Shownotes
Discover how Isaiah 117 House is igniting change for foster children on the most difficult days of their lives by focusing on ministering to their needs. You will hear stories of transformed lives and hear about what happens when believers unite in love and obedience. Let this message challenge you to put your yes on the table for the children God remembers.
Key Insights
- The forgotten, marginalized, and least of these are the heart of the Father.
- There is power in a surrendered yes to God’s call.
- Isaiah 117 House has served over 14,500 children.
https://springhouse.captivate.fm/episode/isaiah-117-house-2025
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Gathering Times
- Sundays, 9:00 AM
- Sundays, 11:00 AM
- Thursdays, 6:00 PM
Contact Info
Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167
CCLI License 2070006
Transcripts
Well, it's a good day to be in the house of the Lord because God
Speaker:is good. And. And I'm grateful to see
Speaker:your faces, guys. We had a phenomenal fall
Speaker:festival this past Friday, and I just
Speaker:want to thank all of the volunteers who came out to be a part
Speaker:of that. And we had excellent weather
Speaker:and it was just. It was just fabulous. And can we just
Speaker:show special appreciation to April Davis for her
Speaker:coordination of the shenanigans, of all
Speaker:shenanigans. We're so glad and thankful for you.
Speaker:And if you're here today because you came to
Speaker:the Fall Fest, welcome. I'm glad that you're here. My name's
Speaker:Pastor Kevin. I serve as the lead pastor here and I'd love to
Speaker:meet you after the gathering today. I already met a family after the first
Speaker:gathering, but if you're here, I'd love to meet. But also if
Speaker:you're new to Springhouse or New Word of Springhouse, we invite you to stay with
Speaker:us and have lunch with us today. Our pastoral team is going to be out
Speaker:in the fellowship hall and we're just going to share a little bit about
Speaker:us, the heart of Springhouse and who we are. And we invite you to be
Speaker:a part of that today. And so that'll be right through those double doors to
Speaker:your left and right through the way there. We'll have lunch ready for you
Speaker:immediately following this gathering. So that's happening
Speaker:today. Now, when you walked in this morning, you may have passed a
Speaker:table with red and green on it. You know,
Speaker:there's a little mixed bag on, you know, whether you start even saying the word
Speaker:Christmas before Thanksgiving happens. But
Speaker:we need to, we gotta talk a little bit about Christmas. And April, would you
Speaker:stand with that box there? Cause I didn't bring it up here. These
Speaker:boxes are available out there in the foyer. And we wanna
Speaker:encourage you, Springhouse, to participate in Operation Christmas
Speaker:Child. And what this is, is an opportunity for you to
Speaker:sow into kids lives the globe
Speaker:with these boxes. Billy Graham's son
Speaker:Franklin started, I believe this ministry's running it today. And
Speaker:what you do is you take these boxes and you go to some
Speaker:store and you package in the box toys and
Speaker:toothbrushes and things for children around the globe. And
Speaker:that Operation Christmas Child will place the gospel
Speaker:inside that box as well. And they will go and deliver these out to
Speaker:countries around the world. And here's the thing, we actually here at Springhouse have
Speaker:direct connects to people who have received these boxes and
Speaker:testimonies of them. And the reason we like to
Speaker:utilize this particular mission outreach vein for
Speaker:Christmas is because it's something that everyone can do, and you can do it on
Speaker:your own time. Now, we have a limited number of those colorful boxes
Speaker:out there, but really all you need is a shoebox. You take the shoebox, go
Speaker:to the store with your family. We let all of our girls go shop and
Speaker:put things in the box, and we'll pray over the boxes and bring it back
Speaker:here. November 16th is the Sunday we need the boxes to come back here. Lisa
Speaker:Norris, would you stand? Lisa will be collecting those boxes, and she also
Speaker:will answer any questions that you have about Operation Christmas Child. And she'll be out
Speaker:in the foyer after the gathering today. So if you have questions, you can ask
Speaker:her that. Okay. You're probably sensing a theme
Speaker:here today and some of the things from Wayne to now, and it's gonna continue
Speaker:on. You know, I often get asked the question, what type of
Speaker:outreach opportunities, missions, support does Springhouse offer?
