Something to Say

There’s a song on a playlist that I listen to when I run. It’s a popular song by Matthew West called Something to Say. The chorus goes like this:

You got something to say
If you're livin', if you're breathin'
You got something to say
And you know if your heart is beatin'
You got something to say
And no one can say it like you do
God is love and love speaks through
You got it, you got it
You got something to say

And there’s one other little piece of the lyric that always catches my ear:

Listen up, I got a question here
Would anybody miss you if you disappeared?
Well your life is the song that you sing
And the whole wide world is listening

So that’s the deal. The whole world is listening to our song. And we’ve all got something to say. The question is, how do we say it?

About 100 weeks ago, I started an attempt to capture what happens, through my eyes, on a weekly basis on our downtown corner. So this marks my 100th blog. To those of you that have read them all, I am so sorry to have put you through it all! :) The nice thing is I haven't had to count them all or I never would have known this was 100. The sites I post on keep track of such things, so that's how I knew. It's not the number that is significant. And it's definitely not my goofy, rambling thoughts that are significant. What is important to me in all of this is that it gives me occasion to keep track of some of the amazing things God is doing and has done on a downtown street corner here in this great city of Omaha.

Robin and I (and now Christian and Britta) have been attending for some time, a weekly community/bible study/small group called The Vine. At last Tuesday's gathering, we were discussing Omaha, our community. At one point the discussion centered on what is right and what is wrong in our community. One of the fellows in our group, who has very strong feelings about some of these things, went off on a bit of a run about what is wrong in our community. And there is plenty to go off on in that regard, as I'm sure there is in most communities. But there are also a lot of good things happening. As another fellow reminded me the following morning. In a phone call and with a heavy heart, our friend reminded me that God is indeed doing some rather amazing things in this city. Really amazing things. I see them weekly on our corner. And it should be noted that Robin and I met both of the individuals I just referred to on that very corner where we serve weekly. Both were homeless when we met them. Neither is now. Their circumstances have nothing to do with us. But here's the simple fact of the matter - both have their own place now and we pick both of them up on a regular basis and attend a weekly community gathering where we can discuss the relevant issues in our lives and how God is working in those situations. And it is such a diverse group. From, literally, guys living in tents or under bridges, to us, living in our comfortable, suburban home. And somehow, we all have the same issues. Strange how that happens.

It's amazing to me that a simple pot of soup and a desire to serve has led us to this point in time. That we met some fellows in a place in the park, known affectionately to the guys in the park as The Office. And that we were accepted into The Office. And for the most part, they've accepted us for who we are. And we, them. We've seen good friends leave us way too early. But we've seen others completely understand why we come. I've been able to write about my night at a local homeless shelter. I've been able to write of various conversations that have taken place on that corner. Of life changing situations that bring a person to homelessness. O out of it. I've been able to write of our own family situations. Good and bad. I've been blessed to be able to keep a running weekly journal of our activities downtown and it surprises me sometimes to go back and read some of them. I was amazed at how a simple blog, my crazy, sometimes incoherent thoughts, manifested into a place for a family to come and grieve and celebrate at the same time. I've been able to thank certain people for their faith and commitment. I've been awed by how God works in some of the smallest details. Here's a for instance. Two weeks ago, a fellow who volunteers on a fairly regular basis, shows up with several large bags of clothing, etc. That happens all the time. But what made one of these bags significant is how the contents of the bag brightened the eyes of a child. We don't see that many kids, but we do see them occasionally. This particular day, a young girl showed up with her mom and a person we later found to be a case worker. Or at least that's the story we got. The little girl was probably 10 or so and had no boots on, but rather what looked like a pair of summer shoes. This was a day where boots were definitely in order. As I struggled at the back to the trailer to distribute hats, gloves, socks, etc., Robin approaches me and lets me know of this child's need. So I look in one of the bags, having no idea what was in it, and of course there was a pair of boots that were her size. I cannot tell you how many times things like that happen. And there were stuffed animals in the bag also. I pulled one out, in the middle of all the seeming chaos that was happening around me and this little girl’s eyes absolutely lit up. Seems like that's how God works sometimes. In the smallest of details and there is just no way I could ever keep track of every single thing that happens down there each week. I try, but it would take a day of writing to do that. Just another example of a simple act that may someday have an impact for Christ. Maybe.

