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… :)