This last Month’s Infamous “Coffee House” Facebook Quotes

If you “Friend Request” me on Facebook and your profile picture is a car, 
I will assume you are a  transformer.

Watched a drunk guy accuse an RTD driver for stealing a bottle of non existent booze, 
Is this typical for a Wednesday?

Anyone who stops their car in the middle of the crosswalk 
obviously has never had to walk in one!

wow! im glad i dont look like that anymore. lol. 
 (after I shared a picture of him at Coffee House, taken 8 years ago.)

It is encouraging and inspiring to recall our lives all those years ago
 and see what we have made of ourselves despite it all! :o)

Last quote from the Prodigal fb page I started:

I love bein able to talk to someone with no bias or judgment involved… Thanks V.  Other then that… I still have  thinking to do… So bye fb

**My aim is not to build a social network online, where things are shallow.  Instead, I use it as a way to pray and tempt them off (into the real world) to have real relationships where the Holy Spirit can move and they can see real faith in action.

Presents to Presence

Presents and food were always the first thing that leapt into my mind when someone mentioned Christmas to me as a child.  So began my plotting and drooling.

Getting older means now I’m thinking about the presents to plan for and shop for and wrap, not to mention groceries and lots of cooking! Whew!

I still glean many joys from these things, yet, with age came a better   understanding of what the real gifts are that I should honor & praise.

First to honor the food of God’s word.  Not just on holidays, but for every    devotion, bible study and sermon each week.  I know I could never recall them all. Just as I will never remember every meal I’ve ever eaten.  Yet if I hadn’t eaten every day?

God’s word is even more essential to our faith than the food we eat to live!

Next is to praise the dearest thing of all to me which is God’s presence, (not presents, but you know what I mean) in my life, everyday!

And because I know He is with me, my attitude and presence can be a loving gift to others, too!  =)

Here I am, Lord

Arthur came to our door for his usual bag of food from our food bank. In exchange, he washes the windows of ROP. He is tall with long uncut hair & beard. Weather beaten and aged, it doesn’t seem all that surprising when you discover him talking to himself.

Rather than hold a sign that reads WILL WORK FOR FOOD, Arthur has created hand made tools and poles he uses to wash windows. Businesses offer him cash for services which he survives on and shares with others.

Arthur calls me by a different name every time he comes. He knows I’ll visit awhile after I bring his food.
It’s hard to follow the conversation when he talks of swimming at restaurants and deserts in people’s ears.
I can’t change Arthur or fix him, only accept him as a child of God. Yet, I have something to learn from Arthur for I can feel Christ with us every time I just sit and listen.

Fuming to Counting Blessings

There has been more than one snow this last month that left my car covered.  Road conditions no one liked, and my appointments for work didn’t just cancel just because I didn’t want to drive.

I admit, I don’t have the greatest attitude for others sometimes, when I’m driving; so I’ve learned to pray.  This last month, it kind of went like this...

I hate scraping the car ~ Well at least I have a car

I have a garage to, but we’re using it for sorting through our household projects, and Christmas. Guess we’re blessed.

I hate driving in the snow ~ at least you’re not freezing at the bus stop. Think of all those people you’re seeing that don’t have a choice.

I have a warm home and food on my table, kids and a husband that love me.  We may not have a lot, but we have all that matters.

Thank you again, Jesus, for putting things in perspective.  Now, which station is it that has nonstop Christmas songs on the radio?  =)

"What are you most thankful for?" she asked.

You mean beyond the funnies, cordless power drills, silly puns, super glue?   

No seriously, I guess it would be my parent’s example.

I was estranged from my parents for many years, something they didn't want.  It took years and obvious evidence of their trying before I believed they really wanted to close the breach.  It was never easy.

We all had to work hard at not letting the past rob the future, letting go of old hurts, and harsh communications, to build new memories and good experiences shared once more.  Because of the time and work we put in, our bonds are strong and I can safely say I count them as my closest friends.

So, if I must pick one thing I'm grateful for, it would be my parent’s ability to fight the odds, admit mistakes, and change with the need to strive for something beyond measure; and their patience in passing that skill along to me.  It has made me a better person and steadied all my relationships since.

Oooo, and I’m grateful for hot cocoa.  =)

Thanksgiving Thoughts

⁶ “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:   Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.

⁷ Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide  from relatives who need your help.

⁸ Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.

⁹ Then when you call, the LORD will answer. 'Yes, I am here,' he will quickly  reply. "Remove the heavy yoke of  oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!

¹⁰ Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

¹¹ The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and  restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.

¹² Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.  Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.”  

Isaiah 58: 6-12  NLT

Charity

Charity is an amazing young woman in her early 20’s that has tons of  energy and enthusiasm to volunteer with teens along East Colfax because she has been one.

I met her six months ago when she came to ROP excited about our passion and mission.  As we talked it became clear that, though a Christian, she was not living a lifestyle in line with God’s word.  Though I could not put her in a volunteer         position, I encouraged her heart and passion for the children and her very new walk of faith.

She comes intermittently  and asks me tons of things about starting a non-profit of her own, or even just a sports program for inner city children.  I could have just told her all the flaws yet we need women like her.  Each time, I give her the truth, but as an equal, with lots of examples for her to see from a greater perspective, and tons of encouragement, too.

Today she shared that she is now working with kids!  And I shared what an inspiration she has been to me, a street kid too, that God saved so that I could reach out to others.