Loving your city through loving the homeless

Ryder is napping so I thought I would take this opportunity to write a quick blog post.

First, I would like to say that this is the second blog post I've written this week. Who am I? Apparently someone who is starting to blog more often. Add that to my last blog post! Another summer goal is to blog more often...I am not going to doom myself by saying how often. Let's be real, I am going to accomplish all of my summer goals and I don't want to paint myself into any corners I cannot escape!

Alrighty, here goes it.

       I went to the grocery this morning and was met by a semi-familiar face when I got there. There is a homeless man that I have seen quite often there that is deaf. He holds a card explaining that he needs help by way of food. Wishing Garritt or my mom were there (they know sign language) I spoke slowly (slowly for me so it was probably still too fast. Really, I speak like a Gilmore Girl) so he could read my lips. I told him I didn't have any cash on me but asked if he was hungry. He signed that he needed food, I know that sign. I asked him if he wanted me to buy him something and I would bring it out when I was done shopping. He said yes and I told him it would probably take an hour for me to shop but I promised I would be back.
      For whatever reason, he was not there when I returned. I knew this was a possibility for many reason; I took much longer to shop than I intended, he may be told that often, he may not have understood my speed talking, or he may have just wanted cash. Whatever the reason, I am so glad it happened. I'll tell you why... It gave me an idea. It gave me an idea that I want to challenge you with.

CHALLENGE: When you go to the store why don't you go ahead and buy an extra meal. A meal that can stay in your car and not be effected by the weather. Or, a nice cold sandwich and chips to give away as soon as you leave the store. Find someone in need and give them that meal!  Look, an extra $5 at the store is not going to break your budget. It's a simple way of loving our city through loving the homeless.

    After I left the grocery store I didn't want the meal I bought to go to waste and it couldn't sit in my car without going bad. I then proceeded to drive around all the hot spots near my house that I usually see homeless friends on the side of the street. I drove around for probably 20 minutes with all of my cold groceries in the back just looking for someone to bless with a meal. You know what happened? I couldn't find ANYONE! Not a one person. So, that lead me to the second part of my challenge...

CHALLENGE PT 2: While driving around looking for someone to gift your meal to PRAY for your city.

     That's what I did. I drove around for 20 minutes looking for a homeless friend while praying for Ft. Worth, TX. I didn't find anyone to give a meal to but I felt so refreshed and filled with love for my city and the people in it. This is not a life-altering challenge. It's not even a hard challenge. It is a REALISTIC challenge. This is also a challenge I plan on doing myself, for the rest of my life. With the hopes that my sweet son Ryder will grow up loving the homeless through loving the Lord.

So, that's it. Get out there and love your city through loving the homeless!
AMEN

Summer Goals 2012

It's that time again. A time to set a list of goals to achieve over the summer. Not once have I ever written a list of goals and actually accomplished even half of it. This year, I will accomplish ALL of the goals on my list! Below I will list a set of goals that I hope to accomplish with the help of my friends and loved ones: 1.Transfer all of my recipes to one easy to use notebook. Hand write them. The best home made recipe books are hand written like Grandma Hines used to do, but she had a card catalog. 2.Start Ryder's scrapbook. I do not have to finish but I at least have to make a good amount of headway. 3.Get back into yoga. Never hot yoga though, that's a death trap just waiting for me. 4.Play a game of Ultimate. One game. That's all I ask. If I get to play more that would be awesome! 5.Go swimming as much as possible with Caitlin, Denver, Chavon, Jude, Amanda, Brittany, and obviously my mom. 6.Go to the museum a lot...but not so much that I start to think it's boring. 7.Replace photos in frames in my house with updated family pictures. 8.GET CLOSER TO FINISHING CERTIFICATION FOR COUNSELING...or maybe just FINISH altogether. 9.Tell everyone who will listen, and even those who won't, about essential oils and how they can genuinely be life changing...and have a class to help with this! 10.Write a novel That's it. That's the list. Subject to change because, well, I wrote it. I know there is something I left out. I will add it if I think of it. If you have any good goals you think I should have, tell me! Here's my cutest creation: