Clyde in Omaha?

What an incredibly cool day.  On many fronts.  The weather was unseasonably warm.  A little on the windy side, but man it was a nice day.  Our friends were out in force.  Quite the crowd.  It was a pretty special day in many ways.  We had a group up from Clyde, Kansas and man they came in droves!  Our great friend Wendy Secthem Genereaux and her husband Bill and their kids, Thomas and Emily.  Our friend Cheri Sechtem.  Lacey Sechtem.  Heather Sechtem.  Notice a theme here?  Yeah, they were here to honor their brother…husband…father.  My man Wade is a fellow I’ve written about many times.  He left us way too soon in a tragic way.  I’ll never forget reading about his death in the paper and then wondering if it was really him.  And then getting confirmation from a group of his buddies on a Sunday afternoon on 14th and Douglas St.  July 2008.  I’ll never forget it.  And from that, sprang a desire from his family to come and help.  To serve.  In his honor.  And to see that his passing was not in vain.  This is not the first time they’ve come.  And I’d imagine it won’t be the last.  In some way, shape or form.  It was simply a great day to be in the presence of the Lord and serve alongside a great group of people.  Oh, and they brought others.  The youth group from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Clyde, Kansas.  And the youth group from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Palmer,Kansas.  And they all made the 3 hour trip North to hang out with us and our friends for a couple of hours.  Amazing!

So  the group from Kansas did it up right.  100 backpacks filled with essentials.  Hundreds of McDonald gift cards.  Treat bags.  An outstanding fried chicken dinner with all the sides.  Hundreds of homemade cupcakes from Wendy’s Party Treats.  Just an unbelievable spread for our friends.  The only tricky part for me was to figure out how to best help them distribute the 100 backpacks.  I’m guessing we had upward of 200 people and those numbers don’t match.  And I had a hunch there were some who’d have a bigger need for a backpack than others.  One thing we've never done on that corner is discriminate in any way.  By that I mean it has never mattered where a person comes from.  If they have a place in the downtown area they call home?  No problem.  If they live in one of the many shelters?  Not a worry.  If they live in a car or under a bridge?  By all means, please come.  All are always welcome.  But the lines get a little blurred sometimes.  I’ve often wondered what the numbers would look like if we got some kind of count.  Never really worried about it too much, but we know that lots of people who visit with us on Sundays have apartments in the downtown area.  Not necessarily living on the high end of things, but lots of them have places they can call their own.  As we brainstormed this week on how to best distribute the backpacks without making a huge deal out of it, the only thing I could come up with was somehow getting them to the folks that would probably need and use them the most.  And in my feeble brain, that meant the folks living in the shelters, on the streets, etc.  So as we were getting everything ready to serve, I jumped up on my wall and did something I've never done before.  You see, we have 2 serving lines.  That way we can get a couple hundred people a meal a little quicker.  So today, I asked them to separate into two more distinct lines.  I wrestled with how to word it.  I didn't want to single out our homeless friends vs. our other friends who have a place.  But I didn't know any other way.  And it worked out pretty well.  There was really no problem at all.  They all swapped lines as necessary and I was really surprised to see that the lines were almost even.  Funny, that.  And I believe that the folks Wade would have wanted to receive the backpacks, did indeed get one.  It was real interesting to see the split though…

So before we got to the great chicken dinner, I had an opportunity to get up on the wall.  I felt I needed to be a little bolder on this particular day.  With the group visiting from Kansas and the primary reason they were there, I felt a strong urge to share that if any of our friends were not sure of their destiny, they needed to know that they all had one.  I usually don’t preach and I try not to be too judgmental, but on this day I felt the need to strongly urge our friends to make sure they knew.  That regardless of how difficult they think they have it here in this busted, screwed up world, this is a cake walk compared to how bad it might be if they don’t submit and commit to following Christ.  I didn't go too long, or at least I don’t think I did, but I really felt the need to let ‘em know.  And it’s not as if they've never heard it before.  It’s just not something I’ve made a habit of.  Preaching on that wall.  But on this day, we sort of went there.  And I hope and pray that someone heard.  And in fact, I know at least one fellow did…

So a young fellow, who I believe was part of one of the youth groups, came to me and said someone wanted to meet me. Erin was with me, so she went with me to meet this fellow.  Hand in hand we went.  About a half block.  And we meet Kevin.  Leaning on a cane and a parking meter, I met him.  Kevin had a stroke recently.  He told me that he’d been to hell.  I’m not sure what that meant, at least in the big picture.  Literally?  Don’t know.  He said it only lasted about 30 seconds and I assume he meant this was during his stroke.  His thoughts were a bit jumbled.  He’d been drinking.  And the stroke left him a little challenged in his speech.  But he wanted to know how to make it right.  So we prayed.  Right there on the parking meter.  Me.  Him.  Erin.  God.  Right there.  And he accepted Christ as his Savior.  The hard thing is the follow up.  I gave him a little booklet that we usually have on hand, the Gospel of John from the The Pocket Testament League.  And I gave him a New Testament.  I’ll pray for him.  Hopefully the seed is planted.  I pray for the harvest in Kevin’s life.

I heard of one story that absolutely warmed my heart man.  Wendy’s daughter, Emily, unbeknownst to her parents, had a little plan.  She noticed on their last trip to Omaha that there were little girls in our group.  Homeless?  Not sure.  We see so many people on that corner and so many show up one time, never to be seen again.  It’s really hard for me to keep track.  But Emily had a plan.  She was going to bring a couple Barbie dolls this time and make sure that if there were any little girls on our corner, they’d be the recipient of a new doll.  Now this is what it’s all about to me.  People see a need and fill it.  There are really no rules on our corner.  I mean, we have a few things we try to adhere to.  Cash is tough.  It’d be hard to give out cash to people in that environment.  For lots of obvious reasons.  But if a person came, saw a need and subsequently wanted to fill that need, we are all for it.  And when a little girl from Kansas saw a need and filled it?  Wow.  And  Emily and her brother Thomas collected some crazy amount of money to buy McDonald gift cards.  I think the final tally was 380 some gift cards!  Crazy.  The little ones usually get it and I think mostly more than us adults…

