Missed Opportunities?

So yesterday, coincidentally fresh off a summer family vacation to the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the world's only Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota (this was really just a stopover on the way home for lunch...but a palace made of corn? only in this part of the country...), I was feeling a little scattered and feeling as though this might be one of those "go through the motions" kind of days. Man was I ever wrong. As I was loading up for the trip downtown, I realized that even though we hadn’t actually missed a week so to speak, it sure felt like it. Anyway, we loaded up and headed out. As we got to our normal downtown spot, we noticed right off the bat that we had a minor problem. The "No Parking" zone that we usually violated was occupied by two large vans. The Angels on Wheels were here and they had our spots. Now we knew they were coming, just didn't realize that they would be coming in such large vehicles and taking "our” parking spots. They had carnival style popcorn poppers working and they were out in force. Yesterday was something called Step Out Omaha. Apparently a bunch of churches band together once a year and do this type of outreach. Cool for us. Lot's of extra hands to help out in many ways. So after they moved their vans, we commence to doing our thing. I know I mention this often, but I am just amazed by the number of people that are showing up every Sunday. A funny thing happened yesterday. There is a group of guys that almost always show up and help us unload the van. Yesterday, as we pulled up and saw the commotion that was going on around the Angels on Wheels tables, several of the guys made sure to tell us that they were waiting on us. They were not going to the "other" group's table. I have to smile thinking about it. Loyalty is a funny thing. So I see my friend Smiley sitting on a wall, apparently sleeping. I smack him on the shoulder and wake him up and tell him to give me a number. Smiley is my numbers guy. He has some kind of way with numbers. Counting and such. He kind of shrugs off the sleep and says he'll get back to me. The reason I mention this is because I have never in 9 months seen so many people on our corner. Never.

So a missed opportunity...I've mentioned my friend Aaron before. Young fellow from Davenport, Iowa. I didn't see him last week. Said he was starting a new job the previous week and he wasn't there last week. He was back this week. He was on my mind all afternoon. I only saw him briefly on Sunday. I had an extremely brief conversation with him. Asked how work was going. Apparently it's not. As I began to ask what happened, he began to tear up, but he tried not to be too obvious…manly thing I guess? Here he is, very young, probably just over 21, homeless in Omaha, and having obvious problems. Just as our conversation was getting started, someone called me over to the serving area and I told him to stay right there. I'd be right back. When I got back, he was gone...missed opportunity. You see, from my perspective? Too many of them. Not enough of me. Not enough of us. How do we keep from missing opportunities like that? Next time? I continue the conversation. Whatever it was at the serving table, or whatever minor crisis can wait. Or get solved on its own. I know that my sister mentioned he was pretty despondent. By the time I talked to her, I couldn't find Aaron. Just too many people. A missed opportunity.

I did have a couple of other great conversations. A fellow named Pope showed up late. We had no food left. We try to stress to these folks that we are there every Sunday at noon. You show up at noon? I can guarantee you you’ll get something. You show up at 1:30 or 2:00? All bets are off. But anyway, Pope challenged me. Told me that it's time for me to start being more bold with his compadres. I'd guess Pope is in his early 50s? Not too sure, but it's relevant. He told me that a lot of these guys are capable of working and supporting themselves. I agree. But how, in the couple of hours that we spend on that corner, do we help these guys in that regard? Don’t know. I told him one of our goals was to develop the relationships somewhat slowly and then see how we could help. How long do we need to develop the relationships? His question. How long. It's been 9 months since God led us to that corner. How much longer before we go deeper? And how much deeper? How much longer until we help them realize and help ourselves realize it's all about the application! I think the time is at hand. Here’s a verse he shared with me. It's from Luke and it came about as a result of our conversation. Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." In the end? All the stuff is just stuff. But the relationships last. All about the application. And the opportunities.

