Banquet 2010 "Good Work"

After hearing the testimonies of our graduates tonight,
I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in them will continue until the day of Jesus Christ- right to the time of His return- developing (that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in them.)
For it is right for me to feel this way about them all because I have them in my heart.

What good work has God began in them & when did it start?

I want to share with you that good work is the gospel of Jesus Christ & it began before the foundation of the world

Eph 1:4 …In His love He chose us-actually picked us out for Himself as His own-in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach before Him in love.

That good work continued as God Himself chose to leave heaven and be born of a virgin (Mary) and the bible says he grew and became strong in spirit.

As the ladies shared as they grew they were battered, abused, neglected, and abandoned their hearts grew cold & hard but His heart was strong in spirit and He never sinned.

That good work continued as He was beaten and abused and hung on the cross where He shed His precious blood. Blood that was without blemish. He who knew no sin became sin that we might be approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him by His goodness.

Even though these ladies had a hard heart and committed all kinds of sin and all kinds of sin were committed to them Jesus valued them so much He become their sin and died in their place.

We see that the good work continued as Jesus’ lifeless body was laid in a borrowed tomb. Buried, forgotten by many, all hope seemed to be gone. But Jesus on the 3rd day rose up out of the grave. ALIVE.

1 Cor. 15:55 says O death where is your victory? O death where is your sting… Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory making us conquerors-through our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 10:10 says the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy but Jesus came that they might have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance to the full, till it overflows.

Just at the moment when Satan thought he could strike a fatal blow and totally destroy their lives that good work continued and Christ arose. He was seen by many and ascended to heaven sat down at the right hand of the Father.

One day somewhere in jail cell or in a lonely motel room, standing in front of a judge, they came to their wits end and cried out Help Me God and He said I already have before the foundation of the world. Not only that I will give you my spirit, I will take out your hard heart and give you a new heart this will continue until the day of My return and these ladies will be with Him forever and ever. That’s the good work.

Now I must ask you, have you called out for help. Have you come to the end of yourself?

I want to take just a moment to offer you the best gift ever given which will be the most important thing we do tonight; the opportunity to give up and allow Jesus to begin that good work in you.

As I pray if you feel lead to pray with me and make this prayer your prayer.
Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I do not have the peace of heart and mind that I heard tonight from the testimonies of these ladies. I’m lost, hopeless and in great need of help. Tonight I am saying Help Me Jesus. I confess Jesus as Lord I believe the day He died on the cross it was for my sin and I believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. Thank you Jesus for beginning that good work in me before the foundation of the world. Tonight take out my heart of stone and give me a new heart. I choose to serve you and you only. Teach me our ways. In Jesus Name Amen.

If you prayed that prayer tonight we want to know. Give us a call. Tell someone who will help you about the decision you made.

At the first banquet Tommy invited a friend to set at his table. The friend said what’s it going to cost me to get in, Tommy said there is no cost to come to the banquet. Then the friend said well then what’s it going to cost me to get out.

This year we have had an increase of expenses, particularly due to an increase of students. However, our donations have stayed about the same. There have been some very close months. Each time God has proven He is faithful.

This next year we have the desire to expand our services. This has been on our hearts for some time. Many of our graduates have children and really need help getting back with their children. We would like to have a place for these ladies and their children.

We have two options one there is a house adjacent to the property for sale which we have made an offer on but our offer has been refused or we could build a house. Either way we need the money to get this done. And our monthly expenses will increase. I believe this is no problem for God. He already has what we need.

Offering taken

Thank you for coming tonight. God Bless you. Good Night

Banquet 2010

Chapter 7 A Window to the Kingdom of God

After the first banquet things began to move along pretty fast. R.B. Dake began overseeing the project. The sheet rock has been hung and it was time to cover the walls. We had gotten a large pallet of industrial wallpaper from Appalachian Project in KY. I got in contact with Wanda Beck who in my opinion is the best at hanging wall paper. She agreed to do the job and if I would help her she said she would do it for half price. I agreed to help her and we started the project early spring 2001. She and I hung 12 rooms of wallpaper. It was quite a job. Hanging wallpaper especially industrial paper is hard work. I don't think I've done any wallpaper since nor do I plan on it.

