On September 21st I wrote a post about the new face of homelessness. On that day the mom written about in the post started events that would help her become self-sufficient. Against the Grain made a few phone calls while she worked. These phone calls were to local housing units to see if they were taking applications. With the list in tow, I went to her place of employment to hand her the list and told her the rest was up to her. She took that list made phone calls, talked with her employer and got a few hours off in the morning. She put in applications everywhere that was taking them even if she did not think it was the safest or the nicest place to live; she was willing to do what was necessary to have a roof over her and her daughter’s head. .
On October 11th I received a call from her, she was in tears. She had been accepted into an apartment but had to turn it down because she did not have the needed funds for the deposit. I told her to call the apartment back and we would raise the monies somehow. One of AtG’s supporters overheard the call and asked what was going on; their family had just received some extra money and were praying how God would have them use it in the kingdom.
Fast forward a couple of days- I receive a facebook message…”if she has been homeless, does that mean she has nothing to move in with?” My response “Yep”. Next facebook message… well I have already received “bedding, kitchen items, dressers, couch, chair, end tables, miscellaneous items, towels and a gift card to Kroger”. WOW…

On Saturday October 23rd… We moved her in to her new home. I showed up with the van load of supplies that were donated by AtG supporters, volunteers and complete strangers. With so many heartaches and struggles we look forward to days like these…thanks to all for your help. There are still other needs that AtG has if you would like to be a difference maker here in Middle Tennessee and Internationally.

Sitting in my very first of 5 meetings on Friday, we were talking about prayer. Prayer means what to you? Well as I have been pondering that question I went back to the day I was asked to go to Nazareth Israel. I remember thinking I do not want to miss anything that God has for me so I am going to start right now a prayer journal for this trip. I was very faithful to journaling and praying. But as I speak today of what happened while I was in Nazareth, I was remembering my main prayer was “do not let me go in with any misleading thoughts and let me have Your heart Lord”. The Lord had me in Ezekiel as I prepared. One of the very first things I read was; “ He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day.” Ezekiel 2:3 “He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel- not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate.” Ezekiel 3:4:7
Immediately I started with my preconceived thoughts, “Oh No Lord, not me. I am not moving to Israel. I am very happy here”. Then I remembered I had just told the Lord what I was not going to do…go to Israel, and I was booked on a plane to Nazareth within the hour. So I changed my prayer, “Lord, you tell me and I will listen and obey”.

Prayer: Do we come to God with our laundry list or do we pray for Gods heart and His desires?

Part of our trip to Nazareth was a prayer walk through the city. I had never done that before but I was willing to do what it was we were asked to do. While in Nazareth we walked the city in quiet and prayed specifically over 2 places. One was a Baptist school and the other was a Mosque that was right behind the school. An FYI… Nazareth is a Muslim country and the Christian population is about 100 people. As we prayed quietly we walked around the school touching the outer wall, praying specifically for the kids, the teachers, the administrators…well you get the picture, we prayed for anything and everything. As I was praying I had a burden for the school and started crying. After our time there we walked, as a group, to the Mosque. As I prayed over the Mosque, I felt nothing. It was just a prayer. We then walked back across the street to the school and as I prayed once again for the school I started crying, it was an uncontrollable sensation. I was puzzled by this because I thought for sure that God would want me praying for the Muslims. He does, but that was not why my heart was burdened. The Muslims do not know God. Their eyes have not been opened. They have not had their Damascus Road conversion. As I prayed for God to show me why I was crying especially over a Christian School, He reminded me that I had prayed for His heart. I could not wait to get back for quiet time so I could unpack that statement “you had prayed for My heart”
Also, a second part of the prayer walk was, we were to pray for the Presence of the Lord to be felt. As we came into contact with others, weather indirectly (walking by them on the sidewalk) or directly (by entering a store to purchase something).
Parts of the prayer walk included asking God to allow His Spirit to exude from us. That the people on the streets would feel His presence, that they would know that we were different (and I don’t mean different because we were American).

