THE I HEART REVOLUTION

As soon as the I-Heart Revolution Film comes to DVD, The Justice Project will be presenting it to the entire church on a special evening... We'll keep you posted on that... But for now, watch the youtube and let the words and images soak into your heart... This is what it's all about...

Recommended Reading

All recommendations can be purchase from www.amazon.com
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(Amazon.com Review) Product Description:
Inside of Hong Kong was the infamous Walled City. Strangers were not welcome there. Police hesitated to enter. It was a haven of filth, crime and sin. Prostitution, pornography and drug addiction flourished. Jackie Pullinger had grown up believing that if she put her trust in God, He would lead her. When she was 20 years old, God called her to the Walled City. She obeyed. And as she spoke of Jesus Christ, brutal hoods were converted, prostitutes retired from their trade and heroin junkies found new power that freed them from the bondage of drug addiction. Hundreds discovered new life in Christ. Chasing the Dragon tells the whole amazing story exactly as it happened. Equally amazing has been the reach of this ministry, now detailed in this updated and revised edition. From Hong Kong to the Philippines, Thailand and beyond, the ministry that started with Jackie and her friends taking people in to live and care for them has continued and developed to form the present St. Stephen s Society. Readers will be inspired by this tale of trust and loving as Jesus would.
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Please watch the youtube below for description of Christine Caine's book.



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From the Back Cover:
What does it look like to trust God with EVERYTHING?
In Compelled by Love, Heidi Baker gives you a glimpse of total dependence and authentic Christian community by taking a fresh look at the Beatitudes.

In the war-torn, poverty-stricken country of Mozambique, she and her husband have experienced God's miraculous provisions and witnessed the transformed hearts of people caught in desperate life-or-death situations. Join them and discover the reality of God's kingdom here on Earth.

-For anyone wondering if they could truly live a life of radical love...
-For anyone wondering if the Beatitudes mean anything...
-For anyone wondering how to follow Jesus all the way...

"If God is not with us, we do not want to continue. If the Sermon on the Mount is simply impractical, our mission work is hopeless. We have no backup plan. We have nothing but Him."
--Heidi Baker

Thought for the Day...

"God is not about using the mighty, but the willing. He is not into using amazing people, just ones who are prepared to lay their lives down to Him. God is not looking for extraordinary, exceptionally gifted people, just laid-down lovers of Jesus who will carry His glory with transparency and not take it for themselves." -Heidi Baker

Will You Go?

Whether it's to the streets of Boulder or the ends of the earth... Will you go?

Calling All COTH Men!!

Men of COTH... We need you!! Please join us July 31st (Friday) at 4pm as we hit the streets to minister to the homeless. We would love for you to join us and distribute care packages to the men as we sit and find out their stories with you. We've found that there are 10 times as many homeless men as there are women out there and we truly believe that God will use you to reach those men. Please let us know if you are interested in going out with us by emailing us at TJPBoulder@yahoo.com or contacting one of The Justice Project team leaders. Look forward to hearing from you!!

A New Way to Give

Get your Boulder Change

The Carriage House Community Table has an innovative program that will help us and COTH members help the homeless.

"Through the Boulder Change program, you can purchase $1 denominations of vouchers that can be redeemed at nearly 20 local vendors including:
King Soopers, the RTD Bus Station, some Conoco Gas Stations, Boulder Recreation Centers, the Mental Health Center and a number of restaurants.

The vouchers may not be used for alcohol or tobacco products and no cash change is returned to the user. This is an effective way to support the homeless of our community without worrying whether the money will be used for self-destructive habits."

This would be an excellent way for us to give and know that it's going towards things that will nourish and help the homeless that we reach. Please let us know if you're interested in purchasing these vouchers.

for the least of these

I have to admit that I haven't had much of a heart for the homeless. I've always had a heart for the poor but not for the poor of my own town or city. I've always assumed that our poor are there (on the streets or on the street corner) because of choices that they've made. And over the past few years, the Lord has shown me that it's not for me to judge or decide why that person is there. He's not asking for me to differentiate between those that will spend the money that I give them on alcohol and those that will spend it on food. Is He asking for us to use wisdom? I'd say yes, but above all else, He's asking for us to just give His love.