About the time the walls were finished, R.B. had to have surgery. He had some difficulties with the surgery and lost a large amount of blood. He was out of commission for a while. We got the floors carpeted and in June 30th 2001 we moved the office from 104 E. Washington Ave Athens Tn. to 881 County Road 655, Athens Tn.
There was still a lot of finishing to be done. My brother-in-law Andy is an excellent finisher and I got him to do the finishing.

Those first days up on the hill in the office were very peaceful. Sometimes too peaceful. I wondered some days if anyone knew we were there. Around October 2001 the house was finished. That's when things really got interesting. There I was a finished house ready for the program and what do I do now?

I had been going to Teen Challenge in Chattanooga to volunteer for about a year and had made some very good friends on the staff down there. Roger Helle the director offered to let WATW come up under TC Chattanooga and he would help us get started. He really needed a Crisis Center and thought that might be a good way for us to get started.

A Crisis Center takes ladies right off the street or out of jail and gets them ready to go on to a long term program. This was not what we had been planning on doing but I thought it sounded like a good way to start.

The board and myself went down to TC to meet with Roger and tour the facility there. He explained to us how we would come up under the TC Chattanooga home. To me it sounded like the easiest thing to do. I was feeling the weight of getting the home going and frankly to pass it off would be a relief in some ways. That night on the way home the board had mixed feelings about the meeting. It would be the easiest way but it meant we would be Teen Challenge and we would be under the control of their board. Also, they would decide what was done with the program with our input but ultimately they would pay the bills and make the final decisions.

It's funny how I saw God do so many awesome things to get that house built but then when it came to the day to day operation I got fearful and could not see how we could do it. I spent a lot of time praying about the merger of WATW and TC. I asked Tommy what he thought. He said it would be easier for you to merge but I have to hear from God. The board members were not saying anything.

Finally, I was praying "in the bathtub of all places" and God gave me the answer. He simply said, Tommy said it would be easier if you merged and it will but I never told you it would be easy. The easy way is not the way for you. The house stays Women at the Well, I will tell you how to do it one step at a time. For me it was settled. Then God confirmed that with two things one was His word Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus...Thessalonians 5:24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

The other way God confirmed it was in a dream I had a few days after that. In the dream I was walking on a road by myself and then a man came along side of me and walked with me arm in arm then the man turned away and I kept walking on the road. As I walked on that road I could see women coming toward me at first a few and then more and more. It was a huge crowd of women as they came in front of me I touched them and they fail to the ground and then rose to their feet rejoicing. God showed me hundreds and hundreds of women rejoicing. Then I woke. I'll never forget that dream. I feel the meaning of the dream is this: At first I started this journey alone. Never really alone but I felt alone at times. Then God sent Godly people like those at TC to help me and encourage me. But in God's time I had to go forward alone again. He was always with me. The women that were coming toward me are the many many women that will come to WATW and will fall at the feet of Jesus and rise up out of their bondage and go their way rejoicing with a new life.

God has truly blessed me with an awesome life. He showed me that night just how awesome it was going to be. This was a glimpse in the window to the kingdom to come. The kingdom He is building with those women who will be restored by His mighty power.

5 ways to know if you are losing your salt flavor

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.


A warning for the year 2010 is that you may lose your salt flavor. Salt preserves food, and flavors food. Salt makes things desirable to eat. Without salt food becomes useless. Christians are compared to salt. We must keep our flavor to used this next year by God otherwise we will become useless. One way to keep our flavor is to stay in the Word of God. Each day must be fresh and new. People we see everyday need to be impacted by the presence of God. People need you to keep your flavor. The flavor for a Christian equals the Word of God.

Five Warning signs that you are losing your flavor:

1. You are losing your salt flavor if there is a severe decline in your appetite for spiritual things. If you do not have a hunger to read the Word of God and to study it you are in danger of losing your flavor. If you are interested in being in fellowship with other believers and sitting under Godly counsel you are in danger of losing your flavor. If you do not pray and spend quiet times with God you are in danger of losing your flavor.

2. You are losing your flavor if there is a serious decline in your sensitivity. If the offensive language on T.V. and movies does not affect you, you are in danger of losing your salt flavor. If you can participate in dirty or off colored jokes you are losing your salt flavor. If you do not see the harm in behaving immoral you are losing your flavor.

