Wade's Christmas Stockings

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:28 (The Message)

Details. I often find myself, as I’m sure lots of us do, getting caught up in details. How will we…? What if…? When "this" happens, what do we do? Often times I get so far ahead of myself that I’ve created a situation that couldn’t possibly happen, yet I’m already preparing myself for the details of some crazy, fictional situation. One that will most likely never even happen. Have to tell myself not to over think things all the time. Let God handle the details. It’s His plan anyway, right? Why in the world would I think I could manage the outcome of any given event?

A while back, I met a fellow who went by the name of Wade. Now, I’ve written about Wade a few times here because of the significant things that have happened involving Wade. Met him quite a while back. Saw him off and on, as is fairly customary with lots of the people we meet on that downtown corner. And this past summer Wade left us. Had an untimely accident in a lake in Council Bluffs, Ia. Right across the river. And when I heard the news I was shocked. It really bothered me that maybe we hadn’t done enough to try to help Wade. Again, I’m not sure what I think I could have done? But I often wondered what if? So after Wade left us, as God is apt to do, a really strange and very cool thing transpired. God began working in the details. I wrote a blog about his passing. In doing so, I had no idea what was to come. And how his death would impact so many. In so many places. Especially on our downtown street corner. Through it all, I’ve met his family. Lots of them. And they are a great family. They come from hours away to honor their son, their brother, their father, their husband. It’s not like they live right up the street and want to come help. In most cases they literally drive for hours to get here. And yesterday? They came with an abundance. You see, Wade’s niece told me some time back that she wanted to do something to honor her uncle. She wasn’t quite sure, I don’t think anyway, what exactly she wanted to do but she knew she wanted to do something. As if I am in any place to do so, I offered her a simple piece of advice. Whatever you decide to do, pray about it, take the first step or get started and let the Lord lead it. I was just sure if she did that, she’d not have to worry so much about the details. God would indeed provide, as He has for us on so many occasions. I sit back and marvel at how He provides for this ministry, His ministry, on a regular basis. I absolutely cannot believe the amount of stuff in my garage. It’s to the point anymore that I have to decide what to take and what not to take on any given Sunday.

So Wade’s niece, Mercedes, sends me an email saying that she wanted to gather Christmas stockings and distribute them in Wade’s honor. So, as I understand it, she sent out letters and used other means for gathering things to put in the stockings. And people responded. To the tune of 200 stockings. And they decide to bring Wade’s Christmas Stockings yesterday to distribute them to our friends downtown. They show up. With a trailer full of stuff. These weren’t just ordinary Christmas stockings. They had so much stuff that they had to actually make them Christmas bags! Boxes and boxes of things for our friends. For Wade’s friends. And all in the name of Christ. Want an amazing young lady. Gifts for Christ’s birthday, to honor and glorify Him, and all the while bringing it down to a level that our friends downtown could relate to. Lots of them knew Wade. Lots of them now know Wade’s family. And I met his wife yesterday for the first time. I have no idea how difficult this must have been for her? No idea the feelings she must have been experiencing? I only hope that she saw that he didn’t die in vain. I kind of know how she feels. To a degree anyway. I lost my oldest sister to cancer 10 years ago. Anyone who has lost someone close to a sudden death or an unexplained illness knows that it is literally mind numbing to try to explain it or to reason or rationalize it. There simply are no answers. And the old ‘time heals all blah blah blah…" is true to a degree. But we are always left wondering? Why? What if? Again with the details. And there simply are no real answers. Except one. God will absolutely work in the details. If we let Him. For me? My sister’s passing all those years ago brought me to a faith that I’d never known. Watching her witness, especially in the final weeks, days and hours of her life, made it clear to Robin and I that we’d better get our act together. We weren’t necessarily living a bad life. We just weren’t following Christ. We believed. We simply hadn’t taken the next step in the journey.

So yesterday, God worked in the details. Wade’s family showed up. And in doing so, they once again honored his life. But in doing so, they also honored God. This young lady made an impact in ways that probably will never be able to be measured. I think I remember her Mom being somewhat concerned when she first brought the idea to her. It was a big project. I mean 200 stockings? And if it were me, I’d wonder what exactly do we put in these things to make them significant? Again with the details. :) But Mercedes and the rest of Wade’s family made it happen. God blessed it for sure. I’ve seen it happen so many times on that corner. A need is presented and God meets that need. Or someone or a group of someones decides they want to help out in some way and God blesses it. It’s so simple. Yet so profound. I stood and watched the boxes come out of that trailer yesterday and was simply awed at how God does indeed care about even the smallest of details. It was an amazing thing to see. I had someone ask me a few weeks ago if we were going to bring Christmas presents downtown. One Sunday, out of the blue, this person asks me this. I remember kind of laughing and my initial thought was something along the lines of "uh, I don’t think so…how in the world would we supply gifts for that many people". But my response to her was I guess we’d just have to see. And really that was just my safe response. Non committal. :) That’s me mostly. Just ask Robin. But as God continues to work on me, one thing has become profoundly evident to me in all of this. I don’t have to worry about details. I need to be aware of logistical things, obviously, but I absolutely do not have to over think things. God is so much better at it than me anyway. My feeble brain cannot begin to comprehend such things.

It was a great day and a great week. And such an eventful week. Monday Robin cooked for Mosaic’s Life on the Brick. We were able to hang out with our friends at this weekly, Monday meal. Yet another relational touch point. Tuesday we had dinner with a few friends at a shelter in Council Bluffs. It was our first time there. What an amazing job these folks do at this shelter. It’s called MOHM’s Place and it was a great evening for my family to spend some time with a few friends we first met on a downtown street corner in Omaha. And of course it was a great Christmas for our family. And we topped it all off with a Sunday afternoon gathering in the park on what turned out to be a really nice day, considering it’s late December and we are in Nebraska. Again, God working in the details. He allowed us to have great weather on a day that was set aside to honor Him and in the process, a family was able to do something to honor one of theirs. I believe this young lady made a difference yesterday and I’m quite sure her uncle looked down and smiled. I know I did. Amazing.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

Peace, have a great and blessed week and make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

Redonkulous?

Redonkulous (Adjective) Significantly more absurd than ridiculous to an almost impossible extreme; without possibility of serious consideration.

So I picked this word up from Christian this week. I think it came from some movie he saw recently. I’ve heard it about 1000 times or more, give or take 100. But for some reason it stuck with me. Especially this morning. When I went outside and realized exactly how cold it was and just exactly what we were in for today. Redonkulously cold. The weather forecast was for temps hovering just below zero. That’s the dreaded negative range. And with the howling winds out of the northwest, the “feel like” temp was around 25 or 30 below. Say again? 25 or 30 below? Now I’ve mentioned before what freezes in this kind of weather, so I won’t go there again. But I will tell you this. I’m pretty sure that it was so cold today that flatulence froze. Now I don’t have first hand knowledge…or do I? :) No I don’t. But I’m sure it does. Good grief it was cold. And there were people without gloves. I swear I’m going to figure out a way to tie a string to the gloves and run the string up the sleeves of our friends’ coats. Just like Mom did when we were kids. There must be a lost glove convention happening as I write in some corner of the Sienna Francis House.

St. Vincent DePaul’s Youth Group was back to help today. What troopers! Man they brought enough homemade Christmas cookies to feed a small army! What an amazing group. We are so blessed to have them come and help. I mentioned that the home school group helped last week. It’s so cool to see people help. Especially the young folks. What a blessing they are and we’ve been blessed to have them come often. A couple of kids from the home school group were assigned to write about their experience last week. With their permission, here’s what they saw:

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On Sunday, December 14th, 2008, at 12:00 p.m. we drove to down town Omaha, Nebraska to feed the hungry. The name of the ministry is Starfish Ministry. You can bring food or help serve food. There were various foods and drinks for the hungry to choose from. Lesley and I had a challenging task, separating paper plates with gloves on! We finally braved the freezing cold weather and took our gloves off; one second later we decided we should put our gloves back on and keep trying to get the plates apart. My Mom and Dad poured the turkey noodle soup into cups and handed the soup to the line of hungry people. Four or five buckets were sitting out on the cold cement ground, filled to the brim with clothing, shoes, coats, and other items. Seeing how hungry and cold these people were made me think how blessed I am. I live in a warm house while others are living in the cold on the streets or under bridges. After seeing how blessed it makes the people feel, I want to help serve the people every weekend.
Ashley age 11


The bitter wind stung our cheeks as we stood behind a row of tables at Gene Lahey Mall. Downtown near 14th and Douglas, every Sunday at noon, no matter what the weather, Starfish Ministry serves the people gathered there. Handing out paper plates and spoons, we helped serve the hungry people on this frigid, Sunday afternoon. Every so often a volunteer would go running after a stray plate or cup as it was carried away by the wind. On this exceptionally cold day we could see our breath in the air. We shifted trying to keep warm while people shuffled by to receive soup, bread, clothing, and many other items. As a result of the freezing temperature, fewer people than normal were gathered to obtain a warm meal. Although it was a cold day the people were cheerful and extremely grateful. Everyone had a smile on their face and was quick to say ‘thank you’ upon receiving their items. Even though my family didn’t stay long, our cheeks were red and we were shivering by the time we got into the car. I am extremely grateful to have a roof over my head and a warm house to live in, instead of having to live outside. I am also thankful for a car so that I don’t have to walk everywhere. I enjoyed being able to serve the hungry people, and look forward t doing it again.
Lesley age 15
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I got a Christmas card from one of our friends last week. Pat is a fellow I just recently met. He needed a coat a few weeks ago and a pair of boots. So I happened to have just what he needed that particular week. We’ve handed out literally hundreds of pairs of boots and too many coats to count. So sometimes I forget how much a pair of new boots and a warm coat means to someone. When I gave Pat his a few weeks ago, I was reminded how much it means. And sometimes I think it’s just that simple act of kindness and love. That someone would have just what a fellow needed at just the right time. That’s how God so often works in this thing. All in his time. Just in time. His amazing time. So Pat hands me a homemade Christmas card last week, written on a plain white sheet of paper. The front simply said Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Inside were the following words. “Aren’t you glad it only comes once a year? So bless us all while we are here. Still wish you the best of luck. And Hope that 2009 doesn’t suck. Signed, Pat.” :) I just laughed. I did again when I reread it just now. But I think in some strange sort of way, he really meant it.