Also had a fantastic conversation with my friend Harry. Harry is a fascinating individual. A few months ago, he looked down at my sandals and said he wanted a pair of them. I said sure Harry. Little did he know I had an older pair in my closet gathering dust. Just his size. Now, I'd had them for a couple of years. Played with them many Sundays in the band at our church in Charlotte. Walked lots of miles in them. Loved those sandals. Harry needed a pair. I can only imagine the miles he's walked in them since. If those sandals could talk? Harry is a Viet Nam vet. Spent a couple of years there in '66 and '67 I believe. He's had jobs, businesses, family, etc. Now? He lives in the "bush". His term. He's a camper. Told me last week that he was going to go the VA to get treatment for alcoholism. I was so hoping to come back from our vacation and visit him at the VA. You see, I'm an alum. Spent a month there in September of 1990. Changed my life. By the grace of God, I was one of the guys who made it out. And now? I was really hoping, for various reasons, to be able to visit Harry at the VA. Didn't make it. But you know what? He apologized for lying to me. No worries Harry. But I impressed upon him my hopes that he'd make it up there yet. Fascinating individual. I love Harry. And he never fails to tell me of his love for me and us. And what we do. And you know what? It's nice to hear that our friends care and feel as though we are making a difference. Harry again reiterated that lots of people have our backs on Sunday. I always worry about my kids in that environment. He matter of factly told me yesterday that we had nothing to worry about. Now I'm a dad. God has entrusted to me 3 beautiful kids and an even more beautiful wife. I worry. But it's nice to know that even though I have my head on a swivel most of the time we spend on that corner, they’ve got our backs. That is not a missed opportunity. That is simply God letting me know that He also has our backs.

Here's where you can help out if you are so inclined. A chance to seize an opportunity. As our ministry has grown, so have the needs. Currently we are doing this thing out of our van and my car. It is definitely an extremely mobile ministry. But as the growth is coming, so to do the needs come. We obviously don't pass a plate. Frankly? Wouldn't matter. Have to remember our target audience! God always provides everything we need as we need it. Right now? We need a trailer. You see, when God led us to start this thing, one of the goals was to get the Sunday neighborhood grass mowers to go down with us and serve. That hasn't really happened so much yet. It will. But what has happened is this - these folks have kids. Guess who these kids play with? Yep. My kids. Which leads my kids to invite them to come down and "feed the homeless". Because of our limited space, we can usually only take one or maybe two of these kids max. So the solution? A trailer. Then we can take lots of kids. If anyone knows of a trailer just lying around somewhere? We could put it to good use. And also...if you have any extra money just lying around and you haven't quite figured out where you want to spend it? Give me a call. I can help you out. :)

Oh and by the way, Smiley did get back to me. Came over to the van and asked me how my heart was. How my heart was? Strong Smiley. At least I hope it is. Give it to me man. Give me the number. Smiley, like he's keeping me in suspense, smiles and again asks me how my heart is. God? Is that you? Is this a test? :) Nah...the number? 268. That was Smiley's number. All I know is that we went down with 250 plates and didn't bring any home. 268? Who knows? It was a bunch though. That much I know. And a few missed opportunities. But a bunch of great fellowship in God's presence. What a day. What a ministry. What a God we serve!!!

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

..."it matters to that one"... :)

Standing in it...

