I Wish You Could See What I See

By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady

I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. John 4:35-36 NIV

I wish you could see what I see. I remember church revivals in the late fifties and early sixties. Members filled a pew with their friends and neighbors. Each night, the pastor preached. At the end of the service, the members sang and prayed as people flooded aisles, weeping and crying out for Jesus. When we saw the fruits harvested, revival filled our souls. People need revival.

I wish you could see what I see. I don’t know if churches stopped having revivals because members stopped inviting friends and neighbors or if those friends and neighbors stopped accepting the invitations… but something changed. Now people tell me no one invites them to church. A pastor and I went witnessing together in the blocks surrounding his church. To his astonishment, six people prayed to receive Jesus in just two hours and many others thanked him for the invitation to church. One young man said that he had passed their church every day, stopped to read the message on the marquis, and had always wondered what it was like inside. People want an invitation.

I wish you could see what I see. People leave some churches without knowing how to meet Jesus personally. I don’t know if those churches forgot to tell them how, did not know how, or began assuming that everyone already knew how. One very religious woman sternly said she believed in Jesus, prayed every day, and “hoped” she was good enough to get into heaven. When I mentioned that God loved her so much that He sent His only Son to die so she could have eternal life, she agreed with me. When I mentioned that the wages of sin was death, she also agreed. When I said that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved and that she needed to confess with her mouth and believe with her heart, she sounded surprised. When I invited her to make it personal and invite Jesus into her life, she said, “I’m in a hurry. I’ll pray if you can do it in 4 sentences.” I could and did and when we ended with her inviting Jesus into her life to be her personal Lord and Savior, tears flooded her eyes. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” was all she could manage. She hugged me because she finally knew what was missing. After that, we said way more than four sentences to each other. People want to know “how.”

I wish you could see what I see. The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a place where 100,000 young people gather to spend four days listening to music and partying hearty. A handful of Christians with the Sojourners Fellowship in Manchester, Tennessee led 98 people to Jesus. Last Halloween weekend, thousands of young people poured into Athens, Ohio to party at the Halloween Block Party. About a dozen Christians led 350 young people to Jesus. Young people want to hear about the one true Jesus.

I wish you could see what I see. Christians wring their hands over the spiritual state of America and believe God has given up on America. I visited a church and witnessed 12 people walking forward to receive Jesus. On July 4th, hundreds crowded around our booth on the mall outside the Capital building in Washington DC just to hear about Jesus. Over 500 people prayed to receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit is still convicting Americans.

I wish you could see what I see. In the last four weeks, 282 strangers eagerly prayed with me to invite Jesus into their lives. When they prayed, what I call “The Holy Spirit Glow” filled their faces. A young man named Erick invited Jesus into his life and asked if he could hug me. A young mother prayed to receive Jesus, burst into tears, and said meeting Jesus must be the reason she decided to drive 15 miles to take her children to the park. While some said no, few were offended when I shared about Jesus. People want to hear good news.

I wish you could see what I see. After spending a day watching me witness, a pastor said, “I feel like I’ve been let out of a cage.” A woman who spent a few days following me and praying as I shared, shared her faith with someone on the plane ride home. Another called me 48 hours after following me and excitedly said he’d just led someone to Christ. When Christians discover how easy it is to share their faith and how much people want to hear it, their faith deepens beyond their wildest dreams.

I wish you could see what I see. In the last four weeks, I've traveled through 13 states and shared the Gospel with many people. People were so eager to receive Jesus that it hurts to be sitting in my house writing this. The world wants and needs Jesus.
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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at

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Making Lemons From Lemonade

No - I didn't say it backwards. Years of "positive thinking" training taught me to make lemonade from of lemons. Then I had an aha moment. I had it backwards. God is in charge. His ways are best. God always gives me lemonade and I misinterpret it and think I have lemons. When I remember to love God with my entire mind, heart, soul, and strength, I stop whining about lemons and recognize the lemonade. When I recognize the lemonade and take a giant gulp from my glass of life, I am refreshed.

Everything Is Lemonade

Take yesterday for example. I serve on an International non-profit board that meets several times a year in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When I was elected, I lived in Phoenix - a one hour flight away. Now I live in State College, Pa. What used to be a 1 hour flight takes 9 hours and an extra overnight stay. Whine whine whine.

Then I remembered I was in ministry and it was my job to travel the country telling people about Jesus. Usually, ministry supporters fund missionary trips. Yesterday was a chance to pass through 3 airports, travel in six vehicles and eat in public places - all funded by an outside organization. My lemonade was that God had funded an entire day of missions with hundreds of potential people to serve. It was lemonade all the time but I thought it was lemons.

When I recognized the lemonade, suddenly I grew grateful for the longer trip. Once grateful, I noticed the lovely clouds, the amazing snow over the Denver mountains, and the children frolicking in the airports. Everywhere I went became an adventure. Bumps on the plane were opportunites for intense prayer and offering comfort to worried passengers. I smiled at people, comforted a women recently divorced, briskly walked everywhere (so it counted as my daily exercise,) thanked military people for their service, and tried to be Jesus to the world.

Lemonade is better then lemons any day of the week. No wonder it was so much work trying to make lemonade. I aready had it. Why, when uncomfortable with circumstances, do I assume they are bad? Where does my faith go? Didn't God say that if I love Him and are called according to His purposes, everything is going to work out for my good? Why do I try so hard to turn life back into lemons?