From My Heart to Yours...Haiti

6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:

Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;

lighten the burden of those who work for you.

Let the oppressed go free,

and remove the chains that bind people.

7 Share your food with the hungry,

and give shelter to the homeless.

Give clothes to those who need them,

and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,

and your wounds will quickly heal.

Your godliness will lead you forward,

and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.

9 Then when you call, the LORD will answer.

‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.” –Isaiah 58:6-9

When the cameras have gone and the troves of relief dissipate to just a few committed groups of people focused on Haiti’s renewal, I will still be there. My heart is buried deep beneath the untouched rubble found in parts of Port-Au-Prince. Four years have passed yet the slightest sight or mention of the devastation experienced in Haiti is a constant reminder of the need for action. Action that removes the chains that bind people. Action that removes the chains that have bound a people. Yes, Haiti has long since won its independence, yet it remains imprisoned to poverty. Shackled to disease. And so, my heart still breaks…because His heart still breaks. It breaks for His people, His chosen, redeemed and beloved. So as I prepare to once again venture into the nation of Haiti that I so love and cherish, it is my prayer that God will prepare me, prepare the team of 12 from HFCC to embody the call to fast for Haiti.

For some this may mean abstaining from food, social media or a favorite TV show. For me it’s committing to not eating out on my lunch hour and instead eating homemade food or fasting altogether until I have met my fundraising goal. It means dedicating that time to doing his will whether it is reading his word, writing a blog like this, researching ideas for this mission’s trip or just listening in silence for His voice. I’m sharing this because I want all of you to hold me accountable. I believe that whatever it is we fast it ought to be a sacrifice, reminding me of when King David built an altar to the Lord to stop the destruction of Israel on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite and his words “…I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (2 Sam. 24)We are called to sacrifice to fulfill his plan. No it’s not easy to leave behind your family, to go to a foreign place and submit to doing whatever God has for you to do. It is faith that must keep you even as you wait upon God to see how He will meet your fundraising goals. It is the sacrifice that he is looking for…fasting, prayer and faith that will break chains, bind up wounds, heal, feed and clothe the hungry. For some it may be easy to just write the check and go on a mission’s trip, for me that is not an option…even if I could. Because God will supply all my needs. In His richness of glory, He already has. And how could I not offer him everything when he has given me everything. My family, my job, my dreams, my goals…all laid down upon that altar for Him. Let our sacrifice pleasing to Him; let us humbly accept this call to go forward in His name.

If you would like to help my meet my goal for this trip here are some ways to support me:

1. Prayer!!
2. Donations can be sent on my behalf to HFCC at: (Please include Haiti Missions - Elaine Glover in the notation)

           Harvest Fields Community Church

           2626 East Tremont Avenue

           Bronx, NY 10475

3. More Prayer!!

 Blessings,

Elaine G.

Vulnerability

"We share with people who earned the right to hear our story" - Dr. Brene Brown

Today marked a new season for me. Just as the changing colors of the foliage and falling leaves showcase the incoming autumn in NY so did the ripened scent of the harvest in my life ruminate my world. This day began much like many other Sundays for me. Getting the children ready for church, prepping music for our monthly visit to a local juvenile detention center. Nothing seeming different, yet everything had changed. As I began to sing to the small group of teen boys and girls gathered in the chapel something in my heart broke as it did the first time I stepped into this arena. A long misplaced sense of urgency to meet the needs of these youth, to advocate, to pray and intercede for them rose up within me. A resolve to do more than share a song...it was the beginning of the harvest.

As I later made my way to service I was moved to tears, repentance and restoration by our guest speaker who voiced an inspired word on giving God "Ugly Praise" that didn't worry about what others thought or said, but only about conveying our love and devotion to the God who has always loved us. I stood prostrate before my savior overwhelmed and humbled in the presence of his majesty. I felt him whisper into my soul how deeply and truly he loved me, how he carried me through this storm when I could no longer go on, how he would never let harm come my way. How he will always be there, devoted wholly to me. 

Today I fell deeper in love with my God, my Lord, my friend, my everything. Today he told me its over now, it's time to move forward. No more mourning, no more shame, just love, just peace, just His grace. 

And so as I "dare greatly" to once again put pen to paper (or fingers to keypad) I know that I have a story to share, a song to sing, a book to write. I hope to use this medium to share these growing pains, to hold myself accountable to moving forward as God accomplishes the good works he has planned for me long ago. I ask that you join me on the ride of lifetime...stay tuned. 

