What you know...

"I want to KNOW Christ - yes to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death...." Philippians 3:10

During the coronavirus pandemic, it's essential to remember -- "What you know has to take over what you fear."  God has seen me through doubt, uncertainty, anger, grief and much more. Maybe God has seen you through through the same feelings. Do you know enough of God to know God will get you through this time?

Remember that FAITH grows in unfamiliar places.

We will get through this together.  And, by God's grace, we will get through it in a way that makes us better people and better Christ followers.

Toilet Paper & Lysol

Clapping for Toilet Paper and Jumping for Lysol

As communities across the country are grappling with the spread of COVID-19, people experiencing homelessness (in shelters and unsheltered) face serious threats where the virus is spreading through the community.  Those experiencing homelessness have higher rates of acute primary health care needs, including respiratory disease and homeless individuals can be at much greater risk of

Homeless Camp: Photo by Led By His Love

infection.  

While our church, Northeast Christian Church, does its best to focus on development in materially poor communities, we are focused on relief during this unprecedented time.  Northeast Christian Church has been a hub for snack packs and food pantry items for the past three weeks.  While calling various NGOs last week to learn of their needs, we discovered the homeless shelters had an urgent need for toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Last week, our PB&J ministry dropped off toilet paper to St. Johns Center for homeless men and they started cheering when they saw the toilet paper. Today, I dropped off four cans of Lysol (limited on purchase) and various cleaning supplies to Wayside Christian Mission. The gentleman receiving the donations at Wayside was wearing a black mask and black gloves. He was soft spoken until I handed him the lysol and cleaning supplies. His voice became louder as he started jumping up and down saying, "thank you!"  He then ran inside yelling, "Look what we have." 

Let's continue to love on our most vulnerable populations during this COVID-19 Pandemic.

Love! Pray! Serve!

During this coronavirus pandemic, I'm proud to be part of a church staff that stays focused on loving our neighbor, praying for others and serving those in need. In the midst of the craziness, the highlight of my week was hearing a new friend at church tell me that he was ready to give his life to God and be baptized!

Food Pantry at Northeast Christian

Hard times build your character over the long-haul. We must allow this challenging time to build our character. Times like these not only build your character but reveal what's inside of you. And, I love what's inside Northeast Christian Church.

Over two weeks ago, we converted the lobby at Northeast into a food pantry as a way to meet the needs of the most vulnerable in our city. We pray that the most vulnerable in our city feel the peace of Christ and have been encouraged to make it through one more day knowing that God cared enough for them to meet their needs. 

Kylee Dropping off Snack Packs

UNBELIEVABLE SNACK PACK & FOOD PANTRY STATS

•served 24 zip codes 

•served 25 schools

•served 33 NGOs

•served multiple surrounding counties 

•94 food pantry orders for non-profits/food-banks

•15 food pantry orders for individuals

•50 food pantry orders for families at partner schools

If you are looking for encouragement, meditate on these 5 principles from Tyler McKenzie to help you navigate this challenging time. 

Snack Pack Attack

“5 Life-Giving Ways To Get Through a Pandemic”

•Disciplines of Disengagement:  Use unanticipated margin to pray, study, and rest.

•Defiant Worship
Faced with fear, anxiety, uncertainty, disappointment, and suffering, choose to worship.

•Spiritual Conversations
Look for opportunities to share the hope you have.

•Total Surrender
Surrender your life into the sure hands of Jesus.

•Breath-Taking Compassion
Love your neighbor like Jesus loved you.

COVID-19 Pandemic Update

Things can change quickly.  There's no time better than now to be people full of grace and Good News! But, I miss my people. I'm concerned for friends and family who are at high risk for contracting the virus. These past two weeks have literally seemed like two months to me. We are now living during the Coronavirus Pandemic, also knows as Covid-19.  Just over three weeks ago, we found out Elliott would be moving home from the University of Cincinnati so that he could study remotely. Max hasn't had school for two weeks but is set to start NTI (Non Traditional Instruction) on April 7.  Spring break plans canceled. Professional and College Sports (March Madness, NBA, etc.) canceled. Kentucky Premier League canceled. Louisville City Soccer Canceled.

'Social Distancing' is the new word and is key to stopping the spread of the Coronavirus. Non-essential retail stores have been closed. Restaurants offer drive-thru only.  Last week, Kroger didn't have bread or meat in-stock and they still don't have toilet paper. People are filing for un-employment like crazy. Executives are taking major pay cuts. It's unprecedented times. It's a season.

The internet helps, even as we distance from each other socially. I am becoming well acquainted with Zoom calls and Google chat. I had my first zoom call with Lisa and Julie. We pray together most every Wednesday morning at 10 am and I'm glad we were able to pray together via Zoom. Wally and I had our first Zoom call with our small group on Monday night. Wally is still working. I am still working.  Northeast Christian Church's Compassion Initiative for the most vulnerable in our city has kept me really busy. In addition, our staff at Northeast has tried our best to care for the healthcare professionals on the front lines. We've set up a resource line to help people navigate challenges during this time. For the past two weeks, we've had Church Online. Elliott and Max bought two new board games for us to play and in addition we have played the Wii together. Who knew I still had our Wii? Elliott did. He found it. And, he has crushed us all in Just Dance. 

We miss our schedules. Max really doesn't miss his school schedule. He's enjoyed a break. Elliott misses the college life. I miss the energy from Iron Tribe Fitness.  It's hard to do lots of burpees without peer pressure! We miss our distant family members and just hanging out with friends. Elliott isn't able to visit his grandparents as to not pass along the virus. On another note, we've talked more to our neighbors than ever before.

I'm wondering if we will choose to live differently as a result of this pandemic. Will our values change? What will we learn about ourselves? Will we allow this challenging time to make us better?  Better citizens? More Faithful Christians?  Better spouses? Better parents?

One thing I do know is that I need God's wisdom in navigating this "new normal."  Lord, hear our prayers and grant us wisdom.