October 19, 2015
James 4:13,14 - Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
This past weekend, my daughter Joy, had something very unexpected happen to her. She was out to dinner with Marilyn and our two grandchildren - Aiden (12) and Shanti (6). It was a great dinner, and as they left the restaurant and headed back to the van, Shanti stepped on Joy's foot. Marilyn heard Joy shout with pain. Guess what? It turned out that somehow a large toothpick was impaled in Joy's toe. The toothpick was sticking out of her toe and she was moaning in pain.
This is not an earth shattering unexpected event, but it does emphasize the point that at any time something totally unexpected can happen in our life. Most people like to be in control of their lives, and therefore, are more at ease living the same kind of life every day. Unexpected and unpredictable events can wreak havoc in our lives and cause a great deal of stress. The only thing predictable about the unexpected is that it ALWAYS happens. Most of them are of minor importance, but sometimes, they are major or life shaking events of unpleasant nature, causing severe difficulties and problems.
Just when life seems to be going smoothly, something happens to throw us for a loop - an accident, chronic illness, financial setback, relationship breakup, or the death of a loved one to name a few. These are the types of events that we cannot fully prepare for. How do you cope with unexpected events? —stressed?, panic?, angry?, depressed?
There is no magic formula to help people deal with unexpected events. The following are two places to begin:
Fortunately most of us have what it takes to deal with the unexpected. It's called resilience — the ability to bounce back from adversity. And while the rebound is typically neither quick nor smooth, coping with the unexpected is the norm, not the exception.
There is One, that I believe, can help people through any unexpected event in life if we allow Him. Yes, I'm speaking about God. Not only can He directly help us, but He often will put people in our lives to help us deal with any unexpected toothpick.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
PS - Joy was fine and needed no urgent or emergency services.
October 12, 2015
Deuteronomy 31:6 - “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you”
Remember, a very long time ago? — I'm talking about January when the topic for Moments was New Year's resolutions. How many have you done? Did you write any down? Did you try — and then give up early? Did you just throw in the towel?
When electronic devices go haywire, or just stop working (like your computer or phone), the easiest solution is just to REBOOT the device. It's mid-October, but it's not tool late to revisit a goal or two from the beginning of the year. We need people in our lives that challenge us and encourage us as we set goals for ourselves. Consider yourself challenged!
Take a moment today to look at something you wanted to accomplish in 2015 but have struggled with. Why not pick one goal and work on that for the rest of 2015? Maybe this is the one that you have had on so many past Resolutions Lists.
The following are some necessary “Let Go's” that will help you strike down the “I can't” mantra and help you REBOOT a goal (or two).
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
September 28, 2015
I Thessalonians 5:11 - “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Looking back at your life, which person or persons stand out in your memory and thoughts? “There were a lot of people that did a lot of good things and I’m sure thankful. But the people or the person that I remember most is… ”
In our daily ministry we are encouraging those in the greatest of need. We also need to be encouragers to each other and people in general when they are going through difficult times. In my own life, there are six people that I hold in the highest regard. They never gave up on me and helped me tremendously through very dark times.
Encouragement is the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope. Encouragement inspires courage (the word in the word), spirit, and confidence. Encouragement can be as simple as “You can do this” or “I believe in you”.
It was great to see so many of you at our Staff Luncheon. It encouraged me to see the smiles and fellowship across each Center. I believe we have grown closer as a team and ministry to the homeless, needy, and to each other.
As we think of “What's Next?”, let us work even harder to be encouragers. The greatest encourager is the Lord - He tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us. He is our Shepherd who leads, provides, and protects us if we allow Him into our lives.
As the fall months have begun, you know that we will become super busy in all of our Centers. Stress levels rise, and sometimes our emotions can get the best of us. Let us continue to work together, help one another, and remain focused on helping people who really need our encouragement, our love, and our services.
"Encouragement helps others take the next step they couldn’t take on their own."
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
September 21, 2015
Psalms 133:1 - “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”
Is anyone really an individual contributor at work anymore? I think not. Pretty much everything we do is done with others in groups. We’re tasked with planning and completing projects together. We negotiate roles and resources. We talk to one another—or text, tweet, email—and sometimes we listen, too.
We’re dependent on and beholden to people above, around, and below us for collective success. We develop habits, over time, that dictate how we behave with one another. Add this up and you’ve got the definition of team: people who share a common purpose and goal, who have distinct roles and responsibilities, and who adhere to certain rules of interaction. Teams are everywhere at work. But on occasion, teams can develop problems - even in Christian organizations.
