Remembering Home

Do you ever get in such a rhythm that you kind of lose yourself to accomplishing tasks? We have been so busy with planning and meeting that the days run together and it just feels like there is never enough time. I am fortunate that I get to be with my family a lot but we are usually engaged in something related to The Field’s Edge and it’s hard to turn that off. We have to constantly remember to guard our commitment to keep our priorities in line: God>Family>Ministry.  I also tend to get bogged down by the drudgery of everyday work and my saving grace has been doing the Lord’s work through Breaking Bread Mobile. Just when I think I can’t handle another meeting, I go out and see my friends on the street who are anxiously waiting for the time when they get to come home for good. It drives me to boldly pursue this mission that God has given us.

We had a lot of productive business meetings related to TFE this week and I am thankful for that, but mostly I am thankful for the heart to heart interactions that are occurring between my volunteers on the truck and my homeless friends. This week I had the opportunity to take several people out on breakfast runs that have never been around homelessness. I heard things like “I had no idea we had this in our town.” and “I will never be able to unsee what I have seen today.” One of my formerly homeless friends has told our volunteers to “listen with your eyes” which I think is a profound statement. Instead of judging people, listen. Seek understanding. Love.

This weekend we drove to the lake to meet up with my parents, my sister and her family. We had initially planned a casual trip for a relaxing weekend and we found out that two friends from the architecture firm that has been helping us craft our vision were going to be in Austin and wanted to see Community First! Village. We planned to meet them and then several others from Midland let us know that they wanted to take a tour. We ended up with 8 people from Midland laying eyes on the place that brought God’s vision for us to reality and we were overjoyed to introduce them to the people and place that have shaped us forever. It was a wonderful trip and I know that even more so than before, our advocates and friends are fired up about bringing the Community First! model to Midland. Even thought we only lived at Community First! for four months, it felt like home to us and always will. It was refreshing to remember what that feels like and what we are striving for.

With all that has been going on, it’s been tough to find time to rest. Briana just entered the 3rd trimester of her pregnancy and she and baby Titus are doing great. We are trying to get all of our remaining possessions in our storage unit either sold or donated before the baby comes. We are also waiting on our new tiny house to get here which will better accommodate our growing family and give us more of a sense of permanence than an RV. We are furiously planning, budgeting, and searching for land and we are headed to Dallas this coming weekend to check out another tiny house community called City Square to see how they do things. All in all our lives are crazy right now and will be for the foreseeable future but we are so thankful to be following the Lord and relying on Him for everything.

Prayer Requests:

·      Waiting on an appointment for an epidural steroid injection for JM’s back.

·      Land search.

·      Rest.

·      Praise that the Lord continues to bring people who are willing to walk alongside us in our calling to the homeless.

·      Discernment and wisdom in all of our dealings.