Do you hear them? Voices, that is...

It's a common sight to see people walking our streets, obviously engaged in a conversation that is taking place inside their heads.

How do you respond to the sight of the one who is engaged in a bitter battle with an unseen foe?

Do you ignore them, mock them, avoid them, pray for them...

Are you moved to tears?

Do you lose sleep as you wrestle with their plight and your desire to do something to help them?

Do you hear their voices? Do you hear the silent screams of those who walk the streets of our nation as they plunder through long days of sad realities that seem impossible to overcome?

 Do you care? Does it matter to you that people are suffering?

I am haunted by the faces of those who wander the streets of my city. I am approached daily by someone asking me if I have some spare change...

Many are disheveled, dressed in tattered clothing... Others reek of alcohol or are obviously under the influence of some sort of drug or chemical substance.

The common factor is the deep, deep sadness that I see in their eyes. Hopelessness is a monster that robs a human being of their ability to engage in the beauty of life; or to comprehend it's potential for joy and happiness.

I've been hearing voices for the past several days, and one in particular.

In his address to the Republican National Convention, John McCain stated that "he would extend his hand to anyone who would help him get this nation moving again."

 That's just the call to action that I've been waiting for.

I long to help bring change that reaches all the way down to those who are walking the streets of my city.... Especially the children.

When I reach out to share my change; my heart weeps because I would rather offer them a quiet room with a comfortable bed, a hot meal, and the opportunity to sit with them and develop a plan that will end their homelessness.

The day is coming when that is exactly what I will be able to do.

Voices can bring pain, and voices can bring change. I've endured the haunting voices of my past as they echoed through my memory banks... I've endured the old tapes that held me captive to my history for many, many years.

I have also experienced the freedom that comes once you speak back to those voices and forever silence their taunting accusations and shame.

The holidays will be here very soon, and the celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas will once again lay heavy on the hearts of those who have no place to call home.

 With each passing year, holiday festivities are losing their ability to sadden my heart and hold me captive to the pain of holidays past.

This year, I am prepared for the holidays to come... I know what it's like to be overcome by grief and sadness during the seasons of celebration that amplify one's aloneness.

I'm one of the voices that John McCain is looking for. I'm the voice of one who can offer insight into issues that are beyond the scope of his experience.

In his address, he spoke of "antiquated governmental systems, and why they are no longer accomplishing the purposes for which they were created."

I am thrilled to think that there is the potential for me to be the voice in his ear that could point him to real and viable solutions concerning the issues of homelessness and poverty alleviation.

Yes, I hear many voices rumbling in my head as I try to sleep. I hear the voices of candidates who assure me of their intent to bring much needed change to our government...

I hear the voices of men and women in my neighborhood asking for spare change...

As I continue to forge a new life for myself, I become more intent on becoming the voice of those who cannot speak for themselves.

The day is fast approaching when more and more people will be engaged in a conversation with a voice that is taking place inside their head...

And that voice will be mine.

Who are you?

Why is it you find yourself reading this blog?

What is it about God's Grace Notes that captures your attention?

I'm not talking to everyone... just a chosen few.

Those of you who drop in from time to time.. browse my posts, then silently slip away.

A blog can be somewhat like a whisper in your ear... it softly beckons you to draw closer. To listen more intently...

There's something being said that you find intriguing, and you don't want to miss it.

That's how it is with the Bible... it has beckoned to me for years. I have read it, studied it;

I have written in mine from cover to cover... not just one, but many of them! They tend to wear out as the years go by...

I have poured out my deepest needs, concerns, fears, failures, hopes and dreams into the pages of this book.

I heard a statement the other day that has captured my thoughts.

It was just a short out-take from a message that Jentezen Franklin was preaching on TBN.

It's not verbatim, but it's the part that captured me:

"There have been times in my life when I couldn't hear God. When I can't hear God, I read God... and when I read God I begin to hear God. When you need to hear God, you need to read His book... when you begin to read this book, then this book begins to read you!"

I so totally relate to what he was saying! There have been times in my life when it seemed God was a million miles away... far away and unable to hear my whispered prayers for help.

There have been times that I have felt like He's been in the very same room, and couldn't hear me shouting at the top of my lungs!

This journey we know as "life" certainly is a peculiar trip, isn't it?

Sometimes it seems as if life is hell- bent on stealing absolutely every good thing from us that life is supposed to have to offer!

So, today I'm wondering... who is it that I'm speaking with? Who is it, that like myself... are hungering for more than just a religious status quo?

I'm tired of hearing that the world is out of control...

I'm tired of the poverty, abuse, neglect and forsakeness I see in the faces of so many people!

There are some amazing organizations and groups of people who are taking the needs of the world to heart, and have established some incredible ways to help.

Kids who are forced to live on the street is a outrage in our country of such extreme abundance!

When kids are delegated to the streets, the light of their spirits are often squelched before they even realize how creative and beautiful they really are!

It's our loss, really...

Children are creative, bright, intuitive, energetic, enthusiastic.. sounds like the ingredients necessary to create a life filled with great joy, don't you think?

Joy is contagious, so our nation and our world are robbed of a spark of hope as each one of these young lives are crushed under the burden of living (surviving) on the streets of our nation.