I mentioned, as I was up on the wall, that I didn't know how many more opportunities we’d have to share our faith with our friends.  Every time I come home from downtown, I feel a strong desire to go back.  It’s just different than anything I've ever been involved with in my crazy lifetime.  We've been involved in this community for 5 years now.  November, 2006 we made our first trip into this craziness.  We had a little break a couple years ago and we only go once a month these days.  But we've been pretty steady with most of these same folks every Monday at inCommon Community Development for their Common Table meal.  Robin and I have been engaged there for some time now.  My point, when I mentioned that we never know how much longer we’d be at this, was just that.  I've been experiencing a yearning to do different things.  To work with kids at the Hope Center in North Omaha, if they’d have us.  To maybe re-engage with my own family.  My 17 year old son, who’ll be off to college next year.  My 14 year old son whom I love so much and I need to spend more time with.  My 10 year old daughter who is so special to me.  And my incredibly beautiful wife, with whom I never seem to spend enough time.  And since my trip to the City of Refuge Children’s Home in Jamaica this past July, I sense a need to do more.  There are a lot of children that are homeless, parent-less, etc. in this mixed up world.  That just shouldn't be.  Period.  And I pray that we’d somehow be able to make a difference there also.  So I say all that to simply say that we never know where we’ll be led next.  Could we be on that corner for 5 more years?  Who knows?  All I know is that no one here gets out alive.  To quote a line from a Switchfoot song, “this skin and bones is just a rental”.  I just want to be able to make a difference while in this broken, busted rental and I pray that somehow, God will allow me the opportunity to do that.  Wherever it may happen...

My sincere thanks go out to the group from Kansas.  To Wade’s family.  You made a huge difference on a downtown Omaha street corner.  Your efforts will never go unnoticed.  Especially by the One that matters.  I know how difficult it must be to make the trek to the place where Wade spent his last days.  I know what it’s like to lose a family member way too early.  Or at least way to early in our boxed in, human minds.  But I think there is One who can make it a little better for us while we are here.  And the only way I can manage that is to somehow use these events to glorify and honor Him.  You did that today.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Today, you made a difference.  What you did mattered.  To all of them.  And to Him.  Thank you!

‎"If you cannot feed a hundred people, then feed just one."  ~Mother Teresa


...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  ~ Hebrews 12:1, NLT

Make a difference…it matters.

Contentment...

Yesterday started like most of our other Sundays where we venture into the downtown area.  Got most everything ready early.  Robin cooking.  Attended our early church service.  Just mostly routine stuff.  It was a beautiful fall day, much unlike last month where we left our house and it was raining.  Even though it is so cool to see God stop the rains for us to do His work, I'd maybe rather start out with blue skies and sunshine.  Or maybe not, I don't know.  It really is cool to see the looks on our friend's faces when we show up and it's been raining, only to stop when we arrive.  But yesterday we were greeted with a definite chamber of commerce day and most everyone seemed to be in very good spirits. 

As I sat in church yesterday morning, prior to heading downtown, I was struck by the message delivered.  It was a message about contentment and true happiness and all the crazy things we do and measures we take to attempt to attain those things.  Robin and I had a bit of an ongoing conversation this past week, pretty intense at times, about contentment and just exactly where we are in this whole journey.  It just seems like life is coming at us 100 miles an hour most of the time and I wonder, as does she, if we don't need to step back and regroup.  Maybe revisit some of our activities and see if we aren't a little too involved in some things.  With our kids at their present ages and demanding more time, and just some of the life situations we are going through, I can't help but think it might be easier if we just stopped doing some of these things.  Maybe we'd be "happier".  I wonder what it would look like if we didn't have any outside commitments.  What would it look like if our Monday nights were free?  That last Sunday of each month that we go downtown and hang out with our friends for a few hours?   What if that didn't exist.  Between home schooling our kids, work, extra curricular activities and just life in general, it might be a little less hectic.  But then again, it might also be a little more selfish.  You see, even though it gets mentally exhausting at times, it's just something we need to do.  Have to do.  Something we're commanded to do.  To go.  To do.  To serve.  Not people.  Him.  To serve Him.  Because we have so much.  So much to be thankful for.  So much to be grateful for.  And I'm not talking material stuff.  I'm talking eternal stuff.  God stuff.  So as I sat in church yesterday to hear a message seemingly designed just for me, even though there were obviously others present, it sure seemed as though I could have been sitting in the very center of that auditorium, alone, and that message was being delivered directly to me.  Eye to eye.  From His mouth to my ear.  Be content.  GO.  Serve.  Love.  That will at least get you started if you are looking for true peace.  And don't get me wrong.  Even though it seems like we are pretty busy at times, I know of others who are far more engaged.  Friends who have sold it all to move and serve in foreign countries.  Friends who spend all their days serving others.  Pastors, missionaries, people who dedicate their entire existence to serving.  We're not quite there by any stretch.  It just seems like there are times when it would be nice to just stop the world and get off for a bit.  But then I wouldn't have the privilege of experiencing the following...

There's a fellow we've known since our very first time downtown.  A true, homeless, walk the streets, live wherever kind of guy.  My heart just breaks for him when I see him.  Truly.  He literally once told me he was living in "the third drainage pipe down by the river".  Really?  "Living" in the third drainage pipe?  So anyway, I know this guy struggles to survive.  Mentally, he struggles.  I don't know how else to say it.  But the fact that he's out on his own is a tragedy.  There's no reason I can think of that this fellow should be on his own, walking the streets.  No reason.  Other than the fact that we just don't take care of our own sometimes.  He has family in town.  But he's on his own.  So for the past couple of months, he's needed new shoes.  Size 13.  Tough size to come by.  And this dude is hard on shoes.  It doesn't matter how good I think the shoes or boots are, I can give him a pair and the next time I see him, they are pretty beaten up.  I'm pretty sure in the 5 years we've known him, he's probably gotten 20 pairs of shoes or boots from us.  Now lately, I've been praying that God would simply deliver those things to us.  I know that may sound crazy, but it's the only way we can hope to get all the things we need to continue.  So I've been trying different to get him shoes for the past couple of months.  I got him a pair of donated sneakers about 2 months ago.  They seemed to be pretty good.  But when we saw him last month, they were already suffering the consequences of his walking.  And yesterday, as he was coming through the serving line, he asked me if I had shoes.  I knew I didn't, but I was determined to find something for him.  I looked down and the sneakers he was wearing had a blue shoestring tied around the outside to keep the sole on.  So I went to the van to look in the bags of boots and shoes that we'd brought with us.  I rummaged through and found a pair of 12 wide, steel-toed, army boots.  I knew he needed 13s and we'd tried to fit him in 12s before with no luck.  But these were 12 wides.  Maybe they'd work.  By the time I got the boots, Tony had disappeared.  Like he is apt to do.  And trying to find him in a crowd of a couple hundred people was going to be a difficult task.  And it took me a little bit to find him.  He was off almost a block away all by himself.  Sitting down to a nice little Sunday meal by the flowing water in the park.  And ironically, over on the very corner where we first met.  Away from all the chaos that comes with us on Sundays.  So I took my 12 wides and a prayer they'd fit.  Now this might seem like a lot of words just to convey that we were able to help my man out with a pair of boots, but to me it just speaks to the need we see on Sundays.  And not only the physical needs, but the relational poverty we see also.  I'm pretty sure this fellow has no real friends.  He simply walks the streets most days.  Since I work downtown, I see him often and he's always by himself.  Walking.  Sitting on a wall somewhere.  Waiting.  For what?  So anyway, I take the boots over to him.  He's convinced they won't fit.  They're 12s Dave!  Just try them man.  And as he takes off his old shoes, the first thing I notice, as always, is the lack of socks.  He never wears socks.  I give him socks, but they just don't last.  And I'm pretty sure it's been a while since my man has seen the inside of a shower.  So I notice that he has newspapers as insoles.  Folded up, worn out, newspapers.  So he tries them on and we have a match.  His big, old size 13 feet somehow fit into these size 12 wide boots!  And these are heavy duty army boots.  I'm thinking we may have him set up for winter.  We'll see.  That's a long way off.  But God, as He's so apt to do, once again is the God of provision. 

