Interdependence, not Independence, is God’s Plan

Last week a local pastor called me concerning a poor couple who’s small RV broke down in Erie, CO.  They were in a motel about 10 blocks away from me and didn’t know Denver.  All they needed was someone who knew the area, a good & fair priced mechanic that could travel and a ride back up to the RV.  One Christian friend from another church &they are back on their way for the cost of a part & 1/3 of the labor cost.

Flor is a single mom of a boy & girl in Middle & High School.  She just qualified for a free flip phone as sole care for her aging mother.  It takes 6 weeks to ship.  The schools requires a parent to have a phone, no exceptions.  So I’m her phone, two blocks over, until the flip phone gets here.

God fills us all with the hunger and longing for fellowship.  First with Him, then with others in the body of Christ, then serving His lost brothers.  It's not always easy or convenient, like writing my tithe check for the offering, yet it is infinitely richer in relationship & fruit of the Spirit.

When I became a Christian, I learned church isn’t a requirement, it’s about fellowship and a chance to reach out to connect or help others, as I am helped.

Ministry isn’t about teaching others they need to be more independent to succeed, but revealing that none of us really succeeds without a relationship with Christ; in any of the  areas of our lives and relationships that really matter and have lasting value.

Everyday, God teaches me the importance of working, not as a know-it-all, but collaboratively with my neighbors to find new  solutions that work for us in ways that God intends. 

God built us with a need to live in community, learning to recognize and draw upon the unique gifts and ministries of all whom God has designed.

Synergy, when the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts.  East Colfax, here  are faces of Christ I want to meet, share Him with & learn from in faith. =)

Christmas Complaints

Ever complain about the Christmas stuff coming out along with the Halloween décor?  I have!

At least I used to, until I got older and was called into missionary service.

When planning to come alongside our marginalized families in more dignified ways, we start planning in September, sometimes August.

This last week someone was shocked that to donate to our ROP Christmas Store, the toys and clothes had to get to us before Thanksgiving.

How else could we have the parents shop for their kids presents on Dec 6th?

I’m not saying you have to LIKE seeing Christmas in stores before Halloween, but when you minister and serve others for the holiday, it can be a blessing!  =)

Missionary Minute...

I suggested to my husband, yesterday, that I was planning to start a project on our home that might take a while.

He looked at me like I was crazy, then gently reminded me, “Are you sure you want to start that right before the ROP holiday events?”

What had I been thinking?!  Starting Oct 31st, ministry hits a distance run of holidays through to the New Year: Fall Festival, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Not to mention 2015 budgets, goals and objective meetings to settle by the end of November.  I obviously wasn’t thinking, in these few weeks of quiet before the storm.

Have you ever gotten so used to being busy, that you cram things into the spaces where you aren’t, or is it just me?

By my work load, you’d think the still small voice of God doesn’t have a chance.

It is only in my morning devotionals, where there is a haven and a habit of stilling myself and seeking God’s will.

The “dumb” project idea happened to be on a day that I hadn’t taken the time for devotion.  And that is really about, isn’t it? Devotion, worship, a time of gratitude and new direction.

As the pace quickens into the holidays, let’s listen to God each day & thank Him.

Who was the Samaritan's Neighbor?

The scripture before the parable that describes the Samaritan asks, “Who is my neighbor?”  Yet who was it he helped?

Monica started by coming to our food bank every week.  A quiet and reserved older lady, smelling un-bathed at times,  somewhat shaped like a pumpkin.  She would struggle to walk from her home to our door with her little metal cage, hand cart on two wheels.  It held her oxygen tank & space for groceries.

She had lots of medical problems & no real friends but her Chihuahuas.  Never married with some mental issues, she had lived her life helping her parents until their deaths.  Now an old woman with no children, only dogs.

Seeking a deeper relationship, we asked Monica if she’d like to volunteer at the Food Bank helping people to sign in for food.  She jumped at the chance to help people as she was helped.  Interaction didn’t start out easy, but she learned.

God smiled, and we all learned something about Monica, too.  Her quiet reserve and patience was the perfect match for our hesitant refugees struggling with real needs and poor English. 

Monica loves them and they love her.

All this to say, a bit over a month ago, Monica fell in the alleyway she walks down to go home.  She couldn’t get up.  She tried so very hard.  She even called out two separate times to people heading to Colfax down the alley.  Only to have them skirt her and walk on by.

After over an hour in the sun, laying in gravel and losing hope, Monica heard a familiar voice speaking in Nepali. An old woman and her 8 year old grandson.  It took everything they all had, but they got Monica up and walked her home.