So it was redonkulously cold today. I mean, stuff just doesn’t work in that kind of weather. Exposed skin will be frostbitten in minutes. Mechanical stuff just fails. But people? They are able to work through it. We saw that today. We showed up on the corner and there were only a couple of people waiting. But as we got things set up, people started showing up. And before we were done, we’d prayed together, meals were served, new coats were passed out, lots of new gloves were distributed and God once again showed up. He always does. Doesn’t matter how redonkulously cold it gets. He sends us. And He shows up. And we were blessed today to be in His presence. I’d guess He wasn’t quite as cold as us. But He was there. And we were able to share. And I tell you there’s a little satisfaction in hearing people say thanks for showing up no matter the weather. I tell them we have to. If He’s going to be there, we’ll be there.

Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

God Rocks Hard!

It’s days like these that seriously remind me of the harsh realities of this crazy state that we live in. No, not the bizarre state of cornfusion. The bizarre state of Nebraska. Where it can be almost 60 degrees one day (yesterday) and today is a mind blowing 10 BELOW zero!! Now we knew it was coming but that doesn’t prepare us anymore than knowing not to step in front of a city bus. When it hits you, you know you’ve been hit. When a guy drops a cup of hot chocolate and it’s frozen seconds after hitting the sidewalk. Well, that’s cold. And I mentioned last year what happens in this kind of weather. Christian reminded me several times on the way downtown today. He asked me if it was cold enough for snot to freeze. After getting downtown and seeing several of our bearded friends, I’d have to say the answer is a resounding yes. No doubt. Homeless dudes just aren’t quite on top of things sometimes when it comes to the hygiene thing. I guess they have bigger fish to fry. So after seeing several of our friends with moustache icicles, I’d say that today qualified for snot freezing weather. It was just downright cold. But there’s something about days like this that make it more interesting to me. For one, we have a bit more of an intimate gathering. I’d guess maybe 50 or so today. But considering that it was colder than a well digger’s you-know-what, that’s probably a pretty impressive turnout. I’d still like to pull up someday and not see a soul, but not because of the weather…

So today a home school entrepreneur group did all the cooking. That’s 2 weeks in a row that we didn’t have to cook a meal in our house. Come to think of it, I don’t think that has happened in over 2 years. So because of that, we tried to plan ahead so that we could attend a church service this morning. I did all my normal Sunday morning stuff yesterday afternoon. So this morning, the workload was very minimal. No college football yesterday either, so my time was pretty productive. :) So we headed out to Papio Creek Church this morning. Now these guys have been a blessing to us. We kind of partnered up with them a while back and they often send folks down to help in various ways. It’s been amazing to see different churches use the opportunity God provides on a weekly basis on that corner. And like I said, Papio Creek has been a blessing. So we were able to go to church this morning and see the pre-school kids in their Christmas performance along with a good worship service. It was good. And the thing that allowed that to happen for us was the entrepreneurial group that stepped up to cook the meal today. Yet another way that God has used that corner to minister to people. A home school entrepreneurial group? Are you kidding me? And the young man whose mother is the driving forced behind the group, gave me money to buy boots for one of our friends. And the money came from his business. He sells soap. Starfish Soap. Imagine that! What an amazing kid. And what an amazing God we serve. Where we can stand on that corner and watch God work through us, through this home school group, through various churches and through young children. What an unbelievable thing we get to be a small part of.

I saw something today that almost broke my heart. Someone came over to me asking about help for a young lady. He was trying to point her out in the crowd. After scanning the crowd, I spotted her over by the wall on the south side of the park. In a pair of light, lime green colored Capris. Did I mention that it was well below zero today? I think I pretty much covered that. So it was most definitely not Capri weather. Just for reference, I’m talking about the pants that cover just below the knee. So there was a considerable amount of skin exposed to the elements. And from where I was standing, about 100 feet away or so, her calves looked to be bruised. They weren’t. I believe she was in the beginning stages of frostbite. I immediately grabbed some blankets for her. She seemed to be oblivious to it all at first, but when I handed her the blanket, she broke down. She confirmed it was frostbite. She just absolutely broke down when I gave her the stuff. Cried hard and hugged me hard. She’s living in a tent with her husband on the river. Well, I happened to have a couple pairs of sweatpants for a different lady that asked me to hook her up. Guess who didn’t show up today for her sweatpants? Guess who got them? And as I was getting the sweatpants from the van, a fellow comes up to me with an armful of coats. And guess who had the size she needed? A 3X long winter coat just happened to show up just as I was heading backing in her direction with the sweatpants. Coincidence? Not hardly. All I had to do was be there. He does the rest. I’m convinced God was at work in so many ways today. Even in the details. A couple young ladies from St. Vincent DePaul Catholic church were there to witness the whole thing. In fact, they were there talking to her before I got there. I pray for this young lady’s situation. This is no time to be living in a tent on the river. Not here. Not in this state in the winter. No way.

We were blessed last week with an email from a fellow who wanted to help buy some coats. Heavy winter coats. We usually get lots of coats. But not necessarily the bigger sizes. You know, XL and larger. And not necessarily new ones either. Those are the harder ones to get. And guess what sizes we need the most? So when this fellow emailed and said he wanted to help, man I just praised God. So through his generosity and the fact that the Menard’s store in Bellevue was willing to work with us on the price of coats, we were able to get 50 brand new coats!! Large, XL and XXL. As Robin, Christian and I drove home that night with the back of the van loaded with new coats, I just laughed back at the days of dealing with the Goodwill devil. Trying to get those folks at Goodwill to work with us on the price of a coat that was given to them! The irony was a little too much. I used to spend my Saturdays going from thrift store to thrift store trying to find coats and whatever. And here we were with a van full! What an amazing God!

I know this is a little long this week, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one last thing. A fellow asked me last week if we could help him get back to his family in Oregon. That’s always a tough one for me. Are we sending someone off to something that is really a better situation? And then I realize that it’s not really my call. If God blesses us with the resources, who am I to judge. I mean we have to be good stewards, but we have to have a little faith also. So I call this fellow back on Tuesday and tell him it’s a go. He says to me " are you serious man?" Me – "As serious as a heart attack bro." Him - "You rock hard man." Me – "God rocks hard man." You see, I have to get him to understand that we do nothing. It’s all about the glory of God. No other way this thing works. I couldn’t manage my way out of bed in the morning without my faith in Jesus. No way. So I make sure I tell him that. So today he shows up. Wants to know if I’m for real on this thing. I tell him several times, the Lord willing, it’ll happen. Now I have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but this fellow wants to know what will happen 3 weeks from now. I assure him that I’m as sure as I can be. The funny thing was his unbelief. You could see it in his eyes. I told him several times not to thank me. Ain’t about me bro. Just praise God. And thank Him. So he helped us clean up today and get everything loaded. As he was getting ready to leave, he hugged me. Hard. And he asked me again if this was for real. Now he knows where I come from. For me, it’s all about doing whatever I can to honor the Lord. So when he asked me for the final time, I just looked at him and told him maybe this was going to be a test of his faith. :) I love doing that. Because I have a pretty good idea of what the outcome will be. After a few weeks, I may never see this fellow again. And that’s ok. I simply hope that a seed was planted and the results honor God.

I am so stunned sometimes that we get to be involved some pretty good transactions in the name of God. Relational things that just blow me away. And they may be fleeting, but that’s ok. As long as we go there. In whatever crazy weather this crazy state may send our way. I heard people today actually say, in a knowing way, that they knew we’d be there. That is so cool to me. That they know we’ll come. No matter what. We’ll be there. The Lord willing…and snot freezing. :)

But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

Selfless Acts and Blessings...

I was doing some reading this morning and I just happened to open to Numbers 6:22-27:

The Priestly Blessing
The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: " ' "The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." '
"So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."