Saw another fellow that we haven't see for quite some time.  Another true, grizzled, street veteran.  He's not looking so good these days.  Hard drinkin'.  Hard livin'.  Lives under a foot bridge close to the river.  He told me he had a birthday recently.  Turned 55.  And he said when he turned 55, his health just went straight downhill.  I told him I don't think turning 55 had as much to do with it as maybe other things.  He's a guy who I'm pretty sure will drink himself to death.  Literally.  We've seen it a few times.  And every time, I wonder why.  Until I'm reminded of the broken, screwed up world in which we live.  And then I tell myself to pray for my man.  Pray hard.  I can't do much, but I know Who can.  And it's in these situations that I must rely on Him for the answers.  Really and obviously, in all situations, I have to do that.  But in these ones, where it just seems hopeless, I know that He is the only way this guy can ever find real happiness.  It won't come from seeing the bottom of a bottle.  It won't come from any of those things we seem to think will make the pain go away.  This dude has lived a tough life.  A good majority under bridges or wherever else he lays down at night.  But even in what seems like a hopeless situation, I know that there is hope.  And let me tell you, if you saw this fellow, you'd be hard pressed to think there was hope.  But I know there is.  And if not, then I know for a fact we've shared with him that there's only one way out of this place that makes any sense.  Whether or not he takes heed?  I can only pray....

And just as we were packing up the trailer and finishing things up yesterday, the enemy had to make known his presence.  And I never forget where we are when we show up on these Sundays.  It's his playground.  But for that window of time on a Sunday afternoon, God is running things.  But as we were getting ready to leave, a bit of a disturbance broke out.  Mostly words.  But things were getting a little heated.  It was funny because these were a couple of fellows that had enough height to literally talk right over me.  Now that's not saying much, but it's what it was.  So as they were arguing for a second time over something that was really silly in my eyes, I kind of had to get in the middle.  And I really couldn't get either one of them to notice me.  :)  Which is ok most times.  I'd honestly rather not be noticed.  But in this case, I just wanted to get them to knock it off.  So as they were yelling at each other and tensions were heating up, I had to begin to get up to their volume levels.  There were only a handful of people around at that point so it wasn't really a huge scene.  But we'd had a great day down there and I wasn't about to let the enemy step in and mess things up.  Not as long as we were still there.  So I finally had to tell them both to "SHUT UP"!  Loudly.  Now I'm a pretty small guy, but God blessed me with some vocal chords.  And I used 'em to let these fellows know that there'd be none of that here.  Not today.  Not now.  So I was able to get one of these guys to head out.  He's a regular.  He apologized as he was walking away.  And the other fellow, I'd guess in his early 20s, was calming down.  As soon as I was able to get his attention, his whole demeanor changed.  It was like something washed over him and he was a totally different person.  He also apologized and soon he was "saluting you guys" and I had to tell him that it wasn't us he should be saluting, but the Man upstairs.  And he said he couldn't believe the ungrateful people and all the other stuff he'd seen there.  He said he'd been in town for about a week and a half and he'd heard about us.  Now I don't know what that meant, but one thing I wanted him to be sure of was that he needed to know that it wasn't about us.  It was about being able to serve a God who loves us no matter what.  And I told him that it didn't matter if every person down there on that day walked away with nothing, but if one person heard God in some way, that was all that mattered.  Now obviously, we want everyone to walk away with Him leading their paths.  But I'd do it all if just one person left with a newfound hope.  In God.  In Christ. 

I just pray that somehow, someday, we'll make a difference in the hearts of those we serve.  That He will work through us to reach those that are seemingly so lost and desperate for happiness and contentment.  And that He will continually work in the lives of those in my immediate sphere of influence.  To be able to share that no matter where we think we are at any given time on this journey, that we always serve a God that will indeed grant us true happiness and joy if we just keep things in perspective and continually seek and strive to serve Him with all that we have.  It's a process and indeed a journey...

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ~Philippians 4:11-12(NIV)

Make a difference…it matters.

Summer Storms and a Love Drug?

Once again we were amazed by our God today.  I don’t know why we find it so hard to believe he’d take care of us, except for the simple fact we live in a very small, limited mindset at times.  I don’t think we ever doubt Him.  Don’t get me wrong.  And we never doubt that He shows up every time we venture in to our downtown Omaha corner.  But today as we were leaving our nice, dry, suburban homestead, the skies were telling an ugly story.  I mean some of the ugliest, blackest, thickest, promise to dump a million gallons of water looking clouds on us in a minute that you could ever imagine seeing were hovering over the downtown area.  In fact, they were everywhere.  As far as the eye could see.  We live about 15 miles south and west of the downtown area and all the way down it was ugliness.  We even had people texting us telling us we’d better be ready.  It was already raining downtown.  One fellow who shall go unnamed even texted us and told us we’d better have a plan B.  Sorry man.  We only have one plan.  We aren’t sophisticated enough to have a plan B.  And anyway, we’ve seen it happen too many times.  In fact, its one thing our friends know.  When we show up down there, it doesn’t rain.  Has nothing to do with us.  Nothing.  Just God giving us a brief window to do a little work.  And I don’t know why in the world it is so surprising to me.  It’s like we tempted fate one too many times.  But it’s true.  It just doesn’t rain on that corner from about noon until whenever.  I don’t care what the weatherman says.  I don’t care what weather.com says.  Oh, we check.  I don’t know why.  But we check.  And it might tell us that it’s going to rain at whatever time.  But if that time falls in the window that we are downtown, forget about it.