I'd like to take a minute here to mention someone that I don’t do nearly often enough. My beautiful wife, Robin. She'd deflect it, but without her, this thing wouldn't look nearly the same, if it even existed at all. Her compassion is fairly limitless. I've read and heard things lately where people seem to want to give me a lot of credit for what we do. First and foremost, this is obviously God's ministry. We are simply the lucky ones who show up. But Robin is the one that keeps me in check and keeps this thing humming. When I want to cut a corner here or there, I get a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit, who sometimes looks amazingly like Robin. I hate when that happens, but I also love it because it keeps me grounded. And she is so good at what she does. God definitely knew what He was doing when He chose her. She demands excellence in all areas. And I've learned so much from her. I thank God daily for marrying up. Man does He know how to pick 'em! And to think she was once my cocktail waitress and I was playing in the band! I just have to laugh at the thought of where we were and how far He's carried us. Amazing!

So 100 blogs later, it’s a blog about blogs. And about how God is working in our community. And how I'm so amazingly blessed to be a small part of it. And how we all have something to say. The question remains…how will we say it?

And one last thing. A quick update. I mentioned a few weeks ago that one of our friends was in the park with what looked like frostbite on her legs. I saw her today and her legs looked better. She even raised her pant leg and showed me. Still looked a little rough, but better. Thank God.

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

…it matters to that one… :)

A 5 minute walk

The rich and the poor have a common bond, The Lord is the maker of them all. ~Proverbs 22:2

I often wonder what the difference is between us and our friends downtown. I mean there are obvious differences. Age. Sex. Whatever. But what is the real difference. We live in the suburbs. Most of our friends downtown either live in a shelter or a weekly rooming house or a lower end apartment. So that’s another obvious difference. We might have different spiritual beliefs. We might believe in different politics. Whatever. But what are the real differences? I ask myself this question occasionally and I usually come to the same answer. Or sometimes, like today, I have more questions. Is it purely circumstances? Choices? Coincidence? That’s one I don’t have a whole lot of belief in. I just don’t think there are a lot of coincidences. I think sometimes the things we classify as coincidences are usually either a result of choices made or sometimes they are simply God’s divine will. However that really works. No matter the difference, at least outwardly, we are all created by the same Creator. He created us all in Him image. That much I know. So while we are all created uniquely, we are definitely created by the same Creator. It struck me today as I talked to a friend…

I took a walk from our new corner to our old corner today. It wasn’t a walk in the park, so to speak. A friend asked me as I was going through the serving line if he could have five minutes of my time. Well of course, that’s what we’re there for. Now I have to make a confession here. There are times on that corner, most times actually, that I really have a hard time focusing on specific conversations. There seems to be so much happening at any given time that I usually am fairly distracted. Not to mention, I’m usually wondering where the heck my kids are and what kind of trouble they might be discovering. Today? Erin, Jennifer and Turbo made a snowman family. To include a snowdog. Frosty, Frostina and their snowdog. So as I ramble here, that is pretty much how my mind works down there, except it is in some kind of weird hyper mode. Today, a friend asked me to take a walk. Ironically, we walked to our old corner, about a block away, where there are no more trees. Only grass and a few fake Christmas trees left over from the holiday season. As we walked and talked, I came to the realization once again that we are all the same. His struggles were my struggles. And if we are all honest, especially deep within ourselves and when no one else is looking, we all have struggles. Some deep. Some dark. But we all heave ‘em. I know I do. So once again, God was able to use me, I hope, to make at least a little sense to this fellow. I really have to be careful and I try not to get too psychological, because that’s not my gig. I just tried to relate to him that his struggles were no different than mine. And I swear it was all I could do to stay focused on the moment. Just listen. Sometimes that’s one of the hardest things for me. And it has to be fairly intentional. Because sometimes, and I have to be completely honest here, sometimes the conversations make no sense to me at all. Depending on the person and their sate of mind, there are things said that just make absolutely no sense whatsoever. For instance (and there’s always a for instance), I bet I spent 10 minutes listening to a young lady talk about the band Slipknot. I have no idea how that conversation started, and I was REALLY distracted during the conversation, because I’m not even familiar with the band’s music. It was obviously important enough for her to talk about it for 10 minutes, but I really wasn’t getting it. But there are other moments where a person just needs someone to listen. And maybe needs a little follow through.