3. You are losing your salt flavor when there is a serious decline in you making decisions based on what the Bible says. If you can make a decision knowing full well that you have not asked God what He would have you do, you are losing your flavor. If you can make a decision that totally is in opposition to the Word of God you are losing your flavor.

These next to warnings are for the Church:

4. You are losing your salt if there is a serious decline in your Church. If your church does not draw in the lost and present Jesus to them. Your Church is losing it's flavor.

5. You will begin to see a decline in your ability to endure with one another. What used to be a small thing is now a big thing. If this happens you are in danger of losing your flavor. Salt can cover up a lot of undesirable taste. The same way a Christian with the salt flaver in their life can over love the unloveable.

What can we do if we see this happening to us?
The answer is in the Word

2 Chronicles 7:14 (New King James Version)
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

First we are to humble ourselves. Agree with God you are wrong. Repent of your sin of disobedience and seek His forgiveness. Seek the very face of God. Tell Him you desire to do things His way instead of your way. Turn from the old ways. Don't be complacent about your Bible study and quiet times with Him. Dive in the Word and learn what God is really like. Don't participate in ungodly acts of disobedience. Set High standards of morality for yourself and intend to go by them. Don't compromise your faith or integrity. Ask God what is His goal for you this next year. Then God will hear you and He promises to forgive your and even your land will be healed. That means you will begin to see changes in your home, Church, ministry, and community.

Let's get serious and be the flavoring that the world needs in these difficult times. My heart breaks for the confusing in our world. It becomes more and more evident to me everyday and is in my own back yard. I commit to be a salt in a tasteless world. I refuse to be worthless like salt with no flavor.

You may be saying I never had flavoring. You may have never entered into a personal relationship with Jesus. You can start fresh and new in 2010 and do that now by reading and doing the following:
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."We all have sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin.
We were born under the power of sin's control.
- Admit that you are a sinner.

Romans 6:23a "...The wages of sin is death..."
Sin has an ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of sin. But a worse death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity. The Bible teaches that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost people will be in torment forever. It is the place where people who are spiritually dead will remain.
- Understand that you deserve death for your sin.

Romans 6:23b "...But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Salvation is a free gift from God to you! You can't
earn this gift, but you must reach out and receive it.
- Ask God to forgive you and save you.

Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates His own love for us, in
that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!"
When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. He paid the price for all sin, and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and that He is our life. He did all this because He loved us and gave Himself for us!
- Give your life to God... His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin. His love is what saves you -- not religion, or church membership. God loves you!

Romans 10:13 "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!"
- Call out to God in the name of Jesus!

Romans 10:9,10 "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
- If you know that God is knocking on your heart's door,
ask Him to come into your heart.

Jesus said,

Revelation 3:20a "Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him..."
- Is Jesus knocking on your heart's door?
Believe in Him.
Ask Him to come in to your heart by faith,
and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.
Open the Bible to the Gospel of John and read what God says about Jesus,
about you, and about being born again.

God will help you. He loves you.

You need to look for a local church where God's word is preached. The Bible says that we are to desire God's word like a newborn baby desires mother's milk.
Aren't you hungry to know the truth?

Water baptism is one of the ways you first show that you have been joined to Jesus. This is an action, and actions will not save you. However, it is an act of obedience and a symbol of commitment.
The symbolism is this:
When you go down in the water you show that You have been crucified and buried with Him, And when you come up out of the water you show that you have been raised to walk with Him in newness of life. (See Romans chapter 6)

You have been born again. (See John chapter 3) Your body has become God's temple. Your heart is where He lives.Forgiveness is yours in Jesus. And you belong to Him.
You were sin's slave. But now... You are a child of GOD!

John 1:12"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name!"

This was what I got from the message today at Clearwater Baptist Church, Pastor Wayne Bryant

His Redeemed
Robin Nation

Knowing God

The following is my Sunday School lesson I am teaching on Jan 3, 2010


Philippians 3:10 (Amplified Bible)
10[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [[a]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

List some popular New Year’s Resolutions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

How many of those have you actually kept over the years?

What should be our goal for 2010?

