Invisible

    I had an interesting experience this week while vacationing in  Ohio's Amish country. I stayed Tuesday-Thursday, and came home late Thursday afternoon. 

  Tuesday was a rainy dreary day, and I spent most of it going to the several thrift stores i the area. There are at least twelve, including a Goodwill. I went to nine of them on Tuesday.

 On Wednesday, I mainly went to souvenir and touristy shops. When the weather is nice - which it was - I like to park my car at one end of Berlin, Ohio and just walk the main street, checking out the stores. 

 After checking into my second place I stayed at - I couldn't get the same place for two nights - I decided to got to the thrift store that is out of the way in Wilmot, OH. There is a restaurant there, The Amish Door, that I ate at a couple times a few years back. They closed, but reopened in a bigger building in the same lot. I decided to go there for supper. 

I walked in, was seated right away and given a menu. The place is huge. I was seated at a table in the one section of the restaurant that had booths and tables, mostly filled. And I sat. And sat. There were waiters and waitresses walking past my table, and no one acknowledged me. There was a waiter that stopped a couple of times at the table beside me that I figured was my waiter, but he never even looked at me.

Finally after at least twelve minutes, I chased down an employee at the salad bar who looked annoyed to be bothered. I told her I had been waiting over ten minutes with no one taking my order,  and asked if I had a waiter or waitress. After checking where I was seated, she headed off. A couple of minutes later, the guy I assumed was my waiter came to my table and apologized for not noticing me. I got the buffet/salad bar, and had mediocre service from him.

While eating my first plate of food, I bumped my glass of pop, knocking it over. I tried to get the attention of a couple of staff walking by, but they just kept walking. So I mopped up the mess as best as I could with napkins, pushing the ice cubes on the table onto my empty salad plate, and kicking the ones on the floor under the table. The same girl I had bugged earlier went by busing tables, and dropped one of her cloths and it caught under the wheel of her cart. I tried to get her attention to tell her, but she just kept going.

I felt invisible for most of my time in that restaurant. I am not exaggerating. It was as if the staff couldn't even see me sitting there, even when I made a mess. I was embarrassed, but no one even seemed to notice. 

I used to feel weird about eating out on my own, especially when asked "Just one?" But I got to the point it doesn't bother me. Much. I tip well for good service, and don't camp out at a table. But sometimes I do feel like I am being an inconvenience since I am just one person eating out. 

But this experience...ugh. I am guessing that if I had three people with me at the table for four, or even one or two, I would have been noticed faster. Maybe.

It seriously was a weird experience. I have never felt so un-noticed and invisible in my life. Oh, I am sure there were other times, but this was on steroids. 

It made me think. 

Years ago when I worked at the Christian bookstore in Salem, OH, the owners had a speaker come to talk about customer service. They treated us to supper, then the guy spoke. He told a true story that has stuck with me about a young man who committed suicide. I can't remember if the speaker gave many details about what was going on in this guy's life, but this is what I do remember:

In his his suicide note, he said how lonely he was, and how invisible. He walked into a Christian bookstore hoping someone would approach him. No one did. No one even asked him if he needed help. He went home, wrote a suicide note, and killed himself. 

I am not excusing his suicide. I know in my personal experience of dealing with depression that there are all kinds of thoughts and feelings one deals with. There are times I am lonely, but a lot of the time I enjoy solitude and enjoy staying home avoiding people. I have battled bad thoughts, but know what the answers are and are not. 

But how many people are out there feeling invisible. Lonely. Unnoticed. I think my church does pretty well with visitors. They all aren't like me, who rarely approaches non-family members, and escapes the church as soon as the song leader stops holding us hostage after church is over. (I might explain that at the end😀) There are cards to fill out, and I know my pastor and assistant pastor go out of their way to speak to visitors and even visit if they leave information.

I am sure though, that there are many churches where someone could slip in and out without people noticing them and speaking to them.

And not just churches. Everywhere there are people who go un-noticed. They are invisible, maybe because of their appearance, or maybe they stink, or have other issues that make people avoid them.

There is a shirt I have seen on line, and one came up for review on Amazon that I missed out on recently, so I bought one and have been wearing it. I have a couple of hoodies coming that say the same thing. (Got a fairly good deal on one, then they popped up an offer to get a second one cheaper. The shirt says on the front: You are enough. The back says "Dear person behind me....." The company that started it advertise them as a suicide deterrent, and have testimonials. Could a shirt like that deter suicide? I guess it is possible. I wore mine Tuesday when I was on my trip, and had a few positive comments. The first took me aback a bit. I was looking at clearance books in a thrift store, and a guy probably a little older than me fist bumped me. I was wondering "what on earth", then he said "Thanks for making me smile with the message on the back of your shirt." Hmm. Cool. 

When I am out in public, despite wanting to avoid people, I try to smile at people and say hi or good morning if they make eye contact. Who knows what people are going through. Maybe they feel invisible, un-noticed, unloved. It might not make a difference in their life....but what if it does?

Jesus noticed people. There are a couple of Bible stories that stand out to me regarding that:

1) The woman with the issue of blood. I won't go into the whys, but she was a social outcast because of her issue. She was untouched. People avoided her. But she thought if she could just touch the hem of his garment, she might be healed. I am sure she thought she'd touch it, then scurry away without being noticed. She never was, so why would this time be any different.

But oh, how wrong she was. Jesus immediately asked "Who touched me?" He knew who had, but He wanted her to voice it and why. Maybe He wanted her to feel noticed. His disciples told Jesus someone in the crowd probably bumped into her, but He persisted. So this woman spoke up and admitted it was her. Then Jesus told her that her faith had made her well, and to go in peace. 