So as we talked, I simply hope I was able to make a little sense. And then we prayed. Just the two of us. And before we prayed and as we talked, I just kept looking back down the street at all the activity. Kept thinking that I needed to keep an eye on the time to get done all the things I needed to get done. As if I were on some kind of schedule. But I wasn’t on a schedule. It was just me and him away from all the chaos and we prayed. On our old corner. And it felt right. And as we walked back it seemed right. I felt as though God had been with us. And that He gave me the right words. Because in all actuality, I’m such a rookie at all this. Anyone who knew me a few short years ago, they’d know that this would be a bit of a stretch for that Dave. But God has a strange way of infecting us with His will and when we listen, it seems that He actually does do some pretty cool things through us. That’s how I see it anyway. I don’t know if I can remember back to the first time I prayed with someone on that old corner, but I know that today it was little more comfortable. It was so quiet and peaceful on that end of the block and yet a short block away, a good organized chaotic thing was happening.

I know it’s strange that this whole thing is about a simple prayer. Or a walk to the corner and back. But when I try to strip away all that happens on that corner on any given Sunday, this is exactly what it should be about. In the middle of a couple hundred meals, buckets and buckets of clothing, socks, coats, gloves, hats, and whatever else, that’s what it should be about. One on one time in the middle of it all. If a guy is hurting, that should take precedence. And sometimes I lose sight of that. I think it’s probably easy to lose sight of it. All I know is that our walk and talk was probably more for my benefit than his. Because it reinforced for me several things I struggle with. That this is a journey. That my sinful nature and behavior didn’t happen overnight. It’s probably not going to get fixed overnight. And there will definitely be peaks and valleys. And one of my favorites – it’s not the issues that life deals us that reveal our character and heart, but rather it’s how we deal with those things that really reveal what we’re made of.

It’s amazing how much we can learn in a five minute walk. With a friend. With God.

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.
~ Proverbs 19:17 (NIV)

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

…it matters to that one… :)

Grace and other stuff…

So today was another crazy and pretty cold day in downtown Omaha. Lots of food, snowball fights and much fellowship. The kids and "big kids" were in a snowball battle the entire time we spent on that corner and I do believe the little kids came out on top. As I looked at a few of the "big kids", that became readily apparent. There’s something about snowballs that have an equalizing effect on just about anyone. And they are so darn tempting. No way you can be outside in this weather and not pack a good one and blast someone. No way. So it was cold, a bit windy and oh, yeah pretty cold, but it was a blessed day to be sure. People were raving about the white chicken chili and there was plenty for take home. Just a great day downtown.

I spent several hours yesterday with a neighbor family sorting clothing in our garage. They were more help than they will probably ever know. We’ve been so blessed lately with clothing and other donations that we are seriously considering renting a storage shelter for seasonal stuff. We had piles as tall as me. Now I know that’s not saying much considering my height, but it was really weird to look and see my entire garage floor covered in various types of clothing. I simply cannot believe the amounts of clothing we get weekly. And there is exponentially more women’s clothing than men’s. Not sure what that tells me, but I’m sure there’s a message in there somewhere. But it was great to be able to spend time with our neighbors and it was great to have the help. I am beginning to get an idea of what thrift stores must experience with all these donations. I just pray that God keeps sending them. It’s a challenge for me because I have issues with clutter. I’ll make sure that I never let that get in the way of our friends being supplied with whatever they need or whatever God sends our way. The weird thing about some of this for me is seeing all this stuff continue to arrive in a fairly constant stream. We are definitely being supplied. No doubt about that. He just keeps making it happen so that we can focus on the important stuff. At least that’s how I see it.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago the story of Wade’s Christmas stockings. I was talking to a fellow today who was very impressed how that whole situation played out. He is a fellow that we’ve known for quite a while now and he was in great shape today. He’s just a really nice guy, but more often than not, when we’ve seen him recently he hasn’t been in the best of shape. Today however, he was in great spirits and he looked great. So we had a brief conversation and one of the things he mentioned was how impressed he was with this family. Wade’s family. He mentioned that some people would have major issues with the very people that Wade was running with. That most people would be playing the blame game. That if he wouldn’t have been running with these guys, drinking and whatever else, that maybe things would be different. But not these folks. They took it the other direction. And he kind of stumbled over his words because he said he didn’t know the word for that kind of behavior. I told him that was grace. Undeserved, unearned, unmerited grace. And he looked at me and said yeah, that’s what it was. And to see how the whole thing impacted him caused me to stop and think. Grace. Freely given. Unearned. Undeserved. Unbelievable.

