For several months, the CSA 2 (Missouri City) team has been praying about the elementary “Title 1” school they should adopt. Also, after learning about last year’s Compassion Project held in conjunction with the Global Day of Prayer 2007 at another school, the newly hired Campus Improvement Specialist at Ridgemont Elementary contacted that project coordinator seeking help. At the March meeting, a map of the area showing the location of “Title 1” schools was discussed and prayed over. Suddenly a Spiritual connection was made!... The Lord IS building relationships between the community and the school; and our schools AND our community are being TRANSFORMED!! Praise God!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Adoption Day for Missouri City – Title One School –
Monday, April 21, 2008
Revive, Renew, Restore: Houston Parks
Sixty plus volunteers showed up at Freed Park on April 5th to lend a helping hand to the community. Some were so eager, they began to clean up even before the parks project start time! I was inspired by the their passion for outreach. We all worked together with enthusiasm to help out. People from all over the community came out and thanked the volunteers for cleaning up their park. The fellowship with volunteers, churches and the community was priceless.
Alvin Godwin
Freed Park Captain
Memorial Park
The volunteers that participated were inspired by helping the community. Many of the volunteers who were students at Lone Star College Cyfair were so excited that they inspired the dean of the college to consider a community service project for next year.
Corinne Patrick
Memorial Park Captain
It was an awesome experience to see Mayor White take time away from his morning bike ride to stop and thank us personally for participating in the cleanup. The Parks and Recreation Department representatives also thanked us because the area we cleaned was typically not a part of the routine cleanup, but was much needed.
Israel Silva
Memorial Park Captain
Edgewood Park
Working with Mission Houston was a great experience. It allowed an opportunity for a group of young volunteers, many of which were first time volunteers, to get beyond their walls and reach a community. We cleaned, shoveled and worked together to make Edgewood Park a friendly place for children and their families. All of the volunteers enjoyed their time and were glad to see the hard work pay off!
Alexzandra Rico & Abner Espana & Elaine Gomez
Edgewood Park Captains
Mason Park
The Texas Youth Commission, the East Lawndale Civic Association, Lakewood Church volunteers, and local community members came out to restore part of the park back to a beautiful picnic area.
The Parks and Recreation Department also assisted us in removing several loads of debris that hadn't been cleaned since the days of Tropical Storm Allison.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
New wineskins...
How hard is sometimes for me to understand basic and practical spiritual principles; and how simple they really are when we finally receive the grace to understand. The gap between my mind and my heart is revelation, and revelation only comes from Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes revelation is like new wine; and my mind is like an old wineskin that has been already stretched and molded for many years by the old wine of religion, and a distorted understanding of God. The new wine can’t get in my mind because it will cause it to explode; and “the wine will run out and the wineskin will be ruined…” I need a new mind in order to receive new revelation.
Revelation is
very relevant. It’s not just superficial knowledge about God or His Scriptures, useful only for pastors and Bible teachers; it’s deep knowledge, experiential knowledge, healing knowledge, transforming knowledge of truth that sets us free. It’s knowledge of ourselves; of who we are, of what we want, and what can really satisfy us; it’s knowledge of our purpose in life; it’s knowledge of our real beauty, and success in life. It’s knowledge of what we are able to do, and what we can’t do; it’s knowledge of our limitations, and the unlimited power that has been given to us. Are we willing to keep measuring us according to the old wineskins? The ones that segregate us because of appearance, age, gender, ethnicity, degree, financial or social status? No, we need new wineskins.
How can we get them? We must acknowledge that we can’t. There is no human effort able to provide us with new minds; there are no works or ceremonies able to transform us; there is no teacher in this earth able to cause us to redeem our minds and make them new. Just Christ Himself can enable us to receive this undeserved gift of God through the work of the Spirit and the Word of our Lord; this is the gift of redemption of our souls; of renewal of our minds. This new minds are the new wineskins where revelation is given to stretch our lives conquering what seems unconquerable.
As we realize our deep need of new wineskins rejecting the old ones that have been conformed to the ways of this world; as we offer our bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God; as we worship God through our obedience; as we pray with no ceasing, and cry out to God from our hearts, longing with all our being for the transformation He want to cause in us… as we do all of that, the promise of God shines and grows stronger and stronger in our hearts… “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you…” (Ez 36:26)
Lord, give us new wineskins.
