The dictionary defines faith as: confidence, trust, reliance, belief, assurance. Joni Erickson Tada defines faith like this–”Faith isn’t the ability to believe long and far into the misty future.  It’s simply taking God at His Word and talking the next step.”  Faith belongs in this moment, the present.  It is a choice–my choice–whether or not to take the next step.  I can choose right now to believe that God’s Word is true, that He will do what He promises, and I can always trust Him, or—- not.  We are often so busy living in guilt over our past, or frozen by fear of our future, that we totally miss today and our ability to choose faith.

My faith journey at Shepherd’s Gate began years and years ago when I came to do my rotation Sunday.  As I walked in, I saw several ladies gathered around a desk staring at something.  I was to quickly learn that what they were “mourning” were our last three rolls of toilet paper.  They had formed the rolls into a toilet paper shrine—two rolls on the bottom and one sitting proudly in the center on top of the bottom two!  It might seem appropriate to say that there was weeping and wailing, but that would be a tad bit of an exageration.  There was, however, quite a bit of moaning!  Being the only staff in the building I said, “We will just need to pray about it.”  And we did!  Noon brought a couple who said they had clothing to drop off.  As they were filling out their receipt, the man said that he wasn’t sure if we would want it, but there had been a sale on the large packs of toilet paper. . . !  How exciting to later tell the women how God had sent them their request!!!  The next morning found our reception area filled with rolls and rolls and rolls of toilet paper!  A Sunday school class had ben saving it up for us, and God sent it just when we needed it!  I have so many stories about chicken nuggets and ranch dressing, black boots, a wooden giraffe, tea bags, cheese cake, sheets. . . the list goes on and on and on.  We see the miracles here daily.  When someone says we need______, the answer here is always, “Let’s pray and see what God will do!”  It is so exciting to see what God does when we have faith that He can, and will, “give you all you have need of from the wealth of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

As a little girl, I used to sing a song by W. B. Liggett that said, “Faith is just believing what God says, He will do!  He will never fail us, His promises are true.  If we but receive Him, His children we become (John 1:12).  Faith is just believing this wondrous thing is done!”  Do you know Him?  Then you have already chosen to take the biggest step of  faith; now, just take the next one and the next one. . . !

We have a lot of volunteer groups and individuals that bless us at the children’s home.  One of my favorite individuals is a sweet lady named Martha Clardy, or ”Ms. Martha” as we call her.  Ms. Martha has been faithfully coming, for nearly two years,  to the children’s home every Monday afternoon to help with homework.  She is a retired teacher who freely gives of her time with love, compassion and determination.  We have two third graders who both struggle with staying focused on their homework.  There are times when one or both will challenge her with poor attitudes and unfriendly behavior.  I keep waiting for the day when she says, “I have had enough”.  She never has.  I often wonder if Ms. Martha becomes discouraged and wonders if she is really making difference.  Does she ask, “Lord, they fight me so much..are you really getting glory from my work?”  I know the answer is “Yes”!

Many children, in foster care, challenge their caregivers. Yes, even if they are volunteers.  They internally ask, “What do I have to do to make you stop loving me or stop caring for me?”  That is how they measure true love! Oh, my sweet boys have challenged Ms. Martha on more than one occasion and I’m sure she has left needing an aspirin.  But, every Monday, she comes back!  Because of her faithfulness, my boys are learning to trust again.  Ms. Martha is not pulling rusty nails out of broken chairs, but she is pulling chips off the shoulders of broken lives.  She is loving and caring for difficult children with tremendous compassion and patience.  She may not see the finished product of their high school or college graduation; however, she is helping to repair years of mistrust and abuse.  She is preparing these boys for a future that they can not image yet.  The foundational repairs that she is making now will help these sweet, yet challenging, boys to one day become “productive members of society”  Ms. Martha is an amazing volunteer that truly makes a difference!

Who could know the goodness of God?