When we got back to the hotel we had a quiet time; I started pondering and asking God to show me what He meant by “I had prayed for His heart”. I realized sitting on a ledge on St Gabriel’s Hotel that my mission field is not the nation Israel, but we all have an Israel. I was relieved that He was not asking me to pack up everyone and move to Nazareth, but at the same time I was wondering why I could not get this anger that came out in the form of crying out of my spirit. As I journaled it became apparent that God’s heart was breaking for us, the Christians. During this quiet time God also showed me that we stand behind our Culture. Our culture dictates what we do and how we do it. We have become so complacent about our belief system that we allow the false gods of this world to dictate our day, not God.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago I was parking my van downtown to go pick up tickets for the Predators opening night (the Predators give us tickets to allow families that we work with the opportunity to go to a game). With the streets all closed I had to park a few blocks away. I started thinking…why do I have to go to Nazareth to pray over a city? Why can I not walk in quiet here in Nashville and pray for the city. I started praying but I felt like something was missing… when I got back to my van I realized that I had not prayed at all for God’s presence to be felt. I prayed for the homeless man. I prayed for the couple that looked to be visiting. I even prayed for the musician walking into the Symphony hall to practice…but not once did I pray for God’s presence to be felt.
My question to you and to me is this…
If you were to walk in a store would the customers or workers feel the presence of God? Or the presence of the world?
If a nonbeliever walked into our churches and he/she saw you or me would they say “I did not know you went to church?’ Or ‘I did not know you were a Christian?”

Against the Grain is going to have their very first prayer walk over Franklin. October 23rd at 9am. If you are interested in being a part of this event please let us know we would love to have you.

Over a year and half ago the Homeless Commission called the offices of AtG to meet with one of their summer “stimulus money” workers (this was the summer that the teens were placed in Non-profits to work while being paid by the Federal Government). She was a teen mom living in public housing practically on her own. Her mother was gone weeks at a time. When the mother did come home she would get mad, take the cell phone away, then leave again. The teen mom did not always have access to the outside world. When AtG met her and took her to lunch we were upset because she was only 17 so we really could not talk to her without her mothers permission. We helped her the best we could. We called the alternative high school to make sure she was going to be accepted. 2009 was on of the first years that there were NO daycares in any of the Davidson County high schools. In order for a teen mom to stay in school she really had to want it. In Davidson County a teen mom has to get their own DHS Families First case (the money portion of the government help, which unfortunately if you did not qualify for that would then mean NO daycare certificate, and NO daycare certificate meant NO school for the mom, in most cases). Luckily this mom did qualify, so she sent her child to daycare and drove herself to school (did I mention with no license, we helped her apply for a restricted license but it never came through, but she had to get to school and her child to daycare). We kept in touch the best we could but then lost touch due to her age being a factor.
Fast forward to August 2010.
AtG’s cell phone rang and it was her. She was alive and not so well but she was making it the best she could. She was now homeless. Her mother informed her now that she was 18 she was no longer going to keep the apartment and that this teen mom needed to find a new place to live while finishing her last year in High School. She did graduate from high school against the odds and is a very bright young lady. She loves to cheerlead and dance, but the realities of being a homeless teen parent overtook any chance of speaking into the lives of other teens at this time. She came to AtG’s offices in Nashville where Executive Director Meredith Kendall met with her and helped her get an interview with a company in Franklin that she knew was hiring. This company took a chance on her even though she was homeless and a single parent. She has been a good employee and seems to enjoy her job but the homeless part started to take its toll. She never knew where she and her now 2 year old daughter were going to stay that night. A friends house, a relative’s house, her grandparents house or her car.
On Sunday night September 19th she called upset. She did not know what to do. In order to stay at her grandparent’s house she had to use her hard earned monies to buy items for her Aunt and Uncle as payment to stay. As she called and explained this to AtG she said “I am done paying for their addictions”. So on Monday September 20th, AtG called a partnering agency to ask about this “emergency number” you could call with DCS not to take away a child but to get assistance. When the partnering agency called back they gave AtG the names and numbers but there are no funds for this type of help. All they will do is call other partnering agencies and try to get help.

So on Monday night September 20th, Rob and Meredith Kendall, founders of AtG took this homeless mother and her 2 year old daughter, to their personal home to spend the night. We had a family dinner and settled in for a good night.

At 9pm the mom came down with her daughter, she is hungry can she have something to eat please?

My heart broke to think we live in Middle Tennessee and when you think of “homelessness” you think of those living under a bridge, unshaven, alcoholic… but do you see this.

Help AtG be a part of the solution… we want to start our first home for single mothers and their children…. it has been a 7 year dream… it is time it became a reality. For more information contact AtG at 615-291-9532 or email at info@atghope.org

As most of you know I went on a trip to Israel this past week. Part of the trip was to see the Holy Sites. It was an amazing adventure but to do it justice I need to start back to a meeting I had on June 22.

As I was driving to the Williamson County Jail on June 21st I heard a commercial – “go see the Holy Sites of Jerusalem, it’s a once and lifetime trip, you won’t be disappointed”. I remember leaning into the radio and stating very emphatically “God, I have NO DESIRE to go to Jerusalem”. Fast forward 24 hours. I was in a meeting with a local pastors wife and we were just talking and I asked her, “so are you ready to move to Nazareth”?

