Alessia was baptized today!!

Alessia was baptized today! It was just the beginning...we will run to the end with her now! We love you Alessia and Adreanna and Angelina, "Balerina"!!

An unexpected Miracle came to our Home!!

On May 4 th, there was a 4 alarm fire in our neighborhood. 300 people lost their homes. Alessia and her girls, adreanna and angelina were among them. We met Alessia through our friend who was the first at the shelter to meet alessia from our church. She called us and that night Alessia and her girls came home with us to live.

That monday 2 weeks ago, Alessia and her girls lost everything, but by that next Sunday, on Mother's day, Alessia gained everything when she put her trust in Jesus Christ as her Lord.

We are baptizing her in our backyard this coming tuesday! All of you in Austin, come join us! we will start at 7pm.....This family has entered our world and been as much of a blessing to us as we and many others have been to them.

Alessia moved into a new apartment Wednesday but remains to be part of our family.

You never know the miracles that God brings into your life. I will begin sharing some parenting insight that i am learning even from this family and sharing our home with them...i will also share more details of this amazing story! For now, Praise GOD!!!

more to come....

Continue Helping St.John fire victims

For those who would like to continue in their efforts to serve the victims of the fire in the St. John’s neighborhood, a site has been set up to inform you of ongoing needs and is capable of receiving online donations. Many of the families are moving into new apartments this week and, having lost everything, need help to get started again in their new residences.

The site is http://stjohnrelief.com/.

Donations will continue to be accepted at Iglesia Centro Familiar Ebenezer this week.

Hours of Operation
Monday May 11th: 9:00am to 9:00pm
Tuesday May 12th: 9:00am to 9:00pm
Wed May 13th: 9:00am to 9:00pm
Thursday May 14th: 9:00am to 9:00pm
Friday May 15th: 9:00am to 9:00pm

Current needs include:

FURNITURE

• beds (we have an incredible need for NEW mattresses)
• frames
• couches
• dressers
• tables/chairs
• small tables

KITCHEN ITEMS

• kitchen utensil sets (click for example) $20.00
  
• silverware & dinnerware sets (click for example) $35.00
• 8 piece pot & pan sets (click for example) $35.00

CLEANING SUPPLY KITS – It would be incredible if the following cleaning supplies could be bought together, and placed inside of the bucket/basket as a ‘cleaning kit’. These Cleaning Kits will make it easy to distribute the necessary cleaning items to the family.

• mop
• bucket
• broom
• dustpan
• cleaning disinfectant
• sponge
• kitchen dish soap
• toilet cleaner & brush
• laundry basket
• laundry soap

thanks angela...i just copied this from your post. =)

St. Johns Fire Donations

 They are taking financial donations for the Fire victims from the fire on Monday.  Thank you Austin people for all you are doing for these people! I am amazed!

^{Acts 2:45} Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

  

Lean First on the Word of God

We've lived in the inner city since Stew and I were married.  It is all we know together..... all our children know.  

There are many things we learn from our neighbors and from all that we are engaged with in St. John.  But one thing that has been very powerfully challenging to our parenting is the idea of "safety".   It has been the question asked of us since I was pregnant with WesleyGrant and we were in Memphis, TN downtown inner city.  The questions were understandable, but it lead me to ask the more important question, "What does God say?"  "Does God call me responsible for keeping my children safe?"  Because if He does, i don't think i can, ultimately.  

I have searched and am still searching the scriptures for this....so far, I have found that the responsibility and power for safety with me and my children falls on God, not me.  God never tells me as a parent to protect or keep safe my children.  Do I have an instinct desire to protect my children at any cost? YES!  and will I?  YES!  But I bear no anxiety of safety for my children in St. John or any neighborhood for that matter.  I can trust God with my children in every place He sends us.

The thing I want to point out is not that you shouldn't seek your children's protection...or that you should live in the inner city...more importantly I want to state that we as parents must be careful where we get our guidance for parenting our children. 

We can't produce parenting habits out of "religious huntches".... thinking something is "following God" just b/c every christian we know is doing it or it seems "right", or from others who have "religious huntches".     

I found that when people (wonderful people) talked to us about the safety of our children and said that "God calls us to protect our children", i followed that for a while and it led me to make lots of "religious huntches" about raising my children in or out of an inner city....but then I asked..."what does God's word really say?"  and found quite the opposite.  I found peace and freedom and powerful guidance that I can be sure of.

  Be careful not to function as a parent from "religious advice or huntches" when it comes to raising your children.  People...literature...it always has good intentions...but can often be sourced from ones own opinion, personality or life experience.   God teaches us through all of those things, but always refer to the Word accurately with any advice given or thought that comes to you...you never know....it just might politely disagree with what God actually says.   More later...

The Gospel Changes Lives

Check out this video of people in our church....many our friends....they represent me...us...all of us! Hope you are encouraged to see that Jesus changes lives...YOUR life and keeps you....He is all that makes us right! May the Gospel continue to help you discover true life!

Passover Seder Meal

As we continue to try with "family traditions"...this Easter has been a reminder that some traditions, unlike the Christmas tree hunting, will stick,"accidentally", and bring a blessing to us that we never expected! 

Last year we tried to make Easter more about Jesus' story....Salvation....the Good news!  We invited friends and neighbors over for Easter lunch...and decided we would do Mediterranean food...with Lamb...and celebrate our "Lamb of God".  We will do it again tomorrow.  But remembering the great experience that was, we added this year and "accidentally" so much "sight" has come to the true meaning of Easter.  Some of our friends weren't able to join us for Sunday, so we decided to do a passover meal with them to prepare all of our hearts together for Easter.

So Thursday we held the "Passover Seder Meal" with those we call "family" here in Austin.  It was an experience that I can't describe in words.  To celebrate the Passover as believers is an amazing experience!   The passover is a meal order the Jewish people celebrate. It tells the story of the great exodus and God's hope for salvation.   For a Jew, the 3rd glass of wine is left untouched...as well as the last piece of Matzo (flatbread)....in hopes that Elijah will come and tell of the coming Messiah....They wait still for the Messiah....

But get this!  The night before Jesus was crucified, he had passover meal with the disciples and he took the bread and cup that was normally left and broke it and made it a "remembrance of Him". (our now communion)  What must those disciples have thought?!  WOW!  For them to dip the cup and take from Jesus that night was to say "I will follow you....I believe you are the Messiah"....or they were committing a horrible act as a Jewish man.

The passover was a sweet time to come to realization of our story of salvation....or "exodus from Egypt"  and prepare our hearts for celebrating Easter!  We look forward to having a passover Seder each year! Sometimes, things just "accidentally" come our way with family traditions. =)