Rockin’ our World

What an absolutely amazing day on a downtown corner today. Unbelievably unseasonal weather (always have to give the weather), tons of people on both sides of the tables and just a great day. Started the day off with a great service at our church. Ended the afternoon with a great service to the Lord. World rockin’ stuff. It seems so simple too. We sort some clothing into various containers, maybe gather some hygiene items, throw a great meal together, load it all up and head to a corner in downtown Omaha. Takes a little preparation, but after doing it for a few years now, it seems so easy. And yet I never want to lose sight of why we go and what it means. It’s such an amazing opportunity to rock a little for God. We see lots of the same people week after week, month after month and year after year. And as much as it pains me to see some of these same people in the same situations time after time, it’s a blessed opportunity to share. To do a little world rockin’. And believe me when I say world rockin’, I mean Him rocking my world. I sat in a church service this morning and listened to a message about what it is that God might have in store for each of us. And I always wonder if we are on the right track. If what we do day to day, week to week, month to month is what he had or has in mind for our family? Are we doing enough to serve our Maker and to bring him the honor He so richly deserves? I have no idea, but we’ll keep trying. That I know.

Had lots of great help today. Eagle Heights Church came. Southridge Church was represented mightily. It’s so cool to see the opportunity to serve so fully grasped by these folks! Amazing opportunity for people to put their faith into real action. There are so many people in need of so many things. And I’m talking about the people on the inside. People within the local church. There are so many opportunities to get out and serve in so many tangible ways. So many. And so few people take advantage of those real opportunities. I mean, I know it might mean giving up a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, but the payoff can be so huge, I can’t even count how many times I’ve missed out on great times like this because I’ve been too caught up in serving my own needs. How many wasted opportunities? I’m so thankful for every small chance to not look back at missed chances, but instead to be listening for and seeking new ones. This thing we do monthly is a chance for new encounters with old friends and new ones each time. And a chance to serve God in such a tangible way. Be it providing a great meal, a pair of shoes, a clean shirt, or whatever. More importantly, it’s a chance to serve a God who is so unbelievably forgiving and accepting of each and every one of us. No matter how broken and busted we may think we are, He can use us for something. I’ve struggled for months with things that make me sometimes think that I’m in no way worthy of some of the gifts I’ve received, yet He tells me otherwise. He can use us no matter where we are in life. He can use us to share a message of hope in the hopelessness, strength where there is weakness and love when we feel unloved. It doesn’t mean a person has to show up on a downtown street corner and serve meals and things to homeless and near homeless folks. What it does mean is that we should be doing something. Something to honor the undeserved grace that’s been offered to us. Just do something.

One thing I’d share from today is a story I heard from a young couple. We’ve known this young fellow for a few years now. He and his young wife lost a baby last week. I have no idea what that must feel like. Can’t even imagine. And I had no real words of wisdom. I’m just not that smart. Those are always tough situations for me. Because, mostly words are pretty useless in those times. Learned that a long time ago. Sometimes we just need to listen. And now they are faced with the reality of dealing with a baby that was born prematurely at 23 weeks and watching it die before their eyes. Now they must deal with what comes next. Funeral arrangements, grieving, dealing with the emotional baggage that surely comes with these types of things. He was almost speechless when we first began talking about it. As the conversation progressed, he opened up more. But I cannot imagine what he must be feeling. And if I understood them correctly, the doctor had a chance to call the NICU and have them intercede. But he chose not to. Was it because they had no insurance? No means to pay the bill, so to speak? Who knows? I pray that was not the case. I sincerely hope that nothing could have been done. And I felt that all I could offer was that maybe this was a time for this young fellow to seek God and seek His wisdom in this terribly painful time. I just can’t imagine…

Time to get ready for next month. I pray that God will continue to rock my world. Rock our world. It’s so amazing to show up there and see the faces of our friends. I don’t always remember everyone’s name. I try, but it’s hard. I think there were probably 150 people or so today. It’s difficult to keep track of everyone and all the issues that they are all facing. But it’s not hard to go. That’s the easy part. And every time I go, my world is rocked a little more. I pray that He’ll continue to use us. And that we never lose sight of the fact, and it is a fact, that we serve and amazing and awesome God. Till next month…and in the meantime, rock a little.

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth. 3 John 1:5-8 (New International Version)

Make a difference…it matters.

Giving our best…

So today was our second time back downtown since last August. We took a little break for nearly a year. Right or wrong, we felt it was time for a break. So today we were going downtown for our monthly visit with some friends. A meal, some clothing, a few hygiene items. But mostly, just hanging out and visiting. As happens so often for me these days, I received a timely email this morning. You see, we have friends who live in Charlotte, but are in currently in Ethiopia, and yet others who are preparing to go to Ethiopia. They all belong to a church we once called home when we lived in Charlotte. These guys, right now, have what seems like 50 people in this remote, crazy part of the world for some reason or another. Adoptions, sports camps, you name it, they’re there. I’m on a daily email list for a group that is preparing to go. This morning, just as we are prepping to go downtown, I get my daily email. I’m going to steal quite a bit of it, for one because that’s what I do, but also because even though it is directed at a group getting ready to travel halfway around the world, it also pertains to what happens for us downtown these days. And all those other times we went.

