m2k @ m2h = miss marti’s kids at miss marti’s house
Posted: Friday, February 26, 2010 Filed under: 2k7 | Tags: chllin', missional, Northside Missional Community, Southern Barton Heights Comments Off on m2k @ m2h = miss marti’s kids at miss marti’s houseJust a few pics of the kids from this time period…
Rob and his great smile!
Dude, Lil Mike, Man-Man and Tony
Tony, Lil Mike and Dude
Tony and Dude
Anthony aka Tony....my son that I share with Shonda, his real mama!
Don, Luke, Jesus & Marti
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010 Filed under: 2k6, 2k7, Louis and Me! | Tags: calling, harvest, Jesus, missionary, Northside Missional Community, Richmond, Urban 3 CommentsSorry….this is a longer post! But, hang in there!!! It’s a good one! I promise!
Luke 10
- After the Lord…sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
- He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
God gave me strength during some hard conversations. Some close friends and family members were never super thrilled about me moving into this neighborhood. They loved me and feared for my safety. One close family member gave me a particularly hard time. Finally, I asked him…”If God called me to go to Africa, China or Brazil to do His work, how would you feel?” He quickly agreed that he would fully support it. I respectfully shared with him, that God had called me to the mission field, it just happened to be an urban mission field. I didn’t have to go half-way around the world, but could stay in my own Jerusalem and be about God’s work. If he or anyone else had a problem with that, they needed to take it up with God…not with me. I had to concern myself with obeying my heavenly Father first. No one ever said that following God meant it would be easy. There were friends who refused to come to my house, or only came during the daytime. But, that is why God called me (not them) to live here. At times, being obedient means sacrificing.
I didn’t always see it as sacrificial….because it seemed sooo right. I had a real peace about it. But, I saw it as an opportunity to expose my circle of influence to something they might not have encountered otherwise. My friends and family have grown to accept my choice and love my neighborhood and its residents. They are willing to visit…day or night! My neighborhood was really not THAT different from my previous neighborhood or theirs. It just LOOKED different.
2006 had been a trying year in many ways. I LOVED on these kids….day and night. And their stories and their needs broke my heart. There were many lonely times…where I felt like I was all alone in this…..and I was tired. In retrospect, I was probably trying to do it all alone rather than seeking God’s will and help. The needs of the community were so overwhelming. I found myself only seeing the dealers, the prostitutes, the homelessness, the absentee fathers, the struggling single moms, the addicts, the guys hanging out on street corners doing a whole lot of nothing. Trying to be a light in the darkness. As a reminder…It’s interesting…in looking back, my journal wasn’t as full as it normally was. Indicating to me now, that I probably wasn’t praying and listening to God as much as I should have.
In December of 2006, a group of us from church were meeting for lunch. Rob, my pastor, had brought this group together to encourage us as Christians in workplaces throughout the city. This is where I first got to know Don Coleman… Pastor Don. I was sharing the story of my neighborhood, and work. Don gave me a Word…Luke 10:1-7.
1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
It had been a year, almost to the day, since Kevin (remember Kevin…the bone God tossed me when I prayed for my future husband?) had come into my life. I had not talked with Kevin but once or twice since that day. But, I had meditated on Deuteronomy 8 many times. Now, Don gives me Luke. Being a quick study, I knew to take this seriously. After meditating on this Word for weeks, reading it over-and-over again, by mid January, 2007, I felt sure of its intent for me.
– God was reminding me that he still hadn’t forgotten about me and my singleness, that he had the other ½ of my pair out there somewhere, and we would be in ministry together. God had sent me (and some day my other ½) to SBH in preparation for Jesus ‘showing up’. I needed NOT to pray for my future husband….but to pray for the other half of my pair….my partner in the ministry. If it happened to be my husband…Lord, THAT would be the icing on the cake!
– I was right where I was supposed to be…at work and at home. The harvest was plentiful…and the laborers were few. I had been called to ‘be Jesus’ to people in my life.
– My house…was a ‘House of Peace’. Confirming that it was God’s house…not mine and that I was not to ‘force’ my Peace on anyone.
I was about to find out that there was more in that Word than I thought…..
Lookin’ to the Hills
Posted: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Filed under: 2k6 | Tags: Jesus, missionary, Northside Missional Community, prayer, Richmond, scripture, Southern Barton Heights, Urban 1 Comment
Psalms 121
1. I lift up my eyes up to the hills – where does my help come from?
2. My help comes from the Lord.
The kids were attending church with me on a regular basis. More and more kids became part of my life. We had sleepovers, watched football games, pick-up street games, etc. The youth group had officially started at Commonwealth…with Sunday night gatherings, retreats and lock-ins. Neighbors were starting to call the house “Miss Marti’s House”….and it has stuck.