Speaker:Are we participatory in. And of course, many of us know that one of our
Speaker:main veins, the theater that we have, we have an arts outreach here, but we
Speaker:also participate in a variety of other places and other
Speaker:ways of outreach and missions. And I'd like to
Speaker:officially announce now they've already announced it, but I'd like to officially announce we have
Speaker:a connection, a long historical connection with weary
Speaker:housing down the road, with community servants. And I would like to
Speaker:congratulate Kurt and Tina Bryson for becoming the directors,
Speaker:director of operation, director of ministries of
Speaker:that weary housing community servants. Right. Right down on Sam Ridley.
Speaker:And you're going to hear in the coming months some of the things that are
Speaker:going on out there because we're connected to them. So Curt and Tina, would you
Speaker:come and stand here? If I have elders in the house, if I have staff
Speaker:in the house, if you'll come quickly, we want to pray over you guys as
Speaker:you launch into this new ministry vein. And who loves the Brysons,
Speaker:Man, I tell you, dynamite family have served
Speaker:here 15 to 18 years, and we are just so grateful for these guys. Would
Speaker:you guys stand and stretch your hands as we pray over these guys here?
Speaker:Father, we thank you for Curt and Tina Bryson, and we thank you for their
Speaker:lives. We thank you for what you're doing in their lives, and we thank you
Speaker:for the gift they are to Springhouse God. And I pray, Lord, that you would
Speaker:use them in this season ahead, Lord, that you would give them great
Speaker:discernment and wisdom, Lord, as they're operating and directing out at Weary
Speaker:Housing. I thank you for the fingerprints that are global, that you're going to
Speaker:use them, Lord, for in the weeks, in the days, months, years to come,
Speaker:God, I pray that you put a hedge of protection around their family. And I
Speaker:pray, Lord, that you would bring faithful allies from Springhouse to
Speaker:partner with them, Lord, as a community outreach, Lord, right down the
Speaker:street from us, God. I thank you, Lord, for resource and provision. And I thank
Speaker:you, Lord, that you've given them the vision for this season. In Jesus name,
Speaker:amen. Amen. Love on Kurt and Tina as you see them and
Speaker:learn about their ministry over community, servants and
Speaker:weary housing right down the road. All right,
Speaker:everybody say three weeks. In three weeks time, we're gonna have some
Speaker:very special missionaries with us. Some of you that have been here for a while
Speaker:know them. Their names are Ron and Annette Thiessen. They are
Speaker:missionaries out in Peru. They have done so much around the globe
Speaker:and every time you contribute to Springhouse Church, you are
Speaker:contributing to their ministry. We have partnered with them for over
Speaker:25 years and we wanted to make sure that you had an opportunity to know
Speaker:that they were coming and connect with them. And so we're gonna have a special
Speaker:luncheon with them in three weeks time that you can register for a part
Speaker:of to get to know a little bit more about them and their ministry. And
Speaker:they've sent a video in for today, so let's watch that video.
Speaker:Hello, Springhouse family. We are Ron and Annette Thiessen,
Speaker:lifelong missionaries to Latin America. And we've been
Speaker:connected with Springhouse for all of our ministry life
Speaker:through some of your previous pastors, Bruce and Jill Coble, and
Speaker:now with Pastor Kevin. Our main call is
Speaker:to raise up leaders in the Amazon of Peru or wherever we are. Raise up
Speaker:leaders. We have raised up 60 churches, mostly in river communities
Speaker:along the Amazon and tributaries, through seminars, through conferences,
Speaker:study booklets, video Bible school visits in their communities.
Speaker:We also do women's conferences, strengthening marriages and
Speaker:families everywhere. The Lord opens doors for us. And
Speaker:Springhouse has been very beneficial in helping us publish some
Speaker:books, both in Spanish and English. So in
Speaker:2011, we also took over a New Life Children's Home,
Speaker:an orphanage in Honduras where her parents started it.
Speaker:But when they retired at 81, they asked us to go and take over for
Speaker:them, and we did. We have rescued over 50 orphans and given
Speaker:them a good education, higher education and a
Speaker:trade if they so desired. We provide a quality education
Speaker:now for over 70 at risk children in five
Speaker:communities who would not normally be able to go to the local
Speaker:schools. Now, this summer in July and
Speaker:August, we ran some teams in Honduras and we were
Speaker:able to do a pastor's conference, vet brigades, pass out
Speaker:lots of bags of food to different needy families. We
Speaker:built a shop, painted the schoolhouse, worked in the
Speaker:classrooms and just had a lot of fun ministering with our teams.