From Matthew, John and Francis Chan via my buddy TM in Charlotte –

"Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me." Then the righteous ones will reply, "Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?" And the King will tell them, "I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me." - Matthew 25:34b-40 (NLT)

Jesus is saying that we show tangible love for God in how we care for the poor and those who are suffering. He expects us to treat the poor and the desperate as if they were Christ himself. Ask yourself this: If you actually saw Jesus starving, what would you do for Him?

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us.” - I John 3:16-20

God didn't give just a little for us; He gave His best. He gave Himself. John is saying that it is no different for us: True love requires sacrifice. And our love is shown by how we live our lives: "Let us not live with words or tongue but with actions and truth." - Crazy Love, Francis Chan, pg 119

I’ve read, studied and used those verses so many times, along with many from my personal favorite, the Book of James. The thing about them is they are so relevant to what we do on these Sundays when we venture out to hang out with our friends. And for whatever reason, things were going against us this week. We do this once a month. So we should have plenty of prep time, right? So this week, our van decides it needs a little transmission servicing. My garage floor agrees. Time for that slow drip to be fixed once and for all. So we are without a vehicle to haul our trailer down this week. I’d been sick for a bout a week with a goofy summer cold, so my desire to go into the sauna masquerading as our garage was a bit underwhelming. We’ve been getting tons of clothing donations and there was stuff to sort to get ready. And Friday when I finally decide I have to get this thing done, the heat index seems like it is about 115°. Sweating buckets doesn’t begin to describe it at all. We also got some bad news about one of our homeless friends the other night. It just seemed like there were forces at work that did not want us down there. Just a fact that when we do these things in the Name of the One Who sends us, there are going to be forces in play to attempt to distract and divert us from the work that has to be done here. And honestly, this thing doesn’t seem like work. Oh sure, there’s a good bit of wok that goes in on the front end, but when we get down there, it just seems to happen. God just absolutely takes care of the details. He doesn’t necessarily help us remember to bring everything and we sometimes forget an item or two, but in the end, it really doesn’t matter much.

I’m kind of rambling today, as I’m apt to do, but the thing is, I sincerely hope we never get distracted from the mission, in spite of all the opposition that could easily deter us. We know that when we show up, He’ll be there ahead of us…always is. Without fail. The good thing is we’ve experienced it enough over the years. We know that when we step out in faith, he’ll prepare the way for us. Without fail. The opposition will attempt, at every turn, to distract us with worldly junk, which is what I personally experienced this past week. Fortunately, I know that He’ll not allow that to stop us from venturing out.

So today was a good day downtown. I was able to visit with a fellow who’s been very angry about lots of things in his past. He was able to recently revisit a few chapters from his past and find closure. We talked about that today. It was so cool to hear him talk about the Grace he’s been afforded. And to somehow help reassure him of that Grace. Of Grace revisited. It was good. We had so much great help today. And so many great friends on the receiving end of that help. I heard of a conversation Christian had with an old friend. They spoke of how much Christian has grown over the past year. He hadn’t seen Christian in over a year. So the obvious physical growth surprised him, but I believe he was more taken by something Christian said to him. That this gentleman possessed great wisdom. And the thing is, he does.

And it’s so extremely cool to see Southridge Church jump in and embrace this thing. We are blessed to have recently discovered this place and we are excited about the future. We’ve seen things over the past 3 or 4 years on that corner that have to be shared with the local church. Things that so many in the local church are so greatly missing out on. It’s so cool to see this particular church, of which we are now becoming fully immersed in, to also seize this opportunity to serve outside the proverbial walls. Can’t wait to see what’s in store. We have a few weeks before we go again. I’m sure we’ll face life stuff between now and then, but the beauty is we’ll go anyway. The Lord willing of course. And when we go, it’ll be because He goes before us and leads the way. He’s given us His best. The least we can do is give ours.

Make a difference…it matters.

