July 13th, 2016
Proverbs 20:15 - “Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.”
This is a very quick moment. I was curious about how many of our staff know about special outreaches, special volunteers, our focus groups, and upcoming events.
Did You Know?
We are serving over 1,300 men, women, and children each day. It takes our dedicated team, volunteers, our faith partners and supporters to make this all happen. Most importantly it takes the favor of the Lord and His protection and provision in this ministry. By the way:
Did you know that you are AWESOME!
I am praying for you — you continue to pray for me.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
Something New to Try
The above link is for our latest newsletter published for June and July. Once you click on the picture, your screen should open with a larger view. There are icons on the bottom for you to explore. The easiest way to get back to the website is to hit the Esc Key at the top-left of your keyboard. If this does not work please email me: Rev. B.
PS - We are working on putting all newsletters up as well as an electronic Employee Handbook.
July 6th, 2016
Luke 14:28 - “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”
The above verse simply means that when we set out to do something in our lives; do we plan accordingly to complete our plans — or are our plans dashed because of faulty and poor planning? For many, summer is considered VACATION TIME.
Research has proven that when people take vacations (at least 5 days), they are able to recharge their mind, body, and soul. Not taking a vacation can upset your physical and mental health. Here are several health benefits of taking a vacation that prove you should take them seriously.
Time away from the usual routine need not be a grand money-depleting experience. "Staycations" are a great way to have a vacation without a lot of traveling. You can visit museums or other area attractions that are available. Ride the metro, visit parks and so much more.
The bottom line is that each of us need time to just relax and get away from our work. I pray you will plan a vacation and actually enjoy the experience.
I am praying for you — you continue to pray for me.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
10 Tips for Vacation Planning
June 29th, 2016
1 John 4:7 - “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
Last week, Marilyn and I were able to see family in Virginia and Texas. What a blessing it was to see them. Our Texas trip was to celebrate the first birthday of our grandson - Mark Ryan.
All families have qualities that make them unique. Whether a particular family is a nuclear family, a stepfamily, a single-parent family, or an empty-nest family, it usually consists of related people who care for one another. Regardless of composition, all families need to be nurtured and strengthened from time to time.
What kind of family did you grow up in? For some it was a wonderful time full of love and encouragement, for others - it might have been a very difficult time. What we experience as a child can follow us a lifetime, good and bad. You are a vital part of our ministry and are an important member of our "Mission Family".
The quality of family life influences every other part of our life. Surveys tell us that the greatest source of happiness in life is the family. The same surveys tell us that the greatest source of frustration and disappointment in people’s lives is dealing with family problems.
Every one of us, including you, is part of a family. In fact we’re part of several families. You didn’t have any choice in the matter. God has designed the family as the basic unit of all society. As goes the family, so go our communities. As go our communities so go our states. As go our states so go our nations. As go our nations so go entire civilizations.
As we look forward to celebrating the 4th of July with picnics, barbeques, and yes - family, let each of us work to build stronger families. Maybe there is unforgiveness or hurt feelings from the past or maybe there hasn't been contact for some time.
What will it take to make your family stronger?
I am praying for you — you continue to pray for me.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
6 Ways to Strengthen Family Relationships
Strengthening family relationships takes time, patience, and commitment. These 6 tips are only a small part of helping family members create and maintain strong family bonds. It takes a lot of hard work to build a strong family, but the end result will be well worth the effort.
Begin today to build even stronger family relationships - they last a lifetime!
June 22nd, 2016
Proverbs 10:4 - “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. ”
Velma's blog - Boost Your Career & Salary - mentions money concerns. Most people have these concerns and look to their jobs for their income and want to see future increased earnings.
What are your views about money?
I don't know about you, but when I was in school, there were no classes on money or financial management. None. Not even how to balance a checkbook. Nothing about saving and nothing about making wise purchases or investments. You had to kind of learn these things as you went through life or be blessed to have parents that helped you develolp good money management skills.
For many, many years I used the "What's in my pocket" money management system. I'd get paid, cash it, and carry it around. When I ran out, I'd wait for my next paycheck. Later in life, I started using a checking account, but would end up writing checks with no money in the account. Guess what would happen? You got it - overdraft charges.
I'm so thankful that God sent Marilyn into my life. Many of you don't know this, but she is a Certified Finacial Planner and over the years has taught me so much about our personal finances. Not just having a budget, but setting financial goals.