Speaker:Also in September, we were in Peru for three weeks
Speaker:holding leadership conferences and ministering to many people
Speaker:in four different cities in the Andes, two different cities in the high
Speaker:Andes, in Lima, Peru, and also in Iquitos, Peru.
Speaker:And we look forward to being with you on November 16th. And
Speaker:we'll be able to share what we have coming up really soon
Speaker:in this next year. So until then, be blessed, Be
Speaker:blessed. And so Ron and Annette will be with,
Speaker:yeah, Ron and Annette will be with us in two
Speaker:Sundays. They're going to share just briefly here. They'll also be speaking in the 12.
Speaker:So we have the 12 Sunday school at 9 o'. Clock. So if you're interested,
Speaker:you can be a part of that. And then they're going to share briefly in
Speaker:the service at the 11 o' clock gathering on that Sunday and then
Speaker:of course, the lunch in that day. So we invite you to be a part
Speaker:of all of those things. Well, we believe here at Springhouse God has saved the
Speaker:very best for when right now. And he certainly has. I'm so
Speaker:grateful for our guest speaker today. We've
Speaker:invited Rhonda Paulson to come several years ago.
Speaker:And what I love about what the Holy Spirit did through her story
Speaker:and through her testimony and what she shared is we have seen people from
Speaker:our house directly impacted and moving in
Speaker:response to the message that the Holy Spirit used her to give several years
Speaker:ago when she came and directly have affected
Speaker:children and homes across the state. I'm connected to a church in
Speaker:East Tennessee in Jefferson City, Heritage Fellowship
Speaker:with Jim and Peggy Price. I don't know if you remember those names, but they
Speaker:are very fond of Rhonda and we were talking about you this past week.
Speaker:And so Rhonda has traveled across really the nation but the state and
Speaker:has shared her story. And it is just, it's wonderful to see what God
Speaker:has done through her and in her. And I believe it's going to be a
Speaker:blessing to us this morning. Would you please give a resounding Springhouse welcome to
Speaker:Rhonda Paul.
Speaker:Well, good morning. I'm so excited to be with
Speaker:you this morning. I cannot wait to share with
Speaker:you the growth that we've seen as a ministry. I
Speaker:cannot wait to tell you about the Children that have
Speaker:entered your Rutherford county home. I cannot wait
Speaker:to share with you the things that I feel like God is teaching
Speaker:me through this ministry. But I can't get to any of that
Speaker:until I tell you how we got here. I feel like I
Speaker:can't tell you any of that until I tell you the story
Speaker:of Isaiah 1:17 house. Because the story of Isaiah
Speaker:1:17 house has very little to do with
Speaker:me. But the story of Isaiah 1:17 House
Speaker:has everything to do with the God that I've loved my whole life.
Speaker:Building homes for children that he's never forgotten. In
Speaker:2014, I knew nothing about foster care. Maybe that's you
Speaker:here today. I didn't know where the office was located.
Speaker:I didn't know anyone who was fostering. I didn't know a caseworker. I
Speaker:didn't know what DCS stood for or one of the 100 acronyms. I would
Speaker:soon learn I knew nothing. But
Speaker:I felt God calling me foster care.
Speaker:My word of the year was obedience. The year before that, it was surrender. And
Speaker:I found myself headed toward foster care.
Speaker:My husband did not. I think
Speaker:God does that. You know, he puts those two people together. And
Speaker:so I thought it would be fun if I invited him on a
Speaker:date and didn't tell him where we were going.
Speaker:So he said yes. And we ended up in foster care classes.
Speaker:It worked out. We're still married 28 years in December.
Speaker:He was not happy that night, though. He thought we were going on a date.
Speaker:We ended up in foster care classes. I remember the lady stood up and was
Speaker:like, welcome to your eight week study of foster care. That head whipped across.
Speaker:But we were in a public setting, so it was good. And I
Speaker:remember they had left a notepad for us to take notes about the children that
Speaker:needed us. And he was writing hateful little notes and shoving them over. And I
Speaker:was like, we are going to get kicked out. He's like, oh, I hope so.
Speaker:I mean, he was so not happy.
Speaker:But him and God had a moment about week three
Speaker:of this eight week study. And we were driving home, week
Speaker:three, and Corey said, I do not want to do this.
