"Do what you know you should do, and you will know what to do. God clarifies in the midst of obedience, not beforehand."- Erwin McManus

I am currently reading Erwin Mcmanus' book, "Chasing Daylight." (check our Recently Read Books-bottom left hand corner) There are several days during each ministry week that I am overwhelmed by the goals I have set for that specific day. More times than not, God takes that packed day and stuffs it full of that good ole' Thanksgiving Day stuffing, making it so much more than I would have ever expected. I want to share a few of the those days that I have had recently.

Wed. October 10th I called Daniel Bryan, a new DTS Student attending our church, on the way to my Senior Adult BS to see if he would be available to get together that afternoon. He later called me after BS and I headed over to DTS (down the street from Roseland). On my way, I called Tim Sewell, son of AMF Missionaries in Tampa, to invite him to lunch as well. When I arrived on campus I was greeted by not only Tim and Daniel, but also my brother in law- Ronnie Davis who is a part-time student. We then went to the cafeteria for lunch. While I was there I saw my former roommate from Criswell and several other friends I was not planning on seeing and/or did not even know they were attending DTS. I saw 8 friends in all during the 1 hour lunch "meeting."

Friday. Oct 12th was "scheduled to be a much needed office day...God had other plans. After I had finished as much office work as I could handle (I am not a fan of the office- but I kind of like the show) I left to go register teens and kids at Rosemont apts where we are starting our new KFC and TFC Ministries. I was supposed to meet with the activities dir., but when he had to leave to take care of an urgent need I left and went to Eban (where we are planning on starting a 3rd KFC and TFC) Park Apts. We were planning on finishing our meeting in an hour...

On my way through S. Dallas I decided to go by the bank. At the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X Blvd (not the safest of places) I saw the Senior Living center where one of our Seniors, James Herad, was staying after he had suffered a terrible stroke. I decided to stop in and see if he was still there. As I pulled in I looked across the small parking lot and saw a Chase Bank PTL! God wanted me to stop here. I went in and tried to find Mr. Herad. I looked in his room and did not recognize him so I asked the nurses who later took me back to his room and woke him up. He had been bedridden for several months! Mr. Herad was in terrible shape. He could not believe that "Teacher Joe" was there to visit with him. I fellowshipped with him for 30 min (remember I had a schedule to fulfill!) we talked, listened, encouraged, cried, and prayed together. He really enjoyed having me read the Scriptures(Ps. 90 and 91).

I left there and went the bank. I was a basket case by this time- I thought this day would have been lost to office work- God was redeeming the day! As I soberly drove through the back streets on my way to Eban I noticed a 10-11 yr old boy joyfully walking down the sidewalk- with a limp. When our eyes met he raised up one of his hands and...gave me a peace sign and a smile. Wow! That was great! I arrived at the mgrs. rent office and just popped my head in to say, "Hello and we are still planning on coming to start our ministries here" Before I could get a word out- the mgr. asked, "So how is the baby?!" We sat down and talked for awhile- she has been receiving our Encourages and keeping up with our ministries ("Hi, Ms. Haynes!"). During the conversation it got out that I was planning on driving out to speak at Grace Bible Church in Nacogdoches, TX Sunday. Ms. Haynes went ballistic! Her son is a freshman and starts as a DB on the SFA University football team. She gave me all his info and I am working on getting him connected with the Crosspoint College Ministry. Remember- I have to get back to Rosemont within the hour to meet back with the Act. dir.

I get back to Rosemont to finish registering the kids there and by that time they had started coming home from school. Short version- I did not even have to leave the Community Center to find out where all the kids live. Ms. Chastity, Mr. B., and the rest of the kids told me where all the families with teens and kids live and gave me most of their names! Wow! What a day!

I could go on and on and share with you about how each day has gone, who I have been able to meet with, special circumstances, and new ministries that we are starting up all over Dallas however I want you to please remember: "Do what you know you should do, and you will know what to do. God clarifies in the midst of obedience, not beforehand."- Erwin McManus

These recent days have really been incredible- not easy- but incredible! Please continue to pray for us- our family and ministries. Thank you so much!