Emily

The first time I saw her, she was laying in a hospital bed scared to death. She had been in a car accident and was about to undergo an operation to fix her injuries. I walked into her room to pray with her before she left for the holding room and it became very obvious that Someone had been there before me! The Holy Spirit had prepared her heart and she couldn't wait to accept Jesus as her Savior and Lord! All I had to do was tell her how! I'll call her Emily, and I had the great privilege of seeing Emily become a child of the King that day! Over the last several months I've been able to get to know Emily better. One of the very first things I noticed about her is that she never made eye contact, she was very shy, saying very few words and looking down at the floor when spoken to. I wondered why? On the long drives back and forth to her house, her story unfolded. Something about staring at the road ahead as we drove broke down her wall, and she opened up and began to talk. She began to tell me of her traumatic childhood. She told me of the abuse that she had endured as a young child beginning at 4 years of age. She told me about the bloody noses and the hours locked in the bathroom. She told me about her mother who could not protect her for she was abused as well. She told me about being told that she was ugly and worthless and that she was a mistake and should have never been born. She told me that after you hear that long enough, you believe it. That's why Emily never looks up. She doesn't feel worthy enough to.

Several weeks ago, I took Emily to a bible study with me. We sat down in the back and a few minutes later a friend of mine arrived. Emily sat on one side of me and my friend sat on the other. This friend was also born into an abusive home. She was removed from that abusive home, however, and placed in a loving home with Godly parents. She has grown up to be one of the kindest, sweetest, most loving people I know. She is confident. She has a husband and children. She has a successful career. She loves Jesus! As we were sitting there, I felt the Lord impress upon my heart the stark contrast between the two women sitting on either side of me. On one side was Emily, so broken, so lonely, so deeply wounded. No one stepped into Emily's life as a child and rescued her out of the abuse. She carries the scars. And then my friend on the other side, so complete in Christ, so filled with joy, so successful in her marriage, family, and career. Someone somewhere heard Jesus' voice and obeyed. Someone stepped into her life and rescued her out of the abuse and look at the difference it has made for generations!

It is for the little Emily's out there that we are fighting this battle for King's Ranch. God has asked this of us and we want to obey Him. He has asked us to step into the lives of abused and neglected kids and let Him heal them, for only He can!

As for Emily, she is growing in her relationship with Jesus! She is learning that she is a child of the King and she is of GREAT worth to Him. He loved her so very much that He chose to die for her. She is learning that she is complete in Christ. And little by little, He is binding up her broken heart and healing her deepest wounds. She laughs now and there are times I can see joy on her face! We are trusting Him to bring her complete restoration!

These next few weeks are important ones for King's Ranch. We will go before the circuit court on March 25th and 26th to ask again for the permit we need to proceed. Please pray that the permit would be granted, but most of all, pray that the name of Jesus would be lifted high and that He would be glorified!

" I have heard them crying out,...and I am concerned about their suffering,... so I have come down to rescue them." Exodus 3: 7-8

For the One who binds up the broken hearts,

Lee

Ice Storm!

As many of you, we are still busy cleaning up after the ice storm that hit Jonesboro earlier this month! It was an interesting and trying time for all us but also a time where we saw God working in amazing ways! King's Ranch was so blessed to have the opportunity to minister to a foster family who was displaced from their home. They had a 6 month old little girl, a 2 year old little boy, a 3 year old little girl, and a 16 year old girl, and had been staying in a shelter for five days. Needless to say they were extremely exhausted by the time they got to King's Ranch! They were able to stay in the home until their electricity was restored a week later. What a precious family and sweet kids! We were so glad to get to be a small part of blessing the lives of these children.

We were the recipients of blessing when a crew of volunteers showed up to help with the clean up at the home! There were several trees down and a large limb on top of the house. Fortunately there was no permanent damage and the limb was removed. Thank you to our wonderful volunteers! We cannot thank you enough for giving of your time!

God's Lavish Love!

King's Ranch is an awesome place! Not only is the home beautiful, but the beauty of God's creation surrounding it is breathtaking! Hard to believe that there is a place like this in Jonesboro, and that God has chosen to use it for His glory to bless hurting kids!

When people visit King's Ranch, we always hear compliments like, "Wow, this is so nice!" or "What an awesome place!"... and they are right! God has blessed King's Ranch to be a blessing to others!

The kids who will come here have had much hurt in their lives. They have not had the privileges that you and I enjoy and have come to expect. Many of them have no one who is concerned for them or will take care of them. King's Ranch is a place for them to receive all of this and more. I can't explain the feeling - you just know when you walk in the door that God's love is here!

In the little girls' room, there is a verse painted on the wall and it says this,

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God." 1John 3:1

God doesn't always give us lavish things, but He always gives us lavish love, lavish grace, lavish mercy, lavish forgiveness! King's Ranch, and the beauty that surrounds it, is meant to be a picture of the lavish nature of God for the kids who will come here. He loves them. He cares about them. He has a wonderful plan and purpose for their lives beyond anything they could imagine!

