With Love From Jesus Ministries

With Love From Jesus  is an amazing Ministry in the Raleigh area.

With Love From Jesus Mission: To Cooperate with the Holy Spirit in 
Building the Kingdom of God by meeting practical needs

My husband wanted us to participate in the "With Love from Jesus" Ministry.  We have talked about doing this for some time now.  I believe in serving others and I have done Ministry in the past and know the blessing for those being served and those serving.

So when this Saturday came around, and it was time for us to actually put our feet to walking.  Surprisingly, I seemed to have a "To Do" List that I thought was more important.....  I knew I wanted to help others but when it came down to donating part of my Saturday.... I just wasn't in to it. I was surprised at myself.  I felt like all of my other commitments needed my attention.  And the truth is, they do.  Family, Home, School, Blog, Social Media... you know.

We were close when we circled behind a strip mall, there were dumpsters and a small plot of grass and LOTS of people, when I looked closer, I saw children playing baseball.... This was their Field, this was their team!  Families playing and supporting their children.  I began to see just why we were on this mission.  I told our own children how thankful we should be for our parks, gyms, churches, and things we have that we use everyday and others... right her in America, in our back yards, do not have access to everyday.

At any rate, thanks to my Husband's commitment, he got us there.  Not without my grumpiness.  I am usually not grumpy.  Today, I was just ornery, just little things.  Like we were leaving and I asked everyone to bring a snack.  I had brought a string cheese for myself.  My husband, had no idea, and handed mine off of the console to one of the boys to eat.  So I didn't have a snack.

If you don't know me, I don't do well without my snacks. Then my Keurig didn't make me a full cup of coffee...again, to know me is to know the coffee has to be right.  I was about ready to go home and we weren't even there yet.

I decided to be quite and I did. I sipped on my half cup of coffee and could only taste the cream.  :(  I would have said my "Life wasn't good" right then.

We got there and oh my, did they need our help.  All four of us.  We walked in and the smell in the warehouse was awful to me.  It was hot.  Our boys were all excited, they saw Church friends and were ready to serve.  I was struggling.  I wondered if I would get nauseous. It was hot.  I was not comfortable.  Not only was I "out of my comfort zone." And I was uncomfortable physically.... Most likely, right where God wanted me in this experience.

Sadly, I found myself on my iPhone using my Starbucks APP to find the nearest Starbucks, that I was sure was just around the block.  I wanted my Starbucks.

To my surprise, the closest Starbucks was three miles away.  Who lives three miles from a Starbucks now days in America....  It was the beginning of knowing I didn't have to go on a Mission field across the world to find those in need.  Others whose lives are very different from ours.  People we could help.  People who need to see Jesus.

All along, I knew that I needed to focus on those who needed the help and services and not on myself.

Then the work began....  It was amazing to settle in and help out.  There were many needs and it helped out with my spirits to look at the children, my own, and the youth who were all exuberantly volunteering with great gusto.

When a friend, who is regularly volunteering/working there with her own boys, showed me the restroom when we walked through a lot of chairs... here I thought the folks picked out seats they needed for their homes.

Here, she explained, is where all individuals that are served hear the gospel of Christ and learn of Jesus' amazing love before they pick up the items they need.

This is what it is all about....  Then, I began to pray, I realized I needed to pray for those in need including the volunteers and their families.  The lady I met who was volunteering, every day, even though she needed a paying job herself.  Here she was sharing the love of Christ by reaching out to others when she had such great need of her own.

I was humbled.  And thankful we came  Would you join us or a Ministry like this to reach out to others in need?  Do you know Christ and how He makes a difference in every ones life who will let Him?

And if you can join us, come on out to visit With Love from Jesus!  We could use a lot more help. :) God Bless!

Warmly, Carolina Mama