So according to the reference section in my Bible, a blessing was one way of asking for God’s divine favor to rest upon others. Apparently there were five parts to the ancient blessing in this verse. Stay with me here. I do have a point. The five parts conveyed hope that God would (1) bless and keep them (favor and protect); (2) make his face shine upon them (be pleased); (3) be gracious (merciful and compassionate); (4) turn his face toward them (give His approval); (5) give peace. So when we ask God to bless others or ourselves, we are essentially asking Him to do these five things. The blessing we offer will not only help the one receiving it, it will also demonstrate love, encourage others and provide a model of caring for others.

My point? I was extremely blessed today by two acts. Both of them came from children. 11 and 8. One belongs to me, the other a friend from Knoxville. Our friends were coming to visit for a few days and their young daughter decided to donate a substantial sum of money to this cause. It was substantial in my eyes. And in the eyes of and eight year old? It was a lot of money. It was enough for us to grab several pair of winter boots, lots of socks and winter hats, and various other necessities that are so important at this time of year. I was amazed that a child so young could be so caring and giving. We could all learn a lesson. I’m pretty sure God gave his approval and was pleased.

And then there was Nick. It makes me pretty proud as a father to see my kids perform a selfless act. There’s lots of that happening on Sundays on a regular basis with lots of different people down there on that corner. But when I can stop and see one of my own kids do it? Well it’s then that I can be proud before God. You see, I met a fellow named David a couple weeks ago. Older fellow. He just kind of hangs around. Today he needed boots and gloves. I just happened to have both for him. And later on, as he was getting ready to leave, he came over to the van and asked for a second pair of gloves. For his 11 year old grandson. All I had was men’s gloves. And as much as I know something is better than nothing, it still didn’t seem right to give him men’s large gloves for an 11 year old. That’s when Nick spoke up from inside the van. He says, "Dad, did he say his grandson is 11? I’m 11. He can have my gloves. You can’t give him men’s gloves for an 11 year old Dad!" Well, you’re right Nick. But something is better than nothing, right? So the Nickster whips out his gloves and hands them over. Practically brand new. Only a couple of weeks used. And he gives them to me to give to David. And says he still has his old gloves at home and he can use those. A very selfless act. A blessing to be sure. And pleasing to God? I’d guess. Compassionate? Mostly.

And as a dad, that’s one of the things I hope my kids get. That if we have something, especially if we have more than enough, that it’s a blessing to give. That we are pretty much commissioned to do so. To love others in whatever way. And if that means giving up a pair of gloves or showing up every week with a meal and whatever else, then so be it.
The great folks from St. James church were back today. Cooked the whole meal. And brought bags and bags of stuff for our friends. I am simply amazed at the people that show up to help. God just keeps sending them. We’ll definitely keep thanking Him and praising Him for all that He does. Because short of Him, none of it happens anyway. Right? Blessings for sure.

Peace and have a great and "blessed" week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

A November Snow and an Amazing Day!

Woke up this morning to the first snow of the year. Now for me, that means getting my head around the change that is most definitely upon us. The need for all the winter gear, the need for a good, hot meal, all the things that a person needs at this time of year that might not be readily available otherwise. Now I’m not saying that we have all the things a guy needs and that it is readily available, but God usually provides. In some of the most amazing ways. What he provided this morning was a gentle reminder that we are in Nebraska and that even though it’s still November, winter is here. Like it or not. This will be our third winter downtown, and it kind of sneaks up on me every time. It’s not like I don’t know it’s coming, but maybe I just push it to the back of my mind. You know, out of sight, out of mind? And then the reality of it all hits. In a white blanket that covers everything outside. And the inevitable questions arise. Will we be able to get the trailer up our hill? Will we have enough coats for everyone? Will we have enough hot food for everyone? Will we…? And those are all questions from Robin! Just kidding Robbo. :) Because I don’t worry about any of those things. Don’t have to. We have the ultimate planning agent in charge of everything. And it ain’t us. And that’s a good thing, because left t my own devices, the trailer would end up in a ditch, the coats would all be extra-small, and the food would be iced soup. So even though I saw an unexpected snowfall this morning and it was very pretty (from the inside of our nice, warm house), I know that we needn’t worry about the small stuff. He’s got us covered. One thing it did reinforce for me is that we have friends "living" outside. In the elements. In that pretty blanket of snow. Can you imagine what it would be like to wake up to a fresh blanket of snow? On your sleeping bag?

Robin and I attended a memorial service this week. I absolutely do not like attending these things under any circumstances. One thing I never dreamed would happen, simply because I apparently had no vision of these things, was that one day we’d be attending memorial services for fellows we’d met in the park. Never imagined, when we started visiting with our friends, that we’d be in those situations. I just thought we’d show up, have a little lunch, provide whatever material things that God might bless us with and then head our separate ways. But a funny thing happened on our way downtown. We became somewhat intertwined with these folks. I see our friends all the time during my workdays. I might run into someone in Starbucks attempting to warm up. Might happen upon someone just anywhere at anytime. But we know ‘em now. And when tragedy strikes or the inevitable happens, we attend whatever services occur. So earlier this past week, we attended Alan’s memorial service. Alan was a very hard alcoholic but a very gentle man. That’s the only way I can describe him. He was just a mess. But deep inside that apparent exterior lurked a warm, caring soul. A fellow with a degree in architecture. And various other life skills. So what happened to Alan along the way? What happened to this guy that would cause him to literally drink his life away? Just more questions with no obvious answers. It was so weird for me to listen to this priest speak of Alan’s life. We knew him for a couple of years. There were 45 other years before we met him where he was someone’s brother, son, father, etc. He left a young son behind. And a family. We met them at the service. Maybe just God’s way of telling us that all of our friends belong to someone. I don’t know. Just random thoughts around this crazy nonsensical passing of a good friend. Rest in peace Alan. We will indeed miss you buddy.

So today was a great day downtown. Cold, windy, a little raw, but it is the last day of November and it is Nebraska. I guess it’s expected. Something really cool happened down there today. As much as I’d like to share details, it really doesn’t matter in the big picture. A need was presented. A huge need. And in all of God’s unbelievable wisdom, he was already working on the solution. He hasn’t revealed the entire solution to us yet, or at least I don’t think He has. Or maybe He has. But He has surely started. In a big, big way. I drove home today in stunned disbelief. And yet it was so easy to believe. But things like this just don’t happen. As least not in my lifetime. At least not to this doubting individual. I mean, I believe. With all my heart. But the human side of me always wants to throw a little doubt into every situation. I know that God is in complete control. And I know I say often that I simply have to stay out of the way and let God drive. And things happen like the simple transaction that took place today and my face is blown away once again. I cannot even put into words how this thing has strengthened my faith and resolve. You know the old thing about wanting God to hit us upside the head with a 2 by 4 to show us whatever? Well he does it sometimes very subtly, but very directly. And he did it today. Like I said, the details are extremely cool. But I’m not sure I could even share them. Suffice it to say that God is simply amazing and I am in total awe of His sovereignty, His Grace, His Mercy and of course His Love. I can’t wait to see how this one unfolds. Unbelievable, and yet so believable. So God. And all we had to do was show up today and watch God work. Man does He do amazing things. And I always wonder why He chooses a dirty, cold street corner in downtown Omaha to do these things. Obviously, He does these things all over the place, but we are able to witness them first hand on a rather continual basis. Wow…

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

What’s the Answer?

I’ll try to keep this short this week. Had a busy couple of days. I spent all day yesterday loading, unloading and stacking firewood. Free firewood. Thanks to some very good friends of ours. And Christian and Nick were with me all the way. And then Christian and I spent the afternoon getting the outside of our house ready for the holidays. And then I spent a couple of hours in the garage sorting through winter clothing for our friends. And through it all I realize how incredibly blessed and fortunate I am. I mean just doing the Christmas decorations with Christian was very cool in and of itself. He is becoming such a great young man. Now he is still 14, so he does do things that 14 year old young men do. But he gets it. And his help literally cut my time in half yesterday. I think sometimes as we try to navigate this thing that is raising and parenting kids, especially as we go through things for the first time with our oldest kids, we think that things might always have a degree of difficulty to them. And they will. And there’s the thought that we may never get a break from some of the everyday stuff that goes with the territory. But yesterday proved otherwise for me. And Christian and I spent an evening serving at Life on the Brick recently also. Robin cooks once a month for this weekly Monday dinner at Mosaic Community Development. It’s a lot of the same people we see on Sundays, so it’s a pretty natural thing for us. And last week Robin was sick, but she still cooked. So Christian and I took the food and helped serve. It’s a totally different thing for me because I actually get to serve food to our friends. And on this particular night I had the opportunity to serve alongside my oldest son. And I hope and pray that the example Robin and I are setting for our kids is that we all need to serve. In some way, shape or form. So yesterday was a great day for me also. Tiring and I’m a little sore today, but it was good to be able to spend that much quality time with them.

