Wounds
PS: Teen Challenge is NOT just for teens! They serve all ages!

9-13-13
I was thinking about my girl, Brandy, and her journey in life. In fact, I popped out of bed at about midnight with an analogy of what we go through in life and how the Home of Hope, Teen Challenge, deals with wounds. You see, for someone like Brandy, you would think that the big scars do the most damage. She was molested by an uncle at the age of 10 and never told me. That is when the drinking and acting out started. She ran away several times after that and was raped while house sitting. Then the drug use to numb the pain started.  Later, her husband would beat her, dump her in the desert to make her walk home then later ran her over with a suburban, almost taking her life from me. She didn’t want to think or feel. She just reacted. She self-medicated for most of her life.
You might think that these ‘wounds’ would make an extremely large impact. But you must understand, for your sake, and everyone’s around you, that it is the dark lies that wound the deepest. It’s the things people speak at you and to you, and the things you think about yourself that cut the deepest. And for every bad choice you make, you also speak darkness and accept another poisonous lie about yourself. So you can imagine, with all the bad that happened to her, and all the bad choices she made for her life, she was very adept at accepting all manner of dark poisonous lies about herself because outwardly they appeared true. (She was the only one who couldn’t see the beautiful loving person that she was. You couldn’t convince her.)
For every wound we carry, there is scar tissue and a poisonous dark lie that we accepted in that circumstance. That is why when you say something to someone, and they lash out for ‘seemingly’ no reason, you likely pressed on a wound. Tread lightly on those things you do not understand.
When a doctor cleans a wound, he must first touch it all over again and cause pain. It isn’t enough to just clean the outside, because the poison is still inside making that wound fester.  He must cut into that wound and extract the poison, and clean it like new, to make it truly heal. That is why 30 day programs usually don’t work. How can you take years and decades of pain, wounds and poison, dig deep enough to reach each wound, extract all the poison from each one, clean it and fill it with healing light in 30 days? That is why many leave those programs and for a little while they do ok… until the poison surfaces from their wounds.
The Teen Challenges around the Country, and my Home of Hope understand this. Their program is 13 months for a reason. It takes every bit of that to dig deep into these broken soul’s wounds. Teen Challenge Home of Hope staff are quite skilled in teaching the women first, to recognize their wounds. The girls there used to laughingly say, with an undercurrent of truth, “That’s a wound.” (I miss Gabby.) That helps them identify why they react the way they do to life issues. Once they find the wound, it is time to dig deeper to understand what poisonous dark lie that they accepted with that wound. This is the longer process because those lies are raveled around half-truths and some truth and it becomes very difficult to extract just the lie and leave the rest intact. Do you know the secret to that?
God. You cannot fight the dark without the Light. You cannot heal the fear and pain without Love. You cannot combat the lies without the Truth. The Holy Spirit within us can and does guide us into all truth to help these women. When they accept Jesus Christ as their savior, He then works from the inside out to heal them and bring them to a personal relationship with Christ!  So the thing to understand is this isn’t just a program that saves them from addiction, though that is what they are most known for. This is a program that witnesses to the dying, heals the sick and, if the Holy Spirit leads them to it, sends them out to be disciples for other lost souls. Or in some cases, keeps them there as staff to counsel and love on others. And as an added bonus, they teach life skills, emotional intelligence, business acumen, parenting, accountability, team building, and all manner of knowledge to help them be a productive member of society.
Do you know anyone who drinks or uses drugs? Most of us do. Maybe it is your parents, children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends, teachers, neighbors, ex’s, the postman?  Maybe you don’t know how to begin the conversation? Well, we started by pleading with Brandy to take a tour of this awesome facility where she could literally take a break from life’s responsibilities for a year. She could live in a clean environment with other women and children, no bills, no outside stress, just a break from the world. Initially she said no. She had it all together and didn’t need anyone. The weekend we took her on a tour, her plans to get an apartment fell through because she broke up with her boyfriend, her cell phone broke and if that wasn’t enough to convince her she needed a break, the company she worked for went under. That quick. Plant the seed and trust God do the rest. He loves us THAT much.
 Maybe you don’t know anyone. You are lucky. But in this dark world, addictions tend to be the norm, not the exception. There are many people out there abusing prescription drugs and you many never know it. And as you know, addictions sometimes lead to crimes, sometimes unspeakable. So I urge you… if you can’t find someone to save, support someone who is already there. When you sponsor someone from Teen Challenge, you aren’t just affecting A life. You are affecting EVERY life that person touches. When people see the transformation of that one life, they too could be saved. You don’t have to give a lot. Give monthly what you can. Let the Holy Spirit lead you and what He asks you to give, give. He will bless you in ways you cannot imagine.
Brandy’s salvation and healing has transformed the lives of many in her family and because of her and the Home of Hope, my deepest desire is to start a women’s and children’s Teen Challenge ministry in Flagstaff. Because of a little idea planted by Pastor Diane, I am now in ministry classes at the Arizona School of Ministry. My husband, who initially used to argue with me about his idea of ‘Christians’ in a negative sense has now seen the deep selflessness of the Home of Hope and Assemblies of God churches associated with Teen Challenge. He not only loves the women and children of our Home of Hope, but he sees what a true Christian should look like. His heart has gotten even bigger than it already was. But more than that, when I am down, he is the one to remind me of what the bible says. He supports me whole-heartedly in my ministry goals. His plan is to be the maintenance and father figure in the Teen Challenge.
Now how many lives do you suppose we can affect because of our first meeting with Megan Garrison in the back hallways of that Home of Hope? How many lives do you suppose all of the parents and friends can affect through their conversations, facebooking, emailing, and living deeper in relationship with God? There is no limit with Him. There is no better contribution to society nor easier way to help others find salvation and healing through Christ.
Praise God for all the people who impacted a life in this manner.

