Backpacks of Love

Serving with Grand-children

Dn. Shelly Sorem,
Apostles Houston

Why – it is the favorite question of young children. Oftentimes it is asked in rapid succession and the answer to a why questions is followed up with multiple more whys. While this can be exhausting, it can also be a beautiful opportunity. When Apostles Houston offered the opportunity for its congregation to serve their local elementary school by picking up a school supply list, buying a backpack and filling it with the supplies, I saw the beauty of the whys.

I picked up a couple of lists and took them with me when my granddaughter, Adalyn, and I went to pick out her school supplies. I told her we were going to be getting supplies for two other students and she asked, “Why?” I explained that we were getting school supplies for two students whose families couldn’t afford to buy them. “Why?”, she asked. This led to a discussion of how we all have struggles from time to time and right now these families were struggling. “Why?”, was her response. You can see where the conversation went and how it was followed with many more ‘whys’.

On the drive home I told her we had everything we need to fill our Backpacks of Love – which is what this service project was called. She wanted to know why they were called Backpacks of Love. I explained to her that we were loving on our neighborhood elementary school and its students by providing them with supplies they needed. She said, “It’s hard to love someone you haven’t ever met.” I asked her, “What about Jesus?” Her response was she loves Jesus because Jesus loved her first. No greater truth could have come from her mouth – Jesus loved her first. We then talked about how because of Jesus’ love for us we can have love for others and show His love to them and that is what we were doing with our Backpacks of Love. Jesus is the answer to why we do things for others, why we help others and why we pray for others. We then prayed over the backpacks and the students who would receive them.

John 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Dn. Shelly Sorem

Expect the Unexpected

Expect the Unexpected
by Karen Henson,
Grace Anglican Community

Little did I know when I traveled down a back road in Fulshear on a cold wet day, my life would take a turn I did not expect.  As Christians who follow Jesus, why are we surprised when God does the unexpected on our journey with him?

  We read in Proverbs 16:9, “The heart of man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.” We all want God to establish our steps and guide us on his path but then are often surprised when he does! 

 Two chained dogs were shivering from the cold without adequate shelter. I did something totally unplanned.  I stopped the car, got out and knocked on the trailer door to ask if I could bring houses for the dogs.  That day Covers for Critters was born.   Along with a Christian friend, we started visiting back county roads of less privileged areas around us. We visited homes, providing housing and food for their animals. We have met wonderful people along the way.  One family member commented that most people come and take from them, but we come and give.  We always share that we are Christians, that we care and some long-term friendships have been made.

We became close to a family with 4 generations living in a small house and trailer.  We have continued  for three years providing needs for both the animals and the family.  We have been there for death in their family as well as ours.  A family member came to my daughter’s funeral and said, “baby, we are family!”  It has been a privilege and a joy to pray with this family and for them.  We have crossed economic and cultural lines to share life together.

Another great surprise came when a couple from Washington state adopted one of my favorite rescue pups.  We stayed in touch sharing our dog stories.  After mentioning I had a zoom Bible study, my new friend asked if she could join even though she was not a Texan.  She became part of our community that studies and prays for each other weekly.  She shared she has tears after each study and her faith was being revived.  God used a dog rescue to bring us together.  Who would ever have expected it?  This spring I had the joy of meeting my friend and her husband face to face.  There was joy and hugs all around.

Yes, God has and continues to do the unexpected in my life and I bet in yours too.  We all have stories to tell of how God has surprised us when we least expected him.  It certainly keeps life full of surprises and isn’t there joy knowing that God is guiding us along the path he has chosen for us.  Let’s keep praying and expecting the unexpected on this great journey with God. Live the adventure!

“The heart of man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9

Hats from the Heart

How is the family of God serving a world in need?

During September and October, as we all prepare our hearts and minds for our annual Synod gathering, the women of our Diocese will share stories about serving a world in need. As a women’s ministry team, we will focus on ways women serve inside and outside our churches.

One Woman’s Heart

Earlier this year, in preparation for a women’s retreat I would teach at for another Diocese, I had an opportunity to meet a fantastic woman named Canon Julie Crunk-Russel. She and her husband had served overseas for years as missionaries, but during Covid, they found themselves grounded, unable to help people they had grown to love.

Canon Julie prayed about how she could continue to show God’s love to the women she had been ministering to when she learned that one of them was expecting a baby. This particular woman lived so impoverished that having anything for her newborn would not be impossible. Canon Julie, an avid knitter, decided to knit a cap for the baby and send it to this woman. The idea for this young woman to have even one brand new and prayed-over item for her newborn filled Canon Julie with joy.

