One day, long ago, an old man sat down and wrote a letter. With few remaining days on this earth, the elderly pastor’s letter was his final act of faithfulness to the gospel of Christ’s kingdom. Suffice it to say, he didn’t hold back. The epistle John left the world with the most imaginative and dramatic body of literature in our Bible. His words have brought hope, fear, clarity, confusion, mystery, and mischief. So, what are we to do with such a strange book? Author Eugene Peterson has some words of wisdom for us.
This Hallelujah Banquet (Waterbrook)focuses on John’s opening verses in the Book of Revelation. Seven churches are in various states of distress, and the apostle’s exhortation was intended to bring comfort and correction. It was a time of deception and injustice. Believers were losing hope, losing their courage, and losing their love of God. Some were even losing their lives.
This Hallelujah Banquet is a reminder that the strange writing we encounter in Revelation was never intended to obscure the truth, but to reveal it. It wasn’t written to the last generation of Christians, but the first. They knew exactly what John meant because he wrote it specifically to them. But there are lessons for us in these ancient words. Be courageous. Be faithful. Live in hope. Never lose your love of God. Be wise and discerning. John’s letter was not intended to be a manual on prophecy, but a call to live proleptically. As followers of Jesus, we live in the perpetual dawning of Christ’s kingdom. One day, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess Christ is King. Revelation isn’t about the end of the world. It’s about a kingdom fully come, a just and redeemed world without end. Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.
Who doesn’t love touring a home with unique character that is updated with the latest and greatest interior design trends? Tom and I love showing homes that appear as if they had just been featured in this month’s article of the Birmingham Home and Garden. However, those types of showings are few and far between. We tour numerous homes weekly and the majority of them need- at minimum- a few things changed before they qualify as “magazine worthy.” I can almost guarantee the majority of homes you see in magazines were not purchased in the condition they were photographed in for the shoot. It took months and even years of change and vision to create the masterpiece you see when flipping through pages.
Many buyers initially expect to find the perfect house that checks every box, but the likelihood of that happening- especially in this kind of market- is slim to none. We believe now is more important than ever to have vision and see the beauty in change. I’ve lost count of how many times we hear “change is hard,” but some of our favorite homes we’ve sold were the ones that needed a little TLC and change. Our clients were able to see past the dark paneled wall, funky kitchen layout, or bad paint job to visualize the transformation it could one day become. We never said the change was easy, but we are saying if you are willing to make a few concessions, your perfect home might not be too far away.
Homeowners always face having to make some sort of concessions like deciding between an outdated kitchen and bathroom to get the location and budget they want or choose to move into a more updated home with a larger budget, or possibly pick a new construction home which usually adds to commute time. In a seller’s market like we are experiencing today, buyers are faced with a whole new set of concessions in order to win contracts. Some buyers are paying crazy amounts over list price, waving inspections, covering amounts over appraised values and even throwing in their dog to win the contract… okay, maybe not the family fur babies. This is why it is so important to have a strategy in place and embrace a little change. You will probably have to get a little uncomfortable, but so many times being uncomfortable is when you see growth and possibly have your “magazine worthy” home. Just remember, people are always buying and selling homes because lives are always changing. Stay educated in today’s market because you might find yourself having to get a little uncomfortable using some unconventional strategies that are required to achieve the desired results.
The Lovelady Center (TLC), founded in 2005, is a drug addiction treatment and prison reentry center located in Birmingham. What makes TLC different than other treatment centers? John McNeil, Chairman of the Board and Chief Operating Officer at TLC, explains it’s the fact that every woman and child who comes through the doors at TLC hear the hope of Christ and the forgiveness available to them. “The Lovelady Center is faith-based. From our perspective, faith in God is the only thing not going to fail them after a woman leaves TLC,” McNeil says, adding that the center is a long-term, residential, faith-based program.
McNeil shares that roughly 400 women and 75-80 children are at TLC at any time. Women seeking recovery at TLC typically stay for an average of one year. TLC implements a five-phase program that includes Christian counseling, Bible Study and Parenting Skills, Job Readiness, and more. The courses are designed to equip the women with tools to successfully reenter society. “We believe recovery works best in community,” McNeil says adding, “I go in every day and watch God do miracles.”
How do the two Lovelady Center Thrift Stores- located in Clay and Irondale- help the mission of TLC? “The thrift stores are a great source of job readiness for the women at TLC,” McNeil explains, adding that the thrift stores provide close to 50 percent of the operating budget for TLC. “God continues to bless these stores tremendously.”
