Written By Maggie D.
It’s Wednesday, May 15. I just finished up my shift at the café. I’m sitting on my porch trying to figure out what to write about and I’m stumped. I started to think back about the last espresso that I wrote. And wow! So much has changed since then! The past few weeks have been crazy! And beautiful! I recently got to witness the breakthrough of robin’s eggs becoming little baby chicks in a nest that I found in the courtyard at the café. Then I experienced the heartache two days later after finding the nest rattled, empty, and abandoned. That’s life... isn’t it? The breakthrough and heartbreak. Finally having the love of a mother for myself, but feeling the constant sting of missing my own daughter. Being reunited with people that I love, but only through the death of someone we all loved dearly. The good comes with the bad. The happy and the sad. Life always shows up, but His mercies are new every morning. What is important is staying in a position to be encouraged to keep going. Encouraged not only by the ones around you, but by the Lord as well. And most importantly receiving it.
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Written By Andrenna Williams
The gifts that God has given us are never just for our use and satisfaction. All things ultimately work together for the good of those who serve the Lord and when we submit to His will and call he will make space for our gifts to be used for the kingdom.Sometimes, we are not fully aware of or have confidence in our abilities to operate in our gifts. Here at Uncommon Grounds Cafe, we have been blessed with this space to be able to walk with people from "isolation to community" and discover their God given gifts in the process. One of the ways we do this is by offering people opportunities to walk along side of us as we do our work. Volunteers literally help keep the cafe running and are an integral piece of our puzzle. From cooking in the kitchen and running the register to doing street clean ups to working in our garden to being available to just "listen" to patrons, our volunteers "get to" partner with us in ministry and explore their gifts and talents in a safe and loving environment that is rooted in grace. God not only gives us the grace to succeed but also the grace to fail. Uncommon Grounds Cafe is the perfect place to practice "getting it right". We are currently looking for people to partner with us and volunteer!!! With the summer months ahead, we are getting busier and busier and we need help. We are looking for people who have a desire to serve in a fresh, friendly environment. Is this you? If so, please contact me (Andrenna) at awilliams@churcharmyusa.org. We look forward to meeting and serving with you!!! Rachel Blumer
Over the last year there have been several big changes in my life that I’ve had to accept concerning my health, job, and relationships. Over the last month God has shown me how much I still had to let go of things in my life that are no longer the same and how much I still need to accept the things that have changed and things that are still changing. I have been going to Celebrate Recovery at Uncommon Grounds for over 2 years, a program that by it’s nature brings about change and transformation in the lives of those who work the program, and I am still learning to truly accept real change and trust that God will take care of me when things are difficult and I cannot see what is in store for my future. None of us really know what the future has in store, but many like myself try to make plans and figure out ways to feel we have some control over the things that happen to us in life. It has been and continues to be a struggle for me to accept that I cannot know how my life will work out or control my future or make anything certain or secure other than entrusting my life and my future to God. I know and believe that God does indeed work all things for my good, that even when I cannot see or understand what He is doing or how He will use even the difficulties and pain for my good, I can trust that God is faithful and perfect in His goodness and love for me. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” I am learning that because God’s ways are not my ways, when my plans fail and things don’t go as I wanted, it may be hard but I am learning to truly trust and believe that this does not mean God’s good plans for me have gone wrong and that I can still trust that He is at work in my life and His goodness, faithfulness, and love will never fail. I am learning to find peace in trusting the God I know when I cannot rely on anything else for security or peace and learning that God is the only thing in life that can ever truly be relied upon. |
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