Again, what a Sunday!! I am constantly and continually amazed by the blessings we experience each and every week on our church corner. So many happenings this week, so many things to talk about. Last week was a pretty stressful week for reasons I won't go into, but Sunday was a great start to a new week. That’s the nice thing about life...if you have a couple of bad days? No worries. There's more coming. Best buckle up, because it's coming at ya full speed sometimes and you better be ready. So, Sunday? What a great day. Have you heard the song where the pre-chorus goes something like this...”it's Friday but Sunday is coming...Sunday Hallelujah...it's not too far, it's not too far away”? I love that song because it always reminds me that no matter what day it is, Sunday is coming. And on Sunday, here in Omaha, for the Laneys, Sundays are coming. And not just for the Laneys, but for all those that hang out with us at this thing that is slowly morphing into something that is becoming more and more unrecognizable to me every week. It is nothing short of amazing to me how God has grown this simple ministry into what it has become. Every week when we get home from our downtown dealings, I am usually pretty exhausted. For some reason, tonight, as I sit in the Valentine, Nebraska Comfort Inn at 11:30 p.m., I am very reflective, but not so tired. This week, we will be on vacation. Heading to the Black Hills of South Dakota, Mount Rushmore, and all the tourist trappings that go along with a trip like that. But as we made the 300 mile trip to Valentine, just to have a decent stopping off point and to allow us a fresh start tomorrow with less driving, Robin and I were both very fresh and aware that God has placed something that we believe to be very special right in our laps. It is so odd to believe that he could choose a couple of ordinary people such as us to do His work. So strange. Why us? Who knows. I reckon He figured if we were going to be in Big Red country, we might as well be doing some good solid work for the Kingdom? And has it ever been a blast?! So this morning, we gear up for our weekly activities, that just happen to take place in the open air of downtown Omaha, with the extra burden of knowing that we needed to be packed for a weeklong vacation also. Had everything ready to go. All the bags were packed and ready...we just had to make our normal pre-ordained appointment at 14th and Douglas. A little picnic in the park, so to speak. So the adventure begins...what in the world are we standing in?

We had a pretty light meal menu planned this week and that was good considering we were heading home immediately after our activities were completed, unloading, putting the seats back in the van, reloading all the packed bags and heading out. Worked like a charm. Made a deal with Robin earlier Sunday morning. You see, she knows me pretty well. She should. Been married almost 16 years now. She's seen me through some pretty tough times. Some pretty good times also, and lots of others mixed in there. So, the deal was this - she wanted to visit a friend or ours who just happens to be in room 5514 at Creighton University Hospital. That’s where most of our homeless friends end up if they need medical attention. I had a special way of remembering the room number and let’s just say it has something to do with Nebraska football. You can ask her about it sometime. She thinks I'm crazy, and well, I probably am. Anyway, she wants to go and visit our friend Frank at the hospital, after our downtown "services" and before heading out on our vacation. Well, I'm pretty fond of Frank, so it really wasn't much of a concession for me. I may have made it seem that way, but it wasn't. Keep 'em guessin', right? :) So the deal is struck. Have to be off the corner by 1:30. Need to be on the road to Valentine by 3:00. Have to make a quick stop off at the Sienna Francis House also in between. Lots to do. Not so much time...

