I John [Yochanan] 3:17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of GOD abide in him? See Tehillim [Psalms] 41:1-3; Mishle [Proverbs] 3:27-28, 17:13, 19:17, 22:9, 28:27; Mattityahu [Matthew] 5:42, 6:24, 7:1-29, 20:26, 25:35-45; Mark 10:21; Luke 3:10-11, 6:38, 10:27; Acts 4:32-37, 20:35; Romans 12:13, 15:1; II Corinthians 9:12; Galatians 6:2-9; Philippians 2:4; Hebrews 13:16; Ya’akov [James] 1:27, 2:1-5:20, 4:17; I Yochanan [John] 4:19-21
– My focus is to do my FATHER/ABBA in Heaven’s and YAHSHUA/JOSHUA/JESUS’S Will and Desire in regards to the work ELOHIM wants me to do and for the reason HE created me.
– Ministering to ELOHIM [Hebrew word for GOD and who I believe is FATHER/SON/HOLY SPIRIT] and HIS people and creation has become my life’s love and work! If the idea of religion turns you off, please bear with me because you might change your mind. ELOHIM is not about religion which is man-made. HE is about a personal relationship! I have been in an on the job training program that ELOHIM has set up for me. My own personal reality experience, a taste of what it must have been like for the disciples of CHRIST [the MESSIAH] but in our present world!
– Since the end of August 2010 when I gave my life back to CHRIST, but this time understanding more of HIS Way, my life has held trials and errors and overcoming, blessings and good things, and the challenges of each especially dealing with fear and rejection. Good things can be a challenge too when we get caught up in being in a comfortable place vs doing HIS work in an uncomfortable place and allowing fear to rule! A big lesson has been to trust ELOHIM and not let the enemy rule me and still am working on that one! Other big lessons include enduring through all and getting stronger; learning to lean on HIM and to call out to YHWH/the LORD for help; to not be offended; to find forgiveness; to have compassion, love, hope, trust, even when circumstances are hard! To keep my focus on ELOHIM and not me or others!
– A number of service organizations need to examine themselves, both secular and religious. Many need to take a hard look at the service they are providing, by looking at each rule and guideline through the eyes of and experience what it is like walking in the shoes of the ones they are supposed to be serving! I have been shown how one can “fall between the cracks” of organizations who are supposed to help those in need. It can be eye-opening to see how losing out on even a small blessing can be devastating to someone in need right then and how hope can be snuffed out due to senseless rules/decisions. I believe many feel they are alone and do not know who to turn to or trust. The meek and humble may miss out on help because others, especially those who take advantage, get to resources first. Alice Lewis from Mama Alice’s Homeless Ministry calls it “the needy vs the greedy”.
– It has also been eye-opening to see how people and organizations are not helping others per the ways of Scripture. Individuals, churches, and even service ministries who have open hands when they want something, may act entirely different when the one who helped them previously becomes the one who needs help from them now! Try to imagine what it feels like to be rejected over and over and over again because people value the world and its ways more than a human being that they have even called friend or family! Having walked on both sides, as both giver and receiver, has been humbling. This walk has caused me to say to ELOHIM more than a few times, “if YOU won’t give up then I won’t”!
– I went from a 2400 sf house filled with possessions down to 1 or 2 suitcases and a backpack and have learned to give from even these few possessions. I went from having my own business/home/car to learning to be grateful for what I receive or for what door CHRIST opens. My personal needs are very simple these days. I went from a “keeping up with the Jones’s” mentality to “how can I help YOU my ELOHIM and you my fellow human being?”. My focus is on serving ELOHIM and others and taking care of me, too. Turning people away who need help because they are of a different belief or denomination, or running through a list of criteria that must be met first before they can be helped is not a belief of mine. Scripture is used for guidelines, addictions are not supported, and giving poor quality food or anything of poor quality is hopefully not done.
I have helped others by:
– Purchasing or helping to collect healthy food and other items such as shoes, clothing, water, Bibles, personal care, household goods, etc. for individuals in need and for organizations that help those in need such as Open Air Ministries in Baton Rouge,LA.
– Purchasing and delivering hot food, drinks, blankets/sleeping bags to people on the street in downtown Baton Rouge when shelters were full in winter, doing so late at night till past midnight by myself, praying and asking for those in need to be put before me and they were.
– Going out with others who have not done this work before. Putting together bags with food/clothing, praying for people to be put in front of us, then talking and praying with them. Being told that the time spent doing this was a blessing and life changing.
– Helping a mother and children keep off the street by putting them in an apartment in Baton Rouge and helping them out for a short time when they could not get the help they needed right away after the mom and I spent 2 days going to different agencies with no results.
– Teaching about nutrition and healthy cooking, and how to do so as economically as possible, to individuals and organizations who serve poor and homeless such as Mama Alice’s Homeless Ministry in Baton Rouge.
– Starting a food gathering ministry at the downtown farmer’s market in Baton Rouge and giving it over to the Cancer Ministry of Healing Place Church when I left Baton Rouge. Also gathered food through health foods stores and Winn Dixie for the elderly and homeless in Cocoa/Cocoa Beach, FL.
– Purchasing items and gathering donations for victims of the storms in Joplin, MO and in Alabama.
– Cooking some food and donating some needed items to Shevet Achim, an organization in Jerusalem that helps children from Arab Nations obtain heart surgery.
– Purchasing food and giving money to help poor Jews and Arabs while in Israel.
– Gleaning citrus fruit that was being wasted in peoples yards by not being picked and sharing what I gathered with others including the Society of St. Andrew in Central Florida. Doing this with no car or anyone helping me. I walked a wheelbarrow with the fruit from the homes where I picked it to where it was going to be picked up in the neighborhood.
