I completed the service portion of my sabbatical this week by volunteering at the Denver Rescue Mission. The Denver Rescue Mission provides housing, meals and other support services for the homeless here in the Denver metro area and other communities.  As I understand it, this organization is a private gospel ministry and as such, has certain pros and cons. The pros being that they can pray publicly and the cons are that they receive very limited federal state or local funds to help their mission. I have to admit, when this was explained to me I was perplexed… but that will be a story for a different day. I selected this organization because I would be in Denver visiting my family. I grew up not far from from this place. We always called it “Jesus Saves” because that was the only signage on the building. As a kid I was always wondered what the sign meant.

A couple weeks before I started my sabbatical, I visited their website and was very impressed! I clicked on the ‘Volunteer” tab and created an account and selected the days and shifts I wanted to serve. I picked 3 days Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I showed up on Monday morning for my 5 AM shift to prepare and serve the breakfast meal. As the website instructed, there was a gated parking lot for “volunteers” and there was even a staff member there to greet me and point me to the door where I needed to enter. Once in the door, there was a kiosk inside. I stepped to the kiosk grabbed the mouse and low and behold my name was there and I clicked “sign in”.  Maybe I’m a technology geek but I thought that was really cool! I washed my hands as the video instructed (yes video!), put my apron on and was ready to go to work.

I was introduced to my supervisor Dean. Dean shared with me that not too long ago he was on the “other side” of the serving line. He was close to death due to liver failure from alcohol abuse. He explained that after his brush with death he decided to make a change. The program hired him and he is now in rehab.  Dean  said “God gave me a second chance”. On this day, my job was to clean the trays and plates from the guests and stack them for the dishwasher (it became pretty gross after a while). As I observed the guests, I was taken aback by the diversity of the people that came through the turnstile. Some where drug addicts , some where handicapped, some were young, some were old and some were  perfectly healthy.  We served french toast coffee, donuts and yogurt with fruit on the side that day.

On day two, my supervisor’s name was Jacob. Jacob wandered here from Oklahoma because of a broken heart-yes, a broken heart. He explained to me that his girlfriend had broken up with him and the pain drove him to drinking and was in a tailspin ever since until he was given a chance by the program to rehab and work to get on his feet. As he described his story Jacob said ” I guess God had to bring me all the way out here so I could listen”. On this day, I cut 2,000,0000,324 green and red peppers ( maybe I’m exaggerating but it felt like that many!) for the stew we were to serve for lunch that day.

On day 3, my supervisor was Pedro. Pedro lost his job a few months ago and simply did not have the resources to pay the rent. He mentioned he will be starting a new job soon but also stated  “this experience has brought me closer to God”. Today I cut 2,000,0000,324 apples and oranges for the fruit salad we were to serve at lunch.

Interesting that there is a common theme in all of these men’s stories -crisis occurs-God appears. Now I understand the meaning of the sign outside the building.

Ive been accused of being a big picture guy before and I guess I kinda am. As I look back on this experience it was rather rudimentary- I go in. I help. It feels good.

But what strikes me is The Big Picture!

There are essentially 3 turnstiles in this operation:

1. The Food- the donated food comes from local grocers , restaurants and others. Food that is slightly old or not used for its original purpose -not up to a certain standard. Maybe overripe for high end restaurants I guess??
2. The Help-very few are paid employees and most are volunteers.
3. The Recipients- The people who come through the turnstile to get a meal

I know I am oversimplifying this process. I understand this facility has a heck of a time fundraising and all the political battles that must be involved in all of it but I am flabbergasted on how this place serves 2,000 meals a day through charity!

I cant help but marvel at Gods presence here…

No matter what turnstile you come through here at the rescue mission God’s presence is evident. Whether it was the program receiving a couple of boxes of vegetables from a local restaurant, an online reservation from a volunteer who is willing to give of their time to help serve the meal, or the employee who needed a second chance at life. Maybe you just needed a warm meal. In all of these situations God provided!