So when we got downtown today, it was nice and cool.  And the line had formed.  And it was loooooong.  Man it was long.  Never know what we might find when we get down there.  Especially with the “threat” of rain.  Must not matter.  There were well over 200 people waiting when we got there today.  And when we got there, I was in hurry up mode.  In my mind, as feeble and limited as it is, we had to get this thing going.  We needed to get set up and get everyone served as quickly as possible in case it rained.  It was in the forecast ya know.  The skies were quite black.  And my mind was telling me we needed to hurry.  And for some reason, it seemed like we were short on people to help serve.  I was recruiting Nick, Christian, Erin and anyone else I could summon.  It just seemed weird that we had all these people to serve and not enough people to help out.  But they started showing up and pretty soon we had the serving tables fully staffed.  And poor Robin was about at her wits end trying to get it all set up.  We served tacos with chips and cheese and various desserts.  That menu takes quite a few hands to get everything doled out and keep the lines moving.  Oh and did I mention that we were worried about the possibility of rain?  Oh, us of little faith.  

So I jumped up on the wall with Erin and we did our thing.  One funny thing about that.  Every time we do out thing on that corner, we start the whole thing off with the Lord’s Prayer and then I say a short prayer to bless the food, our times, etc.  Erin always helps me.  We jump up on a short wall that lines the block from 13^th St. to 14^th St.  It’s just a good way for a short guy like myself to get a little more height and for them to be able to hear me if I actually were to have anything worthwhile to say.  As Robin gave me the go ahead today and told me to get up there, I looked around for Erin.  She was stationed at the front end of one of the serving tables.  The look on her face was one of worry.  She was pretty much tied to the table because as soon as we finished praying, the food would start flying!  She looked at me and said something like “…but Daddy, I have to stay here and serve”.  And she was right.  But she also knew that I don’t go up on that wall alone.  That’s our thing.  Me and Erin.  My trusted assistant.  I know I just spent a lot of words telling what may seem to be an insignificant story.  But it’s pretty huge to me.  I pray it’s something that Erin will always remember.  Years from now, that she and Daddy prayed on that wall many times and that she always has a heart for serving.  So Erin and I jumped up and did our thing.  And I really rushed the prayer.  Not in a way that dishonored why we were there.  But I just kept thinking we need to hurry up.  And when I got off the wall, a lady asked me where I “preached at?”  Seriously?  That always cracks me up.

So a few minutes later, after walking the line and greeting everyone, I’m standing on the corner.  What had a few minutes earlier been ugly, billowing, black clouds had given way to a small blue hole in the sky.  A small break.  Was it going to happen again?  A menacing summer storm that looked like it might just ruin our afternoon was going to blow by with not so much as a whimper?  When I looked up and saw the small dot of blue in the sky, you can bet I was on it.  I was talking to another fellow.  A guy who I’m just not sure what side of the fence he lies on, spiritually speaking.  I get the hint at times that he’s a believer.  But I’ve never really sensed a commitment.  But I was able to once again reiterate that we serve a God who cares about this stuff.  And about his people.  Especially those that gather on a corner in downtown Omaha on occasion.  I was able to let this guy know that this was once again God doing His thing while allowing us to also do His thing.  Just another chance to show this fellow that God does indeed mean business.  And He’s in the business of love.

On a somewhat humorous note, another fellow was there today and I think he wishes he was in the business of love.  A little different than God’s love, no doubt.  He mentioned to someone that he wanted to give Robin a love drug.  I am literally laughing out loud thinking that, number one, he actually said it and number two, who he said it to.  He made this proclamation to someone we know very well.  It’s not as if it wouldn’t get back to us.  Of course he didn’t know that.  I guess some of our friends don’t realize that we talk.  I don’t know.  It just hit me as pretty funny.  Not that Robin isn’t worthy of a love drug.  She definitely is.  But I’m going to probably have a talk with my man and tell him maybe he needs to focus his love elsewhere.   A love drug?  Seriously?  Wow…

So we brought enough food for a couple hundred people.  And we had about 250-300 plates.  And about 20 big tubs of clothing.  And all kinds of other stuff.  And we left the downtown area with a pretty empty trailer.  It was amazing.  And you have to remember all of this happens in a pretty organized, chaotic kind of way.  I’ve just never seen anything like it.  I get so many thank-yous.  Like I actually do anything?  I mean seriously.  It just blows my mind that we serve a God who will literally part the skies so we can do this thing and people are thanking me.  I try as hard as I can to make sure the thanks go to God.  And to let our friends know that it ain’t us, but Him they need to be thanking.  And I know that it’s pretty cool to get a good meal, some clothing, hygiene stuff, whatever, but I also know that it all leaves that corner with His blessing.  It just wouldn’t be possible otherwise. 

And by the time we left that corner, actually about an hour after we got there, the skies had completely changed to a bright blue and there wasn’t a cloud to be found anywhere in the downtown area.  Another beautiful, successful day of ‘Fishin.  Starfishin’.  With the blessings of a God who loves us like we will never know.  Very thankful to be able to serve alongside all of those who give up their Sunday afternoons to do this thing.  Because I know that a lot of them drove down thinking the same things we were thinking as we drove downtown today.  Probably along the lines of “…Are the Laneys crazy?  Don’t they know that the skies are about to open up on us?”  Well, honestly, that’s probably about what we were thinking.  And the skies did open up.  To reveal a beautiful blue sky and another opportunity to serve an amazing group of people and an AMAZING GOD!  :)

"Sometimes I would like to ask God why he allows poverty, famine and injustice in the world, when He could do something about it...but I'm afraid He may ask me the same question." Anonymous.

Instead, we always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the Good News. We do not try to please people, but to please God, who tests our motives. ~1 Thessalonians 2:4 Good News Translation (GNT)

Make a difference…it matters.

Writ To Assemble?

