Strip club ministry

For ReJoyed, Christmas starts in late summer. In a “normal” year I make most of my ornaments in July and August. Each year I pick a particular theme. In the past it has been lines from “Oh Holy Night” like; “The stars are brightly shining”, “Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth”, and “ A thrill of HOPE the weary world rejoices”. This year I felt like I wanted to focus on just one word.

Because July and August were filled with house hunting I was running a little behind. We finally found the perfect house. Really, it was the house of our dreams. It had plenty of room for everything and everyone we have in our lives. It had a shop for Dusty and a small but super cool legit barn for a ReJoyed studio and a basement apartment. It was just a few minutes from downtown Minneapolis/St. Paul and even closer to my sister. Wow! We had been pre-approved for our mortgage and now all we needed to do is wait 6 weeks until closing. I got to work, on both packing up the house and making ornaments.

I had first thought the word would for the ornaments this year would be “HOPE”. Really, who doesn’t need a little hope even in the best of times. This year, it seemed to fit really well but I always pray and ask God what He would like and I wasn’t sure it was HOPE. I pictured the Christmas tree in my new house and all I could think of was the word “JOY”. Finally, after a year and a half of temporary quarters and 6 months of “quarantine” we would have a place of our own and it would be a JOYOUS Christmas! What a great way to end the year, JOY it would be!

So, I got to work, and made several ReJoyed “JOY” ornaments. The word Joy is made from copper wires and the silver plate is reclaimed silver platters. They are so simple and beautiful. I could picture my tree with dozens of JOY ornaments and nothing else. In a year filled with angst and uncertainty, we would have JOY in the end! I made lots and lots of JOY!

Right about now I wish I could make you hear that sound you hear on a TV show soundtrack when everything comes to a screeching halt… because that was the sound I kept hearing when a few days before closing on our house the date got pushed back a week, “No big deal, happens all the time.” I told myself. I had a count down on our refrigerator whiteboard to track the closing because the kids kept asking when it would be. I had to adjust the date and start the count down again, twice, as a matter of fact. Finally, we were there…. 3… 2… 1…. Late in the afternoon, the day before closing, the texts and calls started flying late into the night. Texts between us and our finance person and our realtor Jason. (Jason Brown of Edina Realty in White Bear Lake who will forever in my mind be known as St. Jason) I finally erased the countdown on the whiteboard and replaced it with Jer 29:11. (That’s a Bible verse, google it if you don’t already know it).

Our financing fell through.
Self-employment has its perks but financing a mortgage during a pandemic apparently is not one of them.
We sat here silent and stunned.

joy. really? the boxes stacked all over the apartment, the loaded truck, the friends we had lined up to help us celebrate and the utilities we had to deactivate were all reminders of the loss. i have dreamed for years of owning just a little piece of my home state of minnesota. joy was not my go to emotion.

A few days later I made a quick trip to Florida with my bff Paula. The trip was planned off the first closing date, but with the push backs it happened to be just a few days after the devastating news. It was good to just drive away from the train wreck. We stayed with a few of our dear friends that were beautiful reminders of the grace that has brought us safe thus far. When I returned home I was sorting through my ReJoyed inventory, putting things back on the shelves. I felt as if I was grieving… probably because I was. I opened my box of JOY ornaments.

JOY. Joy. joy. jOY. JOY. 100 or so little ornaments looked up at me and for a moment I couldn’t even comprehend the dichotomy of emotion. I paused, “what is joy?” Is it the perfect house, in the perfect location and the perfect Christmas tree? I cracked open my Bible as I am known to do when I question things that seem to have no answer. I found the word “JOY” in the back and began reading every JOY verse I could find and handwriting, in my journal, the ones that had significance me.

I want to point out two verses that almost felt like bookends for my situation. One from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

“You make known to me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness of JOY at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I read verses like that I pray and ask God to show me how to be in His presence so I can experience that fullness of JOY! Ironically, the Psalmist was saying that JOY was a place… but that place was not a house it was in the presence of the Lord. I kept writing verses, Psalms has a lot to say about JOY. I wrote a verse from Isaiah and Habakkuk as well and then headed to the New Testament. Luke declares the news of Jesus’ birth as good news of great JOY for all people… but that’s not the one that caught my eye. It the very words of Jesus in the book of John.

