Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything seems to be moving at the speed of light yet you feel like you’re not moving? Have you ever noticed how it is that when the most stressful times in your life come, they are surrounded by hard decisions you never asked for but yet seem to have the responsibility to take? Yeah, you know one of those weeks. That was my world this week yet I am so very thankful for the wondrous mercies that God has for us every morning! With TES Coffeehouse deadline to Grand Opening closing in on us fast, I suddenly realized I am also starting school on the 24th of this month.

With a full time ministry and being a full time student, sometimes we take for granted how busy you can get. We must always step back and manage our time well to avoid burnout and stress. I remembered how it was when back in 2007 when I started my grad school years and worked full time and also studied full time. I was thinking on how I have done that for all my college years that I can remember. It seemed that God created me to work under pressure and not crack. However almost twenty years later, I was asking Him in prayer “Lord, what are you thinking? Do I really have to go back to school? How is it you have commissioned me these two things at the same time?” in an anxious tone of course and not in my head but in my heart. Then I remembered the scriptures that says “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

He whispered to me softly “Haven’t I taken care of you this whole time you’ve been without work? Have you needed anything? Then more scripture came to mind from Matthew 6:

Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Those last two scriptures 33 and 34 where what made me truly repent and be humbled that God would pick me because He trusted me with His work. So this means because He chose me, He is the one to help me. He knows I can do nothing on my own. Does not the Word say He will never leave us or forsake us? Let me clarify something that many ministers have forgotten… He didn’t have to chose us, He didn’t have to save us, yet He did! With all our junk, none of us are perfect yet He knew He could give us our assignment with His purpose on this Earth and trust us to complete it not because we wanted men’s approval or accolades, but because we love and honor Him through our obedience and we press on and complete our assignment without looking back because He loved us FIRST. I felt really small as He corrected me, but I still know He does it because He loves me. The Bible is clear when it says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13

God is not man that He should lie, the only one that lies is the evil one, who is the father of lies. So why was I starting to get anxious? Because just as Peter did fine while he was staring at Jesus walking on the water but no sooner he looked down started to sink, I was fine while God was providing all the donations but started tallying up the cost of a business and started to sink. He told me He didn’t ask me to pay for it, only to believe for it. He told me He wanted me to complete my educational journey not for more burden to me but to alleviate others in the end because they saw I made it. It would give them hope that they too could obey God and make it through. He is constantly showing me there are people watching how we react under pressure, under adversity and when we stay at peace, they loose their minds because they cannot comprehend how we do it. But it is simple, we can do nothing of our own, it is only through JesusChrist that we can make all things possible because we believed Him and said “Yes Lord, here am I, send me”

My prayer for you this week is that you open your eyes and give thanks to the Lord for the honor and privilege it is to preach the Gospel of Good News and to have given you an assignment unique to you and your gifting. We must together stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and ask God to give us the ability through His Spirit to complete our tasks; whether it be one or many, that the world may look and see the Glory of the Lord because they knew HE was with us all alone while we walked on the water.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and may He shine His face upon you and be gracious to you and may He give you His PEACE! Amen

TES is short for “The Eagle Speaks” and is a part of our Hispanic passion other than Jesus, which is…coffee! This amazing building was photographed on a night to which I by faith paid the deposit and will soon start an adventure. This adventure was never planned to begin with, but it was placed in my heart as a vision or a beacon of Hope for our city and it’s surrounding communities. It was July 1st when the Lord woke me up and told me “I want a coffeehouse”…I said “a WHAT?!” But I know nothing on running a coffeehouse Lord, what do you mean? and He answered…”You have everything and everyone you need to start a coffeehouse”. Then in my head the vision unfolded, I saw a combination of coffeehouse and training center in one location downtown. Hmmm, I was a bit taken back by what I was seeing but none the less, the vision continued.

I saw my daughter who has worked in Starbucks for over seven years. I saw two missionary friends of ours from the AG (Assemblies of God) who had connections to coffee farmers in Asia. I saw many other people who have believed in The Eagle Speaks and share my heart towards educating and training people. People that work FOR FREE because they believe in teaching people the ways of the Lord. They believe people don’t have to stay in poverty, they can come out. I saw five different ministries represented that all were willing on working as one to get the job done and so the vision ended but not before He said “Do you see? You have everything you need”.

I will admit to being very uncomfortable and dumbfounded by what I had just experienced but what I am about to tell you that came after was even more surprising. It literally blew me out of the water, I knew only God could do it. That very morning The Spirit told me to go and visit my husband’s workplace. I said “who?!” I know for a fact Lord this person will not even understand so why can’t I talk to someone else? He repeated the person’s name and told me he would understand. So I said “Ok Lord” and with an uncomfortable frustrated sigh, I did as I was told.

When I arrived I was so nervous, I felt awkward and silly at the same time. However, I took a deep breath and walked in, asked for the person and they invited me in. My heart at this time was racing, I didn’t know what to expect but I played it out with a big hello and a hug and I felt peace immediately after that. Explaining my newly founded nonprofit to the gentlemen to my surprise…he loved it! He was the first to become an official sponsor and was totally in agreement with the need of somewhere to help people within our community! I was floored with his generosity, I was totally amazed how God used him to show me that all things are possible for those who believe. A Mac Pro, chairs for training and monetary help all came that day. God is so good but there is more. (Mark 9:23) I was so giddy I texted the Board with the good news as I had stated to them before how we needed to start praying and believing and here I was with no faith until the moment I walked into the door of that person’s office.

The following week, I went with our auditor in search for desks based on some new offerings that came in (every dime you sow goes into what we do) and so we traveled to Burlington to a furniture warehouse. I spoke with the lady there and turns out she was a believer. She was so thrilled to hear what we were going to do for the community, she donated over a thousand dollars in furniture! Are you kidding me? Yes! Unbelievable but true. In less than a week, I had the tech I needed, the furniture and the Nonprofit papers needed to start looking for a location. Finally, one night I went on my search and went to the exact location God spoke to my heart to have the coffeehouse, and there it was 30 W Main St for rent. A knot in my throat pounded with excitement and I couldn’t hardly breath thinking how much would this all be so I picked up the phone and left a message. I didn’t think anyone would call back at 9 pm, but he did. Now I knew God was defiantly in this project and there was no way I could deny His hand in all of it. Push comes to shove, I sign the lease this Saturday and am so excited to see what will all this come out to look like on our grand opening day. Everything is going so fast and God supplied even for the location, how can you not believe? It’s not destiny as some would suppose, it’s a divine appointment. Our motto is FLY HIGHER for a reason, and the TES Coffeehouse motto will be “The mission is in each cup”. I will be posting more concerning the development of this coffeehouse, how we reconstruct, develop and create our way to a successful outcome, always allowing His lead to be our guide. May the Lord bless you and keep you Beloved and Shalom ~ Liz

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