A women’s small group from my church was meeting at my house several times a month. I was still regularly meeting with the Lord through reading and studying the Word and prayer….or at least I started off that way.
Not all was great. I was accepted…by most, but not all. In some cases, it was clear that I was not welcomed, as a professional white single woman. The adults didn’t trust me. Many didn’t understand why I moved in and why I was letting the kids run in and out of the house. Some didn’t understand WHY in the world would the kids WANT to hang out. It wasn’t me…it was the “God in Me”… the LOVE and PEACE they felt when they were in my home. In the presence of the Lord.
Side note: When I was younger, I used to DREAM of having a houseful of kids….and that we would have the “cool house” where all the kids would want to hang out. What little did I know…that God would bring that dream true! What I didn’t expect was that the kids wouldn’t be mine nor…would they be black!
My success at work and my sphere of influence had increased. I often wondered why God called me to work among some of the wealthiest, and live among what some would call the ‘least of these’. There was diversity in skin color, but also in education and socioeconomic status. My two worlds were as divergent as you could get. I began to wonder what God was up to. At what point would these 2 paths cross?
Challenges were not just in the community, but they also came at work, where I faced an employee relations situation alleging that I created a hostile work environment based on race…because I talked about my kids. It was unfounded.
As I reflect on this situation, I realize that Satan will go ALL out, when you ‘sell out’ totally to the Lord. Satan will only mess with those who he sees as a threat…..because they are in the will of God. This was simply a distraction.
I also have come to realize….in retrospect…that I must not have been reading and praying like I had done previously. Let’s just say that my journals are a bit light. But…I finally figured it out…
I knew where to go. I went to the Lord. My help….my strength….it cometh from the Lord.
Reflections from Tuesday’s earlier post…
Posted: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Filed under: 2k10 | Tags: Jesus, mission, Northside Missional Community, prayer, Urban Comments Off on Reflections from Tuesday’s earlier post…Additional reflections from today’s post….
I was rereading what I wrote earlier this morning…and looking at the picture of the candles. Note that there isn’t just one candle there. There are like 5 of them. 1 candle brings light into darkness, but…how much more light comes from the 5? 5 times the light?
It’s important that we gather together….to bring light into darkness. To come along side those who are following God’s will in these type situations. I am sooo thankful to my friends and family who shined in the darkness with me during these early days….and today!
If you know someone who is taking chances, making sacrifices, etc. in the name of Jesus…remember to support them…with your PRAYERS, with your finances (if there is a need), with your presence. It means the WORLD!!! There were times that it got really lonely…and tiring…and scary.
Sometimes…
it still does.
ps. Thanks to my friend and wedding photographer, Rebekah O’Dell. This pic was from my wedding!!! Love you, Rebekah!!!
This little light of mine…
Posted: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Filed under: 2k6 | Tags: cross, light, missional, missionary, Northside Missional Community, Richmond, Southern Barton Heights, this little light of mine, Urban 2 Comments
I’m gonna let it shine!
2006 starts off to be a good year. I became more and more engrossed in my community. It was a time of building relationships…and just living. My neighbors were now my friends…having cook-outs, walking, community civic meetings, etc. I was now officially ‘Miss Marti’ and the neighborhood kids were now ‘Miss Marti’s Kids’. It became quite normal to have a bunch of middle and high school boys coming in and out of the house. God had called me to this community…to live…and to love. Nothing more.
I was encouraged. The Wall of Crosses have been used more than once. Shortly after Kevin’s visit, I moved the crosses (begrudgingly) from the front room in the house to my den at the back of the house. All because I hung a candelabra that would block the view. On the day of our joint cookout Memorial Day 2006, Nichelle, my next door neighbor, shared with me that her friend wanted to meet me. I was like “Why does he want to meet me? He wants to meet the crazy white woman on the corner?”
Come to find out, he had driven down Barton Avenue one evening…in need of a lift, when he looked in my breakfast nook windows and saw my Wall of Crosses in my den….on the other side of the house. The corner lot has been such a blessing!!! He stated that the crosses brought him peace and comfort in a time of need. Now, some would be totally freaked that someone was looking in their house. Me? I was thrilled!! I was wowed at God’s goodness.
I had begrudgingly moved the crosses…grumbling as I put each nail in the wall…due to a stupid candelabra…only to find out that God had something else in store. Before, you had to come IN my house to see the Crosses. Now, you could see them OUTside while walking or driving down the road. That very day, I set my light timer in my den to come on at sunset and to cut off at sunrise, allowing the crosses to be seen 24 hours a day, every day.
