What God can do with underwear and 50 dollars...

I can't believe it's already been 10 days since my last post. I've laid in bed many nights contemplating and even writing in my head what I would blog about, only to find myself going to bed at 7:30/8:00 pm being so incredibly tired I can't keep my eyes open. I'm thankful to be worn out from doing things I love.  To catch you up... here is a photo snap shot of the past 10 days. We had our "Homeless Christmas" where we fed somewhere between 300-350 people a nice home cooked meal. They each received a bag when they left which included a 2012 Rescue Atlanta Hoodie, a pair of socks, a pair of underwear, gloves, and homemade cookies. I spend an entire day sorting hundreds of pairs of men's undewear into sizes and folding socks. Everytime someone would come into the office, I'd have to introduce myself up to my neck in undies. The following two pictures are from Homeless Christmas.  The dinner and the team making the bags full of blessings!

I believe the Lord is working on me in a specific area because I feel like He keeps giving me the opportunity to take a different attitude and sometimes I fail, but I've started paying more attention. I am a task person. I actually like to make lists and check things off. I'm really trying to stay on top of things in my new job and stay very organized. There are quite a few emails I had wanted to send on Monday, but did not get them sent until late Thursday afternoon and it literally is because I was never at my computer long enough without interruption to do so. I kept thinking, "Lord......why am I being asked to do all the "extra" stuff? I can't even do what I think is important." And after a week of being faced with "Divine Interruption"...I think I'm finally catching on. The Lord wanted me to take on the form of a servant, doing Whatever/Whenever I was asked. He was trying to get me to lay down "Mine" and pick up on "Thine." Whether it was counting underwear, wrapping Christmas presents for someone, cleaning up stuff, answering phones, counting hoodies, Driving a van,  working with a serve team, being constantly interrupted.......it was what needed to be done. And I can honestly say today that I'm glad for the interruptions. The emails got sent..in time, just not My time. (And for the record, I ended up getting the bigger blessing from all of the above!!!)  I wonder how many "Divine Moments" we miss when we make ourselves "unavailable or unwilling." I wonder how many conversations would be had, lessons would be learned, or blessings would be showered if we started off our day saying "Not My will but THINE be done..." and REALLY meaning it.

So..I'm learning what it means to REALLY trust, step out of my comfort zone and be open.

A couple of weeks ago we found out that the middle school kids at church no longer had a teacher for Sunday Mornings. Now..I have been in youth ministry for 10 years but TRULY thought that season was over..especially for Jr. High kids....but as soon as it was spoken, God stirred my heart. Little did I know until a few days later that God stirred Glenn's heart and the same time, and without much discussion we said..."We have to do this." Working with Inner-city kids is different than working with the kids from affluent neighborhoods, but even when I was in Luverne, it was one of my favorite aspects of my job.  So tomorrow, Glenn and I will teach out first class. I'm excited to be able to co-teach with my husband. I'm even more excited that these kids will have both a Man AND a Woman who will be a consistent part of their lives because many of them do not have a complete family unit at home. I'm excited about what God will do through us and in us as we embark on this new adventure. Please keep us in prayer.

Glenn and I are spending our first Christmas together alone in Atlanta. This has been a pretty difficult thing for me. Not that I don't love my husband and creating "new" traditions together, but it intensifies missing my family not to be with them on this day. We are inner city missionaries. We have a tree and decorations (a true Blessing), but we have no presents under the tree, we can't afford to really go anywhere, and this all made me really think about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. When you can't get caught up in the commercial holiday it really is stripped down to the root of what it's about. In thinking about what we would do, I asked Glenn if we could invite the 5 men living at Rescue Atlanta, over to our house for a "Christmas Brunch." I knew how bad it was hurting me not to see my family. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be stuck in a big building alone. So...I made up invitations and we handed them out:

So...much to my surprise, all 5 guys accepted. Then came the true faith test. We literally had 50 dollars to our name. All of our bills are covered for January, but as far as cash we had in hand to spend...it was a 50 dollar check I had just received. I needed to buy groceries for our Brunch...I really had wanted to buy Glenn a Christmas Present I knew he would love....but I just kept thinking.."I want this to be a really special Christmas for these guys." Glenn always says...the more you push it (money) away, the more it will come back....so I looked up a lot of recipes for Breakfast Casseroles, and special pastries and I went to the store and bought it all and even got stuff to make our Middle school kids Christmas Cupcakes tomorrow. Total: $31 And Glenn and I were able to go tonight and have a cup of coffee out.

I don't tell you that to pat us on the back or complain about money....AT ALL. I'm telling you because it is how God is working in me. And when it does come back...I want to share the testimony of how God provides. I can trust because I knew without a doubt it was what HE wanted me to do. I'm thankful for a "new vision"...for a new perspective. I'm praying that this Christmas will be one of the best ever. That I will look around my small table and smile that we are spending it men who had no where else to go. And I hope they will leave our home feeling loved and knowing that God loves them down to the details. Having a home 1/2 a mile from the mission, having a large enough home to host people, having 50 dollars.......it was all part of God's plan...and I'm excited to see just how it all unfolds even more.

You've never seen so many people happy to have a new pair of underwear...and you've never seen a girl happier to spend 50 dollars. Thanks God.

Merry Christmas from the Paddocks. We pray you are surrounded by love and filled with joy.

For His Renown.
Morgan