Thread of Hope by one of my favorite groups puts it like this:

The woman needed healing of that dreaded disease
Her money brought physicians but only Jesus could bring relief
And though her last thread of hope was worn down to a strand
Her heart held onto faith til she could touch him with her hand 

Cause when you're hanging by a thread 
Still you can climb life's mountain
Though the cliffs are rough and jagged you can cope
If you should slip and reach ropes end
You'll find the hem of his garment
So don't let go of that last thread of hope

2) The woman at the well. This one really gets to me, in a good way. Jesus told His disciples that He needed to go through Samaria. A people looked down on by the Jews. There's a song Karen Peck and New River recorded several years ago. The first verse talks about her:

She could not believe
He would come to her city
Come to a Samaritan well
But He offered and got her
To drink livin' water
Now she's got a story to tell

To make a way
He went out of His way
Came to me
Left Heaven one day
He took a journey alone
Left a Father and home
To make a way
He went out of His way

The Jews just did not like the Samaritans, yet here is Jesus going out of His way to see a woman that was a social outcast even among her people. She had had five husbands, and was shacking up with at least a sixth guy. But Jesus asked her for a drink. Her response was "The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?”  (John 4:9 ESV) She was shocked that He noticed her, and would ask someone like her for water. But He went out of His way to let her know she was seen, noticed, loved, and in need of a Savior who loved even her. 

Jesus always sees us. Notices us. Loves us. No matter how invisible we are or feel we are, He always sees us. And may all who claim to be followers of Him do the same.

In closing....

The hostage thing. Several years ago, they started something at my church. After the closing prayer was said, the song leader would sing lead out in a chorus to give my pastor time to get back to the door to shake hands with people as they leave. For several years, we were in a rut and did the Doxology. Now, the song leader picks a song or chorus that has something to do with the sermon. Here's the thing: Church is over. I want to leave, but I have to stand there while we sing. And sometimes all the verses of the song, or repeat verses and the chorus. So I kind of view it as being held hostage. 😃

Secondly, I absolutely do not recommend the mentioned restaurant. The food on the bar wasn't that great. I am guessing it is under new management. 

Now go out and do your best to make sure anyone crossing your part does not feel invisible. 

Dogs, Diane, and Good Samaritans on motorcycles

     There was a day I blogged several times a month. Since my depression worsened, I just don't feel like doing it, so this is only my 5th post this year. 

 

    Diane and her dog

    I moved into the duplex I live in two years ago last month. It is a small town, and I live two blocks off the main street of town - well, I live on West Main Street, but I refer to the street where most of the stores are as the main street.

  One thing I love about living where I am, is that I can walk to so many places in town. There was often a woman walking her dog, or actually standing on the next block smoking and holding him on his leash. I would always speak, ignoring the dog. Disclaimer: I really, really dislike dogs....and I really find it nauseating when people refer to themselves as "mommy and daddy" and act like their dog is a human. Disclaimer two: I really, really hate cigarettes.

  I finally found out this lady lives three houses down from me, and this year in my walking past found her name is Diane and she is 70.

   Ass I have walked past, Diane has often been sitting on her porch. I stop and chat. I found out that her son, his wife, and their little girl live in the house beside her towards my place. I found out that Diane is lonely, and pretty much only has the lady beside me, Candy, as her friend.

  And I found out why I never saw her walking the dog anymore. The 14 year old dog was not doing well.

  I hadn't talked to her for a while, and she and her husband were sitting on their porch when I walked to town last week, so I stopped and chatted with them for at least 20 minutes. I asked about the dog, and she said she had to have it put down in July, and that they called on her birthday to tell her she could pick up the ashes. My immediate thought was how weird it is to cremate an animal, but I said some sympathetic words and asked if she thought she would get another dog....she won't. I suggested a cat, and that is definitely not happening.

  I was off today, and decided to walk to town. When I stepped outside, my neighbors beside me were outside, and I chatted with them for 10-15 minutes. The lady, Candy, was saying she had her windows up the other day and whatever I was cooking smelled really good. I guessed it was my beef vegetable soup. After chatting, I headed to town just as Diane came out, sat on her porch swing, and lit up. I stopped to chat with her for a few minutes.

 During the course of our conversation, she said "Candy was telling me she smelled something really good you were cooking the other day." I replied that it was probably my beef vegetable soup." "No, I think it was the day you were making lasagna." I was totally amused that these two ladies were discussing my cooking. 😀😀

The Good Samaritan on the motorcycle

  I have needed new back tires on my car for a while. I got the oil changed right before my Kentucky trip last month at the tire place conveniently two blocks away, and the one guy told me I needed new ones when I picked the car up.

  I was on my way home from work last a couple of weeks ago, and thought something felt weird as I was driving. I was cruising on the four lane when it showed I had 17 pounds of air in my right back tire. I was about 1/4 a mile from an intersection where there was a big pull off graveled place, and decided to try to make it there instead of changing the tire beside the road.

 Disclaimer three: I CAN change a tire, and have before.

 I pulled off, muttering the whole time, and got the "donut" tire and jack out of the trunk. It had obviously never been used - the tire and the jack. I got the hubcap off, loosened the lug nuts, and jacked up the car. Then I tried to get the tire off, and had no luck. Several cars had driven by the road that crossed the 4 lane that I was beside. I saw a young guy on a motorcycle drive by, then swing back and pull in.

 Disclaimer four: I hate motorcycles, believe motorcycle laws are way too lax, think you have to be half nuts to ride one, and totally insane to go helmetless.

  He turned his bike off, and asked if I needed help. I told him I couldn't get the tire off, and he said with steel on steel it can be difficult, and you need to kick it. So, I kicked it. Nada. (I think that means nothing in Spanish). He said he would get under the car and kick it. He laid down, got under the car, and kicked the tire. It came loose, and to my horror the jack also did, and the car fell. I had a brief moment of panic wondering how fast I could get the car jacked up again if he was pinned. Thankfully, he wasn't. 

 He said he was fine, and never got under anything that he wasn't sure there was plenty of room if something like that happened. He got out, and proceeded to change my tire the rest of the way. He asked me at one point if anyone else had stopped to see if I was OK and needed help, and was amazed when I said no. I asked him if I could give him anything for his trouble, and he said no and told me to keep safe. I shook his hand, and he was off on what I consider to be a very unsafe vehicle. Without a helmet, of course. 

  How often do we steer clear of people who are different than us, who may do things we dislike, live a lifestyle we disagree with, who don't fit into our neat little mold of what we consider good people and someone we would want to be around?

  I have worked at the hospital as the ER greeter for over three years, and in the main lobby almost five years. I have seen and dealt with all kinds of people, and people of all nationalities and walks of life. Drug addicts have come in to register in the ER. I have had people curse me out and tell me to go to hell. I have had people rant to me about people not wearing masks and not getting the vaccine, and have had people rant to me about having to wear the masks and how bad the vaccine is. 