Speaker:And I was like, hey, fair enough. He was like, rhonda,
Speaker:you have known me for over 20 years, and you know I like
Speaker:simple, safe and predictable. And I don't know if you've noticed, but
Speaker:nothing that woman has said about foster care sounds simple,
Speaker:safe, or predictable. I do not want to do this. And
Speaker:I was like, it's okay. Fair enough. I mean, I tricked you into it.
Speaker:We made it three weeks. Fair enough. He was like, oh, don't fair enough
Speaker:me one more time. I'm like, what? He was like,
Speaker:you and God have wrecked me. I'm
Speaker:a wrecked man. He was like, now I know the
Speaker:numbers, now I know the statistics.
Speaker:Now I know there are children in our county
Speaker:with literally nowhere to go.
Speaker:And now I know we have to do this.
Speaker:And so by week four, we were united. We went back
Speaker:week four, week five, week six, week seven, they took us on
Speaker:a field trip. They took us to the Department of Children's Services
Speaker:in Johnson City, Tennessee. Never been to a
Speaker:DCS office. Since that time, I've been in
Speaker:most across the state, several across this nation.
Speaker:They're all the same. Picture the dmv,
Speaker:picture any state office you've ever been in. Tile
Speaker:floor, fluorescent lighting, state issued
Speaker:furniture. When you walk in the lobby, sometimes there's a
Speaker:vending machine, sometimes there's not. There's always a nice lady behind
Speaker:some glass that has to buzz you back. And once you get behind that
Speaker:glass, there's just a sea of cubicles and conference rooms.
Speaker:So we're in a conference room in Johnson City. No
Speaker:windows, no color, no light,
Speaker:some really gross dingy carpet. I remember making a note of that.
Speaker:And a gentleman stood up and said, when a child is removed from their
Speaker:home, they come here. And I remember looking
Speaker:around that room and thinking, well, surely he doesn't mean.
Speaker:I mean, who would ever bring a child here?
Speaker:So I raised my hand, I said, I'm sorry sir, when you say a child
Speaker:comes here, what do you actually mean? And
Speaker:he said, a little girl slept on this floor last night.
Speaker:And something inside my heart broke.
Speaker:And it's been broken ever since. I remember there
Speaker:was a physical pain in my chest. I remember my shoulders
Speaker:got real heavy and my head went toward the table and I couldn't pick my
Speaker:head up and I couldn't stop crying. And I just kept seeing
Speaker:her. I kept seeing this six,
Speaker:seven year old little girl who left the only mama she'd ever known.
Speaker:And although we might not approve, she did.
Speaker:And if she had anything with her, it was in a black trash
Speaker:bag. There's a message in that.
Speaker:And there she was, laying on a state issued
Speaker:carpet floor alone.
Speaker:And then I got mad. As I traveled the country, sometimes
Speaker:I say east Tennessee redneck mad. But I think you all understand. Tennessee
Speaker:redneck mad. I got mad. I was so angry and I. I was
Speaker:not mad at Mama. I do not know Mama. I
Speaker:have not walked her journey. I was not mad at
Speaker:Caseworkers I'd only been around the system about five minutes and already knew they were
Speaker:some of the hardest working people I'd ever met. I wasn't even mad at the
Speaker:system, although it was clearly flawed.
Speaker:In that conference room, in that moment, I was mad at
Speaker:God. And I started to yell at him. In my mind,
Speaker:I was like, this isn't fair. That little girl is yours
Speaker:and you left her on a conference room floor.
Speaker:Who's gonna tell her? Who's gonna tell her that she's beautiful?
Speaker:Who's gonna tell her that she's worthy? Who's gonna tell her that she's not in
Speaker:trouble and that this is not her fault and that she can do this?
Speaker:Who's telling her?
Speaker:And I heard God say, these are my children.
Speaker:What are you gonna do? And I thought,
Speaker:what am I gonna do? I'm a cheer and dance coach. Like, what?
Speaker:What am I gonna do? I barely got my husband here.
Speaker:What? Like, what am I gonna do? I'm already doing enough. Lord.
Speaker:What? What am I gonna do? This is a broken foster
Speaker:care system. This is too big. You got the wrong girl.
