· We supplied gas for a student on 5-6
· We also gave 2 boxes of food to a couple on 5-6
· We were introduced to Lily’s House (Adrian MO) and are optimistic about partnering with them to house mothers and kids soon, and have already referred a couple of people there!
· One of our leaders, Brenda W., graduated with a master’s degree in Master of Art in Organizational Development, in early May; we’re so proud of this school girl😊
· We gave one of our disabled leaders a treadmill in early May, via the garage sale, to help keep them as healthy as possible, without having to go outside to exercise, PTL!
· We gave a pair of sweat pants to a homeless vet on 5-11, to assist him with doing laundry.
· Our granddaughter, Ella gave her 6-year-old life to Christ on 5-13, hallelujah!
· Donnie got saved on 5-15, he’s getting baptized on 6-10!
· With the assistance of one of HBF’s deacons, several of us helped one of our students move to Clinton MO on 5-19, this was a huge undertaking; I really appreciate everyone that helped with this project!
· Our son, Luke, preached at HBF’s graduation service on 5-20, we are so proud of him and his wife, Brenda! They just went to help lead HBF’s youth camp for a week, with 20 other leaders and 30 students; I look forward to hearing a good report of what God did with them!
· We a student financially to get their car fixed on 5-21, so as to keep his job. This person has burnt all his bridges with family, they told him they didn’t care if he lost his job or went to jail, they wouldn’t help. I’m not saying this to boast, but rather to communicate the damage that substance abuse has caused. This same student confirmed his Salvation on 5-21, and has a good church close to his home that he’s started attending!
· We gave away another box of food on 5-22.
· We helped a young lady get into rehab on 5-24.
· Rhythm and Blues recording artist, Boy Big (AKA LeVar Fletcher) gave a stirring testimony on 5-25, and performed a couple of his songs off his CD. Boy Big really connected with several of our students, and we are planning on having him come back on 8-31 and give us a full concert at the end of our annual Recovery Walk!
· HBF’s Church in the Park was June 3rd, and over a dozen of our folks were on hand to hear the great praise music and great preaching by Bob Westin, missionary to Jamaica. The weather was perfect, the food was good, and we reunited with some old friends of the ministry, so I rejoice over this community connection event!
· We also gave 2 boxes of food to a couple on 5-6
· We were introduced to Lily’s House (Adrian MO) and are optimistic about partnering with them to house mothers and kids soon, and have already referred a couple of people there!
· One of our leaders, Brenda W., graduated with a master’s degree in Master of Art in Organizational Development, in early May; we’re so proud of this school girl😊
· We gave one of our disabled leaders a treadmill in early May, via the garage sale, to help keep them as healthy as possible, without having to go outside to exercise, PTL!
· We gave a pair of sweat pants to a homeless vet on 5-11, to assist him with doing laundry.
· Our granddaughter, Ella gave her 6-year-old life to Christ on 5-13, hallelujah!
· Donnie got saved on 5-15, he’s getting baptized on 6-10!
· With the assistance of one of HBF’s deacons, several of us helped one of our students move to Clinton MO on 5-19, this was a huge undertaking; I really appreciate everyone that helped with this project!
· Our son, Luke, preached at HBF’s graduation service on 5-20, we are so proud of him and his wife, Brenda! They just went to help lead HBF’s youth camp for a week, with 20 other leaders and 30 students; I look forward to hearing a good report of what God did with them!
· We a student financially to get their car fixed on 5-21, so as to keep his job. This person has burnt all his bridges with family, they told him they didn’t care if he lost his job or went to jail, they wouldn’t help. I’m not saying this to boast, but rather to communicate the damage that substance abuse has caused. This same student confirmed his Salvation on 5-21, and has a good church close to his home that he’s started attending!
· We gave away another box of food on 5-22.
· We helped a young lady get into rehab on 5-24.
· Rhythm and Blues recording artist, Boy Big (AKA LeVar Fletcher) gave a stirring testimony on 5-25, and performed a couple of his songs off his CD. Boy Big really connected with several of our students, and we are planning on having him come back on 8-31 and give us a full concert at the end of our annual Recovery Walk!
· HBF’s Church in the Park was June 3rd, and over a dozen of our folks were on hand to hear the great praise music and great preaching by Bob Westin, missionary to Jamaica. The weather was perfect, the food was good, and we reunited with some old friends of the ministry, so I rejoice over this community connection event!
God taught me something simple, yet pretty profound about addiction out of the scriptures this week. Proverbs 1:17 says, “Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.” The word “any” stood out to me, as if to show that there isn’t any bird that would be so foolish as to be ensnared / taken captive / bound, if they saw the hunter setting the trap! Later in the week I listened to Proverbs 7:23 talk about the young man who yielded to temptation, and part of his consequences were, “Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.” In this verse, God compares yielding to temptation to being like a bird that hasteth / runs toward the snare, as if to willingly be trapped and have its life taken! As graphic as this sounds, it reminds me of addiction and the allure of sin, and how it takes the life of those who are trapped in the tempter’s net. Friend, there are snares all around us, and most of them we can easily see; some are for our feet (where we go), some for our hands (what we do), and all are for our minds (what we think). Some of these snares we can easily get out of, some are very costly (time, money, health, etc.), some are impossible to get out of, all of them cost us some of our “life”. I’ll close with the counsel of Ephesians 5:15, 16 to avoid such snares which says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Sincerely, Steve Fleshman – Life Issues pastor and founder, Proverbs 4:23…
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