  I have had Trump supporters go on about how bad the Democrats and Biden are, and have had Democrats and the occasional conservative go on about how bad Trump is. As part of my job, I have to treat people with courtesy no matter who they are or how they act....but shouldn't we all do that all of the time?

  One of my favorite authors, and one of the few I have met, Kimberly Woodhouse, posted this a few days ago: 

"Take a moment and be honest. 

If you get riled up and post about politics, masks, the pandemic, vaccines, your rights, etc, and you are a believer in Jesus - let me ask you this:

Do you spend as much time sharing His love and the Gospel as you do speaking out about whichever “side” you are on?"

 I shared it, and said "Touche' post". Only two people "liked it": my best friend, and my author friend who had posted it. Maybe everyone else felt guilty. I did, but I still shared it. 😄😎

  Jesus was asked by the religious leaders in an attempt to trap him "What is the greatest commandment?"

 His reply is one any Christian should know by heart:

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Matthew 12:29-31. ESV

  How well do Christians in America....in the Republican Party...do with the loving their neighbor?

  Would they stop to help someone by the road who had a Biden/Harris bumper sticker on their car, or drive by? Would they stop to help someone who had a "Proud to be gay" bumper sticker on their bumper? Would they be friendly with neighbors who were on the other side of the political aisle? Gay neighbors? Muslim neighbors....

  There is nothing special about helping those like us. There is no "being like Jesus moment" to befriend those who agree with us politically.

  Jesus loved his enemies and did good to those who did Him wrong. If He had Facebook, He wouldn't unfriend or block someone for dissing His politician. He would stop by the road to help anyone, befriend anyone.

 The whole message of the Good Samaritan Story was not about a guy who stopped to help someone like him who was a great friend. It is about a guy who stopped to help someone who was the enemy. 

 Oh, and both of those neighbors I mentioned.......they are conservative as I am, but are Trump supporters, which I am definitely not. 😜

Truly He taught us........

One of my all time favorite traditional Christmas songs is O Holy Night. A piece of useless trivia: I have around 70 different recordings of that song on my iPod/iTunes. There are some I like a lot, and some that are just OK. If I had to pick my all time favorite recording of the song, it would be the 1983 recording by Sandi Patty on the first of her 500 Christmas CDs she recorded. OK, 500 is a big exaggeration, but she has recorded several Christmas CDs over the years. The Gift Goes On was her first, and is the CD that has my favorite recording of O Holy Night. The only thing I don't like about it: it is in a Medley with Jesu Bambino. They go well together, but she only sings one verse of O Holy Night. Check it out some time. I'll put the video below to make it easier. :) And yikes....that recording is 36 years old.




  Do you pay attention to lyrics when you listen to or sing a song? I do, and I love good lyrics. That is another reason I could never listen to the kinds of music that you can't hear or understand the words. O Holy Night doesn't just have a great tune. It has some great lyrics also. I am one of those people who listen to Christmas music early, so I have heard the song several times already, especially my favorite. (By the way, country singer Colin Raye's is most likely my second favorite. The music they put with it does a lot for his version).

 Anyway, the words of the third verse have been really sticking out to me lately:

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord; O praise His name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim
His power and glory evermore proclaim

  And especially the first part of that verse: Truly He taught us to love one another. His law is love and His gospel is peace. "Truly He taught us to love one another......" He may have taught us that, but have we learned it and do we practice it?

 I was already thinking a lot along these lines, and then my best friend did a post on Facebook that caught my attention. Well, anything he posts catches my attention. He posts once to my 1000 posts. That may not be an exaggeration.... He posted this:

"Referring to 1 Cor. 13, Charles Spurgeon says: "This love both covers and bears all things. It never proclaims the errors of others. It refuses to see faults unless it may kindly help in their removal. It stands in the presence of a fault with a finger on its lips." I sarcastically commented: "That's in the Bible?!"

  Myself included, Christians as a whole need to do better with loving everyone, and especially each other. If we truly learned what Jesus taught - to love one another - we would do a better job of it. And I am sure there are those who do it better than others.

  If we truly loved each other, we wouldn't be so quick to argue with each other and put each other and our views and opinions down. If we truly loved each other, we wouldn't make accusations that aren't true. If we truly loved each other, we wouldn't let politics get in the way of doing that. If we truly loved each other, we would always think the best of each other and never the worst.

 His law is love....

  When asked by the religious hypocrites of His day what the greatest commandment is, He gave this reply:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (ESV)

 There are a lot of modern day Christians who claim you don't have to keep the 10 commandments. I even had a Baptist barber tell me once you cannot even keep them all. I watched my wallet around him just in case the one about stealing was the one he couldn't keep......

 But here Jesus is commanding us to love our neighbor as ourselves. That covers about half of the commandments, plus a whole lot more.

 In 1 John chapter 4, it says if we don't love, we don't know God, because God is love.

" 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 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. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (ESV)

  It would seem that it is pretty important to God that we love each other. It isn't just a line in a well-loved Christmas song that has been around since 1847. (That is even older than my friend Shirley Dye at my church....) It should be something we daily practice, work at, pray for help to love people....praying harder regarding some people.....

  Christmas is about love. God loved us measly humans so much, that He sent His only son in the form of a helpless baby that would live in a human body for 33 years, and then be cruelly put to death so that we could have eternal life and be saved from our sins. We need to love others and show that love 365 days a year, but Christmas is a great time to work at it if we are slacking in that department.....and I am sure I am not the only one who needs help and work in that area. I have social media. I know I am not the only one.....

 Make sure you spend time being thankful for what you have, because this is the season to be thankful....but work on loving people as you practice being thankful. Don't wait til Christmas, the season of love. Love now.