Today was a pretty ordinary day for us downtown. That is if there is anything at all ordinary about what happens downtown on a given Sunday. Lots of food. Lots of people. Lots of clothing. Which brings me to an interesting point. I pray constantly that God will continue to bless us with all the resources we need to keep going. You know that thing about being careful what we pray for? You know the one that mentions how we might just get what we ask for? Well, that had been happening in abundance for us lately. Take today for instance. Pretty normal deal for us today. We get downtown. Lots of people waiting and as soon as we get out of the van, a line of people are waiting to help unload and get set up. As fast as I can hand stuff out, there are hands waiting to take it all to the serving area. So the trailer is now half empty, with about 20 or so bins of clothing waiting to come out after the meal is served. After we begin serving, I’m doing my usual schmoozing through the line just saying hi to everyone and a fellow asks me for a stocking cap. Sure, I tell him I’ll get him one and be right back. I go to the back of the trailer where I know there is a tub of hats and gloves and open it up to find bags and bags of clothing are literally falling out of the trailer. The folks from River of Life have come today with enough clothing to refill the trailer! On top of what we’ve already brought down. What a great problem to have! And this sort of thing just keeps happening. Over and over. What an amazing ministry God has blessed us with. He has literally taken the burden of finding stuff for our friends away and has simply sent people to help that only He could send. It is nothing short of amazing. And that is just one little iota of what happens down there on Sundays. There are conversations happening all around. Acts of kindness and love taking place all around. People feeding and people being fed. In more ways that I could ever have imagined with my feeble mind. I sit here and think what it must look like to the people who live in the downtown community? In the high rise condos and apartments that seem to be sprouting up all over the place. What must this weekly gathering/event look like? To those who walk by briskly on their way to the Performing Arts Center just around the corner to catch an afternoon show? What must it look like to the city workers who have been showing up lately to remove the trash? They come every week now and set out trash cans for us. Now we don’t have to trek the block down the alley with 5 or 6 big trash bags. They do it for us. What does this thing look like to them? What does it look like when all these people show up from literally all corners of the city to help our friends in need?

I tell you what I hope it looks like.

Love.

So obviously, Love is the Answer.

You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. "This I command you, that you love one another." John 15:16-17

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

And yet another friend has left us…

Found out today that another of our friends left us this week. 47 years young. 47 years. And at the very least, the last two years that we’ve known Alan, I’d guess the majority of his time was spent in a bit of a haze. I just cannot fathom how a guy lives the way some of our friends live. I know I’ve mentioned that here before many times, but every time something like this happens, I have to wonder why? I mean that is a natural reaction. If I’m being totally honest, I was very surprised to hear of Alan’s passing, but then again I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised. I mean, every time I saw him recently, he was not in the best of shape. Very frail. Not eating. I’d guess his internal organs were a mess. You see, some of the guys we know will simply drink whatever they can get their hands on and in some cases it is a pretty bizarre and very dangerous variety. There’s your customary Vodka and whatever other "legal" liquors. And then there are those fellows that belong to the 151 club. You know what a bottle of mouthwash costs at the Family Dollar store? $1.51. One dollar and fifty one cents. See the correlation? I don’t think there is an official 151 club by any means. But someone mentioned the term to us a long time ago. And I see our friends with the big family bottles on occasion. Last week I saw a fellow in the serving line with a bottle in his trench coat pocket. I jokingly asked if I could take that for him. He jokingly said "not without a fight". I wasn’t really joking. Neither was he. You see, it pains me to see these guys like this. Alan was only 47 years old! I just don’t get it. It’s obviously not something we can solve. I don’t have any misconceived ideas that we can do anything. In fact, I know from my own experiences, a guy has to want to quit and even then, well it’s a battle.

Apparently, Alan was at a friend’s apartment and had a massive heart attack around 1:00 in the afternoon this past Tuesday. His buddy called the appropriate authorities, but nothing could be done. I know he hasn’t been eating much for a while now. I can only imagine what mouthwash and other generic hygiene items that contain varying degrees of alcohol do to a guy’s internal organs. I’m sure it isn’t good. So we knew for a while that he wasn’t eating. And frankly I can’t remember the last time I saw him. It’s been a while. But he was a good guy and we’ll miss him greatly. Yet another example of a guy who fell through the cracks. I tried to find any information I could on the internet and found nothing. No obituary. No article. Nothing. Not a word. So another one of our friends is gone. Without a trace. I pray that his family here in town was able to find peace in this situation.

On the other side of this, I ran into another fellow today that is hanging in there with 2 months of sobriety. I saw him just after we started serving. Shortly after we prayed for Alan. And for Margie. Margie’s son-in-law was killed last week in Afghanistan. Margie is one of the sweetest people you could ever meet. She’s been helping us cook downtown for quite a while now. She works with me at UP. I put a few weekly want ads on the UP electronic bulletin board weekly looking for cooks, coats, and whatever. I’ll never forget Margie calling me way back and offering to cook. She has such a great disposition and is so willing to help. God has sent some warriors to us to help in this thing and Margie fits that nicely. And her faith is so strong. I have so much admiration for her and all those that help. It has been such a blessing to get to know her. And this week we got notice that her son-in-law was involved in a tragedy. And I felt so bad for her. Again, more of those things that you just can’t make sense of. So when my friend comes to me today to tell me of his 2 month sobriety anniversary, I was so thankful. From a selfish standpoint, it was just nice to have a bit of good news. And in light of what happened with Alan, anyone celebrating a bit of sobriety is goodness.

So Christian, our 30 year old 14 year old son (that makes sense, but only if you know Christian) drops this little nugget on me this morning. He spent the night with one of his buddies last night and they went to a Saturday service at Glad Tidings Church. The pastor gave them a definition of ministry. It was this – Ministry takes place when divine resources meet human needs through loving channels to the glory of God. I think the definition came from Warren Wiersbe. The point for me was that this sums it up pretty good for this little thing we do every week. Talk about divine resources? My gosh, I’ve seen things happen in two years on that downtown street corner that have just been amazing and can only have been orchestrated by God. Are we meeting human needs? We’re surely trying. And by the grace of God, we’ll keep on trying. Are we going through loving channels? I hope so. I think so. Robin probably more so than me. She so gets the compassion thing. And she was home sick today. She was so definitely missed. Especially when we were looking for a ladle to serve the soup! :) And most importantly, are we doing it to give glory to God. Absolutely. That’s one area that I’m sure of. Because I try over and over, probably to a fault, to let our friends know that no way would any of this be possible without God. None of it.

So in all of it today, I feel like God’s presence was abundant. It always is. The kids from St. Vincent DePaul were back. And they brought hundreds of socks, coats and all kind of other stuff. Organized and gathered by them for our friends. What an amazing testimony. And the cold weather, I mean the really cold weather held off. It was cold, but it was North Carolina cold. Not even close to Nebraska cold yet. That’s coming. The Lord willing, we’ll hang in there. If you are reading this and you don’t mind doing so, could you say a prayer for Margie’s family? And for Alan’s family? And that my friend would stay the course of his sobriety? And for this crazy ministry.

Rest in peace Alan. We'll miss you buddy...

"So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" Luke 17:10

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

Two Years? Are you kidding me?!!

Two years ago today, my beautiful wife, my crazy kids and myself embarked on a journey that was somewhat foreign to us all. I say that because we obviously had no idea what it was we were getting into. We knew nothing about homelessness. We still know very little about homelessness. But what I’ve come to realize over the course of two years is that this thing is not about homelessness. It’s so much more than that. I’ve told the story, probably hundreds of times, about us showing up that first Sunday with a pot of soup, a case of water and a desire to serve. Just had no idea where we were going or what we were getting into. Today? This day marked two years for us. It’s amazing to me that God would allow us to be a small part of this thing. But to give us sustenance for two years? We serve an amazing and faithful God. That much I know. Oh, I’ve learned more about homelessness than I than I could ever have imagined. I stayed in a shelter one night last year to get an idea of what it might be like. It was far beyond anything I could ever have imagined. I’ve learned that some of our friends live in tents down by the river. TENTS down by the river. In Nebraska. Year round. I’ve learned that winters mean we better have lots of coats. Lots of coats. And gloves. And socks. And stuff. I’ve learned that lots of our friends completely understand why we come. We come because God tells us to go. I’ve learned that people are people no matter the circumstance. That we are all pretty much the same, despite the fact that we sometimes look down on our friends and neighbors. I’ve learned that regardless of the environment, some some of us just don't get along on occasion. Doesn’t matter if it’s a work environment, school, neighborhood, family or just hanging out with our homeless or near homeless friends on a downtown street corner. People are just people. I have learned an immense amount of things over the course of two years. I’ve still got a boatload to learn. And I’ll keep on trying. But one thing I have learned for sure is that God is driving this thing and I am so unbelievably blessed beyond anything I deserve to be along for the ride.

So you know what we did today? We took a big old family picture. That’s right. After everyone had enough to eat, we all gathered on the steps of the Gene Leahy Mall and took a picture. The thought came to me this morning that we should do it. We did. I wanted every single individual on that corner to be in the picture. Lot’s of folks declined for various reasons. But lots of folks were more than willing to be a part. That was pretty cool. And it just reminded me that we’ve become a part of these people’s lives in some small way. That they accept us. And that is cool. Because they are us and we are them. Not to get all deep and philosophical here, but we are just no different. I’ve mentioned that before so many times, but it is so true. Two years ago? Maybe I thought differently. Now? Not so much. Two years ago I probably thought we were helping them. Now? It’s probably more the other way around.

