Joy

Ok well I don't have much time to blog so I will keep this short and sweet. I was just sitting here thinking about the kids that I am working with. They really are pretty amazing and I could learn so much from them. Today I worked with the youth group that is visiting from Alabama. We learned a lot about the neighborhood and how it has changed over the last few years. Well the lady talking to us talked about the drive by shootings and other things that go on in the neighborhood. One thing that she said really stuck with me. She talked about Fortress being a safe zone for a lot of these kids. Fortress is somewhere they can come and not worry about someone coming in and hurting them but once they step out the door it is a totally different world. It is more of a war zone. To me I don't think it is that bad but I think that most of the people we talk to aren't that bad of people in fact they are pretty amazing. I also think that some of the people I have talked to about the neighborhood have sugar coated things to make it seem not so bad. I have walked these streets and talked to some of the people. To me it doesn't seem that bad but I wouldn't go down these streets alone or after dark. Then I think about how this is the neighborhood that the kids that I work with come from. It is full of prostitutes, gangs, and drug dealers. Yet they come everyday to Fortress with a smile on their face. How amazing is that? They set aside everything that is going on at home and in their neighborhood and for a little while they get to just be kids. Their are days when I don't want to be at work but after today I am reminded that it isn't about me. It is all about God and showing these kids that there are people out in the world that do care and that not everyone is a bad person. So I challenge you today to try to have joy in every situation that comes up and remember there is always someone out there who at least understands what you are dealing with or has dealt with something far worse. Choose to have JOY today in all that you do!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

¹⁶Be joyful always; ¹⁷pray continually; ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus