Dear Friend,

You have asked me a question in our traffic for the website; I don’t know how you actually do that, but that is not important, I guess. This is not the first time you have conversed with me, I am sure…it makes me curious as to who you are! Whatever the case, I will strive through this blog to answer your question.

The Beatitudes…how has Victory Family Outreach “lived them”, in my own words…this is your question?

Where do I start? In areas of devotion to God’s Will, we sacrificed the whole of our lives to doing what it is that God has called us to do, and that is to learn more about Him, praise and worship Him, pray to Him, stay in fellowship both with God and others who love and adore Him, and to minister, last but not least, to those who are hurting--who need help to overcome the sin nature and the bondage to addictions of all kinds. We spent a total of eight years with Victory Family Houston, counting my three years of study and devotion, as well as Tom’s additional five years—doing all that was asked of him and learning how to run a Home and counsel and to free men with addictions. This could be considered a hungering and a thirsting for righteousness, which, through the work of the Holy Spirit, became possible at this very crucial, blessed, important, and special time in our lives. We could have remained drunks; we could have continued down the road to perdition, BUT GOD! As they taught us, God Himself is the One who draws us all to Him, not vice versa. Salvation is not of man, but of God.

Every time we sit down and have a Bible study, we are “breaking bread” with God, sharing with one another the Word, which leads to eternal life. Every Monday and Thursday we have Bible study down in Union, Miss., at Pastor Byron Artis’ “House of Hope”. The lessons are a myriad of Spiritual subjects, and much of it comes from the blogs written by Sister Carolyn Hollingsworth of CHOLLINGSWORTHMINISTRIES.ORG, and this one, victoryfamilyoutreach.org  which has been online since 2010. Pastor Byron Artis has been a faithful contributor and guidance to the men, as well as Pastor Bragston Miley and Pastor Jack Foster, as well as Mr. Jim Dionne and yes, Pastor Tom, too.

I said all that to say this: When the Pastor has poured out his heart for quite some time to all who have been in his care, he sometimes experiences a spiritual “emptiness”, which is all part of being “poor” in spirit. For such a time as this, we are refilled by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word and learning from other Ministries, a time of refreshing that God puts into hearts to renew and get us all back on track. Pastor Tom has several Pastor friends who support and advise him. This is quite a blessing for him. Any Preacher will tell you that, if he cares, he puts blood, sweat and tears into his ministry. Pray for your teachers, preachers, and ministers around you; they need your prayers.

So many men have come through VFO with Godly sorrow for what they have done in their lives of addiction. Lost relationships, friendships, family support, material possessions, and even children that they love dearly are all part of the terrible price paid for their lifestyles which range anywhere from a few years to all of their lives. They mourn for their loss, and even Tom and I mourn for the life of addiction and sin we once lived. God, however is not in the business of kicking a man when he’s down, but has the desire to lift us up and give us new life, amen? God and His Word comforts and we as brothers and sisters in Christ comfort one another.  

Meekness is stating the truth and disregarding intimidation, in love. All of us can say that at some time or another we have known, but not spoken the truth. Meekness is not a sign of weakness. It is knowing that no matter what may come, God is still in control. This attitude makes our faith stronger, and God will produce a crop in your life--some thirty, some sixty and some a hundred-fold, if you let your faith sustain you in every situation! Be blessed in this.

I guess you could say that my husband is as merciful as he can be. God has made us merciful, because our lives were so out of control, and yet, He sustained us! So why wouldn’t we, for instance, be merciful towards a man who is sneaking around smoking cigarettes and we finally uncover the fact that he is breaking the Home rules? We forgive the man, and he is not discharged from the Home. This makes him more useful to us because he is thankful; you cannot work with people that you browbeat. The human tendency is to be resentful of you if you choose to discourage and “ride” your disciples. Would Christ have done such a thing? It’s a matter of learning how to live a sober life, dedicated to God and to Holiness. This requires mercy. This is what we show our men at VFO.

There’s a song about how people laugh at those who reach down and help another person up. “Fool” is what it’s called. This is a kind of persecution that fazes us not. Even when folks act as if we’re pestering them and “begging” when we come around and ask for a donation. Even when the principle of God is Faith and what He can do for us every month in providing all our needs in the Home, if we just get out there and “swing the bat”. We want to thank all of the businesses and people who have been faithful in contributing to our cause, and helping us to stay open, those who realize the beauty of helping those who are caught in a web of addiction.

I hope that this has been somewhat helpful in answering your question. I would that I could boast in our behaviors and our perfection, but all have fallen short…I won’t be perfect until I see Him face to face. All one can do is cooperate with the Holy Spirit daily in his leading us to do the “next right thing”, as Mom Carmen used to put it.

“Snatching victims from the flames”,

Teresa