Happy 4th of July!!

I always seem to be a day late with most of my holiday greetings; birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc. ... so...

Happy Independence Day!!! Hope your holiday was as awesome as ours!! We celebrated our 10th anniversary on the 3rd, helped feed the homeless on the in downtown Raleigh on the 4th, went to a Mudcats game with family on the 4th, watched our first fireworks show in 7 years after the game , and then went to an all day track meet for our oldest son on the 5th squeezing in a Saturday night church service at a not yet launched church plant we feel God has led us to be a part of in downtown Raleigh.

It was an amazing holiday with "the cookout with the homeless" being the highlight of the weekend. They were so kind to us and our kids, and it made me realize they are real people with lives and families and pasts, and parents who rejoiced at their birth... I met two guys specifically named Thomas and James. I was blessed by my conversation with them, and you could see it made them feel special that someone would treat them like a person. I found out that James had a son that was hit by a car and killed when he was 9 and a few other things about his life. I found out that Thomas was about to turn 40 and we joked about mid-life crisis. One man gave Phelicia a little "4th of July" toy airplane still in the plastic bag that he had probably picked up off the ground at some celebration in downtown Raleigh. It was so precious though, because he actually came up to me and asked if he could give it to her, and then gave it to me to hand to her. The respect that these people gave to Ken and I and our kids was amazing. Ken met a guy who had been in the military the same time he was, and they probably served close to the same time in Panama in the 80's.

I left there feeling more fulfilled than just about anything else I have done in my life... and I have done alot, especially in the name of "ministry". I felt like I was Jesus to some people that have heard alot about Jesus, but have not seen the unconditional love of Jesus in their life. I am so excited to go back and continue in these relationships, and make more friends. I realized these are people with hopes and dreams and hurts and families... we call them "homeless", but they are people who were given names at birth with the hopes that they would succeed in this thing called life. I do not know why they are not able to sleep and cook and live with a roof over their heads right now in their lives, but all I know is Jesus loves them, and He does not call them, "homeless". He calls them by name, and He says "you are special", and "I have a purpose for creating you, "and "I love you and care about where you are at."

I may write more on some of this later... but for now enjoy your holiday!! and I pray God will get you out of your comfort zone and rock your world like He has done in mine.