To know God better

Deuteronomy 4:29-31 NKJV) "But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

(1 Chronicles 16:10-11 NKJV) Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD! {11} Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

2 Chronicles 7:14-15 NKJV) "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. {15} "Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

(Jeremiah 24:7 NKJV) 'Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.

(Hosea 10:12 NKJV) Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.

Ephesians 1:17-21 NKJV) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, {18} the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, {19} and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power {20} which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, {21} far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.




What are some things we need to know better about God?

1. His Character or Attributes (What is He really like) Jesus came to reveal the God of the Bible. And God has revealed Himself in His book. The Bible says to praise God for who He is, especially in prayer. Much of Psalms is a good example of this.

Unshared attributes = “Incommunicable” attributes: Those characteristics of God that are unique to him, and are not also characteristics of His creatures.
These include:
Self-existence; “Solitariness”; Independence; Unity; Trinity; Sovereignty; Unchangeableness; Infinity; Omnipresence; Omnipotence; Omniscience;


Shared attributes = “Communicable” attributes: The attributes that we share by being made in God’s image.
These include:
Spirituality; Knowledge; Wisdom; Truthfulness; Holiness; Love; Mercy; Wrath; Will; Freedom; Beauty;

Wisdom: “Wisdom is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve these ends by the most perfect means.” Romans 11:33: “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways!”

Infinitude: God knows no boundaries. He is without measure. This attribute by definition impacts all of the others. Since God is infinite, everything else about Him must also be infinite.

Sovereignty: This is “the attribute by which He rules His entire creation.” It is the application of His other attributes of being all-knowing and all-powerful. It makes Him absolutely free to do what He knows to be best. God is in control of everything that happens. Man still has a free will, and is responsible for his choices in life.

Holiness: This is the attribute that sets God apart from all other created beings. It refers to His majesty and His perfect moral purity. There is absolutely no sin or evil thought in God at all. His holiness is the definition of that which is pure and righteous in all the universe. Wherever God has appeared, such as to Moses at the burning bush, that place becomes holy just for God having been there.

Trinity: Though the actual word is not used in the Bible, the truth of God revealing Himself in three persons is included. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all called God, given worship as God, exist eternally, and are involved in doing things only God could do. Although, God reveals Himself in three persons, God is One and cannot be divided. All are involved completely whenever One of the Three is active.

Omniscience: “God possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn. God has never learned and cannot learn.” Omniscience means all-knowing. God knows everything, and His knowledge is infinite. It is impossible to hide anything from God.

Faithfulness: Everything that God has promised will come to pass. His faithfulness guarantees this fact. He does not lie. What He has said in the Bible about Himself is true. Jesus even said that He is the Truth. This is extremely important for the followers of Jesus because it is on His faithfulness that our hope of eternal life rests. He will honor His promise that our sins will be forgiven and that we will live forever with Him.

Love: Love is such an important part of God’s character that the apostle John wrote, “God is love.” This means that God holds the well-being of others as His primary concern. For a full definition of love, read 1 Corinthians 13. To see love in action, study the life of Jesus. His sacrifice on the cross for the sins of others is the ultimate act of love. God’s love is not a love of emotion but of action. His love gives freely to the object of its affection, those who choose to follow His son Jesus.

Omnipotence: Literally this word means all-powerful. Since God is infinite and since He possesses power, He possesses infinite power. He does allow His creatures to have some power, but this in no way diminishes His own. “He expends no energy that must be replenished.” When the Bible says God rested on the seventh day, it was to set an example for us and our need for rest, not because He was tired.

Self-existence: When Moses asked who he was talking to in the burning bush, God said, “I AM THE ONE WHO ALWAYS IS.” God has no beginning or end. He just exists. Nothing else in all the universe is self-caused. Only God. In fact, if anything else had created Him, that thing would be God. This is a difficult concept for our minds since everything else we will ever encounter comes from something other than itself. The Bible says, “In the beginning, God.” He was already there.

Self-sufficiency: The Bible says that God has life in Himself (see John 5:26). All other life in the universe is a gift from God. He has no needs and there is no way He can improve. To God, nothing else is necessary. He does not need our help with anything, but because of His grace and love, He allows us to be a part of advancing His plan on earth and being a blessing to others. We are the ones who change, but never God. He is self-sufficient.

