Dust off those clubs and get your score cards out...
It's Tournament Time! 

(We have three participants who have moved into better living situations this past month! Because of your generosity, we were able to support them in their moves! Thank you! And thanks to Erol Ahmed on Unsplash for the photos used above.)

A STORY OF FAITH: 

The needs are always great; the time line always feels urgent:

But here is the invitation in the midst of great need and great urgency: to live on the edge. Not on the edge of anxiety. Not on the edge of control. But on the edge of faith. 

"If I don't come through, who will?" I could hear the old refrain starting to play again. It's an old coping mechanism of mine. A trauma response of, "I can only trust myself," that's disguised in a Midwestern, "can-do" spirit. I first recognized it through counseling in my early 20's, and even though I'm now in my late 30's, it still rears it's head every once in a while. 

That's the work that I have to do - to untwist what has been twisted by trauma or fear. 

But when I work through it, I come to a place of faith because my God always comes through. Always. It may not look like I thought it would. It may not be what I wanted to happen. But God always is there, lovingly pulling for me and my good. And here's the thing - God is pulling for you and your good, too. And God is pulling for our participants and their good, too. 

When I work through my old trauma response, I see that there is an entire community of people standing at the ready to help through gifts and donations and time and relationship. When I work through it, God opens my perspective to see that God has put the resources of heaven at our disposal to positively impact poverty, abuse, neglect, violence, sexual exploitation, human trafficking and more. 

I just need to stand firmly on the edge - not giving into my old coping mechanisms to muscle through, and not giving into the fear of the future and what it holds. But standing firmly on the edge, waiting for God to come through - often through God's people - and always in miraculous ways. If I can just stay standing in this tension, I know my God will come through. 
 

Prayer Requests/Answers

Help us by asking God to come through in these areas:  

• We are in need of a videographer to help us tell the stories of our Community Legends this summer. Please pray the right contact gets to us to help us tell these amazing stories of connection in our community. 
• Our second largest outreach event, Back 2 School Bash, is happening July 25th. We are still needing donations to make this event really special for the women and children of Stripped Love. 
• Three of the four different families who were looking for better housing situations have found them! Thank you for praying with us and for us in this! God is so good! I randomly stopped by one participant's house and she and her children were running around outside playing bubbles and delighting in their new, safe home. 
• The Golf for Freedom Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, August 21st. We have had two sponsors step forward already! Which is an answer to prayer! Please pray that this fundraiser would raise the funds that we need to continue the work of Stripped Love well in this next season.  
• Please continue to pray for the participants of Stripped Love that they would know they are loved, they are cherished, and they are part of a community that supports them. 
• Audrey has several grant applications and reports due in July. Please pray that her words would be clear and that she would be able to get it all done by the deadlines. 
• One employee is finishing her CPE (clinical pastoral education) this summer. Please continue to pray for her processing as she serves in a local hospital as chaplain to learn better how to minister to people. 

Thank you again for your faithful support of the staff, participants, and volunteers of Stripped Love! We couldn't do this without you!