The Good Newsletter - Change
Good afternoon neighbors,
The only way forward requires change. Change is not always comfortable, it can be difficult at times. Change is seldom fun or easy to adjust to. Change is hard, but it is required for growth.
We greatly appreciate our community and our neighbors for creating an environment that promotes positive life change in the lives of our clients. Change is not easy, but it is necessary.
Before you dive in to the insights and lessons below, we would like to highlight a few needs for our shelter as we prepare to move into our new building. If you are considering donating to Good News at Noon we would greatly appreciate any items included on the list below as well as any other contributions you might make through our website linked at the bottom of the page!
Shelter Needs...
- Front Desk Volunteers (Click Here)
- Multiblade razors for shaving
- Boxer briefs
Thank you,
Nick Price
PR Coordinator
Good News at Noon
I asked for strength, God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom, God gave me problems to learn to solve.
I asked for prosperity, God gave me a brain and brawn to work.
I asked for courage, God gave me dangers to overcome.
I asked for love, God gave me people to help.
I asked for favors, God gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted.
I received everything I needed.
- From "The Soul Of Money" by Lynne Twist
Director's Notes
"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16-17
I was watching 'The Chosen' the other night when Jonathan Roumie, playing the role of Jesus, taught about these verses and thought of the parallels to what is currently happening at GN@N. Change is a certainty in life; everything becomes outdated or wears out. My top-of-the-line stereo system purchased in 1971 may still sound really good if I could have kept replacing worn-out parts, but by 1981, they were no longer available and a new system was cheaper than a few hard to find parts.
The ministry of GN@N had far outgrown our Davis St location in so many ways that we were trying to pour (A LOT!) of new wine into old wineskins. We praise God for his wonderful provision of 884 Dorsey Street, but that didn’t necessarily mean we would roll right in and things would be perfect from that point forward. “Happily ever after“ only exists in fairy tales and the truth is that change, growth and maturity, is a process. It takes time to bear fruit. As we all are faced with change in life, trying to "stay put” when He is trying to move us forward could be to our detriment! Let’s consider if God is presenting us an opportunity to become “new” by growing and maturing in that area of life.
Sincerely,
Ken Gossage
Executive Director
Good News at Noon
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
Stories From The Shelter
S, A, P, C, S, D, L and so many others: women who have lived for a short while at the shelter and left far too early. Why do they leave when they are not ready? Why do they leave when they are returning to the streets or to another unhealthy relationship? Why are they full of confidence and hope when they leave? Rather than face the difficulty of change that results in growth, they settle for the difficulty of what they know. It seems they are chasing dreams - the perfect guy (this one won’t be abusive), the perfect situation (this one will be different), another town (this one will have more affordable housing), or a new job (this one will pay more). It appears they are believing suggestions as though the suggestions are promises. Lies dressed like promises can be so convincing. Two women left because men online persuaded them to come (neither, of course, worked out).
Despite the lie, both women continue to make excuses for the men and continue to wait for them (one’s awaiting a divorce in England, the other is on an oil rig in Alaska). Dreams begin from a longing within each of us. God has created this longing within us to be used by and for Him. Rather than looking into what the world thinks our dreams should be, we need to look at the longing God has placed in us and seek His purpose for our life. We know trauma has affected each woman that enters the doors at Good News at Noon. The traumatic experiences may be unique to that woman’s life, but the results are the same. The woman’s brain, belief system and inner strength have been irrevocably altered. Because I have experienced trauma personally, I know healing is possible, exhausting, and ongoing. The wounds may be healing, but the scars are still present. For me, trauma alternately motivated me to run away from its memory or to sit in isolation and paralysis.
Without trusted friends, therapists, and other healing women I would have remained in either prison. Without the work of the Spirit of God, I would not have sought help. The women that come to us need the same gifts; they need the gift of the Spirit, of friends and of helpers. GN@N is a place for them to become stable, to be safe and to begin the long road of healing, not the long road of hopelessness. Please pray for the women who come to the new shelter. Pray that God will quiet their minds, cause them to slow down, recognize unhealthy patterns and rest in Jesus’ embrace.
Sincerely,
Denise Johnson
Program Coordinator
Good News at Noon