Justice: The Bible says that God is just, but it is His character that defines what being just really is. He does not conform to some outside criteria. Being just brings moral equity to everyone. When there are evil acts, justice demands there be a penalty. Since God is perfect and has never done evil, no penalty would ever be necessary; however, because of His love, God paid the penalty for our evil deeds by going to the cross Himself. His justice needed to be satisfied, but He took care of it for all who will believe in Jesus.

Immutability: This simply means that God never changes. It is why the Bible says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Mercy: “Mercy is the attribute of God which disposes Him to be actively compassionate.” Since God’s justice is satisfied in Jesus, He is free to show mercy to all those who have chosen to follow Him. It will never end since it is a part of God’s nature. Mercy is the way He desires to relate to mankind, and He does so unless the person chooses to despise or ignore God at which time His justice becomes the prominent attribute.

Eternal: In some ways, this fact about God is similar to His self-existence. God always has been and will forever be, because God dwells in eternity. Time is His creation. It is why God can see the end from the beginning, and why He is never surprised by anything. If He were not eternal, God’s promise of eternal life for those who follow Jesus would have little value.


Goodness: “The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men.” This attribute of God is why He bestows all the blessing He does on His followers. God’s actions define what goodness is, and we can easily see it in the way Jesus related to the people around Him.

Gracious: God enjoys giving great gifts to those who love Him, even when they do not deserve it. Grace is the way we describe that inclination. Jesus Christ is the channel through which His grace moves. The Bible says, “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

Omnipresence: This theological term means “always present.” Since God is infinite, His being knows no boundaries. So, clearly He is everywhere. This truth is taught throughout the Bible as the phrase “I am with you always” is repeated 22 times in both the Old and New Testaments. These were even Jesus’ words of assurance just after giving the challenge to His disciples to take His message to the entire world. This is certainly a comforting truth for all who follow Jesus

How will I get to know Him better this in 2010?

1. Bible Reading

• Choose to read your Bible from cover to cover this year. There are many ways to do this. You can do it in 90 days or 365 days.
2. Bible Study

• Choose to get involved in a Bible study at church or with friend or on your own
• Go to Jan Bible study

3. Daily Devotions
• Find a daily devotion you like and get in the habit of spending quiet time each morning.

4. Make a basket with all the following in it:
• Study Bible
• Journal Book, pen pencil
• CD Player and worship CDs
• Favorite daily devotional
• Bible study helps


Choose how you will get to know Him better in 2010, how you do it is not as important as the fact that you do it.

Chapter 6 A window to the future

It was July 2000 and a group was at WATW building. The group was mainly members from Mt. Harmony #2. They were working on the inside framing in windows and doors, stuff like that. I had come home from vacation a few days early to be there. It was nearing the end of the day and I was walking down the hill beside the house. All the sudden it was like someone pushed me down. I fall and slide my foot to one side and I heard a pop. I knew immediately I had broken my leg. This time it was the other leg. This was yet another attempt to stop me from moving forward. I spent the next six weeks in a cast and I could not do anything at the house.

Not much was getting done we were to the place where we needed insulation, windows, siding, sheet rock, and then carpet. I found out about a place in Kentucky called "Appalachian Project". A girl came to volunteer at WATW office who had worked for them. She came into my life right on time and I did not hear much from her after that. I called and found out that we qualified to receive supplies from them. Tommy and I rented a U-Haul trailer and went up to see what we could get. We ended up making two trips there. We got several windows, toilets,sinks, fixtures, and enough insulation to insulate the entire house. Later the men from Teen Challenge Chattanooga came and insulated the most of the house.

One day we had a building committee meeting at the house. We needed around $6000.00 for the siding. Scott and a friend had agreed to put on the siding and we were going to pay him. We didn't have the money to buy the siding. A member of the building committee and her husband had just sold their house. She said she and her husband felt like the Lord wanted them to give the profits from their house to WATW for the siding. She said we would have a check the next week from Athens Federal and we did. It was enough to buy the siding and to pay to have it put on. The strange thing about this is this lady and her husband were not rich. In fact they had two small children and I'm sure they needed the money. God does move in mysterious ways. Not to long after that they divorced. I do not understand this to this day. Sometimes we just don't understand.

