Have you seen the homeless?

Have you seen the homeless?

No, I mean SEEN them?

Have you looked into their eyes?

Smiled?

Said "hello"?

Or....

do you look the other way?

Pretend not to see them?

Busy yourself in a conversation?

My husband and I just returned from a trip to San Diego. We had a wonderful time, just the two of us. I had been looking forward to spending some time alone while he attended work meetings. So…..on the first morning of our trip, I went out for a run and to explore the downtown a bit. What I saw surprised and appalled me.
People waking up and beginning their day…..
from a park bench…..
from a makeshift cardboard “tent”….
Now, I am not a stranger to homeless people. We frequently visit Chicago and are familiar with “street people.” But, somehow, seeing them during this trip affected me like never before. Maybe it was the sheer quantity I saw. There were both men and women. I saw every race- white, black, and Asian among the hurting. I saw both young and old. The image of a tall, beautiful woman looking at her reflection in a glass building as she cleaned her face with her hands and saliva will be etched in my mind forever. What struck me, and broke my heart was that all of the people carried something. Some, like the man above, carried grocery bags full of their belongings. Others had black garbage bags stuffed with their life’s possessions. And, some pushed around carts or luggage full of their “stuff.”


I couldn’t even fathom being able to fit all of my belongings- my life- into a cart that I pushed around all day. What unnerved me was witnessing people, human beings rummage through garbage cans looking for food…..
My heart broke for the people I saw that morning. But, the tipping point came when I stopped at Starbuck’s for a tea before heading back to the hotel. As I waited in line, holding back tears and silently praying, a very thin man, about my age, ran in the store, pulled out a discarded half eaten muffin out of the garbage, ran out of the store and ate it. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The first thing I did was buy the man a breakfast sandwich and gave it to him.
When I got back to my room, I wept and prayed. I knew I had to do more than just buy someone a sandwich.
I have been reading a life-changing book, Not a Fan. It is about being a FOLLOWER of Jesus, not just a “FAN”- living out a life of faith instead of just talking about it. The book challenges us, as Believers to die to self and live for Christ, following Him wherever He would take us. As I cried out to God that morning, I told Him I wanted to LIVE what I was reading- I wanted it to make a difference in my life! I couldn’t go have a manicure or lie by the pool- I had to live out my faith and DO SOMETHING!
As I prayed in the shower, a thought came to me to spend my day with the homeless.
So, I went to Subway and bought a small stack of gift cards. After praying about what to write in each one, I filled them with messages of hope and love, telling the person reading how much God loves them and how precious they are. On some, I felt led to tell them that God knows their name.
I went back to Starbuck’s, found a table outside and prayed that God would bring people to me and that He would give me strength to do this thing that was REALLY out of my comfort zone. Fear gripped me. What if someone would get violent or yell at me? What if someone started calling me a hypocrite or self-righteous or something? What if I was embarrassed? I couldn’t believe my fears! Here were people rooting through garbage and I WAS WORRIED ABOUT BEING EMBARRASSED????????
I was surprised at how nervous I was. My heart raced. My hands were shaking. I knew I needed to just DO IT. So, when a man approached a garbage can to go through it, I approached him and gave him the card, telling him what it was. He looked shocked, but took it. The next man who approached the garbage had a different reaction, though. He refused to take it. His sad eyes broke my heart as he said, “I can’t go in to Subway like this. Look at me.” And he walked away.
Many discouraging thoughts ran through my mind and most encouraged me to quit.
“What are you doing?”
“You are insulting them.”
“You can’t make a difference.”
But, I continued and my stack got smaller. I finished with the last group of four people all sitting against a building together. When I gave them the last of my cards, they were joyful and kept saying “God bless you.” Here is one of the men.

I am ashamed to say I have forgotten this man’s name. I asked him his name and it was like I gave him a million dollars just asking that. He got tears in his eyes when he told me it.
I may have forgotten, but God knows his name.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows…” James 1:27
“Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the cords of unjustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Isaiah 58:6-7
Lord, may I die daily to myself and follow You wherever You would lead. May I see people the way You see people. Break my heart with what breaks Your heart. Give me strength and courage to do the things that are uncomfortable. I love You, Lord. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
“Fasting” with you,
Tracy

Weeping....

".....weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

I love this verse. It is such a reminder that sorrow doesn't last forever....there will be JOY again. The night may be dark. It may seem long. It may bring pain....trembling....foreboding....

but, in the morning, there will be joy.

There will be peace.

There will be comfort.

There will be rest (no matter how un-restful the night had been.)

There will be celebrating.....

REJOICING.

I absolutely love this weeping willow tree. It stands so regally near my home. I took this picture when I was running one morning. The sun was rising beautifully behind the tree. As I thought of the sad tree, the weeping willow, the sun was a reminder that in the morning there will be

JOY.

Blessings!

Check this out.....

Is the earth shaking?!

“God is our refuge and strength (mighty and impenetrable to temptation), an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” – Psalm 46:1-3

Wow! This psalm says so much, and we could so easily skim right over it, reading it without giving it much thought. But, let's ponder it together....

Have you ever felt like life was crashing in around you? Have you felt like the earth was “giving way” under your feet? Have you ever felt like mountains were going to fall down all around you? Have you heard waters roar in your life? Has it seemed like life was falling apart? Have you felt afraid, unsure, stressed, attacked, or that life seems too difficult? This is exactly what the psalmist is talking about.

