Our God IS....

New Season #1

So much going on lately it seems hard to back track and try to refollow the trail enough to report!  I'll do my best to string the highlights together.  

It's all for the glory of Jesus Christ!.....

Well, a few weeks ago I was reading one night and I felt like the Lord laid something on my heart. 

 That is was time to begin GOING TO the kids house to meet instead of bringing them to our house each week.  

Of course, when God tells you something like that (at least for me!)  I still roll it around in my reasoning a bit before just accepting it and responding.  One day I'll hopefully learn this really slows the process down! ha

So I was thinking, "Hmm, ok Lord, what does THAT look like and how does THAT happen?!"

I had a lot of excitement about it but some reservations too.  What would MY family, husband think about this major change?  What would the kids think?  How in the world would these parents ever agree to bringing the chaos into their home!?"....these were just a few.  As I just typed those reservations, I realized they are mostly based on what others would think.   That kind of thinking isn't going to get far in moving forward in faith! hmm

So, about 10 minutes later I call Chris saying, "Ok, now I know I'm famous for crazy ideas, but just listen to me and then brainstorm with me ok?!"  I shared with him and he was silent.  I was like, "Uh oh..."  He goes, "Julz, God's been telling ME the SAME THING!"  I don't know what you call that... but I call it confirmation!

Green light city.  Just need to know it was God and not me and I'm all in!

Just in case that wasn't enough confirmation, I finally got the nerve up to call the mom about the idea.  "Hey how do you feel about us (min of 20 people) crashing your house every Thursday for awhile?"  Yeah, I was a bit nervous but I knew I had to try!

She seriously says, "BRING IT!"  

And that's how His newest church began. 

We've now had 2 weeks meeting in their home.  The nights have included lots of food (sent by workers that we are praying like crazy for and He is bringing in all on His own!) , lots of football, bball, snowball/slush/football this week, giving Him PRAISE and bragging all about Him- rapstyle, countless testimonies of God sightings in each of our lives and so much more.

I'm so glad to know that He doesn't get tired of me.  Lately, I'm bombarding Him with questions.  Several times a day, I can sense Him saying, "Oh little one, ONE step at a time.  I'm with you.  Just chill!"  Ok, the chill part was totally me but it makes me laugh.

Already we've outgrown this apartment.  Last night we had 30+.  Good problem huh?!  

As I was driving home last night pretty high, I told Him, "That was the best church service I've ever been to! I wish everyone could experience that!"  I felt like He said, "I've got pockets of this going on all over the place!  Enjoy the one you're in."  

I'm going to do my best to journal this journey. 

Late last night, my husband and I were sitting at the counter kinda bleary eyed, hungry and shoving food in our mouths (there were so many people we weren't sure the food would be enough!  and yes we prayed for Him to multiply it!!!)  All of the sudden we both just started praising and thanking Him for what He was doing.  The coolest part of our prayer time was the sense that HIS PRESENCE was still AT THE APARTMENT accomplishing things we could never.  

Oh Lord, invade the dark places!  We invite your Holy Spirit to love, comfort, encourage, tear down, rebuild, and basically ruin us for anything less than a life consumed with passionately following Your lead.

Special Entry

Kordero Lee Coleman 

1993-2008

A boy who loved to make people laugh.

Honestly, I never considered the fact that I would soon be writing an entry honoring one of our kids lives.  It still doesn't seem real.  On Sunday night, Kordero was in the wrong place at the wrong time and became the innocent victim of a shooting.

I remember meeting Kordero about a year and a half ago now.  A few of us were going out every week into the center of Fairmont Terrace at 61st & Peoria every Tuesday to hang out with any kids or adults that were interested and following whatever the Lord led us to do.  We were out on the grass playing all kinds of sports with a bunch of kids.  Frisbees were flying, soccer balls were sailing and some bubbles were being blown.  A group of about 5 older boys walked up.  "What's going on?"  (Honestly it was probably, Whatchoo guys doin?' :)   

I remember just smiling, introducing myself and asking their names.  They looked at me like all the older kids and adults do out there, "What the heck is this stupid white lady doing out here?"  It was Kordero, his brother Kurtis and some of their buddies.  I was so glad they stuck around.  I remember what pleased me the most was that they immediately gravitated to the guys who were with us, throwing and kicking balls.  They didn't really care WHAT we were doing, just that we wanted to be with them.  

For the next couple months, Kordero would always come by, "Man, Coach Julz, we can't stay, we have Boy Scouts but we just wanted to say Hey!  He always tried to pull off that "we're too old for this little kid stuff" ... but they always 'stopped by'.  

Over the next year, Kordero and his brother and sister started coming to the church I was going to.  Kordero and Kurtis were the ultimate test...they ALWAYS walked themselves there - rain or shine - and they ALWAYS started problems as far as 'following the rules'.  Their sister did too.  At the drop of a hat, you would hear, "Shoot!  I'm outta here!"  and off they'd go, right out the door.  This was during the time I was very new to this crowd and heck I had NO IDEA what to do!  Somehow I'd always manage to do the best I could to show them love and pray they would come back.  They always did.