Yesterday was HOT.  I mean the old fry an egg on the sidewalk kind of hot.  It was so hot that I burned my hand on the inside roof of the trailer as I was loading the tables up before heading home.  I wasn't sure what kind of crowd to expect because of this crazy heat wave we've been having, but our friends definitely showed up.  Not sure I can say that I would have ventured into the downtown Omaha area yesterday if I were them, but for reasons unknown to me, they came.  And in force.  The heat index was well over 100°F.  Plain and simple, it was brutal.  My man Dwight brought 10 cases of water.  We left with none.  We brought 2 big coolers of lemonade.  Left with none.  We did come home with quite a bit of coffee.  Never know how much of that to make.  If I make less than normal, we run out.  If I make the usual amount, we bring a bunch home.  Always a tough one to gauge.  I know I wouldn't be drinking hot coffee on a day like today, in that crazy heat.  But people do.  Crazy.  So it was dangerously hot and we did our best to make sure there was plenty of fluids to go around.  A quick side note here.  I was at the City of Refuge Children's Home  in Jamaica a couple weeks ago.  One of, if not the most amazing places I've ever been.  I kept a few notes on our visit there.  I'm here to tell you it's hotter in Omaha right now than it is in Jamaica!  Only we don't have the mountains and beaches.  Go figure...

So we got downtown yesterday, got all set up and were ready to get that show on the road.  After getting the ok from the boss (Robin...oh yeah, I know who runs the show), I took my usual spot up on the wall with my trusted assistant Erin and we made few quick announcements.  It was hot, so I wasn't going to spend much time pontificating.  Although I'm apt to do that on occasion, I didn't think the conditions warranted my soapbox preachin'.  :)  But I'd had a thought a couple days ago.  And it went like this.  I get about 5 minutes or so up on that wall.  I feel it's pretty important to share what I believe with our friends.  I make sure they know that He loves them.  I hope that is clear.  But a thought came to mind a few days ago to make sure I told the ones that don't believe.  To address them specifically.  I know as I stand on that wall and share, there are clearly and definitely those that are there purely because they can get a quick meal, a few t-shirts maybe, some hygiene items, whatever.  And one thing I've always been clear about is that I'm not going to force my faith, my beliefs, my Jesus on anyone.  I'll share it with them, for sure.  But if a guy doesn't want to listen, then I'm not sure what else I can do.  We know our words don't go out void.  They don't come back empty.  But I know for a fact, because I've seen it first hand, that people feel this need to "beat up" our friends with their faith.  To prostheletyze to the point of offense.  I know there's a fine line there and I'm pretty sure I've crossed it many times.  But one thing I know for sure is our actions speak volumes about our faith.  We gotta proclaim it.  But to me, it's pretty important that we live it also.  And I know people see it.  They've told us.  So a thought came to mind to reach out to the non-believers.  Novel idea, I know. 

So I'm on the wall.  I have nothing really prepared.  Just not how I operate.  My whole life, as unfortunate as it may be at times, is flying by the seat of my pants.  But this day, I was going to just share with the folks that think I spout nonsense from that wall.  I was just going to share with them that God does indeed love them.  He wants them to love Him back.  But no matter what they think, He loves them.  So just as I'm getting to that, a bit of a disturbance breaks out.  I look back over to the area on the sidewalk by 14th Street and I see a fellow with an orange backpack.  Middle aged Caucasian fellow.  He's not walking into the crowd, but just skirting on the outside edge.  As I realize that he's yelling at us, and sort of at me, I try to catch what it is he's saying.  He's yelling pretty loudly at me and asking if we have a Writ to Assemble.  Well, no, we've never had a Writ to Assemble.  We have no permit.  Nothing that would legally allow 150 or 200 people to gather on a downtown corner and eat, share and honor God.  Nothing that would allow us to do that.  Other than His blessing.  And this fellow was not happy with us being there.  I've seen him before.  He's a homeless fellow that is obviously troubled.  He stated very loudly that we needed the proper paperwork, hence the Writ to Assemble, to be here doing what we do.  I could count on one hand the number of times someone has told us, in almost 5 years, that we need a permit or whatever to show up and gather on that corner.  But not one time have we ever encountered anyone of significance, i.e. from the city, telling us we can't be here.  And I definitely wasn't worried about what this guy might be thinking.  Other than trying to quickly defuse whatever was on his mind and get him to move along.  So I try as best I can to assure him, from across the way, that we're ok and it would be alright if he moved on.  He asked me to come back later that night if I wanted to fight.  Seriously?  I assured him it was ok to move on.  As he was walking away, I even did my best to wish God's blessings on him.  He wished them back.  "God bless you a$$_ _ _ _" were the exact words he used.  I've been called worse.

But one thing I know.  This battle was not between me and this fellow.  I don't even know him.  And he doesn't know me.  This was not a battle of flesh.  The funny thing was, as he was yelling this stuff, he never once tried to come into the crowd.  Just stayed on the outer edge.   And the whole thing probably lasted about a couple minutes.  It was quick and brief.  But to me it was clearly the enemy making his presence known.  Letting us know that we were on his turf.  And that he was in charge down here.  Well, maybe so.  But not on this Sunday.  Not during this time.  It may have felt as if we were in hell, because it was sure smoking hot, but God was at work.  All we had to do was show up and He'd make sure of that.  It was like there was a protective barrier all around us.  This dude wanted in, but it wasn't happening.  And when I said "God Bless you", I meant it.  I always do.  But that certainly isn't how it was received.  And later on, my boy Nick tells me I should have offered him lunch.  And he was right.  Instead of asking him to move along, I most definitely should have asked him to join us.  Wasn't so quick on my feet that time.  I'm usually not.  I absolutely should have offered him lunch.  And a free Bible.  And a little love.  And whatever else we had to offer.  Missed opportunity on my part for sure.  He never tried to come in the crowd.  Like I said, it was almost like he was just making his presence known.  Like he was telling us that even thought we were there, this was his territory.  Well maybe so, but for a couple hours on this particular day, it was God's. 

One last note that I always want to remember is how God manages the details of this thing.  There's a fellow and his wife that have been helping us out in this thing for a long time now.  He was telling Robin yesterday how he is always amazed at how this thing always comes together.  Down to every little detail.  He's a planning guy.  Has to have all the details worked out ahead of time.  And to be sure, there is a bit of planning that goes into making this happen.  But God always, and I mean always, is in the details.  Even right down to someone having a can opener yesterday.  We had a can that needed to be opened and no opener.  Or so we thought.  And God cares about even the smallest details.  I've seen it too many times to think otherwise.  He cares.  And when we go in His name, he shows up.  Before us even.  And when that happens, amazing things happen.  And even the presence of the enemy himself cannot thwart God's plan.  He works it all out.  I'm reminded constantly not to get ahead of His plan.  I've done it too many times.  And every time I mange to screw it up.  Sometimes pretty badly.  But when we allow Him to work, amazing things happen.  And we realize the only Writ to Assemble we need comes from God Himself.  So to the fellow that asked, yes we definitely have a Writ to Assemble.  We had one yesterday and we'll have one next time.  And it will be blessed by God Himself.  If you have any questions or issues with that, I'd suggest you take them up with Him.  He'll be able to answer any questions you may have.  ;)

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. ~Ephesians 6:10-12 The Message

Make a difference…it matters.