Hey Ya’ll,

A man generally comes to this program when all else has failed for him and he is ready to change his life. Upon arriving at the Overcomers center we intake our new brother and set him up with a mentor immediately so that he can get a feel for his new temporary home and as acclimate more rapidly. Each member of this community is required to attend and complete 28 weeks of instruction and participate in a wide array of programs and events. The New Overcomer is placed in a group upon arriving called pre-program. This portion of the program is four weeks in duration and allows the new Overcomer to decide if the program is a good fit for him. During Level one  Ryan Duerk continues this process as the men have decided to commit to this new life change and recovery, departing from the destructive choices of the lifestyles that they had been living. Level Two is instructed by David Neiboer and primarily focuses on the inner healing that has to take place in order to have lasting recovery. Steve Vicari heads up level three and during this level the clients dive deeper in the scriptures of the bible, make transitional plans, mentor pairing and work on the struggles and insecurities associated with moving into a new life of sobriety. Level four is facilitated by Larry Donaldson and is primarily the melting pot where all the information is put together and tested. The men are taught budgeting, resume building, relapse prevention, biblical application, role playing exercises along with assistance them with any questions or reservations that they may have before beginning the Christian walk of Life. Upon completion of the program the client then moves to one of Miracle Hill’s beautiful transitional houses. This portion of the process is to last  six months to a year. During this time the Overcomer is formally given a Certificate of completion and then finally a Certificate of GRADUATION thus sealed an Overcomer for life. God allows us to move and breathe and have our being here at the Overcomers Center. Of the staff of the Overcomers which consists of seven members, five of us are Overcomer GRADUATES. I know GOD works here. I love GOD.

That’s the difference at Miracle Hill.  As a Christ-centered ministry we do not claim to be doing things out of our own abilities or power.  Without Christ, we could do nothing of meaning!

As we gather on April 26 for our banquet, we will be celebrating 75 years of the Lord’s blessings on this ministry.  I hope you can join us and I would ask that you also pray that everything done that evening would bring glory and honor to God.

Thanks, Larry

Although it didn’t quite start this way, the Personal Development Program has, for the most part, turned into a pre-program for women waiting for our long-term Renewal Program.  While waiting here, they work on the three levels of our program:

Personal- each resident will be encouraged to “be still” and, with God’s strength and guidance, begin the process of assessing her past and present personal relationships, her responses to those relationships and the results of those responses.  She will begin to look within and acknowledge areas of personal hurt.  She will also learn the importance of taking personal responsibility for past choices and will develop tools that she can use to make better decisions in the future.

Development-each resident will be encouraged to seek the Word of God as she begins the process of changing her old ways of thinking and developing new skills for dealing with negative character traits and behaviors.  She will continue to develop tools to use as she begins to make peace with the past and begins to build a Godly foundation for a better future.

Program-each resident will continue to put into practice program guidelines, develop good work habits and team building  skills as they serve in the kitchen, attend classes and live in community with women who have very similar issues and goals.  For those who come to us after graduation from the Renewal Program, and there are a few!, this would be the time when they would develop an updated resume’, a budget, look into schooling opportunities and/or begin looking for a job.

It is our greatest desire as a staff to see the women develop strength–physical, mental, emotional and spiritual– that will carry them through the longer six-month Renewal Program.   It is our utmost privileged to watch them change and grow as God reveals His Truth to them.  It is our fervent prayer that they will continue to seek His face as He brings to light His purpose and plan for each of  them.  These are our ladies—the amazing women of the PDP !!

This basic Greenville Rescue Mission schedule does not reflect the incredible amount of activity that occurs within our walls. The approximately 130 men and 10 to 15 people in our family apartments keep our staff of eight on the go!

Men who live at the Mission are given tasks such as working at our Thrift Operations, helping in the kitchen, housekeeping, yard work, etc. Those who are physically able to work are required to look for jobs. Many are involved in counseling, attending classes and working on educational goals. And, some of our men are waiting to get into Overcomers, our addiction recovery program. Homeless families here, receive help through Bible studies and counseling.

As you can see, we are very busy. We could not possible handle all of these activities with our small staff.  We are so thankful for our volunteers who come in and work along side us and show such care and love to the men and families in our care.  Mostly – we are thankful to the Lord for the way He works in the hearts and lives of each individual and brings them change, hope and peace!

