Coincidence??? NO WAY!!!

Last night we met a friend for dinner at a new restaurant in Olive Branch, MS.  A couple things happened and I was so grateful to God for putting us there!  (Oh, and the food was fabulous too!)

Our friend, Sherri had been there before so she wanted to introduce us to the owner.  She was a sweet woman and came and talked to us for a while.  In conversation she told us that God had laid on her heart that very morning that He wanted her to provide 10 families with Thanksgiving meals........

I couldn't believe my ears!  

I had a call just a few hours earlier from a woman that we worked with in August and at that time she was homeless.  She called to let us know that she had been blessed with a home and was just wondering if we knew of anywhere she and her family could get a Thanksgiving meal.  I did not know of anywhere but told her I would let her know if something came up.  WOW!!!

THEN, we continued talking about New Orleans, where she is from and we are planning a second Ruth's Heart location, and it turns out she worked with the homeless community in New Orleans for 9 years!  Amazing!  (Yes, we have a lunch date Monday afternoon!)

THEN, I walked out to our car to get her a brochure and there was a man outside and asked me if we had jumper cables, that his car was just down the street.  I told him I wasn't sure but I would go in and get my husband to come talk to him.  So as my husband was helping this man and his daughter jump their battery, he didn't have enough light and left them to come back for a flashlight.  When he returned, the daughter said she had noticed the Ruth's Heart magnet on our car and wanted to know just what we do.  So he explained to her and she turned to him and said 

"Can you please help my daddy?" 

This young lady's father needs help with his addiction to alcohol as it is separating him from his family and is tearing her apart.  She described the church that she goes to but said it isn't for her father, she then described the church she hoped her dad would find and what she described was Jacob's Well, our ministry partner and urban church for all 'non-perfect' people, where everyone is welcome and loved regardless of their situation, struggles, past sins or weaknesses.  

She is going to call me and with much prayer and God's guidance we hope to be able to find him the help he needs for himself, his family, and his daughter who obviously loves him so much.

Coincidence:  a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection.

Appointment:  an arrangement to meet someone at a particular time and place.

I think this night was definitely an "appointment" made by God himself and we just didn't know about it until it happened!  

Thank you God for all you do, even when we have no idea what you are up to!!!

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Special Needs: Diapers, Crib Sheets and Uniforms - can you help?

We have two clients with very immediate needs - if you can help please let us know!

he first is a single mom who had a baby girl on Sept. 30th and is in need of size 1 diapers either Huggies or Pampers (or a gift card). She also needs crib sheets. She has a crib but the baby isn't sleeping in it because she has no sheets.

The second is a single woman who is at the abused women's shelter and just got a job and is in need of uniforms. She is currently wearing and washing the same uniform every day. She needs size 14 black pants and size XL white button down shirts.

If you can help either of these ladies, we would be glad to pick up any donations or deliver gift cards if you'd like to donate towards these needs.

To make a donation for either of these ladies, please go towww.ruthsheart.org/donations and put "new baby" or "uniforms" in the comment with your donation. We will ensure that 100% of your donation goes to these women.

Thank you and be blessed!

I am always humbled when a woman calls us for help and we talk through her immediate needs but then...she whispers her phone number or address.  

I cannot help but wonder who or what she is hiding from or afraid of.  I am so thankful that God allows us to give hope and encouragement in a time of need like these.  I cannot even imagine going through what some of the women we speak to are enduring.  I am also constantly encouraged by their strength and endurance.

Please keep the women (and their children) that are struggling with abuse, homelessness and desperation in your prayers today.  Please pray that we can give them the glimmer of hope, strengthen their faith, and the Love of Christ that they need to press forward and change their situation.

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:2-5