Yesterday they got caught!

Winton is changing! And in part it's due to a group of young people who have taken on the graffiti issue. Every day under Adrian's leadership a team of young men goes out and remove graffiti from the walls, fences, trashcans and mailboxes. Instead of tagging up the town, they are cleaning it up and yesterday they got caught!

Adrian and his team where out yesterday afternoon looking for places that needed to be painted over and were pulled over by the sheriff. A tense moment turned into a blessing for the young people when they were not charged with any crime or loitering but were praised by the sheriff for doing a great work. Not having to be afraid of authorities but enjoying their favior is a new thing and I think they liked it!

Thank you to the law enforcement officer who encouraged the young people, thank you to a team of young people who are making a positive change and thank you Adrian and Ernie for having a passion for seeing the gifts, skills and potential of the young people. Because - everyone has a need and everyone has a gift.

"Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."
Isaiah 1:16b-17

I got up at 3:30am this morning, my mind racing with things that needed to get done today. Over the years though I am learning that if I don't focus on the Creator of everything, if I don't set time aside to sit quiet under His teachings, then a lot of my work is just spinning plates.

How do we do what is right? What does that look like during this Christmas season? When the malls are filled with goodies and people max out their credit cards, when there are more suicides than any other time of the year, but when there is also an enormous amount of generosity and kindness... what does 'doing right' look like for you?

I saw this short video and asked God to have His eyes for this Christmas season to see what He sees. Enjoy and 'learn to do right."

"I just got stuck in the middle."

Today I met a beautiful woman. Quiet and soft spoken and yet determined. Physically attractive with a beautiful smile and attention to detail. "Sue" called me and told me she was in need of some winter clothing and she needed something for her court appearance tomorrow. During our phone conversation I found out that she was homeless and staying for a few days in a hotel so that she can make her court date about the fate of her young son. Coming from LA she was not prepared for the cold weather.

I picked her up halfway and took her to the Bus Boutique were she found some wonderful things. She wasn't greedy, just took what she needed for the next few days.

As we were talking she told me a little about her story. She got evicted from her place because of foreclosure and the person collecting her rent pocketed the money. She moved to a bigger city to find better work and worked several odd jobs while living in transitional housing with her son. But she worked too hard and ended up in the hospital from exhaustion with her son going into the foster care system. The court wants to give the son back, but she is homeless and without a job.

As I am writing this she will be seeing her son for the first time in 4 months... and she can't even take him 'home'.

Even if only half of the story is true, it struck me at the core. How do we help people in a situation like this? How do we empower people when they are at the bottom? We talked about the mission and the homeless shelter, we talked about finding a job, we talked about Love INC., and being safe on the street. She said "I just got stuck in the middle."

As I dropped of 'Sue' at the hotel, I asked if I could pray for her and my prayer for her was that God would reveal Himself in a special way, open doors that might seem impossible to budge, help her take the right steps and get in touch with the right people.

Even as we we were praying I realize that I am not God! (duh) No matter how hard I try to fix the ills of this world... there will always be more problems. But God! He can put things back into perspective and do the miraculous things that make us stand in awe... and yes, he does use you and me to be part of the process.

Yesterday I was at a store and a woman came up and asked if I could spare any of the food... and I have to admit, I said no. Not because I could not spare it but because I don't want to give people a 'hand out'. As I drove away I wondered if I was wrong. Now today, after meeting "Sue" I realized I should have been more compassionate, take to time to hear her story. Maybe I still would not have given her anything, but at least she would not have been alone in the dark parking lot last night.


So, my lesson for today: look them in the eye, find out their name, get to know their story and be available for God to use you in a certain way.

"Everyone no matter how rich has a need.......

“Everyone no matter how rich has a need.
Everyone no matter how poor has a gift.
That is why we build and celebrate community.”

Recently I had the opportunity to be with a group of people who desire to love God and their neighbor more. During our time together we asked 3 questions: What is a gift of your hands -what are you good at? What is a gift of your head - what do you have knowledge about? What is a gift of your heart-what are you passionate about?
It was beautiful to see what happened. Within 20 minutes our small group of 25 discovered over 90 gifts and passions….
Some of their gifts of their hands were: art, organizing, wood work, construction, gardening, cooking, painting, decorating, floral design, plumping, home repair, athletics….
Some of their gifts of the heads were: teaching, writing, survival techniques, how to tile, computers, book keeping, organization, animal care, literature, parenting…..
They are passionate about literacy, God’s Word, teens, children, giving hugs, broken hearted, people who have less than them, music, accepting people where they are, service, justice, employment opportunities, clean environment, disabilities….
At the end we had this wonderful tapestry of gifts and passions as we talked about what could happen if we exchanged those gifts more often.
LifeLine CDC has a saying “Everyone no matter how rich has a need. Everyone no matter how poor has a gift. That is why we build and celebrate community.”
What are the gifts and passions that you have that you could share with others?