For You

I know what I gotta do 
I know what I have to say
Though I want you to stay with me
Gotta let you walk away

The purpose is clear
The plans are laid
In losing this life
You're gaining his face

Chorus:
I'm running the race, playing no games
Stretching my faith from the inside out
I'm made for this moment
Destined to move
Laying down idols and living for you

Verse:
Called to be, better than I am
Dare to dream and follow his plans
Walking down the road where others have gone
Might be losing this battle but I'm winning this war

The purpose is clear
The plans are laid
In losing this life
I'm gaining his face

(Chorus)

Oh oh oh...living for you (2x)
Dying for you

(Chorus -piano  only, Chorus full band)

© E. Glover 2012

Sex.God.

Sex with the wrong person leaves you empty, unsatisfied and ashamed. It's more than a physical connection...it's spirit meeting spirit and saying "commune with me, be one with me, let us worship together"
But if there is no love, the type demonstrated through commitment all you worship is yourself, each other and the feeling that will last only as long as your bodies are joined. And if in the intercourse you realize he's not the one, the truth that these puzzle pieces were never meant to join is as clear as when you realize you were trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. But I want the pieces to fit. The freedom to lay with a man and feel no shame after, no regret or remorse...the freedom to know that he was made to fit me and I him...by the Word that spoke all things into existence. I want my life to count, I want my love to count, my sex to be more than just an act...I want it to be worship to my creator that says I can see the big picture now...You are the big picture.

©2012 by Elaine Glover

Rainy days

Gray, rainy day. Frosted glass window pane reflecting not me but my environment. Glass so thick I can be barely see the silhouette on the other side, so thick that the booming voice on the other side is but a whisper...barely audible in the visitors room. Gray suits confirm and conform to the atmosphere that drains all color from the walls. This is the system's way of reminding us who's in control. Shackling more than arms and legs, but reprogramming minds. There is but one window in sight, barred and miniature in comparison to the large heavy steel doors which lead to endless paths. But here, on this tiny window frame sits perched, proud and resolute...a dove with an olive branch clenched in its teeth. A promise fulfilled, that is dry land awaiting me outside these troubled waters. And the realization that these four walls were not designed to contain me but to save me. Save me from the destruction I so easily allowed to prance into my life, save me from the plans I thought to be mine but actually reflect the face of the father of lies. Rumor has it he's on a rampage because the destiny set inside of me when fulfilled would do more than unlock these prison doors...it will abolish this system of mediocrity and make a new generation of status-quo challenging individuals unwilling to compromise for the momentary high. See I'm seeking the promise...the tree from which the olive branch came...its more than the allure of the knowledge of good and evil which has undone our bond to the Father, it is the Life of the Son and the living waters of the thirst-quenching Holy Spirit rising up in me and flowing over for all the world to see. Do you see?

© 2012 by Elaine Glover

Winter

Winter again. It's as if my entire universe is frozen over, snow-capped mountaintops and desolate ice-glazed fields. No fruit in sight, no life sprouting up to usher in spring. At least not above the surface of my soul.
If only seasons of our life were like seasons of the year, with a definitive beginning and end. Then at least hope would be more apparent. But there's no winter or summer solstice in the seasons of my soul. It seems as though time doesn't exist in this dimension...only it does. But perhaps I haven't learned to read it yet. Though there is one who can, for he designed this season for a purpose. He is the Author and I am the pen in his hand. The story's already told in His mind, complete and whole. Lacking nothing.
And I...I'm watching it unfold before my eyes, in the darkest of places I am being fashioned into a new creation and clinging to the promise of a happy ending.

©2012 by Elaine Glover

Weather

Weather. Funny thing how yesterday brought summer like warmth yet this morning as I left for the day the cold winter air greeted me with its familiar chill. I was so hopeful that the winter days were over that I wore yesterday's jacket leaving me exposed and unprepared for the cold I faced this morning. It's as though God is saying clearly to me "this season's not quite finished. Keep your hat, gloves and heavy coat handy or you'll wish you had it in the days ahead."
I finished a book this morning that challenged me to savor the sweetness found in bitter times, to create something beautiful out of my brokenness and to tell my story acknowledging that only I can. It's not for me that I write, though I know it heals to get it out of my mind and onto paper. I write for all those who will read it and need encouragement, the way that others words have lifted me out of dark times. They've encouraged me to persevere, they've comforted me and commiserated with me in my loneliness. They've inspired me and challenged me. In telling their stories they've spoken to me in such a powerful way that I am capable of telling my own.
Perhaps not all at once, because my biography is far from complete...but one day at a time. One triumph, one failure. One love, one heartbreak. One birth and one devastating loss at a time. And I will do it...with every poem I write, with every song I sing. With every line I recite and every word I publish.
I will tell my story because it's not mine at all...it's His. And it deserves to be heard. Weather or not the winter's over. Whether or not I think I'm ready to share.

© 2012 by Elaine Glover