Sidewalk Sunday School

The following is a collection of pictures from Kids Jam Sidewalk Sunday School. We went into Compton, Watts, and South Central to bring a Biblical message to the kids. 

In the second neighborhood we went to, there was a really sweet grandma who stayed and listened to the lesson. She kept interjecting witty comments. The best was when she was speaking about the girl teaching the lesson, "She love Jesus so much, she don't even know she in danger!" I guess that's true. I remember a few years ago Pastor Tim encouraged us to get dangerous for Jesus. . . Although it didn't feel like it, I guess these are considered dangerous areas of LA. 

SSS starts off with volunteers loving on kids. I played duck-duck-goose, Red Rover-Red Rover and UNO! It was so much fun! Once we played a while, we had "tarp time" where the kids sit on the blue tarp to hear the Bible lesson. The lesson was "Honor your father and mother," Matthew 15:4. They gave the kids a simple way they can do this: A- through their attitude, B- through their behavior, and C- through their communication. The funny grandma made sure to say to honor your grandmother, too. 

This was definitely a rewarding experience. I love watching kids get excited about God. 

Trusting God

Serving at the Dream Center proved to be the highlight of my summer! It definitely helped me to step out in faith and meet new people, pray with people, and encourage people. 

Walking through Echo Park and inviting people to the Dream Center's Back-to-School Bash ended up being one of my favorite activities! Erica and I prayed with so many people! Until then, I haven't ever prayed for strangers on the street! It was so neat to offer prayers to people and for them to actually accept! We even had one sweet couple who prayed for us. It's powerful to share our love of Christ with others and to simply show them His love through our actions. We didn't overload people with Jesus, we simply showed them we cared about them and we engaged in conversation with them. 

Sometimes we try to make things too difficult. The truth is, you don't have to have all the Bible knowledge in the world to successfully lead people to Christ. Actually I'm pretty sure some of the most successful proselytizers simply show people they care. Sometimes the overbearing scripture-quoting Christ followers seem too intimidating to people, therefore pushing them away, rather than drawing them near. I'm not saying that to offend anyone, but to really drive home the simple fact that you don't have to be well versed in scripture to get people to follow. Simply witnessing love and compassion draws people to Christ. I'd like to think we planted seeds that day we walked Echo Park.

God is so good and I can't imagine living a life without Him. By accepting His son, we are guaranteed a spot in heaven and It's our job to make sure heaven is filling up!!! I don't want my influence to end in California... I want to continue to witness to people through my sincerity, my love, my compassion, and my smile. 

Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up. So then, let’s work for the good of all whenever we have an opportunity, and especially for those in the household of faith. (Galatians 6:9, 10 CEB)

God's Wisdom

Pastor Chris preached about submitting to God's wisdom rather than human wisdom. As we worked at the Dream Center last week, we kept this at the forefront of our thoughts knowing we would all be stepping out of our comfort zones to reach people for Christ.

Society tells us too often that we're not good enough, we're not strong enough, we're too weak, we're not worthy, we're too skinny, we're too fat; the list could go on and on. While society is filling up our heads with these nagging thoughts, we tend to submit to this human wisdom, rather than the One who refutes each one of these thoughts. It's easy to collapse under the pressure and submit to what society thinks about us. For whatever personal reason there may be, we tend to ignore our wonderful Creator's opinions of us, thus pushing aside God's wisdom. 

Not only is it hard to see ourselves the way God sees us, it's hard to see others the way God sees them. God created every single human on this planet in His image with his own talents to offer. God loves the smallest and weakest all the way up to the biggest and strongest. No person "falls through the cracks" in God's eyes. He knows us. He yearns for a personal relationship with all 7 odd billion of us. 

My week at the Dream Center taught me so many lessons, I can't imagine being able to write about every single little "ah ha" moment I experienced. But. there's one thing that was made extremely clear to me through this journey: to love people

Like God loves people. Put everything else aside and give people grace. Give people the benefit of the doubt and show them sincere care and worth. Everyone, no matter how rich or poor, can surely use prayer, love, and encouragement. There's no one "too far gone" for God's grace and love. Why do humans think they get to make that decision about fellow humans??? None of us are God! 

We simply submit to God's commandment to love each other. (John 15:17) When we start seeing each other through God's vision, we gain a greater understanding and appreciation for humanity. We start to understand that God's wisdom is so much better than human wisdom! When we listen to God's  word and truly seek Him, it's so much easier for us to get out of our comfort zone and do His work! 

God's wisdom trumps human wisdom every single time. Seek His ways in all you do. 

Visit to Venice Beach

Here's our group before we go to the Dream Center! 

LA Dream Center

Today is the day! We're heading to Los Angeles to do as God asked us to; to continue His unfinished work. I'm not sure what to expect once we arrive to the Dream Center, but I do know God is going to work through us ladies in a way we could never imagine. He's totally awesome that way. Follow our journey through my blog! Thanks for all the love, prayers, and support!!! Let God's will be done!