it's just the weather...

BY JUSTIN HAMPTON

I’m not gonna complain, it's just weather.

These past few months of weather have been crazy, at least here in Montgomery. One day it's a nice 65 degree-day with the sun shining and the birds chirping, and the next it's blisteringly cold outside. It's like the earth is going through puberty or something.

Well, I feel like I have something in common with the weather, and no I’m not going through puberty, I don’t think.

Lately things with the Middle school program have been increasingly difficult because the kids I’m dealing with are going through things that most other children their age are dealing with. New feelings toward the opposite sex, coming into their own as maturing people, and even their own bodies are not the same today as they were yesterday. Their very person is changing like the weather. This is without regard to the myriad of issues these kids deal with that most other children their age do not deal with.

In addition to the whirlwind of bodily changes, the hormonal imbalances, the pimple breakouts, and the ever changing social structure in their schools; they have a whirlwind “without” in addition to the whirlwind “within.”

They are dealing with fatherless homes, poverty, lack of vision, possible abuse, systemic incarceration with the people in their community, violent neighborhoods, and the like; it's a problem not uncommon in any other ‘"hood" in the U.S., but it’s THEIR problem nonetheless.

Interestingly enough, they don’t see it as a problem. Not because they are unintelligent, or destined to live a substandard existence, but rather because what the outside world views as problematic, they view as normal life. “Normal” is relative.

So when I sat and pondered about what to write this blog about, I decided to write about this crazy weather. The shifting, unpredictable combo of hot and cold spells - this polar vortex - that has swept through our region of the country leaving us reaching for the A/C one day and melting the ice off the windshield the next. In this type of uncertainty you really don’t know what to do. You look crazy, not because you are, but because the circumstances are so volatile that there is no room for consistent behavior. Suitable behavior for today wouldn’t fit the circumstances only moments later. What is appropriate must be learned through consistency, but if inconsistency is the norm, then inconsistent behavior becomes what is appropriate.

Man, I’d love for my kids to just act right, but sadly for them, acting “right” (even-keeled,  balanced, stable, behaved) all the time may not fit tomorrow's circumstances. Many times I’ve walked outside with clothing that was suitable yesterday only to discover that I needed a jacket, or an umbrella, but what if I don’t have one? What if my emotional circumstances and family situation was as ever changing as the weather but no one ever equipped me with the right gear to combat the elements?

Hot, cold... Cold, hot... And on and on... It's a bad weather day now, 27 degrees outside, snowing in some places around here, and no lie, by Saturday it'll be sunny and around 65 degrees again. For most of my kids it's a microcosm of everyday life, or lack thereof. But, for you and me - it's just the weather.

mystery marriage certificate

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Hey everybody, with the new year upon us we've also discovered a mystery that, with your help, we can solve. In a somewhat recent donation of items, we discovered this marriage certificate along with a few personal effects. We would really like to return these to the owner/ family if possible, so if you recognize the names, or the family of the people indicated, send them our way!

claiming freedom one step at a time

BY CHAQUANA TOWNSEND

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

As I write this blog, I am writing as a woman who is slowly allowing God to break the chains I have allowed to entangle me for years. I am writing as a woman who is constantly recognizing her overwhelming need to be renewed, cleansed, and transformed through the power of the Gospel. I am writing as a bound woman desperately fighting for her freedom. My sin and the lies of the enemy keep my heart beat down, but when I run to the throne of grace and allow my Savior to fill me with his presence and change me through his living and active word, I am changed, wrecked, and overflowing with joy! I have made a commitment to fight for freedom and walk in it. Here is a small piece of my story:

I come from a very dysfunctional background. For as long as I could remember, I have always longed to be loved and accepted by anyone who took the time to show me the attention my heart desperately craved. My father and mother scarred me very deeply and taught me this agonizing lie that I have believed for years: “You are worthless, so find your acceptance and approval somewhere because you need some worth.” I completely forgive my parents for the physical and emotional abuse I endured as a young girl; however, I fight that lie every single day.