A week later, they worked along side our volunteers to clear out and clean up Monica’s home so that she might keep her dogs and her home from the threat of city citations.

In reaching out, Monica has learned that her neighbors are reaching back.  As she steps out in faith, giving of her time, God appears.  Even in languages we might not speak but that our hearts understand.

Relationship vs Charity

Chico called from North Carolina to share he has settled into an apartment & college in Moorsville’s “NASCAR Technical Institute” (NTI).

Chico, a kid who started in the late ‘90s attending  our youth ministry of Club House, did our teen ministry Coffee House, put himself through Lincoln Technical College with a little help from us, got his GED here at ROP, and worked hard enough that his teacher recommended him to the NASCAR Technical Institute.

What we provided in needs? Bus passes, groceries, clothing, community service hours, school supplies, tutoring, shoes, diapers, formula & baby supplies, too, when he became a father.

So was it our little bit of physical charity and his own determination that changed Chico’s life?

Honestly? No.  Even when inching forward in positive ways, Chico struggles with temptations of the world and his own flesh.

He has struggled with drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, a child at 18 with no standing to gain full custody, the death of his father, his mother’s cancer, supporting his family, his anger, frustration, and yes, even apathy or fear in doing the unfamiliar.

I think many of us can say we share some of these same weaknesses of flesh in our lives.  I know I have fallen so hard, at times in my life, that only God could pick me back up.

For Chico, it started with his relationships with everyday Christians sharing time and attention, guidance and sometimes a resource or two.  As he grew, he came to recognize Christ’s hand in his life. Now he is looking for God in all things.  Will it all be easy from now on? No, but he walks with a Savior & a body of believers who know him and love him.

Being Filled by Serving Others

If you’re one of my supporters or champions for very long, then you know I’m not always looking for     donations, fundraisers, or gifts.

Sometimes I’m looking for more  creative solutions, and those usually have names like yours.  =)

Volunteering skills and gifts that God has given you to share with others is a part of God’s call for you.

His kingdom grows and blessing flow as we seek to show our love for our Savior by loving others.  Often       discovering it becomes our favorite night or hour of the day.

ROP & I are inviting you to our annual “Join the Team” Open House.  We’re raising Volunteers and funding for underprivileged children and adult in our community.

For more info: www.ROPevents.org

Remember, God delights in you and so do I.  Prayerfully,  Vicki

The Holy Spirit fills us as we pour out to Others

Has the world made you feel care-worn?  It can tarnish faith, darken perspectives and color thoughts, emotions and decisions.  Life can be hard.  But what I usually mean is that my life can be hard.  I’m the first to feel it when I’m being mistreated or inconvenienced.  I’m quick to sulk when I’m the one who feels deprived or unappreciated.  When life is difficult for us, we notice.  =)

But too often the only way we notice that life is hard for others is when they start complaining about it.  Hearing it, we’re often thinking they just have a bad attitude.  The pain & pressure they feel don’t register like it does when it’s our pain.  When I want to complain, everyone should understand and feel sorry for me, right?

Yet, this doesn’t happen when God’s love is at work.  Love doesn’t have to be jarred awake to another’s distress.  As Love sees obvious signs of worry & trouble, Love has already gone into action mode.  It see the weight beginning to build up and steps in to help.

Love makes sacrifices.  It keeps us in tune to another’s need and so that we often can respond without being asked.  And should I not notice ahead of time & must be told, Love responds to the heart of the problem.  (Not that I always do, but Love does!)  Even when another’s stress comes out in words of personal accusation, Love shows compassion rather than becoming defensive, by Jesus’ example.

That’s what Jesus did.  “He laid down His life for us” to show us that “we should also lay down our lives” for others.  He taught us that the evidence of love is found in seeing a need in others and then doing what we can to satisfy it:

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; 
I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; 
I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; 
I was sick, and you visited Me; 
I was in prison, and you came to Me.

- Matthew 25 : 35-36

Instead of sitting around feeling upset that others are not treating us the way we think they should, let Love pick us up out of our self-pity and turn our     attention to their needs.  The words, “How can I help?” should stay fresh on Christian lips.  The solutions may be easy or they may be complex, requiring time, energy and great effort.  Either way, as we help others, we are helping ourselves, too.  The Spirit moves us beyond our “flesh” and into community.  That is the beautiful part of sacrifice.  Jesus did it for us.  And He extends the grace to do it for others.

When the New Testament believers began to walk in love, their lives together were marked by sharing and sacrifice.  Their heartbeat was to worship the Lord an to serve His people.  (Acts 2:44-45)