In two years we seen friends come and go. I mentioned last week that Wade’s family came to help. What an amazing day. And today? A youth group from the Friendship Center drove in from Beaver City, Nebraska to help. You know how far Beaver City is from Omaha? 4 hours. And yet they came to help. They heard about this thing because of Wade’s death. So today they came. And entertained with a skit that showed us all how Christ takes our burdens and carries them for us. I stood next to Sammy as I watched the skit. Sammy was a former Golden Gloves boxing champion in our fine state. Today? He’s in various states of homelessness. And he lost his mother recently. Taking it hard, as can be expected. Great guy and just one example of the great people we’ve had the opportunity to come to know. It’s just been an amazing experience to be able to go down week in and week out and see the way God works through us all in this thing. He is an amazing God and it absolutely blows me away that He uses a dirty street corner in downtown Omaha to reach those of us that need Him most. And believe me, I need Him more than most. So maybe people see us coming and think that we are pastors or whatever. Little do they know I’m simply a busted, broken individual who is simply looking for some answers. And I do believe that is exactly how God wants us to come to Him. Broken. Busted. And in need. I was talking to a guy that mentioned to me how God had abandoned him. I had to tell him emphatically that God will never turn His back on us. Never. WE are the ones who do that. And yet, every single time we turn back, guess Who is waiting with open arms? I sometimes wonder why God would use us, especially me, in this ministry. Because my life has hardly been a testament to my faith. That’s for sure. I guess it simply lends credence to the fact that, as Robin is quick to say, He will use us wherever we are. When we moved back from Charlotte a couple of years ago, I was sure that He had a plan for us. Apparently He did. And He is using us in such a way that allows us to honor and glorify Him each and every week.

I know some people probably think we are crazy. And we are. For lots of reasons. I mean we are heading into the meat of winter here in Nebraska. And this is an outdoor ministry. So therefore, by default, we must be crazy. But man is this a good crazy! I can’t imagine doing anything different. I can’t imagine that day that I finally stand before God only to hear Him say "what were you thinking man…you totally missed it!" Now I’m not for one minute saying that I get it. Because I don’t. Mostly anyway. But one thing I’ve learned, among lots of others, is that He is full on in control. Totally and completely. For two years now, He’s been the sole and complete reason for us doing what we do. And I can’t imagine doing it any differently. I remember last winter thinking it was absolutely never going to get warm again. Global warming? Try six months of Nebraska winter and then tell me you think the earth is warming! Seriously, I thought it would never end. And here we are heading into another. And that’s ok. Not if you ask Robin, but it is what it is. It’s coming whether we are on board or not. Same thing with the work God is doing downtown. It’s happening. And we are on board. Fully.

So two years have come and gone. We’ve seen sadness with some of our friends leaving us way too early. We’ve seen friendships develop. Great friendships. And we’ve seen God work in great, great ways. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? All I know is I can’t wait to find out. God willing. And I pray that God will allow us to continue to go out and be the hands and feet of our Savior. In a real and tangible way. And that he will continue to bless us and those we serve in ways that are clearly of His doing. Two years? Whodathunkit?

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

The other side of homelessness...

I met an amazing family today. I hope they don’t mind that I use their names here, but to tell the story, I kind of have to. I met Mom, Twin Sister, Twin Sister’s Husband, Daughter 1, Daughter 2, Daughter 3 and Son. Oh, and Granddaughter. They came from Kansas, Lincoln and Kearney I believe. And they came to see what it was all about. This thing that God orchestrates every single Sunday on a downtown street corner in Omaha, Nebraska. I hope I’m not out of line writing this here, but I believe it was also a bit about closure. To a degree anyway. At least it would be for me. If my brother or father or son or grandfather spent some of his last months, weeks, days or hours with this group that gathers here each week. I’d like to think I know why they came. But the reasons have to be so vast and different, that I’m pretty sure I’d screw it up if I tried to list the reasons. I think, if you boil it all down, they simply wanted to see. To maybe get an idea of what it was like for this person that left us way too early. Way too early. I’ve written about this deal several times. And I’ve seen it play out several times over the past couple of years. Most recently, Papa Smurf left us. I knew this fellow as well as you can get to know someone within a couple hour time span once a week. Never did get his real name. Pretty sure it wasn’t Papa Smurf. And Bobby McGee was shortly before that. Can’t write or say his name without getting the Janis Joplin song stuck in my head. And now he’s gone. And Doug Etter. And The list goes on. And these are guys that I really believe fall through the cracks. They don’t have to leave us like this. Do they? What’s the deal? And then of course, there’s Wade. Like I said, I wrote a couple of times about Wade a few months ago. Camping on the old Beach at Lake Manawa State Park. I’ve heard several different stories about what happened with Wade. But however it happened, I keep asking myself why? And of course there is absolute silence. Because I don’t think we ever really find out why. At least not in this lifetime.

So today, Fay, Wendy, Bill, Lacey, Heather, Jordon, Isaac, and beautiful little Aza (that’s AAAAAAAAAAAAAA……ZZZZZZZ…AAAAAAA for those wondering how she spells it :) came to visit. I think I got the names right and to be honest I had to go back and re-read a few of the comments they posted on a blog site that I put this on. I had to go back. And when I did, I read some of those comments through tears. It just brought it all back to the forefront for me. Because it’s like this…all these guys we see downtown for that brief time on Sunday? They all belong to someone. And they ALL have a story as unique as you can imagine. But they all belong to someone. And Wade belonged to this family. And this story, for me anyway, just keeps growing. I feel like I know Wade so much better now than I did when he was with us. An in fact I do. I’ve found out what a great chef he was. What a great son he was. What a great brother he was. What a great father he was. What a great grandfather he was. And what a great friend he was. Now I’d be remiss if I painted this rosy picture. Because it wasn’t all goodness in the end for Wade. But it was what it was. And he left quite a legacy. I saw it first hand today. 3 incredibly beautiful daughters. A great looking son. A beautiful twin sister. A wonderful mother. An amazing little granddaughter. I met them all today. As I stood on the wall to make a few quick announcements, not the least of which was that St. James Untied Methodist Church from Bellevue cooked the entire meal today, I mentioned that everyone needed to be aware of the greatness that is God’s unbelievable faithfulness. That he provides us with all this each and every week. That he is the one and only reason we are able to so this with any sustenance each week. As I mentioned these things, I also mentioned that we had a few special visitors this week. And as I looked back to where Wendy was standing and I saw her tears, I choked up. I have to tell you, this thing we do each week is in my blood now. We are coming up on an anniversary of sorts. Next week will mark year two of this journey. And in that time, some pretty amazing things have happened. And I just sense God preparing us for even bigger things yet. I have no idea what that means. But I sense it. And better yet, I see things happening each week that make it so much more than a meal. So much more than a few items of clothing and hygiene items. So much more than I could have imagined two years ago when we first set off on this thing.

And today He brought us together with a family that lost one of theirs recently. Full circle if you will. And it was an amazing meeting for me. They were so grateful that we would go down and do this. I'd be crazy not to. I am so blessed to be able to go every week. I simply cannot imagine our lives without it. It’s become a fixture. And the people we come in contact with are the reason. Look, anyone can set out a meal. But when you do it in the name of God, it becomes an event and I only hope we are doing it justice in His name. That He smiles when he sees the tables coming out of the trailer each week. I pray that none of our friends ever has to leave us in this manner again. I pray that some Sunday we’ll show up and no one will be there. I can’t imagine that happening, but maybe someday it will. That all of our friends will have their own place, with all the food they need and enough to share with others. I pray that when I meet a family like the one I met today, it will be for all the good reasons.

It’s funny. I can almost guarantee that I would never have met these folks if Wade was still here. But he’s not. And today God blessed me with the other side of homelessness. The real side. The side that tells the story. What a painful, bittersweet day it must have been for them. I felt like I just wanted to spend the entire day with them. But I also wanted to stay back and just let them kind of figure things out. That’s probably what I would have wanted. So many questions. So few answers. But the bottom line here for me is that God’s grace is sufficient. Doesn’t make it easy. But it is the only way I can reconcile things.

Thanks to Wade’s family for coming today. Thanks to Wendy for bringing enough cookies from her bake shop to feed an army. Thanks to the folks at St. James for all their incredible efforts. And to all the folks who come every single week to help. Thanks for making it a wonderful day. At least as wonderful as it could be given the circumstances. As we said our goodbyes today, I couldn’t help but think what an amazing God we serve. Wade’s family was heading home. But not before a trip to the Old Beach at Lake Manawa. One final bit of closure I suppose. A few of Wade’s friends were going with. I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been. My prayers are with them as they try to deal with this.