Working in the trenches of urban ministry and having close relationships with different people, I have learned a hard truth about myself: I idolize the acceptance and approval of others. I have given mere humans beings (the children, parents, and staff at Common Ground Montgomery, along with others) the power to squash me if I don’t feel accepted by them. The Lord showed me the depth of my idolatry in the fall of 2013. When I faced this reality and cried out to God every single day for his divine intervention, I have literally seen changes in the way I interact and love on the children, parents, and staff at CGM. I can honestly and confidently say: I don’t need their acceptance and approval because I know that God accepts and approves me because of Jesus! What a freeing and amazing truth! Does it hurt when people reject me or don’t accept me? Absolutely, but my worth and value is not contingent on being accepted by them. My worth and my value is found in Christ alone. He loves me and is crazy about me! He showers his grace and love on me every single day, and I am so grateful. He has broken the chains that I have allowed to entangle me for so many years. So when my flesh is tempted to revert back to slavery, I simply fix my eyes on Jesus. 

the holiday season

by ava conley

I would have to say that the Christmas season is by far my favorite time of year! There is just something about seeing the city lights going up and hearing the first Christmas songs of the year on the radio that bring back so many magical memories of love and laughter with those I love. But sometimes in the aftermath of all the gifts, lights, and carols, when they've all passed, I can easily forget the true reason that this is so special, not just at Christmas time, but throughout the year.

As I was reading my bible the other day, I was reminded of why I get the warm fuzzy feelings that I do during the holiday season.

Genesis 3:1-15 (NIV)

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
  and you will strike his heel.”

Usually when I read the story of the fall, I don’t recognize the story of Christ. Through Adam and Eve’s sin I am reminded of my own sin and shame, but through this text we hear the hint of the first promise! 

See if you can hear it: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you shall strike his heel.”

God did not leave us here! He gave us grace and drew us back to Him! But how?

God would become God With Us.

He sent His son to bear our sin and shame on the cross. He would suffer. The evil one would strike at His heel, causing real blood, real sweat, and real tears. But the Promised One would have the last word. He would cry out “It is finished!”- crushing the serpent’s head in a final blow. He would become God With Us, and when His work was done, we would never be separated from Him again!

When God could have left us for dead, he came to us! He did not leave us, but instead he came to us and drew us out by his grace. He is God With Us --- Emmanuel!

“O come, O come, Emmanuel,” thank you for not leaving us or forsaking us, but loving us enough to be with us! I am thankful that we do not have to run and hide, but that you love us!

I hope that as you have enjoyed this passing holiday season with the ones you love, that you have and will continue to experience God with you. I hope that in your ‘hiding place’ you see that God is near and he has not forsaken you. You are deeply and truly loved by the creator or the universe, not just at Christmas, but throughout the entire year!

the heart of children

by Chaquana Townsend

As I live, labor, minister, and work alongside the children at Common Ground Montgomery, I am convinced of two things: God is using them to expose the sin in my own heart, and He is constantly showing me my desperate need of a Savior. At the core of our very beings, we are unmistakably sinful.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12). 

Due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience, sin and death have plagued mankind and continue to. With that being said, we have to come face to face with how wicked we truly are.

Anyone who works with children can see one obvious thing: children are disobedient. Children have to be told things over and over again. I vividly remember on more than one occasion giving a lecture to the 1st through 5th grade students about keeping their hands to themselves and the consequences of hitting others. As soon as I was done, I watched as children continued to hit and push each other. I was upset, frustrated, and completely blown away at the blatant disregard of what I just said. However, the Lord used instances like that and many others to show me how my heart is just like the heart of a child. I am disobedient and have to be reminded of God’s truth constantly.

The Lord uses every child and parent at CGM to push me to depend completely on His guidance and leading and to show me how much I forget the commands of God. The same way a child is utterly dependent on their parents to survive; I should be utterly dependent on the Lord in every situation. I should cry out to him when I am weak and need to be reminded of the truths found in his word. The Lord shows me every single day how much I need him in order to love the parents and children with which I work. He continues to show me how much I depend on my own strength to make it through the day instead of depending on him. God is literally saving me as I live in Washington Park. I am more like Him today because I answered the call to move into this neighborhood. My world has been turned upside down, and I see God in ways I never could have imagined. He is saving me from myself and the lies of the enemy as I live and minister in Washington Park, and I am so thankful.

The children at CGM are teaching me so much more than I could ever teach them, and one of those things is: complete and utter dependence on Jesus.