these are photos of the mural that dimitri has done for the nativity house. he's been working on it for a month now and i've gotten to help out some! it is so fun. the nativity house is like a soup kitchen. people can go there and get food during the day when they have to be out of the shelters. they have a chapel and an art room and storage and rest rooms and the most loving staff. the trunk of the tree has all the names of the donors that helped build this building.

this is what d does. all over the world he does this. i am honored to not only know him, but to to get to help bless these people with art... God is so good.

d and i have started going to their chapel service on Thurs morning. we walk about 3 miles from our favorite coffee place to downtown. it's so interesting. while we were walking yesterday i asked him what he thought people thought when they saw us. i said, "oh look at that nice lady taking that homeless guy somewhere." we laughed and i asked if i could be homeless looking also. he said no. i was too clean. i was like, "well homeless people get clean. maybe i just got clean." and he said it was a different kind of clean. deep clean. and my shoes were a dead give away. way too clean.

anyway- yesterday was the second time d and i had gone to the service and the staff rotates who leads it and it was paulette's day. she is a wonderful black woman and every bit of powerful christian that great stereotype has. bold and loving and in the moment. these services have gotten small lately but d did invite a young man who was waiting outside for the kitchen to open. so there were 4 of us.

paulette looked at me and with a tired voice asked if i was prayed up. and i say yes and she tells me that this is mine. i'm going to lead it. now normally that would not intimidate me but i have been here 6 months and this season has been one of learning to listen and not speak and to love openly and vulnerably. there is no self or pride in my teaching or leading now and in fact i feel nervous and ill-equipped. so i start to pray and God (of course) takes over and it's powerful and He brings a scripture to mind to talk about and that feeling of being out of my body while He uses it is so strong and i can feel the spirit in the room and i am blown away.

we have great discussion and encourage david, the young man there, and it is obvious that paulette has been refreshed and ministered to and she says she is loving this and... i feel high.

then d and i go outside and talk to some of the people in line waiting to get in and i want to hug all of them but i refrain and we all talk and laugh for a few minutes and then d and i start our walk back home.

ok let me go back for a minute and tell you that that morning, yesterday morning, i was worried and anxious before my eyes opened. i couldn't decide what to do. i had overlapping obligations and when i showed up for coffee i didn't know if we needed to go to nativity house at all. d was so supportive and said he wanted me to take time and pray and choose, that he felt no compulsion to go but he would support my choice. we, of course, didn't know what was going to happen, and i'm still not sure he gets what happened for me fully although i explained some of it to him on the way home.

i can't even explain to myself all that went down in the right order to make it what it was but it was soooooooooooooooo God!

then i got home and Corey (my accountability partner) had sent me this word via email:

"This season is a season to claim your voice, your heart and your life. Others have spoken for you and know it will be your season to live YOUR life and to express it without shame, bitterness or regret. but with boldness, grace, love, acceptance and in freedom. Let the dividing barrier come down!"

AND ALL HIS PEOPLE SAID?

AMEN!!!!!