“These things I have spoken to you, that my JOY may be in you and that your JOY may be full.” John 15:11

Now, I’ve read this entire passage many many times. This time, however, I was reading it almost backwards. I read verse 11 first. Notice it starts with “These things”. I was curious, what are these things? Well, if you read the beginning of John 15 you see that it is one of Jesus’ more famous dissertations. In my Bible it is titled “I Am the true vine”. If Jesus were trying to sell something he would have started with a question like, “Do you want joy?” or the infamous click bait model “3 ways to find joy”. But He wasn’t trying to sell anything, He just wants us to know who he is, who is Father is and who we are. He is the vine and His father is the vinedresser and we are the branches, an extension of Him. He is giving His JOY to us as we abide in Him.

You have heard the old phrase people say when you walk into their home; “Welcome to my humble abode”. Well, maybe as believers and followers of Jesus we should say, “Welcome to my humble abide” His JOY is my JOY when I abide in His Presence. The Psalmist knew the secret was being in the presence of the LORD, to be in His house. I guess you could say it like this, “to humbly abide in His abode”.

Joy is ours. Yes, even in 2020, JOY is ours.

As Luke 2:10 records Jesus’ birth announcement “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great JOY that will be for all the people.’ The very one in whom we find the fulness of JOY came very near so that His presence was available to “all the people”.

This year our Christmas tree will bear the word JOY and I hope yours will too. 2020 has left all us people hoping for “normal”. If you know Jesus, I challenge you to go bigger than “normal” and shoot for JOY! JOY in His presence as you abide in Him.

Wherever I am with Jesus, I am home. Welcome to my humble Abide.

Here is a link to purchase a JOY ornament of your own. https://www.rejoyed.com/shop/christmas/joy-christmas-ornament/ A portion of every sale will go to fund a very special project we are working on for the 4th Annual Priceless Christmas Party. Here is a link to my blog with the story of The Priceless Christmas Party.

Stone Age Jewelry

The story of Stone Age Jewelry from Kirsten’s perspective:

“Can I ask what you are writing?” The question came from the McDonald’s manager that had quietly walked up and was standing next to me in the parking lot.

Paula and me. From my perspective, this beautiful friendship is built on Jesus, McDonald’s coffee and second hand smoke.

This was the same manager that, just a few moments before, I had spoken to inside at the counter as I ordered two coffees. I ordered one black coffee and one with 8 creams brewed fresh. While I waited for the fresh coffee, we chatted. It was mostly pleasant small talk. Two coffees now in hand, I proceed to the smoking section (aka the parking lot) where my dear friend Paula is perched low on a curb, smoking her cigarette and etching something in the concrete.

I met Paula almost a decade ago. Our paths crossed for the first time at a Bible study at my church in Florida. On the way into the church we chatted, mostly about our common love for coffee. Little did I know at that time that a deep friendship would be formed over our mutual beverage of choice. That day, as I sat next to her, I was amazed by the way she navigated her well-worn bible as the woman teaching the study referenced various scriptures. Now, I don’t always analyze how the person next to me is finding their way through the bible, but there is a little more to this story. You see, Paula came to that bible study because just a few days prior I was with a group of women that go on outreach to the adult entertainment establishments (aka strip clubs) in our city. We go on a monthly basis to let the women that work there know that they are dearly loved by Jesus, and us too. That evening we left our contact information in one establishment and Paula called. A few days later she came to bible study. I specifically came to the study that day to meet Paula. Today she is one of my dearest friends.

Now, nearly 10 years later, Paula and I are hanging out in the mid-west, still drinking coffee. The discussion of the last 24 hours or so centered around a little storm brewing 1000 miles away back in Florida. A different group of women has started going on outreach to the same establishment Paula worked in. The reports we are hearing from our dear friends that work in that particular club is that these women are grabbing them by the arm, telling them that they are sinners that are going to hell and they are made to pray a sinner’s prayer. From the anger, fear and confusion I hear in the reports from our friends, It sounds like they are doing more harm than good.

I need to take this story out of the present and go back to Jesus’ day for just a moment. Let’s about another woman that was apparently was grabbed by the arm and basically told she was going to hell. The story is from the gospel of John in the bible.

“Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.

Now, this next sentence may have a bit of sarcasm attached to it, but did you notice that she was caught in the very act? Do you suppose the Pharisees were on “outreach” to find sinners and save their souls? Not likely. It is clear that their concern was not for the woman, her redemption or even her welfare, but for themselves. They tried to used her to validate their position.

Jesus did not even enter that shame game. You see, He understood that the punishment of death by stoning would soon be nailed to the cross. That the moment the stone that sealed His tomb was rolled away, the penalty of death would be paid once and for all. This one exchange that seems so brief to us probably felt like eternity to the woman, because eternity was truly in the balance here. Jesus flipped the script.

Back to the McDonald’s parking lot and the manager’s question, “Can I ask what you are writing?”