Outside on a cold and lonely street
A homeless woman sleeps this Christmas
Tonight, there's a child that dreams of home
In an orphanage alone
For all they really need is a helping hand from
You and me

CHORUS
The season of love
I really believe that this would be much better
And people would come together
If we share the reason for the season of love
The spirit of Christmas will change
This world forever
If we all play our part
Just by giving from the heart I know
Christmas will really become
The season of love

Somewhere, underneath a Christmas tree
Is a simple manger scene this Christmas
And there lying on a bed of straw
Is the greatest gift of all
This Christmas let's let the world know
For all they really need is the love of God
To set them free

REPEAT CHORUS

BRIDGE
Though the holiday passes away
And the lights begin to fade
The spirit of Christmas will remain

REPEAT CHORUS

Mark Harris & Don Koch

The Good Samaritan Parable for 2017

   In Luke 10, Jesus says the most two important commandments are to love God, and to love your neighbor as yourself. He was asked who our neighbor is, and that sparked the Good Samaritan Parable. We all know it, but here it is:

30 Jesus replied, “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He encountered thieves, who stripped him naked, beat him up, and left him near death. 31  Now it just so happened that a priest was also going down the same road. When he saw the injured man, he crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 32  Likewise, a Levite came by that spot, saw the injured man, and crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. 33  A Samaritan, who was on a journey, came to where the man was. But when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34  The Samaritan went to him and bandaged his wounds, tending them with oil and wine. Then he placed the wounded man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35  The next day, he took two full days’ worth of wages and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Take care of him, and when I return, I will pay you back for any additional costs.’ 36  What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?”

37 Then the legal expert said, “The one who demonstrated mercy toward him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (CEV)

  I think we sometimes miss the magnitude of the story. The Jews and Samaritans hated each other. It would be similar to the Muslims and Jews today, or the Democrats and Republicans.... yet this man who was an enemy is the one who stopped to help the man lying by the road.

  Now what if this story was told today by Jesus here in America? Replace the Samaritan with a Republican, and the hurt man by the road with Hillary Clinton or one of the women who just marched on Washington..... or Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, one of the gay men protesting outside of Mike Pence's home.....if you were that Republican, what would you do? Would you think something like "they deserve it!" "Good for the pervert!", or something else along that line? Would you pass by on the other side of the road and avert your eyes? Would you stop and help the injured person, take them for help and use your hard earned money to help an enemy?

  I have felt for some time that we Christians here in America don't get it. We don't truly live as Christians should. Think about this as I get political for a second:

  Right now it is very unpopular to criticize the man in the White House. Christians who voted for him love to toss up Bible verses to remind people what the Bible says in regards to leaders. Now stay with me, I have a point to make, and it may not be popular:

As Christians living by the Bible, and who believe that all of the Bible is inspired, do we have any more right to speak out against those who we don't support or agree with than those we do?

  Here is a list of people very unpopular among conservatives, and who many of us freely criticize and speak our mind of:

Barack Obama

Hillary Clinton

The women who just marched on D.C.

The gay people who protested outside of Mike Pence's home....and any militant gay people.

Al Sharpton

John Lewis

Nancy Pelosi

The women of The View

Illegal immigrants

Muslims...including refugees and terrorists 

Bradley Manning

Edward Snowden

Bruce Jennings

And more.

  Now think on this: if it is wrong to speak harshly of the man in the White House using the verses people use to make that point, is it not then wrong to speak harshly of the people I listed.... and the many others in this world who we consider evil and wrong? Are we to just love those who agree with us? Are we to just be Christian towards those who treat us well? When Jesus says to love our neighbor, does that exclude the people on the list above? When we are exhorted to speak well of all men, does that mean we can ignore that if the person is not of our political or religious ideology?

 God loves all of these people, and offers salvation and forgiveness to all of them. We are commanded to love even them...... and can we do that if we are posting things against them? We are all too guilty of using the Bible to our advantage. Criticize a leader we support, and we can quote Bible verses at you. But then we feel free to do the same with those we disagree with. Is that right? Is it Christian? Does it please God?

   And yeah, I get it.... we need to know what politicians stand for and against. We don't want to vote someone in who is going to turn our country over to communism and abolish all of our freedoms..... but can't we discuss the policies and stands of politicians without personally attacking people?

  I know, I am one to talk.....but we are all guilty.....well, a lot of us, maybe not all. I know of people who never post anything about politics, whether it be a politician, someone on The View, or anything else along that line....... but a lot of us feel free to speak harshly of liberals, gay people, illegal immigrants, and others.

 Could it be we are too easily offended by these people? Could it be we don't trust God enough, so we have to make sure everyone knows how bad these people are? Or could it be we are so addicted and focused on our comforts and freedoms that we feel we must do anything to protect them..... up to and including character assassination? Do we really believe the Bible when it says to love our enemies? Do we truly practice that?

 Who is our neighbor? Newsflash: it is more than those in our political party and those who love and agree with us. It is everyone......no matter how good or bad they are.

Walk two

  There are certain Bible verses we like to quote. We all love John 3:16, and with good reason. Another one that is very popular today and more loved than John 3:16 is "judge not". But then there are other verses that we don't tend to quote and forget about. Here are a couple of examples:

Matthew 5: 38-42 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’[f] 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

And similarly worded in Luke 6: 27-31 27 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

  How often do we think on these verses and apply them to our lives? Most likely the majority of us rarely or never do.

   I can honestly say no one has ever asked me for my coat, or any of my clothes for that matter. Neither has anyone ever asked me to walk a mile with them. I'm not even sure under what circumstances the latter would occur. "Mark, could you walk a mile with me?" "Uh, how about I walk two with you instead....."

 Though this seems mostly geared for our enemies, I am going a different direction that I believe also fits here:

  What if people ask us for other things though. What if they ask us for our time? Wouldn't this Biblical principle apply to that scenario also?

  I had the house to myself for a couple of hours Wednesday evening. Since I had a couple of book reviews I needed to do, I decided to knock them out. Just as I was finishing the last one, I got a message from a friend:

Him: hey Mark!
how are you?

Me: hey bro, good here, How are you?

Him: doing pretty good!

you busy?

Me: nope, was just finishing a book review... it's done 🙂

Him: ok

you have time for a phone call?

if not don't worry about it...

  My friend, who lives several states away, is married with a family. He also deals with the same issue I do.......same-sex attraction. He was away from home for a week, and staying in a motel..... and feeling tempted. I have read that when men spend time in a motel, they are often tempted sexually.... and my friend was. He did the smart thing and reached out. I am sure he could have found someone better than I, but hey, he reached out. :)

  We chatted for about 30-35 minutes, and he thanked me saying I had helped and encouraged him. The feeling was mutual. I promised to pray for him, and hung up. 