Just like we’d never been gone…

So last year, we made the decision to take a break from our weekly downtown activities. Those being, hanging out in the park downtown and having a weekly lunch with some of our friends. We’d been doing it for almost 3 years and truth be told, we were just a little burned out. Not to mention a bit strained financially. But that’s for another day. So as the weeks wore on last year, and winter was bearing down on us, we still thought about our friends often. In fact, during the winter months, we’d throw coats, boots, gloves and whatever else in the van and head down to see if we could find anyone in need. I remember coming home one day and telling Robin we needed to be doing something in that community again. The look on her face told me I was crazy. :) I mean, we’d been doing a Monday night meal at inCommon Community Development for quite some time, but I really just felt we were supposed to be in the downtown community again. As we kicked around the hows and whys, we felt that we could at least do something once a month. Right? That wouldn’t be too difficult, would it? I mean after doing it weekly for that long, a once a month commitment would be doable, right? Well, in the meantime, we began attending a church in the Bellevue/Papillion area. Southridge Church seemed to be a place where we could hang our hat. One evening we met with the pastor and his wife. We presented the idea of a once a month meal in the downtown community. Would this be something the church would be interested in supporting? The end result of that meeting? A new beginning to an old friend. Or a bunch of old friends.

Today was the first time we’d been downtown to meet and hang out with our friends for almost a year. Seemed like it was just yesterday we were saying goodbye. And honestly, not much had changed. A lot of the same people were there to welcome us back. And it was a good thing. What a great day. The weather was great. Pretty much overcast all around except for one big blue hole in the sky. Nice breeze under the cover of the trees. Of course, He knew we were coming. The Summer Arts Festival was happening, so we had to improvise a bit. Met on a different corner than normal, but that was a minor thing. I just can’t say it enough. It was like we’d never been gone. Everyone was in great spirits.

It was great to be able to get on the wall again, say a few quick words, say the Lord’s Prayer in community, be blessed to say a blessing over the meal and see everyone dig in. They were so appreciative. We’ve been involved in various community endeavors, but something about this group on this corner is just different. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something is just a little different. I mean, there were always times that I’d get a little irritated at various people during our previous time there, but I always just wrote that off to being human. I mean, there are just times that we won’t get along with everyone, right? But for the most part, people were just happy to be hanging out, enjoying a good meal, and having a good time. All in the name of the One who sent us. And they get that. I really believe they get it. Doesn’t mean they all agree, but there’s no doubt in my mind they get it.

Today we saw some of the usual things that we were so accustomed to seeing before. Certain people needing specific things. That got me into a bit of trouble last time, so this time we’ve kind of come to the conclusion that we take what we have and if we don’t have it, we don’t have it. Not that we can’t help in other ways, but somehow I have to be more careful to know the boundaries this time while still helping however we can. Don’t know how that’s going to work, but maybe I don’t have to know.

It’s funny because this morning, as I do every morning, I was reading through one of my morning devotionals. I get several devotional emails every morning and one in particular was very interesting this morning. Funny how He works. This particular devotional contains a portion of scripture, a reflection on that scripture and a prayer. This morning’s reading was Joshua 23:1-16. In this scripture, Joshua had successfully led the tribes into Israel, divided up the land and created order for the people. It was time for him to say goodbye, and he urged the people to remain faithful to the LORD. Now the funny thing about How God works was in the prayer portion. It read as follows:

Lord of faithfulness, just as you kept your promise to the Israelites to bring them into a good land, so you keep your promises to sustain your people today. Empower me to do your will in reaching out to those in need of food, shelter, and clothing. Amen...

Seriously? That comes on the morning that we are heading back downtown for the first time in almost a year? With some of the folks that used to help and a new group from Southridge Church? Seriously? How in the world can God be in the details like that? Of a guy like me who’s failed Him so immensely so many times? How in the name of all that’s holy would He present that to me? Has to be Grace. I was talking to a guy we’ve known for a few years now and this guy was one angry dude for a long time. Abused as a kid. Mistreated at a lot of turns in life, at least in his words. But today he mentioned Grace. Said God has been working on him about Grace. And I got it. So did he. Neither one of us deserved it. But both of us definitely got it. And he seemed a bit more at ease today. Maybe it was the atmosphere of all of us meeting again. Or maybe it was Grace. All I know is God showed it me this morning as he is so apt to do most days. As my friend said, He gives us a new supply of Grace everyday. No more than we need. No less. I like it. I’m no scholar, in fact far from it, but I get that.

And of course I saw my buddy Bill today. As I was packing up, he came around and asked if I had fun today. I told him absolutely. He said that’s where we see things a bit differently. In his eyes, most of the people we meet with down there are no good and we shouldn’t waste our time with them. That’s where we disagreed. I simply let him know that none of us deserve anything, but then there’s that Grace thing again. And another thing – we‘re supposed to serve to the best of our abilities and then some. Supposed to be the Hands and Feet. Right? Then how can we not do this? Like I said, I don’t know if this once a month thing will work or not. But then again, I don’t have to know everything. Usually when I think I “know” something, I screw it up. Why not just let this thing play out and see where it goes. I mean I already had Nick asking on the way home today when we were going to start going every week again. This after our first time back! And this from the kid who was willing to give up his bag of cheerios 4 years ago as we sat in the van on the very corner where we met today. In the very spot 4 years ago where we sat trying to determine what we were going to do and how this was all going to work. Look, we’ve made many mistakes along the way. I made some huge ones. But the Grace of God will sustain us. We’ll get it all figured out someday. In the meantime, we’ll meet monthly for now and have a great meal with some great friends and do it all in the name of the One who’s in charge anyway.