One other thing happened and it was another one of those one on one interactions. Those are the ones that are hardest for me on Sundays. It seems that I get pulled in so many directions sometimes that I am thankful God blessed me with a full blown case of adult attention deficit disorder. Now I’ve never really been diagnosed as such, but I’m sure it’s real. So when I get an opportunity to force myself to slow down, literally, cool stuff usually happens. And it’s usually the quick, brief conversations. For instance, I was talking to a fellow last week who is trying to get it all together. He recently started working, but is currently living in his car. Trying to stretch out his money to last until he gets a paycheck. I think we’ve helped him get a coat and other things recently. Last week he went to his car and came back to show me his uniform. He’s working as a server at a local establishment. Today, he was going to get it for me again, but I told him I saw it last week. No need. Today he needed black dress shoes. Size 11. And dress socks. Just so happened to have both. Imagine that. Funny how that works sometimes. And he said it’d been six months since he had a place of his own. And now he was close. So close. But the thing he said that caught my attention had to do with his faith. Or lack thereof. He said, in so many words, he wasn’t a religious guy, but we were showing him something different. Not me. Not Robin. All of us. All of us that show up there week after week. With no strings attached. We were showing him something. I hope he sees Grace. And Love. And Compassion. Loads and loads of it. And not from us. Because I told him right away that it ain’t about us. But that’s what he sees. Something different. I just pray that we can be an example to him. That when he sees us, he sees a tiny sliver of God. That we would be so stinking transparent that he would see right through us. No pretenses. No strings. Only Hope. Love. And Grace. And I’m just so thankful that God has allowed us to be on that corner every week. Hopefully showing a few people a little something different. A little Love out loud. :)

The following is something that was part of a devotional this past week. It just spoke to me and I wanted to share:
Christianity is not a designer religion. God is serious about getting us on His agenda. One of the famous prayers that goes around today is "Jesus, come into my life and make me the person that you want me to be." We find that the person that God wants us to be is someone who engages the world with His truth. One of the sins of this generation is to make religion a private thing. It never was meant to be private, and the discomfort of making our faith public proclaims God's control in our lives. Do we shrink from this? Then who is in charge? You don't have to buy a bullhorn or pass out tracts, but you do need to stand out as one who is ready to acknowledge Jesus to those around you. Jesus doesn't hold back on this truth and neither should we.
Since God chose you to be the holy people whom He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ~ Colossians 3:12, NLT

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

…it matters to that one… :)

Looking Back and Looking Ahead…

As I think back on this day, it was a pretty average day for us downtown. Whatever an average day downtown looks like. The folks from St. James were back with chili and sandwiches. Lots of food. Lots of everything. Smaller crowd today. The forecast was for wind chills in the 15 below range so I’d guess that is reason enough for people to seek shelter. Our foreign exchange student, Britta, braved the weather and went down with us. She just came over from Germany, arriving this past Friday. She’ll hopefully be staying with us until June. As I understand it, the social system in place in her home country is such that homelessness is not nearly as big of an issue as it is here. I can only imagine what she thought as she saw the line of folks waiting for a meal. I think she was a bit frightened, but I do believe it was an eye opening experience for her. It had to be. It is for me most every week.

