Just a Word on my heart............

Poverty has many faces.

It can be the young woman,
standing in line with a cheap pair of shoes for her child.

It can be seen in the seamed face of an elderly man, 

carefully counting out the pennies to put a little gas in his car.

It can be in the tense shoulders of a 30-something man who carries your groceries out,

 and places them in the trunk.

It can be in the face of child, slowly eating his free school lunch, 

or even a toddler, wolfing down the free sucker from the bank lobby.

It can be the tired mother, balancing a newborn on her shoulder while trying to fill out paperwork at the local food shelf.

It can look like anything, and yet, we stereotype it, without realizing we do it.

   Everyone, everywhere, has a struggle that they are going through. Some are more public than others, and some are buried so deep that you would never know that behind that million-watt smile is a heart that is breaking.

   We need to start learning how to teach people how to fish again, not wait in line for fish each day. A man or woman with something to do with their hands is a happier person, able to even have a small smidgen of control over their own future. A man or woman forced to stand in line to receive their daily portion can become angry, depressed, even desperate for ANY solution to solve their issues. And as their children stand by, watching, trusting, they too will follow in the footsteps of the patterns laid out for them.

   Much has happened the last couple days in my heart and mind as I have been out and about and seen the pain that is all over. I am astonished that someone would even say the economy is growing and improving. Must not be in our part of town. I am seeing less jobs, not enough money, not enough food to go around, and less income to purchase that and gas with. I am seeing more people needing help in one way or another, and it just breaks my heart.


   When I started this blog it was because someone, somewhere, long ago, had the heart to "teach me how to fish". They gently and patiently instructed me in the things that are now everyday patterns in my life.

I hope that I have helped you. 

I pray for you, every day. 

    You?

    Yes... you. 

   If you are reading this, you have been prayed for. It is not a coincidence that you are here. You did not stumble on this blog, no matter how random it seems. You were led here. Called here. And the One who led you here loves you very much, enough to bring you to somewhere that you can finally begin to feel hope and encouragement again..........somewhere that you can come up with a plan of attack on the things that are bringing you down, and step out in faith that everything is going to be all right.

   I will be continuing next week with the mini-series on dehydrating things and how to use them in meals and such. If you live somewhere that space is a limitation, then perhaps dehydrating is for you. It really is amazing what you can fit from a bag of something into a small jar in only a few short hours in a dehydrator.

   I want to encourage you, if you came here looking for a solution on how to save on groceries, and if things are getting tough for you and you are having to make some hard choices, would you check out my series Making Do Without Missing A Thing? It is designed to teach you how to do things the Welcoming House way, without making all the mistakes I did along the way. Whether you are able to do just a little of it, or all of it, I am quite sure most of you are at the place where you will need to be doing something.

 Finally, I want to close with something. If you are placing your foundation on a good job, a happy family, a paid-off home, a strong marriage, ANYTHING along those lines...........well, I just want to say that all those things fail, sometimes in spectacular and painful ways. There is only ONE foundation that is rock solid and will hold when all else around you falls apart, and that is turning to Jesus Christ, the son of God, to hold your future, your past and your present. I have been on some wild rides in my life, but He has never failed me yet. I have been in the pit of despair, where things looked so black that I could not see me ever getting out again, and yet, He was right there with me.

   I want to encourage you, if you have come to the place that you want...no NEED that security that can be provided for you....if you NEED a friend to come along side you and pray for you, in whatever way that is a desperation for you.......please click the "contact me" button above and send me a short email. I will get back to you as soon as I can. ANYTHING you share will be completely confidential. You dont even have to share your name, if you want.  

Just email me, and I WILL pray for you.

   And if you cant do that yet, if you are someone who finds it hard to turn to someone you dont know, please, know you are in my prayers tonight. God burdens me every day with people who I know read this blog and need someone to pray for them right now. Perhaps you are one of those people. God bless you. Thank you for coming here. Thank you for reading my posts, and trying to learn, or for heading over to the Facebook Page and signing up to learn more over there.

  You are always on my heart.

Many blessings to you and yours,

Heather