Hats from the Heart

This tiny seed of an idea, given up to the Lord for His tending, has now grown into an international ministry called Hats from the Heart. Canon Julie recruits knitters from across our Province to knit and crochet hats. This summer, I introduced Julie to a group of women in our Diocese who regularly gather to knit and crochet. They were thrilled to take on the opportunity to make hats that are now being sent worldwide.

One woman’s faithfulness to a vision God gave her has led to many people being blessed. While the ministry began with an emphasis on baby hats, it has expanded in unexpected ways. Recently, Canon Julie received a request for hats to be knitted for refugees fleeing Ukraine. Imagine, for a moment, people fleeing their homeland with virtually nothing left. Someone provides a prayed-over, warm, knitted, or crocheted hat. How much kingdom impact could such a small gesture of generosity offer?

In the summer, Canon Julie got word from a woman who would be happy to knit hats but could not afford supplies. As a retirement community resident, her budget could not accommodate extra expenses. A few days later, another woman contacted Julie, offering to donate funds to purchase yarn and needles for any talented creative who might be willing to make these much-needed hats. A match was made, and a gift card was rapidly delivered.

During my time at the women’s retreat in Wisconsin, I also had a chance to meet a woman who has been teaching her teenage daughter to knit these hats. What a powerful way this family is now serving together!

If you would like to learn more about Hats from the Heart or if you have a serving story you would like to share with us, please email our team at:

womensministry@dwgc.org

Anthea Kotlan

Women’s Ministry Team Lead

Hats from the Heart - Canon Julie Crunk-Russell

Pray throughout

the Day

Growing up, I always thought of prayer as being something super formal and proper. I was always taught that to pray you have to say a certain thing and do a certain thing. Nothing more or nothing less. However, as I grew older I realized that prayer is more than just putting your hands together and closing your eyes. Prayer has played a huge role in my walk with Christ.

I’ve learned that I can talk to God whenever and wherever. I don’t have to wait until I’m at church or at home in a quiet setting to speak to Him. The truth is, just like God is with us 24/7 we, too, should be with Him always. It does not always have to be something long and formal when talking to Him. As long as it’s honest and coming from the heart, God will always listen.

Don’t get me wrong, talking to God in an intimate setting and dedicating a time just for Him alone is exactly what He wants but I also think He wants to talk to us like we talk to our friends. He wants a daily coffee date with us but God also wants that intimate relationship with us. Yes, He absolutely knows what we feel, think and say without us telling Him but He wants to hear it come from us. He wants to see that we are open and willing to build and strengthen a relationship with Him.

Prayer is something that should be constant. It should be a part of our daily Christian life. Prayer allows us to hear God. It allows us to ask questions, express concern, give thanks, seek forgiveness and so much more! 

There are times where I don’t have the right words to say and that’s okay. I’ve learned to find inspiration through scripture and most recently through The Book of Common Prayer (ACNA, 2019). My encouragement would be to talk to God like you talk to a best friend. God is our Redeemer, Savior, Miracle Worker and so much more but He is also our best confidant.

This is what prayer means to me.

Oh, and if you ever see me driving and think I’m talking on the phone or singing along to a song, chances are I am just having a good ole conversation with my best pal.

A Conversation with God

You know that friend that you haven’t talked to in a while, but you can always jump back in and talk like no time was lost.  If I called up my friend, Cindy, we could talk for minutes or hours because we have known each other for many years.  The conversation would be easy and flow naturally.  Conversation is the way that we communicate, sometimes in a quick text and other times in long chats that wind from topic to topic.  Some talks may be serious and deep where hard things are discussed and laid bare.  Other times, the conversation may be light, fun, and full of the joy of friendship.  Communication through conversation brings forth unity and intimacy.

Over the years, I come to learn of God’s desire to have relationship with his people.  From the Garden of Eden to the Tabernacle to the Temple to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, his plan has always been to live in intimacy with us, bringing his glorious presence to our lives.  If God loves me this deeply, then conversation through prayer should be part of my relationship with God.  Remembering that the Lord calls me his beloved child helps me know that I can come to him quickly and easily just a child would to a loving parent.

My favorite time to pray is early in the morning before my eyes open when my mind is just waking from sleep, and I have not yet been pulled into the business of the day.  It is a precious time just leaning into the Spirit and saying, “Good Morning, Jesus”.  Just like conversations with good friends, prayer time might be just a moment, or it might be a long deep conversation and everything in between.  For me, praying before my eyes even open is the best way to start the day before I get distracted, and the day is off and running.

Routines are not my strength.  Maybe it is my ADD brain, but I have trouble with setting routines and patterns to follow each day.  Unfortunately, that means that setting up journals and prayer times does not work for me and creates a sense of failure.  However, I do try to pray throughout the day as a continuing never-ending conversation always knowing that the one who loves me and knows me the best is always there waiting to hear from me. 

