Finally a chance to stop. A chance to read(on-line) and hear (Grant and Rachel so far) about Tuesdays on Quaker Street. This allows me a different perspective and a different opportunity than I had planned for. God gets the best of me when He gets me out of my plan and living HIS. He tricks me sometimes and I get the experience of having faith….I love God’s way with me! Usefulness comments were great….I think this whole GPS-thing might just be leading somewhere!!!! Can’t wait to see how you all give it “JUSTICE” over the course of the next month!!!????

I met Paula when I sent out my crazy idea about GPS Tulsa to local school counselors.  Beth Alaback, and old friend from NLR days, was very excited about it, and sent this info on to Paula Barton, who was the senior school counselor at Edison High School.  Paula was way enthused, and when we met she said things like “I believe this program will save lives.”  Wow.  I guess she believed in what we were doing.  She then enlisted her own time and recruited and talked to potential students and offered herself to our work. She is one of our team, and I am still waiting on her bio (hint hint, Paula…) so she can give a better introduction of herself.  Suffice to say, she is one of our three counselors who have a total heart for our recent high school grads, and they want to talk to her (which I love.)  Her enthusiasm for life, and for getting into the lives of people and lending a hand, is infectious.  You will hear from her occasionally on the blog.  I wouldn’t doubt it if you become her friend in the near future.  - ck

i was asked if i believe that my existence is necessary. i believe that everyone has a purpose, a role to play. actors or not we are all participating in Gods HUGE movie. he has a plan and in that plan it obviously includes me and you because if it didn’t… god wouldn’t have placed us on this earth. sometimes we might feel useless and unpurposefull but we are making a difference in peoples live whether we see it or not..

sometimes we don’t see it tho… all we think about is ourselves, we walk through our day thinking about the next thing  we have to get done, the next place we have to go to, the next meal we are going to have… or how we are going to finance the next meal… we don’t realize the homeless people sitting on the side of the road. they have a life too we are not the only ones going through hell on earth… or what we call hell.

God put us all together to compliment and help each other.  to fit together as puzzle pieces, to help create one big beautiful masterpiece.

when we all (because everyone eventually does) come to this point of asking ourselves “is our existence necessary?” we should all ask ourselves “can one mosquito make a difference in a tent of sleeping people?”

you bet.

one of today’s questions was: do you think that these kids individual existence matters?…DUH! yes i think that each one of these kids has an existence that will play a vital role in the community around them. each personality that is portrayed in these kids is an important instrument that God has placed there for a reason. yes all of them, including the one kid that gets all his enjoyment out of making his piers (and the occasional teacher with a sense of humor) laugh and gets distracted when you give him instructions.

one kid that jumps out at me in particular is a young guy named Alex. he has such a high amount of energy and is just looking for a way to use it! unfortunately he has a tendency to choose the wrong times.

This was the word from a good friend this morning.  He asked how we’re doing (we meaning my family).  I said, “Really good.  The financial challenges have been hard- but everyone is doing great overall.”

Then he said it- “Persevere.”

Hang in there.

Don’t give up.

If you know its God’s deal- keep going, do whats right.

While you might get discouraged- don’t stay there, there’s more adventure around the corner and you won’t want to miss it.

Persevere.

The more you hang in there, the more stories that will be told and the more stuff to be thankful for.

Don’t forget why you did this in the first place.  Remember who you are.  Never forget who God is and how His love and care for you is bigger than what you know.

Don’t be afraid to express your weakness.  Apologize.  Ask for help.  Build alliances.  Be honest.  Keep it real.  Say no to the job when one competing for your time is related to you.  Say yes to the one life you have to live.

Persevere.

Live it well.

Remember that side stitches work themselves out over time.

Remember that uphill leads to a summit that precedes some downhill sweetness.

Remember that going against the wind may not have a flip side today (like a hill climb) but there will be another day when the wind is at your back.  Thats a great day.  Enjoy it.

Persevere.