So this was our first gathering of 2009. As I think back on 2008 and think of the things we saw, the things we experienced first hand, I am in awe that God has placed us in this situation. I mean, why us? Why a family from the suburbs? Why, when we have no formal training in this "industry", would he place what I see as such a huge responsibility in our laps? Why? I remember back in November of 2006 when we first felt that we were supposed to be doing this thing. Even though it all seems to be a blur now, these past couple of years, I remember thinking back then that we must be crazy. How in the world could we possibly make any kind of difference? All we had was a card table, a pot of soup and a case of water. I remember running through the park inviting people to have lunch with us. I remember asking if anyone was hungry? Well, duh, Jack Obvious. Of course people were hungry. But it was far more than that. And it remains for more than that. I think these folks, many of whom have become ingrained in our lives, were looking for something or someone real. Now I’m not saying that is or was us, but I really think that is what people are seeking. Someone who says they’ll do something and actually follows through. All in the name of God. In His service. Someone who’ll actually bring the good, brand name hot chocolate mix instead of the store label brand because it costs a little less. Someone who will bring a meal that they’d serve at their own dinner table. Someone who really cares. The one thing I try to remember and I fail at this so often, is what would I do if, as I made my way through the line greeting people, I saw Christ Himself? What would I do? Now I know that sounds pretty crazy. Or does it? Of course it does to the non-believer. But how does that sound to the Christ follower? I know I’m rambling here, as I’m apt to do, but these are just thoughts that are running through my head. As I think back over the past couple of years, I wonder if we were ever graced by His presence. I mean, I absolutely know that His presence is evident on that corner weekly. But what if, just in some crazy way, He actually showed up for a couple of seconds? Or for a meal? Or a warm coat? What would He think? Because He is very, very clear that whatever we do to or for the least of those that we also do unto Him. So just some rambling, mostly incoherent thoughts as I look back… :)

Looking forward? Who knows what that will look like? I had a fellow stop me today and thank me for being who we are. He said that Robin and I were the first Christians that were also real people to him. Now I know that he probably just hadn’t met many Christians. Or had he? Don’t know. I just know what he told me. And the growth that this guy has experienced over the past year alone has been pretty amazing. And if I went into his spiritual background, well suffice it to say that he has a bit of formal training. But I think he really just wanted to thank us for being there. And that’s what it boils down to. Being there. Every single Sunday. No matter what bodily stuff is freezing. No matter what. I think it means more to me than them. If fact, I know it does. And God continues to supply. In so many ways. I mean, I pray every day that He will continue to supply us with all the tools we need. No matter what resource I can think of, He has it covered. It’s almost like I can’t wait to see what He’s got in store for us next. People know that we do this thing now. I simply cannot believe how much stuff we have in our garage. It’s to the point that we are going to have to rent a storage space for seasonal stuff or whatever. And donations? Oh my. Has He ever blown the roof open on that?! I opened an envelope the other day and was just blown away by God’s unbelievable faithfulness. As I am most every time.

So as I look ahead, I can’t help but think He has big things in store for this piece of work, this ongoing journey, this unfolding story. Can’t help but think He has amazing things ahead. But I can’t go there just yet. I just can’t get ahead of myself. If I did that, I’d miss out on conversations like the one I had today. Where a guy thanked me for being a follower of Christ and keeping it real. Me. A guy who just a few years ago was literally runnin’ with the devil. A fraud. Oh man, could I tell some stories. Sometimes one of our friends will launch into a story or a tale and I have to stop them. As if they are talking to a guy who’s never been there. Now I’m not big on confrontation or challenging people sometimes, but I’m pretty convinced now that God pulled me from that junk and now I can definitely use my experiences to maybe better understand some of our friend’s troubles. Maybe. So I can’t look ahead without looking back, in so many ways. I can’t dwell there, but I can never forget. I can never forget how blessed I’ve been in so many ways. And how I must give back in so many ways. All in the name of Christ.

Maybe rather than look back or look ahead, I’ll just live in the now and enjoy the immense blessings I’ve been granted. But I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2009. :)

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

…it matters to that one… :)