Thundering Who We Are..

Sunday morning started out a bit unusual for me in that instead of getting ready for our downtown activities and getting ready for church, I was planted firmly in front of my computer on a work call that was supposed to last about 1/2 an hour. It didn't. Almost 3 hours later, as I was already too late to make it to church, my call was wrapping up. Fortunately, I had prepared and loaded most of the necessary items in our trailer on Saturday.  That meant most of the things that we'd need for our monthly meeting in the park with our friends was covered and I was in pretty good shape on Sunday morning. There's just certain things I can't do ahead of time, like make gallons of coffee, lemonade, etc. Some things just have to be done the morning of and those things were staring me in the face after my conference call ended. But actually, I was multi-tasking during my call. Making the great Scooters coffee that our friends at Harvest Roasting so generously supply. I'm telling you, this stuff is so much better than Starbucks. It's not even close. And they've really set us up over the years. Great commercial brewing system. Plenty of coffee whenever we need it. Just great stuff and our friends really love it. So as my call wrapped up and I knew I wouldn't make it to church, a somewhat relaxing feeling came over me. I knew that it wouldn't be a crazy, hectic morning getting everything prepped to go. And it wasn't. And what that bought me was a little less craziness when we got downtown. You see, normally when I get there, my mind is racing about a million miles a minute. Making sure we brought everything. Making sure we didn't forget something that might be important to someone. You may not think lettuce is that important, but one young lady refused to eat a taco last month because we forgot the lettuce. She was really pretty upset about it and I don't want those kinds of avoidable things happening. So today was good in that regard. I don't think we forgot anything. And when we arrived, even though we saw one of the biggest crowds of people I've seen there in a long time, there was something relaxing about the whole atmosphere.

One thing I noticed right off the bat was our good friend Dave Paulsen was there and ready to go. Dave and his wife Amber, of facingGoliath, come most Sundays now and provide live music for our friends. Crowder, Tomlin, and all sorts of other great worship music. There's something about live music that really sets the atmosphere. It creates a festival type of ambience that is just really cool. I'm continually amazed at how God will orchestrate this whole thing into something great as long as we are obedient and willing. So when Dave shows up, it is good. He comes once a month to perform at our Monday Common Table meals at inCommon Community Development also and his music and style just really set the stage for God's message to be shown.

You see, I read somewhere this week that you cannot "show" the Gospel, that is must be proclaimed. A well respected pastor from one of our nation's mega churches was credited with having said that. And while I agree with it to a certain degree, I probably disagree with it more than I agree, if that even makes sense. I absolutely believe that people see the Gospel in our lives at all times. I know we should be prepared to explain and defend our beliefs, especially to those seeking the truth. But our actions speak so loudly at times. I have a friend who lives in the shelter and he's sent me a couple things recently that just really made me pause.

First he said to me in an email - "what you are thunders so much that I do not hear what you are saying".

And secondly, he sent me the following -

Sermons We See

Edgar Guest

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; 

I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.

The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear,

Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear;

And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,

For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.

I soon can learn to do it if you'll let me see it done;

I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.

And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true,

But I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do;

For I might misunderstand you and the high advise you give,

But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

When I see a deed of kindness, I am eager to be kind.

When a weaker brother stumbles and a strong man stays behind

Just to see if he can help him, then the wish grows strong in me

To become as big and thoughtful as I know that friend to be.

And all travelers can witness that the best of guides today

Is not the one who tells them, but the one who shows the way.

One good man teaches many, men believe what they behold;

One deed of kindness noticed is worth forty that are told.

Who stands with men of honor learns to hold his honor dear,

For right living speaks a language which to every one is clear.

Though an able speaker charms me with his eloquence, I say,

I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one, any day.

Powerful words on so many levels.

One short thing I'd share today is personal and relates to my son Nick. I'm biased and probably have a hard time separating my feelings for my kids from what I actually see from them when we are downtown. But one thing I know is that it's important for us to go. Nick had an opportunity to go out to lunch after church with some friends. But it would mean that he would miss out on our downtown activities. I wrestled briefly with letting him go. But what it came back to for me was the fact that we only go down once a month these days. And that day we go is important. And I believe it's important that we do this as a family. I get the chance to watch my kids in action on that corner. They've literally grown up on that corner. Nick will be 14 in a little over a month. We've been going for 5 years now. He's spent over a 1/3 of his life going down to visit our friends on that corner. He knows these guys. They know him. He was a bit upset about not getting to go hang out with his friends. As we headed downtown, there was a bit of moping and sadness emanating from the Nickster. But moments after we got downtown, he was in his element. He just does it well. He was talking football with a fellow named Michael. He was working the crowd. And he was thundering who he is. He was letting people see a sermon. It's not always good. We all make mistakes. But it's real. And that matters.

So today, and I'm sure it was because I was a bit more relaxed and my head wasn't necessarily on a swivel looking for the next thing to do, I was able to actually stop and talk to several people. I talked to a couple (not married but they've been "together" for about 5 years) who were experiencing relationship problems. I first explained to them that I'm not a counselor, not a pastor, but just a guy who believes. I tried to explain to them, and I believe they got it, that the battle wasn't between their human selves.  Not of the flesh. But the battle was literally between them. That the enemy was in between them, pushing buttons, picking at wounds and forcing them to fight with each other rather than look upwards. Hopefully it all made sense to them. I think it did. She understood. I think he did.

Again, I'm so far out of my league sometimes when people ask me for advice. But the thing I don't do is "lean on my own understanding". I can't. Because I've learned over the years that it only gets me in trouble. But if I lean on what is really important, The Word, then it all begins to make sense. And then it comes down to living it and letting it thunder who I am. Letting people see the sermon that is our life.

So Sunday, June 26 was really good. The line of people stretched for almost a city block. And in some cases, it was 2 lines. There were just so many people. I wonder where they all come from. But I pray that they saw the Gospel in action today. From all of us. Thundering. Living it out. Oh, and on the way home, about 3 minutes from downtown, the rain came. It never rains on us while we're there. God always gives us a window. But on the way home, he reminded us that we'd better be effective within that window. Because maybe it's not always open. We'd better be a sermon for all to see and we'd better use our time and opportunities wisely. We'd better thunder who we are when the opportunity arises because that window can close rather rapidly. :)

Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill...  Matthew 5:16   ~The Message (MSG)

Make a difference…it matters.