We get to our corner and do our thing. Lots of our friends are waiting to help unload the van as we commence to serving. It’s getting to the point now that people just know where to put everything and it's only a matter of minutes before we're ready to pray and get things rolling. Literally seconds before our prayer of thanks to God for all His blessins', a minor skirmish breaks out. Goes with the territory. A couple of guys are going at it verbally and a dust up looks imminent. So what do I do? Pray? Not yet. Have to defuse the dust up. At a near sprint, I head over to attempt to get it under control before something happens that somebody might regret. Only takes a couple of minutes and in the process, I meet Tim. Tim and I will chat again, I'm sure. So we do the deed, give Him thanks, and the eatin' commences. And immediately, I'm confronted by my friend Menelik. Not in a confrontational way by any means. He'd been drinking to be sure. But he was struggling. Life has not been so good to Menelik. I've mentioned him before. As the story goes, he was one of the original lost boys. From Africa. Now? Homeless in Omaha. How? How does that happen. I am continually amazed at the way in which some of these folks make their way to a park in downtown Omaha. Where in the world do they all come from and how in the world do they end up here? What in the world are we standing in? As our conversation progresses, I sense that Menelik is really, and I mean really struggling. As things get rolling on Sundays, I tend to get around. There's a fellow who comes down most Sundays who goes by the name of Smiley. We actually have 2 guys that go by that name. Anyway, this fellow seems to have a way with numbers. One Sunday, he told me this - "If anyone asks? 98". I look at him waiting for the punch line. No punch line. Just looks at me and says 98. 98 what? Degrees? What? People man!! 98 people! (Stay with me...I know I'm off track, but there's a point!) So yesterday, I ask him, as I always do now. He says he'll get back to me. He does. He says he's getting conflicting information? From who Smiley? It’s just me and you. Cracks me up. Anyway, says he's getting conflicting numbers, but it's between 175 and 195. I have no idea how many it actually is. But I know it's a lot. And there are lots of people who are tugging at us for various reasons. Needs mostly. Physical, prayer, etc. Sometimes? Simple conversation. Nice to know someone cares I guess. Some of these guys have no one. No one. Back to Menelik. Menelik was in a bad state. Never seen him that way before. Never. So as I bound from Tom (who is recently out of the hospital from a beating he took in the park at the hands of some hoodlums) to Joe (who starts a new job on Monday!!!) to whomever else needs a minute, Erin shows up tugging at my shirt. Mommy needs you Daddy. I immediately hustle over to where she is and she tells me Menelik needs my help. Well, he definitely needs more than my help, but I'm there for him for sure. Now, he has a very strong Ethiopian accent, so he's difficult to understand at times. But what I heard was not. He said he wanted to kill himself. Tired. Tired of it all. Said he was in the military. Got dropped off in this country and ended up in Washington D.C. Now he's stuck in Omaha working for barely enough to make it and he's tired. Walking everywhere he goes. He's a proud man. But he's tired. Of it all. So what am I supposed to say? Me? I have no training for this! But Robin and I pray each week before we venture out that God will give us the words. Seems as though He always does. Always. So I try my best to help Menelik. We pray. Right in the street. Me and him. And Him. Amid all the chaos, it's just the 3 of us. Amid Smiley's count and the traffic, it's just the 3 of us. What in the world am I standing in?

I get Menelik a new shirt, a sandwich and a bus ticket back to South Omaha. A new friend of ours, Jodi who we met through a former boss of mine, Tony...who happened to see me on the street one day, downtown, for the first time in over 10 years, and was just driving by and saw me walking...and who stopped and got out of his car and talked to me on his way home from the night shift...and who I mentioned to in a subsequent phone conversation that we did this thing on Sundays... and who happened to mention it to his pastor...and his pastor mentioned to Jodi that it would be a good opportunity for some outreach...and Jodi showed up on Sunday to get a feel for what it is we do...and I believe Jodi also prayed with Menelik. It just never ceases to amaze me at the opportunities that might be missed if we are not looking for them. If Tony hadn’t stopped that morning a few months back? Probably never would have met Jodi. And now? Jodi is coming back to meet with Menelik again.

So I could go on and on about other "stuff" that happened Sunday. But I have to mention our visit to see Frank in the hospital. Keep in mind that Frank is also one of the first fellows that we met in the Office on that first fateful Sunday. A charter member if you will. You have to meet Frank to understand how we feel about him, but our kids just love him. Well, he fell down by the river few days back, got a nasty infection and ended up with cellulitis. Now I'm no doctor, but from what I understand, it can be very serious. Robin and the kids just "happened" to be downtown, saw Frank limping very badly and offered to take him to the hospital. He cried in the van because he said no one would help him. No one would help him. You know, whatsoever you do for the least of those? Anyway, he had surgery on Saturday, and Robin has been very concerned about Frank. So back to the deal. After we wrapped everything up, we headed to the hospital to visit Frank. I know this is long, but bear with me. As we get to Franks room, he has couple of our homeless homeys in the room with him and we visit for a couple of minutes. Robin wants to make sure that Frank knows the reason she was in the downtown area on the day he needed her. She was looking for another fellow. Couldn't find him. But "happened" to run across Frank. Just by "coincidence". Well as she's telling the story to Frank, we realize we are indeed standing in something. Right there in Frank's Hospital room. Literally. And just as calmly as he could say it, Frank tells us it's his pee. Yep. They gave him the old "lean over the side of the bed and pee in it” bottle and he spilled it. Right there on the floor!!! We look down and sure enough...so I grab an orderly and tell him, he tells the nurse, and the situation is resolved. But not before we realize that we are standing in it. Standing in a world which 10 or so months ago we were not familiar. God has been so unbelievable in sending the messages. So incredible in opening our eyes to a world that we knew nothing about. So amazing in steering us in a direction that we are incomprehensibly untrained for. Yet He continues to send us. Frank cried again as Robin told him that if it weren't for the bandana that she was trying to get to our friend Doug, she never would have seen him. I'm sure he cried a bit as Nick told him that God set that meeting up. In Nick's mind it was pretty simple. God sent them to help Frank.

