Well a today is the last day that I'll trudge up the hill being homeless. Thanks to the many people who prayed and carry out the work of our Lord I'm moving into a home today.
I took a few last photos as I walked away with my Detroit Tiger hat on! Yea it will be a real emotional day today. I've got many things to do, like go get a bed!
I'll write more later tomorrow, just have ton to do today.
It was a warmed filled weekend, blessed with friendship, fellowship, and love. All of this, I believe, has been possible through my faith and love for Jesus.
On Saturday I went and had breakfast at St. Vinny's has we call it and on the way I notice a group setting up tables and food at the park, just a block away. While I was at Vinny's, I mentioned this to several others and some went over there.
At the park we found a cub scout group who had setup soups cookies and other great goodies, along with a warm welcome. It was just great to see the boys interact with those who showed up. The response from the homeless was slow and one gentleman suggested moving everything down near the shelter where most of the homeless hangout during the day to keep warm. I'm sure all of the scout's soups and goodies were gone in no time and that everyone who had a chance to eat was thankful for them. I also feel that many of those fed had an opportunity to meet Glen, who had a warm greeting and a concern about how and why many of us are homeless, along with giving out encouragement.
After all of the food I had an opportunity to partake in, I walked to work just a couple of blocks away. A family, who reads this blog, had emailed a couple of days before and we arranged to meet at 4pm Saturday, where I was given a new warm sleeping bag, sweets along with encouragement and a start for my new roof. I wasn't able to talk long, but after we departed and I had gotten off of work, the flood gates opened and my true love and thankfulness rolled out for my savior Jesus.
It is just so neat to see how many new brothers and sisters I now have and without my Father this all wouldn't be possible.
On Saturday night the winter storm rolled in with high winds and snow, but me I was laying in a new warm bag shedding clothes throughout the night. You see, I was use to sleeping with my winter clothes on, but within 2 hours I was down to just shorts. Yep, temps below freezing, wind blowing 20+mph, and snowing and I was enjoying it. No more shivering mornings, I'm able to put my clothes and shoes in the bag 30 minutes before crawling out and they're warm and toasty along with me. I had prayed for a warm night and I received it.
Sunday was God's day and I spent it, after sleeping in, going to K2 and listening to the message, Dave our pastor had prepared "A White Christmas". This was good for me as it just brought me even closer to the Lord. I knew that He is a forgiving Lord, but hearing that he actually cleanses us "whiter than snow", while that just even brighten my life and my love with God. You see, I still have some things to talk about and ask forgiveness for with Dave or Andy at K2, but now, knowing that we can be "whiter than snow", well that just makes my heart beat even stronger for Jesus.
Oh yea, the parking job is going great and you know God sure has granted me patience's with the holiday shoppers. I had 2 guys who actually tried to drive over me but I was able to hold my cool, look at them smile (sort of) and just let it pass. A few months ago I would have pounced on them and their cars. And you know it felt really good to just forgive them and just ask the Lord to give them some of what I was feeling.
Sunday night I went to the dollar movies and watched a couple of shows, the best being "Facing the Giants", which was suggested to me by a friend from K2. No big names on the billboard here, but my billboard was flashing "G-O-D". He sure has a way of leading us and delivering the messages at the right time. I suggest seeing this movie if you haven't.
The weekend would not have been so warm or great if it wasn't for love. Love from friends, strangers, church and most importantly love for God.
Oh my post title, well it something I'm sure I'll hang on to for eternity. My best friend of course is Jesus and I ask others who theirs are and it gives me an opportunity to introduce mine. The responses I've gotten, well, they have been great. Most people will come up with earthly names, but when I tell them mine, most will really smile. I just leave them at that point with a smile and say, "Next time when you really need a friend, try Jesus."
Its late and I'll need to get some rest for work tomorrow so will just post a shorty.
Today was Day 14 in The Purpose Driven Life, the topic was,"When God Seems Distant". I actually knew there will come a time that God will test my faith by leaving me to decipher my true feelings of God. Right now I'm just going to enjoy being the infant and having God answer many of my prayers, for I know this time is short before He puts me to a real test.
