Oasis Center Faith-base Ministry

  "... and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also."  - 2 Timothy 2:2 ESV Nineteen years ago,  Trog Trogdon  moved across the country, from North Carolina to McKinney, Texas, for a job opportunity. He wanted to be successful, wealthy, and make a name for himself, BUT God had different plans. God used this relocation to move more than his stuff. He used it to move his heart toward the things of Christ in a radical way. It was in Texas that Trog fell in love with Jesus all over again. It was here that he found a great church and was discipled by a dear friend, philanthropist, and pastor. It was here where he learned more about evangelism and ultimately where God broke his heart for the poor. And, he says he is forever grateful! Put simply, Trog found his life’s work and passion which is threefold…to share the gospel, to make disciples, and to serve the suffering. Big Announcement! Afte...

It is very easy to get overwhelmed and spend more than you can afford at Christmas time. In fact, on average Americans overspend by $1000 every year at Christmas time. In some cases, they haven’t even paid off the debt from the previous Christmas when the next Christmas rolls around. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Christmas doesn’t have to break the bank and here are a few tips I have for a debt-free Christmas. Set a Budget for Each Person Before you get started on your Christmas present shopping set a budget for every member of your family that you’re shopping for and stick by it! Make a list of every person you’re buying for and how close they are to you. It’s ok not to buy presents for people! Focus on the people who live in your house first. When it comes to shopping for kids don’t feel like you have to get them a dozen different things. A few slightly more expensive gifts are better than a ton of cheap ones.   Plan Meals in Advance Make a list of everything you need for C...

  We all get angry from time to time, it’s part of being human. But, it can sometimes seem like our anger controls us instead of us controlling it. This doesn’t have to be the case though. Here at the Oasis Center, we are working with individuals to help them learn to control their anger to move forward in life.  With just a few steps you can start training yourself to control your anger before it controls you. It may take a little bit of practice, but you will quickly see an improvement if you follow these steps.   Acknowledge Your Anger The first thing you need to do to get a handle on your anger is to acknowledge it. Learn to recognize the anger building and realize when you are angry. This will separate you from your anger just a little bit and allow you to get it under control. With time and practice, you may even begin to recognize it building and put an end to it before you ever get angry. Recognize the physical signs, an increased heart rate, clenched fists, shaki...

Picture it. You’re out, enjoying your life, and your anxiety flares up. Suddenly your heart is racing, you’re short of breath and you feel the urge to run screaming out of the room. It sounds like a terrible problem, right? That is the reality for many of us living with anxiety….especially now during COVID-19. The unfortunate thing is that you can’t just run screaming from the room. Anxiety symptoms can crop up anywhere, from the boardroom to the pickup line at school, and when those thought patterns begin, we need to know how to counteract them. There are many techniques to employ, but here are a few that have been known to stop anxiety pretty quickly.   Here at Oasis Center, we are not exempt from feeling anxious and we serve people dealing with anxiety all the time.   So we wanted to provide a shortlist to help you deal with your anxiety. "Anxiety doesn’t have to run your life. Give yourself some time to master these techniques." The grounding technique Anxiety is commonly...

These days Labor Day is the unofficial last weekend of the summer filled with BBQs and one last weekend on the river. Usually by this point, many, if not all kids are back in school and summer fun, is at an end. But that isn’t at all what it was meant to be and it has come a long way from its late 19 th  century roots. More than 130 years later there are a lot of lessons we could learn from the history of Labor Day. "While we may not be slaving away 12 hours a day anymore we are seeing labor concerns growing once more."   Labor Day first came into being at the height of the Industrial Revolution, in a time when workers were expected to be in work 12 hours a day, seven days a week and despite restrictions that were supposed to prevent it, you could find children as young as five workings in mills, mines, and factories across the country. The poorest in the country, as well as immigrants, often face unsafe work conditions, didn’t have access to fresh air, and didn’t get breaks....

When the day to day stresses of life start to get to you, and your goals or even happiness seem like they’re miles away, it’s important to remember the joy that can be found in your life every day. So often we associate happiness with big milestones. It can be easy to forget the little joys in life which really make life worth living. But when hope is lost, it isn’t always easy to find that joy.  Thankfully, here at the Oasis Center, we understand the importance of finding joy in the little things.  Here are three ways to immediately bring joy back into your life.    Count Your Blessings When it feels like you are trapped in a rut, and your goals are unobtainable, it’s important to remember what you have in life already. Take some time to count your blessings. This includes everything from your measure of good health, to the warmth of the sun on a warm sunny day. When you take time to count your blessings it becomes easier to find the joy in the little things.  ...

While we are in COVID-19, there are still ways for you to serve as a volunteer here at Oasis Center. For more information about volunteering, please consider the following. "I’m going to let you in on a little secret about volunteering. It is not a completely selfless act. Yes, you are helping others accomplish something but you’re also getting some amazing blessings in return for your time. Here are some of the amazing benefits of volunteering." LaToyia Dennis - The Motivated Mom   Being Part of a Community These days most Americans report that they no longer truly feel like they are a part of any community. This loss of community results in social isolation, depression, loneliness, and being more prone to illness. By volunteering with a social change organization regularly, you become part of a community. You get a greater sense of belonging and that does amazing things for your mind, body, and soul.   Helping People Not only will you be part of a community w...

To some collaboration may seem complex, but to the Oasis Center, nonprofits joining forces can mean bigger strides towards achieving the mission and fostering a better world.    Community organizations working together on joint projects can make their programs and activities more effective and/or more efficient.   Michael Lee, Executive Director of the Oasis Center said, “My mindset, in the moment of addressing COVID-19 and the civil unrest reaching its peak after the death of George Floyd, is that social change organizations need to come together, share their services, contacts and God-given “calling” to provide evidence-based, community-centric and measurables services to collectively address systematic aspects of historical social injustice. Our efforts in this arena predate both COVID-19 and the present civil unrest and call for policing and criminal justice reform.    To this end, Oasis Center and our partners to date have been developin...