I think I am going to start posting one week behind what's happening on the streets. This will hopefully produce, though probably a futile attempt, a more quality blog. The content will have a chance to set it more and perhaps give me a better perspective on the happening of the night out.

My evening started hectically with friends calling hours before needed help and one neighborhood friend in particular just needing someone to listen. This on top of Doug, one of our main team members, being gone for the week. That meant that I would be serving dogs myself instead of connecting with Cameron and his group from Colonial Heights and talking with the rest of the group. Needless to say, I arrived in a bit of a frazzle.

I enjoyed the service again. Getting to see everybody that came through the line was awesome! Normally I am talking with other team members and then in conversation with just a few individuals. It was the warmest night of the year, so we had double the usual numbers! Served up over 150 hot dogs to about 80-90 folks. As the weather warms up, we will be focusing less on warm clothes and more on socks and shoes. It will also allow for us to get more creative in our outdoor space! More music, longer nights! More games and more relational conversations! That is what I get excited for. We get to know folks more and that allows for more time for the Holy Spirit to work!

I don't have any abstract or inspirational thoughts this week. I only have bright hopes and high expectations for the little ways that God allows us to work!  

Confrontations and Love

God N Dogs: Our Humble Attempt to Change the World

March 5th

    “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was Made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (...) There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us. If any one says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar’ for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, That he who loves God should love his brother also.”

    “If i speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If i have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and knowledge, and if i have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all i have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

    I have spent this morning reading and meditating on love. What God N’ Dogs and what Let’s Rock and Roll and Change the World is doing, it all has come from a place of love. I think it is very important that we continue to meditate and question our actions and service against these aforementioned texts. I think it is very important to pause daily and reflect on ourselves as to the driving energy behind our lives.

• Is love at the center of everything we do?
• Is love for God what compels us to love our neighbor?
• Are we loving our neighbor as ourselves?
• Are we loving our neighbor as our neighbor needs to be loved?

I personally have lost these questions and the roots of love in the past. I never want to go down those roads again.

I had read the first text early in the day yesterday, and I needed it on the streets last night. A confrontation between me and and one of my homeless friends occurred and escalated quickly. Thankfully the Holy Spirit reminded me that I must show love to my brother if I want to love God. In the midst of the argument, I was reminded that showing love to this man is far more important than being right. It was also quite evident that nothing edifying would come from this due to the defensive and confronting approach that had been taken. I quickly withdrew with a reply of, “I love you brother, lets not argue.” Unfortunately that was not well received either. I hope to be able to mend ties and have good discussion with him later on down the road.

It was a warmer night and therefore, a busier night out on the streets. We were fortunate enough to have some candy and juices to give away on top of the usual Oscar Meyer all beef dogs and chips. I enjoyed time with friends while playing corn hole, and there are rematches scheduled for next week! 70 dogs were served to about 40 people, so the numbers are consistent. I am feeling like word is spreading that we are back out on the streets, and our new location and partnership with First United Methodist Church is going well! We are very thankful to Leslie Coates and all those on the homeless and outreach board there!

I am going to end these thought with some exciting news! John, aka Big John, is a good guy who I met a couple of years ago while doing street outreach. He has been homeless, but has always made it his goal to help the homeless community as much as possible. He founded a group called Absolutely Amazing People whose goal is to empower homeless and give them skills to enter the job market. He has also done a lot of work with Messiah’s Branch Outreach and Pastor Dan. Anyways, my good friend John is engaged to be married to Rachel, who I look forward to getting to know soon! I was humbled to be asked to be the best man at their ceremony!  I do not know how much information they want to be put out, so I will leave it at that.

Prayers this week:

• John and Rachel, for their upcoming marriage
• Our friend who will be going in for heart surgery on the 15th
• Donald, that he can be reconciled with his wife Tosha
• for warmth and care for the homeless on the cold nights