I believe even during my tests from God, that he'll still be there cheering me on or trying to point me in the right direction. I may not recognize these moments, but I hope that I'll put a big smile on His face, just as He does mine today when I'm puzzled.
Tonight's music is from Tree63, the song, "A Million Lights", is just what I view each night as I trudge towards my camp to grab some shut eye. During this walk, I reflect on what God has given me and what I have given Him. I pray for those who are in need and ask for guidence for my life.
Today I went to K2 The Church for the late service (easiest to attend), when walking through the parking lot I noticed a person walking towards me. At first I thought I recognized this person, but he was still in St. George, Utah, or at least that was the last place I had heard from him. Well as a miracle was in the making and another was continuing, it was Joe. The last I had seen him we were both on the streets, he, drinking and just really ready to give up life in general, me, ready to stomp on with my self seeking ways. This was all over a year ago.
We shook hands and greeted each other, both looking at each other like, "Now what is the purpose of this miracle meeting"? I led off asking Joe if he was here to attend the service. He replied, "Yea, and I know someone who is attending here and was hoping to see them". I then told him about my recent surrendering of my life to God, and how it has lifted the weight off of my shoulders along with making my life so much more bearable. Joe responded with, "I just had to let some one else take over, because I was just ruining my life, and since then the miracles have been rolling in."
Wow (#1), here was a guy who was totally bummed out on life when I last saw him. It was great to see him smiling and all enthused about having a great job, drivers license back, and a vehicle to get him around, all because he had invited the Lord to take over his life.
I ask Joe who he knew at K2, and he mentioned some girl who served meals on Sundays in the park. I knew exactly who he was talking about, and asked if it was Suzy. "Yep" he said, "She said she goes here so I wanted to check it out and may be get to see her". Wow again (#2), I had met Suzy while also helping feed at the park. I too had been keeping my eye out to see if she may still be attending K2, but hadn't seen her.
Joe and I both went inside for a cup of mud, when in comes Suzy and a friend. Wow number 3. It was great to see the work of the Lord bringing together those that had shared a small past together.
You know God sure times these moments well. I was in the need of a boost today and this was just the ticket.
At the end of the message, Joe and I, were both invited out to eat with Suzy and two of her friends. Man, this was just awesome. I was able to set down and have a conversation about how God was changing my life, all of these with a feeling of joy, trust, love and honesty. This is just a glimpse of what God has in store for me and it is just awesome, out of sight, cool, well just a down right indescribable feeling.
Thank you Lord for this day.
Day 13 in The Purpose Driven Life, "Worship That Pleases God" went together with today's message at K2 about how God would like us to pray and worship Him. Many people use the same prayers over and over, not actually having true sincerity. God expects us to pray our own way, using our personality and background that He gave us. With me this means using the words, Wow, cool, awesome, hip, and another that some say isn't proper, "dude". Yea, I've always called some of my best friends dude and God is now at the top of that list, so I might say, "Dude" in the middle of thanking Him and telling Him that, "He is an awesome dude." This is just my personality, and I believe it is genuine in showing my love for Him. The most important thing in this reading was the statement that, God wants all of our love not just part of it as it states in Mark 12:30.
Each day I work at giving all of my love to God and trust in Him leading me through each day, all of this through my prayers and worship. This gives me such a great feeling and opportunities to view His work like the reunion I had today.
It was a, WOW! WOW! WOW! day thanks to our King and, "Yes He is one awesome dude."
The recent addition to my camp is, Ahhhh warmth, the extra sleeping bag kept me nice and toasty throughout the night when temperatures dropped to 10 degrees, but please keep on praying that someday soon I'll have a place to call home with a kitchen and bed.
My music for tonight needs no explanation, and the David Crowder Band just kicks it out. I heard this for my first time at K2 The Church and it just grab me. So here it is.