(You see they had been there in November and I have always heard that you go on a mission trip and come back and say “oh I am moving tomorrow”.) Well she answered “No, but we are going back in August”. Before I could stop myself, I said “you know I now have a passport, the 180 Curriculum is printed and I could travel”. Little did I know that 30 minutes prior to this meeting one of the females scheduled to go on the trip had backed out. Trina said “you know”…. And I said “no”, well I called Rob and told him, he said “you did say yes, right?”

So before I knew it I was going on my first trip across the Atlantic to the Middle East to go to the Holy Land… Not only was I going to this trip to where Jesus actually walked, talked and preached….

I was getting the opportunity to talk with women about community and parenting.

The days leading up to the trip I was praying, reading and writing… and I remember praying “let me be open to what it is that You would have”. I really was not feeling the “lets up and move to this country” but if I was to be involved somehow, I would be.

We were preparing to leave. We all had been praying and getting others to pray. We were told that either our bags will make it to Israel or we will make it to Israel but not both on the same day. The connecting flight out of JFK was not long enough. Well I know that God is so much bigger than I give Him credit for, because not only did we get on the plane, so did our luggage. When entering the Tel Aviv Airport again we were told what to expect… and we were given favor… again God is so much bigger than we give Him credit. After we got our bags the tour guide was waiting for us. His name is Ido, not only is he a Jew, he is a Christian and an Archeologist; so you can only imagine how awesome seeing the Holy sites with him guiding us was. So let’s fast forward a couple of days. We are headed to Nazareth. The hotel in which we were staying got air conditioning 1 month before our arrival…Oh thank you God for air. The city from where I am standing is beautiful.

We decide to get acclimated to the town.
I did not think about the fact that to go down we eventually would have to go back up.

The roads that we went down, we did share with cars, were old donkey paths so nothing was straight.

This city where Jesus preached and lived has only about 100 believers left. Wow, not only did we stick out because we were American but now, as we walked and prayed for the city of Nazareth, we asked the Holy Spirit to be felt as we walked by; that the people of Nazareth would feel the presence of the Lord.

As I am praying, reading and journaling… I am stuck in Ezekiel which is written to the Israelites. And when I started Ezekiel I was thinking, Oh Lord…”I am headed to Israel and you are going to ask me to stay”. Well as I was praying on Mt Precipice

I began to realize that we all have an Israel that God has called us to, we just need to be quiet and still enough to listen and hear.

In Ezekiel it states “All is peaceful when there is not peace at all! It’s as if the people have built a flimsy wall, and these prophets are trying to reinforce it by covering it with whitewash! Tell these whitewashers that their wall will soon fall down.“ What whitewash have we told ourselves? What whitewash are we listening to as truth, instead of finding the truth for ourselves? What are we telling the Lord, maybe later I will do this or that?

What is it that God has asked you to do and to quit “whitewashing?”

Well this trip had another adventure for me. I was given an opportunity to serve the women in Nazareth. I was able to take part of the 180 Curriculum across the ocean to empower a local woman. She was able to gather women to talk about community and parenting. I was told to expect a few things: 1) they will not look you in the eye, 2) they will not open up 3) there is a language barrier and the translator is good going from English to Arabic but not so good coming back to English. Again, our God is SO much bigger than we give Him credit for… 1) they looked me in the eyes and welcomed me 2) right off the bat they had questions and 3) the translator was awesome. But more than that, at one point in time the women starting talking in Arabic to each other while us 3 Americans just looked in amazement…it had happened… they started “community”. Their dialog was about 20 minutes or so…and when they stopped long enough for us to ask what just happened…we realized that they just needed to be given permission to talk and share. It was so great to be given this opportunity to be used by God to start dialog with other women so that they no longer felt alone.

As Christians, we are called to find our Israel (the place we are called to serve) and do His name justice. Where is your Israel and are you doing His name justice there?

Tell me about your childhood- was it happy? Nobody has a perfect family, so don’t try to feed me some Norman Rockwell painting, because I won’t buy it. Life is tough, and so I’m willing to bet that you had some good times that you cling to desperately in your memory, but I’m guessing that there is also some really bad stuff that you wish you could sweep under the rug and never consider again.

Now imagine your childhood and pretend that you’re in control. If your dad was an abusive drunk, then imagine the kind of dad you always wanted him to be. If your mom was always gone, or yelling, or crying, imagine her face looking at you with the approval you always wished for but maybe never received. Just for a minute, choose what you wish your childhood had been.

