Opening Doors

To any faithful blog readers who may or may not exist out there, don't worry- I am not dead and I have not given up entirely on sharing what is going on. I have been out of town for a week, and then upon my return, immediately got the flu and have been bed-ridden for three days. Never fear, we are back in action. And the good news is, great things have been going on the whole time in our church body and in our local community!

We have continued our Tuesday night meals with the families at the homeless shelter, and it has been going so well! They continue to express how much it means to them to eat a home-cooked meal and to just sit and share with people who care to get to know them. Each week, they seem to become more accustomed to our presence as a group, as well as the recurring faces they are beginning to know and trust. One of the exciting parts of this weekly ministry is that the Lord is already beginning to provide more opportunities to get involved in these families' lives on a more intimate and consistent level. Angie, the lady who heads up the shelter, explained that many of the women in the home don't know how to cook and would love the opportunity to learn. As soon as I mentioned this idea, several women from Redeemer expressed interest in teaching the mothers and women to cook. We are also assembling a recipe book of all the meals we prepare each Tuesday, as well as other manageable meals. Recently, Angie expressed to me that the men in the shelter also desire some form of community and would be interested in meeting with men from Redeemer! How exciting! We are brainstorming ways for this to take form now. Also, one of the daughters in the shelter is getting ready to leave for college, which is an unbelievable first for her family and for the shelter! We are planning on helping her with school supplies, as well as throwing a Going Away Party! These are only some of the ideas that have been sprouting up from Tuesday night meals, and I am confident that many more will continue to come. It is so exciting to see how the Lord opens up the door for ministry and asks that we are faithful in obedience. It doesn't require outrageous feats of sacrifice, vast amounts of funds, or visions to solve major world issues. It requires simple obedience to reach out to those around us in everyday, personal ways and the faith to believe that the Lord will work through our feeble efforts. And YES, he is able to accomplish more than we could ever ask or imagine. Yes, he will continue to open up more and more opportunities to serve and to obey and to trust. Let's continue to take him at His Word, to offer ourselves as he leads, and to trust him to do what we know we cannot.

Consequently, we are in great need of more people to sign up to serve meals for this upcoming month, starting immediately! If you have not yet had the opportunity to serve on a Tuesday night, please try to make this a priority-not only will you be a blessing, but you will certainly come away blessed. If you have already had the privilege of serving, we would love for you to serve again! If you enjoyed it the first time, sign up again! Email me (dwight@rccbirmingham.org) or call me (336.831.4489)! Live purposefully today and seek the simple, small opportunities around you to serve and love!