As followers of Christ we know that love casts out fear.  A couple struggling with infertility know the longing of their heart for a child and how that missing piece of their heart can be filled through adoption.   Other families desire to grow their family through adoption because they want to obey the Lord by caring for an “orphan in their distress” (James 1:27).  The motivations of adoptive families may vary from family to family, but their desire to love and care for a child through adoption is the same. . .if only the hearts of our children could that they are loved and wanted. . . if only they could see that the Lord has a family planned and designed especially for them.

Recently, I picked up one of the boys, in my cottage,  early from school.  His adoption worker was coming for a regular monthly meeting.  He wants a family so desperately that when I mentioned that she was coming he jumped up and down and shouted, “So that means I’m getting a family”.  He was disappointed when I had to tell him that it would be a little while longer.  Another one of the boys came up to me at bedtime a few months ago.  He asked, “If I can’t go home to my dad, would you adopt me and my brother?”  Every day he struggles to believe that there could be someone out there that would want to be his family.  The longer children wait for a family, the more they feel unloved and unwanted.

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”  Psalm. 68:5

Our main goal at Miracle Hill Children’s Home is to love on our children like Jesus so they want to know and love Him as their Savior!  As a house mom, the boys in my cottage are mine for a little while, and I would love to keep them safe and close to me forever.  I know that is not what they need.  If I adopted them all, they wouldn’t really have a family.  They would still be living in a group home.  They need and want a family.  They could possibly need and want someone just like you!

If the Lord is calling you to become a foster parent with Miracle Hill Children’s Home, please call 878-9987.  To learn more about adoption, call the DSS Region I Adoptions office at 282-4730.

These “situations” often cause a great deal of despair, hopelessness and brokenness, which becomes the beginning work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the one hurting.  And transformation begins!  Here at the Renewal Center, that is exactly what happens.  The Holy Spirit heals the broken hearted.  Personally, as a Renewal graduate, once the healing started for me, I felt an overwhelming sense of joy and peace, along with an urgency to fight the devil and his schemes.

By reading God’s word, I gained the wisdom I needed to the fight against addiction.  Once wisdom is obtained, it preludes a number of other essential attributes that are very helpful in starting a new life.  “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5

Ecclesiastes 8:1 

“A person’s wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance.”

Proverbs 1:2-7

“..for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance for understanding proverbs and parables;  the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Proverbs 8:10-11 “Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her”

Being wise enough to realize foolish ways, to receive instruction and gain understanding are necassary in order to gain the self-control to let go of addiction.  When it comes right down to it, you have to want to change and be a better person;  one that fears the Lord and simply choose to do good and not bad. 

Lord,

BECAUSE LOVE IS PATIENT. . .

Help me to be slow to judge, but quick to listen.  Hesitant to criticize, but eager to encourage, remembering your endless patience with me.

BECAUSE LOVE IS KIND. . .

Help my words to be gentle and my actions to be thoughtful.  Remind me to smile and to say “Please” and “Thank You” because those little things still mean so much.

BECAUSE LOVE DOES NOT ENVY OR BOAST, AND IT IS NOT PROUD. . .

Help me have a heart that is humble and sees the good in others.  May I celebrate and appreciate all that I have and all that I am, as well as doing the same for those around me.

BECAUSE LOVE IS NOT RUDE OR SELF-SEEKING. . .

Help me to speak words that are easy on the ear and on the heart.  When I’m tempted to get wrapped up in my own little world, remind me there’s a great big world out there full of needs and hurts.

BECAUSE LOVE IN NOT EASILY ANGERED AND KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS. . .

Help me to forgive others as you have forgiven me.  When I want to hold onto a grudge, gently help me release it so I can reach out with a hand of love instead.

BECAUSE LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH. . .

Help me stand up for what is right and good.  May I defend the defenseless, and help the helpless.  Show me how I can make a difference.

BECAUSE LOVE ALWAYS PROTECTS AND ALWAYS TRUSTS. . .

Help me to be a refuge for those around me.  When the world outside is harsh and cold, may my heart be a place of acceptance and warmth.

FINALLY, BECAUSE LOVE ALWAYS PERSEVERES. . .

Help my heart continually beat with love for You and others.  Thank you for showing the world what love really means!

Now THAT–that is how to love everyone—with or without a home!