This is from a devotional I read recently. It obviously reminded me of the first time I heard the starfish story…
********
Too often we do not allow ourselves to be used by God in practical means. This reminds me of a story I once heard: A boy had gone down to the seashore following a great storm. There lying on the beach, washed up by the giant surf were hundreds and thousands of starfish, all of which were dying. The boy ran down to the shore and began picking them up one at a time and throwing them back into the water. A man came along and asked, "Boy, what are you doing?" The boy answered simply, "Saving starfish!" The man was shocked and responded, "You've got to be kidding, there are far too many, you can't hope to make a difference." The boy held a starfish in his hand and threw it back into the ocean as he said, "I made a difference for that one!"
********

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Whatever you do, make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

Boundaries

Crazy windy day today. And the temps are starting to drop. It’s Nebraska. It’s October. It’s expected. Poor Robin absolutely is not ready for the change that is coming. And it’s coming. I can feel it in the air. And in the trailer. Starting to fill that crazy thing with coats every week. As many as I can get in there and still have room for everything else. Ever wonder what it would be like to not have a winter coat? In a place like this where winter can be really brutal? I’ve been blessed to not have to worry about such things pretty much. But some of our friends showed up today without a coat on. And it’s not even winter yet. Barely fall. And did I mention that it was pretty darn windy today? And cold? Poor Margie was trying to deal out the chili and I think as much was blowing on the front of her shirt as was getting in the bowls. Now obviously I’m exaggerating, because Margie is a trooper and is such a warrior in this thing, but the wind was winning the battle today.

I got a call yesterday that caused me a bit of stress. Self inflicted of course. The call had as much to do with boundaries and self imposed limitations as anything else. I’ve mentioned before how I sometimes struggle with doing the right thing in certain situations. Don’t we all? Well our friend Doug called yesterday around noon. I was of course watching my Cornhuskers struggle with the mighty Baylor Bears at the time, so my stress level was already a bit up there. That’s another story for another day. So anyway, Doug calls and he has a problem. First of all, Doug "lives" down on the river. In a tent. Now he’s attempting to build some kind of temporary shelter, but as it stands now and has for well over a year now, his "home" is a tent. On the river. He managed to make it through an entire winter last year and I have no idea how he did it. His sole source of heat last year was candles. Imagine living in a two or three man tent in this climate and your only source of heat is candles? I can’t imagine. So anyway, it seems as though there is a bit of a ruckus in his "neighborhood" Friday. Some fellow decided to attack Doug a couple of different times. He manages to get out of the area and find a different place to stay on Friday night. He is afraid to go back because of the threat he perceives to still be there. He comes right out and asks if he can stay at our house for a night. No beating around the bush with Doug. I stammer and try to figure out how I’m going to answer this one. I can come up with a hundred different reasons for not letting this thing go any farther. And they might all sound pretty lame. But the one thing that always stays at the forefront of my mind is the fact that I’m the provider for my family. I’ve been entrusted to provide for, take care of and do all those things that a husband/father is supposed to do. But biblically, I wrestle with the fact that we are supposed to open our homes to strangers. However, I have a wife and a beautiful daughter. Not to mention my boys. I simply cannot bring someone into my house and risk the potential problems? Or can I? Or should I? And at what point do we do something like that? Or do we at all? Do we do it after we’ve known a friend for a couple of months? A year? Two years? I obviously have no answers here.

Robin and I have had this conversation on various other occasions. Do we open our house to so and so and help them out? Do we let Joe the Homeless Plumber into our house and pray that it will be the right thing? We’ve not done that to date. We’ve probably had a couple of different occasions where this very opportunity might have arisen. But I’m always the one that puts the kibosh on it right away. Because there is a strong sense of protectionism within me that rises immediately and squelches any desire to help in this manner. I’m just not there yet. It’s as much a sense having boundaries as anything for me. I’m just not there. I sincerely hope that it is just that and not some other silly selfish reason.

Had another great conversation with my friend Magundat today. He is just an amazingly genuine fellow. And our conversation tied right into my issues from yesterday. And today. How far do we go in our quest to help? How much do we do? My guess is more than we are currently doing. As Magundat asked me today – What would Christ do? Why do people have to ask such hard questions? Especially when already know the answer. The easy answer.

So Doug didn’t stay at our house. And probably won’t anytime soon. He managed to hook up with another fellow that was once homeless and now has a weekly room. Probably better for all. But what kind of message did we send Doug? I have several things I want to sit down and talk about with Doug. Like how in the world he thinks he can make it through another winter on the river. Like how can we help him get out of this situation and into a place of his own. But most of all, to let him know that we really do care. I’m just not there yet. I’m trying. I’m working on it. Just not quite to that place in this crazy journey.

Romans 12:9-21 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

An Amazing Incarnational Opportunity? (how's that for a title?)

So I didn’t write a blog last week. I was a little under the weather. Woke up last Saturday feeling a little rough and it carried over for several days. So last Sunday was my first sick day. Unpaid. The main thing I was concerned about was having something like strep throat and bringing it down and spreading it around to our friends. Last thing they need is to have a nasty case of something like that running rampant in the shelter. We like taking stuff down to help, but strep throat really isn’t something that we want to be so free with. But a pretty cool thing happened. We decided to take only the van and not the trailer. Robin has never pulled the trailer and it’s not like she couldn’t do it, but we decided to go light last Sunday so they wouldn’t have to pick up too much slack for my sick butt. I helped Christian get the van in order and get it ready to go. And he and Robin led the charge. As they were leaving to go, I was going to mention to Christian that maybe he could lead the prayer in my absence. But I didn’t want Robin to feel as though I was micromanaging and if I’m not there and she is, she normally leads. So I didn’t say anything. When they returned from the day’s activities, Robin told me something that made me even prouder yet to be Christian’s dad. He actually took it upon himself to stand in my place and lead the brief announcements and prayer. Robin said he did a great job. Of that I have no doubt. It’s amazing to see your kids do that sort of thing. Sometimes we just do our thing as parents and we hope our kids get it. We tell them some things over and over and over, hoping that it will sink in. Other times? We have to simply do those things that God leads us to do and hope that our kids get it. He does. And I could not have been more proud as a father to know that.

So here I sit early on Sunday morning trying to get my head in the game for the day. I have to catch a flight out of town this afternoon for work, so my goal is to get out of the downtown area maybe a little early today. Not too early though. Because we have some really cool things happening. Seems the youth group at St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church is coming back again today. They are bringing all the desserts for the meal today. More importantly, they are bringing a heart for service. They’ve been down before, as a group. And several of the young ladies in the group have been down on their own. It’s been amazing for me to watch this thing over the couple of years that we’ve been at it. We’ve seen people from all denominations, people with no faith background, and many in between. But the nice thing is we’ve seen God continue to send people to help. They might come once. They might come every week. And he’s sent us some warriors who stick it out through all sorts of weather and whatever else. But the coolest thing is He keeps sending them. I’ll never forget when we first started going down there how I used to wonder where the people and the resources would come from. Now don’t get me wrong, I always knew Who was in charge and He’s proved it countless times to this thick headed individual. I was talking to a fellow the other day who s involved with Metro Marketplace Ministry in the downtown Omaha area. We were just talking about things and he reiterated something that I’ve learned over the last few years. We simply have to show up and try not to get in the way and let Him lead. It’s what He does. When I try to do things my way? I usually end up pulling myself out of a ditch wondering where I made the wrong turn. When I get out of the way and let God lead, amazing things happen. River of Life Church is coming back down today also. Great people. And I’d guess some of the great folks from Papio Creek Church will be there. They usually show up also. I think that is also one of the cooler things that has manifested itself here. I was talking to someone yesterday and we were talking about how people get involved. It’s pretty simple. All they have to do is show up. No bureaucracy, no real rules to speak of. Just have to come down. There are some obvious logistical concerns from time to time, like making sure we have enough meals, but that is the main concern. All the rest is fair game. Especially from a relational standpoint. Our friends usually outnumber us, so the more people we can get to come down who simply want to help build relationships the better. That is the biggest need as I see it.

Here’s another great thing that’s happened just in the last week. A few weeks ago, I think I wrote about a church that came down once a month and handed out sack lunches on Sundays. St. James Untied Methodist Church is the church responsible for doing this. They have a ministry called Break the Bread and they pack a few hundred lunches once a month and deliver them to various places. We got an email from the youth director at St. James recently and they want to partner with us once a month and provide the entire meal. That is amazing. I literally pray all the time that God will continue to send resources and man does He come through. Constantly. So beginning on November 1, they will be supplying a hot meal to our friends once a month. That is way cool.

I’m going to steal something from a pastor here in town. I read this recently and it struck me as so true. It’s from a fellow by the name of Kip Mickelson and I believe it was a part of a recent sermon. "There is a Chinese proverb which says: Go to the people, live with them, love them, learn from them, start with what they know and build on what they have. This is incarnational ministry. This is what Jesus did. He was the Word who became flesh. He came to dwell among us full of grace and truth. This is the model these missionaries follow. However, it is not just for missionaries, it is a model for all of us as we live our lives in our communities. We may not be called to cross the ocean, but we may be asked to cross the street. We become "the Word made flesh" as we reach out in love, full of grace and truth." What this tells me is that when we are called to "cross the street", we need to make sure we hear and follow. Amazing things can and do happen when we do so. When we feel that urge to do something in the name of our Lord, we should probably do it. Probably not hearing voices. It’s probably the Spirit nudging us to follow through on part of the bigger picture. The Plan. Gotta hear it. Gotta do it. And when we do, look out. Because the ride can be pretty unbelievable at times. Yet so totally believable.