Speaker:I'm not. No, no, no. I
Speaker:told God no because I really liked
Speaker:my simple, safe, predictable life
Speaker:too. And if I'm honest,
Speaker:I spent the next year trying really hard
Speaker:to forget about her. It was
Speaker:November of 2015, almost a year to the
Speaker:date. It was 3:30 in the afternoon. I was sitting at my
Speaker:kitchen island with Sophie, who was 12 at the time, Mac, who
Speaker:was 9. We were doing afternoon homework and the phone rang.
Speaker:Was a Carter County DCS worker. She said, there's a nine month
Speaker:old little boy that needs a home. I said, ma', am, I'm going to do
Speaker:something very uncharacteristic. She said, what's that? I said,
Speaker:I'm gonna ask my husband if this is okay.
Speaker:That's a good idea. We need you both to say yes. I'm like,
Speaker:yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember I called Cory at work and I said, tell
Speaker:me you'll love me no matter what. He said, you wrecked the car again.
Speaker:I was like, no, tell me you'll love me no matter
Speaker:what. He said, what's going on? I said, we're about to get in the hottest
Speaker:mess we've ever been in. He said, there's a baby. I said, there's a
Speaker:baby. He said, I'm on my way. And so we loaded up
Speaker:Sophie and Mac and we drove to the back door of the Carter county dcs.
Speaker:When they opened the doors, there was this fair skinned,
Speaker:fiery Redhead, chubbiest nine month old I'd ever seen.
Speaker:But his outfit was way too small. And when I asked about it, they said,
Speaker:well, actually the outfit he was wearing was so filthy we had to throw it
Speaker:away. We tried to bathe him in our drug testing
Speaker:sink, but when you get him home, he desperately needs a
Speaker:bath. Then they handed me his one possession
Speaker:was a diaper bag. They instructed me not to take
Speaker:it into my home for the next 12 to 24 hours so the roaches would
Speaker:crawl out. That is how it happens
Speaker:in our country. Our children enter
Speaker:foster care with one shoe, a diaper, only
Speaker:the clothes on their back, a roach infested diaper bag,
Speaker:a black trash bag, and they've done
Speaker:nothing wrong. That nine
Speaker:month old would eventually become my son.
Speaker:And my son deserved better than
Speaker:a drug testing sink and a roach infested diaper bag.
Speaker:But we took him home. And I tell people all the time, if
Speaker:you've not had a baby in your home in nine years and
Speaker:your husband's only kinda on board
Speaker:and he actually had a procedure so this would never happen again,
Speaker:you need Jesus. Yes, yes. And so things would get
Speaker:stressful and I'd say, we should pray. Corey, we should read the
Speaker:Bible. What if we read Isaiah? That would be fitting. We should read the book
Speaker:of Isaiah. We brought Isaiah home and when you read
Speaker:the verse Isaiah 1:17, staring into the
Speaker:face of a child you just met that is now
Speaker:reliant on you for everything, it just hits different.
:17 says, do good, seek justice, take
:care of the widow, take care of the orphan. But what I really love
:about that verse is the context. And what I really
:love about that verse is actually what comes before it. Because if you
:look at the context, God is speaking to his people.
:And if you look at what comes before it, he says, you think I want
:what you're currently doing? You think I want these new
:moon festivals and these sacrifices? No,
:they're actually making me sick to my stomach. What I want
:from my people is for you to do good
:and seek justice and take care of the widow and take care of the
:orphan. So in 2015,
:Isaiah was a nine month old that was about to open our eyes
:to a world we did not know existed. And Isaiah 1:17
:was just a family verse. But what we would learn
:between 2015 and 2017, we would not be able
:to walk away from. Because once you know,
:you know. And we would now know about
:removal day. See, I was a high school teacher before I
:taught at the college level. And I Knew of students who were
:removed. And I now say in my ignorance,
:I thought it was to be celebrated. I thought, yay,
:they'll be in class every day next week. They'll be safe, they'll be clean.
:Yay, Removal day. But when God lets
:you see removal day through the eyes of a child, you realize
:immediately there's nothing to celebrate. They just lost
:mama and she is mama
:and they love her and they always
:will. They just lost their home.
:It doesn't matter if you wouldn't live there. They would, they did.
:They just lost their possessions. Except what can be grabbed, often in a moment of
:panic and shoved into a trash bag. Their
:stuff is put in a trash bag. There's
:a message in that they have to leave their
:pets. You wouldn't believe the children that enter an Isaiah house and say, do you
:think they're taking care of my dog? I left my dog out. Do you think
:they'll get my dog? Do you know when I'll see my cat again?