– Making healthy food and sharing with those around me.
– Learning by trial and error how to speak to Jews, Arabs, agnostics, atheists, and many different kinds of people from varied cultures, denominations, and walks of life. I try to love them as a fellow human being or brother or sister unless they prove to be hostile or untrustworthy.
– Writing a blog article about Leket Israel, the National Food Bank Program of Israel, and received thanks for bringing attention to them and their work. Would like to do the same for other organizations or programs that deserve recognition and are not in the main stream of media. Link to article – copy and paste into your computer header: https://glclifestyling.com/2012/06/03/leket-israel-food-bank-program/
– Helping an elderly woman who needed live in care day and night for 2 weeks and could not afford it, by providing what she needed and only being compensated $117 plus room and board.
– Praying with people for what they need, including help in overcoming addictions, and being told by some I ended up meeting again or whom called me later that prayer was answered, praise GOD!!!
– Trying to encourage those who are lost to seek relationship with GOD/ELOHIM [FATHER/SON/HOLY SPIRIT] because filling ourselves with the world does not compare to filling ourselves with ELOHIM!!! We all battle with this because we see the world but with GOD our walk right now is in faith!!!
– Doing research and writing delving into: meanings of original words and roots of Scripture; the Narrow Way vs the wide way; discerning truth, hidden, and harder things; exposing false signs and deceiving wonders. Sharing true experiences of mine and others. Have been personally told by many they had not heard of these things before and that they know many churches typically do not get into the harder things in Scripture.
– Making theses studies available free of charge on my blog and by handing out literally thousands of these studies to people who want a copy. Spending time talking to people if they are receptive and praying and helping otherwise if needed. Not charging for my time for this ministering to others whether poor or rich.
During this time I feel that I have followed in Christ’s footsteps and lifestyle, literally.
– By answering a call to follow my SAVIOUR and give up a home and the majority of my possessions to do so, to learn what it is like walking more in the shoes of those being served.
– By looking on all believers as part of the MESSIAH’S BODY, so I attend services where invited or where led to go, and fellowship with many denominations.
– By giving as YAHSHUA/JESUS would have wanted: remembering to treat the least of people as if they were HIM, by trying to do for others as I would want to have done to me, by giving of good/better quality [not poor], and by trying to help those who are put in my path at least by praying for them.
– By answering a call to go to Israel in 2012 for 6 months, and learning about the roots and ways of Scripture, in a deeper way, from the land it originated from. Learning about the cultures and lifestyles of the people who live and visit there and being challenged with the differences between them and me.
– By learning to share and to follow the example of the early Church in Acts who were of one mind and one heart!
– By spending either a few minutes or a few hours making myself available to those I meet everywhere.
– By trying to treat people who live in tents on wooded lots or who are otherwise homeless and poor, those who feel lost and hurt and discouraged and looked down upon by others and are suffering or feeling rejected, how I would want to be treated and to look them in the eyes and see that they are human beings even if they are alcoholics, drug abusers, or have other addictions or problems. These are the lost sheep and perishing ones of Scripture who may not even feel worthy to be hugged because of how dirty they feel they are. That said, there are those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing and we need to be wise and not foolish and learn discernment and use wisdom and always seek the truth and ABBA’S Will about what to do.
This journey has been intense. In 2013, I had allowed myself to get into a place of fear over not having money. It took a big toll on my health and brought up some old and some new health issues. I thank and praise and bless ELOHIM for working on growing me up, strengthening and healing me, and for putting in front of me what I needed to continue on in doing HIS work and for my continued needs and health, praise HIM!!! I appreciate all the resources HE has given me through the kindness of my brothers and sisters and others along my journey!!!
https://glclifestyling.com/
I feel that my calling and being chosen for a special purpose continues and I seek your financial support to carry me forward in this work.
– The MESSIAH’S own ministry was funded by those HE helped and who believed in HIM and what HE was doing – Luke 8:1-3. My heart is being grown to help others and to continue to give my time and ELOHIM’S WORD for free. The ministering work and the research and writing are a full-time job. What is currently on my blog is just a small portion of the information yet to be posted. The writing may end up being put together into a couple of books and I have information that could grow into a couple of businesses or ministries, may our FATHER in Heaven and JESUS’S Will and Desire be accomplished!
– While FATHER/SON/SPIRIT have shown me that having much is not necessarily needed to help others, money is still needed to live on and function. This ministry [including supporting myself] would appreciate your help. If you have money but no time to do the work our SAVIOUR said to do, your support would be most appreciated. If you have little, you might be surprised how giving up a coffee [regular or fancy], a sandwich, or pizza each month and contributing 1, 3, 5, 10, or 20 dollars monthly can add up. If you like the work I do and want to pass this request on to your friends and family through emails or social networks, that would be a blessing! If you would like to do fundraising for me that would be a blessing, too! There is a donate button on my blog. It should be in the upper right corner of the screen unless your electronic device has shifted its position. Please go to “The Narrow Door Blog” at https://glclifestyling.com
https://glclifestyling.com/
If you would like to give a donation and would like to talk to me first or get references concerning what is posted above, that is not a problem. Other information about me includes: I have a very high credit score of 798-812 [checked in 2013], no debt, 90+ hours of college with a 4.0 gpa and belong to honor societies, would not have a problem having a background check or drug testing done, have a good driving record, have no bankruptcies or foreclosures, do not smoke or take drugs or drink liquor [do drink half a glass or less of wine on occasion], and choose to live by Biblical principles and commands including those of modesty and chastity for women. Please contact me at: [email protected]
Thank you for your time and consideration!
Shalom and Blessings in JESUS’S/YAHSHUA’S BELOVED NAME, AMEN!!
Gail Cooper