.  This house needs some work, and that is where all of you come in.

We must act quickly, and we need all hands on deck.  The address is 205 4th Avenue, Athens, AL.  We are coordinating both a cleaning crew for Friday, October 21 and a painting crew for Saturday, October 22.  If you are available, please contact Paul Dobbs at 256-777-2389.

On Friday, please bring cleaning supplies with you--cleaners, paper towels, gloves, trash bags, brooms, mops, buckets, etc.  On Saturday, please bring painting supplies with you--brushes, old clothes, etc.

As we saw last week, great things can happen when we all work together in the kingdom!  We are reaching out to Christians from all over town, so this will be a great way for us to display the unity Jesus prayed for as well as to help a family who could really use the love of Jesus.

We also need some donations for this family.  Specifically, they need large area rugs or carpet for 2 or 3 rooms--the floors in this house are cold.  We also need dressers, window treatments, a 6-feet-long closet rack and whatever else Paul Dobbs says we need!  Cash is always king--that way we can run to Wal-Mart and buy what we need.

We realize that this alert is going out with short notice, but we believe in our army, day and night, and we know you all are willing and able!  Thank you in advance for helping us make a big difference in the lives of this special family this weekend!

Entertaining Angels

"Do not forget to be hospitable to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without knowing it." 

Hebrews 13:2

In early February of this year, I was traveling home from a day of meetings in Gadsden when I got stuck in an ice storm on I-65 North just south of Cullman.  In hindsight, some of my choices that day were really bad.  For example, just before lunch, I saw the radar and heard the predictions of icy weather, but I thought, "Oh, these weathermen always exaggerate.  I will be fine."  Then, when I got to Birmingham to pick up my car where I had left it earlier in the day, I called my husband who advised me to get a hotel room and wait until the next day to drive the rest of the way home.  "Oh, Honey," I said, "I can make it."

Bad choices lead to bad consequences for me.  The darker it got, the harder the ice fell.  Finally, traffic came to a complete stop in the middle of nowhere.  There were no exits, no hotels, no way out.  I felt totally helpless.  I called my company's emergency travel line and begged for a hotel room in Cullman.  My husband searched every travel website for me to no avail.  There were no rooms in any inns. 

After literally crawling for hours on I-65, I finally made it to the Cullman exit shortly after 10 pm after about 8 hours in the car.  I made my way to the Waffle House, laid my head down in the booth, cried my eyes out and did what any good Southern lady would do under the circumstances.....I called my Mama.

As a part of the Mission Athens team, we have the opportunity to meet lots of people who have made bad choices that have lead to bad consequences.  In some cases, people never thought through those choices and never anticipated those possible bad consequences.  In other cases, people acted hastily or on impulse.  Sometimes, people just make bad choices for no really good reason.  In any case, bad things ultimately happen and people are then stuck between a rock and a hard place, and that is when they call us.

We have met people who were broken down, beat up, or just plain broke.  We have met mothers with hungry children, fathers with no gas in the car trying to make it a few more miles down the road, and grandparents who are taking in their children's kids, trying to right a wrong.  A few weeks ago, we helped a man who had just gotten out of prison.  He couldn't read or write, and he had no real plan for his future.  He thought if he could just make it to Florida, he might could get a job on a shrimp boat or help some fisherman down there.  He had no family, no friends, and it turns out the crimes he had committed that had landed him in prison were great examples of really bad choices.  He told us he had recommitted his life to Christ in prison, and he just needed someone to help him on his way.  Sounded good to us, so we helped him get a bus ticket to Florida.

This week, we met a mom and her 14-year-old son.  They are homeless, down on their luck, no income, no real friends, and very few prospects.  She has a grandmother who lives in Evergreen who is willing to take them in and help them get back on their feet.  I am quite certain this mom has made some bad choices that have lead to these bad consequences, but I am also certain she needs someone to show her Jesus.  Jesus surrounded himself with people who had checkered pasts and who had made plenty of bad choices.  Jesus didn't care--he loved them anyway and encouraged them to walk in a new life.

