Just a Little Time

I smiled today...at the library. Headed in to send off a fax and out of the corner of my eye, I happened to see an older man, who looked like a Grandpa with a boy on his knee, who looked like he was 3. The little boy was smiling and turning pages as he held a book, pretending to 'read.' The older man just smiled..and listened. I work with toddlers every day...and know the 'pretend reading' so well that they love to do. They look so serious, and obviously proud that they are reading the words, usually with animation...creating some sort of story about the characters on the page that relates to their life.

As I walked out to my car and got ready to drive off, I saw the man, carrying the boy to the car to put him in his carseat. A simple thing like story reading....nurture, love, time...these can change a child who can then change a world. It's the little things.
Matthew 25:40 
"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

Wisdom at Walmart

Only God Can Judge...was what her tattoo said...written in cursive across her collarbone as I checked out in the Wal-Mart checkout line. I asked her, the checker, about it, and she said she got it after she had had people judge her for what she looked like. I told her I had heard somewhere that it's easier to judge someone than it is to hear their real story. We agreed and I told her she had a powerful message to share.
Wisdom at Wal-Mart. You just never know!

 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7: 1&2

You are Welcome To Come Back

The other day, I dropped some clothes off at the local "Peace Park" founded by an amazing guy named Otis who created this park to create peace in the neighborhood and provide goods for those in need in the community. As I pulled up to this funky looking shelter and pulled out my burlap orange bag full of a random assortment of clothes, several kids immediately surrounded me, asking if they could help.
As we pulled out clothes to put on the shelves, a little boy who looked like he was in Kindergarten, in a worn out corduroy blue, red, and yellow coat, looked up at me with big eyes. I got on his level to say HI and he gave me a big hug, never saying a word. The kids tried on some clothes and when they found out that none of them fit, asked me for candy. No candy, but I did happen to have some kids "I Love Jesus" stickers with me and they grabbed them as quick as a flash. One little girl shook the bag out that I had brought, seemingly searching for any remnants of...well...anything. A nickel fell out of the bag pocket, and she grabbed it quickly and ran off  with it.

When the last dress went on the shelf, a sweet lady walked up to us and started picking out clothes she liked. She pointed to her friend, who was asleep on the bench, saying they were homeless. She had a patch over her eye and said that she just got back from the hospital due to a spider bite from sleeping outside. She repeated "Thank you, thank you" over and over again and filled a whole bag of clothes. She had such a sweet spirit, the biggest warm smile, and talked about how the kids that come over to the park are 'great kids' and how her friend was trying to get a job so they wouldn't have to be homeless anymore.
Just as she was talking, an older woman walked over and told me how she was raising 9 grandkids on her own because their dads weren't good. She seemed to be very weary and looked younger than her age in a hoodie and a ponytail. She had a lot to say...about how she used to be homeless, but now has a house. She asked me if I knew anywhere that had diapers and formula, so I guess there were babies in the house, but only saw elementary aged kids. As we were talking two girls, who looked to be in the 4th grade, stood eye to eye and chest to chest about to fight. The woman started yelling at them to stop, but didn't make any move to split them apart. They looked serious. I don't usually meddle, but this seemed like it could get too crazy. I walked over and asked if they were sisters. They said that they were friends. I talked to them for a little bit and they walked away from each other. Then, the other little kids came around, telling me "You are welcome anytime. Come back." They seemed very hungry for attention and tried to give me a hug. You know, some strangers can be wierd, and I thought, "If these kids are hugging me and they don't even know me....who would they hug?" It's crazy to me that to show Gods love in this world can be considered strange or illegal in some places. I just talked to them about strangers...I pray that they get the love they need to grow.

All this...on a Saturday afternoon reminded me there is such a need for love...in the raw, real, gritty and sometimes pretty...city.

I Bet Your Heart Skipped a Beat!

So, after writing yesterday's post about appreciating a car...today...I lost my car keys.
Enjoying a great time with a friend at a local city park and as I was drinking rose ginger tea, realized, "I LOST MY CAR KEYS!!!" For some odd reason, I didn't freak out; just thought of this as another adventure. I envisioned what I would have to do...ride the bus? call a friend?
Scattering breadcrumbs on my way to the park would've been a great idea, BUT...never thought of that! I thought backtracking would make sense....and that is just where the adventure begins!

Pushing my way through crowds of people waiting in line at food trucks, my cousin suddenly appears with her family! OK, everything happens for a reason right? She is the 'fun' cousin and of course asks her husband to take our picture..right there in the food truck crowd. She waits for Chinese. I wait for Brazilian, then we enjoy our international food before the great key hunt!

