She met me at the office door, like usual, with a smile as wide as her face.
This is my normal greeting.
She is beautiful. She is full of life. She is changed.
But, this is a new reality for her.
When God found her, she was bruised, beaten, broken and used. She was a prostitute, walking the streets night after night, alone and empty. Read More
The outreach for the day: feeding 200 of our closest homeless friends.
The army to help us that day was a fresh faced group of volunteers. This was their first day to serve the homeless. They had shown up wide-eyed with some excitement…. but mostly fear (you know the look… the plastered smile and too much nodding as you explain how the event is going to work… while internally freaking out…b/c what if one of the “least of these” asks me a question… what will I say… you know you’ve been there) There is nothing quite like the first time you walk up on around 200 very homeless looking folks.
And this group had already expressed to us that they were EXTRA nervous and had never ventured into the inner city before.
I gathered the volunteers up and explained the outreach specifics through what I called my MEGAPHONE OF POWER. (I was/am so mature). I didn’t need a megaphone, the volunteers were 5 feet away, but it made me seem in charge and it was powerful. (I also didn’t need the fanny pack I wore but that too made me feel powerful… and in charge… and so I wore it)
At the event that day was a street guy that we called “Bones”. ( I have no idea why we call him that). Bones is in a wheelchair due to the fact that he lost one leg from the kneesdown. He is NOTORIOUS on the street for being wild, loud and saying mildly to extremely inappropriate things at the top of his lungs. In fact… that’s actually all that he is known for. To that day I had not known Bones ever to be appropriate.
Which is why… you are going to call me an idiot in about 2 paragraphs.
As I was speaking into the Megaphone of Power, Bones rolled up behind me.
He began to make gestures behind my back… no doubt mocking my every word. I could smell the alcohol and knew that Bones was in a particular mood.
As I was speaking he tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and he was grinning ear to ear. He batted his eyes at me (not lying) and asked me:
” May I PLEASE say something to these AMAZING volunteers?” Read More
“All rise for the judge..” the Bailiff proclaimed, and we all stood as the judge made his way to the bench.
I am such a nerd…and I LOVE being a part of anything that I have only seen on TV. When I watch a show I truly believe that I could do and be whoever the character is and pull off whatever insane plot has been laid out for them. When I watch 24 I believe that I am Jack Bauer…and that in every parking garage I will have to take down a terrorist. When I watch spy movies I desperately yearn to be a spy…Lord knows I’m nosey enough for it. I believe I could intubate someone or remove an organ simply because I have watched Grey’s Anatomy. Read More
The alarm clock went off…and I hit the snooze button instinctively.
I rolled over about 30 minutes later only to realize that we were LATE for school.
I had a flashback back to college when I would be frantically running around my apartment half dressed looking for two shoes to put on…they didn’t have to match… any two shoes would do.
I hurried into Liv’s room to wake her up. She is like a 13 year old in the mornings. She yells things like “come back later” and “I wanna stay here forever!!!”. I quite frequently have to pull her out of bed by her ankles and hide her cozy warm comforter. It’s bad.
( I recently realized that I will be waking her up for school for the next 15 years…. Jesus take the wheel)
I tried explaining to her that we were running late. She didn’t get it. (She didn’t care is the actual truth)
I was barking orders at her like a football coach… “Go Go Go Liv! Take those PJ pants off!!”
I removed her diaper and began to put lotion on her when… she pooped on the carpet. Read More
I am no superhero. I am no giant of the faith that woke up one day and said “Here am I Lord, SEND ME to ministry and leadership.”
I am the opposite.
I remember it like it was yesterday. I started having headaches. They were sharp and painful, sometimes blinding. I remember the night that I picked up my laptop and started researching what could cause headaches that bad. And that was the moment that everything changed.
Of course when you look up “severe headaches” the first thing that pops up is “You’re going to die because you have a brain tumor.” That is what the first 6 pages on the google search page are full of. Medical forums where people are telling their nightmarish stories of having a headache and then having 2 years to live. That first night I researched a bit and then decided that it was too much negative to continue. Read More