Now ask yourself: which picture does your child see? I’m not trying to make you feel guilty for not being like a perfect family from the ‘50s. I’m asking you to think about which mom or dad your kids see most often in your face- the one you had, or the one you wished you had?

Here’s the thing about generational cycles: they will naturally repeat unless you make a DECISION to CHOOSE something different as your future. Not considering your past in the context of your child’s life will nearly guarantee that you will treat them as you were treated. It almost promises them the same financial situation, the same education, and the same relationships that you grew up with. Did you ever notice that while some people choose to carry around a chip on their shoulder because of what somebody did to them, others choose to let the past motivate them to take control and NEVER let it happen in their family again? Did you ever stop to think that the very things that you think ruined your life might be exactly what you’re doing to your kids right now?

Major life changes don’t happen overnight, except in a Hollywood script. But here’s what you can choose right here, right now, that will have an immediate effect on your family: what face does your child see when you look at them? How does your look define your feelings for them? Do they most often see unconditional love? Or do they see irritation? How you look at them decides how they define themselves. How often do you smile at them? How often do you look them in their eyes? How often do you even look at them at all?

It has been said that our eyes are the window to our soul- what we forget is that our eyes are also mirrors to anyone who looks at us. Our faces reflect our feelings and when children are trying to define themselves they rely on how they see themselves in the eyes of the adults around them.

Now that you’ve considered your childhood, and you’ve seen the childhood you’re providing for your own kids, what are you going to do about it? Will you complain about the past but do nothing about it, or will you choose- right now- to look at things differently? Will you pay attention to the future that you’re creating today? You can’t change the past, but the future is up for grabs. It’s your choice.

You have just enjoyed an excerpt from the 180 Program Curriculum if you are interested in learning more or becoming part of our virtual mentoring program contact us here

Last night… I was privileged to take part in the beginning stages of 2010 Angel Tree program. The “REAL” Angel Tree program was started actually by Mary Kay Beard, a woman who was on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list, she was a safe cracker. While doing her prison time Christmas came along and that is when the church groups show up with goodie bags full of soap, shampoos, toothbrushes (you get the picture). As they went back to their cells Mary Kay witnessed the women sitting together bartering and making piles. She soon realized this woman has 1 child, this one has 3, the women were making piles based on the number of children so that when the Christmas visits came along they would have something to give their child(ren). Well she did her time and was hired by Prison Fellowship (now there is a lot to her story that I did not tell but you can read it “Rogue Angel”). Her first project when she was hired was to come up with a Christmas project. She remembered the women and knew what she needed to do. We need to make sure that they children of these women get presents from their parents and we will use people as the delivery agent. So she set out to make a difference because she said “what child seriously wants a bar of soap for Christmas”?
So fast forward to 2009 Christmas, Against the Grain adopted 2 families; we solicited help from our volunteers and moms and we bought gifts. Then we delivered them, but here is the clincher they were told we were just a delivery service but these gifts are from your “father”. To see the children light up and get these gifts was a great Christmas present for me. We also took one of our volunteer/lawyers with us and his wife. As we were in the home praying and handing out gifts the lawyer noticed something and asked “your son did not by any chance wrestle in High School”? Yes he did was the response. The lawyer quickly realized that this man in Prison was once a teenager that he looked up to because the lawyer was also a wrestler at the same high school and this then teenager was a great wrestler with State Titles.

Now fast forward to last night August 10, 2010… it is time to sign up the men’s Maximum Security Prison for Angel Tree. I decide I want to be on the beginning side to see how it works and be able to help even more. Well I am use to going in to the Jail so that did not disturb me I knew the rules; No cell phones, No purses, just your ID and keys. As we entered the prison yard (yes it was just like it is on TV) I realized I was not in Mayberry anymore. The first unit we went to was very calm not many of the guys were in their cells (which were locked and you had to talk through steel doors and pass things through the crack on the side), but they were outside in what I considered baseball batting cages. Some were playing cards and another group was playing hand ball. Only one gentleman there had children under the age of 17… they were 5 and 3. He filled out the papers and we talked just as you and I would talk, the only difference is that he will never get to play handball with his children EVER… you see his crime was bad enough that he received the death penalty for his choices.
We finished and were led out by a prisoner and the Chaplin. The Prisoner was kind of giving us a tour… and just matter of fact he says, “and here is the execution room, this is the viewing room. Tennessee does own an electric chair but default method is lethal injection”. So matter of fact, it was like me when I was a Realtor… now here are the schools that the children would be going to, look it even has a pool in the neighborhood… what here is the execution room”. I cried like a baby all the way home, not because we have the death penalty or punishments that fit the crimes, but because we have become so callous to letting people in when we are hurting.
Would it had made a difference to one of those 80 plus gentleman on Death Row if someone had taken the time to say “I love you. Son I am proud of you. Lets make good choices today because you never know what’s going to happen, Son. Or were they told you are “no good” “you are going to end up just like your dad” Or was no one even home to be a role model good or bad so they relied on video games or movies to look for guidance. Did anyone ever give them a hug? (Did you know that we as humans need 10 NON SEXUAL touches a day, also for every negative you say it takes 10 positives to outweigh the negative?)

