We recount the story of when Tapestry left Twinbrook Elementary School and was at Twinbrook Community Church in the evenings and launching our morning service at Church in Bethesda in the mornings while at the same time working to clean up, serve and bring especially the Church in Bethesda back to life.
I am live blogging the sign and front of Twinbrook Elementary School where Tapestry met as a church for the first long period of time. We had launched at the Ramada Inn in Rockville, Maryland right off Wisconsin Avenue. And the cost was so high that we had to move after using our entire savings at the time. Lori and I decided that since the schools were open to churches meeting in them, it was best to see if we could get a low cost location. Thus the move to Twinbrook. It was here we went from about 15 people to well over 70.
So much was happening so quickly in 2012 that I had to begin to record it all. I had been fighting an autoimmune disease since 2011 and had been in and out of hospitals, doctors’ offices and tests tests tests. I had had so many MRI’s that I bled contrast.
It’s interesting to hear me even mention my memory loss back then. It took us three months until Christmas had past for us to tell the church about my battle with an auto-immune disorder (later to be called MS). And so, this was the beginning of the part of my life where I got “ok” with it. I could have never known healing was coming. (All of this will be shared in more detail in my upcoming book, “The Warrior’s Battle.”)
And yet at the same time as my health was in question and as I still was bi-vocational working for a finance firm in IT under huge duress and church planting, putting in as much as 80 hours per week, the moving of GOD pushed Lori and I through it until we had to plant a prayer house and I wanted to man it for the first hours of the morning before work. CRAZY!
This is so anti everything you are supposed to do when to dealing with MS. And yet, this is where it started…
This is the story of the hotel now known as the Legacy Hotel which used to be the Ramada Inn on Rockville Pike. This is where we launched the Tapestry and as I tell the story, you can hear how we preached to empty chairs and begged GOD to do something in our community that we could not imagine.
I recorded this myself just moments after praying for a lady on the side of the road who twisted her leg (breaks her leg) in a deep hole and in a crowd of people before paramedics arrive, she is healed completely. The kicker was that I just found out that I had been healed from MS a few days before. This was recorded in August 2012.
Sharing more stories from Blood-n-Fire. There are so many more stories that those that were there can share. If you have a story, why not record it here and send it as a reply. I love you Blood-n-Fire folks. Let’s share!
Here is the Music Video from 100 Portraits. I am the wild dancing guy that jumps out of the truck in all jean clothes.
I am recounting stories from Blood-n-Fire Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia. This ministry probably had the biggest effect on my life besides encountering GOD at Toronto and Brownsville. It was truly a place where the Presence of GOD met social justice work. This is where I grew the most in my faith life.
The Book – Someone’s Calling My Name (Around 1981)
When I was in something like first or second grade I had an happening. I was playing downstairs with my toys. And it’s nothing I’ve done new was like I had done a million times before. However this time was different. As I was playing I heard an adult call my name. As a child you really don’t think about whether or not it’s your mom or dad’s voice when you hear an adult and there’s only one adult around you assume it’s them. So after hearing this authoritative loud voice calling, “Dustin,” I ran upstairs to see what mom wanted because she was the only adult around.
When I got to mom I asked her what you want mom? She said I didn’t call you go play. I went right back downstairs and played with my toys. All of a sudden I heard the voice again saying Dustin. I ran back upstairs and asked my mom why she called me. Looking back at it I can tell you that I did not hear a woman’s voice. However again as a child you run to what you know. My mom asked me Dustin is God calling your name? Knowing that it wasn’t actually her I said yes. And then she sat me down and told me about the story of Samuel. After telling me the story of Samuel she told me that Jesus wanted my heart. She asked me if I like that said Jesus is Lord and Savior. And she let me to Jesus right there in the living room. Afterwards she dedicated my life to the Lord. And after some experiences later in life for you read about here I had asked you forgotten the story until I was in college. God bring the story back to my memory while in college was one of the key things that spurred me on to be a passionate God seeker. I knew God knew me by name and that he cared about me and that for him to call my name like that he must have a really important plan for the rest of my life. But for about 13 years I forgot. I may have forgotten this story and other ones like it due to trauma in my third-grade year however I did not forget God.
This is the story of how Lori and I met, courted and married. Folks, this is not a normal meeting story. There was a crazy amount of GOD stuff involved. I am so thankful for this video we recorded with an old camera back in 2004.
Yesterday we saw the movie, “The War Room.” Folks if you know my life or have been in one of my many prayer closets that I’ve built where I lived, you know this movie is right up my alley. I believe every person who calls themselves “Christian” that lives in America or who attends a church at least semi-regularly should see this movie before it leaves theaters. Lori and I were the only ones in the theater and I got to stand and shout and praise Jesus as loud as I wanted through the whole movie. What a blessing. At the end, I was down on my knees there in NC, praying for people to make their own prayer closet.
After Lori encouraging me to do it, I am going to begin to share some ideas for anyone out there that wants to start their own prayer closet. The book I published in 2013, just before Malachi was born is entitled, “The Warrior’s Manual,” and inside the book I have a whole section on prayers we can pray as well as types of prayer, prayer strategy and on making your own prayer closet. These articles will be published right here so keep your eyes open over the next weeks.
It is so cool to watch a movie that shares the heart GOD gave me back in 1992 when I made my first space for prayer in my bedroom in Statesville, NC with a huge cross and a bean bag chair where I sat and prayed and read the Word of GOD for hours. In 1995, I built my first prayer closet. Now, I have had 11.
I’ve moved a lot while doing ministry and church planting.
Here is a clip from the movie that really speaks on being on Fire for GOD.