Married to Jesus

I was walking with some kids to the community garden, when one of the girls asked me, "Mr. Rick, are you married?"

Without even thinking about it, I said, "I am married to Jesus."

"Married to Jesus!"  I could see the confusion all over her face, so I explained what I meant.  "It is a commitment I made to Jesus. I made the choice to give him my heart, my love, to follow Him wherever he may lead me, to stay faithful and make Him the number one person in my life.  In return, He gives me His love and He is faithful to me.  He protects me, provides for me, and guides me."

Sometime later the same subject came up with some of the other kids.  A young lady chimed in, "Rickey is married to Jesus!"  I could see the same confusion on these kids' faces, too.  But then, the young lady proceded to explain what that meant!  I couldn't help but just smile.

Recently this same girl accepted Christ into her heart!  Whether she knows it or not...she is married to Jesus, too!

-- Rickey Fanning

In the News!

Today, Village Oaks, one of the Behind Every Door properties, was in the news!




-- Behind Every Door Ministries

The God of Yet Another Chance

She has lost everything.  Again.  That means her young daughter has lost everything, too.  This time, it was her own doing.  When she was taken to jail and thus evicted, their things were put out on the curb, and the other residents made quick, vulturous work of all their belongings.

But jail can be a wonderful tool in the hands of the Lord. As I made my way through the system to try to pay her a visit, I wondered what she would say when she saw me.  I had offered a prayer time to her when she still lived at our apartments, in order to get to the bottom of some issues. She refused the offer.  Now, a few short months later, the winding journey had taken her past three apartment evictions, two school changes for her daughter, and 6 weeks behind bars.

She sat down behind the grated window and picked up the phone.  When the tears were wiped away she said repeatedly, “Every day since I have been here, I have said that I should have prayed with Ms. Suzanne.  Maybe I wouldn’t be here now.”

I can almost hear King David, who had committed adultery and murder, and Peter, who had betrayed his friend and Savior.  I can almost hear them saying, “yes, but God is the God of yet another chance.” I can hear them saying, “it is His kindness that leads us to repentance.”

Pray for my friend, that she will embrace His kindness.

-- Suzanne Wallace

Easter Celebrations!

We are thankful for the wonderful Easter celebrations on Saturday: a lunch at Village Oaks and a dinner at Willow Pond.

The Celebrations were a lot of fun!  Thanks to all of you who served and celebrated with us.  We had special music, dancing, basketball, face painting, Easter messages, prizes, Easter Egg baskets, and lots of food (800 hotdogs!).

Enjoy the pictures below:

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Easter Celebrations on Saturday!

Come join us on Saturday for our annual Easter Celebrations!  We will be at Village Oaks from 12pm to 2pm and at Willow Pond from 5pm to 7pm.  If you are interested in volunteering, contact Jayda for Village Oaks or Suzanne for Willow Pond.

Hope to see you there!

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

The Puppy

When we discovered that three of our Kid's Club girls had posted on Facebook some horribly unkind remarks about another child in the Club and his mother, I was not only horrified but also sought wisdom on how to handle the situation. The child who was attacked is a special needs child.

A few days later I called to one of the girls.  "I want to tell you about something that happened and get your input," I said. "Ok," she responded.

I began, "A few days ago, someone brought us a stray puppy with a deformed leg.  The momma dog was with it too.  While we were trying to decide what to do with them, kids began to come in after school.  All of a sudden one of the kids started kicking the little puppy for no reason, just because it looked different.  Then they started kicking the momma dog, too. What do you think we should do?"

"You should kick those kids out of Kid's Club for at least a week," she said in a very incensed tone.  "Who was it?"

"It was you," I said, looking her right in the eyes.  And I named the other two girls.

A confused face suddenly gave way to one of embarrassed recognition. I went on to fill out the parable a bit.  I told her that I wanted her to start going out of her way to show this child kindness, because he was more in need of compassion than most.  She looked me straight in the eyes and said, "I can do that."

And she has done it! The following day I heard her muttering under her breath as she passed me in the living room, "I'm not going to kick that puppy any more. Not goin' to do it."

Thank you Nathan the prophet, II Samuel 12, for the inspiration!

-- Suzanne Wallace