It reminds me….how people look at me on the OUTside…they don’t need to look at the INside. I have some family, friends, neighbors, colleagues who don’t know me up close and personal. Who don’t necessarily know my heart, because they only see me on the outside. But…does my outside shine brightly? Doesn’t that sometimes speak louder than any words? Is my timer set to shine in the darkness and light the way to the cross?
I pray that my Wall of Crosses…and my life…my home…bring Peace to Southern Barton Heights. That my life shines BRIGHTLY and points to the Cross.
The Chair
Posted: Sunday, February 21, 2010 Filed under: 2k5 and before, Louis and Me! | Tags: Jesus, Lent, mission, missionary, Northside Missional Community, prayer, Richmond, Southern Barton Heights, Urban Comments Off on The Chair
Psalms 119
1. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Hold on? What does ‘hold on’ mean in your spiritual life? For your safety….hold on means…reading the Bible, praying, and surrounding yourself with people who are going to love, support and hold you accountable. I knew I was going to need to ‘hold on’ when the neighborhood kids descended on my new home the FIRST weekend that I moved in.
Anthony (who quickly elevated me to ‘white mama’ status) was the first kid I met. From the middle of the intersection……at my ELEVATED CORNER LOT…Anthony and some of his friends (all boys!) were riding their bikes. Anthony’s first words were ’Howdy Neighbor! Welcome to the Neighborhood!’ Then….he wanted to know if I had any kids that could come out and play. He looked completely dejected when I told him that I didn’t. But, the disappointment didn’t last long, when I shared with him that I could make a ‘mean’ cookie! When the kids came a’ knockin’ 30 minutes later, I was forced into baking some that night. It was awesome! Since that time, many of the neighborhood kids hang at “Miss Marti’s House” causing me to ‘hold on’ more than ever before! You will hear much more about Miss Marti’s Kids in future posts. They all totally ROCK!!!
As part of moving into the house where I had so much more room, I wanted a chair…a space….dedicated to reading the Word and spending quiet time with the Lord. I moved in mid-August and had that space by mid September. As I began to take my quiet time with the Lord more and more seriously, the Lord was revealing more and more to me…about Him…and about me. I spent every morning in that chair…sometimes it was just a minute or 2, sometimes it was 30! Regardless, I knew it had to become a discipline…a habit. Not just a ‘crash course’ to prepare for my Tuesday Night Bible study.
In December of 2005, I was reading John. It’s awesome how God works. We got an early snow. I went outside to start the car…’to let it warm up’ and was too lazy to go back upstairs to ‘the chair’. So, I sat downstairs and flipped through another Bible to find where I left off and read John… where Jesus speaks about praying in His name. The next day…I am pulled to that same verse again. For the first time…I prayed about my singleness in Jesus name. I told the Lord…”just throw me a bone…give me a sign. If you plan on me getting married one day…just throw me a bone. Let me know you haven’t forgotten about me.”
My friend Riste said….after hearing the rest of this short story… “imagine what He would have done if you had asked for the man…instead of the bone?!??!?”
Missional Community 02.22.2010
Posted: Sunday, February 21, 2010 Filed under: 2k10 | Tags: Bible, eat, Jesus, mission, Northside Missional Community, pray, Richmond, serve, Southern Barton Heights, Urban Comments Off on Missional Community 02.22.2010
On the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month…there are a group of us that meet together to fellowship, study the Word (Bible), and pray. In addition, we are also on Mission with Jesus to serve the Southern Barton Heights community…like games at National Night Out. We call our group a Missional Community. You are welcome to join us! We meet from 6:30-8:30p ET. We meet tomorrow…02.22.2010. We will have lasgana…and whatever sides folks bring! Pics are from 2009 National Night Out @ Cannon Creek.
our house…is a very very very fine house…
Posted: Saturday, February 20, 2010 Filed under: 2k5 and before | Tags: Commonwealth Chapel, Jesus, Lent, marriage, mission, Northside Missional Community, prayer, Richmond, Southern Barton Heights, Urban 2 Comments
…as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.
Joshua 25:14
So…we walked the few blocks to the address… This is what I found! THE house…God’s House…the color, the existing neighborhood, the floor plan…and the bonus GWP (gift with purchase). It wasn’t just a corner lot….but an ELEVATED corner lot. (For those of you who live in the city…or on a corner…you know how desirable it is to have an ELEVATED corner lot!!!) Needless to say, God wasn’t messing around! I put the down payment on the house that very day! The Lord had gotten my attention.
