The Refuge

Attention Refugees:

There will be one service today from 11:00-12:00.

As the weather is expected to be bad, please be safe out there.

Some years ago, my son called me on a Sunday morning and asked if he could go to church with us. Emphatically, I said, “Yes!!” I could barely hear him on the phone as he whispered, “What should I wear?” In the most loving way I could, I responded, “Whatever you want to wear. It doesn’t matter as long as you go to church with me.”
You see, my son wasn’t saved and he would never go to church with me when I asked. He had long hair, a scruffy beard and tattoos all the way down his arms, even on his fingers.
He rode to church with us that Sunday, it was a day I’ll never forget. He was wearing a long-sleeved button-down shirt to cover his tattoos because of the shame that church people had made him feel.
As my husband parked the car, the Lord spoke to me and said, “When you go in, make sure your son sits between you and your best friend.” Although I was a little puzzled at why the Lord would give me such instructions, I didn’t question Him. When we sat down, my son was beside her and, immediately she starting loving on him the way she loves on everyone. She told him how awesome his tattoos were and asked who did them. When he told her that he had done them, she gasped and made him feel even more at ease as she told him what a wonderful artist he was.
As the service started with the praise and worship, I heard the Lord speak to me again. “Today, your son will be saved. When the preacher goes to the pulpit, your son will go down and be saved.” I immediately started crying uncontrollably. I knew the Lord was about to answer years and years of pleading and praying for my son. When the preacher stepped behind the pulpit, he said, “There is a young man here today that the Lord is speaking to. He wants you to do business with Him right now. You need to come to the altar now!” I felt my son nudge me so he could get out of the pew. I grabbed my husband’s arm and we moved out of his way. This mama couldn’t even go to the altar with him. The isle was as far as I could make it. All I could do was praise my sweet, sweet Lord for answering years and years of prayers.
That day, my husband, my friend and the preacher led my son to the Lord. That day, his name was written in The Lamb’s Book of Life. That day, all of heaven rejoiced. That day, I heard and I saw the Lord at work. I will eternally be grateful for a dear, dear friend that did not judge my son for the tattoos on his skin or the clothes he was wearing or the length of his hair but instead showed him the love of God that he had been searching for.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not make people coming to church feel shame for what they are wearing, for the tattoos that they have, for the piercings they have or anything else that YOU deem as inappropriate. The Lord sees them. You don’t know how long a mama or grandma or daddy or granddaddy or friend or someone else has been praying for their salvation. The words you say can either draw them near to the Lord or push them away. I would hate to be the one who pushed someone away from the Lord because of the way I felt about how their appearance was. When God does a work on their heart, I promise you that you will see everything about them change. Let God do what He does! Your job is to love, not to condemn.
If a pr******te comes in the church, she’s probably going to dress like a pr******te until the Lord touches her and changes her. If a drunkard walks in the church, they may smell like alcohol until the Lord touches them and changes them. If a drug addict walks in the church, he or she may be high on drugs. Sinners are probably going to be living in sin when they walk in the church. Just love them to Jesus. I’m not saying you have to condone anything that is not of God, but you better watch how you treat them. The Lord sees and hears you!!

https://subspla.sh/8nh3xwn

Attention: updates on the time!

6pm - 8pm

Sorry for the misinformation!

The Refuge Christmas Party Our annual Refuge Christmas Party. Open to all Refugees free of charge. Santa’s Son-In-Law will be available for pictures!

Frieda Joan Bauer
March 30, 1947—November 25, 2023

Frieda is survived by her husband of 30 years, Larry Bauer, two sons: Mike Olmstead, from Yamhill Or., and Marc Olmstead and his wife Shannon from Owasso, Ok., her brother Al Fohrman, Albany, Or., and nine grandchildren.

Frieda was born in the small coastal town of Toledo, Or. later moving to the Willamette Valley town of Tangent. She graduated from Albany High School in 1965, then attended Portland State University in Accounting, she became Senior Cost Accountant for ViewMaster and later Mattel Toy Company, where she had a distinguished 40-year career.