Last Spring a few of us ladies from COTH decided to work through the book, "Compelled by Love" by Heidi Baker. And if you know me at all, then you've heard me say how this book is a must read. I think that all of Heidi Baker's books are worth reading, but this one especially touched me in that she addresses the issue of loving those who will take what you have to give to them and then abuse it (and possibly you) in return. She talks about her street kids and how it takes a lot of time, a lot of love, and a lot of patience and the work of the Holy Spirit to get the habits and the behaviors that these kids have always known out of the kids. And tonight as we met with the other ladies who are involved with the Justice Project, it hit me that it's the same way with the homeless. I can't go out and expect that the people we meet will change overnight. I can't expect that their lives will ever change. However, I can hope and believe that somehow God will work through us to speak to their hearts. And if He can touch them, then that is the best thing that can happen. That is the thing that is most needed. Our world just needs love, and that is what we have to offer.

I'm realizing that the calling of every believer is to go out and minister the love of God. It's not a huge revelation or rocket science; it's just basic. And it may not always be easy. There is the possibility that we may never see the fruit of our pouring out. However, the call is still there. God didn't give His Son so that we'd just be saved, enjoy life, and go to heaven. Yes, we get all that, but we are responsible to tell others. We are responsible to give what we have, and what we have is the love of God in our hearts. So if we can love on others by saying a kind word, by giving a traveler a bag of deodorant, shampoo, and socks, by saying hey, by the way, Jesus loves you, then we are doing what we're called to do. I can't sit by and not do that.

As I end this thought, I want to share a quote by Mother Teresa. Again, if you know me at all, you've probably also heard me talk about this lady. Her heart and her actions inspire and challenge me. She was a woman who absolutely caught God's heart to love the poorest, sickest, ugliest, most abused, most deformed individuals that this world has to offer. And she did it knowing that none of them would ever give anything back to her. She did it purely out of her love for Jesus. And this is the revelation that she received from the Lord many, many years ago while riding on a train in India - "My dear, you must see your beloved Jesus in each one of these miserable people. You must love that Jesus, serve that Jesus and look after that Jesus. Never forget His voice when He says, 'Whenever you did it for the least of these My brothers, you did it for Me.'"

Purpose

I read an article recently on ESPN.com about a retired female tennis player who's had a hard time with life since she's retired from the sport. She was a child tennis prodigy who won numerous big tournaments in her day... Tennis is all she's ever known... Now that she's retired, she's been asking her friends "Without tennis, who am I?"

My heart was moved with compassion for her as I continued to read the article...

A lot of women ask themselves "Who am I?" It's a common question that all people ask themselves and it usually is associated with a "Without such and such" added to the beginning... "Without my boyfriend, who am I?" "Without my husband, who am I?" "My children are off at school. Without them, who am I?"

I can totally relate to how this tennis player feels...

I was not a pro child prodigy tennis player but I did play sports from the time I was a young child... For 11 years of my life, being an athlete defined who I was and in a lot of ways, it was my identity. Finally, my senior year of college came... I gruadated from college and I could no longer call myself an athlete... I no longer carried that title with me... It was quite a shock to my system... Softball was the one thing in my life that I really excelled at... I had confidence in my abilities and in a lot of ways, it felt like I had worth because of it. It was the one thing I could count on. Who was I without it??

I will be honest with you... It bummed me out for a few years - it didn't make me suicidal like this tennis player but it was a struggle nonetheless... I felt like I was no longer good at anything... I had no title, I was working a warehouse manufacturing job that was not exciting, and I really just had a hard time adjusting to life after college in general. Finally I had to ask, "Lord, who am I?" It was during this season of my life that I really sought the Lord for purpose and really drew closer to His heart than I ever had before. I realized very quickly (cause God will show you quickly if you're willing to seek Him) that I would only feel fulfilled and have purpose in this life if I figured out who I was in Christ. And that all began with knowing who God is... Knowing His character, His true nature... Setting my eyes on Him and who He is and is in me... This took my eyes off of myself and what I felt like I had lacked...

I'm still learning more and more about His loving nature and who I am in Him... There are days and times in life where I really have to take a moment and pause and get back to "OK Lord, remind me who I am in You again cause this situation just totally bummed me out." I've experienced the broken heart of a relationship that didn't work - a love that no longer loved me back - but in the end, I was found still standing because of the Lord and who I am in Him... The more you know the character and heart of God, the more quickly you bounce back from things that would like to devestate and flatten you.