:And because we never have enough foster families, there's no promise they'll stay with their
:brothers and sisters, the only ones who understand what's actually going
:on. And because we never have enough foster families, there's no promise they stay
:in their same county. And if they move counties, they move schools. And if they
:move schools, they lose that teacher that they love, they lose their friends
:at recess. Every aspect of this child's
:life comes crashing down in a moment's notice. And the plan across
:this nation is that child in that traumatic state
:goes to an office to sit and wait
:4 hours, 8 hours,
:12 hours, 2 days.
:They sit and they wait and
:they've done nothing wrong.
:The second thing that stood out to us were caseworkers. Caseworkers
:are overworked, underpaid, underappreciated.
:Caseworkers are doing the absolute best they can. They are picking lice out in their
:break room. They are bathing babies in their drug testing sinks. They are taking
:what little money they have and running through drive throughs to feed children.
:They're buying basic necessities for them. They're calling their own children and saying,
:I won't be home tonight cause I'll be in the office with a sibling set
:of three. I'm so tired of reading
:headlines about how the state is getting this wrong. Because
:this was never the state's calling. This was the church's
:calling and we handed it to the state.
:So how dare us judge them for doing our
:work? And the third thing that
:stood out to us is we need foster parents. We desperately need foster
:parents. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in
:my life. But guess what? Was never about
:me. Because there were two children at the end of that.
:But they will. They'll call you at 2am they'll say we have a sibling group
:of three. They all have lice, they have zero possessions. Can we bring them to
:your home right now? And by the way, can you have them at the health
:department at 8am in the morning? That's a hard yes.
:So in January of 2017. I did not plan
:that. That's 117. God's funny.
:I got on my knees in my bedroom and I answered a question that
:he asked me in a conference room in 2014.
:And my yes sounded very much like this. I have
:no idea what you want me to do, but I will do
:it. And that is when God takes off.
:I sat in a coffee shop in Elizabeth in Tennessee and I googled how to
:start a nonprofit. Because if you want God to have the glory, you put someone
:totally ill equipped in charge.
:I still don't understand who GoDaddy is. But if you give them a credit
:card, they'll let you buy a name. I don't know. I bought a name from
:GoDaddy. Isaiah117house.com we started
:inviting people in. We had our first board meeting on February 26th of
:2017. And that's when the dream took shape. What if there
:was a home? What if there was a home? What if when a child
:is going through the most traumatic day of their life, they don't go to a
:cubicle or a conference room. They go to a home. Cause if you're hungry,
:we don't have a vending machine. We have a fully stocked kitchen. Cause we're a
:home. And if you need a bath, we don't have a drug testing sink. We
:have a bathtub. It's not just any bathtub. It's Elmo bubble bath and
:Mickey bath toys and a big white fluffy towel. We're gonna heat up in the
:dryer and then wrap you in. Cause little one, you deserve a
:bath. Teenager. We got shampoo, conditioner,
:body wash, deodorant, Axe body spray. They love the Axe
:body spray. New underwear,
:new bra, dignity. Because this is
:happening to you, not because of you. And
:you are loved. You wanna go outside. We don't
:have a parking lot. We have a basketball goal and a playset. Cause we're a
:home. You want to sleep, we don't have a cot on the floor.
:We don't have dingy carpet. We have a bed. Cause we're a home.
:You weren't allowed to bring your backpack. Come upstairs. Where we have new shirts, new
:shoes, new backpacks, new school supplies. New. Where did all this come from?
:That's my favorite question. God built this house for
:you, for this day, because he has never left you. And
:he always goes before you. Because you are loved. And you can
:do this. You are not alone. What if there was
:a home? What if there was an office? And that caseworker could bring that
:mount to state's paperwork? And they work on the paperwork and we love on the
:child. And together we do it really well. And what if we loved
:on the caseworker? What if we reminded them that they're not alone? What's
:your favorite coffee? What's your favorite creamer? We're ordering
:dinner. Don't say you don't want any. We know you haven't eaten today.
:We see how hard you're trying to. You're not alone.
:What about that call to that future foster placement? It may still come at 2am
:but what if. It could sound like this. We have a sibling group of three.
:They've played outside, they had baths, they've had lice treatments, they have bags full of
:stuff. Everything they need for the next week. And by the way, future placement, what
:do you need? Twin beds, diapers, formula wipes, stroller, carbon
:monoxide detector, fire extinguisher, you name it. Whatever you need to be
:able to say yes. Cause we're gonna be honest. We
:need you to say yes. But we're not asking you to do it alone.