How can you help? The two thrift stores are accepting donations of slightly used furniture, clothing, and more. If you are looking for volunteer opportunities, TLC has several! McNeil explains that the program’s classes are often taught by volunteers. In addition, TLC welcomes volunteers to help at the daycare center, lead Bible studies, help in the kitchen, and more. “There are talents that so many people have that can be of value to nonprofits like TLC.” If you wonder what kind of help you could be at TLC, McNeil responds with, “You would be surprised.” To learn more about TLC, visit www.loveladycenter.org.
TO SAY THANK YOU for reading and supporting the businesses and organizations that advertise with us and make spreading Good News possible, we have TWO GREAT GIVEAWAYS this month for you and your family!
Alabama Adventure and Splash Adventure Family 4 Pack! Cast Your Vote for Readers’ Choices in Summer Family Fun and be entered to win! THREE Family 4 Packs(each a $140 value) will be given away! Includes 4 Tickets good for any day during the 2021 season. Simply complete the quick survey at www.birminghamchristian.com/resources. Offer ends 6/15/21. Winners announced 6/16/21 on Facebook so be sure to LIKE our page! www.facebook.com/BirminghamChristianFamily
“Look Out!” was a phrase I found myself often using with my three adventurous little boys. During the summer, their favorite pastime was spending time at the beach and running into the surf. At the ages of about 4 and 5, they truly delighted in being knocked down by a wave in the ocean. With a smile and a giggle, they would jump up, wipe their eyes and go at it again. Things really heated up when they learned how to ride a wave. They took such joy in the journey!
We all face challenges in life that sometimes seem to knock us down or take us off course, but the joy comes in knowing that we stand on a firm foundation. God is with us to pick us up and show us how to ride the wave. Through Him, we can find joy in any journey.
It’s Saturday! And Saturday means Pancake Dad is open for business. Three excited children rally their dad out of bed for their special weekly time together: making a yummy breakfast for the family. In Pancake Dad, the Rev. Dr. Ken Gordon, pastor of The House of Light Church in Birmingham, Ala. writes a rollicking story about the enduring value of spending quality time together with one’s children, away from cell phones, televisions, work, and distractions.
“Every Saturday, Pancake Dad cooks pancakes for his wife and their three children. This is his time to allow Mom to rest and not get up early. It is also his time to spend quality time with his children, which is extremely important to him,” Rev. Dr. Gordon explains. Before the team gets started on their cooking, they have their “Saturday Morning Challenge” where they share a memorized verse of Scripture. Pancake Dad follows up by reassuring them,“Everything about you is beautiful, and you are perfect to God, to your mom, and to me!”
In Pancake Dad, Rev. Dr. Gordon expertly weaves a playful story with important messages of faith, love, and fun, brought to life by bright illustrations, and ending with a note of affirmation to dads and an interactive journal entry for kids. Families will delight in reading aloud the positive and joyful story of a loving family spending quality time together.
Pastor Ken, as he is known to his congregation, is a father of four young adults. He wrote Pancake Dad and the subsequent books in the collection “to inspire fathers to put down the cell phone or gaming system, turn off the game, leave work on time, and spend valuable time with their children.” Pancake Dad is the first in a 12-book children’s series focused on encouraging fathers to engage with their families, as opposed to merely being present. This series contains five common threads woven throughout each book.
1. A father putting away distractions and actively engaging with his children.
2. A father empowering his daughter to know she can do anything she puts her mind to.
3. A father modeling what it is to be a man to his sons.
4. A father treating the mother of his children as a queen, with respect and love.
5. A father leading his family to a relationship with God.
“…let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9, ESV
You may have heard the lesson of the young child throwing starfish back into the sea. When told there were too many and he couldn’t really make a difference, he tossed another to safety and remarked that it mattered to that one. It’s a moral tale Christians like to use to illustrate the impact ministry can have on the world if just one life is changed.
“What you do matters” is a phrase you are likely to hear if you talk to one of the ministry team members at Sozo Children. It’s a theme that serves to motivate and remind one another that God’s purpose for believers is to reach others for his Kingdom. Sozo Children is a Birmingham missions ministry that serves vulnerable children in Uganda, Africa—a nation where more than half of the population is under the age of 15 and millions of children live in generational poverty.
The ministry began 10 years ago when two missionaries in Uganda reached out to their former youth pastor, Suzanne Owens, for help when they stumbled upon an orphanage where children had been abandoned. At first, she worked with her friends to provide food and clothing for the children and had no intention of starting a ministry. It didn’t take long to see God had bigger plans. “God said you are going to start children’s homes and have missionaries,” said Owens. “And I said ‘no I’m not’ but fast forward to today and we have 28 acres of land and more than 120 children.”