So often, we as Christians are so quick to judge people who are not like us.  In many cases, we think to ourselves, "I would never be in that situation, because I make good choices.  People who fall on these hard times need to make better choices and then they won't get themselves into these messes."  It is so easy for us, who are not homeless, to point our fingers and point blame.  We haven't walked in those shoes.....unless we have been stuck on the side of the road in Cullman in an ice storm.

There I was in my business suit with a purse full of money, an iPhone, a laptop, a nice car full of gas, and no place to lay my head.  To say I was humbled is an understatement.  For all purposes, I was homeless that night.  And that's where my Mama came to my rescue.  She called my big brother, who would never have let his little sister spend the night at a Waffle House.  He remembered an old friend of my father's who lived 3 blocks away from the Waffle House where I was crying in my coffee.  He called him, and in about 30 minutes, I was embraced by Leonard and Patrina, who graciously let me, a person they hadn't seen since my father's funeral 11 years ago, into their home for the night.  They gave me their guest room, warm blankets, and even a new toothbrush.  Thank God for their goodness, and thank God for my wonderful family who can see me through any tough time I seem to get myself into!

You see, God has blessed me with this loving family.  But for His grace go I!  What a valuable lesson I learned that night!  I walk around with the delusion that I am invincible--I am competent, I am capable, I am IN CONTROL.  How wrong and how arrogant of me!  GOD is in control, and sometimes he uses ice storms and Waffle Houses to remind us to open our eyes and help those other wayward travelers who need a second chance, a helping hand, and maybe a bus ticket so that they can have a prayer for their future.

Today, I was traveling north on I-65 again, and as I approached Cullman, I saw a Greyhound bus headed south.  On that bus was a Mom, just like me, with a son she loves, just like me.  She was on her way to her Grandmama's house, and I pray she is embraced and loved there and that her future is bright.  We will probably never see her again, but it is great to know we helped her get a few more miles down the road. 

She is leaving Athens with the knowledge that there are people here who believe in God and who believe in His goodness.  She is leaving perhaps with a little more spring in her step that there really are people who don't just talk the talk in the pews on Sunday, but who will actually walk the walk and help you out on a Tuesday.

Who knows?  Perhaps she is an angel like the one referenced in Hebrews, and we have entertained her on her journey to get her new wings.

Extreme Makeover Mission Athens Edition

Why Do Bad Things Keep Happening?

"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the Law of Christ."  Galations 6:2

Imagine you are an 8-year-old little boy.  Last year, your stepdad was tragically killed in a car accident.  Your mom is working 12-hour shifts to try to make ends meet for your teenage sister and you.  It's a Sunday night, and your big sister is helping you get ready to go to church.  A nice man is coming by to pick you up and take you to services, and you feel somewhat excited to have a nice place to go.  Your sister and you are cooking hamburgers on the stove.

After church, the nice man drops you both off and pulls out of the driveway.  As you approach the house, your sister and you realize that the house is on fire.  In a hurry to make it to church on time, you have accidentally forgotten to turn off the stove.  Your exhausted mom makes it home from work to find your sister and you devastated on the curb, fire trucks and police in the yard, and all of you have the sick realization that your cat was inside the house.

"Mom," you ask with tears in your eyes, "why do bad things keep happening to us?"

Unfortunately, this scenario is a true story, and this tragedy played out right here in our community.  But the story doesn't end there.....

Upon hearing about this special family, the Mission Athens team went into overdrive.  Within a few days, a rental home had been secured for them.  Through a series of announcements, emails, phone calls and text messages, a full Extreme Makeover Home Edition team had been built.  In one day, the entire house was scrubbed by a team of about 10 Christians.  From the floors, to the walls, to the ceilings, to the windows, that house was sparkling in just a few hours.  The next day, another team of Christians painted the house, installed new lighting and flooring, and some very great ladies decorated the rooms so nicely that HGTV themselves couldn't have done it better.

You see, when we become Christians, we are not promised that bad things will not happen to us.  Bad things do happen.  Fathers die, houses burn, pets are lost.  Cancer strikes, jobs are "downsized," disappointments break our hearts.  The difference for Christians is that we know no matter what trial or tribulation befalls us here on earth, we have a heavenly Father who cares for us.  He listens to our prayers, and He knows what we need. 

He has also blessed us with each other, to lift each other up, to bear one another's burdens, to love each other through our dark days.  If God brings us to it, God will bring us through it.