Father,
How great is the love you have lavished on us that we should be called your children! Thank you for that love! Thank you for the privilege of being your child! We pray that every hurting child who comes through the doors at King's Ranch will leave this place as a child of the King! Lavish your love on them, Lord! May you, Father, be glorified and lifted high in this place! You alone are worthy!

HeartSpaahhh!

The only thing I can say is WOW! I cannot begin to put into words what we experienced at King's Ranch this past weekend at HeartSpa! You had to have been there to understand the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that we experienced! We had 14 girls from the Huntington Mission and 8 leaders who led them into the presence of the Lord!

Our weekend was focused on the account of the woman at the well from John 4: 4-30, 39-42. Jesus came to the well around noontime. While he was there, he bumped into a Samaritan woman. This woman was an outcast, someone not welcome at the well in the morning or evening when other women came. She was in a vulnerable state when she met Jesus at the well. We talked about the fact that had she not been in this vulnerable state, she would have missed meeting Jesus. She would have been at the well early in the day with the other women and not been there when Jesus came by at noon! We talked about how we must be vulnerable with Jesus and with others. We must take off our "masks" and come to Jesus and each other as we really are! We spent time talking about Psalm 139, "O Lord, you have searched me and you know me." He knows everything about us and He loves us!

We also discussed that Jesus is the living water! He is the only one who can quench the dryness of our soul! Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14.

We ended our retreat by considering the actions of the woman after she met Jesus. She did not sneak quietly back home! No! "...leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did"John 4:28-29. We talked about dropping a pebble into a pond and watching the rippled effect. This woman told her friends who told their friends and many people believed! We each thought of someone we could tell about Jesus and made a gift tag for a bottle of water to give that person as a gift. As we give that gift we are going to tell them about Jesus who is the living water...and the ripple effect will continue!

Between each session, the girls rotated to three different spa stations; healing hands, pampering pedicures, and refreshing facials. The theme of our retreat was woven throughout these experiences and helped reinforce Jesus as the living water! The girls loved getting pampered! Most of them had never had anyone make such a fuss over them!

HeartSpa was a phenomenal experience for all involved! We knew that apart from Him we could do nothing! We knew that if God did not show up at this event then it would fail! So we did what we knew to do. We prayed! We prayed that God would smooth out all the details. We prayed that He would fill every room and corner of that house with the Holy Spirit. We prayed that He would bring at least 12 girls to the retreat. We prayed that He would bring reconciliation, forgiveness, friendship and bonding between the girls. We prayed that He would move in hearts and draw us all closer to Him. We prayed that He would bring salvation. I want to proclaim to you that our God is awesome! He is mighty! He is faithful!! He answered every one of those prayers!! All glory goes to Him!

Home Sweet Home!

Move-in day was a great success! We were so blessed to have had plenty of volunteers to help load up the furniture at the storage unit and move it into the King's Ranch home! Thank you to all those who helped!

You may be wondering what else we need to make the King's Ranch home complete! We have a wish list at Target with the items still needed! You can visit http://www.target.com/lists/1ZC66F9SEVVEI if you'd like to purchase an item for the home, or you can visit your local Target store and view our list on the registry computers! Thanks so much for all your help!

Great Things in Store...

We have exciting news! The King's Ranch home is almost ready! With move in day just around the corner, we are taking inventory of what we will need to finish the home. We've posted a list of needed items to the right.

Our greatest need at this time is a set of house parents! Please pray that God will send the ones He has chosen! We are spreading the word in churches around town to see if God has been preparing someone there. Help us by spreading the word in your church! If you know of someone who is interested, please have them call us at 934-1303 or email us at information@kingsranchar.com .

Word is beginning to spread and we are getting some calls about children needing a home! Please pray that God will give us wisdom and discernment as we make decisions about the 3 children we will receive. There are so many children in need, but we can only take three! We need Him to make it clear to us those who need to come to King's Ranch!

These are exciting days! It is such a privilege to join God in his work! Thank you for all who have joined in with us to get this home ready! God has great things in store for 3 precious little children! We can't wait to see their faces!

A Big Thank You!

King's Ranch was so blessed to have the Blackburn Family from Austin, Texas visit the ranch and help with some much needed clean-up! With some old fashioned elbow grease, we were able to clean the King's Ranch home to a sparlking shine, inside and out!! Thank you Blackburn's for the sacrifice of your time and energy! We know God will bless you richly!

Re-mulching the flower beds was a tough, hot job, but everyone worked hard through the heat! Relief was in sight, however, because soon the power-washing of the house began and cooled off our weary laborers!

Windows were washed, cabinets were polished, drawers and cabinets were wiped out, bathrooms were cleaned, and light bulbs were changed all in preparation for move -in day!

Thank you again Blackburn Family!!!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24