40,000 meals

I had the privilege of participating in the Sunday food packing event on September 13th. It was amazing. Over 450 people helped pack 40,000 meals for hungry people. One of the things that touched me so much was the sense of singleness of purpose.

Everyone knew that what we were doing mattered.  

Everyone knew that that this was of of utmost value in God's kingdom.  

There was a singleness of purpose.  

It didn't matter if you were a Democrat or a Republican, a KU fan or a Tiger fan - everyone jumped in and joined together and there was a bonding amongst the folks.   Young and old, everyone worked  together and it was delightful. 

I hope the next time we do this you'll be able to join in. 

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.

Royals vs Orioles part deux

Back to the ball game on Tuesday night. The game was not going real well for the home team, so the crowd was looking for alternative entertainment. Enter the bird on the wire. I said it was an Oriole watching the game, my wife says, "no, stupid, it is a meadowlark."

There is a wire, a cable that runs from the back of the backstop up to the upper deck. On this cable during the game was perched a solitary bird. While everyone wants to catch a foul ball, everyone seemed to be pretty concerned about what this foul might drop into the stands.

The bird sat on the wire. We watched the game. And we kept an eye on the bird. What was he doing?

Later, when the lights came on at the stadium, the purpose for his perching came into clear view. The lights attracted lots of big moths which our bird friend was very interested in. He/she would swoop down from the cable and pick the pesky bugs out of the sky, return to the wire and enjoy the meal.

Everytime the bird left the wire to dive bomb an unsuspecting insect, the crowd in our vicinity would grow quiet. Who cares about the game, look at this bird! When he missed the moth, there were groans of sorrow, when he nailed it, applause errupted as if Mike Sweeney had knocked it out of the park.

40,000 seats. One wire. Lots of people at a ball game, one bird at the lunch counter. Here is the point. We thought we were at a ballgame. He thought we built the stadium and put up the lights so that the bugs would come to his cafeteria.

Lots of lessons here:
- some people get to go to the Royals games, others are worried about where their next meal will come from.
- some people think they know what is going on in the world, but there is really something else very important taking place right next to them if they would just open their eyes and look.

-I'll bet you can find some other lessons in this story.

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good!

quote

A few weeks ago we had an event at church that was sponsored by the group "Something to Eat."  Their name comes from the phrase in Mt. 25 "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat."

I wrote about this event in a blog post on Saturday, September 26th.  Here is the post if you want to read it.

http://canyouhearthebirdssing.blogspot.com/search?q=40,000

We will be having another one of these food packing events pretty soon. 

I am writing today about a quote that I heard that day in one of their videos.  A young man was considering his life and his standard of living in comparison to those who have so little.  He said, "I have come to believe that having more than you need is just as bad as having less than you need."

This is quite a thought to ponder.  When you don't have enough, you are hungry and thirsty and lonely and sick.   When you don't have enough, you simple want food.  When you have too much, you start to feel entitled.  You easily fall into a life of enjoyment.  We can forget our responsibility to help others.  When we have too much we can insulate ourselves from so many things that really matter in this life.  We get upset over the smallest things.  We want everything.  We can never get enough.... and we have so much.

I have come to believe that having more than you need is just as bad as having less than you need.

It is a beautiful day in God's world, and we have more than we need.  How can we use our abundance to bless others?

I was hungry and you fed me.... How can I use what God has given me to bless others?  How can you?  Jesus is going somewhere.  Am I going with him?  Am I allowing him to drag my brain out of it's current paradigm into one where I am on a mission in this life with him?