The name “Sozo” comes from scripture. It is the Greek word that means “to save or rescue.” For the American and Ugandan staff at the ministry, the word is more than a name, it is a call to action. The ministry began with 17 children rescued from that failed orphanage and, ten years later, the family has grown to provide housing, nutritional care, counseling, medical care, quality education and spiritual direction to more than 120 children. But the reach goes much farther. Sozo ministers to families in the local village where it works with a local pastor to host “kids club” providing snacks, play time and devotionals for hundreds of children twice a week. Like a lot of ministries, Sozo had to adapt and persevere through the quarantines last year. Mission teams were shut down due to travel restrictions. The Sozo Children’s Choir—a group of children served by the ministry that comes to the U.S. every two years for a choir tour—arrived in America only to have its tour cancelled due to church closures. The children sheltered in place in Birmingham for nearly six months before being allowed to return home. The tour is a major source of funding for the ministry, but God provided in ways no one could expect.
The Sozo Trading Co., an upscale thrift store supporting Sozo Children in Birmingham’s Avondale community, was closed for six weeks during the initial phase of Alabama’s shelter in place order but reopened and had its best year ever. The Sozo Children’s Choir was able to perform a live streaming concert at The Station Church in Bessemer and the ministry’s other spring fundraising event, the “Run for a Reason 5K” transformed into a virtual run with more participants than ever.
The shutdowns gave the team time to reflect and set new goals for the future. Sozo has plans to expand in Uganda by building mission team houses, more residences for children, a school and a medical facility to serve the local community. The ministry is also working toward the goal of sustainability using practical farming techniques. This will allow the families on Sozo land to be as self-sufficient as possible and provide them with more outreach and leadership opportunities in the local community. “I see it as a ripple effect,” said Owens. “If that one drop drops in the water and it ripples out, how cool is it how many Ugandans are going to be reached because of them?” Owens says the staff disciples the children teaching them they can be leaders. “They can serve others and lead others to Christ,” she said.
Sozo Children gets much of its funding through child sponsorships, available on its website. Other funding comes from donors, business and church partnerships, mission trips and grants. While Sozo plans to expand in Uganda and build new opportunities for children there—especially special needs children who are often abandoned very early in life—they want to go wherever God sends them. Eventually, Owens and her staff hope to spread Sozo into other countries and find more outreach opportunities locally in Alabama. For now, they are focused on the opportunity at hand. The opportunity to rescue, or “sozo,” one child at a time—just like the starfish in the story and trust that God will provide the opportunity to serve others because “what you do matters.” To learn more about the work of Sozo Children, or to sponsor a child or join a mission team, visit www.sozochildren.org. †
If you have a Miracle that you would be willing to share, please email [email protected]. Subject Line: Miracle Moments or call 205-408-7150.
Graduation is a moment where the triumph of completion and the challenge of transition collide. As a parent, you have spent many days wondering if this time would ever come for your senior. All the lectures about grades have paid off. All the teenage drama of high school begins to fade into distant memory. You and your child have made it! But with graduation comes a time of great transition for your family. Once the confetti has been thrown and the celebrations have ended, you realize that your senior will be transitioning to a new stage of life. Your role as your child’s parent will look different, yet your role is still crucial in the life of your graduate. How should you approach this new stage of parenting?
1. Release Your Recent Graduate to God and His Plan. Releasing is easier said than done. In releasing your recent graduate, you are allowing him or her to pursue the dreams that God has for them and to explore who the Holy Spirit is making them to be. They may not have the same visions and goals that you would have if you were designing their life, but you must trust that God is in control. God’s plan for your child is better than you could imagine.
2. Reach Out to Encourage and Support Your Graduate. Your recent graduate needs your support and encouragement more than ever. They are navigating a new place, new roles, and forming new relationships. Your relationship with them as a parent will be a source of stability. Understand encouragement and support may look different than you may desire so allow your recent graduate to set the pace.
3. Remember the God Who Is with You and Your Graduate. As you and your recent graduate go through this transition, you will never go alone. God is the one who goes before you both. As Moses encouraged Joshua when he faced a time of transition in Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV, “Be strong and courageous…for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.” No matter the new path that you walk as a family, you will never walk alone.
Congratulations to Liz Lewis from SMIC Academy, the recipient of the Fourth Annual Birmingham Christian Family (BCF) scholarship! Lewis receives a $1000 scholarship to the college of her choice. Read her inspiring words about how her faith impacted her during her high school years.