After retirement, Frieda and Larry moved to Lubbock, Tx. to be near family. Frieda became a member of The Refuge Church, where she established very close relationships. She also belonged to the Lubbock TOPS organization achieving her weight loss goal the month before she died of incurable respiratory failure.

She was also a member of the Write Right Critique Group and was working on her Ex-Mother-in-law’s Memoirs.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to The Refuge in her memory.

The Memorial Service will be Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 2:00 PM at
The Refuge
4308 58th Street
Lubbock, Tx. 79413

Funeral service for Frieda Bauer will be held this Saturday, December 9th at 2pm - Refuge Church, 4308 58th Street Lubbock Texas.

It’s Saturday, it’s the “Last day”!
I know you planned to help and just didn’t get around to it but we still have spots where you can serve this morning. 10am-2pm, 2pm -6pm, and 5pm-9pm all could use your help.

Call me at 806-773-0022 to get information on where to get your entry pass and Refuge shirt information.

Signup for lemonade shifts at church this morning! Fair goes all the way through Saturday night!

Fair ticket & parking pass pickup at church Sunday & also Weds evening. Still plenty of open shifts, signup at church! Thanks!

LEMONADE BOOTH AT THE FAIR again & we need people! Please call 806-773-0022 if you can work shifts. For those of you who need light duty, we are also staffing the maze at the South entrance. Post in here if you can help with the maze! Call or text if you can help with a lemonade shift. Fair is already going, and continues through next Saturday night, Sept 30th.

Cancellation! Want y’all to be safe.

10 BENEFITS OF THE FAVOR OF GOD
1. Favor produces supernatural increase and promotion
Genesis 39:21
2. Favor produces restoration of everything that the enemy has stolen from you.
Exodus 3:21
3. Favor produces honor in the midst of your adversaries.
Exodus 11:3
4. Favor produces increased assets, especially in the area of real estate.
Deuteronomy 33:23
5. Favor produces great victories in the midst of great impossibilities.
Joshua 11:20
6. Favor produces recognition, even when you seem the least likely to receive it.
I Samuel 16:22
7. Favor produces prominence and preferential treatment.
Esther 2:17
8. Favor produces petitions granted even by ungodly civil authorities.
Esther 5:8
9. Favor causes policies, rules, regulations and laws to be changed and reversed to your advantage. Esther 8:5
10. Favor produces battles won which you won’t even fight because God will fight them for you. Psalm 44:3
https://www.jerrysavelle.org/downloads/files/10BenefitsOfTheFavorOfGod.pdf

CHURCH IS HARD.

Church is hard for the person walking through the doors, afraid of judgement.

Church is hard for the pastor’s family, under the microscope of an entire body.

Church is hard for the prodigal soul returning home, broken and battered by the world.

Church is hard for the girl who looks like she has it all together, but doesn’t.

Church is hard for the couple who fought the entire ride to service.

Church is hard for the single mom, surrounded by couples holding hands, and seemingly perfect families.

Church is hard for the widow and widower with no invitation to lunch after service.

Church is hard for the deacon with an estranged child.

Church is hard for the person singing worship songs, overwhelmed by the weight of the lyrics.

Church is hard for the man insecure in his role as a leader.

Church is hard for the wife who longs to be led by a righteous man.

Church is hard for the nursery volunteer who desperately longs for a baby to love.

Church is hard for the single woman and single man, praying God brings them a mate.

Church is hard for the teenage girl, wearing a scarlet letter, ashamed of her mistakes.

Church is hard for the sinners.

Church is hard for me.

It’s hard because on the outside it all looks shiny and perfect. Sunday best in behavior and dress.

However, underneath those layers, you find a body of imperfect people, carnal souls, selfish motives.

But, here is the beauty of church—

Church isn’t a building, mentality, or expectation.

Church is a body.

Church is a group of sinners, saved by grace, living in fellowship as saints.

Church is a body of believers bound as brothers and sisters by an eternal love.

Church is a holy ground where sinners stand as equals before the Throne of Grace.

Church is a refuge for broken hearts and a training ground for mighty warriors.

Church is a converging of confrontation and invitation. Where sin is confronted and hearts are invited to seek restoration.

Church is a lesson in faith and trust.

Church is a bearer of burdens and a giver of hope.

