Counting down...

Counting down the days until these humbled feet touch down on Haitian soil.
Counting down the hours until these grateful hands can serve the Haitian people.
Counting down the minutes until these opened eyes can capture the beauty of the land that you've created and the people that you lived, died and rose again to life for.
Counting down the seconds until this heart is so overwhelmed by you that I cannot imagine that you have chosen me to reach this precious land, these people that you treasure...Lord let me not take lightly one moment, not miss one opportunity to show your love...feels like I'm coming home...

Ayiti jan m 'renmen ou. Ayiti ki jan mwen te rate ou 
(Haiti how I love you, Haiti how I've missed you)

Fundraising updates!

I hope all is well and want to start off by thanking everyone for their continued support and prayer for the missions trip. I've learned that I'm almost halfway towards reaching my goal of $1,520.00 and with just a little more than a month left to fundraise (May 25th is the deadline) I'm certain that God will provide. When I first learned of this opportunity I joyfully proclaimed "I'm going." As a parent of three it's easier said than done, but God has made the way before to allow me to minister abroad. This time of preparation has allowed me to grow closer to God and the teammates I will serve with in Cap-Haitien, Haiti through our team meetings, fundraising events and fellowship. I'm so thankful for all of the love and support God has surrounded me with. I'm also thankful for the leadership in place that challenges us to go deeper in our walk with God and the understanding of task ahead of us. I pray that God will continue to bind us together as we get closer to our trip date.

I also pray that you would prayerfully consider supporting myself and our teams efforts either through donating items to be sold at our upcoming flea market at Harvest Fields Community Church (May 3rd & 4th) or stopping by those two days to peruse our flea market or donating directly towards this effort to Harvest Fields Community Church , 2626 East Tremont Avenue Bronx, NY 10475. If you would like your fundraising to go directly towards meeting my personal goal please be sure to include my name in the notation or Haiti Missions Trip to support the team as a whole.

Finally, as we enter into this weekend and reflect upon the sacrifice that Jesus Christ gave for us on Calvary I cannot help but be overwhelmed by his willingness to give us everything so that we can receive the miracle of salvation and reconciliation.  I'm humbled that He would come down from  heaven, live and suffer for my sake, die for my sin and raise to life just so that I can be raised to new life alongside with Him. It is His love that calls me onward...that drives me to continue running this race. He still reigns in my heart, mind and soul...He reigns!

Peace and blessings,

Elaine G.

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