There were sooo many details that led to this moment. I have so many people to thank! Specifically…Marc…wow….what would I have done without him!?!? He was a new co-worker that I had prayed into my life that year…and he would go with me at all times of day and night into the neighborhood…encouraging me and praying with and for me! Reminding me…that God has my back…that I COULD in fact do this. That I was being called. I thank God for friends who encourage and pray!!!
Time went by quickly, but it seemed like it was forever. God was on the move…that is for sure. During the time between putting the contract on the house and moving in…I changed churches. For close to a year, God had been preparing me for a move that I didn’t know I was going to make. I had been fully involved in a large church in the West End of Richmond, although I had lived in the city of Richmond, not in suburbia for years. I had been feeling a bit restless. Looking back at it, God prepared me mentally and spiritually for this change. Slowly, the Lord pulled me out of most of my volunteer responsibilities. By the time that Rob Rhoden made the announcement that he was moving to Commonwealth Chapel (an inner-city church) as the pastor, I was ready to go. There was really nothing to hold me back. No transition of anything. It was amazing!
For the first time, I walked into church that first day, and Sister Chappell greeted me at the door. I felt right at home! You see, my grandmother (Mom’s mom) was one of the founding members of Bethel Assembly of God, now known as Commonwealth Chapel. My grandmother died when I was just 2 years old. Sister Chappell remembered “Holzbach”, as people called my grandmother back then. On a side note, Mom was baptized in water and the Holy Spirit as a child in that building. Mom and Dad and my Uncle and his wife all got married at Bethel. Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2007. It was like coming home.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!! More on this later….but 51+ years later, I also got married in that church. But, I am getting ahead of myself!
I found 2 homes the year of 2005. My church home….and my new home. I remember sitting on the front porch with Justin – one of my youth kids (then, college kid…now college grad…about to get married!!!!) that I had shared life with for several years. Wondering why I wasn’t more excited about moving into the new house…why it didn’t seem more surreal. He wisely responded, “Because it’s right. God wanted you here.” God brought me to Commonwealth Chapel and to Southern Barton Heights. Why? I wasn’t sure….but, I would soon find out.
I always considered my house…God’s house…not mine. It’s amazing what will happen when you not only dedicate your life…but your house, your job, your whatever to the Lord. He will use it! Be sure that your seat belts are buckled and your lap trays are in the upright position. Keep your hands and arms inside the ride.
In other words….Hold on! You are in for the ride of your life.
Daring God…
Posted: Friday, February 19, 2010 Filed under: 2k5 and before | Tags: Jesus, Lent, mission, Northside Missional Community, Richmond, Southern Barton Heights, Urban 2 Comments
Psalms 25
4. Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths;
5. guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long.
I began looking in the North Side of Richmond…specifically in the Battery Park, Barton Heights and Highland Park area. Ginter Park, the Fan, and other areas of the city that were deemed by many as ‘more acceptable’ for a single, white woman from the West End of Richmond, were just out of my price range. I just couldn’t see spending that much money on a house! My friends, both African-American/Black and white, were discouraging me from looking in that part of Northside…because of the crime…and because I am white and would be considered a ‘target’. So I stopped looking in that area.
God had something else in mind. That’s when my good friend Cindy Mims talked me into coming back to the area to look. You see, she and her husband Billy just purchased a home that was under renovation in Southern Barton Heights. She shared with me the story behind the area and the work that was taking place to revitalize it. After a tour one day, Cindy gave me a packet of information that explained the Neighborhood in Blooms program and offered floor plans of 3 different models of a new development that was being built around the corner from her house. An open house was scheduled in the upcoming weeks. So…I agreed to go.
I pondered those floor plans….and prayed to God for guidance, again. Is this where He wanted me to live? A lot of street crime – mainly prostitution and drug dealing were taking place on the corners. There was virtually no diversity at all…everyone seemed to be African-American/Black. Much different from the life I had lived up to now. After hours reviewing the floor plans and praying, I (and God with me!) pictured THE house…down to the color, corner lot, floor plan, exterior, etc. but in the existing neighborhood. I said…if THIS house is on the market, I will take it. Considering it almost a dare to God….just knowing that there wouldn’t be a house to match it. These houses were in a new neighborhood!
What little did I know! Cindy and I went on the tour. The ‘model home’ was the floor plan I was most interested in. Falling in love with it from the minute I walked in…I began to almost whine internally. Why did this house need to be in this neighborhood? Cindy and I went on the walking tour, ending back at the model home. While speaking with the real estate agent, I expressed my interest… ‘If only this house was in the existing neighborhood…’ I dared the Lord, as I was secretly relieved. I was walking away when Graham (the real estate agent) stated….’take a look at 2101 Barton Ave”….
Miss Marti's House 