So today it was like we’d never been gone. And it was good. Can’t wait till next month. And I pray that all the folks that experienced this thing today came away with a great understanding of how cool it is to serve an awesome Creator in a hands and feet sort of way. I know I did. Just like always.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. – Philippians 2:3-4

Make a difference…it matters.

Endings...or a New Season?

Our Last Full Sunday
I have no idea where to even begin today. It was a day I wasn’t really sure would ever come. Especially not this soon. If 3 years is soon, then this was just short of that. And what an incredible run it’s been. Nearly 3 years of meals, socks, boots, shoes, clothing, you name it, we took it down. Some of the requests we’ve had over that time were pretty comical. I guess you have to ask. But the bottom line is, God supplied every single thing we needed to keep going. Every single thing. And more importantly, he supplied his undeniable and unbelievable Love. If I can speak for my family, and I usually do, we have been so incredibly blessed to have had this opportunity. It is my prayer that if we accomplished nothing else, I pray that our friends saw the hands and feet of our Savior on that corner each week. His Skin. That through us, they were able to witness what it looks like to serve an Awesome God. Because as much as they thought we were serving them? They were mostly wrong. We were absolutely serving an Indescribable God and they were just the blessed and fortunate ones on the receiving end. Stay with me this week. Got lots to mention…
　
Tireless Efforts of Those Who Helped
This is where I thank all of those that have been so incredibly faithful to His mission on that corner. Those who spent countless hours preparing meals. Standing in the ridiculous, frozen, downtown wind tunnel all those winter days, serving the most awesome soup in Omaha. But is wasn’t just soup. It was a chance for anyone who wanted to help in any way to come and do just that. There were no real rules. Just make sure that if you are cooking, that it would be something that you would prepare for the best of your friends. Because it needed to be fit for a king. For THE King. And we had so many people step up to the plate in so many ways. I’d love to be able to mention each and every one of them by name, but there is just no way I could pull that off. God sent too many to mention. He’s good like that. It’s His world and He’s pretty darn good at running it. So to all of those who contributed in any way, shape or form? Our hat is off to you. So many people wanted to look to Robin and I as the reason this thing worked as well as it did. But obviously it worked as well as it did because of the tireless efforts of each and every person who spent so many Sundays serving a great God in so many amazing ways. We simply say thank you.
　
Wade’s Family
Almost exactly one year ago, we lost a very good friend entirely too early. Senseless is the first word that usually comes to mind when I think of Wade’s death. No answers. None. And we’ll have to wait until that final day to know the answers to these kinds of questions. That much I know. But I’m a guy who wants answers. Now. Ain’t happening. So today, a few very special people once again drove several hours to honor one of their own. From Kansas. From outstate Nebraska. From Kansas City, Missouri. To honor a fellow that left us too soon. Again, this is a deal that I’ve written about so many times. Google "Wade Sechtem" and several of the first entries you come across are related to our downtown activities and his way too early departure. So when a couple of his family members found out that this was going to be our last full Sunday on that corner, they decided to join us. I’m so thankful. Because we are forever connected now. When we first started this thing, I’d always ask my self the question. Where are the families? These guys must have families. Where are they? I’ve met one family and God has done amazing things with this situation. And usually? The families are at their loving wits end. I’d guess in so many cases, they’d do absolutely anything in their power to change these situations. But a guy has to want to change. If he doesn’t and the substance abuse, alcohol or whatever wins out, then the families are usually left holding the proverbial bag. You can only do so much. But if the situation turns for the worse, as this one did, then maybe we can’t change the situation, but we can certainly use it for good. And let me tell you, this family has done just that. Huge Christmas bags jammed with gifts for our friends. Easter bags. Donations of all types. Amazing stuff. And last week I got an email from Kansas City. Seems a young lady there who also happens to be an attorney and has wanted to "create a homeless shelter since I was 12", has now been instrumental in helping the homeless in a tangible way that blew my mind. I have to quote her here and I hope its ok. From ‘A’ – "Bottom line is that I wanted you to know how your ministry allowed God to speak to my heart so that I could help others. Because of the example you have set, hundreds of homeless people in KC have received legal and housing assistance." I am overwhelmed with emotion each time I read that email. Absolutely overwhelmed. Hundreds of people in Kansas City? Are you kidding me? Because God blessed us with a pot of soup and about 10 or 15 homeless guys on a street corner in downtown Omaha on a typical November day in 2006? Seriously? Overwhelmed...
　
Keith’s Words of Wisdom