Grace on The Brick...

We serve on a downtown corner. Most people know that I guess. Our current serving spot, which is the southwest corner of the Gene Leahy Mall in downtown Omaha, is covered in old brick. The actual area where we set up shop on those last Sundays of the month is covered in what I imagine is brick that was probably recycled from an old Omaha street. I can't confirm that, although I did try. Doesn't matter. It adds to the nostalgia in my feeble mind. ;) It's on that very spot though that some pretty amazing conversations happen. I drive, walk and run by this spot often, as I work downtown. Lots of times I'm a witness to various shenanigans and other crazy activities. It's a spot where young people hang out during the week. Some homeless, some near homeless, others just hanging out. Not much good happens there though, I'd imagine. The devil's playground maybe? But on those Sundays that we show up, I'd like to think a transformation of sorts takes place. Not because of us. But because God has a plan each and every time. If we show up, He shows up. And on Memorial Day 2011, He showed up. As He's so apt to do. One other thing about this corner - there was once a group who also came and served meals on this spot. They called it Life on the Brick. I'm really not sure of the circumstances or the reasons they stopped serving here. I only know that through different circumstances, we eventually became intertwined with this group. I'm going to screw up these details, but just know that the group was from an organization called Mosaic Community Development. They served meals in this very park long before we arrived on the scene. Then I believe they moved their operation to a building a bit south of the downtown area. Started serving a meal on Monday nights. Some Saturday breakfasts. Still called it Life on the Brick. Now it's called Common Table. I can't remember exactly how we actually got hooked up with this group, but it had to be 4 or so years ago. We started attending a Tuesday night Bible study at their facility. Soon after, we started attending their Monday night meal. At some point, they asked Robin and I to spearhead the meal. We've been doing that for a little while now. I mention all that because a lot of the same great people that we've been hanging out with on Sundays for almost 5 years now also attend this Monday meal. It's just amazing to me how God weaves these opportunities together and makes it all work. Another opportunity to share. Greatness. On the brick.

Some of the folks we meet with on Sunday and Monday are different, unique and very special to us, but really not so unlike any of us. For all sorts of reasons. It's not unlike anything I've ever done. Work. Church. Wherever. We just run into unique individuals and they impact us in many different ways. One young lady starting showing up quite some time back. I'd guess a couple years ago, but the way time gets away from me these days, I really can't remember. My first memory of her revolves around lotion. She'd always show up on Sundays and she was always asking for lotion. We always had plenty so it was never a problem for her to get what she needed. But it never stopped her from asking about it. Almost obsessively. And I have to admit, we joked about it at times but not in a mean way at all. At first I didn't know her name. People come and go on that corner and we may see someone once or twice and never again. Or they may show up and become a regular, so to speak. She's become a regular. And now she's a regular at our Monday night gathering also. After some time, I came to know her name. If I were guessing, I'd imagine she's in her early 20s. I think she lives on her own, but I'm just not sure. On Sunday, we happened to be serving soft shell tacos. As happens sometimes, and because we are a mobile entity, we forget things on occasion. This time, we forgot lettuce and some of the sour cream. When this young lady found out we forgot the lettuce, she was a bit upset. Told us in so many words that she'd not be joining us for lunch on this day if we didn't have lettuce. Said she could not eat tacos without lettuce. She even made a point of leaving and coming back later to reiterate her point. Really? Can't eat a taco without lettuce? I'm not sure why I'm even writing about this, except that I thought it was a little strange that she'd make a bit of a scene over what to me was a fairly minor thing. I mean I know that tacos need lettuce. But I don' know that I'd turn down lunch for that reason. Just one of the many unique personalities we encounter there weekly.

I was talking to a another fellow and he pointed out something to me that I probably should have noticed on my own. We've been doing this as a family for almost 5 years now. A lot of these folks have watched our kids grow up right before their eyes. When we started, Christian was 12, Nick was 9 and Erin was 6. And of course, Robin and I were MUCH younger than we are now. Well, the kids have obviously grown quite a bit in 5 years. Christian, at 17 now, has grown into quite the young man. Nick, soon to be 14, has done the same. And Erin, of course will always be my baby girl. But that simple fact hasn't stopped her from becoming quite the young lady. So as I was talking to this fellow, he pointed out that Christian was developing quite the ear for listening. I stopped what I was doing and looked over to where he was standing. And sure enough, Christian was engaged in what appeared to be a pretty good conversation with another fellow we've known since day 1. I really don't know what the conversation was about, but what struck me was my kids probably get this thing even more than their parents. Or at least this parent. Here was my oldest son engaged in a conversation with a fellow who's called the shelter his home for years now. The point? Well to me the point has always been the relational aspect. That thing within us that says lets go, lets listen and lets love. Right where we are. No matter the circumstances, no matter anything. If someone needs an ear, let's give 'em one. And let's show a little of God's love in the process. And I don't mean to just point out Christian here. Nick is probably one of the more social kids I know. It's just how he rolls. Always has been. I guess these years of home schooling haven't "de-socialized" him as much as some would have us believe. And Erin never met a Turbo she didn't like. :) I just am blown away by what I hope my kids are learning in these environments. That no matter what situation someone may be in at any given time, there's still plenty of love to share and I pray that they never lose sight of that. And I thank this gentleman for pointing that out.

There's another individual that we've known for some time that I believe showed up one of the first weeks we were there. A little boisterous. Maybe a little loud. Whatever. The one thing I've learned from this individual over the years is that grace comes in all shapes and sizes. At first, I was a little put off be this person. And honestly at times I still am. One of those people that if they don't show up, you kind of breathe a little sigh of relief. Kind of know that things might be a little easier. But what I've learned from this person is that I'm pretty loud and boisterous also. Obnoxious even. To God. I wonder what He thinks at times when I pepper Him with my prayers. When I stumble and fall and lay flat on my face, bloody and broken and whatever else. And when I do it time and again. Over and over. Loudly. Obnoxiously. You know what I think? I think He picks me up, dusts me off, pats me on my big ol' noggin and sends me on my way. With Grace. And that's what I need to practice a whole lot more of on a weekly...daily...hourly basis. This particular individual has definitely taught me that Grace is something I need to constantly be thinking about. Sometimes I have to be firm, but the two aren't mutually exclusive. They can coexist. For that, I'm thankful.

