Homeless for the Holidays

Cora and I went grocery shopping for the holidays and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to chat with Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. They are homeless. They have a camp up the hill a couple of miles from the grocery store. Lee was sitting at a bench outside the grocery store while his wife was shopping at the party store.

Lee and his wife were very friendly and were eager to share their stories. Lee found Jesus a couple years, ago. Since that time, he has totally kicked his drug habits and does not manufacture meth any more. His wife is also clean, but alcohol is still a part of their daily existence.

Although life had been hard on the two of them, they were incredibly positive. They were eager for company and offered to take me to their camp to show me around. I declined but got their phone number in case I changed my mind. I wish I could remember his wife’s name, but sadly can’t. I asked if she had ever seen God do anything for her. She
very excitedly asked me how many times would I like to hear about?

She then sang me a pretty song. It was her best “Valley Girl” rendition of a song she had written about Adam and Eve in the garden. She had previously sung this song to a prostitute and drug addict  while locked up at the county jail. She saw God in the song and believed it a strong witness to her friends. It probably was. Lee loved to hear her sing.

You likely will find this statement odd, but I don’t know if I have ever met any couple as excited about God and His place in their life.  They were really pumped and it was hard for me to get away. They just wanted to keep talking about God in their life as they shared a bottle.

The experience does make me wonder. Why did I expect less out of a homeless person, then I’d expect in talking to any other stranger.  Why was I surprised they had a relationship with God? No matter how I slice it, I was blessed in the opportunity to meet the Andersons.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from 37stories!

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AHHH God’s love. A topic that is fresh on my heart.

Guest post by Elisha.

There was this woman in my life that was someone I just couldn’t seem to get away from. She drove me crazy. She was one of those people that when she was around my true colors rose up. Sure on the outside I kept a pretty face, but on the inside I was the biggest hypocrite as I wished with all my might she would just go away. Everytime she was around she would say things to cut me, to make me feel bad, or just to be mean. It was irritating.

All the while I knew all the right answers…I knew I was to forgive her, I knew I was to love her and I knew that there was probably some underlying hurt in her life that caused her to say these things. And as much as I prayed and vowed that I had forgiven her and that I would kill her with kindness, everytime I saw her I still wanted to ring her neck.

One day when the topic of the home group that we hold in my home came up she stated that she was going to start coming. GREAAAAT!! Just what I needed.(Please note the sarcasm). So she had been coming for a few weeks and the ministry always seemed to be directed at her and that drove me more crazy as she would sit there with a blank stare and say she was fine and she was already doing everything she needed to.

The pharisee in me sat there despising her. The unforgiveness and bitterness in my heart was rampant and I knew then that I could not ever love this person. I could pretend and even say all the right things, but in my heart there was no love. So, yesterday came and we decided to meet and get on our faces to seek the Lord. As I lay there on my living room floor I heard the Lord asking why I cared so much what others thought of me when I know the King of Kings. Why I longed for others approval when I was the bride of Christ.

Then He showed me this woman I despise who was next to me at the time and asked if I was willing to love her. I confessed that I couldn’t.  He said to humble myself and consider her better than me. Immediately I knew I had to drop my pride and be obedient. As I submitted to the idea that I was the least and the worst, God cleansed my heart from
the unforgiveness and bitterness. No formula, just a change of heart.

Then, my spiritual authority said out of the blue…”I think we should pray over (Sally).” I knew I could lay my hands on her to pray because of what God had just done in my heart. As we prayed I just asked for Him to show me His love for her. I knew if I could see it, then I would be able to love her.

As she sat there she began weeping and crying out to God for all the times she fealt alone. She said, “For the time I was alone in my closet, for the time they beat me, for the time the called me worthless, and for the time my parents killed themselves.”

Immediately a flood of sorrow rushed through my body. So much I could barely stand it. I kept my hand on her and wept with her. God showed me this was just a taste of the sorrow He fealt through all these things that she went through and that He never left her. We wept and wept and wept.

Then she turned to me and we embraced and on top of all the sorrow a new emotion came…..LOVE. An overwhelming love for her that physically  my body could not contain. I began shaking and could barely speak to tell her how much God loved her. We sat embraced for awhile as this love took over my entire being. Love so great I couldn’t even look her in the eyes becuase it was so overwhelming.

Again, God revealed that this was just a taste of how much He loved her. When the emotion died down enough to be able to come together again as a group there was something new in me. God had given me love for her.

I looked at her with new eyes. She honestly looked different and I swear her voice was different. We were new women. Released from the grasp of the enemy who loves division and strife. I could not love her with any ounce of the religiousity that is in me, but God’s love is more than enough and so much better.

Elisha

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James Harrison T-Shirt – What will you pay?

How much will you pay for an authentic James Harrison Superbowl record breaker T-Shirt?  I think this shirt may have been worn during the Super Bowl game and James made his record breaking touch down.  I think the guy that has this shirt stole it off his back while he was in the shower.

 Or possibly you’d like to bid on Aretha’s hat she recently wore at the Oh’Bama inaugeration.  She says she’s not sure if she is going to let the Smithsonian Institute have it.

 

And if nothing else you could always bid on Michael Swim Phelps’s hooka pipe.  He says he used bad judgement.  Probably thought the pipe was a bad fit for his teeth.

Or possibly my dirty socks. 

I don’t know.  I guess the Super Bowl brings out the best or worst in me.  Sigh…

 

Which item will bring the best price on ebay?

President’s job description

When you hire someone to do a job, you normally consider what the job is and whether the person has the qualifications to do the job.  In most companies of any size there will be a job description for each of its employees.  It outlines what it is the person is suppose to do in exchange for a fair wage.

In the case of the president, I suppose his job description is the oath he takes.

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

I think it important to note his oath is specific to the Constitution of the United States.  We may wish he was responsible for the well being of the world.  But it seems pretty plain where his responsibilities lie.  Obviously, there is whole issue of morality and we hope his job performance is influenced by his love for God. 

But bottom line… his job is to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.  If we hired him to solve the world’s economic crisis or feed the poor in Africa, we need to rewrite his job description.  Because today, we may have unreasonable expectations based on the job he was hired for.

Jobless in San Antonio

Following the collapse of Zippity, I unsuccessfully secured employment after circulating hundreds of copies of my resume. It seemed I was being rejected even faster than I could apply. I even applied with the government for work in Iraq. I was that desperate. Then, Cora got me a job interview with a friend that managed a Christian book store. I reconciled with God that I out of humility would accept the job, I could have done as a teenager. It seemed I had come full circle in life. I was offered the job initially, then the offer was withdrawn when I wouldn’t agree to a long term contract. I knew God had a plan for me. How could I obligate myself in a way that might limit God’s handiwork in my life?

I thought I was pretty much at the bottom of the job opportunities, only for God to point out the job as janitor at Grace Point. He asked if I was willing to be a janitor. As a career path, I considered it pretty much the bottom rung. It didn’t quite fit in with Physicist, Research Scientist, President or CEO. Humbled and on my face before God, I agreed to be obedient and submit to God’s authority and claimed His best on my life. Jamye offered me the job of janitor. I enthusiastically accepted the job. Before I could start work, I was promoted to Facility Manager and then introduced as Director of Facilities. This is God’s perfect job for me and His abundance on my life.

“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat”. Matt 5:6