Robin was talking to one of our friends today, and he said something that definitely warrants mentioning. Because it speaks to the relationships that have been developed. At least I hope it does. Several of the guys that we first met on that corner told us a long time ago that we’d get overrun on that corner. We told them we didn’t think so, because we had help from a pretty high source. They’d just have to hang with us and they’d see. After the past few weeks, they might have had a point. At least somewhat. Because honestly, we have felt a little overrun the past few months or so. Just so many people and so many needs, it has been hard to keep up. But no matter how much controlled chaos we’ve seen, not matter how much the numbers have increased over the past few months, we are reminded just why God sent us in the first place. One fellow reminded us of that today. Said that when we first came down, he thought we were just do-gooders. And then after a while, he thought maybe we were just good people. And now? He thinks we are good friends. His words. Again, overwhelming.
　
Bill’s Tears
And I have to share this. A fellow made a promise to Robin and I last week. He promised Robin he wouldn’t share the news that today would be our last Sunday. And he promised me that he’d show up today. Sober. Well, he was 2 for 3 in the promise department. He did keep his word to Robin. Didn’t tell even his closest buddy. Although he did tease him with the fact that he had a secret. And the promises he made to me? Well, he did show up today. So by process of elimination, you know which promise he didn’t keep. And that’s ok. I’m just glad he showed up. And he was extremely emotional. With our first embrace, the tears were flowing. It was tough. I tried to convince him that we’d still be around, but he is convinced that he’s leaving town. I absolutely love this guy. Deep, heartfelt love. You just can’t put that into words and do it justice. But he knows it and I know that it’s reciprocated. No doubt. With every hug he got from my beautiful little Erin, the tears flowed. With every hug and handshake we shared, and there were many, the tears flowed. I’ll never forget the hurt in his eyes as we said our final goodbyes today. Never. My heart aches for him because I worry that I may never hear from him again. He has my number and our address memorized. So I pray that I’ll hear from him. At least a call to tell me he’s ok. I love my man Bill.
　
Fried Chicken and Running out of Plates and Everything Else
This morning when we were getting everything ready to go, we had a couple of last minute things to pick up from WalMart. So I made the trek with a shopping list from my boss. :) Needed a couple of extra boxes of forks. A few other minor things. And plates for a few hundred. Oh, and 500 pieces of fried chicken. I heard "plates for 300". She said 3 packages of plates. Well, me in all my wisdom, and just as I’d pointed out to her last week, I felt the need to tell her that we’ve never used more than 300 plates on a Sunday. So I came back with 300 plates. Guess what we ran out of first today? Yep. Plates. And we even had about 25 take home cartons that people were cutting in half to make last longer. And we ran out of those too. And then it was fried chicken on napkins while Mike and I made a quick trek to a food mart for more plates. We absolutely ran out of everything today. That has never happened before. I mean everyone got something to eat, but man was that crowd huge today. I have to say it here. Robin was right and I was so wrong! :)
　
Dad’s Clothing and The Office…Revisited
A couple of final things here. I could go on and on of course, but I’ll try to finish up here with these final thoughts. I mentioned a few weeks ago that my sister had sent a couple of boxes of my Dad’s clothing up with her sons, who were here visiting for a few days. Well, yesterday as I was doing my clothing sorting for what was probably the final time, I finally was able to put my Dad’s stuff in the clothing bins. Just seems appropriate in some strange way to know that on our last Sunday, my Dad made one final contribution. He’d made a few contributions along the way, but this was different. This was his stuff. He died in May of 2008, and here we were finally getting around to donating his stuff. Funny, that.
　
And finally, one of the last things I did today was visit The Office. That place in the middle of the park where we met our friends that very first Sunday. That place where our friends used to do some of their "work". It’s nothing more than a 20 by 20 square foot area with waist high concrete walls. Used to have benches where all sorts of shenanigans took place. It’s mostly quiet these days, but several of the guys were there, so Bill and I walked over and hung out for a few minutes, one last time. Even happened to get a call from another fellow we met on that corner that very first Sunday, as we were sitting on the wall in The Office. Coincidence? I tend to think not. I don’t believe much in coincidences. Which is why I’m so convinced that God wanted us there in that park for almost 3 years. That He definitely had a plan. I pray that we are doing the right thing here. That He has something on deck for us. That whatever is next will be as thrilling, exciting, and as honoring and glorifying to Him as I pray that this was. I pray that we followed His direction as best we could and that the work we did on that corner was indeed pleasing to Him. I pray that in the end, He will indeed say…" 'Well done, good and faithful servant!"
　
What an amazing opportunity this has been to serve alongside my beautiful wife and those 3 kids God has so undeservedly entrusted to me. What an amazing ministry. What an amazing God we serve!
　
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ~ Matthew 11:28
　
Peace, have a great and blessed week and whatever you do, make a difference.
　
…it matters to that one… :)