Backtracking (no breadcrumbs makes it extra challenging), I see absolutely no sign of the keys so ask a police officer where the lost in found is. At the booth, I am given a park ranger number and asked to fill out a form by a cheerful teenager who clearly loved her volunteer job. No one has found these keys. As I walk past dancers, the smell of many different flavors of decadent food, and enjoy the colorful fashions all around, I realize...I have local beef burgers defrosting in my grocery bag. Ew.

I then call a tow truck as my phone battery is about to die. I wait a good 2 hours, and when they show up, my car couldn't be towed because someone illegally parked in front of it! This is becoming a game. I walk to my friends house (must have walked a good 15 miles by now) and they are not home. It's time for a break. The reality of what people have to do to get from point A to point B is a all up in my face today and I am more and more grateful for a car, but strangely don't miss it and prefer being outside in the wild, wild city.
Luckily, had a few dollars so stopped and got a ham & cheese melt and carrot sticks at a local coffee shop. This was not just any coffee shop. The guy behind the counter gave me his phone to look up bus routes since I had given up all hope of finding the keys. Who does that? I had sat in the grass for several minutes and prayed for guidance...no answer. Found a bus route, and headed out.
As I was passing the place where my car was parked, the illegally parked car was GONE.

Time to call the tow truck driver..again. But, how? My phone is dead. I ask a lady on the street with kids who looks annoyed with a Corona in her hand and asks, "How long will it take?" "Um...2 minutes" I tell her. The tow company says they can't find my car. The lady with the Corona clearly has to leave...so.....

Another walking trip to the weirdest grocery store with the kindest manager who let me use the store phone. I call the tow company again. "Oh, our driver is in the county, but he should be back to you in 30 minutes."

Back in my car...waiting...waiting...and guarding that space in front of my car with my life...1 hour later..no show. Back to my friends at the grocery store. This time, one of the checkers lets me use her cell phone and is all smiles. Thank you lady! It's amazing all the people who help you accomplish your goals and help you when you really need it in an 11 hour day looking for keys!

1 1/2 hours later tow truck driver comes! It is dark and I am almost asleep from the all day trek. Now, I didn't mention the blessing that happened before he came.

As I had walked back to the car, a car started to park in front of me. I told them that the space needed to be clear since a tow was coming. They were a middle aged couple and said they lived across the street. The woman went into her house, then all of the sudden, she is at my car window with a brown paper sack that says "Karry Kool bag", a can of "Big K Coke", and an insulated 2014 Walt Disney World Mug, some napkins and a stretchy straw. I told her i needed an insulated mug. I was so shocked then told her she was such a blessing and she said, "We are going to be watching until the tow comes," as she and her husband proceeded to sit on their porch and wait. "What? Don't they have better things to do than watch me?" As it hit me, I started crying...crying for just a minute because I was in need and God showed me he cares about the little things in this blessing from a kind lady. He takes the time to just watch us and considers us important enough to create us, give to us, and watch over us!

With tears on my face, I opened up the "Karry Kool bag" to find biscotti's and sweet peanut butter bars dipped in carmel. I cried even more, but wiped my eyes as the tow truck driver appeared and I yelled out a hearty "Thank You" to the "porch couple."

Almost home...as the tow truck driver says, "You must be frustrated. I bet when you lost your keys, your heart skipped a beat!" "Nope," I tell him. "It's not worth getting upset for. I just had to laugh." As he drops me off, I give him that "Big K" can of coke and thanked him.

As he is driving off,  I realize...my apartment keys are on the lost key ring. It's a good thing when your landlord lives one street over. It is now late. I walk over and get  keys and she says, "Are you hungry? Do you want to borrow my car to go to church tomorrow? "WHAT?" Seriously, another vivid example of God caring about the details. I thanked her and she gave me a hug and handed over the keys to her '94 Toyota Corolla and apologized for the walnut splatter that the squirrels had made on the window. "Who cares!" I thought to myself. "You're letting me borrow your car...that's amazing." As I get in and unlock the lock bar from the steering wheel, I drive around the corner to my place and sigh....I am home.

Give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

"For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me." Then the righteous will answer him saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me!'- Matthew 25:35-40

Whatever It Takes

So I was at Aldi's the other day and an older lady was behind me in the checkout line. It's like at the Aldi's I go to, everyone talks to everyone in the line. This lady tells me that her daughter is pregnant and wants the real popcorn and she can't find it. I tell her I think I saw it at Walmart and she says she is on the bus and it takes too long to get there. Then, she pauses, smiling,,,,and says, "I'll get it though, whatever I have to do!"
OK, I don't know if anyone has ever ridden a bus in St Louis, but I did for a long time when my car was totaled, and let me tell you....it takes a long time to get from point A to point B. Seriously, just going grocery shopping is a huge mission, not to mention if you have a few kids on your tail. So, I could appreciate this woman and it made me remember...never forget to be thankful for a car and never forget that others have to do twice the work to get just the daily necessities.