The grain of sand that stopped a big bus

The grain of sand that stopped a big bus

For the last few months we have been trying to drive the bus… it would stutter and jump…it would start and stop, it would go a little and stall. We knew something was wrong and so we asked for advice from our friends and experts. Dan, Jim, John, Paul, Robert…. and many referred us to their friends thought about it, worked on it and gave advice. We had so much support and help, it was wonderful but nothing seemed to work. So the men started taking things apart, one piece at a time. Looking everywhere to determine what the problem was ... and then they was found! A grain of sand had lodged itself in the accelerator pump! A huge bus stopped by a grain of sand!

It reminded me of life… how many times are things just not working right or not working at all. We call in the experts, we get advice, we take things apart, read the latest books, look for quick fixes and easy answers and then we finally find it. That seemingly small sin that we didn’t confess. The resentment we harbored. The lack of time with God. The business of life that steals our joys. While these seem like grains of sand on the ocean of life and the big things we encounter like jobs, raising a family, church work, sports, a failing economy and foreclosed homes, they are the little things that stop our lives.

Homeless and personal responsibility

Homelessness in Merced - a big issue that we, as community members, are now responsible for.

But is it really my responsibility?

Where do I fit in the whole picture? I certainly want to help people who want to get out of their desperate places, but I am unwilling to 'fix' the problem for people who really don't want to change.

We all are created in God's image, we all have made poor choices in life, and we all live under grace. We are one community, needing to work together to assist each other to live healthy, productive lives. We need to provide resources and opportunities that assist everyone to take the steps necessary to discover their God given gifts, talents and abilities.

But keeping all that in mind, I wonder how much we need to do for people who don't want to change. When does personal response-ability come in place?

The bigger issues are: Where do registered sex-offenders live? Where do people find work when the unemployment is hitting 20%? What happens to people with mental disabilities and PTSD?

I don't have answers for all those questions, but neither do I see that many of the people who have those issues to deal with really want to take the steps necessary to improve their lives.

It seems so easy to make the city, county/state/community members responsible for solving the issue of homelessness.

We have a brand new homeless shelter where people can stay up to 5 months that almost always has openings and there are several excuses that keep people from taking advantage of it. One: they don't take animals. Are they the only people who have to make sacrifices? What about the many families who have to move from a house to an apartment being unable to keep their animals? Two: it is a limited stay (5 months). But, they have computers, training, health care, a weekly one-stop center, a clean bed, meals and laundry and shower facilities. Three: they have too much drama. Welcome to the human race! Where does the personal responsibility come in here?

At the Rescue Mission men and women can get a 12-18 month Christian program that provides growth not only in interpersonal issues but also life skills and job skills, it provides a structured environment with meals and training.

Both programs have rules and regulations, both programs are supported by many community members to make it possible, both programs have been successful (when people have taken responsibility)....what more do the homeless need?

Having been homeless myself, I have a special passion for the people on the street, but I have also talked with enough homeless people to know that there are choices being made... the choice to stay on the street because it provides freedom, freedom to do whatever they please (drugs, sex, friendships, no responsibilities etc).

So I guess my question is: if the homeless choose to live a certain lifestyle, why am I being made responsible for them? If they do not want to make some tough choices (e.g. give up the dog for 1 year) why should I be responsible for it.

In my personal life I have to make choices every day. How I spend my money, my time, my resources. I would like to do certain things at certain times.... but as I count the cost and evaluate the benefits vs the risks.... I choose not to.

So, bring it on! Let's help the homeless who want to change and I will gladly do whatever is in my power to assist them, but please don't make me responsible for people who are only making excuses and are really only looking for a hand-out instead of a hand-up. I am not willing to spend my energies and resources on people who don't want to do their part.

We humans are created in God's image with the abilities to choose, to reason, to be responsible, if we take those response-abilities away from people we are taking away their humanity as well.

Contentment

How much does it take in life to be content?

We just returned from 3 weeks in Kenya and I realize how much life in America is based on what we have and what we can get.

While in Kenya we saw kids playing with sticks and stones and enjoying life, we saw adults eating the same basic staple foods day after day without complaining, we saw parents with their little children waiting all day to be seen by a doctor.....

...the beauty of the people, the contentment, the patience, the love for God... all points to something we have lost in America.

We are often so busy with our pursuit of happiness that we miss the real life. When was the last time I was really content?

Does my prayer sound more like this?

"My father in heaven, may My kingdom come on earth, may My will be done, give Me this day what I want.... "

As I process through the visit to Kenya I realize that all the things that I thought I need, are really not that important after all.... the

variety of foods, the comfortable bed, the daily showers, the stores to buy what I want.... all those things I can do without...

...but what I do need are healthy relationships, friends that believe that there is purpose in life and that encourage me to do what God called me to, community that overlooks my many imperfections and loves me for who I am but encourages me to become more like Christ.

I need people with whom I can share life, every part of it, who invest in me as I invest in them, who share with me as I share with them. I need community who is willing to cry, laugh, dance, hurt, and feel with me, people from whom I can learn, people who are willing to share their lives with me.

Kenya gave me a good sense of what I do need in life and what I don't need and it really boils down that I need to be more like Christ and less like me because then life is so much more about people than things.