Promises

What an unbelievable run of weather we’ve been blessed with lately. Highs in the 70s and low 80s. Overnight lows in the low 50s. And were smack in the middle of July. Usually it’s in the high 90s this time of year. Just crazy. And one thing this kind of weather does for us is it makes things a little more tame, a little more sane, a little more tolerable overall on our downtown street corner. People are just in a better mood overall when they are not being beat down by the unconscionable and sweltering heat that can be so prevalent this time of year here in the Midwest. Today was a perfect example of that. A true Chamber of Commerce day in downtown Omaha. And people were just in general good moods overall. It was indeed a good day to be on God’s time.
　
One fellow told me he was going to call a friend of his a get me a bullhorn. Seems the guys waiting in line all the way down in the Old Market can’t quite hear when we are praying. Now he was being facetious, because the Old Market is a few blocks away, but he wasn’t far off the mark. I simply cannot believe how long this line stretches anymore. But God blessed us with two serving lines recently, so that’s helped in the actual serving. Doesn’t help when a guy can’t hear when we are praying, but it does help us when we are trying to get everyone through the line in as quickly as possible.
　
Speaking of the long line, I was working my way through the line and a lady stopped me. Needed to talk to me. Usually that means a person needs something. I have to be real honest. There are so many people anymore that when someone says they need to speak to me, it makes me cringe a little. Not knowing what the need might actually be. Bus ticket? Shoes? Rent help? Clothing? So when she said she needed to talk to me, I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive. And then when I got to her spot in line, she was ready to talk. And she didn’t need anything. Nothing. She said the following to me – "Dave, remember when we prayed for us to get a place of our own? Well we got a place of our own!" And this was a couple I hadn’t seen in a long time. And she remembered our prayer. And then it came back to me. We’d prayed together a long time ago. When we were meeting at our old corner. A block away. Under the trees. And I vaguely remember the time we prayed together. And like I said, I hadn’t seen them in a while, so it was taxing on my memory to think back. But I remembered. And she was so happy to be in her own place. Who wouldn’t be? I’m pretty sure she was praying on her own also. But she seemed to think that because we prayed together that one day so long ago, that it made a difference. It’s so humbling when people mention these things to me. It is so awesome to know that we serve a God who hears our prayers in such a way. So amazing. I believe that is one of His promises to us. That if we seek Him in His Son’s Name, that he will indeed hear our prayer.
　
I saw another fellow in the line and he asked me to keep his wife in my prayers. I try to have a morning list of things and people that I pray for. But it gets tough sometimes remembering all the names and things people have asked us to pray about. My memory just ain’t that good these days. So I usually just say, as I did to this fellow, let’s do it now. His wife is bedridden with cancer. He knew me. Said he thought about me this morning. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen him before? But I must have? And as we prayed, it dawned on me as to how I always struggle with these ones. To know what God’s will is in these situations. Is it healing? Or what. Big struggle for me to know. And he broke in during our prayer and simply asked God to look out for her. Yep. That’s it. Just look out for her God. So we prayed, and parted ways. I didn’t see him before he left, but I pray that God does indeed watch over her. I know He will. Again, a promise.
　
One final thing. There’s a fellow I’ve known for almost 3 years now from our downtown activities. I really think, if it wasn’t for the fact that we live such vastly different lives, at least on the surface, that we could be really good friends. I mean we are good friends, but we live in such different worlds. Again, at least on the surface. But deep inside, we are so much alike. Struggling with worldly issues. Forces beyond the grasp of either of us. And I love this guy. Sincerely. And today, I asked him for something. A promise. And unbeknownst to me, he’d just made a promise to Robin. My request? Simple. Just show up next week. Promise me you’ll be here next week. Sober. And he has always been a guy to say he couldn’t make promises. His life just does not lend to reliability and promises. Just not how he rolls. We have a weekly standing appointment. In pencil. He literally never makes it. But it’s still on my calendar. So to ask for a promise, well that’s a tough one. And to add to the level of complexion the task of staying sober? Well we shall see what exactly happens next Sunday. Because the promise that Robin asked him to keep pretty much requires that he be there and be sober. But it wasn’t so much the promise that she asked him to make and keep as much as it was the information that the promise was based upon. She shared something with him that will impact our lives in a huge way. And she wanted him to know. Because he keeps talking about leaving town. He’s talked about leaving before. But I think this time he means it. And we want to make sure that we see him once more before he leaves. I pray the he’s there next Sunday. I pray that he keeps his promises. Definitely to Robin. And definitely to me.
　
God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. ~ Colossians 1:27 The Message
　
Peace, have a great and blessed week and make a difference.
　
…it matters to that one… :)