Apalling, isn't it?

Why do you think this bothers me so much?

As you can see, I'm linked to many of these organizations that offer hope and help to people in need.

Grief support, spiritual support, help for the homeless, and those who offer food for the children...

Why do you think?

Yes, you guessed it. Because I've been there, done that. I've been a child of the streets, and I know how lonely and frightening it is to be so.

I survived the nightmare. I not only survived; I've become very well educated in the arena of emotional, social and religious extremes, as well as the poverty, despair and homelessness that is often born of them.

I'm well acquainted with the shortcomings of the religion that fuels the flames of failure in a heart torn by grief.

That's why I've built my own little kingdom known as

 God's Grace Notes!

It may not seem like much... just a few pages in a blog, a fledgling website and a heart's desire to change the world!

www.godsgracenotes.com

It may not SEEM like much, but it is.

I've come to understand that ONE VOICE, one person, one song, one bright idea, one tiny little note of love can change the world for someone in desperate need.

Did you know that a roll of toilet paper can sometimes be a miracle?

When you are homeless, or living in a shelter... your own roll of toilet paper becomes a golden treasure!

It's something most people take for granted, and yet... so many people don't even have the ability to keep their homes filled with such a basic necessity.

There just has to be a better way for us to govern our world.. and there is!

The Bible tells us that...

"of the increase of His government there shall be no end."

That's speaking of Jesus. Now, there's a man who knows how to meet the needs of people!

"Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this."

Isaiah 9:7

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this!

The whisper of His voice is rumbling in my heart.

It roars louder each day, as I am surrounded by broken hearted children, women who live in fear or dread of the man that should be their provider, people who are suffering from physical illnesses, mental turmoil, and a host of spiritually wounded warriors.

That would be those who "used to go to church"... but don't go anymore. Most will emphatically tell you that they got out and they are never going back! 

You say that sounds like a rough neighborhood? Well, it is.

I live in the same world you do, and yes; it is a very rough neighborhood.

The difference is... I'm no long afraid to speak up and do what it takes to change my neighborhood. I'm not afraid to reach out and do what I can do to change my own little corner of the world.

Again, it may not seem like much, but it is. Any good thing that is done for someone else has the potential to change their world for good.

Kindness has the ability to give a broken hearted person the opportunity to see themselves from a different vantage point.

It's the thing that changed my life... one small kindness after another, year after year; little tokens of love that have brought me to the place of BELIEVING the grace notes that have been delivered to me from God's Word.

Words of love, encouragment, hope, acceptance, celebration, inspiration, compassion and approval have led me to a place of my own personal epiphany!

I KNOW that God loves me.

 I tried to earn that love for a lifetime; but God refused to accept my actions that were steeped in faulty perceptions about our relationship!

The thing is, that now... I don't even try to earn his love. It's free and unconditional. It's been the wooing of that still small voice of love and approval that has led me to this place of celebration...

This place of understanding, this place of personal experience is life-transforming!

It's led me to the brink of transcendence!

My journey has led me to the place that I can now ask the question...

Who am I talking to?

Why are you here?

What is it that's stirring within your heart that has compelled you click on a link called

God's Grace Notes?

I know what it is... it's that same wooing voice that is beckoning you to bend an ear.

You hear something that you are straining to comprehend, and you don't want to miss it either!

Take heart, Dear Reader.

God is leading us closer and closer to the place that He intends for our lives to intersect!

I am fully convinced that He has a GOOD Plan for ALL of us... and I refuse to let go of that hope that propels me ever forward.

I hear the heart cries of a nation of suffering saints...

I hear the moans of hungry children, who have no means of providing for themselves.

I hear the depression of battered hearts who have lost their spark of life.

I'm not the only one who hears...

JESUS HEARS...

...and He fully intends to do something about it!

I'm listening closely; because His plan is for us to pay attention, and be ready to deploy at a moment's notice!

It's time for me to close this portion of pondering prose...

So, who are you?

Who's listening?

What are you doing to help change the world?

What is it in your world that needs to be changed?

Can you help me?

Can I help you?

You never know... but as each day passes; and we each step more fully into our purposes...

We may find that we are destined to meet... face to face!

Won't that be great fun? I look forward to working together with others who are determined to change the world for good.

I was given some good advice by one of the Director's of a homeless shelter...

She said, "Start where you are, and do what you can with what you've got."

It seemed a trite platitude to me at that moment... but that was then; and this is now.

Now, I understand what she meant. Now, I can fully embrace where I am; but now I am also straining more intently to hear the whispers of the man who directs me about the what's and where's of what I can do.

So, I'll keep posting as I ponder; I'll keep listening for your responses; whether small or great... I'll be listening as I pray.

...and we'll let the Governor of Peace take it from there!

In the interim, Godspeed... and Shalom

I'll talk to you again soon,

Connie

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans for hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

What are WE doing to help?

Visit Child Help to learn more about how you can help the millions of children who are suffering from child abuse and neglect...

It's what Jesus would do, and it's what we should do too.

Let's get really aggressive, and make a difference in the life of these kids.

Shall we?