:What if there was a home? I headed out into Carter County,
:Tennessee, in spring of 2017 with
:that message, and Carter County, Tennessee, lost their minds
:in the best way possible. They said, not our kids.
:Not anymore. Everybody showed up. All the first showed up.
:First prayers, First Methodist, First Baptist. All the first came. All the Firsts
:came. The Kiwanians came, the Rotarians came. All the
:civic people came. The nursing home held a bake
:sale. Children started holding lemonade stands. $7,000 was raised
:that summer in lemonade. I mean, the entire community rallied.
:I remember when I knew the entire community had rallied. The firefighters
:asked if they could do the Little Boys room as their Christmas project.
:And on the day of the reveal of the cutest firefighter room you've ever seen,
:they gave me a plaque with their emblem in the middle and a verse from
:Isaiah said, they will walk through the Fire, but they will not be
:burned. And I started crying. The ugly cry.
:Cause that's the prayer of this home. And then I look up and all the
:firefighters are crying the ugly cry. And then one of them says, you
:know, Mike, he just ordered that off Pinterest. And I was like,
:firefighter Mike is on Pinterest. I mean, the entire
:community rallied. And in less than a year, we had a debt free
:home, fully funded, first year's budget, every closet was full,
:every cabinet was full. 40 trained volunteers. And we were ready to
:serve the children of Carter County. And then the craziest thing
:happened. It worked. It worked. The
:house did what the house was created to do. And I was running around town
:going, it works. It works. And they were like, well, it better. That's why we
:gave y' all that money. Cause you said it was gonna work. I was like,
:I don't know why y' all gave me your money. But it worked. It works.
:The house was reducing trauma. It was lightening the load for the caseworkers.
:It was making that. Yes. Easier. And then it hit
:me. God built this house
:that is so full of his love and the holy Spirit that when children enter,
:trauma is reduced. He's not gonna just do
:this in Carter County. And so
:Washington county called, and Green and
:Sullivan and Knox and Blunt and Severe
:and Rutherford and Coffey and Franklin and Grundy. And then
:Indiana called.
:Cause there are children there that need him. And then we got
:fake emails and fake websites and fake names. And we were told that a
:small documentary company was coming to see us. But
:instead, a guy by the name of Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs,
:he walked in. They filmed us for a Facebook show
:called Returning the Favor. Our episode aired on March 9th
:of 2020, and 2 million people watched it. And on
:March 13th of 2020, the world shut down. But my
:God did not. In the middle of a global pandemic,
:41 states and four countries reached out wanting an Isaiah 117
:house. As of today, we have 62
:locations in 13 states. We will cut the
:ribbon on house number 38 on November 23rd. And we
:have served 14,500 children since
:2018.
:I'm not doing this.
:This cheer and dance coach is not doing this.
:In 2018, we had one employee, 40
:trained volunteers, and one house. Today we have
:62 locations, 200 employees, and 7,000
:volunteers. I'm not doing this.
:My God is doing this on a scale that no man may
:boast.
:I would love to share a story from your home, your Rutherford
:county home. Your home opened in 2023 and
:has served 800 children since then. It's unbelievable.
:It's one of our busiest homes in our system and
:that includes Dallas and
:Jacksonville and Houston.
:So just let that settle for a minute.
:You know, we are child centered, child led. A child enters our home,
:we want to make sure we sneak down layer level, make eye contact contact, call
:them by name. And then lavish love commences.
:Well, this gentleman came in early teens,
:severely autistic. He does not want us to look him in the
:eye. He does not want us to hug him. He does
:not want us to communicate with him the way we normally would.
:And so lavish love still needs to commence.
:So we gotta find his language. His language was
:Cheez Its and Uno. We
:played so much. Uno. Two days.
:Uno, Uno, Uno. Now what would you like to do? Uno. What would you like
:to eat? Cheez Its and so Cheez Its and Uno for two days.
:And I could tell none of us really knew. Are we getting through? Are we
:getting through? Does he get it? Does he know what we're trying to do here?