Mark 10:45 reads ” for even the Son of Man  came not to be served but to serve …”. After my experience here this week I am forced to ask myself am I being a servant??

God makes it easy to serve, if it is your will….just click “Volunteer”…Hell even send a concierge to show you to the door…

A picture of Dean and I and a picture of the sign that reads “Jesus Saves” (yup its still there)-attached

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

                                                                                                           Matthew 14:13-21

Intentional:

done on purpose; deliberate.

I have come to appreciate the meaning of this word during my sabbatical. Oh what a difference intentionality makes when it comes to our faith walk.

As I prepared for my Sabbatical I had one overarching desire or priority and that was to be intentional in my time focusing on God. Does intentional mean reading more? Reading less and meditating more? Does intentional mean praying more? I did not think this question would be this difficult to answer!

I arrived in Denver last night. On the schedule for today was a round of golf with my old buddy from the neighborhood Jesus. It was an absolutely gorgeous day here in Denver with the backdrop of the snow capped mountains-it really could have not been any better! After the round, I was going to go back to my Mother’s house for dinner but Jesus also mentioned after our round that he would love to have me over for dinner if I didn’t already have plans.  Well, something was “nudging” at me to take his offer and go have dinner with he and his family. So I did.

Jesus and I both grew up in inner city Denver and we have been friends from childhood. It was a difficult environment to grow up in and we both had our challenges. But there is something to be said about the bond that is formed when you go through battles together. We managed to stay in touch through the years and just before I moved to Texas (2010) Jesus was born again and his life was changed forever. The whole time I was on the periphery watching the transformation. What a thing to behold when God takes a life and sanctifies it! His testimony had a direct impact on me and his step of faith gave me the courage to seek out my faith.

His family and I sat and had dinner this evening.  We talked about our faith journey and thanked God for our blessings. One of his older daughter’s who of course,  witnessed his transformation made an interesting comment-she said “Dad for you it was like a rocket ship!”.  She was describing the swift and powerful change God made in her dad’s life- the joy in her face was unmistakable as she described the experience.

I thought to myself..do we take our salvation for granted? Do we forget the desolate place from which we came when we were without God? Are we today much different from the Israelites when they came out of Egypt? At the dinner table this evening I was reminded of His majesty. Jesus is now a successful business owner and community leader. I am very proud to call him my best friend and brother in Christ!

Thank you God for being in the rocket ship business! Your grace and mercy are so POWERFUL!

I am so thankful I had this time to spend with my Brother in Christ.

And I did learn a little something about being intentional today…be still and listen to those “nudges”!

God is intentional all the time all we have to do is listen and be still.

“Be still and Know that I am God ”

Psalm 46;10

Day 3 of Sabbatical

Sometimes we grumble. I heard somebody once say ..”God hates it when we grumble!”

On Sundays, I teach 4th grade boys bible study at my church. I became part of the children’s ministry program because there was a shortage of volunteers and friend in my men’s ministry group nominated me. At the time, I wasn’t actively looking to do this but it sounded interesting and since I do enjoy teaching,  I agreed.  This is my second year teaching and it has brought me great blessings and I do enjoy it. Lately, Ive been contemplating whether I want to teach again next year.  We recently moved and now our church is a little farther, it would make my Sunday a little longer and I would have less time with my family on Sundays. So you could say- I am kind of grumbling.

I prayed about it this morning on my way in to church.

There is a young man in my class and his name is Patrick. Patrick is a new student in our class and new to Texas. This young man has been such an encouragement to me! The first day he attended my class he was very sad and isolated himself from the group ( to be expected as “the new kid”). I took Patrick aside and asked him what was wrong. He then continued to tell me his story. Patrick and his family left their home in the Northeast due to domestic violence issues within his family. They (all 5 of them!) moved in with his friend Troys family. He mentioned how it was difficult to not have his own room and how it was crowded being in that house. He also mentioned to me that his Dad was interviewing for jobs and he hoped he would get a job soon so they could have their own house again. Of course at the conclusion of class we all prayed for Patrick and his family. This day was one of the most powerful days in my time in that classroom.  I realized that we never really know how we can affect someones life through ministry.