 Now I could have done something else. I could have told him I was going to alphabetize my Christmas CDs...... I do have enough to do that, and I had actually done that last weekend. I could have had a book I was going to read, a movie I was going to watch..... but I knew he was alone in a motel room and most likely needed to talk..... plus, he's a cool guy. We chat often on messenger and occasionally on the phone.

  We are too busy. It doesn't take much to encourage someone and be a friend. An email, card, gift card, taking someone out for coffee or lunch, a phone call, or just listen.. but most of us don't have the time, or we don't want to take the time.

 In this day of modern technology and time saving devices, we seem to have less time than ever. We have hurting and lonely people all around us, and we never have time - or sometimes don't want to take the time - to help and encourage someone.

 Someone I follow on Twitter shared this today, and it was another nudge for me to do this blog post:

  And isn't that true?  There are tons of self-help books, but there aren't that many books on helping others....and most of us wouldn't be too interested in that kind of book anyway.

  A lot of us are truly too busy to do much, but we can all do something. There are things that would only take a few minutes, and could make a difference in someone's day, or even in their life. And if we appear too busy and uninterested, we might be the last person someone might consider asking for help if they need it.

 Be there for others, even in small ways, and do more than they ask if they actually ask.

Walk Two

Verse 1

An old friend or a stranger stops you in the street 

Or asked just that you'd  listen to his cares

Jesus said “when you've done it for the least, you've done it for me”

Or could it be an angel unaware?

Chorus:

So if he asks you to walk a mile with him, walk two

If he asks you to lend an ear to him, listen the whole night through

And if he says “please, would you pray?”

Then call his name, night and day

And if he asks you to walk a mile, walk two, walk two

Verse 2

Jesus asked you to intercede for Him at the midnight hour

Or asked just that you'd listen to His voice

It's not always easy to obey or make the sacrifice

And count it an honor that you'd be His choice

Chorus:

So if he asks you to walk a mile with him, walk two

If he asks you to lend an ear to him, listen the whole night through

And if he says “please, would you pray?”

Then call his name, night and day

And if he asks you to walk a mile, walk two, walk two

The 14th person

  The occasions my entire family gets together are rare. My youngest sister and her family travel. He preaches, they all sing, and they also do vacation Bible schools.... so they are often gone a week or more at a time. My oldest two nieces now have jobs, and the other adults all work. Yesterday was one of those rare times when we were all together. No one had to work or travel. It was my parents, myself, my sister Vicki and her husband and three girls, and my sister Pam and her husband and three boys...all 13 of us....plus one.

  Back in December, my family took an evening and went Christmas caroling to some people. One of those people was a lady who is probably in her late 60's or early 70's named Judy. My sisters and nieces work with this very nice lady who was widowed two years ago. She had no children of her own, and her late husband's children don't come around much, so she is usually alone. She had to work until 2 pm on July 4, and my sister felt like she should ask her to join us at my sister's house. We were gathering at 4:00, so there was plenty of time. Judy arrived a little before food, bringing a large bowl of fruit and several apologies for intruding on our day. We assured her she was not intruding, and welcomed her into our celebration.

 As the kids set off firecrackers and other loud and smoky fireworks, we adults watched my brother-in-law grill food on two grills, and chatted with Judy. When we ate, I urged her into line as she was hanging back, and more than one of us asked her if she wanted anything else and urged her to help herself.

    After we ate, the music began. As my nephews and youngest niece hit the swimming pool, some of us hit the instruments. My brother-in-law Paul was at the electric piano, I was playing the regular piano, and my oldest two nieces were on the flute and violin. Judy commented several times how talented our family was and how wonderful the music was, occasionally asking us if we could play a certain song. My mom and sisters saw her wiping tears away a few times as she enjoyed our music.

  She left to go home around 7, thanking us all again for including her. We thanked her for coming and assured her she was welcome and not an intrusion. I later told my sister it was a good call inviting her. We all knew she would have spent the afternoon and evening alone with no cookout and no company.

  But how many Judys are in our lives? How many people cross our paths who are alone, who spend not just most or all holidays alone; but most every other day of the year alone? And what are we willing to do about it? My family included a lady most of us don't know well in our July 4th celebration. It didn't put us out at all. She was easy to talk to and we had plenty of food..... but how much are we willing to inconvenience ourselves and make room in our busy lives to be there for someone.

  We are surrounded by hurting and lonely people. What if we Christians reached out more to such people, and if there is no one in our lives we can think of who might fit that.... pray that God would send someone into our lives for us to befriend and be there for in some capacity. Only God knows how many people are out there waiting for someone to show them they care.

If my people are angry and attack each other.....

   I have seen and heard it said over and over during this election cycle: The reason Donald Trump is doing so well in the polls and has such a large following, is he has tapped into a great anger people have due to the shape our country is in. I've watched this election cycle with growing dismay as anger and rudeness wins and are cheered on by supporters of all candidates.

   Last night, I watched part of the debate; the first one I have watched. I have seen clips of the other debates, but I am not interested in who out yells the others the best, or how many arguments there are. I am voting on a candidate's record and what they stand for,  not how rude or how much of a jerk they are in a debate..... but my dad was watching it on his Kindle, so I watched over his shoulder for a while.

   I'm not one to watch boxing, wrestling, or MMA fighting. For one thing, it seems weird for guys to watch half naked men fighting and/or writing around together on a mat. (seriously!)  For another, I don't like fighting. I don't want to do it and I don't want to see it. From what I have seen and heard of these debates, they aren't much different. The people keep their clothes on and don't get physical with each other, but the rest of the elements of a fight are there: violence (verbal), screaming fans incited by the sight of blood and violence of any nature, and anger.

  A while back, I did a post on why I don't believe Christians should support for and vote for Donald Trump. As I watched him screaming over the other candidates when it wasn't even his turn to talk and watched his face grow redder and redder with rage, my stomach churned at the thought that there were people cheering him on and delighted that he was acting like a jerk and an immature spoiled brat. Then this morning, I saw that a Drudge poll had given him the debate win. I don't comment on every news story on Facebook, but I did on that one, "Really? Is this what wins today? Rudeness and acting like a jerk? (Rubio is not my first choice, but I thought he won the debate by finally giving back to Trump what he has been dishing out)

   I have been trying to back off from the political stuff. I found myself getting angry by the antics of Donald Trump supporters. Supporters of all of the politicians are being rude, obnoxious, and too radical about their candidate; but the Trump supporters seem to have cornered the market on rudeness and nastiness..... but then, they love it in their candidate; so it makes sense they'd emulate him. But they are not alone. I have seen a lot of nastiness from Rubio supporters.... I have friends posting outright lies about Cruz, and they don't care - I have seen some rudeness from Cruz supporters also. About the only ones I haven't seen rudeness from is Ben Carson's.......maybe because there aren't as many, or I just haven't seen them.