Marilyn teaches budgeting classes and maybe there would be enough interest by staff that we could have some financial seminars. Money management is critical to well-being, our families, and our legacy. Budgets can be as simple or as complicated as needed. Do you use a budget? Are you planning for the future?
A recent national survey revealed that 82% of people would be hard pressed to come up with a $1,000 in case of an emergency. Most would to get a cash advance with their credit card (if the card isn't already maxed). The expansion of debit and credit card usage can wreck any financial plan if a person lacks discipline and has the "I've got to have it now" mentality.
I encourage you to take a look at your present standing of handling your money. You work hard for it, and should realize money is just a tool that can be used foolishly or wisely.
What are you going to do about your money matters? Your future starts today.
If you would like to have some seminars on budgeting and money management, please email me Rev. B.
I am praying for you — you continue to pray for me.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
8 Money Management Tips
Some people reading this will say, "I barely make ends meet now and never have any money to save." You know what? I use to say the same thing, but have learned over my lifetime that the key of financial freedom starts with a desire and the discipline to stick with a plan.
If not now, when?
Remember, please email me Rev. B. ,if you are interested in attending some financial classes.
June 15th, 2016
1 Corinthians 14:40 - “Let all things be done decently and in order.”
On a scale of 1 to 10 ( 1 being that you think you are the most disorganized person in the world and 10 means that there is no improvement possible and you are an OM — Organizing Master), how would you rate yourself?
For some people, myself included, getting organized is not always the hardest thing to accomplish — it's staying organized that is hard.
Has this ever happened to you? You need to find an important document. You believe the last time you saw it was in a certain file – but it isn’t there. This is a very important document and you need it for legal matters. What do you do? How about locating your phone, or car keys - even a wallet or pocketbook? It's happened to all of us at some time.
What would being organized look like for you? For some of us, it means clearing clutter; for others, it means getting round to personal tasks that we never seem to have time for. Perhaps you want to improve your time management? Or maybe you want to beat the feeling that you never get round to what matters because there’s always a general air of chaos. (sound familiar?)
How many times do you start a to-do list and it just keeps getting longer and longer? How organized is your email (work and home). How many emails are in your inbox right now? What should the optimum number of emails be in your inbox?
What is it about being organized that appeals to you?
Approximately how much time do you think gets wasted each day at work and at home because you or others around you are not organized?
Organized doesn't just mean tidy. The purpose of organization is to be able to find, exchange, and evaluate items quickly. However, organization can also help keep them tidy by providing a quick, logical space for adding and removing things. Some people say that they are too busy or there just isn't enough time. Research shows that being disorganized actually causes time delays and affects us psychologically.
Look around your surroundings. It could be an office, van, truck, warehouse, kitchen, or any space where you serve. Does the area look clean, organized, and well kept? Let each of us take some time to get better organized and then work hard to keep it organized.
It's time to get and stay organized!
I am praying for you — you continue to pray for me.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
Ten Tips to become an Organizing Guru
These can apply for work and home.
June 8th, 2016
Proverbs 13:15 - “Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.”
Jerry was born in Ireland in 1839 never knowing his father. Since his mother was unable to care for him, he went to live with his grandmother at an early age. One of his earliest recollections was of his grandmother on her knees praying the rosary. He would throw things at her, and she would get up and curse at him.
Growing up with no supervision, he roamed around stealing and causing trouble wherever he went. At 13, Jerry was packed up and sent off to New York to live with his sister and brother-in-law. This arrangement didn’t last very long; he soon moved out and lived with a family on Water Street in the slums of Lower East Side New York. Thievery was his main “occupation”; he stole to buy clothes and drink.
In 1857,at age 19, Jerry was accused of highway robbery, convicted, and sent to Sing Sing prison for 15 years. At the end of the 30-mile train ride from New York City to Sing Sing, Jerry read the sign over the prison’s entrance: “The way of the transgressor is hard.” He knew this proverb well and to be true in his own life.
Sing Sing was a dark and damp maximum-security prison where talking was not permitted and torture was rampant. The coffin-like cells were 3 feet by 3 inches wide, 6 feet by 7 inches high, and 7 feet deep. There were no windows in the cells and merely a bucket for plumbing. The odor was so rank it was hard to breath at times and the mice, cockroaches, lice, fleas, and bedbugs were everywhere. Jerry learned to read and write in prison, but most importantly, he honestly sought the Lord.