Often, when I am wrapped up in my head about concerns in my own life and feeling overly preoccupied about my own issues, this is when the Holy Spirit will prompt me to pray for others.  About five years ago, I started texting some friends asking how I can pray for them.  The time spent in prayer over the requests from my loved ones has been life giving and has connected us in a deeper way to each other and to Jesus.  Early in the morning, I simply ask the Holy Spirit who needs prayer today.  Then, as names fill my mind I will text, “How can I pray for you this morning?”  Nothing more.  When the reply comes, I answer with a simple prayer emoji, as I begin right at that moment to pray for them.  I resist the urge to reply back with comments or suggestions, but simply lift them up to the Lord in prayer.  Many times, I have heard a friend say that my text came at just a moment when they needed prayer in a desperate way.  Also, it never fails that afterwards my soul is more at peace with my own concerns and worries.  What an honor and privilege it is to pray!

“The harder Christ’s days the longer His prayer times.  The busier He was the greater His insistence on the practice of the presence of the Father.  Apparently Jesus Christ knew of no substitute for the daily practice of the shut door, the bent knee, the secret communion.”

from The Praying Christ by James Thompson

Creating Space for God

We long for beauty. We crave nourishing rhythms that sustain and nurture.
We want to see the resurrection of things in the sacred moments of our days.
The habits of our every day determine what we will hear and see. Our habits
train our souls to listen to something. We must ask ourselves what frequency
we have tuned our hearts and minds to. If we are honest, we generally yearn
to put more in and get more out of our days, but we seem to be caught in a
whirlwind where we have little control. The thing is, we do have great agency
over our thoughts. We must do the work of capturing them because thoughts
become things.

This is where nourishing rhythms come into play. We must plan to
incorporate a rhythm of examining ourselves to see what is keeping us from
enjoying fellowship with God. Our goal is to honor ourselves and those
around us as we praise God. We can only honestly do that by seeing where
we need to reconnect. Sin and toxic thoughts sever relationships. It all starts
with a straightforward question.

What is keeping me from enjoying You today, Jesus?
Then move on from there and ask a host of questions about the roots &
rivals that keep your heart from him. You don’t have to camp here all day. A
few minutes of uncluttered listening to Jesus can untangle years of damage.
Create this moment at the start of each day. I’ll admit that I spent several
years having this moment in the quiet of the bathroom when my kids were
little. Now, I have cultivated a space to quiet my heart before I begin my day.
May you take the time to create your space internally and externally. May
you hear the beauty of Christ in your very soul.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And
see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
(Psalm 139:23-24)

thebohotable.org

Prayers for Offense

I grew up a Roman Catholic where no one in my house prayed. Prayer for me was merely a short list of memorized prayers. I would pray through them quietly, alone at bedtime, which, as I look back, was the beginning of a prayer life.

It wasn’t until I was in my early 30s that I found myself in the living room of a church member surrounded by a group of women praying aloud and interceding for various situations, complete strangers and each other. This was a totally new experience for me, and I took it all in. First, it struck me that their prayers were earnest, heartfelt, loving, and carried the tone of praise to God. It was the first time in my life that I had this type of prayer modeled to me.  Moreover, their prayers seemed to reflect a personal relationship with Jesus Christ – as if they really knew him as a friend and someone they could depend on.

Though the experience was all very new and foreign to me, it intrigued me and made me want to learn to pray that way as well. I look back at that evening sitting in that living room as an important maturing moment in my walk with the Lord.

Now more than 20 years later, my prayer life is characterized by a cadence of thankfulness and gratitude. Of course, it’s not perfect, but I am much more thoughtful about praying for situations, people, immediate needs, forgiveness, as well as for the many good gifts God gives me, including Himself.

One of the current focuses of my prayer life is to ask for the strength to give God the temptation to feel offended by others. I am trying to look through those instances with a different mindset and without choosing to distance or alienate myself from my offenders. Praying loving prayers for that person can be admittedly difficult in the moment. However, I realize that it is my work to love them and give my forgiveness as Christ does for me daily. By praying for them and sending up prayers of unconditional love, I intend to glorify God by following his example to the best of my ability. I carry this citation on my phone as a reminder:

When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:21-23)

When I am offended by others, I want to refuse to produce the fruit of hurt, anger, outrage, jealousy, resentment, strife, bitterness, hatred, and envy in my life. I hope that through prayer and the power of God’s Spirit at work in me, He will protect me from offense and instead give me peace.

Prayers for Prickly People

We all have them in our lives, don’t we?  In-laws, acquaintances, business associates, relatives, co-workers, or church members, who just rub us the wrong way?  I learned long ago to describe these as prickly people, the challenging ones who make us dig deep to be nice.  And here in the South for sure, being nice is essential to preserving peace in our human interactions.

