Love Painted

Treasures Outreach Update October 2008

Friday night was the first outreach I have attended since having my precious daughter in July. Running a ministry and raising a beautiful baby girl is teaching me a lot about surrender. Let’s be honest, my tendency towards being Type A can get me bogged down in details and day planners until my head spins. But I am learning that after a reasonable amount of prayer and planning, the best that I can do is show up and trust that God will move. And that is exactly what He has been doing. Funny enough, as I am releasing more and more to Him, it seems that MORE, not less, is being accomplished. John the Baptist was right when he said, “He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30

When I showed up for the outreach, volunteers arrived in such record numbers that we were able to split up our Hollywood route between two groups! Thanks to the welcoming managers and door guys, women in every single club we visited received a gift bag.

We were also joined by new friends from Connecticut and Oregon who came along to get some hands on training in order to take the Treasures vision home with them.

At one club, we handed out a gift to a woman who was running out the door in tears telling management she needed a minute to herself. We hope and pray that in that time she spent alone, she opened the gift and took the message to heart. She is so deeply loved.

Later that night, we had the honor of accompanying a young woman on her first trip back to the club she used to work at. Her old co-workers greeted her with welcoming arms. A talented artist, she painted a stunning portrait of a mighty angel for the girls to put up in the dressing room.

A bouncer studied her work with heartfelt appreciation. “What’s it called?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you name it?” she replied.

He stood back and examined it intently. “Gabriel. It should be called ‘Gabriel’” he nodded with certainty.

She painted her love for the women in that club with each stroke of her brush. And from what I could tell, the message was well received.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Love,
Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com
Treasures Myspace

Be Still

A Treasure for You: The Treasures E-Devotional
“Be Still”

And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place… Luke 9:10

Last week my Internet crashed just as I was getting ready to send out a project I have been working on for no less than 6 YEARS. I clicked send on the email, relieved that I had made the deadline, and kaput! It was down.

I called the Internet Company where I yelled at a glitchy voice response system, was transferred 7 times, and was placed on hold for a total of 2 HOURS. I finally reached the right person in the right department who told me a technician would be at my house in a week.

“How do you expect me to go without Internet? I don’t have the luxury of taking a week off to wait for your technician!” I lamented into my Bluetooth receiver while simultaneously sorting through the day’s mail.

The call was mysteriously disconnected.

My head throbbed and I felt the muscles in my chest tighten. It was enough to make me want to scream at the top of my lungs.

My husband tiptoed over to me like a soldier in a field of mines. “Babe…um. Well…you know…uh…he Bible.” He gently suggested.

He was right. I hadn’t been making enough time for that. So I went into my room and threw myself on the bed. “Okay God. You have my attention. What do you want me to read? What do you want to say to me? I’m listening.” I rattled on frantically.

Silence.

“I can’t hear you. God seriously. Who do you want me to pray for? Is there something you want me to do? Just tell me and I’ll do it.”

“Be still” I felt Him whisper to my heart. “Be still and know that I am God.”

All He wanted was my stillness.

I have been so wired up and plugged in, multi-tasking and moving at fiber optic speeds, that I had forgotten the art of stillness. Yet it is in this practiced quiet that we will find the refreshing that we need. Even Jesus went aside privately to a desert place. And it’s not like he didn’t have anything else to do. There were people to be healed and fed; a world that needed saving, still he withdrew to places without hurry and distraction.

If Jesus Himself, needed quiet and stillness, then how can I expect to go without these things?

So I am practicing being still and I am reminded of all that He is.

He is Comforter, Redeemer, our Ever-Present Help in times of Trouble. He understands the unintelligible cries of our hearts. He is Father and Friend, Lover and King. He captures our tears in His bottle and refreshes our weary souls. His burden is easy. His plans are good. His grace is sufficient. His hand is gentle and loving.

He is God.

Be still and know Him.



Written by Harmony Dust for Treasures
www.iamatreasure.com
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit

Outreach Update January 2008

Friday night's outreach was a very special occasion for a couple of Treasures volunteers who, for the first time, bravely ventured out to the very clubs where they used to work. My heart swelled with joy as I watched them conquer fears and venture back to places that represent their past—this time, with a newfound sense of purpose and future.

A special guest, Vicky Taylor from Nashville, TN, also joined us. Vicky was sent on behalf of her church, (http://www.emmauschurch.tv/) for some hands-on training and will be starting an outreach in her hometown! We are so exited to see the vision to extend a hand to God's precious daughters spread throughout the nation.

For all the successes and the couple hundred girls that received gift bags, the night was not without some bumps in the road. When we arrived at one club that is normally very receptive to us, we were told that we would not be able to leave gift bags for the girls as the owner was there. We asked if we could speak with her and were told that it wasn't possible.

We were tipped off that she owns two other clubs that were on our route that night. We left our gift bags at the second club without a glitch. We arrived at the third club and, just as volunteers were being warmly greeted by the bouncer who remembered us from previous outreaches, the owner called and told him that she didn't want us leaving gifts at any of her clubs. When one of the dancers saw that we were being turned away from the club, she began to push through the security exclaiming, "Hey wait! Those are my favorite white girls right there!" J

When security would not let her exit, she ran outside through another door shouting, "You don't own me! I'm outside the club now and I'm gonna get my gift!"

We were both impressed and entertained by this young woman's tenacity. She wanted her gift bag and not even a 250-pound security guard was going to stop her. But beyond entertained, we were moved. The way she was willing to fight for her gift reminds us of all the girls out there who want and need to hear the simple message that they are loved and valuable.

Please pray for the owner of these clubs. Pray that her heart softens and that she will see the sincerity in our intentions. We hope that next time she will welcome us into all three of her clubs.
http://www.iamatreasure.com/
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit.com