*** A note….

As I mentioned earlier, I wrote most of this early this morning as I have to catch a flight this afternoon. Just wanted to post a quick update. This was an amazing day. There must have been 200 or more people there today. Lots of need. But lots of others stepping up to help. River of Life Church? Check. St. Vincent DePaul Church? Check. Papio Creek Church? Check. What an amazing opportunity to help. And all it takes is a little effort, a little time and a desire to serve. I am nothing short of amazed that God has opened this opportunity. I certainly wish we’d show up and the corner would be empty. That would maybe mean that homelessness and poverty would be over. Or the food suddenly became bad! That probably ain’t happening anytime soon. So here we are. Almost two years into this thing and we get to do it every week. With all sorts of different people from all walks of life. None of it is coincidental. Of that I’m sure.

1 John 3:17-18
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

Discernment or Paralysis by Analysis?`

Last Sunday I met a young lady who was stuck here in Omaha, living under a bridge on . I believe she told me she was from Cedar Rapids, IA. Apparently she came here with a boyfriend, things didn’t work out and now she’s stranded here. She met a another guy and wanted to go to Lincoln with him. Problem was neither one of them had the funds to get there. She’d done her homework though. The bus tickets for the both of them was, I believe $37. Could we help her get there? I have to tell you, I struggle with these kinds of requests. I always wonder if the person asking is being totally square with me. And I think if I was on the other end, I’d maybe do whatever was necessary to get where I needed to go. Now this girl was clearly new to the area. Or at least new to our area. I’d never seen her before to be sure. But she needed help and word gets out quick that maybe a person could get a little help on that corner on Sunday. So I get all the information I can from her last Sunday. All she has for contact information is an email address. I won’t put her email address here for obvious reasons, but she was raised in an admittedly very pagan environment and part of her email address is wytch and there’s a 666 in it also. Now that is just bizarre to me, but whatever. So I get home and look up the price for a bus ticket to Lincoln and I try to figure out what to do. I mean it’s cheap enough that if a person got temp work for a few days, that person would have enough to get there on her own. Right? So I email her and tell her to call me. She does. On Tuesday. And this time she tells me that the tickets are now $22. Now I don’t know but I’m thinking that I’d find a way to get $22 if I really wanted to go somewhere. But that’s just me. So I ask her a million questions on the phone…"can’t you get a little temp work, can’t a family member send you the money"…all the usual questions a person thinks of I guess. I’ll be real honest. I really didn’t think we should help her. As if I should be the one making that kind of judgment. I mean, who am I to make this kind of decision for her? Sometimes I wonder about myself… So at this point I can tell she is getting a little flustered with me and I still can’t make a stinking decision. Apparently when she called, she was at some type of shelter and she was looking for some dinner. I tell her to get something to eat and call me back. She never does.

So Robin and I head out to our Tuesday group with our friends at the Vine. And as "luck" would have it, they are talking about this young lady. Seems she’d been there the week before and was looking for help from them also. So now I’m really not sure what to do. I mean it’s what I’d spend on a couple of large pizzas for my family and for some reason I’m suffering from paralysis by analysis. Good grief. So she shows up again today. And I tell her like usual to hang around and we’d talk after the meal was served and all the clothing was put out and all that stuff. I never want that stuff to get in the way of an important situation, but it’s hard to have any kind of a meaningful conversation while we are trying to get everything set up and served. Soooooo, as we are wrapping things up, someone comes up to me with a couple of bags of stuff to donate. This person has come down today for the first time to help out and she also brought some clothing and stuff to donate. And she also happened to hand me a twenty dollar bill for whatever. So guess what whatever that twenty went to? I guess her generosity answered any questions I may have had. You see the thing is, I seem to have a hard time in the discernment department. I struggle with who to help, when to help, when to try to understand if it’s in our best interests and the other person’s best interest. Sometimes I just don’t know. So after stumbling with this for a week, and while this young lady continued to sleep wherever she could lay her head, God hit’s me upside my rather large melon today and answered the question for me. Like I’ve said before, I could screw up a one man funeral. Thank God He’s there to give me guidance.

I had a long conversation with a friend of ours today. Seems this fellow is angry with God and wanted to talk to someone about it. The details of why he is angry are personal, but some things have happened to him over the course of his life that have made him a bit angry. And he wants to know if Robin and I can help in that department. I don’t know…can we? I mean, I tried to explain to him some things I’ve come to know over the years. But this fellow has had some crazy things happen to him and he wants to know why God lets these things happen. That’s always a tough one for me. I mean there are tons of different answers you could get from different people regarding "why God lets bad things happen to good people". I obviously don’t know where this will go, but one thing he said stuck out to me. He said he’s gone to churches and asked for help. Now I don’t know what churches and I don’t know what help. But he said he was tired of asking for help from people who go to church on Sunday and don’t live the rest of the week like they do on Sunday. He had a few choice words for sure, and there was some pent up anger. But it’s the first time I’ve had a real conversation with him and it was real. He was angry and it was a real emotion. Justified? I have no idea. I guess I’ll find out in the coming weeks.

And today we had another amazing meal. But the amazing thing I see in this is God continually sending people to help. Amazing people. People who bring ice cream and homemade apple crisp for around 200 people. That is amazing. I am simply blown away that someone would go out of their way to bring something like that for our friends. And I saw some folks with bowls that were busting out with the good stuff. Amazing. God does so many amazing things in this ministry and sometimes it’s easy to miss some of them. A young lady needs money to go to Lincoln. Another person just "happens" to show up with the same amount today for a donation? And I’m struggling to make a decision around this thing. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Look, we don’t preach to our friends. Not in so many ways. But for the most part, I’m convinced that they clearly understand why we come. Another gentleman that I’ve come to really enjoy talking with, came up to me and handed me a sheet of paper that contained a devotional. He gave it to me because he said it reminded him of Robin and me. He’s an older fellow from Africa and he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Ever. He just happens to be homeless. Part of that devotional, which was written by John Henry Newman, contained the following – ‘Let me preach You without preaching, not by words but by example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for You". That’s been our deal from day 1. That our actions would speak loudly, but that they would definitely be evident. That our friends would clearly, and without a doubt know, that we are there because God sends us. It really is that simple. We are truly blessed to be there. It’s stressful, it’s tiring and sometimes I wonder how in the world we can keep going. But then I spend a Sunday afternoon down on that corner and I am able to quit wondering for at least a day or so. God truly carries the burden and I can simply be the person he created me to be for now. John Adams said, "The duty is ours, the results are God’s." I’ll go with that.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

An old friend is being "redesigned"...

So today was a little different for us as our normal spot in the park has been destroyed and looks more like a war zone than our normal Sunday gathering spot. Seems the city of Omaha has begun the process of removing the trees from and redesigning that corner. They moved pretty quickly to get this going. My guess is they moved so swiftly so as to avoid any kind of obstruction to the project. I mean, anyone who knows how a city government operates knows that this kind of thing doesn’t happen overnight. Yet in this case, they did almost that. The funny thing about it is they did it under the guise of allowing downtown business people the opportunity of having "lunch alfresco" in the park. Now I work downtown. Not sure I remember the last time anyone in my office mentioned the phrase "lunch alfresco". In fact, I’ve never heard that phrase. The fact of the matter is that our homeless friends are unsightly to some and they’d probably just as soon push them to another part of the city. Now maybe that’s not the case and maybe it is. I don’t know. I do know that one of the other reasons mentioned was the colossal amount of bird poop in the park and on the sidewalks from the starlings in the park. And it was a lot. But I’m not sure that’s the best reason to hack down 20 or 30 mature trees and kick ‘em to the curb. Maybe a good power washing would be more cost effective? Those trees provided so much shelter from the sweltering summer sun. So often during the summer, Id comment to anyone who’d listen as to how much shade they provided. At any rate, we had to shift our whole operation today about a half a block south and do His thing a little differently. The main thing for us though was to remember that we have a distinct reason for being there. One of the things that got us down to that corner in the first place was the fact that doing something like this would get us out of our comfort zone. Well guess what’s kind of happened for us over the past couple of years? We’d perhaps fallen into a bit of a comfort zone on that very corner. How bizarre is that? And now we had to remove ourselves from that comfort zone, that place that we’ve been able to call home for a few hours each week for the past couple of years and rethink how we were going to do it. Funny, that. So today I made a point of not over thinking it. Oh we had lots of different opinions on what we should do. How we should set things up. Where we should set things up. One individual was fairly persistent in voicing his opinion. I’ll leave that for another day. Anyway, we got going right about our normal time and things went very well. Funny how that happens when we don’t try to over think things. I mean, it’s not like we have any control over this stuff. We simply need to be the hands and feet. Definitely not the brain. Not my strong suit for sure.