I've had a real struggle this week over something though.  After several months of 'starting problems' with the church kids, they were asked not to come back for awhile.  They never did.  It wasn't all the church's fault, things were REALLy crazy for them at home at this time and between the two that was it.  They didn't keep coming.

This past summer I got to spend some time with them though at their apartment.  They were so funny, every time I would knock they'd yell, "WHO IS IT!?!"  I'd shout, "Coach Julz!"  They'd shout back, "HANG ON!"  They'd run put some clothes on and fling the door open with a hug.  "COME IN!"  We'd hang out, watch tv and just chat.  We got to take them fishing, swimming and other stuff this past summer and get to know them.  

They truly were the 'ultimate test'.  Not ONCE did they cause a problem when they were with us.   

After Kordero passed away his mom said, "Coach Julz, I know they gave you a hard time and I'm so sorry bout that.  But you never cared did you?"  

Nope.  Did they make me mad?  HECK YES!  But it was so easy to see this....

If those 2 boys knew someone loved them- they were FULL of respect and gave the love right back.  I can seriously remember times when Kordero would charge at me and give me the most full frontal bear hug you've ever seen.  Afterwards, I'd think, "Oh crap, I remember in leadership training, they told me not to hug boys like that!"  ha!  And while there IS a lot of wisdom to that....it just was never like that.  Kordero LOVED being LOVED.

I used to joke with him, DadGommit Kordero! "WHY DID YOU GET THOSE PERFECTLY LONG CURLED EYELASHES AND I'VE GOT THIS MESS?"  He'd be like, "Oh shoot Coach Julz, don't say that!  Geez!"  ha, I'm laughing still.

I never dreamed that two nights ago I'd be resting my hands on his bandaged head while he breathed through a ventilator fighting for his life.

I don't have the 'program' that works.  I don't know how to get them to 'assimilate' and PLEASE don't take ANY of this story to focus on me.  What really happened was the LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST managed to do something to this boy who's shell let few see who he really was.

I'll see you soon Kordero...

Entry #14

Sometimes when everything seems to go wrong and exactly the opposite of what we were hoping for, we have to believe that God is still at work and His timing is perfect.  I like to say, I see the tip of an ice burg while He sees the universe.

Last week, I had extremely high hopes of getting the opportunity to pray with one of the girls we hang with and introduce her to His love personally.  Long story short, I didn't plan for a couple kids to show up stoned and disrespectful.  Kinda altered MY mood and the mood of many others.  

In fact, after the night was over I had to call a close friend of mine and just let it all hang out.  I very rarely allow myself to vent like that, but she just kept encouraging me to get it out, God can hack it.  So I did.

One of the kids that was stoned really has my heart.  I think about this kid all the time.  I have been praying a real specific prayer for quite awhile now "That He would give me His eyes to see what HE sees in other people.  Not the surface, failures, clothes, attitudes, etc....but the GOD in them."  Well, I see LOTS of God in this kid.  He IS going to be a major leader in his generation.

But after this night, when everyone had left, I just kind of cleaned up the house really slamming things around and questioning lots of what we are doing.  I wanted to just call him up and lay into him like, "Man, why do you come when you're all screwed up?!  You DONT HAVE TO you know?!" But I just couldn't do it.

So several nights later, I was thinking about it all again and the Lord stirred up such an excitement in me for this kid.  It was like He was letting me see just how much He loves him.  Just how much He has planned for him and gave me this supernatural understanding of how important it was to just love the snot out of him and encourage him.

So, I called him up.  Actually we had a texting war for about an hour while I'm certain he was wrapping up whoever he was with so that we could talk in private.  As I heard the phone finally ringing I just started praying, "Ok God, YOU talk.... I've got no clue what to say TO him."

We chatted for about 5 minutes about Christmas and the past few days and then it was like, wham!  I found myself opening up to him about my struggles.  Some of the things and areas I'm weak in.  He was like, "Coach Julz, I didn't know you dealt with stuff like that!'  

Long story short....we talked for an hour.  I told him about some of my dreams.  About how much I cared for him.  That the thing that made me so sad when he showed up confused the other night was that I couldn't really TALK with him about stuff and how much I love talking to him.  We talked about his dreams.  His struggles.  I told him about a trip to Mexico I'm about to take.  He said he would be praying for me every day.  He even told me that if we ever live in the apartments or have a hang out there (MY DREAM) he would be there every day and bring all his friends.

Yeah, I don't know what exactly we're doing.... but I am learning a few things.

Sometimes what seems to be a blow... leads to the breakthrough you're praying for.

I love you Lord.  

Help me to believe.