Time went on and winter 2001 was beginning. Scott had an automobile accident hauling some drywall to WATW. He already had back issues from a previous work accident. He probably did more than he should have on the project. This accident put him totally out of commission. Scott had been coordinating the project. I had no idea where to go from here. Once again, I felt like a wall had been raised up against getting the house completed.

Tommy suggested I call R.B. Dake. R.B. had retired from Webb Plumbing and Electric. We needed someone to coordinate the project and get the electric & plumbing finished so we could do dry wall. R.B. agreed to help. This was sometime in February 2001. Things started to move again. Electric done, plumbing done (work donated by Bobby Case), doors and windows installed. It was time to hang sheet rock.

Our first banquet was planned for February 2001. Tim Selvage volunteered to cook spaghetti. We had almost 500 people attend the banquet and raised approximately $7000.00. This was enough to hang the sheet rock. God provided once again. Soon after that the sheet rock was hung and it was springtime.

During that time there were days and even weeks when no progress was made. I remember those days as the best days I ever spent with the Lord. I would go up to the house early in the mornings and walk back and forth on the porch. The awesome porch that goes the length of the house. Roy Grimes had volunteered to construct the railing. As I walked on the porch I would pray and sing praises to the Lord. I spent several mornings pleading with the Lord to finish what He had started. I was studying Exodus Precept Ministries during this time. One of my favorite parts of Exodus is when the God is about to deliver the Hebrew people from the bondage of the Egyptians. I imagined the ladies who were going to be in that house to be like the Hebrew people. God was about to deliver them from their bondage. God promised the Hebrew people that as they left Egypt the Egyptians would give them things as they left. In fact they gave them everything they needed to build the tabernacle. As I prayed that day I asked God to compel people to give to WATW everything we needed to build this house just like he compelled the Egyptians to give the Hebrews. I looked in the window on the front porch and I could see walls, couches, carpet, and everything we needed. God showed me it was coming and I was encouraged to keep going. What sweet times I spent on that porch just me and my Lord. I cried out to Him and He answered me. I wonder if one reason things moved so slow during that time was because God was enjoying our time together as much as I did. I look back now and I would love to spend one more morning on that porch praying and seeking God just me and Him. Looking through that window to the future.

Chapter 5 A Door Opens in the Wilderness

It was sometime in 1999, the office was at 104 E. Washington Ave we moved about a block down the street. We had a little money trickling in to pay the rent, phone, utilities, bus fares for ladies going to programs out of the state and a small salary for me. Remember I told you Carrie started working at the hospital and I started working part of the day at WATW. Some days were very lonely. I wondered if anyone knew were were there. I did have some good volunteers to man the office in the mornings and I came in the afternoon. Group meetings were very slim. It seemed like we just could not get many to be consistant. But group meetings was not the vision, the long term residential program was the vision.

One night Carrie and I took a couple of the ladies with us that were attending group and we spoke at Mt. Harmony Baptist Church. This was one of our first times to share about the vision in a Church service. Carrie shared her testimony. She shared how Jesus had changed her life at Teen Challenge at PA and Michigan. I shared how God was leading me to start a home for women in McMinn County with life-controlling problems. The Church was warm and seemed to connect with what we were saying. Pastor Garry King took up an offering for WATW and it was around $500.00. A man came up after the service and committed to meet the offering. We had $1000.00 this was the largest amount of money we had every gotten. Pastor King told me when we got some land his Church would build that house. That impressed me bu I really did not think much of it since I had no idea how we would get land. Besides that I was hoping for a house to be donated that was already built.

The next week I received a call from Kim Bailey a member of the Church. She said she and her husband Scott was very touched by the service and they wanted to talk to me about donating five acres of their property for the house. I had had some people say they wanted to sale me some land but no one had said they wanted to give me some land. Really I was a bit sceptical because no one give away land in Tennessee. We planned a time for me to come to see the land. It was about a week later. I drove up her driveway which was very long and a bit scary. One part of the drive crossed over a pond and it was kind of narrow. My first impression was Lord what is really going on? I knocked on the door and she came out and said we are going to walk up behind the house through the woods to the property. We walked up what looked like a pigs trail in the wilderness to the top of the knob. She said this is it. On top of that knob was five wooded acres with no access at that time. The view was awesome but I was not sure if this was God's direction. She told me to pray about it and let them know.