So what are we standing in? Well, besides Franks pee, we are standing in God's House. Each and every Sunday we strive to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24 tells us..."Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize". We want the prize. I think I know what we are standing in. We are standing in a ministry that God has knowingly placed on us and we simply want to get the prize. Want to cross the finish line, as my father-in-law told me once, battered, bloodied and bruised. But smiling and with the prize at hand...

So what are you standing in?

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

..."it matters to that one"... :)

Wow! It's Ramblin' time...

What a Sunday! We had a bit of a Birthday Party Sunday. We decided a few weeks ago to rectify the fact that several of our friends in the downtown Omaha community are not the recipients of some of the simple pleasures. Things some of us often take for granted. I don't know how most people do it, but at my house growing up? You have a birthday? You get a birthday cake. We didn't have a whole lot growing up. That happens when there are 10 mouths to feed. We weren’t in a bad way, just had to make things go a little further. But if someone had a birthday coming up? You better believe a cake was going to be the center piece of the evening. At my house? Let me tell you...if there's a birthday, there's a homemade cake to go along with it. Without fail. So As I was talking to my friend Joe a few weeks ago, he mentioned that he's not had a birthday cake in 10 years. 10 years!! Yesterday, our great friend Crystal and her daughter Tori show up with 2 ginormous birthday cakes. God bless ya Crystal! We had a little birthday celebration right there under the trees in God's park in downtown Omaha. It was cool. Now it was hot yesterday, as it has been in much of these United States recently. I mean SWELTERING hot. These poor folks have to deal with this weather on a constant basis. Man, am I blessed. So our first birthday party was a success I believe. Funny enough too, because sandwiched around our downtown party, we celebrated my man Nick's 10th birthday Friday and we'll celebrate Robin's xxth birthday tonight (Monday). Lots to be thankful for in our house. Now we did spend Friday evening at the Amazing Pizza Machine. It's kind of a hyped up version of Chucky Cheese. So we had a great weekend of celebration and I think our friends were thankful and blessed. Also, I did meet a young lady who asked about birthday presents. Do you guys give out birthday presents, she asked me? Did I mention that she was pushing a stroller? And did I mention that her 1 year old son was in the stroller? His birthday in August 27th. I think we can find him a birthday present. God has blessed us with many resources lately. Our friends at Heart Ministry have a supply of things that a one year old might like for a birthday present.

I was also able to chat with a young fellow for quite a while Sunday. Aaron is originally from Davenport, Iowa. If I got the story correctly, he followed a young lady here to Omaha. Now, that may heave been his first mistake. :) So anyway, I first met Aaron about 3 weeks ago. He swore to me that it was last week, but I know better. Anyway, he's 23 and homeless in Omaha. 23? Homeless? How? And staying at the Sienna Francis House while he looks for work. He told me a few weeks ago (or last week if you believe him) that he was looking for work. I know that one of the local trash companies hires pretty frequently. So I told him to go there and see what he could find. Apparently, he starts work there tomorrow. Needs an apartment now. Wants to get out of the shelter. But the interesting thing about our conversation? We got to talking about one of his tattoos. It was a six point star on his upper shoulder. Now, I had just offered him a bible and he told me had one. Even quoted a verse out of 1st Corinthians. Then he shows me his star? Says it represents something he does? Now I'm pretty naive in regards to some of this stuff. But I know one thing for sure. There's no way you can do both. As we got deeper into the conversation, he tells me it represents alchemy. Positive energy, magic, stuff like that. A sort of magic? After I get home, of course Google becomes my friend. It confirms to me what he's told me. From Google - 'As you can see from the following drawing, the six pointed star actually depicts an ancient alchemical formula. It shows how the four elements: Fire, Water, Air and Earth can be harmonized and combined into Gold - the symbol of Love and Spirituality." So I told him that there is no way you can quote a verse of scripture, God's Word, in one breath and tell me this stuff in the next. No way. Doesn't work that way. It wasn't confrontational at all. Maybe it should have been a little sterner? I don't know. I just told him that he was treading in dangerous waters. Slippery slope indeed. I think we'll see more of Aaron and hopefully we'll be able to get into a more meaningful dialog. It's hard in the short time we have on Sundays to make it stick, if you know what I mean. But we'll keep on trying.