Finally, there's one last fellow that we've known for quite some time. He's not homeless. I'm not exactly sure what his life situation is. I mean we've talked about all that stuff, but with some of these guys, I just can't figure it out. And sometimes I just can't remember. This guy has some kind of photographic memory, which is fitting based on what we talked about Sunday. He's a guy who always waits around until the end. I have to admit that it's sometimes a challenging conversation for me. He sort of demands my time. And it's usually as we are packing up to leave. And there are times when I frankly don't have the energy or whatever to carve out specific, uninterrupted time for him. Pretty selfish on my part. So I usually try to mix the packing/loading process with our conversations. Again, pretty selfish of me. But on Sunday, he asked if he could talk to me and if we could ensure that no one else would interrupt. I promised him we could do that. You see, he'd recently been on a European trip. And he had pictures to show me. Lots of pictures. Actually, hundreds of pictures. He wanted to show me each and every one. So this time I made sure everything was packed and loaded and we began the process of looking at his pictures. The way this fellow's mind works is actually fascinating. He had pictures and a map. He traced his route on the map for me. And it was extensive. He showed me pictures of buildings in probably 10 different countries in Europe. At least. And he knew the name of every building, street, etc. Now this wasn't like a trip I take to a specific city. Where I can't even remember the name of the hotel we stay in. This guy remembered it all. Down to the detail. At one point, he was showing me a picture of a building in some city and even pointed out a bird in the picture. I made sure Christian joined me for this adventure, because I didn't think it was fair that I be the only one. :) But seriously, it made me pause and remember why we do what we do. It's not just to go through the motions, although I do that at times. The reason we go is to be involved. To listen, that very important skill that my kids seem to be mastering. To not only listen, but to hear. And to love. It all goes hand in hand.

It all speaks to Grace. On the Brick. And I'm so amazingly lucky to be a small part of it all. I thank God that in spite of the fact that I fall on my face often, He allows me to go back. Time and again. Very thankful.

She said, "Oh sir, such grace, such kindness—I don't deserve it. You've touched my heart, treated me like one of your own. And I don't even belong here!" ~Ruth 2:13 The Message (MSG)

...and

Looking at it one way, you could say, "Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster." But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well. ~1 Corinthians 10:23 The Message (MSG)

Make a difference…it matters.

Nice Speech

Seems lately that every time we show up on our downtown corner, someone mentions those 2 words.  We show up, get set up, prepare to begin serving, I get up on the wall with my lovely assistant Erin, say a few words, make any announcements that need to be made, we join together to honor God with His prayer, I follow up with a short prayer to hopefully ask for God’s blessings on our time and activities and hop off the wall.  And as I’m meandering through the line exchanging greetings and pleasantries, someone invariably tosses out those 2 words.  “Nice speech”.   And for some reason, it always strikes me as odd.  I don’t get on the wall to make a speech.  In fact, if I were to go back to my high school days, a speech is one of the farthest things from my comfort zone that I’d likely find myself in.  Definitely not in my wheelhouse.  Now it seems that I’ve been in front of crowds from time to time, but I’ve never really been comfortable in that role.  I used to play in a band here in town.  Of course that always put me in front of lots of people.  I never really knew how to deal with that.  In fact, we’re getting ready to do a little reunion gig, so to speak.  20 years later, one last blowout.  Stepping back into a world I was sure I’d left behind all those years ago.  But I digress.  There’ll be no speeches in that situation.  So when we started going downtown almost 5 years ago, someone needed to lead a prayer and make any announcements that needed to be made.  For whatever reason, or because I’m a control freak, that fell to me.  What it’s morphed into for me over these years is a chance to share a little about how we all need a lot more of God in our lives and a lot less of us.  I know for a fact that’s true for me.

So when I have the chance to get up there for that 5 or 10 minutes, I try to make it meaningful.  I never really prepare a “speech” ahead of time.  Rarely, and I mean rarely, do I have anything ready to say in advance.  I simply pray that God will give me the words and that I can take that opportunity and absolutely capitalize on the fact that for just a few minutes, we have a captive audience and a chance to share what God’s love means in our lives.  What His unbelievable, undeserved, amazing love is all about.  Now you can’t really do that in 5 or 10 minutes.  I know that.  But I can do my best to make it a “speech” worth something to someone.  And when I step down off the wall and someone mentions those 2 words, “nice speech”, I’m reminded that God may have indeed used that brief time to capture someone’s heart.  If I think about how I used to live, about how I used to speak, about the filth and nonsense that used to flow from my mouth at times (and still does sometimes), I’m amazed that God would even consider using me in a situation like that.  It is so incredibly humbling that I’m usually at a loss for words.  But for that few minutes, He absolutely fills the gap.  I almost always let our friends know that I’m not a pastor and that I’m not going to preach.  And then I turn around and do just that!  But I’d certainly be dishonoring our God if I didn’t.  And I won’t let that happen.  I’ve made and continue to make mistakes in this crazy life.  That happens.  But I’ll always do my best when I get on that wall to make a “nice speech” for the One who has given so much for each of us.

And yesterday, Easter Sunday, I was able to share, albeit very briefly, about a God who loves us so much, he sent his only son to live and die for us in a most barbaric and ugly way.  I cannot, as a father, imagine.  I cannot, as a human, imagine.  But as a guy who’s just trying to navigate through the crazy, sometimes bizarre world we live in, I’ll continue to get on that wall with my beautiful daughter and share.  I’ll continue to attempt to give “nice speeches” because I love doing it in that setting for all the right reasons.

So yesterday we had a great day serving in the Lord’s House.  That open corner in downtown Omaha where we gather to honor a God who loves us more that we could ever possibly imagine in our humanness.  We had great music provided by our friend Dave Paulson.  We had great food provided by our friends from all over.  We had great help provided, again, by our friends from all over.  And there were people there yesterday that I hadn’t seen in what seems like years.  It was honestly like a reunion of friends and family that we hadn’t seen in a long time.  Some of the names didn’t come back to me as quickly as I’d have liked. But man it was good!

Just before we left to go downtown yesterday, I received the following from a friend on Facebook.  It’s from a fellow that we first met on that corner a few years ago. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing it:

“Heads-up! I just got my Amtrak ticket to return to Massachusetts. I leave EARLY Thursday Morning. I wanted to let you know because I know you've been praying for me for a long time! Thanks for everything the Lord has done through you over the years.
 CHRIST IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN, INDEED!”

Now that to me is a nice speech.  I often wonder if what God does through us makes a difference.  When I get notes like this, I have to think maybe it does.  I know one thing.  Those few words sent by our friend? Well, to me, THAT’S a “nice speech”. :)

They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.  ~Romans 15:27

Make a difference…it matters.