  I don't want to be sucked into this anger anymore. Yes, I am upset and concerned about what Obama has done to this country. Yes, I am disgusted  with the Republicans who stood back and let him do what he has wanted. Yes, I am upset with conservatives and Christians who are throwing their support behind a godless candidate who has spent his life supporting the politicians and issues that are the very ones we conservatives are against, and who I believe is in cahoots with Hillary to insure her the presidency. (Yes, I believe that)

  This is aimed at supporters of all candidates: what does it say about us as conservatives, and more importantly as Christians; if we are part of the anger being tapped into? What does it say about our Christianity if we cheer as any candidate yells and screams at another? What does it say about us if we foam at the mouth as our favorite candidate attacks another and "brings blood"? What does it say about us if we declare the rudest candidate  - and the one who acted most like a jerk - the winner? What does it say about we Christians if we have to get the last word in an argument about politics?

  Should any true Christian be part of the viciousness and anger that is resonating through this election cycle? Isn't there a better way? Yes, we need to defeat Hillary Clinton. Yes, we need to stop Donald Trump, and Donald Trump supporters want to stop the other candidates.... but at what cost are we willing to pay for our candidate to win? I cannot imagine God being pleased with our anger, our bickering, our cheering of ungodly rhetoric and character assassination. I can't imagine Him being pleased as we post things about candidates that are not true, being delighted that we can post something that makes a candidate look bad, not caring to take the time to find out if it is true and being angry when someone informs us that it isn't.

 And speaking of God......who do you think God views as the winner of last night's debate? Would He really pick the one who was the angriest and acted the worst as the winner? No way. He'd probably pick the one who acted the most godly and kind...... which would probably be Ben Carson. There we had a stage full of men who claim to be Christians..... granted, one of them claims he has never needed to ask God's forgiveness for anything since he has never done anything wrong - but all of them claim to be Christians.......... and they treat each other like THAT? Does that line up with what the God commands of us?

  I posted something last night in a Facebook group I am in, the theory I mentioned above.  I was wondering if I am the only person to have this theory. I got several comments agreeing, and I got some comments that disturbed me. One Hispanic man told of the nasty remarks he got for disagreeing with a certain candidate. This candidate's supporters called him an illegal,  and said he needed to go back to where he came from. Another was called a carpetbagger. And there have been more vile and vulgar things said to people who disagree with a candidate. One man told me I needed to go get my GED after I took issue with his candidate of choice. In the same thread, another called me a crazy fool.

  Is this the year that all reasonable disagreement has flown the coop? Is this the year that anger rules over reason, even among Christians? Is anger going to be the deciding vote in who wins the GOP nomination?

  I was listening to Sean Hannity on the way home for a bit, until I wearied of his defense and gushing about one certain candidate. He loved  the fighting in the debate and was raving about how great it is, how it is needed, etc...... really?? Is it necessary to have the hateful vitriol being thrown around by professing Christians?

  Barack Obama has divided this country like it hasn't been divided for years, and I don't believe it was by accident. This election is further dividing this country, led by Donald Trump; though the other candidates are not blameless.

   At the end of the day, can we honestly come before God and tell Him we reacted the way we should have about a debate, a Facebook post, something someone said in conversation related to politics? Or would we have to admit we were angry, we cheered on anger and rudeness, and that we did not react well?

  Politics is a dirty business, and I fear too many of us are getting down and rooting in the mud with the politicians. There are no perfect politicians, though some are better than others. My candidate has the best record and has stood up to the establishment more than any other, and has had the most godly actions and attitudes in this race for the most part. But even he is not perfect and has acted in ways that I don't like.

  Our country needs a change, and we need God. No politician is the answer to our moral problems and will get our country back to God, but some will help in that area more than others.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is II Chronicles 7:14:
"If my people, which are called by my name, will be angry, and yell, and cheer on rudeness and personal attacks, then I will hear from Heaven and will heal their land."

  That isn't how that verse goes. It actually goes like this:

If my own people will humbly pray and turn back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will forgive them and make their land fertile once again. (CEV)

  Can we do what that verse says while a candidate taps into anger we have? Can we do what this verse says as we cheer on anger and personal attacks from our favorite candidate? Can we do what this verse says as we attack people who dare disagree with our candidate of choice? Can we follow this verse as we post articles that are not true, but we are OK with because they make a candidate look bad?

Are we even praying? And if so, how are we praying?

  The King James version renders this verse "if my people will humble themselves...." Are we humbling ourselves, or are we proud that we bested someone or our candidate bested another candidate?

Are we turning to God, or are we turning to Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, or another?

   Are we sinning with our anger and attacks on candidates.... the Bible doesn't exempt politicians when it tells us to love everyone and do to others as we would have them do to us.

  I challenge anyone who is reading this to take this verse and pray about it. Do what the verse says. Imagine if we all humbled ourselves and prayed, put away our anger, and sought God on behalf of our country and this election. Can we do it, or are we too busy tapping into our anger and cheering on the anger of a candidate? Are we too radically following a politician to take time to find out what God's will might be for out country and for how we vote? If you felt God wanted you to vote for another candidate other than who you like, would you do it? Could  you do it? Are you even interested in God's will or opinion on who you support and vote for?

   We who serve God say we want to be like Jesus. I imagine most or all of pray to be like Jesus. But are we setting politics aside as a special area we don't have to be like Jesus? I am afraid too many of us are, and I am asking God to help me do better. I have pretty much decided on who my pick is, and will most likely post some positive things about him occasionally, but I don't want to be part of this anger, this vitriol, these vicious personal attacks on candidates and their supporters. Our country is in trouble, and we need God..... not a businessman, not a politician, not a doctor... we need God. Let us humble ourselves, call on God, as forgiveness for our anger, hateful attitudes and words,  and vitriol, and ask Him to give us the president that will be best for our country.