Cooperation and empathy do not come naturally to me.  As an introvert, I find that dealing with people, particularly the prickly ones, drains me of my reserves of kindness and thoughtfulness.  I get impatient with those who disagree with me, imagining that if I just explained myself better, they would certainly fall in line with my superior opinions.  My prayers are often focused on confession of these shortcomings and petitions for more patience and compassion with others.

But that doesn’t go far enough. If I am truly to love my neighbor, I must do better than simply get along with her.  Indeed, I am required to pursue the best for her.  And that’s hard.

I found something that works, though: praying for the prickly people.  Of course, the temptation for my sinner’s soul is to pray that they would come to agree with me, to accommodate me, to be easier to get along with for me. But the prayer the Lord requires of me is that my prickly neighbor may receive the desires of her heart, that she may know and love the Lord, that her children may rise up and call her blessed, that her husband may honor and cherish her, that she may receive what she needs to love the prickly people in her own life (like me, most likely). 

It's so hard!  But you know what I found?  If I am faithful to say the words of intercession for her frequently and with the most love I can summon up from my dark heart, then the Lord – over time - magnifies my kernel of obedience into something beautiful. Perhaps I won’t establish a close relationship with my prickly friend, but I have found that it is very hard to dislike someone for whom I have prayed consistently and fervently.  Jesus softens my heart toward her, clearly working His miracle before my eyes. 

Praise God for His loving kindness towards us, that we may be saved from ourselves! And if He does this great work between us and our prickly people, how much more He will do between us and our enemies.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?   Matthew 5:43-46

A Call to Prayer

Evil is real.
Pornography is evil.
It is a tool of the enemy and affects many people.

When I first heard of the men’s conference that was focused on porn and its affects, I was glad that the light of Jesus is being shone on this dark topic.

I know that not only men are affected by this addiction.
If you suffer from an addiction to porn, I pray that God will free you from bondage. I pray that your behaviors and desires will be changed, to the point that the mere thought of engaging with any form of porn will make you physically ill.  I pray for repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation in your life.

If you would like prayer for this topic or anything in your life, please email womensministry@dwgc.org. A group of ladies will pray for you and your request will remain confidential.

As stated above, pornography is evil. We do not need to be in despair. God has equipped us with the weapons of the Word, fasting and prayer to combat the evil we face in this world.  With this in mind, about a week prior to the men’s conference in May, I decided to invite anyone to join me at my home church to pray during the conference on Saturday.  No one was able to join me physically, but I did create a web conference. Two other ladies joined me through this. The format was silent and there were no web cameras on. I typed out prayers on screen, as the Holy Spirit led.

Pornography leads to an increase in the demand for victims of human trafficking.
Please also join me in praying for this:

Lord, for the victims, let them be freed in this life, and turn to you.
For those who profit from selling other humans, let them be broken and turn to Jesus on the cross, and repent.

The following are the prayers shared during the gathering for the men’s conference.

Please join me in praying for:

o Ray Ortlund (author of Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility)
            Thanksgiving for his call to speak out against pornography
            Gift of his message
            That his words will touch the hearts of all who attend the conference

o All of those who attended the conference

            Holy Spirit, move through that place. Open hearts and minds

            That they will be moved to SPEAK OUT AGAINST

            They would be equipped to be the spiritual leaders of their families.

o Freedom for all who are in bondage to addiction

            Jesus, break the chains!

o Family members and broken relationships that have been affected

            Restoration of trust

            That marriages will be a reflection of Christ and His church

            Grace and love will prevail in the relationship

o Women, whose partners or other family members are addicted, who feel that they have to suffer alone

o That any generational curse is broken

            that there is no stronghold on the young

            that any exposure is swiftly and divinely erased from their minds

o Victims and all involved in sex work

            Circumstances in their lives that led to their exploitation

            That they will know Jesus and see themselves as He sees them and know His love

            full healing of mind / body / soul

o Children who are victims

            Lord, have mercy

o Everyone involved in the porn industry - those profiting from or contributing to it

            That they will come to know Jesus and accept Him as lord and savior

            Their hearts will be broken

            They will see their victims as Christ sees them

o Jesus, Shine your light on this plague of the land

o For anyone you know who is in bondage

            Holy Spirit, guide them and convict them

            That they will overcome, and help others they know

John 1:5 

The light shines in the darkness, and darkness has not overcome it.

2 Cor. 10:3-5

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Luke 10:19

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

2 Chron. 20:15

This is what the Lord says to you: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.

For the battle is not yours, but God's"

REPENTANCE

FORGIVENESS

RESTORATION

Amen!