Even though there were to be many more years of drinking, fighting, and crime, Jerry always pointed to his imprisonment as the time he started his Christian walk. Jerry was released in 1864 and fell back into old ways of stealing and drinking heavily. A few years later, at a prayer meeting, he surrendered to God completely.
Soon after this, God sent a very powerful and wealthy man into his life. With the help of Fredrick Hatch, in October 1872 he took possession of 316 Water Street. He used the money he had raised to repair the building and then opened Helping Hand for Men — which became known as the McAuley Water Street Misson and is now known as the New York City Rescue Mission.
For the next 12 years, Jerry was instrumental in countless thousands’ conversions to Christ. He died in 1874. The tender love and acceptance he showed to the down-and-out won over many souls. Hundreds of missions have launched and millions of lives have been transformed as a direct and indirect result of Jerry’s ministry.
Our ministry of helping the homeless and needy started in 1922 and is based on Jerry's vision. We are part of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions. Rescue Missions are in almost every major city of the United States and in many foreign cities. They are a testament to how God rescued Jerry from darkness and set him free to help rescue millions more.
Now you know more of our history
I am praying for you — you continue to pray for me.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
This moment is being written while attending the 2016 AGRM Conference.
Above - McAuley Mission serves thousands for Christmas (1905).
McAuley Mission
Special Note: William Griffith Wilson was cared for and helped by the Mission in 1934. He is known as Bill W, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Association of Gospel Rescue Missions
The International Union of Gospel Missions - IUGM was organized on September 17, 1913, in New York City. This was to foster missions growth and impact. The IUGM traces its roots back to the McAuley Water Street Mission.
In 2000, IUGM changed its name to the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions (AGRM).
Presently, there are nearly 300 missions in the AGRM.
Every year, AGRM members collectively:
Attending the 2016 AGRM conference was so inspiring. Seeing over 1,000 leaders from missions across America come together to learn, fellowship, and praise the Lord was amazing. You are part of this great heritage.
June 1st, 2016
Philippians 4:8 - “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
This week's moment is really just some random thoughts, nothing specific, just things that cross my mind from time to time. You probably have your own random thoughts - most people do.
Do you ever wonder how we are even able to think? Everyone has a different way of processing events, experiencing the passing of time, recalling memories, and just thinking. I don't mean the type of thinking that you are required to do in everyday life, but the kind of thinking we do when we are by ourselves or maybe just before we go to sleep or wake in the morning.
Is this You? Are there times in the day when your mind just wanders? It happens to most people, but what do you think about?
10 Random Thoughts About You
The above is just some random fun. Share with others. God certainly has created us to be very special and unique. We can think deep thoughts, critical thoughts, surviving thoughts, and just random thoughts.
The word of God instructs us to think on good and excellent things. I pray today that you are able to think positively and that your random thoughts can be observations of life's oddities and not take you to dark places.
Pray for each other in a special way this week. So many members of our mission family are experiencing some really tough times.
I am praying for you — you continue to pray for me.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
Random Thoughts - Original and from others.
Proverbs 14:15 - “The naive believes everything, But the sensible man considers his steps.”
Prayer RequestMay 25th, 2016
John 15:13 - “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Although the term Memorial Day was used beginning in the 1880s, the holiday was officially known as Decoration Day for more than a century, when it was changed by federal law.
On May 5, 1862, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
Did You Know? Each year on Memorial Day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.
Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.
For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees; the change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.
Remember the men and women who gave their lives for their country, family, and loved ones. Our freedoms are paid by their blood and sacrifice.
I am praying for you — you continue to pray for me.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
Little known facts about Memorial Day.
May 18th, 2016
Titus 3:1 - “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,”
How much do you know about the structure of our ministry? Do you ever remember seeing any organizational charts when you went through orientation?
Everyone reports to somebody - a manager, supervisor, associate, or director. Your boss is normally the person you report to directly and follow their directives. God's word tells us to honor those that have been put in authority. Do you honor your boss? Do you do your best so your boss/leader can meet goals and expectations?
As the President, you might not think that I have a boss, but in reality I have 12 - they are the MRM's Board of Directors. Marilyn, Development Director, works with me every day, but is responsible to the Board directly. The Board meets throughout the year and I am in contact with the Chairman, Jeffrey Tew, almost weekly.