God’s Sense of Humor

I’ve heard it said before that God does indeed have a sense of humor. That was pretty evident for us today. In many ways. Robin was cooking this morning (spaghetti for the masses) and at several points I looked at her incredulously. Who is this person in my wife’s body? Has she really forgotten all those things she learned about cooking for this many people? When the spice bottle did a swan dive out of the kitchen cabinet and splattered spaghetti sauce all over her pretty pink shirt? Yeah, that was a minor thing. When the spaghetti strainer with enough cooked spaghetti to feed half of Omaha fell from her grasp and I watched it fall to the floor in slow motion, only steps away but totally helpless? This turned out to be a minor thing also, but could have been a bit of a catastrophe, considering we didn’t have time to re-cook a new batch of spaghetti. Turned out ok though and we had a pretty good laugh. But that certainly wasn’t the end of our morning/afternoon antics. Definitely more to come.
　
So as we are gearing up to head downtown, with maybe a half an hour or so between us and a couple hundred of our hungry friends, well, that’s when we first noticed the nasty, ominous looking clouds that were hanging over our neighborhood and off to the east. Which is precisely the direction we are heading to hang out and have lunch with our friends. We check weather.com, which proved to be fairly worthless in hindsight. 20% chance of rain between noon and 2:00 p.m. Only problem is weather.com doesn’t run the universe. Those great folks there, in all their weather wisdom, really have no clue what is going to happen at any given time. We all know that. Yet we type that web address in, do our little search for our city and take what they say as gospel. Bad idea today. So we get downtown and get all set up, pray and start serving. Within minutes, God’s real sense of humor becomes very apparent. We’d probably been serving for about 10 minutes when it began. Now remember, this is us, me and Robin who are always bragging on God and how he never lets the rain happen between noon and 2 on Sundays. We’ve had one other Sunday recently where we had a bit of a nuisance rain. Nothing earth shattering, but just enough to let us know that He’s there. We’ve always been amazed at how we’ve been able to dodge the bullet for so long. Or in this case, dodge the raindrops. And in today’s case, the BIG raindrops. So I was standing there talking to my buddy Billy and it began. First you could see the spots on the sidewalk. And you’d feel a drop or two every few seconds. And then? Well then the deluge began. We’re scrambling to get things back in the trailer. I’m standing in water up to my ankles next to the curb. It’s just one of those surreal sort of feelings. We knew everything would dry out, but man what a mess. And oh, hey weather.com? Thanks. You guys are real good at what you do. :) We just had to laugh.
　
And more importantly, what were we going to do about all the food we’d brought down. We had enough food to feed probably 250 people. And people were scattering all over the place. It would have been real easy at that point to simply load up and head west. But then His sense of humor went to another level. We were standing there in the pouring rain and it was raining hard. Hard enough, in fact, off the bill of my hat alone to fill a small stream. Crazy rain. I joked that we should have started handing out soap and shampoo right then and there to maybe help some of our friends. It was a joke. Sort of. And then the sun made an appearance. During the rainstorm. And slowly, the rain began to let up. You could see our friends, who had taken shelter in doorways of downtown buildings all around the block, begin to make their way back to our corner. His corner. Robin had already come to the back of the trailer asking for a couple of tables and some of the buckets that contained the serving utensils. We were back in business and fortunately our friends were still hanging out. In fact, several of them commented about us still being there. They couldn’t believe we didn’t leave when the heavens opened up. Where were we going to go? I believe God was just letting us know that He’s still in charge. We’d bragged for a long time about how it never rains down there. And guess Who got the last laugh. But we hung in there and He took care of us. And it turned out to be a beautiful day. Soggy and crazy and all that stuff, but after the rains let up He blessed us with an absolutely gorgeous afternoon. We were able to pass out bucketfuls of socks, clothing, sheets, towels, kid’s toys and stuffed animals, bags and bags of Panera bread, enough ‘meals to go’ to choke a herd of horses and lots of God’s unbelievable love. Not because of anything we did. But all because of His tremendous blessings and love. What a day! What a sopping, soggy day. But what a day! I’m pretty sure He was looking down today, chuckling at what must have looked like an overturned ant hill. But then He made it right. And it was indeed good. As it always is.
　
I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Psalm 140:12
　
Peace, have a great and blessed week and make a difference.
　
…it matters to that one… :)