Earlier in the afternoon, as I made my way through the line, I was chatting with my friend Tom. Tom was in a car accident years ago and lost an eye. Has a glass eye now. I was asking him about it, because he was telling me of his need for sunglasses. It was at that point that he acted as if he was going to take his glass eye out! Asked me if I wanted to see it?! No!! Don't take that thing out! Man...People are getting ready to eat Tom! Gotta keep your eye in!! Just a little something struck me as odd yesterday. I'm never surprised at the stories anymore. Some of them are just a little creepy. No, the eyeball has to stay in!

And finally, last week a fellow asked me if we could help him get a pair of tennis shoes. Leonard is a very frail looking fellow and talks very softly. Did I mention that he is frail? I'm talking skin and bones thin. I only met Leonard a few weeks ago. Time and faces seem to run together in this thing we’re doing. I really try to remember all the names. The only thing that seems to work for me is repetition. Unless it’s a name like Maxwell or Menelik. Something like that. But Tom? Pete? Dan? Those are tough ones that only repetition seems to work for. Now Leonard asked for a pair of sneakers last week and for some reason I remembered his name. Had a really bad pair of sneakers on and he was in definite need. So we managed to scrounge up a pair of new sneakers for Leonard. So this week, first thing he asks me is did we get the sneakers? Sure did Leonard, but I need for you to hang around until the crowd thins out a little. It's not something we advertise anymore. When we first started doing this thing, we were making a "needs list". Got out of hand rather quickly. We had people shopping! And God was delivering. But as the numbers grew, it got out of hand. Just got to be more than we could manage. So now we try to keep it on the down low. If someone has a need, we definitely try to help out. God continually blesses us with just what we need. So who are we to doubt that He'll provide? So Leonard didn't mind hanging around for his $7.50 sneakers. Hey, we can't afford the big dog sneakers, so we do what we can. And Wal-Mart just marked them down recently. It's a great deal if you have nothing at all. Anyway, as the afternoon progresses and we are packing up, I get Leonard his shoes and he asks for a ride. He only needs to go about a mile or so, but it's uphill all the way and it's miserably hot. And Leonard is sick. I told him sure, I could give him a ride. So as we get everything packed up and get ready to leave, we're chatting with the stragglers and just wrapping everything up. Leonard comes over and asks if we can leave, as he isn't feeling too well. It was obvious. So we get in the car and head west out of the downtown area. We begin to chat. These are the times I'm able to decompress and get in some quality conversations. It may only be a 10 minute conversation, but we take what we can get. So Leonard drops the bomb on me. Did I mention he was sick? Yeah, he's sick. Full blown case of AIDS. Final stages. Whoa. As we are driving and chatting, I ask how? Is that an appropriate question? Who knows? Probably not. But I ask it anyway. Needle? Yep. Heroin? No. Cocaine, meth, whatever. The point is he's dying. And it's pretty obvious. So here I am wondering how in the world I didn't get my butt in gear and give him a ride earlier and get him to his apartment and out of this miserable heat. I just didn't know. I felt terrible. But he tells me this - “I'm going to see the Father". And he says 'I hope He'll forgive me because I haven't been a good person for most of my life". Well Leonard, I don't know much. But I know this. He is a God of compassion and forgiveness. He will forgive you. I promise you that. As he is getting out of my car, I look back and see him ambling up to his apartment door. All 90 pounds of him. God help my soul. May God bless Leonard's soul. I hope I get another chance to chat with Leonard...