:Does he feel it? We don't know. Are we
:missing each other? Cheese. Its a nuno. When he got ready to leave,
:we packed him a to go bag. Guess what it had in it? Cheez Its
:a nuno. We didn't get to hug him. Bye. That's okay,
:because we're child led. We're gonna do what he wants. We're gonna love him the
:way he wants. And he wanted Cheez its and Uno. As he left,
:he was walking down the hall and there's a chalkboard. And he stopped and he
:picked up a piece of chalk, he started to write and then he
:walked out. As soon as he left that door, we all rushed to the
:chalkboard and he wrote, you do not need to be
:afraid. They will take good care of you.
:God's love breaks through.
:Because God built this house for children that he's
:never forgotten. There are three
:things I would like to share with you that I have learned and that if
:you remember nothing else that this last loud, obnoxious
:woman said today, I hope you remember these three things.
:Number one. There is absolutely
:nothing special about me. Nothing.
:If you had heard me scream at my children this morning, you would know it
:to be true. There is nothing special about me.
:Nothing. God wants to use
:all of us. I don't understand it. I can't
:wait to ask him. I will never be able to wrap my mind around why
:the God of the universe wants to use flawed people like
:us to do his work on this earth, but he
:does. He literally wants us to be his hands and
:feet. He invites us into his work. And
:when he does, and when we say yes,
:he then fully equips us for whatever he's asked us
:to do, because that is the kindness of the Lord that we serve.
:He asks us, we say yes, and then he fully equips us for whatever
:he's asked us to do. And you'd think he'd stop there, but no.
:Then he blesses us for whatever he's asked us to do.
:19 says, if you are willing and
:obedient, you will taste the best of the land.
:On November 17th of 2018, we adopted
:Isaiah and his full sibling, brother Eli.
:11, 17, 18 is their adoption date. There's a
:117 right in the middle of that adoption date.
:That is not a coincidence, my friend. That is a blessing
:from a kind, kind Savior.
:I don't know what God is asking you to do,
:but I can attest to what he can do
:with a really scared yes,
:just lay it at his feet and watch him go.
:The second thing that I want you to remember is that
:I have seen what can happen when
:God's people come together, when they
:lay the denominations at the door, when they lay the
:theological disputes at the door, when nobody's arguing
:about who gets to come in and who doesn't, when nobody's arguing about when
:communion's gonna be served and when it's not. I have seen the
:power when God's people come together and it
:looks like 14,500 children being
:served since 2018.
:Satan does not want us to come together because we
:are so powerful. Stop letting him
:separate us over silly things.
:And lastly, we were to be known by our love.
:I have seen firsthand the power, the
:healing power of God's love. We
:are to be different at Walmart, on
:Facebook, at work. We are to be love.
:Let us be known for love and kindness.
:And as I look at these couple of rows right here, I'm going to speak
:directly to you for just a minute. You will
:never know what the person beside you
:is going through at school. I have seen
:them be kind to each
:other. You can be Jesus at school
:just by being kind. We are
:all called to be love and kindness.
:Let us be known by our love. Thank you for letting me share this morning.
:Remain standing. If those who are going to minister would come forward.
:We've been in a series this year called the Greatest
:Stories Ever Told, and some of you may have had a fleeting
:thought that we took a break from that series this morning, but nae nae, nae,
:nae nae. The greatest story of stories
:ever told have always started with a surrendered
:yes. Whether it was Moses,
:whether it was David, whether if it's a cheerleading coach
:teacher in East Tennessee, or whether it's you.
:God's greatest stories start with a surrendered yes. And
:so this morning, you may be sitting there and you've been sitting on a dream.
:You've been sitting on something that you feel like the Lord has placed in your
:heart, but it's gone dormant, it's gone quiet, it's gone dark. Maybe you've been
:fighting against something that the Lord has asked you to do. Or maybe you're just
:thinking, lord, would you ever think that you could use a small
:little sheep like me? Do you know who I am? Do you know what I've
:done? But can I tell you? The God of the universe sent his son Jesus
:to shed his blood so that we didn't have to ask the question anymore whether
:we're. Whether or not we're worthy. He sent Jesus so that
:we have the opportunity and the power to come before his throne and say, God,
:you can use me. So do you have a yes on the
:table I recognize? Also, in a room this size, there's probably people
:here who have needs. And the star breather is here this
:morning to meet you exactly where you are. You don't
:have to leave the same way you came. That's a choice. So as
:we worship. Worship. He holds it all together
:as we worship you, come and meet this great glorious God.