Through the experience of helping this precious family, the Mission Athens team has had the opportunity to work with Christians from several different area churches.  So often, Christians debate doctrine, focus on what divides us, spend time on our soapbox picking out the specks in each other's eyes.  This week, it was a tremendous blessing to focus on what unites us--the love of Christ--and to share that love with a family who desperately needed comfort and peace. 

As we start our week on this Monday morning, let us all open our eyes and see the people in our lives who may be asking, "Why do bad things keep happening to me?"  We can be a blessing to these hurting souls, and we need to seek out those opportunities to bear one another's burdens.  Let us not focus on our own small problems but instead look outward into a world that desperately needs our light and love.  As Jesus said to us, "For when you see Me, you see the One who sent Me.  I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who trust in Me will no longer dwell in darkness."  John 12:45-46. 

My Own Little World - Matthew West Official Music Video

Mission Athens Projects in October

^"12 When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."  John 13:12-17

In the month of October, there are several ways you can help the Mission Athens team.  First, we will be placing a bin in the Central Church of Christ building on Sunday, October 16 to begin a shoe collection for the organization Soles4Souls.  This organization has a very simple mission:  to provide shoes for people all over the world who have none.  It's that simple.

Our challenge to the Central family is this:  donate one pair of shoes for each member of your family.  Simply bring the shoes to the church building and place them in the bin.  If you are reading this blog and you live out of town but would like to help, there are two things you can do.  First, you can visit the Soles4Souls website to find out how to help at http://www.soles4souls.org/.  Second, you could ship your shoes to Central at Central Church of Christ, Attention:  Mission Athens, 320 US Highway 31North, Athens, AL 35611. 

Can you imagine the delight of the person receiving a new pair of shoes?  What a relief to have this simple layer of protection, and what a gift to be able to provide this blessing that we so often take for granted!  Thank you in advance for participating.  We look forward to seeing that bin overflowing!

Second, you can volunteer to help the Mission Athens team serve dinner at the Downtown Rescue Mission in Huntsville on Saturday, October 29.  We need a team of at least 12 people to help us.  The Downtown Rescue Mission is a Christian homeless shelter that serves men, women and children, and they provide hundreds of thousands of meals all throughout the year. We will need to be there at 3:15 p.m. as dinner is from 4-6 p.n.  If anyone is interested in helping, please email Beth Patton at beth.patton@acs-k12.org.  You can find out more about the Downtown Rescue Mission by visiting their website at http://downtownrescuemission.org/.

Stay tuned for more ways you can help in the weeks to come.  We are making plans now to make a BIG difference for our community as the holidays approach, and we will need lots of help to make it all happen.  Please take time each day to pray that God would open our eyes to the ways we can best serve Him, and that He would lead us to those who need His blessings in their lives.  Please also continue to pray for the families we are helping, that they would be lead to commit their lives to Him.

 

 

Remember the Tornado?

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."  Colossians 3:23

On April 27, 2011, our community was dramatically changed when over 100 tornadoes ripped through our state leaving behind destroyed property, mangled heaps of debris, and broken lives.  Our neighbors grieved the loss of their loved ones as well all came together to do what we could to put the pieces back together for our friends and those hurting in our community.

As horrible an event as it was, it was also strangely beautiful as well. As we "pass through the valley of the shadow of death," we are reminded of God's goodness.  His love was all around us, as we witnessed strangers dropping everything and running to help.  Our church family embraced those hurting in our community, and everyone had time, had money, and had the motivation to do all we could to help those who needed us.

It is amazing to comprehend the amount of damage that the storms created in a matter of seconds.  In about 12 seconds, two-story houses were leveled, cars were swept away, trees snapped in half, and lives were forever changed.  The U.S. Government declared it a Level 1 Natural Disaster, on par with Katrina.  In fact, we now know that the storms of April 27 marked the fifth worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

But the storms could not take away the things we treasure most--friendships, family and faith in our Father.  In fact, the storm revealed these priceless gifts to be in full force; it brought out the best in us all.  Neighbors who hadn't spoken in months were suddenly hosting cookouts together in cul de sacs, sharing the food they had before the lost power could spoil it.  Complete strangers from other states took vacation days to come with their chainsaws and help cut trees and haul limbs.  Everyone opened their pockets and donated money to help us first survive, then clean up, and now rebuild.