One last thing...Robin was chatting with another Tom. Look there are lots of Toms, Mikes, Dans, Johns...you get the point. Tom made the following statement to Robin. He said "I may be homeless, but I'm not useless". What a concept. A couple of our friends were beaten up pretty badly last Wednesday morning. It seems that a gang of young teenagers get their kicks out of beating up homeless fellows in the park. Tommy and Bobby were sleeping in the park under the 13th Street bridge when they awoke to a beating. Tommy carries a folding chair around with him and they were actually beating him with his own chair. Bobby got the wrong end of a pipe. He’s in intensive care. I have no idea what would possess someone to do something like this. No idea. Drugs? Anger towards someone? They surely didn’t know the guys they were working over. What a sad state of affairs. Sad indeed. Anyway, if you are so inclined, pray for Bobby, Tommy and Leonard. They may not make the right choices lots of time, but they surely don't deserve to get beaten by hoodlums. Surely not. And pray for the young misguided fellows that are wreaking this havoc in the downtown community. For surely, they know not what they do…

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

..."it matters to that one"... :)

What? Me Worry?!

So yesterday was once again a day full of interesting things and happenings. As is always the case it seems. And man was it HOT! I went through a couple of shirts just sorting out the clothing donations and things. And I've had people tell me I should do it the night before, and I've tried that, but by late evening, my sorting place, otherwise known as my garage, is like a sauna. So in the dog days of summer, it's a Sunday morning task. So just to reiterate...it was HOT!!! But I try to keep it in perspective. The ladies and gentlemen we hang out with on Sundays, for the most part, have no air conditioning. They have to suffer in the sweltering heat most days, so a little work in the heat of the day is really a minor thing for me. We lost our home AC a couple of weeks ago. Went out on a Sunday afternoon and it was finally repaired on Wednesday. A few hot days for us to gain a little perspective. There are obviously people who live their summers without air conditioning and we are certainly blessed to be in the situation we find ourselves in. It's all good. Robin told me last night that I get the raw end of the deal. She "gets" to cook in the controlled temperatures of the kitchen. Me? I get to do my Sunday morning activities in the elements of the garage. Hot or cold? Doesn't matter. It really is a blessing. It's so cool to see what God has in store for us on any given week. Some weeks, extraordinary things happen. Others, regular things just sort of happen. But rest assured when we do the work of our Savior, amazing things are bound to happen.

So shortly before we left, Robin was mentioning that we needed to pick a verse. Yep...pick a verse she says. Pick a verse that maybe God had placed on our hearts and share that verse during our prayer time, just before we begin serving our Sunday meal. Well, she had the audacity to mention this, literally right before we were walking out the door. Me, believing this was God's way of telling us to be more intentional about our activities on that corner, I began to try to formulate a way that I could drive the 13.14 miles from our house to our corner and read my bible to grab a verse that would "fit" the things I already had in mind to say before our prayer. How ridiculous does that sound? So as we get in the car and venture off, I realize that I'd left my bible at home. But, sitting right next to me in the passenger seat of my car? Oh yeah. My very own walking, breathing, encyclopedic, biblical reference machine. Christian Laney. That's right. The kid is amazing for his memory abilities. Not if I tell him to do the dishes, or take the trash out. But ask him a verse? Man, this young man is amazing. For many, many other reasons, he's amazing. But if you need a verse? He's your man. He memorized the Book of Acts last year for cryin' out loud! So I ask him to give me a verse. What verse he says? The one God has placed in your mind boy! Bring it! Galatians 1:10 he says. Give it to me my man! "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ", He says. And the cool thing about that verse? Well, beyond the obvious. I had planned on reiterating to the guys and gals downtown that they need not thank us for anything on Sunday. They really, really need to thank God. For it is through Him and by His will that anything at all happens on that corner on Sundays. I just wanted to drop that little nugget on them again, as we do from time to time. It seems that they want to give us the thanks that He deserves. We always try to deflect it, and I understand why it happens. If you're hungry, and someone feeds you, in whatever way, the tendency is to thank them. If you are in need and someone fills that need, it whatever way, shape or form, then the tendency is to thank them. But it has to go upward. The thanks have to be to the Almighty. Because there is absolutely no way under His heavens that we could pull off what it is we do every Sunday without His blessing.