Fear

Today was one of those days that make me glad we do what we do on Sundays. Logistically, it was a minor challenge. Relationally, it was absolutely why God has us on a corner in downtown Omaha.
　
Logistically? This weekend was the annual Summer Arts Festival in downtown Omaha. It’s a nice festival with artists from all over, music, kids’ activities, and everything else one could imagine with a festival such as this one. The only problem it presents for us is the organizers don’t seem to know or care that we set up a family meal for a few hundred every Sunday on the very corner that is the entrance to the festival. So we improvise. We have a pretty good Director on our side, so improvisation isn’t such a big deal. So the plan today was to set up on our old corner. As we were about 5 minutes away from the downtown area, we got a call from someone who helps most weeks. She informed us that there was no place to park the van and trailer on our old corner. So she asked a police officer if we could park in front of some barricades that were being used to block 14 th St. They directed us to the corner of 13 th and Douglas St. So it was a bunch of improv for us in this weekly adventure, but we knew going in that would be the case. And it didn’t take us completely by surprise. One of the funny things that happened was the concerned calls we received from our friends downtown in the days leading up to Sunday. Robin answered the phone Saturday night to one of our friends telling us all about the fact that the festival was set up on our corner and what were we going to do? Wing it. That’s what. And we did.
　
Relationally? Well this is where it was good for me. In a strange way. I find myself more and more lately not being able to have meaningful conversation on that corner. Just too much chaos. Good chaos, but chaos nonetheless. So today, in a really weird way, in the middle of the logistical concerns, which really turned out to be no big deal, I was able to actually spend time with a couple of fellows that I’ve really come to appreciate very much over the past couple of years. The conversations weren’t extremely long or extremely deep. Or maybe they were a bit deep. On the one hand, I had a chance to talk to a guy we’ve known from the beginning. Shows up most every Sunday. Real, honest to goodness street guy. Whatever that means. But he’s lived a rough life. And lived a pretty agnostic life, if I’m not mistaken. But it seems that God has place a certain biker church in his path. Imagine that? God working in strange and humorous ways. Because this fellow is a fellow of conviction. You can see it in his eyes and you can hear it in his words. So he’s been telling us about this biker church for a while now. Just about 10 blocks straight west of where we meet on Sundays. Tells Robin and I that we have to visit this church some Sunday. And we just might. Because logistically, they meet at a time that would allow us t do it at least one Sunday a month. So today he mentioned that he’d just finished a long conversation with Robin. And she wasn’t happy with him. Now he and I both knew that she was simply unhappy with the way he was heading. As we are with lots of our friends. We can’t change them for sure. But we can let ‘em know what we think. And occasionally we do. So he’d just finished his talk with Robin and here I was going for round 2! I think both of us had the same bottom line for him. We just don’t want to see anything totally preventable happen to him. And he knows that. His comment to me was that it was going to happen to us all someday. I agreed. And as I shook hands with him and told him goodbye, I told him that before that happens he’d better be darn sure his heart was right with the Lord. He just looked at me and said "you had to go there, didn’t you?" Yep. Had to. And did. And I pray that he goes there.
　
And then I had the chance to sit on a wall in the shade and have a nice long conversation with one of my buddies. We talked about his life. His behavior. His dread and hate of his lifestyle. His anger and frustration at wanting to quit and not being able to. And his fear. He told me that for the last few months, he has been carrying around this fear. That something bad was on the horizon. That if he didn’t change things drastically, he’d really be in trouble. He reads his Bible pretty regularly. He believes. I know that. But he continually turns from God. As we probably all do in some way, shape or form. I tried to get that across to him. That we are all pretty busted. But God’s grace is so huge. And Robin has told him that he’s living in God’s extended grace. He knows what he needs to do. But he just doesn’t know how to get it done. This thing has been on his back for 37 years. Over 50 arrests in 8 years. 150 different charges. Most of them minor, open container, stuff like that. But lots of time lost. Never get that back. Today he was sober and very easy to talk with. That’s not always the case, but it was today. And I just pray that a seed was planted in his head that he can do it. With Christ, he absolutely can do it. Maybe the fear will push him to the point of finally doing something to begin the long uphill climb of change. We have a saying between us. The language isn’t nice. I’ve said it once to him. And frankly I think I shocked him when I said all those months ago. I don’t even have to use the language anymore. Once was enough. And every time I see him now I remind him of the road he’s on. It’s a %$#&*^ up road. He knows it and I know it. And God knows it. But he’ll rescue us from that road. I’m convinced of it. At times I wonder if some of these hardcore guys can ever change. I mean real, long term, mind and heart change. Put down the bottle forever change. We’ve not seen much success in the time we’ve been down there in that regard. We’ve definitely seen people change. Out of the shelters. Into apartments. Short term sobriety. But I don’t think we’ve seen one of our hardcore street friends get that massive gorilla off their back. Surely it can happen. Right? We see so many people, the odds are that it has to be possible. Right? I pray that is the case. And until we see it? We’ll keep fighting the fight. On whatever corner we end up on. With whomever will put on the gloves with us and go into the ring. I pray that the fear will be enough to make a difference for my buddy.
　
[The Lord speaking to Paul] "I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." ~Acts 26:18
　
Peace, have a great and blessed week and make a difference.
　
…it matters to that one… :)