By no means are we "back to normal," but we are back to reality.  The power came back on, workplaces reopened, the kids starting playing ball again, and life moved on.  We have all gotten caught back up again in the whirlwind of our daily life, and it is easy for us to forget the life-changing experiences we all shared just a few months ago.

I think it is important for us to stop, take a moment, and REMEMBER THE TORNADO.  A few weeks ago at Central, our wonderful preacher challenged all of us to remember what our lives were like then.  We flung ourselves into the work of our Lord, and we loved every minute of it.  We truly felt as though we were His instruments, working to help those around us and praising our God for the blessing of the gift of lives spared.  Let us all remember the tornado and the lessons it taught us.  In case you need a reminder, take a moment to re-watch the video attached on this blog.

Reflect on that time in our lives, and think about how it changed your family.  If you feel so compelled, reach out to a member of the Mission Athens team, and talk to us about joining our group.  We would love to have your help, and we believe that the work we continue to do for tornado victims and those in our community who have been broken by other catastrophes need us now more than ever.  Remember the tornado, and remind yourself of all the gifts you have to offer in service to our Lord.

Limestone County Storms 2011

"Somebody Like Me" by Jason Crabb

Are We Called to Go to Church Or To BE the Church?

"Spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday."  Isaiah 58:10

How many years have you been a Christian?  If you are reading this blog, you are probably someone who has been richly blessed and who has been "saved" by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Praise God for His blessings in our lives!

In the years since you have been a Christian, how has God's grace changed you?  How have you become new?  Perhaps your answer to that question is that you are in the "good person" camp.  You are a good provider for your family, you love and honor your parents, you do your best to avoid sin and repent when you make a mistake.  You try to be a good example at work and at your kids' sporting events.  When someone is sick, you take them a casserole and a cake, and you pray most days.  You try to remember people's birthdays, and you pay your taxes on time.  You take your family to church every Sunday morning, and even sometimes on Sunday and Wednesday nights.  At Christmas time, you donate to a local charity, and you may even adopt an angel to help a child have a nice holiday.

All these things are good--they are important, and they are wonderful.  But do you ever find yourself asking the difficult but all too important question--when I stand before my maker on Judgement Day, what will He say?  Have I done all I can to be His disciple?  Have I spent my life serving Him each day, sharing His love not just with my friends and family, but with complete strangers who need Him, too? 

I ask myself these questions a lot.  I know that I will never deserve God's grace, and this conversation is not about "Works vs. Grace." 

It is about ME--have I been so transformed and consumed by Jesus that I am "spent" each night because I have been "pouring myself out" as an offering to glorify Him in a fallen world?

I have been a Christian for over 20 years.  In those years, I have gone to college, gotten married to a wonderful man, buried my father, given birth to 3 precious children, built a house and a career, but I can't quote a statistic on how many souls, if any, I have played a part in bringing to Jesus.  Sure, I haven't strayed from the "good person" camp, and I hope most of my friends and family would say that I am more of a blessing than a burden in their lives, but have I really used these 20 years of Christian life LIVING for Jesus? 

I can't do anything about the past, but I can make myself "new" now.  I want to live my next 20 years "spending myself" in His service.  I want to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to share the Gospel.  That commitment is the reason I joined the Mission Athens team and the reason I am writing this blog.  God has been so good to me, and I want to share Him with the world.  I want as many people as possible, as many people as I can touch, to share in His grace.

A few weeks ago, a very kind man challenged the Mission Athens team with this question, "Are we so busy GOING to church that we have forgotten to BE the church?" 

What a fantastic challenge!  Mission Athens is dedicated to "being the church" in our community.  We are not perfect, and we don't always get it right, but we are trying.  Each week, we reach out to the hurting in our community and try to bless them in some way.  Sometimes our projects are big, and sometimes they are small, but all of them are designed to share Jesus with our neighbors.

The purpose of this blog is to share our thoughts, the lessons we are learning, and to provide a place where we can list any needs, prayer requests, or ways you can help us in our mission to share the love of Jesus as we serve the world.  Thank you for reading our blog and for supporting the work of the Mission Athens team.