Yea, I missed a couple of days, but it was because of the recent blessing of some work. I did miss one day of reading in The Purpose Driven Life, but I have yet to be punished for it. Man, God is the greatest friend anyone can have.
Real brief, I'm working a temporary construction job in Park City, Utah, one of the premier ski resort towns in the world. It consists of having to leave Salt Lake at 6am in the morning for the drive and not returning until 6pm. It also means having to deal with some very cold mornings. On Wednesday and Thursday we had a cold front move through that dropped temperatures to -14 degrees in Park City on Thursday and in the single digits during the other days. Thanks to all of the gear that was loaned to me from my new found best friend, God, I stayed warm, dry and thankful for such a friend.
During the cold weather I was able to stay on the chapel floor of the local Rescue Mission. This meant I had to be in early so I had no access to the Internet to update the blog here. The weather has warmed back up so I'll be returning to my camp tonight to remove the snow and enjoy the stars once again.
Today was really cool, at work I left "The Purpose Driven Life" and my Bible out in the office. At the end of the day my boss inquired about where I had been staying. I told him about the Rescue Mission and my camp. When I mentioned that I'd been homeless for nearly three years and that I had now turned my life over to God, he respond with, "Yea, I'm trying to let go of running my life." He then stated he had seen my books and ask about Rick Warren's book. I explained that it was helping me to understand what God intends for me to do and that the biggest thing was that I'm now happier by letting Him run my life, rather than me running it into the disaster zone.
Wow, God has actually started to use me for a purpose and it just put a big smile on my face along with a shiver. I look forward to sharing more with my boss next week.
Tomorrow will be catch-up day for my last three days of reading, along with working more on the New Path project, until then I leave you with the song that describes our best friend.
With the upcoming storm here in Salt Lake City, I was in need of some winter gear so that I would be able to work outside and to be somewhat comfortable staying outside. After the 12:30 message at K2 The Church, I went to the shopping plaza near Sugar House Park, where I put together a sign and stood near an entrance to the parking lot. On the sign it stated:
Homeless Any Help Appreciated Need Socks Winter Boots Sleeping Bag Thank You
This was a real experience for me and an eye-opener. Before I even started to hold the sign I prayed that I would receive the items that I needed and during my stand I thought to myself, "If God wants me to have it, then it will happen". Well, I was blessed! After 4 hours, I received enough to buy a pair of good thermal winter boots and thermal socks. I didn't get the sleeping bag, but felt God had a reason for this. One gentleman came by with a box full of thermal underwear and enough socks for a couple of weeks, along with other warm clothing. After this person left me with the box, I had to stop and take a long breath and wipe the water from my eyes, I just couldn't believe what was happening.
The day wasn't full of blessings, it also had it's moments of disgusted looks, people saying; "Yea, right, he isn't homeless", along with other quotes I'll refrain from listing here.
I watched as those with the big expensive objects drove by with disgusted looks on their face and pretend that I wasn't even there. Some people would smile and that was great to me, because, yes they recognized me which made me feel like I was human.
To each person (except one, when I lost the paper) that gave, I handed a paper thanking them and inviting them to this blog, if you are one of those who received this I say, "Thank you very much for giving, trusting and believing. I invite each one of you into my life on this journey I've started, and you all will be in my prayers tonight". Will I ever hold a sign like this again? I truly believe that this is the one and only time that I will ever need to do this. And I pray that I'll never be in this situation again where as last resort it is needed.
Today was also Day 8 in my reading of "The Purpose Driven Life". This chapter, "Planned For God's Pleasure", really fit me to a tee today, and was one that I'll always remember.
Bringing pleasure to God is called "Worship", and it doesn't just pertain to singing and music. Worship is anything that you do to please and give glory to God. This could be helping at your church's service, working at your daily job, sharing a smile with a homeless person, or helping your neighbor. Anything that you do to bring pleasure to God is an act of worship.