But, he has an answer for us.

Verse 1 says, “God is our refuge.” Don’t miss the first point- God is OUR refuge. This is personal. He is not someone else’s, but MY refuge. I can claim this for myself!

What is a refuge? It is “a place of shelter, protection from danger or difficulty, a place of safety, a safe retreat.” GOD is those things to us- He is our safe place- our protection from danger and difficulty.

God is also my strength. The Amplified Bible says “mighty and impenetrable to temptation.”

God is mighty- able to defeat any temptation or trouble that would come my way. Strength is “the state or quality of being strong, the power to resist strain, stress, and the power to resist attack.” This verse doesn’t say that I am my strength- it says “God is my strength.” I don’t have to draw upon my own strength and power, thankfully, because my strength always falls short! I am never strong enough, but God is.

Then, the psalm says that God is “ever-present.” He never leaves! He is ALWAYS here with us (even when we don’t “feel” like He is here, the Truth is that He is always, ever present). Psalm 121 says God is always watching over us. “He who watches over you will not slumber nor sleep (you don’t have to “lose sleep” with worrying, God is NOT sleeping). He watches over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” So, God is always with us, ever-present.

Well, not only is God always present, but He is an “ever-present HELP in trouble.” Sometimes we may have people in our lives that are always there in times of trouble, but they are not a help. God is a HELP. He is full of wisdom, He knows how to help. He sees the whole picture of your life, not just what you are going through at the time. He knows what we need even more than we ourselves do. And, “He works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Sometimes, God is the only One who can help and we can trust and know that He has a perfect plan.

The next verse says “THEREFORE (therefore, because He is our refuge and our strength and is an ever-present HELP in times of trouble), we will not fear.”

This is a bold statement. It doesn’t say we shouldn’t fear, or that we don’t have to fear, maybe we won’t fear, but is a confident faith statement WE WILL NOT FEAR. I will make the choice to NOT fear, but instead to trust God because He is ever present and never leaves me, because He is my refuge, my safe place, and He is my power, my strength to resist stress and attack. Even though my circumstances may be awful- the mountains are falling down around me and I am in an earthquake of life- I am going to CHOOSE to trust in God. I am going to encourage myself in the Truth. I am going to resist fear and keep my eyes set on the One who can save me. I am going to believe this Word and live it, no matter how I may “feel.” I am going to repeat over and over to my heart that “God is my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.” I am going to declare this Truth and choose to believe it.

This psalm ends with a verse you may be familiar with, “Be still and know that I am God.” Let’s quiet our hearts and our minds and KNOW in our hearts and minds that He is God. He is Creator of the Universe. He is Creator of each one of us. He is the Alpha and Omega- the Beginning and End. He is our Father, our Savior, our Friend. He is our refuge and strength and ever-present help.

Father, we praise You. We love You. We know that You are God. We stand in awe and amazement of Your love and Your power and Your glory. We thank You that You are our safe place, our strength. We thank You that You take our burdens- You are strong enough. You help us in times of trouble and we need not fear. Lord, I pray for anyone that is experiencing an “earthquake” of life, they feel the earth giving way beneath them. Come to them, Lord Jesus. Remind them that they are not alone. Whisper to them that You are here, waiting for them to lean back upon You, to depend on You. Make it reality to them of who You are. Praise You, God! In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

Come, sit awhile for a Cafe Chat.....

Kim has asked us to ponder an incredible question this week. She tells an incredible story of Helen Roseveare, a missionary in the Congo that endured tremendous suffering but continued to trust God and praise Him.

“There was no bitterness within her, though Helen had experienced terrible,
mindless evil. It would have been so easy to demand of God why He allowed these
atrocities, when she had been so faithful to His service. But in her heart of
hearts, she felt that God’s question would be, “Can you thank Me for trusting
you with this experience, even if I never tell you why?”

Kim writes, "That question stopped me in my tracks, and for today’s Chat I
would like to hear your thoughts about this question...Of course this is the
question that Helen felt like God was asking her, but I think it is a good
question for all of us to ponder."

Wow. Can I THANK God for trusting me with my painful experiences? Do I even want to have this attitude? Or, do I run from the idea of any pain or suffering, despite the New Testament promise that we rejoice when we share in the suffering of Jesus Christ?

This question brought me to weeping as I again was reminded of those suffering with suffering children, like Abby Riggs (scroll down). I posted about her last night and asked you to join me in prayer. Just before I checked in at the Cafe, I was praying for the women I met last weekend at the conference. So many praying for loved ones suffering from cancer....Others who have lost jobs. As I prayed, I was thinking how our lives would change if Brian lost his job. What would we do?

As I read this question, would I have the heart attitude of thanking God for HIM TRUSTING ME with this trial?

Or, what about cancer? Would I THANK HIM FOR TRUSTING ME with this trial?

Or, like Helen....being gang raped, beaten, and left for dead....would I thank God for TRUSTING ME with this trial?

Or, like Paul, beaten, stoned TWICE, shipwrecked and lost at sea, bitten by a poisonous snake, and imprisoned in chains, would I have the same heart attitude that cries,

"But whatever to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of
Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of the His resurrection and the FELLOWSHIP OF SHARING IN HIS SUFFERINGS, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow , to
attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Wow. A lot to think about today...

Please take a few moments to ponder this question and visit the Cafe to join the chat....