So we get downtown and as we pull up, I don't see the normal cars that I'm accustomed to seeing. In fact, I only see one car. Now we park in a No Parking zone every Sunday. Have since the beginning. The police officers that patrol the area don't seem to mind. I mean it's odd, they come by occasionally, see us parked there, and have never said a thing. Weird. So as we pull up yesterday, I realize that we might be on our own as far as serving. I knew a couple of people wouldn't be there. But I've raved recently about all the great help we get from people (and the people that help are simply incredible) and here we are. I think everyone decided to take the day off at once. But you know what? There was no sense of worry on our part. One thing I've learned in this ministry. God will provide. Every single time. He will provide. It maybe just means that the Laney kids will have to buckle in and man a station. Christian on the drink station. Nick building his hot dog bun tower. Erin handing out bread. Sidenote...she wanted to do dessert. Said no one was taking bread. "Mom?? Can't I please hand out sweets?" :) Everyone chipped in. And of course when we least expect it? A fellow named Curtis shows up and introduces himself to me. He runs a local county community services program. One of his subordinates called me a few weeks back and asked if they could send troubled teens or anyone in need of community service hours to help out when needed? Heck yeah! Send them. He said he skipped Sunday school to come down and check it out. So He again had us covered. Always does.

We don't do a message or a sermon on Sundays. We always pray for the blessings God sends us with, and we try to share God’s Word at every opportunity. And there are boatloads of opportunities. But we don't really do a formal message. Not that it won't ever happen, but we'll let Him guide us there. I suppose yesterday was the closest thing you'll see from us in that regard. As we prepared to give thanks for our many blessings, Christian and I stood on a small wall where I normally say the prayer. My man Christian, reference machine that he is, works with me to say the prayer. What an awesome opportunity for a father and son to share the Word and love of Christ together to a pretty captive audience. I explain my deal, telling these great people that without Christ in our lives, none of this is possible. Absolutely none of it. Christian cites a verse for me. We tag team the mini message and God blesses us! What an amazing God we serve. The point of the verse? We serve an amazing Christ! Can't serve man and Christ. Have to pick one or the other. We choose Christ. And in doing so? We are able to serve these wonderful people and hopefully, simply act as a vessel of Christ. The hands and feet, so to speak. As I looked back at the serving table and see Nick with his serving gloves, building a bun tower, I am amazed at the work He is doing in my family. When my kids pray for the "guys downtown", I am amazed at the work he is doing in my family. When my sister and her daughter show up every Sunday to help, I am amazed. That I am able to serve with my mother every single Sunday? Amazing. That I am blessed to serve with my best friend, my confident, my wife every single time we do anything related to this ministry? Amazing. But the most amazing thing to me? That He allows us to serve Him. That He blesses us with a means to hang out on Sundays with some of the most incredible people. When we pulled up and saw that we might not have all the help we normally have? No worries. He's got our backs. Got us covered. Nope. No worries. We are humbly blessed to be servants of Christ. I love Him with all my heart and we are so honored to walk in these steps. It's nice to give a guy a meal, a pair of jeans, a shirt, a pair of shoes. But it is phenomenal to be able to do these things in the name of Christ! Phenomenal! Thanks be to God just doesn't seem to be the right choice of words, but it is what it is, and I don't know how else to say it. No worries. Just thanks.

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

..."it matters to that one"... :)