I came home and told Tommy about he really did not say much. I remember lying in bed that night and talking to the Lord. I said Lord that does not look like what I had imagined at all. It's way out in the country, there is no driveway to the land, and I know nothing about building a house. Don't you think that It would be better to get a house in town. A furnished house would even be better. Surely You don't mean to put that house that far out and surely you don't want me to have to try to get it built. That sound too hard Lord. No answer. I wait. Then a calmness comes over me and I'm sure God is saying that is it. From that moment on I knew that was it. I talked to the other board members and everyone agreed if someone wanted to give us five acres we should take it. So in June of 1999 WATW was deeded five acres at 881 County Road 655, Athens Tennessee. People ask me when they come up to the house how did you find this place. I say I did not find this place it found me. A door opened in the wilderness and I follow God in.

Kim and Scott were very excited about WATW and they did not waste anytime helping us clear ground and all the sudden a dirt driveway was cut up to the property. The drive was straight up. Driving up that drive was was like driving up to heaven in fact someone said to me once. Bulldozers and graders and all kinds of large machinary began to show up to move the dirt and make the way. Each step of the construction was a new adventure for me. I remember getting so excited because the McMinn/Meigs Baptist Center agreed to buy a culvert tile to put in the driveway. Tommy and I went to get it. That was one of the first things we hauled up that hill. I thought if I can get the tile paid for I can get the gravel donated, the basement dug, the sceptic dug, the cinder block laid. I draw the plans for the house on a piece of notebook paper as God directed me where each room needed to be. Later a friend draw it out of drafting paper to scale. Each time something was needed it was donated or God provided the money to purchase. In January, we were laying block. Pastor Garry King was good to his word, he laid the cinder block with help from me, Tommy, my boys, my parents, friends of the ministry,and several members is his church. Then there it was a basement of block. And there it sit. It seemed like there was nothing happening for several months.

It was early spring 2000 and the McMinn/ Meigs Baptist Association had a mission day planned and they asked what could be done for WATW. Before really thinking too much I said you could have a construction crew come out and frame the house. They seemed to like that idea. Of course we did not have the money to buy the materials. We could pay for maybe half of it but you really need to go all the way up to the roof to protect the structure. I had committed to be ready for them not knowing how. I worked really hard fund raising by sending out newsletters, speaking at churches but still did not have the money. One day I went up to the house and sat in one of the block window openings of the basement. My heart was so heavy. I cried out to the Lord. I asked Him what am I suppose to do. You have not sent the money for the materials and I need it next week? I felt the Lord say order the materials and I will pay the bill. This was more training. Training in faith. Before the money was there before I stepped out to do something. This time I was asked to step out before the money was there and trust that God would bring it. I said Lord I sure hope I am hearing you right because that's exactly what I'm going to do. I got in my car put in a Brooklyn Tab. cassette tape that a friend had given me and the first words to the song playing was "did I not show up when the bills were due?" God knew I really needed that confirmation. I drove down to Kim and Scott's house and they were sitting on the front porch. I said Scott could you figure how much materials we need to frame the house and would you order it for me? God just told me He would pay the bill if I ordered the materials. He quickly said yes and the next day he did.

That next week there was a huge group of people at the property framing from the ground up. I remember not knowing which way to turn. Was this really happening? When I let it I would feel the weight of it and it was more that I could take. I had to ask God to take it. That day a lot was accomplished but a lot more was to go before it was under roof. More work days were planned.

I still had another problem, how to pay for the materials God had me order. I got the bill. We had some of the money but not all of it. The bill said if paid within 15 days we would get a 10 percent discount. I looked at the calender counted off 15 days and said Lord You get a 10 percent discount if you pay this bill by this date. It's up to You, do you want the discount or not? You know God got His discount. The money came in to pay the bill in full and get God's discount. In fact God got His discount almost every time. Amazing days of faith building. I began to experience things I had only heard others tell about. Missionaries on the mission fields who needed something and all the sudden there it was. Those things were happening to me. Unbelievable, the door that opened in the wilderness.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. Heb. 11:1-3