For my reading during sabbatical, I selected Timothy Keller’s book “Jesus The King”. As I read this paragraph from his book in regards to our relationship with God and service it really spoke to me about my decision:

“your glorifying something when you find it beautiful for what it is in itself. Its beauty compels you to adore it….When you say , “I’ll serve as long as I’m getting benefits from                                          it,”…that’s not actually serving people; it’s serving yourself through them”

This statement really made me think ..”Am I teaching the Gospel to these young men to look unselfish?Dutiful? Christian? Or do I really love sharing the Gospel?! What a sobering and profound question.

Meanwhile today in 4th grade bible study our lesson was on the story of God choosing Mary to  be Jesus Mother (Luke 1:26-56) and Mary’s willingness to go along with God’s plan.  As I was cleaning up after all my students left, I noticed my little buddy Patrick had left his activity sheet behind.  I picked it up and read his answer to today’s journal question. Dealing with Mary’s story…the question was ” List a few reasons you would be willing to follow God’s plan for your life.” 

I’m sure you are curious what my little buddy Patrick’s response was to today’ journal question but as they a picture is worth a thousand words. I attached it below along with a picture of him and his friend Troy I had in my archive.

In ministry, are we doing the blessing or we the ones being blessed?

Thanks to my little buddy Patrick for simplifying this complex idea.

“Just in case you were doubting Me already…”

Day 0 of sabbatical, yes, day 0 of sabbatical was today.   I don’t start my sabbatical until tomorrow but God knowing me, the way He does, is already at work.

My 19 year old daughter texted me this morning wondering why I had not stopped by her bedroom to say bye for the day as I usually do. She was upset because she wanted to see me before she left. She is leaving out of town tonight on a road trip with her friend to Denver for spring break. Although last night we prayed over her as a family for God to keep his hand over her in her travels, she wanted to give me one more hug. This was particularly disturbing to me because one of my priorities for my sabbatical was to be present for her and spend quality time with her. But I had a hectic morning an 8Am send off call and then a 830 appointment right after that, I simply forgot to stop by her room in my haste. The way the schedules ended up working out She would be returning from Denver as I arrive. We would be totally missing each other!

Well it so happened, (I love Gods coincidences) today she would have class at the college campus not far from the location I would be working out of today. We texted each other and agreed to meet for lunch.

We had a nice lunch at Canes her favorite place. We talked uninterrupted and I thoroughly enjoyed the time. She mentioned how nice the “Send off’ call was and then she said something she never told me before she said “Dad I’m proud of you”. I was truly overwhelmed with emotion when she said that to me.  I often times feel that I’m not present with her in between her college studies and her work, I rarely see her – but I am so PROUD OF HER!

She continued…and said “Dad other day I was telling my friend about how when I was little you would drive from so far away to come see me and I would be waiting on the stairs for you to show up and you would take me to the park” she began to cry and so did I.

You see my friends, Jocelyn’s mother and I divorced when she was just 3 years old and we lived very far from each other. My office was also completely on the other side of town.  But I would make those weekly sometimes daily trips to go see her because of course… I missed her.

She remembered that. Wow.

What a difference making time for somebody can do.  “Being present for my family” that is what I wrote on my sabbatical application and what was in my heart.

This morning I was already fretting about how this sabbatical was already not starting as I would have planned because of my daughter and I’s schedules. But as Ray so succinctly mentioned this morning on my send -off call…what I plan and what He plans can be two totally different things. I certainly did not expect this today but what an awesome God we serve!

It’s as if God was saying..”just in case you were doubting me already..”

“And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds   and the sea; and there was a great calm.”

Matthew 8;26