Please pray...even after the fact..thnx

Simply put, i will be speaking to a group of people this weekend...will you please pray that God will lead me in what to say ...that it will be exactly what HE wants to speak to them through me and my life, and that God will bring people into deeper, more fulfilling relationships with Him as a result.

read on if you want more info...
Will you please be praying for me in the next couple days? Every Saturday night i go to Sarah's house (more about her another time) with several of the youth that lived or are now living on the streets (the house FILLS with people). We eat and hang out for an hour....then, after worshiping together someone teaches from the Bible or talks about something relevant to life and how God is working. They are awesome, real, challenging, encouraging times.

.....i'll be talking about how God has filled the need for love and companionship in my life as i've been single for several years....also, the effect on my life in the times that i've quit walking closely with Him and started striving after someone else to fill what only HE can.

Some of these people have faced relational things in life that i can't even begin to imagine, which brings many of them to the place where they are today- going from one guy or girl to another, seeking love...maybe finding it but, more likely, finding something that isn't the best that God has for them. i feel inadequate to meet them where they are, and yet i am confident that GOD CAN. Please pray that He WILL through whatever He leads me to share. thank you so much. i know God hears when we come to Him and answers even when we don't always see.

sunday night

I got to meet 2 BEAUTIFUL kids sunday night....who have 2 amazing and wonderful parents- Jake and Carol! Josiah is a month old and SO cute....i told him so SEVERAL times, which he responded by winking at me and holding my hand..really..it's true!!

And THIS is Josiane...a SHINING Rawandan girl who is soaking in the affection of her new family. she's learning english....but of course her african accent quickly reminded me of my love for the african orphans...it made me want to pack up and leave today to go adopt all the kids who don't have anyone to call mom. well, maybe someday...for now i'll pray...and love THIS one when i can!

And look at THIS....it's not coffee...it's not hot chocolate...it's something i first experienced in Lithuania...and honestly, i don't know the proper name for it...but i think it should simply be called "heavenly"! it's drinkable chocolate...and it's what i came home to sunday night! my wonderfully amazing roomie, trina, is gifted at such things as making food and drinks that you simply have to taste to appreciate! mmmm....and all was well in cheryl's life..... :)

I love this promise...I want to experience it more...Have you?

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in Yaweh forever, for Yahweh, Yahweh, is the Rock eternal." Iasaiah 26:3-4

3 kids i Love

Here are 3 kids that i LOVE so much...who are like family to me...

... Evan (a.k.a. "bear"), Riley, and Allie. this week we had some fun with glow sticks!! if you're looking for a new, creative activity to do with your kids, you should get some. grab a package of 6 at the dollar tree and pull them out an hour or two before bed....see what shapes they can make, take pictures on the digital camera using different settings....the fun never ends!!!

LOVE...more than just chocolate

LOVE.... i'm sitting her at my grandpa b's computer....there's a picture of my grandma taped on the side of the monitor...they have been married over 50 years!...also....my grandma and grandpa g., married over 50 years as well, are still living out love in ways i rarely see anymore. my grandma has alzheimers and grandpa continues to stand by her side through things that i can't even fathom having to face....but he knows what love really is...more than a feeling...more than just getting something from someone to satisfy a longing or emotional desire....I also think of my dad...how just a week ago he was talking to me about my mom and their relationship...i can't accurately express the fire and passion behind his words as he talked about how they've not only stayed in love but have grown into depths in their relationship that i'm certain can only be understood through experience.

thank you grandma and grandpa, grandma and grandpa, mom and dad....for truly LOVING each other. in a world where love is often equated with a dozen roses, sex, beauty, chocolate, and mostly- self...you are all pictures of what love TRULY is...you reflect Jesus.....and that's the kind of love i hope for someday.

The View from my Window

i looked out my window a few minutes ago and saw an older guy racing a bright red shopping cart across the parking lot! it made me smile cuz i still personally get a huge kick out of riding shopping carts, and it's not too often that i find someone who openly shares this simple pleasure in life! (side note- i was VERY disappointed when i went shopping while living in Lithuania- their carts don't have the metal bar across the bottom, so you can't ride them...very sad indeed). anyway, the cart racer wasn't headed to the store but to the apartment complex dumpsters. every day people come and rummage through the garbage to find food, pop bottles, anything they might find value in, and i'm not sure what else. today the man flipped open the black lid, dug around a bit with his bare hands, ripped open a few trash bags, dropped a couple things into the plastic grocery sacks hanging from his cart, and then walked off, probably toward the next full and available dumpster.

who knows, maybe he is homeless and looking for any possible way to get some cash to pay for food. perhaps he has a home but a drug addiction has brought him to this place in his life of dumpsters and having his own personal shopping cart. does he despise and long for freedom from how he's living? is it normal and acceptable to him? does he have family? a place to get out of the rain? has anyone even talked to him lately? prayed for or with him? does he feel loved? how can I show him and others like him Jesus' love?

hey...here comes another guy with a red cart. he seems more tired...slower...has his hood on...he's using a metal rod to dig through every possible part of the trash...even recycling...takes a second to examine the random items on top of the bin left by someone who just moved...now he's moving on....i wonder what his story is? i wonder if he's my brother in Christ? how can i love him?

when i first moved into this apartment i didn't like the view from my window. as time has gone by, tho, i've grown to appreciate it simply because God has used it to keep my perspective right. He's helping me to really SEE the people on the streets, and not just look past them or pretend i didn't notice....or that i can't do anything to love or help them. I don't know how long i'll live in a city or place like this, but i truly hope that i'll keep these guys with red carts in mind...even once i no longer have this view from my room. i know that Jesus wants to love them and others through my life. i'm finding that THIS is LIFE to me!!!

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." ~ Jesus

Kickin' it with my Homies, Yo!

I started "kickin' it" with some pretty amazing people a few months ago. They are people who have either lived on the streets or are still there. They are people who have faced things in life that I can't imagine having to cope with. They are letting go of addictions and rejoicing at being sober or off drugs for "5 days"...."25 days"..."5 months"..and still counting and rejoicing at every new day they make another choice that once seemed impossible. They are people who don't just KNOW in their heads about Jesus' love and how He saved them, but people who have experienced His saving power and unconditional love in the reality of their lives and believe it in their heads and hearts. "If I don't spend time with God every day I know I wouldn't make it...I'd fall so fast...I need God in my life," I've heard more than one of them say. They are people who still struggle, still smoke, still swear, still deal with anger....and God loves, accepts and uses them right where they are in their journey with Him. They are people who need encouragement from other believers just like I do. They are people in love with Jesus. They are people desperate for the life and freedom that only Jesus brings. They are changed people who are passionate about loving others and seeing them find the life, love and freedom in Christ that they are finding. They love deeply. They pray. They are loyal. They worship. They are honest about their weaknesses and sins. They are still facing very difficult and often seemingly impossible situations with family and people they love. They listen to God's Spirit. They respond to His convictions. God uses them in others' lives....i could obviously say so much more about them....They are God's children, adopted just like i am.
When I first started spending time with many of these youth from the streets, I thought that I had so much to offer them. They seemed a bit like a mission to me. Thankfully, God quickly humbled me and has changed my thinking in more ways than I think I realize. These youth have taught me, encouraged me, prayed for me, blessed me and loved me more than i ever could have hoped for. They are amazing people and I have SEEN the Gospel come to life in front of me more than ever before. I hope I have loved and encouraged them toward Jesus as much as they've impacted me. I love them...these "transitional youth".....i hope you can meet them someday. I will never be the same after the last months Kickin' it with my Homies, Yo! :)