CHOICES… we make good and bad choices every day and they come with good and bad consequences.  CHOICES…. what is your choice today?

Did you know that each choice and action you make, matters. Also each choice and action you don’t make, matters just as much…. have you ever been in the lake or ocean?  Standing there not paying attention just looking off towards shore or off in the distance, and before you know it you are a ways out from shore and now you are wondering how in the world you are going to get back in to shore?  Well this is what happens when you don’t make a choice.  That choice is made for you with the tide, waves and current. By not making a choice you made a choice.  Now your job figure out how to get back to shore!!! This is the same with choices (goals) by not making choices/goals they will be made for you. So the choice is yours… is it going to be a good choice with good consequences or a bad choice with bad consequences.

Question for you….The people that you hang out with do they help you….get to your goal in life?
Yes or no
If yes how do they help you?  If No then why do you call them friends?

Today is a new day and you need to choose what you really want in life….If you are reading this that means you are still alive and you have another day to make the right choice.  Make your day count because remember you matter.

What is it that you really want to do with your life today?  If money was no object and you were guaranteed success what would you do starting today? Have you ever been allowed to dream?  Remember when you were a child what did you dream of being?   What happened to your dreams? Do you believe that you can still achieve your dreams?  If not why not?  If you believe you can achieve your dreams how are you going to accomplish them?  Are there obstacles standing in your way?  If yes what are the obstacles?  If there are no obstacles then why have you not accomplished your dreams? Have you ever been told things in the past that make achieving your dreams seem impossible? If the answer is yes what was said, if you weren’t I will ask again why have you not achieved your dreams?

Do you remember the old saying:

Sticks and Stones may__________my___________But words will __________ _________ _________.                                                                                                                                             Do you believe its true? I don’t because words hurt bones heal. Words come with actions that may have lasting affects until you grab hold of the lies that people are telling you and make good choices for yourself you will continue to make bad choices that have bad consequences.. Start today making a difference in your own life so that in the long run you will make a difference in someone else’s.

You have just gone through part of the 180 Curriculum if you are interested in learning more or becoming part of our virtual mentoring program contact us here

As many of you know Against the Grain started working with Williamson County Jail January 2010. Many people laugh when I say “I am going to jail today” or ” I just got back from jail” or ” I just got out”. For me those 10 hours are some of the best times of my week.
You may ask why? Well I am going to tell you.
I LOVE LIFE, I LOVE MY FREEDOM.

I have the freedom to get up when I want, go to bed when I want, eat when I want, love on my children and grandchildren when I want.
But I have to tell you I take for granted living in America that I can go to the bathroom shut a door and sit down in peace on a toilet seat that is plastic or plush (if you like those).

When finished I turn on the water to wash my hands and use “Bath and Body” Watermelon antibacterial hand soap and a plush towel. I totally dislike sandwiches and not to be able to cook out when I want would be a devastation.

Wow do I sound like a snob or what… but we live in Franklin TN so I should be able to do this if I want right…well today I look at all of that as a gift.

Yes I am a law abiding citizen but I also am a realist…I understand that all of us no matter how good we think we are… We all are one STUPID mistake away from having our address be 408 Century Court.

You see, if you live at 408 Century Ct you LOSE all those freedoms.

Your soap cost dollars and is the size of a small bar. You have no privacy for anything and if you get out of hand you go on lock down for however long 24 hours- 72 hours – 30 days… at that time you lose phone service, TV, and you sit on your bunk.

I did not realize how much freedom you lose when you take into account the little things….soap, toilet seats, food, doors, human contact with your children… you maybe saying well they deserve to lose all this, they did not follow the law… you are correct and I believe you, but…here me when I say… this is about US… what do we take for granted?

So next time you get upset because you have to mow the lawn again, or have to go to the grocery store for the “BIG SHOP” thank God that you have that FREEDOM.