Two very different Christian bookstore visits

I was out to eat today with a friend of mine who told me a neat story. A couple of years ago, a homeless man left a halfway house in Youngstown Ohio. I don't know much about him, but someone gave him money to buy a Bible and encouraged him to go to the Christian bookstore and purchase one.

  The man took the bus to the bookstore and went in to shop for a Bible. While looking at Bibles, a woman shopping struck up a conversation with him and heard his story. I believe she helped him pick out a Bible and went on her way. When he took the Bible to the counter to pay for it, he found out she had paid for the Bible and also paid for it to be imprinted with his name. The experience made an impression on him and he became a Christian and went on to attend my friend's large church in the area, always wishing he could meet that lady again and thank her and let her know how much he had changed.

  At some point, he had related the story to his pastor, who somehow figured out the lady attended the same church, and put them in contact with each other. The story, with more details than I know, was related at last Sunday's morning worship service and brought much tears from the congregation.

 As my friend related the story, another story came to my mind, also true, and also involving a visit to a Christian bookstore. This story has no happy ending, and has no changed life. I have shared it before, but it bears repeating.

  It seems there was a young man who was down on his luck, and had a lot of bad things going for him in life. As a last ditch effort, he walked into a Christian bookstore and wandered around for a while, hoping someone would talk to him and offer him some hope. As he wandered around, no one approached him, no one talked to him. He left the store, went home and wrote a suicide note, and killed himself.

 I am not saying it was anyone's fault he killed himself. It was his choice. But what if someone had engaged him in conversation enough to show some concern, to offer help or prayer? What if? A life may have been saved and changed, instead of cut short by his own hand.

 How many people do we pass by who are dying for a kind word, for someone to care, to offer them a smile and listen.

  But we are too busy, too involved with ourselves to pay attention.

 In  the two stories above, I know who I'd rather be. I'd rather be the kind person who lent a helping hand and listening ear, and not the store employees and shoppers who passed over a desperate young man. It may not be buying a Bible. It might mean buying a cup of coffee, a bus ticket, or just listening and praying.

  Do we care enough?

Loving God, loving each other

  

  There's a song one of my favorite groups, The Gaither Vocal Band, recorded back around 1997, Loving God, Loving Each Other:

Loving God, loving each other,
Making music with my friends;
Loving God, loving each other,
And the music never ends.

They pushed back from the table
To listen to His words,
His secret plan before He had to go.
It's not complicated;
Don't need a lot of rules,
This is all you'll need to know.

Loving God, loving each other,
Making music with my friends;
Loving God, loving each other,
And the music never ends.

We tend to make it harder,
Build steeples out of stone,
Fill with explanations of The Way,
But if we'd stop and listen
And break a little bread,
We would hear the Master say

Loving God, loving each other,
Making music with my friends;
Loving God, loving each other,
And the music never ends.  

  It seems rather simplistic, does it not? Just love God and each other. But love is what it is all about.

  God created Adam and Eve, and gave them something He didn't have to: choice. He loved mankind so much, and wanted them to love Him, that He didn't want robots. So He gave them choice. Adam and Even blew it of course, and sin entered the world.

 To keep people in line, God made some rules. A lot of rules. And then He did something that doesn't make sense. He sent His Son to die on a cross for the sins of the world. Because God so loved.

 Jesus was once asked what the greatest commandment was, and He said what the song I mentioned said. To love God with all of your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

  I grew up in a church with a lot of rules. And I'd go to camp meetings and revival services and hear even more. A former pastor of my church, before my time, preached from the pulpit telling the congregation to not shop at the local Christian bookstore. Why? They sold Christian rock, which he was against.

  I've run across some people who seem proud of what they are against, which is sad. Christians should be known for what we are for, not for what we are against.

  For most of my life, Christianity has been done the opposite of what the song says. It has been complicated. I tried keeping the rules, and felt pretty good about myself, but inside I was a mess. I had my secret sin and struggle, but as long as I looked the part, I tried to convince myself I was OK.

  I constantly doubted God's love and wondered how I could ever live up to the high standard that had been set. The message I got was that it was nearly impossible to get into Heaven, and that no matter how hard I tried to be a Christian, I'd most likely miss it in the end due to some minor thing.

 Not all preachers made me feel that way, including my current one. It was usually the evangelist that came for revival or camp meeting services. They seemed intent on scaring as many people to the altar as possible.

  I felt I had to work to convince God to forgive me, and He was just waiting for me to mess up so He could toss me out on my ear.

 I tried and tried to serve God and failed so often. I was trying to be religious and serve God without believing He loved me, and I was in more bondage than the people who had never served God.

 I have come to realize its not about rules. Christianity is more than a bunch of do's and don'ts. It is a relationship with God. I am starting to care less what people think about me, and care about what God thinks of me. He loves me. I'm finally getting that, and I want to please Him, not my church, not my family, not anyone else.

  It is as simple as loving God and loving others.

  But on the flip side of Christianity not being a bunch of rules, we cannot ignore the fact that God still has rules and guidelines. And we aren't free to do whatever we want.

  I see two extremes from where I sit. There is the extreme that our church has to tell us what we can and cannot do, because we can't get our own beliefs from God. The other, is we can do anything we want. We are not under the law, but under grace.

  However, if we truly love God, we are going to seek His will on things. There should be some things we don't do because we are a Christian and we are better off not dressing a certain way, watching certain movies, listening to certain kinds of music, etc. We should not be bound by rules, but we should also not see how close we can get to being just like the world.

  There is a common misconception that if the Bible clearly doesn't tell us not to do something, we can do it. Today almost sounds like how the book of Judges starts out "Every man did what was right in his own eyes." But there are things we are better off not doing for our spiritual well being, and for the second part of what Jesus said: loving our neighbor as ourselves.

  If we love our neighbor as ourselves, it is going to influence some things we do. We aren't going to invite  them over for a movie and show them a movie that could trip them up. We aren't going to dress in ways to tempt our Christian brothers and sisters...... I've heard a lot about the modesty issue and that it is totally the guy's fault if he battles lust with a woman dressed immodestly.... if it was YOUR son, or YOUR husband battling lust, how would you want the women working around them dressing? If you knew the guy across the street was a sex offender, how would you dress, how would you dress your daughters? Or sons. Modesty isn't just for women.

