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Hello All,


Blessings!

Good day to you St. Louis. The article on the Danforth Foundation in the Business section of the Post Dispatch this morning pinched a spiritual nerve here, i.e., invoking the vision of the potential of plant life for scientific advances versus the vision of advancing the human potential through philanthropic social intervention.

The article was timely in that we spent a short time outside the John Cochran VA medical center yesterday morning awaiting transit to the metro link. During our waiting period we encountered an outspoken middle aged black Christian layman. One could see the grief in his eyes as he discussed the plight of young black men in the area of St. Louis where he lived. He lamented that with the exception of a few Catholic priests and nuns scattered throughout the greater St. Louis metropolitan area there was little hope for these young black men.

He pointed out that the young men in his area were constantly exposed to the wealth of drug lords and pimps and easily tempted to succumb to their influence, thus putting their lives in mortal peril each day. Such evokes the vision that it is better for them to have money and live a short time with it, than to do without and live for a lifetime.

The gentleman continued. These young black men have no consciences. They dare not risk it. Having a conscience will get you killed for not sucking up to the drug lords and pimps as easily as becoming one of them.

reminds me of a song..........

Brandon Heath Lyrics Give Me Your Eyes

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black tile
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
yeah .. yeah .. yeah .. yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
To ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
yeah .. yeah .. yeah .. yeah

I've been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all alone

Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
yeah .. yeah .. yeah .. yeah

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
yeah .. yeah .. yeah .. yeah



in Jesus...may this be our prayer
luv momo

Hello Momo,


Blessings!

Thanks so very, very much for taking the time to post the lyrics to that song.

The Lord bless you and keep you and make His countenance always to shine upon you.


Blessings!
Love ya bunches, oodles, and gobs, Den.

Saint701~

I was glad I was able to see your post... When I was reading your post I thought wait a minute... I'm sure Joyce Meyer has a Dream Center there and then I looked it up and here is some info on that for you. If it wasn't for Joyce Meyer Ministries I would NOT be where I am today... serving the Lord with all my heart~soul~body~mind!!!! She also has another dream center in the worse part of L.A. plus many many more outreaches all over the world! Hopefully this will help you to see all is not as it looks sometimes... If you get a chance to watch her, she has so many good messages on videos too.. I watch them all the time... helps me to always take a look at myself and make sure I am where I am suppose to be. May the Lord Bless you always...


Sharing Jesus in the Most Troubled Part of St. Louis

For a decade, the St. Louis Dream Center's team of volunteers and trained staff has been reaching out to thousands in the inner city. While it's a thriving, life-giving church and ministry center now, its conception was a little bumpy.

Before we opened the St. Louis Dream Center, Joyce Meyer Ministries operated a soup kitchen. We did a lot of good things to help the poor in that area. But after some time, we started to feel quite unsatisfied with the long-term results we were seeing in the lives of those we were helping.

God soon showed us the missing piece: Even though we held daily services at the soup kitchen, we still were not able to see the full effects without a permanent local church.

How the Dream Almost Didn't Come True
Hand of Hope CEO David Meyer distinctly recalls a trip with parents Dave and Joyce in 1999 to the Los Angeles Dream Center. After Joyce had preached in a very crowded gymnasium, they were given a tour of all the various ministries they were operating. On the plane ride home, she turned to David and said, "I want to start a Dream Center in St. Louis."

David admits that for the first time in his career at Joyce Meyer Ministries, he looked at his mom and said "No." He went on to list every reason he could think of: how much work it would be, how we didn't have the personnel, how we weren't properly equipped

Joyce didn't argue with him. She simply said, "Okay." David breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had avoided the situation. What he didn't take into account was someone else was pushing this idea.

Taking a "Blind" Step Forward
"Not even a week had passed before God started to convict me and He clearly asked if I would do this for Him," David explains. "So I was faced with a choice I could be disobedient and miserable or I could choose 'blind' obedience and be in God's will. I stress 'blind' because even though we had run the soup kitchen, I had absolutely no idea how to start a church.

"So we prayed, trusted God and started taking steps to build a Dream Center in St. Louis. Since we needed an adequate building, God provided the opportunity to purchase a fairly run down campus that was no longer being used. And it just happened to be in the most dangerous part of the city."

"Wanting nothing more than to be a blessing to others, we intentionally established the Dream Center in the 21st Ward because we want to make a difference in our own community and we're committed to being here long-term to help them improve their quality of life," Joyce shared at a recent church service.

We put one foot in front of the other, hired like-minded staff and started meeting the needs of the poor asking for nothing in return. It took a while for the neighborhood to trust our motives but love always wins in the end.

Now, years later, the number of people being helped is growing constantly. And we thank you for helping make this a reality in our inner city.

Because of you, thousands of St. Louis' homeless know they are loved and not forgotten. We were able to feed hundreds of thousands who didn't know where their next meal would come from, and more than 35 ministries have been established at the Dream Center to do just that. Here are a few.

We want the next 10 years to be another decade of reaching out to thousands with God's love as well as basic needs for survival. With your continued support, we can come to the rescue of the homeless and hurting we've yet to meet through the St. Louis Dream Center.

Hello havingfaithagain53,


Blessings!

Thanks so much for the reminder and sharing about Joyce Meyers Ministries. I, too, have often enjoyed Joyce Meyers teachings. Thanks for reminding me of her presence here. It wasn't my intent to make light of all the ministries that serve the St. Louis inner city and county. There are several that provide food and shelter for the homeless, but only a few that visit the widows and fatherless in their afflictions.

The point I intended to make was that there are many philanthropists and religious that have great wealth and ability but fail to reach out to the young city and county youths that are at risk. My article stemmed from a St. Louis Post Dispatch article applauding The Danforth Foundation for giving several million dollars to fund plant science research for the purpose of advancing medicines that will help our health. Kudos to the Danforths, but such overlooks our homeless that die in the frigid cold on the street and our youth that routinely die from gunshot wounds in gang related activity and the drug wars.

My point concerning the religious was directed at those that toss a few bucks toward charitable causes, but can't find the time to drag their dead spiritual carcasses into causes that are truly religious, that is to say according to the Apostle James, visiting the widows and fatherless in their afflictiions.

Anyone can warm a pew each Sunday, take communion, sing a few hymns, recite a few prayers, give a few dollars, listen to a sermon, and consider that their reasonable service to the Lord each week. Such makes them truly religious they think. But that kind of Christian isn't limited to just one religious denomination, it spans to one degree or another all of them.

A summary of what I was saying is this, that most who have the greatest means and ability will not use such to truly take back our cities one block at a time. They think of themselves as greatly religious because they religiously attend a church, or great philanthropists because they sign a check that might benefit mankind 20 years from now, but the true philanthropists and truly religious do not sit and receive, or sit and give, they stand and do, and they stand and go visit the widows and the fatherless in their afflictions.


Blessings!
Thanks again for your comment.
Love ya, Den.