The Miami Rescue Mission | Broward Outreach Centers Board of Directors volunteer their time, talent, and treasure with no compensation. Each one listed are independent voting members of the Board. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
We are blessed to have such a diverse and active board. Each one brings to the table special abilities and perspectives.
Our directors are listed under the staff page and I hope to have our "Messengers" listed by next week. (Messengers are leaders from each Center who meet with the directors during the year.)
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones, -rev b
Each Board Member listed is an independent, non-compensated, voting member.
May 11th, 2016
Proverbs 3:5-7 - “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”
At the beginning of the year, we became focused on prayer. In fact our theme this year is - "The Caring Place is the Praying Place". This ministry of helping the homeless and needy originated from the heart of God. He loves people and especially those in great need.
The Mission started out as a soup kitchen in 1922 by two people who wanted to serve the Lord in Miami.
Presently we serve thousands of people each year and have buildings in two counties. We've grown from a staff of two and now have 170 team members (more to be added as well). I believe the reason for such great success and impact is that we continue to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and seek His guidance and provision. How do we do this? It is through our prayers and actions.
Last year was a very trying time for all of us as we dealt with Broward County and the Pompano Contract. Although this was a time of great stress, it also became a time of great prayer. God answered our prayers and even greater things are happening in 2016.
There will be a special day of prayer in the next few weeks. I am looking for a great location. We met last year, but I believe we need to have these type of prayer times more often during the year. By the way these times of prayer are not for converting people, they are a time to seek God for this ministry, our loved ones, and ourselves.
As we move forward in relocating some of our buildings, updating others, and increasing our services, may each of us ask God for wisdom. Dr. Frank and Maxine Jacobs visited this week (they are the re-founders of the ministry and served over 30 years). Their hard work and seeking God's best tremendously impacted the Mission in so many ways. My prayer is to continue to build upon their legacy and honor the Lord each day.
I am praying for you — you continue to pray for me.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
Six Steps to Trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3)
Let each of us learn how to trust the Lord more each day - with all our hearts.
Prayer RequestMay 4th, 2016
Miami Dade College Hall of Fame - April 26, 2016
Joel 2:25,26 - “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you.”
Have you ever been caught in the middle of a swarm of bees or mosquitos? That's not a good place to be. This morning, very early before dawn, I opened my back door to feed some cats. To my dismay, hundreds of small flying insects (don't really know what type, don't care) swarmed into our kitchen and were dive bombing me. I was swatting and slapping them, but was tremendously outnumbered. I reached for the insect spray. My kitchen turned white with fog and it was difficult to breathe.
I probably overdid the use of the insect spray, but when the cloud dissipated, I saw hundreds of dead insects on the floor. I quickly cleaned it up before Marilyn came out. In fact she won't know about "The Invasion" this morning until she reads it here.
The above verses in Joel are about a real plague in the land. Locusts (family of grasshoppers) are serious threats to crops. A devastating plague of locusts covered Israel and Syria a few years ago. The first swarms came in clouds so thick they blocked out the sun. The female locusts immediately began to lay eggs, 100 at a time. Witnesses say that in one square yard, there were as many as 65,000 to 75,000 eggs. In a few weeks they hatched, and the young locusts resembled large ants. They couldn’t fly yet, and got along by hopping. They marched along 400 to 600 feet a day, devouring every speck of vegetation along the way. After two more stages of molting they became adults who could fly - and the devastation continued.
Swarms of Locusts
In my life and in the lives of so many, we have been beset with locusts. Not the actual insects, but life's challenges and choices which have led to devastation and poverty. Notice the various forms of the locusts mentioned: swarming, crawling, consuming, and chewing. These are all various life-stages of the locust which include the larvae, caterpillar, and flying adult. What Joel is saying is that the fields were completely covered. Just as in the pictures above.
The great promise of God is that when you give your life to Him and follow His ways, He can restore the YEARS of loss and pain that our personal locusts have eaten of our lives. The end result is to Praise the Name of the Lord.
On April 26th, I received the Hall of Fame Award by Miami Dade College. All the years I threw away to my "locusts", God has been restoring and transforming.
He will do the same for our residents and FOR EACH ONE OF US! I'm so grateful for what God has done and is doing in my life.
All God's Best to you and your loved ones,
-rev b
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