These weekly messages, birthday and anniversary announcements of staff, meetings by different departments, our Staff Luncheons, our Messengers Team and other activities are meant to help build our team.
Within the general team, there are specialty teams that also need to work together well, as we continue to serve the Lord and the homeless and needy. Let each of us strive to continue building our teams so that each member feels valued and our vision that "No One is Homeless" stays fresh and powerful.
I hope to see many of you on Friday, September 25th, at 10:30 AM for our Staff Luncheon, It will be a great time of fellowship and seeing people from other Centers that we rarely interact with.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
PS - Thanks for taking the Benefits Survey and responding to the What's Next form.
September 14, 2015
Habakkuk 2:2,3 - “Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time.”
Forming a clear Vision concerning future goals is a difficult undertaking for any person or organization. With all that has happened this past year (opening of CARE Elementary, the Pompano Center Bid challenge, potential sale of some properties, and more) the fundamental question for our ministry is "Where and what does the Lord desire for our future?"
Our focus is always on how to better serve the homeless, needy, poor, and our community to the best of our ability in relationship to resources and funding. At the present, we are working hard to bring staff levels in line with our present needs. We are a very large and diverse ministry and have to start with stabilizing our infrastructure as we look to the future.
The Directors are working closely with the "Messengers". Messengers are leaders who work closely with staff in the centers and have been meeting for the last year. They include: Aline Guillaume (Miami Center for Women and Children), Charles Thomas (Miami Food Service), Daisy Diaz (Development Marketing), Don Cotton (Broward Programs), Jorge Rivera (Miami Case Management), Ken Palonsky (Education), LaCandise Grate (Community Activity Center), Maria Chavez (Industrial Division), Melissa Singh (Miami Development), Nina Corbe (Broward Development), Sara Smih (Behavioral Health), and Valencia Taylor (Guest Services).
The verses quoted above simply mean that a vision should be written down "so that a runner may read it". This part of the verse actually means that the vision should be clear and clearly understood. The "runner" was a herald that would go about the cities and towns reading the vision to others. It had to be clear so that people would understand what was meant.
We are working on a Vision for this ministry and I will keep you posted as we progress. Nothing is in writing as of yet, we are still dreaming and looking at options.
Pray for the direction of this ministry as well as anything that will be needed - staff, community resources, funding, volunteers, and our donors.
I believe that many exciting things are in store for us as we seek to continue to serve the Lord and others.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
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September 7, 2015
I Samuel 7:12 - “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, Till now the Lord has helped us.”
This Friday is the 14th Anniversary of 9/11 when four passenger airliners were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists to be flown into buildings. Two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center in New York City.
Within an hour and 42 minutes, both 110-story towers collapsed with debris and the resulting fires causing partial or complete collapse of all other buildings in the World Trade Center complex, including the 47-story 7 World Trade Center tower, as well as significant damage to ten other large surrounding structures. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense) in Arlington County, Virginia, leading to a partial collapse in the Pentagon's western side.
The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, initially was steered toward Washington, D.C., but crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after its passengers tried to overcome the hijackers. In total, the attacks claimed the lives of 2,996 people and caused at least $10 billion in property and infrastructure damage.
Following the terrorist attacks, a massive operation was launched to clear the site and attempt to find any survivors amongst the rubble. On September 13, 2001, a worker at the site named Frank Silecchia discovered a 20-foot cross of two steel beams amongst the debris. This cross is called The World Trade Center Cross and is also known as the Ground Zero Cross.
The potential use of the cross in the World Trade Center Memorial was opposed by certain groups and actually went through the court system. Many groups such as families of certain Christian victims wanted the cross to be included.
In late July 2014, in dismissing a lawsuit filed by the dissenting atheists who did not want the cross displayed at the memorial, the 2nd U.S. Circuit ruled that, being "a symbol of hope" and "historical in nature", the steel beams "did not intentionally discriminate" against the atheists.
I understand that in a multi-cultural and diverse nation that the Christian Cross does not hold any significant meaning for many. Followers of Christ have always seen the Cross as a symbol of forgiveness, healing, and restoration.
I Samuel 7:12 is a remembrance of the protection of God for Israel against the dreaded Philistines. Ebenezer actually means "Rock or Stone of Help" and signifies God's presence and provision.
Let's remember all those that lost their lives and the families that are still mourning this 9/11 memorial day.
All God's Best to you and your Loved ones,
-rev b
PS - We are planning our staff retreat on September 25th - you don't want to miss this.
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