Well today I felt I brought pleasure to God by trusting in Him to deliver the items I needed for work and staying warm. I didn't look back at those who gave me those unpleasing gestures or stares with the same or worse gesture or stare. I didn't come out with any words of disregard to those who openly suggested where to go. Today, so far I feel I've pleasured God by being truthful, open, warm and, well, just what He expected me to be.
My Music of The Day
A real quick quote from "The Purpose Driven Life" reading today; pg.65
"God loves all kinds of music because he invented it all-fast and slow, loud and soft, old and new. You probably don't like it all, but God does! If it is offered to God in spirit and truth, it is an act of worship."
This song from Waking Ashland goes right along with where my thinking has been for the last two weeks. "All Hands On Deck" will remain close to me for along time to come.
Well today I attended K2 The Church 12:30 service with the main intention to speak with Andy Marshall, the director of spiritual growth. Today's message "Sweep It Under The Rug" was the 3rd in the 4 part series "Wrecking Your Relationships In 4 Easy Steps". I had already listened to the first part yesterday, and I'll be listening to the 2nd part tonight, however I wasn't prepared for what Andy spoke about today. It really hit hard and tied right into what I had planned to talk to a him about.
TRUTH!!!
Yea, being truthful with each other, spouses, friends, or in my case, God and myself. At the end of the service I waited while Andy talked with a few members, and as I watched it gave me a chance to reflect on what I was about to do. Last night I had decided that it was time to set up a time to set down with a pastor (I had Andy in mind.) and start working on doing what God has intended me to do. Well after 2+ years of having said I was going to do it, I actually took the first step today and told Andy that I was ready to go to work, and that I needed to get truthful with God and myself. YES!!! I said it. I didn't back out while waiting to talk with Andy, and say to myself, "Oh well, I'll speak to him next week, or next time." Who knows there may never be a next time.
I have so many things that I have swept under the rug during my 47 years on this globe. So I hope Andy will have a few hours (days, months, years???) to set down and discuss what I need to do and how I can go about doing it. I also need to repent for the many things I've done in the past (This would be a huge load off of my back.). I'll be setting up an time to meet with Andy and only can pray that it will be soon.
Ah yea, I got a NIV bible today, so now I can put it to use with A Purpose Driven Life and just for reading when I once read autobiographies of successful business people. Hey why not be studying how to become a successful servant of God, right?
Okay, my music files are not loading (sorry) and I'll be looking for a new FREE file sharing site that has more than 30mb of storage. During this time try CNET for free christian music MP3 downloads.
I'm going to work on setting up a new website on a free server today. The site will be for DSL rate quotes and I hope to have it up by late tonight. So off I go.
Formally homeless (2/13/07) in Salt Lake City, Utah and working to put my life on the path of God and the road to alcoholism recovery. Current mission is taking God's work to the streets for the homeless and needy. Working on a new non-profit to begin the spring of 2009. Watch here for further details.
On Saturday I went and had breakfast at St. Vinny's has we call it and on the way I notice a group setting up tables and food at the park, just a block away. While I was at Vinny's, I mentioned this to several others and some went over there.
At the park we found a cub scout group who had setup soups cookies and other great goodies, along with a warm welcome. It was just great to see the boys interact with those who showed up. The response from the homeless was slow and one gentleman suggested moving everything down near the shelter where most of the homeless hangout during the day to keep warm. I'm sure all of the scout's soups and goodies were gone in no time and that everyone who had a chance to eat was thankful for them. I also feel that many of those fed had an opportunity to meet Glen, who had a warm greeting and a concern about how and why many of us are homeless, along with giving out encouragement.
Sunday was God's day and I spent it, after sleeping in, going to K2 and listening to the message, Dave our pastor had prepared "A White Christmas". This was good for me as it just brought me even closer to the Lord. I knew that He is a forgiving Lord, but hearing that he actually cleanses us "whiter than snow", while that just even brighten my life and my love with God. You see, I still have some things to talk about and ask forgiveness for with Dave or Andy at K2, but now, knowing that we can be "whiter than snow", well that just makes my heart beat even stronger for Jesus.