  The Bible is a guidebook. It doesn't have everything spelled out in black and white, not that it matters anymore, people find ways around it anyway - but it has principles. I don't want to do anything just because my church says to, or because my parents do it, but neither do I want to throw everything out the window and live calloused to what God might want. I want the Bible to be my guidebook. I want God's will on how I dress, what music I listen to, what I view. How I spend my money and time.

 See, if we follow what Jesus said is the two greatest commandments, we aren't going to try to get by with as much as we can.

 I'm not married, nor will I ever be, most likely. But I know if you love your wife or husband, you aren't going to try to get by with as much as you can that might pull you away from them. You will try to find out what they like and do as much to please them. The Bible says if we love Him, we will keep His commandments...... and I believe if we love Him, we won't try to get by with as much as we can. There WILL be things we don't do because we are Christians, but what we don't do should never define us, it should never be our religion.

 One of the biggest traps we can get in, is trying to live by others' expectations and rules. I don't want to do that anymore. I want to serve God out of love, and do or not do certain things to please Him. Not the church.

  When I stand before God some day, He isn't going to judge me by what my church expected out of me and told me was right and wrong. He isn't going to judge me by what any man expected out of me or told me was right or wrong.  He is going to judge me by how I lived according to what He said was right and wrong.

  Jesus died on a cross for my sins. Its time I started going by what He wants, not man. If we truly love Him, it will all fall into place. He'll guide us, let us know how we should live. And if we love Him, we will love others.

She gave me pop, I gave him coffee

   The year was either 1990 or 1991. I was home for the summer from Bible college, and working for PENNDOT, Pennsylvania's road department. They had a summer work program for college students, and I worked two summers for them, mostly holding a stop sign.

   This one day was a hot day, one of those really hot July days, and it was even hotter standing out by the road with a stop sign. As I turned my sign to "SLOW", a car stopped beside me and a woman leaned across the seat and handed me a cold can of pop. I thanked her, and she took off, never to be seen by me again. That has been over twenty years ago, and I still remember it.

  I was out shopping today, and stopped at the mall to get one of my favorite things: Bourbon Chicken from Asian Chao. There was a man probably in his 50's standing in between the two sections of doors, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. We each said "hi" and I went into the food court and ordered my food. While I was eating, I could see him walking around in that cold section between the inner and outer doors, occasionally looking through the glass into the food court. The thought hit me, "You should get him something." Uh, but what. My eyes fell on the Dairy Queen. Definitely not... he already looked cold. I kept eating, still feeling like I should get him something. I finished, and headed to the bathroom. While in there, it hit me: coffee. Well, no coffee hit me, but the idea. I decided if there was a place in the food court that had coffee, I'd buy him a cup.... and there was. I ordered a small one for $1.99, dug a bill out of my wallet, and walked out the first set of doors. I put the bill in the pot, and asked him if he drank coffee. He said he did, and I handed the coffee to him and said if he wanted cream and sugar, he could get it inside. He thanked me and said that was a nice thing to do, and I went my way.

   It wasn't much, especially in the grand scheme of things, whatever the grand scheme of things is, but the thought hit me as I got into my car, "Why don't we do things like this more often?" I don't do it often enough. I do the occasional good deed, but I don't normally blog about it or even tell anyone, which is the way it should be. The people who do something for others without expecting something in return is rare......and no, I'm not polishing my halo as I speak. Outside of my family, I don't do it nearly enough. I admit it.

   Jesus said in Mark 9:41 "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward." (NKJV)...... so it must be a big deal to Him. The verse seems to imply people will be blessed by Him if they give even a cup of cold water to those who belong to Him...... a cup of coffee would probably apply too...... so does that mean we just do good to those who we know are serving God? I doubt it. I think God would be pleased when we do good to anyone, especially someone who isn't likely to give us anything back.

  The truth is, too many of us are selfish. Oh, we'd like to think we aren't. We give gifts at Christmas to those who give us, we invite people over for a meal who have us to their house..... but how Christ-like is it to just give to those who give to us?

  When my sisters and I were kids, there were a few years that my family bought gifts for people who we knew were having it rough. One year, the brother of a good friend was overseas in the military, and his wife was having a rough time of it. We didn't know her, but bought gifts for her and her small children. That's been too many years ago for me to remember if she knew where they came from or not, but it felt good.

  We want our toys, our comfortable lives, and are willing to help those in our own family, and maybe at church if we are feeling particularly charitable, but nothing more.

  Sometimes I wonder what God really thinks of us. Christians should be the most loving, happy, charitable, giving, friendly people there are, but too many of us are unfriendly grumps who want to hold onto everything we have tightly........ oh, not everyone is like that, but I fear there are too many who are.

  If we know of someone who is having it rough financially, it would be a good thing to help out in some way. If someone we know is discouraged, find something to do for them. Take them out to eat, give them a small gift and/or card to let them know you care.

  This journey through life, headed hopefully for Heaven, is not all about us. We need to be reaching out, loving, giving. Sometimes even a smile will help, or a coffee or pop. We may never know the difference it could make.

  I heard a true story a few years ago that is sad: I can't remember what the young man was going through, or if it even said, but a young man was having a bad time of it, and felt no one cared. As a last resort, he walked into a Christian bookstore, hoping someone would reach out to him, but alas, no one even spoke to him or acknowledged him. He went home, left a note, and took his own life.

 I'm not saying the employees there were responsible for his death, but I am saying we never know what people are going through who we meet, sometimes we don't even know what people are going through that sit in the church pew across the aisle. We need to do more, love more, reach out more..... we could give someone a push towards God they need, and who knows, we could even save a life.

  This story was shared on Facebook this week. I assume it is true, but I was so impressed that I didn't check its authenticity, but shared it there, and am sharing it here:

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
His name was Kyle.
It looked like he was carrying all of his books.
I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
He must really be a nerd.'
 I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

 As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him...
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.'
They really should get lives.
' He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!'
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
He said he had gone to private school before now.
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football
With my friends.
He said yes.
We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
' He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
When we were seniors we began to think about college.
Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never
Be a problem.
He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school..
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous!
Today was one of those days.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled....
' Thanks,' he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began...
'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends....
I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
I am going to tell you a story.'
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the first day we met.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
'Thankfully, I was saved.
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.'
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions.
With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
For better or for worse.
God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.
Look for God in others.