Dude! Share The Food!

you can’t believe what i heard on the street last week.

but first: another great day. . . couple hundred meals shared today.

second: jeff showed me a prelim view of the video he’s making for us. . . super cool.  he’s good.

okay, back to what i heard.  goes like this;  chris and i took meals out last sunday.  we had plenty when we arrived at hurt park, and many people got extra meals.  i usually call the extra meal “one for later”.  anyway, we ran out, but had plenty of water left, and i walked about twenty feet away to talk to a guy.  chris stayed by the truck.  the guy i was talking to asked “what organization are y’all with?”  i responded with  a quick summary of the people who help out, and the term “dude, share the food” and explained that we’re from various churches, mostly from douglasville, blah blah blah.

i look over and see a lady talking to chris.  i know that he’s telling her that we ran out of lunches.  so, i figure i’ll give the guy i’m talking to a chance to share!  brilliant!  so i ask “did you get an extra lunch?”  he says “yeah”, and i hint/ask if he’d like to share one with the lady.  he starts looking away, mumbling “no, can’t do that.  no, i don’t think so.” etc. . . i say something like “come on man, people have shared with you, right?”  then he says “no, man.  can’t share the food. . . . . . . . . . . . dude”

i wanted to laugh and smack him at the same time!  (sucessfully resisted doing both!)  crazy, huh?  couldn’t believe it!  (good news; i walked over to some other guys, and was able to get her a lunch)

just wanted to share that with ya.  don’t be deceived, though.  we’ve seen many, many examples of generosity on the streets.

sunday sharing is going great!  god is great!  y’all are great!

eh

what a great weekend!

apparently, i wasn’t the only one that was a little weary over the last few weeks.  others felt it too, and, it was obvious that things had been a little dis-combobulated.

but, saturday morn, a few of us were in a meeting, and david harris told us that great leaders create problems;  that qualified me as the greatest leader!!  (jk.  the problems i create are just because i’m a knucklehead.  but, we do have a great team that thrives on meeting challenges).  he also told us to ask ourselves why we do what we do.  so, i asked the team.  britt’s boy, james, chimes in “to help others, and to please god”.  spoken like true genius, don’t you think????

anyway, chrissy said she prayed that we’d all be re-energized.  sure enough, we all were!  we had so much food donated, and a lot of helpers, and it was great!  and we were able to share nearly 400 meals saturday and sunday!

also joining us was jeff, who was getting some video footage.  stuff we may be able to use to inspire others to donate time or food to the cause (the cause being to “let our lights shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise our father in heaven).  also, jeff is helping us to make a short film acting out the term “dude, share the food”.  we’ll keep you posted.

god is good!  all the time!

eh

I am back and I have missed you.  I want to especially thank Jackie, Chrissy, and Darla for stepping up and keeping everything running smoothly.  It is a wonderful thing that God gives us the oppourtunity to do. 

We will be doing sandwiches on Saturday and possibly barbque on Sunday.  A few weeks ago, when we had the spaghetti dinner at New Life, many donated money for a plate to be taken downtown.  I am not sure if that is the plan this week or not but keep it in mind. 

For Satuday we need brown paper bags, bread, fruit, a few packages of bologna, and chips. 

I can’t wait to see everyone on Saturday.

Lynn

 

it’s official; Art had to move way south for employment. he’s living near Ft. Lauderdale now.

art has been such a great help to our cause. he was there to help nearly every time we had something going, and when one of the ‘transport crew’ wasn’t available, he would usually jump right in and go downtown. art was always very pleasant (and still is, but in FL.)

anyway, he wrote us a note. here it is.

Once upon a time, I was successful …at least by most of the standards that society uses to measure such things.  I had a great paying job, accolades from my peers and the industry I worked in.  I lived in a fabulous house, furnished with everything a man could desire.  I would go on cruises, and that same year, take another vacation at the beach.  I have been to the US Open (tennis!), and I was at the first game of the 1995 World Series. (Yes, that was the year the Braves won!)   For some reason though…I always felt like I needed more, and I wasn’t happy or content.  God wasn’t a part of my life.

Over the last few years, I have gone through many changes.  I have suffered huge financial setbacks.  At the present time, I am living paycheck to paycheck in Florida .  My apartment is smaller than the basement of my old house.  The strange thing is…I now feel blessed.  After spending approximately 9 months in the “Dude, share the food” ministry, I have a completely different perspective on happiness.  I have seen the looks of appreciation on the faces of those we helped, and felt more joy than any “thing” could ever bring me.  I’ve given someone “my” last 2 dollars to buy some food, because we ran out, and knew that I was richer because of it.  Many of you “know” the saying in scriptures, “It is easier to put a camel through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter heaven”.  Spend some time with Erik, Lynn, Rusty, Judy, Rick, Darla, Mike, and the many other members of the “Dude gang”, help them distribute God’s blessings to the less fortunate on the street, and you will “understand” those words.

Some day, I hope to return to Georgia, and rejoin my brothers and sisters in the “Dude” ministry.  In the meantime, I will volunteer my services to assist the less fortunate in this area.  In parting, I would like to leave this final thought: Those of you at New Life (or any of the other churches affiliated with this ministry), who haven’t experienced this opportunity; you are missing a great spiritual opportunity.  Trust me when I tell you that there are few things in life better than looking into the eyes of just one person who says “God bless you”, and knowing in your soul they mean it with all their heart.

God IS great, honor him!

Art

thanks, Art….

the last few weeks have been kinda crazy.

lorraine moved away.  art moved away.  lynn has been on vacation (much deserved).  some others haven’t been able to help out as much.  we’ve branched out to share on sundays.  some food donations have dropped off.

these are just some of the things that have me a bit rattled.

so, i admit it, i’ve been a little bit “weary in well doing”. (see Gal. 6:9, which tells me it’s a season) not that i actually DO that much, but, still, i worry a bit.  and, actually, i’ve just felt a little too busy.  for that, i’m ashamed.  i should be excited to do this, and too busy for the busy stuff.  but…..

anyway, together, over the last 11 months, we’ve been doing a lot of good (see Titus 2:14, which tells us that we’ll be a “people that are His very own, eager to do good”)  y’all are an amazing bunch of people-lovers, and i want to again thank you for all you do.

so, as lynn reminded me, it’ll all work out.  just as it always has.

see some of y’all tomorrow.  let’s have some fun preppin.  bring something for sack lunches, and we’ll share what we have.  cool?

lynn will be back soon, to get me organized again.

god is still good, eh?

eh

hey hey

we have a bit of a crazy schedule this weekend. . . i’ll try to sum it up.

friday morning, lunches will be prepped for saturday delivery.  meet at New Life at 9am if you’d like to help or donate items.

saturday morning, we’ll meet at 12:30pm to start our deliveries.  please come if you’d like to help out on the street.

sunday, we’ll again prep lunches at 11:45am.

we need baggies, if you want to donate something.

and, above all else, GOD IS GOOD!!

eh

hey y’all!

i hope all is well.

wow, it’s been a crazy week.  lynn’s been out of town, and, while Jackie, Chrissy, and Darla did a great job keeping things going, it just wasn’t the same.  she’s back now, and i’m sure she’ll straighten us out.

also, i’ve been out of town, and thanks to Art and Collin, everything got shared this weekend.

a couple of things; we seem to have run out of EVERYTHING!! so, if you’d like to donate some baggies, and or brown bags, that would be great!

also, stay tuned for the schedule this weekend.  we will probably do a slight change to accommodate a memorial service for Helen.

so, thanks so much to all y’all for all you do!  we’ll figure out a way to share some food this weekend, right?  great!

love y’all

eh