So it was a pretty normal Sunday. If anything associated with this thing qualifies as normal. I mean, what is normal? Pretty ambiguous term really. Here’s the thing. I’ve gotten to know about a couple hundred or more people over the past couple of years. People I definitely would not have become acquainted with otherwise. And it all happened under a stand of trees in a park in downtown Omaha. Right across the street from the office I where I work. And in the same vicinity where literally tens of millions of dollars are being spent tearing down existing buildings so tens and sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars can be spent erecting brand new condo and office towers. Yet each and every Sunday I have people, adults mind you, asking me for help acquiring new shoes. Needing a winter coat. Winter boots. Socks. And there are probably tons of things we haven’t even thought of yet. The dichotomy is bizarre to me. I mean this thing we do can be so simple. I used a young lady’s report a few weeks ago to display what others see in this thing we do every week. She came today with the most amazing poster board presentation. And on the outside, around the edges of the tri-fold poster that she’d constructed were the following lyrics to a popular song…"If everyone cared and nobody cried, If everyone loved and nobody lied, If everyone shared and swallowed their pride, Then we'd see the day when nobody died…". I guess I look around and wonder what this crazy world would look like if everyone maybe cared just a little more. Even back to the doggone trees. As I read her presentation, and I have to tell you she did an amazing job on this thing, I was amazed at what she was able to capture with just a few well placed pictures and a few well written words. And the fact that we’ve gathered under those trees weekly for almost two years without fail had me feeling a little sad about the fact that our weekly gatherings were now going to be different. No more shade in the summer when the sun is beating us down. And more importantly, no more shade for our friends. Now I’ve seen artist renderings of what the corner will look like when it’s completed and I’m actually mildly excited about the prospects. But do we really need to spend a truckload of money on something that was fine to begin with when there is so much need right here in our city? I simply hope that they don’t attempt to move us to a different part of the city like they do our homeless friends. Because I don’t think we’re going anywhere. And I pray that they don’t ask us to leave. We’ll cross that bridge when and if necessary, but needless to say, we are in for the long haul. I had to make sure our friends knew that today. Seems that someone told them last week we wouldn’t be there. So I made sure to reiterate that unless they hear it directly from Robin or myself, or they happen to catch Gabriel steppin’ out on a cloud blowin’ that sweet, sweet sound, then they should be there. Because, the Lord willing, we’ll be there.

So it feels almost like an old friend is gone today. Not to be overly dramatic, but it just seemed odd as I looked at Mickaela’s presentation and looked at the pictures and just thought back to all the crazy things that have happened on that corner. And that is strictly from a selfish standpoint. That doesn’t even take into account the feelings I get when thinking about how our friends have now lost yet another place to escape from the heat and whatever other weather is thrown at them. I guess what it boils down to for me is I really don’t like change. Especially change that I have no say in. As if I have any say so in anything anyway. I’m sure this will turn out well. I even said as much to several people today. In fact I can’t wait to see what changes they have in store for us on that corner. But since it was the place where we made our first attempt at this sort of thing, the place where we first felt led to do His work and the place where we now have so many memories, I’ll always have a soft spot for it. Thankfully, we have lots of pictures. And now we’ll have to make new memories. With our friends and family. On 14 and Douglas. Every Sunday at noon.

And my friend Eric asked me a strange question today. The question went something like this…"Dave, you know how when someone thanks you for something and you point upward? What do people in Australia do in that case?" And I think he was mildly serious. I had no answer…I just laughed.

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)

Just gotta do something?

So today was another spectacular day to be downtown in the park. Hanging out with our friends. Weather was great. Food was great. A couple hundred services or more of enchiladas, Spanish rice, and all the fixings that go along with a meal like that. And the Youth Group from St. Vincent DePaul Church came down and brought enough deserts to choke a stable of horses! Amazing how that works. They were great to have down there too. Something about young kids and a desire to help and their desire to be on fire for His causes. I talked to one young lady who expressed her amazement at what was going on down there. She mentioned that her youth group was going to try to do something monthly. I’m not sure if she meant they were going to come and serve with us monthly or not. But she was so convinced that she needed to come down more often. It’s so cool to see younger folks who get it. There is a huge problem in our city and I don’t k now how to address the issue as it relates to solving the problem. But I know that we can all do a little something to show we care. If everyone did a little something…

There was another couple who came down today and I believe they were with the youth group. I believe the lady works at Creighton University here in Omaha. Her words, and I have to paraphrase, were that she simply could not believe something like this could be happening in our own city. That there was a homelessness problem of this proportion right here in our city. Creighton is in the middle of spending millions of dollars purchasing buildings in the area north of downtown and east of their campus. She said she couldn’t believe that they were spending all that money and what are we doing for the people of our city? Now this conversation was relayed to me, but I have to believe that’s not an uncommon perception. I just don’t think people realize the extent of the problem in this city as it relates to homelessness and poverty. Again, if everyone just did a little something…

Last Thursday, Robin and I had a change to share the story of what God is doing in His ministry work, through us, in the downtown community. We had the opportunity to share with a group called Metro Marketplace Ministry. It’s a group who works to connect others in the business community to share Christ in the workplace. So we were able to share what God is doing in our lives and in the downtown community as we see it. One of the more interesting things that came of this meeting, at least to me, was the following story that was shared with us. After we spoke, a younger fellow shared a story with us. He mentioned that he knew one of the fellows that was in our video. Has known him for a few years now. And I wrote of this guy, unknowingly, a few weeks ago. Seems this guy comes over into Omaha from Council Bluffs every Sunday morning and gives our friend John a small donation. 5 bucks. 10 bucks. 20 bucks. Whatever he can spare I suppose. A few weeks ago, he had to navigate a field to find John. Seems John had overslept. I wrote about this already, so I’ll spare the details. The point of it all? Well, first of all, John is agnostic. So he doesn’t quite share our views on Christianity. Yet his friend that comes over every week is Christian. As are we. And John knows that. Not because we beat him up with the Gospel every week. Not because we hold our friends captive each week as we preach a message. That just doesn’t happen. We pray together. And even our agnostic friends respect that. At least outwardly. Now I like John a lot and we’ve had a couple of conversations around this whole thing. But even though our views are different when it comes to what we believe, John definitely knows what we believe. And he respects it. So at our meeting last week, this fellow speaks of John and we now know who John’s Sunday friend is. This is the guy that John has told us about. The guy that shows up each week with a bit of help for John. And John has told him about us. And said that we needed to hook up. This just struck me because Robin and I both knew who he was talking about without a name being mentioned. So in all of it, some things become a little clearer to me. The simple fact that His Word never goes out void. I know that might be the pat answer from a Christian perspective, but I believe it with all I know. And when our actions are His actions, that speaks pretty loudly also. So even though we preach no message to our friends on Sundays, they know where it all comes from, and it certainly ain’t from us. So it was interesting to say the least, that this guy would relate this story to us and confirm what God is always impressing upon us. If we will simply go out and attempt to be a bit of His light in a dark spot, He will indeed shine through us to the point that people will maybe see a glimpse of Him. Now don’t get me wrong. I could screw up a one man funeral if given the right opportunity. But that’s the great thing about working for the Big Guy Himself. We don’t have to worry about the small stuff. He takes care of it. And give us confirmation if we are only willing to listen. We just have to do something. It doesn’t have to be this huge "outreach" project. It simply has to be something from the heart and something that is done to glorify and honor God. We know if our hearts are right, He’ll lead it and in a way that will constantly and consistently blow our doors in. That’s just how He works. Just gotta do a little something…

Finally, I met a couple fellows from the University of Nebraska at Omaha today. They are from Campus Crusade for Christ. I think they just happened upon us today. But they were amazed at what they saw. They were talking to a few of our friends and they told them to come over and introduce themselves to me. We had a great conversation and of course I asked them to do a coat drive for us. Or a sock drive. Or a whatever drive. Just do something. I think they will. Because this isn’t our thing. It’s His thing. And everyone can get involved and help out in someway. It’s not about the socks or the coats or the meal. I know I’ve mentioned that on several occasions, but I mean it. It’s not about that stuff. It’s about His stuff. And it’s about us taking ownership of a problem in our city that isn’t going away anytime soon if we don’t all chip in a do a little something. For instance we learned this week that the city is considering removing all the trees from the park to alleviate a growing problem. I know I’m going off on a tangent here, but hang with me. So they are trying to rid this park of a growing problem. You want to know what the problem is? Bird poop. Yep, bird poop. That’s the official explanation. But you know what those trees provide? Cover from the heat in the summer for our friends. But they are also a nesting place for starlings. Lots of them. So instead of addressing that problem, let’s just remove the trees from the park. Wouldn’t want "trees" in a "park" now would we? Or maybe they don’t want our friends to have a place to go to get out of the summer heat. Look, I know it’s a problem. But how about addressing the real problem here? So we remove the trees and the homeless guys are just going to disappear? Probably not. So I’m talking to the guys from Campus Crusade and they are in. They want to help in some tangible way. They say they’ll contact us at some point. I wonder if they know any tree huggers? :) We might need to enlist a group to help. I don’t think Robin is going to go down without a fight on this one. We both kind of laughed at the description in the paper the other day. Seems with all the bird poop, the local business community can’t enjoy a "lunch alfresco" in the park because of the stench. I don’t know. We enjoy a "lunch alfresco" (whatever that is) every Sunday at noon. Along with 150 or so of our friends. Doesn’t seem to bother any of us...

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Go out and make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)