Church is a family. A family coming together, setting aside differences, forgetting past mistakes, rejoicing in the smallest of victories.

Church, the body, and the circle of sinners-turned-saints, is where He resides, and if we ask, He is faithful to come.

So even on the hard days at church—

The days when I am at odds with a friend, when I’ve fought with my husband because we’re late once again. When I’ve walked in bearing burdens heavier than my heart can handle, yet masking the pain with a smile on my face. When I’ve worn a scarlet letter, under the microscope. When I’ve longed for a baby to hold, or fought tears as the lyrics were sung. When I’ve walked back in, afraid and broken, after walking away.

I’ll remember, He has never failed to meet me there.

Having difficulty today with live feed, apologize for any inconvenience it has caused. We love you all and we are working to fix the problem.

Join us for our Christmas Eve Service! Come and Go communion. From 6:00-7:30 great time to reflect on what Jesus came for as we celebrate His birth.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember to “Love Well”

Attn: Refugees
Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour, and we hope to see you at 10 or 11:30 for fellowship and worship!

From Sally Mata:

Hello my Refuge family, as most people already know, Max, Stephanie and Harley have sweet Kaitlyn back at home and we definitely praise God for this blessing. I have been heavily been praying for her and the family and for her to get better as I know everyone who knows them is doing the same. We love them all dearly!!

I was thinking of a way to make their lives a little less stressful and came up with a food train. I do not want Stephanie and Max having to worry about making dinner or feeding the family, we want them instead to be relaxing and enjoying each other and being together without the fuss of cooking and cleaning up after dinner. Some people may not have been able to donate to the Go Fund me that they set up a while back but this is something maybe we all can pitch in and do for them. ❤️❤️We want them to be able to concentrate on taking care Kaitlyn and each other while she heals and gets stronger.

I will be setting up this meal train for them 3 or 4 times a week for as long as we can. If you would like to help with this please PM me or text me at (806)549-2378. I will get everything scheduled and planned out to be sure this goes as smoothly as possible. Amanda G. Malloy will be helping me out as well.

Home cooked meals for dinner or if you don’t cook, gift cards for restaurants would be good too. I will be willing to pick up anything for them and drop off to them each day if you are unable to. However, if you would like to drop off to them directly we would want to be careful with keeping Kaitlyn safe and not passing any sickness to her or any of them.

I praise God everyday for our Refuge Family and so blessed to be a part of this family. Love and hugs to all and I know we all as a family can make this happen for them!❤️❤️

If you were unable to attend Jay Youngblood's Celebration of Life service on Friday or just want to see it again, here it is. https://youtu.be/48dK62YvosQ

Jay Youngblood Memorial Service Jay Vee "Two Feathers" Youngblood, 63, of Abernathy, passed away the night of Thursday, September 2, 2021. He was born in Plainview on October 25, 1957, to ...

Jay Youngblood’s Celebration of Life, service will be Friday Sept. 10, at 2:00 pm at First Church or the Nazarene.

6110 Chicago Ave.

Refuge Angels Ladies’ group will meet at Taco Villa for the rest of May! Saturdays 11am, come and join us (Indiana near 82nd St)

Download our new app!

Attn: Refugees

Remember to turn your clocks forward and hour. See y’all in the morning! Love Well!

Good morning Refugees. Due to weather conditions, and safety concerns for everyone, we will only have service online at 11:30. No in person services. Stay warm, stay safe, and Love Well!

The Refuge updated their information in their About section.

For those interested in paying your respects and condolences to Margie and to celebrate the life of Smitty.

Visitation is Friday Jan. 15th, 5-7 pm @ Lake Ridge Chapel.

Funeral is Saturday Jan. 16th @ 10:00am @ The Refuge Church.

As we mourn the loss of one of our own today! Smitty has gone to be with the Lord today. We ask that all that wish to share their condolences with Margie, if they would send through cards to the Refuge. 4308 58th St. We don’t want to overwhelm her household due to COVID concerns! We will update on plans of services as we get the information!

Attn: Refugee’s

Due to safety concerns for everyone. We will not be having services today! Please spread the word, and enjoy the day! Love well!