Radiant's First Shift at The Source

Embrace. Equip. Empower.

Those words that describe the mission of The Source for Women also sound familiar in the ears of the Radiant Life Bible Study Class at Houston’s First Baptist Church because we have taken them on as our focus as well.  In fact, our class began at the beginning of this year as an effort to embrace women where they are, equip them with the love, hope, and power found in the Word of God and empower them to live their lives fearlessly for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom.  

Even in the early planning stages, before the class met for the first time, a partnership with the Source was already on our hearts.  With such identical purposes, we felt that adopting a shift at The Source would be a wonderful opportunity to put feet to this vision and we were not disappointed.  

On the day of our first shift, from beginning with prayer and devotion with Ms. Galatha to holding the hand of a young mother with Sarah and praying, we were overwhelmed at the impact that this ministry is having and will have on the community.  We were also fortunate enough to see a client come in and be blessed with items from the material assistance room.

We are all so thankful that The Source has allowed us to come alongside and serve in some small way for this amazing work that is most definitely impacting the community for Life and the Gospel.  We look forward to future shifts where we can again be blessed by witnessing a one-day snapshot of the difference that The Source for Women is making every single day.

A big thank you to all the ladies who volunteered. For upcoming Radiant volunteer opportunities at the Source, contact Susie Reynolds.

Boundary Lines

"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage" ~Psalm 16:5-6

I learned a little something about boundaries last week.  I recently adopted a dog and overall he is a GOOD dog.  He is house trained, he listens to the word "No," and he is just generally not a loud dog (which I appreciate a LOT early in the morning).  However, I had to be reminded the hard way that he is still a puppy, still only a year old, and still has a lot to learn and mature into.

I thought I would do him a favor and leave him on the patio while I was at work, you know give him some room to stretch his legs so he wouldn't be stuck in a small kennel all day long.  I wanted to give him freedom, I wanted to let him have more space, extend the boundary lines if you will.  Then the storms rolled in…

You see in Houston we have a saying, "if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes and it will change." And so it did.  I probably should have known it was going to be stormy and I probably also should have known that shepherd dogs do not like storms, but I didn't.  I thought the sun umbrella I put up would be enough to shelter him but Rex (that is his name) didn't have the same reasoning.  The storms freaked him out so much he dug up 2 heavy stepping stones and 2 brick garden borders, ripped up the bottom of my fence, and escaped into my neighbor's patio losing his collar in the process.  This wouldn't be as impressive if it weren’t for the fact that Rex only has 3 functional legs…he was bound and determined to find a safe place and landed himself in a strange garden.  Lucky for me he was back on my patio by the time I got home (I guess he didn't like it over there?), I was able to reach the collar with a ladder and a rake, and my neighbor didn't have any damage that warranted fixing (he ate some bushes…oy vey).  

The Damage

Needless to say I went through every emotion in the spectrum.  Joyful he was ok, angry at the damage, concerned that he wrecked my neighbor's property, and terrified of our future together.  Could I handle a dog?  Am I just a bad owner?  Lots of tears flowed and when the tears subsided there was laughter.  "He's a puppy," my dad reminded me, "he might just have to be in the kennel for a while."  

Rex needed boundaries and I needed to give them to him.  Not only that, the boundaries of a kennel would be good for him and my property, the home I have made before he came along.  He won't be kenneled while I am at work forever.  Eventually he will be allowed to stay out on the patio again, but that will come with maturity.  

I remembered back to the life I had when I first came back to Church, there were a lot of boundaries I had to live within because of my past, because I was "new" again to living a life that reflected Christ.  I had to re-learn everything; I had to start out at the infant stage again.  But I didn't have boundaries because I was being punished.  Remember I was in Christ as a believer and therefore not condemned (Romans 8:1), I was free (Galatians 5:1). The boundaries I had been given through convictions from God were to strengthen me, remind me of who I was in Christ and the power that came with.  I had to mature, I had to grow up in my faith, and God used those boundaries to protect me and lead me.  

The amazing thing is some of those boundaries have changed and moved.  But I remember His protection and the purpose for those boundaries when they were initially set and it makes me all the more grateful of God's work in my life and increases my desire to obey His commands and submit to Him with my whole life.

"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage" ~Psalm 16:5-6

Think on that verse for a minute...  What a glorious thought, pleasant places, a goodly heritage.  What a promise! To know that God has placed specific boundaries for our good, that are good for us, and that are specific to us.  Don't look on His boundary lines as restrictions, but as guard walls from things you are not mature enough to handle yet.  Let Him show you how good He is within the kennel (so to speak) so that when you are put out on the patio, given room to stretch your legs, you remember His faithfulness in providing for you, honor His creation around you, and give Him glory in your obedience to His commands.

Katey Hight
My blog: http://sneakersandphylacteries.blogspot.com/

And just for fun, this is my sweet Rex :)

Significance or Sameness

Do you ever look around at your life and wonder why God still has you in the place that you are?  Whether it be with work, relationship status, or ministry, we can find ourselves looking around asking, “ok, now what?”  When we look around and compare ourselves to everyone else, we see people changing jobs, getting married, and deciding to move to Africa, but we just seem to be called to stay on the same path and keep on going.

What God has called you to do and the ways you serve out your purpose on this earth do not have to look like anyone else’s.  In fact, significance and sameness do not often coexist.  Your faithfulness to remain and be led by the Holy Spirit in your workplace may be far more impactful in the lives of those around you than running off to the next big thing.

What may look like a time of stale drudgery from the outside could be the work of God to mold and shape you into the beautiful creation that He has made you to be and prepare you for things to come.

Ephesians 2:10- For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

As Andrea discussed in Sunday’s lesson, both Paul and Moses experienced times where absolutely nothing changed (Mo in the wilderness, and Paul in Arabia) but God was doing a great work in their lives and honing their skills for even greater impact and significance.

We are also daily being discipled by the world regarding how we should spend our time, talent, and treasure.  Our culture both yells and whispers what we should value, work for, and prioritize.  But the world has a completely different trajectory in mind for us than God does.  (There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end leads to death (Prov. 14:12).  Instead of listening to the constant barrage of suggestions from the world, what kind of an impact could we make for the kingdom and the flourishing of everyone around us if we tried something different?  What if we listened to the Word of God instead of trying to be like everyone else?  Could we perhaps live lives of eternal significance?  We have a choice before us each day, are we going to choose significance or sameness?

Romans 12:2- Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Challenge for the Week:

At the end of this week, ask yourself 3 questions (courtesy of Andrea Kim):

1. What kingdom impact did the Lord do THROUGH me this week?

2. What kingdom impact did the Lord make ON ME this week?

3. Am I closer to Jesus than I was last week?

-Renee Moreland