Clothed in Righteousness

                                                    

Have you ever just watched people? I don’t mean follow them around a store and then home like a stalker. J I mean, have you ever seen someone you love completely metamorphosis in a setting with other people? Someone who was simply content to be themselves around family or close friends, completely changes their mannerisms, the way they dress, the things they say that they believe. At times, even their pattern of speech will change around certain people. They try so hard to fit into that setting and appear cool.

Most of us relate that to kids trying to look cool for friends. But this also fits for people who try to fit in with our churches. Most of us, and we must remember this at all costs, feel completely out of place and lost when in a new church. Sometimes it becomes so uncomfortable that we literally stop going and just send the kids. We may feel inadequate physically, economically, socially, spiritually or any other way that our little brains surmise, but we just don’t feel that we fit in.

Sometimes even a sermon can put us off because we have had no exposure at all to the bible and when we do, it speaks of hell and brimstone and sin and death. We can’t get out of their fast enough because, my goodness, that didn’t feel good and we have already been filled with enough negative stuff in our miserable world.

I remember years ago, in a church setting, feeling inadequate, less than, and completely out of my environment.  I was in my early twenties. It was my first attempt at church after being saved by the door knockers. I looked around in that church at the women, because we always compare ourselves with our own kind. They had their hair nicely done. My hair was straight and uncut. They wore pretty dresses. I wore jeans. They spoke softly and sweetly. That was foreign to me. I just spoke like me. But I was filled with the fire inside. I went to church at least three times a week bringing my three kids with me each time.  I always felt a little patronized, instead of accepted. The women smiled and said hello, but it felt obligatory and insincere.

I remember going straight to Yellow Front to buy a dress, just so I fit in. It was the only place I could afford to shop. I bought one sundress with spaghetti straps, as that was the only style they had. When I wore it, I pulled the straps tight and lifted the dress high to avoid being revealing. I actually thought I would fit in better. I felt so much better about going to church the next time. I felt more like a young lady.

At the end of service, the pastor’s wife came over and greeted me. I smiled big and felt that she must have noticed that I had a new dress. Instead, she said that I shouldn’t wear it because it showed my shoulders. I explained my situation. She offered that I could wear a shirt under it, which I knew would look dumb because I really didn’t have one that would look right. Then she offered me some of her old dresses. Not trying to be rude here, but she was taller than I and preferred the long past the knees dresses that fanned out. I would have look like Pippy Longstocking in her mother’s dress.

Long story short, what started out to make me feel like one of the women folk, like I fit in, ended up humiliating me and making me feel even less like a true member of the church. Maybe I should clarify that I do believe wearing low cut clothes that show your breasts or high cut skirts or tight fitting apparel that leave nothing to the imagination is not appropriate in church or at most workplaces.  But I don’t believe that showing my shoulders was inappropriate. I did my best with what I could afford, raising three kids alone. I don’t even know if thrift stores existed back then. J

Our deep need to be accepted in this world is usually stronger than our deep understanding that God already does. If God woke your spirit up and is leading you to church, then ignore those led by another spirit all together and go where God wants you to be. No one, and I mean NO ONE, else matters. God has a purpose for you. You could be the difference in someone’s life between life and death. You could learn something and pass it on that turns someone’s life around. You could be a spiritual dynamo! So don’t accept the unspiritual messages satan has others give to you. People who think like that live in the dark and desperately need prayer.

The bible says:  

James 2:1-9 {NIV] says: Favoritism Forbidden:

“2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. ² Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. ³ If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” ⁴ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? ⁷ Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”^[a] you are doing right. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.”

Please know that they do this because they are hypocrites and are not following the love for others that Christ showed us. So if you are approached, understand that God loves you and is grateful that you are learning His word despite opposition. Don’t feel dejected or humiliated by the approach. Feel sorry for the arrogant brother/sister in Christ and pray for their enlightenment. Not all churches will put more value into how you dress instead of the love in your heart.

Also recognize that if it is just a parishioner, and not the pastor’s wife or leadership telling you this, then it should not reflect on the church itself.

Matthew 23:5-10 [NIV]

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries^[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷ they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah.

Decades later, I attend a church that is so filled with love and acceptance that I crave being there in that spirit. I work six days a week and the only day I get to myself is Sunday. I also don’t sleep well due to pain. So some days my physical self struggles with my spiritual self to drag my own self up out of bed and get ready on Sunday. Some days I wear shorts, some days jeans, but I make it there. Why? Because I know that if I miss church, it feels like I am a spiritual ship in a muddy bog and every time I miss I get a tiny hole in my ship. The mud starts seeping into my ship all week and I begin to feel tired, nasty and dark.  I NEED the spiritual filling to get me through this dark world. So I go to church and they fill the little holes with spiritual food and I float out of there like I could fly. THAT is how your church should make you feel.

Now, find a church that loves you as you are and understands that God is working in your life or you wouldn’t be there. I can’t recommend that all of you move to Flagstaff and join my church, so I will say this; The Assemblies of God churches are all over the place. This is not to plug them, but to tell you that they are straight bible believing filled with love churches who understand that we are led by the spirit to accomplish certain things.

God bless and keep you