“He who is without sin cast the first stone” Paula replied, “That’s what I’m writing”. “It’s called tagging”, Paula continued.

Suddenly I am an accomplice to tagging the McDonald’s parking lot. (In a later conversation, my fearless friend from the “313” told me she knew exactly what was going through this suburban, mid-western, don’t break the law, mind of mine) I had just bought my friend a coffee and handed it to her. I may have even mentioned to the manager that I had bought the second coffee for my friend out there smoking. No way I could pass the situation off as a kind gesture to a stranger and hop in my car and drive off, although the thought did cross my mind. (Paula, if you read this, I promise I would have come back to pick you up) My mind raced to the thoughts of who I would call to bail us out of jail. The manager, while friendly in conversation, did not appear to be overly nice. I stood there, frozen, watching the street for the cops to roll up, wondering what would happen next.

To my surprise, joy, glee, shock and amazement the manager said, “Ok then, well… I’m not going to throw any stones.” And she turned around and walked inside. Disappearing as quickly as she had appeared.

Paula continued. Her hand working hard, along with her arm and sometimes her shoulder to etch the words into the concrete. The women who reported hearing the words “you are going to hell” seemed to drive my Paula to complete the task. As she etched she commented under her breath, “Those women don’t have a heaven or a hell to send anyone to” and “I hope they walk up to the people in the grocery store, the men in the clubs and the people in the pews at church and say the same thing, otherwise they are no better than the Pharisees.” and “Telling people they are going to hell is not walking in love.”

As Paula was finished up her tag, the manager quietly came back out to the parking lot. I’m not going to lie, I looked around for the local cops again. No cops. But get this… the manager spoke, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure” said Paula.

“Why are you writing that?”

Paula shared a little of her story and about the storm brewing in Tampa. The anger she felt when she heard stories of women telling other women they are going to hell. The manager listened intently and wanted to make sure I was a friend and not part of the problem. Paula assured her that I indeed was a friend. Whew! The manager turned and walked inside.

No stones were cast that day in the McDonald’s parking lot. No one went to jail. Nobody got saved that day either as far as I know. But Paula was inspired. Inspired to get a stone for every woman working in the adult entertainment industry in our city and the next time any well-meaning, but in fact de-meaning, person walked up to them, grabbed their arm, and told them they were going to hell they could simply hand them a stone. Paula’s words “Anyone that knows their Bible will know exactly what that means.”

Outreach is a great thing. Letting someone know they are loved by Jesus and by you is a great thing. When Jesus said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” he showed compassion to everyone in that situation. Notice he didn’t shame the Pharisees either, he simply flipped the script and leveled the ground.

Paula came up with the idea of making stones out of concrete. I would love to hand every woman a stone. As I handed it to her I would say, “This stone is for you. It’s to remind you that the ground is always level at the feet of Jesus.” Wear it to remind yourself to:

Love yourself always and not if

AND

love others always and not if

BECAUSE

Jesus loves you ALWAYS and not IF.

The rest of the story:

And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

The only one left to hear these beautiful words was the woman. The Pharisees walked away knowing they couldn’t throw a stone because they themselves had sin in their lives. So sad that they didn’t hear these words. “Go, and sin no more.” The only person that can speak these words to us is Jesus. He lived a sinless life, died a sinners death and defeated death so we can have a victorious life. We overcome because of his blood, his death and his resurrection.

Those that throw stones and those that have stones thrown at them are both in need of a savior. The ground is level. Breathe a deep sigh of relief, the local cops are not rolling up to put you in jail (and if they really are, Jesus still loves you).

And get this…

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’ Revelation 2:17

Jesus will someday give you a stone with the name He has given you written on it. I can’t help but think Jesus looked at everyone on earth with their heavenly name in his mind. Let the accusers walk away. Listen to what He says about you and to you. Wear this stone as a reminder that He that is without sin didn’t cast a stone, He died on a cross, and He loves you dearly. The ground is level whenever Jesus is around.

Stone Age Jewelry:

Each stone is individually made by Paula. It is unique and one of a kind. Ironically, these not for casting stones are cast from concrete. Wear it proudly or hang it somewhere as a reminder to love always and not if because you have been loved always and not if. For every stone that is purchased, we will donate a stone, along with the story, to a ministry that lovingly walks in to some of the darkest corners of our cities and lets women know that they are loved by Jesus and by you too!

Paula is an incredible artist and author. She is currently putting the final touches on a book entitled “The Devil’s Kettle”. You can follow her on Instagram @PaulaMarieJoseph and find her blog at one-voice.love .