There are so many women asking themselves "Who am I?" So many women in Boulder... So many lost souls that are depressed, downtrodden, devestated by life and the situations they are faced with daily... And you might say, "Well, honestly, I've been asking myself that question for quite some time myself." Be encouraged... God's got the answer for you! He is soo faithful!! As you seek the Lord for your purpose and as you seek to know who He is and who you are in Him, you'll quickly realize that your life will begin to take the shape He's designed for it to take... And I encourage you (even if you're not sure what your purpose is right now) to encourage both believers and non-believers to seek the Lord for their purpose... Being found "In Him" will change your world and it will change their's as well...

The Justice Project is all about sharing the love of the Lord with those around us... Sharing with other's who our God is, both in word and deed... It's our desire not to focus on us (our issues, what we're lacking, etc) but to focus on those around us... To reach out and love on the lost, destitute, downtrodden, hopeless... As we do this, we believe that God will pour into us those things that we are lacking... So essentially, pour out knowing that God is going to pour into us everything that we need to serve Him and those around us... To pour out and be filled up once again... If you don't know what your purpose is in this life, help another find there's... As you do this, God will reveal His purpose for your life to you... He will take you to new heights in Him...

May His love touch the retired tennis player, the fatherless, the homeless, the business woman, the lost... May our purpose be found in Him... For He is more than enough...

our sister's keeper

So I hope this isn't a confusing, too much info, kind of preachy type blog. Forgive me if it is, but this is me sharing my heart and sharing what we are learning.

A few of us ladies from the Justice Project have been listening to a series of cd's that are from the Colour Conference, which is put on by the ladies of Hillsong Church. There are 10 cd's, and they are packed full of wisdom. They're a lot to digest. :) This morning, I was listening to the last cd as I was driving into work, and funnily enough, without any of us knowing it, the speaker, Christine Caine, read the verse that we had chosen as our theme verse - Isaiah 1:17. I thought it was so appropriate, and it confirmed the reason that we chose this verse. The point of the Colour Conference has been to challenge the women of the church to realize that we are our sister's keeper. The women of our world need us!! And it made me think about our time on the streets of downtown Boulder this past Sunday night. Bridget wrote below of how we gave out sunglasses to the ladies, and one of them tried them all on before she chose. She was very comfortable in asking us to tell her which pair suited her. It showed me how we as women are indeed in this together. We are our sister's keeper - just as the women of Hillsong have discovered. It is in fact God's heart that we look out for each other. It's His heart that we know what women all over this world are going through and how we can help and support one another.

The other thing that I'm learning is that the bond that we share between us is also recognized by the men in our lives. Every lady that we found in Boulder was accompanied by one or more men; none were by themselves. And each time that we approached these groups of men and women and asked if we could speak to the ladies, the men graciously gave us the opportunity. More than that, they thanked us for giving to the women. They weren't at all offended that we only wanted to speak to the girls. That blessed me so much! It also gave me a heart for the guys too . . . . but really, it showed me that these guys recognized the needs of their fellow travelers. They realize that these women need personal items, need gifts, need encouragement, and more than anything need the friendship of another lady, even if it's a stranger.

So I challenge you (along with me) to ask yourself how you can be your sister's keeper? Do you know what the women in your street are going through? Do you know where the homeless are in your town? Do you know how the immigrant lady down the road is adjusting to this culture? Do you know the lady sitting in front of you at church? Do you know the plight of the women who are trafficked all over the world (even into our country)? Does your heart break for them, and are you doing something to reach them?

-Micah Hayden

Girls Like You and Me, No Different...

I had such high expectations on the outcome of our outreach to the ladies and those expectations were far exceeded by what God had done through us. While we had been on the look out for girls, we found them. They were somewhat hesitant on talking with us but opened up like a flower after we let them know that we just wanted to talk with them, and talk they did. We found them to be girls just like you and me, no different. We had some sunglasses to give them and they wanted to know what style suited them best, so like a girl. My heart was overwhelmed by how God moved. We met Christine, from California, who has lived on the street as a missionary for 8 years. These girls and some of the men that we encountered were so open to have us pray for them. ((MORE TO FOLLOW))

-Bridget Tompkins

One of Many Recaps of Our First Night Out

A Little Encouragement to Get Inolved