“Throughout my high school career, my Christian faith has given me strength through many obstacles. However, one of the most trying occurred in November of my junior year, when I was diagnosed with an L5 stress fracture. As a softball player, the news was devastating especially since I had just had an Ulnar Nerve Repositioning Surgery in August of my sophomore year. I believed my junior year would finally be my year to play to the best of my ability without any pain or injuries. However, the injury that should have healed in two to three months turned into an eight-month ordeal and I questioned why this too had happened to me. I had already dealt with pain in my right arm for three years after being hit by a pitch. An athlete’s biggest year for recruiting is their junior year, and due to my injury, I would be unable to attend the many college softball camps that I had planned to. I wondered if I was meant to continue my softball career or give up something I loved so much. After much prayer, I sent emails to all the schools I was interested in and received several replies. By February my back was still hurting every day and when my school ball season started, I could be found cheering in the dugout unable to play. The first week in March, I visited a college that had piqued my interest. The coach who had previously attended one of my tournaments offered me a partial softball scholarship, at the end of the visit and I accepted. This occurred one week before everything was shut down due to COVID. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God knew that I would be injured through June of my junior year and that I would miss out on camps and tournaments. He also knew COVID would restrict the recruiting process and yet He provided for me. I could not be more thankful for a God who loves me so much, and I am continually reminded that “All things work together for good,” whether it is turning a major nerve injury into a tremendous blessing to become an ambidextrous pitcher or using a back injury to strengthen my relationship with Christ.”
Here are some additional inspiring words from our 2021 Finalists on how their Christian faith has impacted them. Runner-Ups Alexandra Axtell and Taylor Woodard received a $250 scholarship to the school of their choice.
Runner-Up Alexandra Axtell, from Thompson High School, says “I lost sight of God and how much he cared for me. I was not sure if I was worthy of His love for a long time. After some time however, I began to notice the little things that God had created and wondered, if God can create and love every single thing on this Earth, that must mean He loves me too! After that, with the help of God, I began to dig myself out of the hole I had buried myself in. When I rediscovered God, my life changed for the better.”
Runner-Up Taylor Woodard, from Appalachian High School, says, “My faith in God throughout my high school career has been the most important structure and stronghold in my life. Whether I was in the classroom or on the softball field, He was always there keeping my mind right and my trust in Him strong.”
Top Five Finalist Hannah Lloyd, from Hoover High School, shares, “I believe that everyone has a purpose in life and that God uses His children in ways that seem unimaginable in order to share the Gospel and bring glory to Him.”
Top Five Finalist Chandler Key, from Briarwood Christian School, says, “Even though I cannot be perfect, I can strive to be my very best and demonstrate the love of Christ to those at school and those at other schools.”
Visit www.birminghamchristian.com/scholarship to read each finalist’s full essay! Watch for details for our 2022 Scholarship later this year! Meet our 2021 winners at the Celebrate the Family Expo! May 8 at the Pelham Civic Complex. Each will be recognized and presented their scholarship award. †
We remember Donna Speegle who served as a Scholarship Judge for us every year and joined her Savior in March. This year’s scholarships are being given in her honor. We will miss her very much and will not forget how she lived out her life for Christ and was a role model to so many!
The pandemic did not stop Birmingham native Andrea Whitfield from being active in her community. Whitfield is a mother, grandmother, author of four books and a retired teacher at Birmingham City Schools- where she taught for 36 years. She also currently holds the title of Ms. Senior Titusville and is the winner of the American Queen Steamboat Company’s Unsung Heroes Contest that “aims to recognize those who go above and beyond to serve their communities in the face of the pandemic.”
Even though the pandemic brought unique challenges for communities, Whitfield did not stop helping others around her. “With schools having to close, I became a virtual tutor for second graders in Birmingham City Schools,” Whitfield says. The Birmingham Public Library reached out to her about a Virtual Literacy Program, which she enthusiastically agreed to be a part of as a local author. She shares that she saw a need in the community for a health program to encourage everyone to stay active while being at home. This prompted her to start the Let’s Walk the Track program in Titusville. Whitfield also became a volunteer for a virtual grief support group. “Wherever there is a need- whatever I can do- that’s what I do,” Whitfield reflects, adding that she believes God gave her a passion for serving. All of the ways she volunteers and makes her community better is why her daughter, April Whitfield, nominated her for the Unsung Heroes Contest.
Whitfield’s faith in God inspires her to always look for ways to serve others. Even though she has recently lost several people in her life- including a sister and fiancé- she feels God gave her strength to help others in similar situations. “2020 gave me the opportunity to gain more strength and closeness from God.” As she remembers the past year and all of its unexpected twists and turns, she says, “I feel blessed to have closer connections with God, my family, church members and community.”