Grateful.

Ephesians 5:20 “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Having Kids

So, tonight was the National Night out Neighborhood Block party all over St. Louis. In my neighborhood, we are a mixed crowd...some young, some old, different ethnicities and always lots of great food from my favorite burnt hot dogs to a neighbors culinary experiment of salted carmel cupcakes...yum! Sitting down next to some strangers and introducing myself, I saw they had several kids. I asked them what advice they would have about having kids. One woman said that she moved from the county to the city because it was racist there and her child was a mixed ethnicity. Her advice on kids was "Don't have em!"
The other woman I was sitting by had 6 kids all laughing and seeming to enjoy each others presence as they ate. She had some advice I thought was very practical but could change the world. "Spend as much time with them as you can. It needs to be you teaching them. If you don't spend time with them, someone else will teach them all kinds of things." True that! She went on to say that it was hard and good, but one day, they would be gone. Priceless.

Excusing myself to tend my overgrown cherry tomato garden (that has been neglected for one month), an older gentleman walks up to ask about the garden, saying, "That is good..growing your own food!" I learned that this man was from Kenya and had been in the US 10 years after waiting for 2 years to get his green card. He stayed in the assisted living building in the neighborhood and was walking back from the store after getting his wife some medicine and saw the block party. He went on to talk about how he sends much of the money he makes back to his family in Africa and about how the African society is a sharing society. He said the US is more individualistic and he thought the key was to LOVE others and so many are just in their own little worlds and do not do that. I asked him if he was a believer and he said that he loved Jesus and that it wasn't about church or anything, but about showing Jesus' love through really loving others...and that this society needed to do that.
Wisdom in the garden. Who would've thought?

Proverbs 22:6- Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. 

1 John 4:7- Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

One Day at a Time

Walking home on a hot day from the neighborhood coffee shop and out of the corner of my eye, I see a woman dressed in all stars and stripes clothing. She has a big silver cross necklace on and is walking in a determined way as she gruffly says, "Hi. They say it's supposed to be hotter soon. I've lived here all my life and seen so much. I don't think it's getting better with all different people moving in here like the Mexicans." I told her my neighbors told me the neighborhood has gotten a lot better through the years and she says she didn't think so, then said that everyone around the hood knew her, then she gave some advice..."You just gotta take it one day at a time. That's what they say, anyway." She walked on with what seemed like she was on a mission as we said our goodbyes and it left me thinking...."One day at a time...that's so true..and sometimes the stuff we think is so important, is not all that important at all. "


So, don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today. 
Matthew 6:34

$3 Flowers

So, the other day, I was driving to get groceries and saw a man that I recognized on the side of the road selling flowers. He was a dad who had been through a parent empowerment program in the city and I recognized his two 3 year old twins right by him holding up a cardboard box sign that said, "Flowers....$3." I pulled over and walked over and sure enough...it was the guy. I greeted him with a handshake and he proceeded to tell me a story about his life. He said that he was in prison for 17 years and then got out and wanted to change his life and be a great dad to his boys. He gained custody of his kids, got into a parent empowerment program, and started to exercise and got a job. What struck me about this man was that he was so humble. He then said, "I tell my boys every morning that I love them. I think that if you do that with kids, it can change the world. I take my boys out here to teach them that it's important to work and that they can meet all kinds of interesting people. I want to write a book about all that I have been through and how God has helped me be the dad I am today." Well, I was so blessed hearing this story as I watched the little boys hold up the sign by their little plastic red wagon where the flowers were. These were Trader Joes flowers that were way too overpriced that the store had thrown out and this man 'rescued.'
As I sat there that day on the bus stop bench, watching people come by and smile as they talked with the little boys and bought flowers, I thought to myself, "How amazing is this...to bring beauty to an area of brokenness through a simple thing like selling flowers" and it made me think of the beauty of the pain of what this man had been through and how he was not ashamed to share his pain, thereby bringing light into the lives of others!

Let your light shine before all men so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven! Matthew 5:16

The Start

Welcome to a new blog that I hope is real and inspiring. 
Writing has been a part of my life since as early as I can remember, with my first diary given to me at age 9. Throughout life, I have used it to write about the pain, the joys, and just the crazy, quirky stuff life brings, as well as the ways God has shown himself! It has been, and still is a "mini therapy session" and a constant source of healing and expression. The idea to document people stories is something God showed me to do a long time ago when I met the man with cowboy boots crossing the crosswalk at Jefferson and Gravois. We both happened to have cowboy boots on, mine were turquoise and his were brown but somehow this passing in the boots sparked a conversation. He could barely talk and walk, then said that he lost his speech sometime ago after a stroke. I asked if he had anyone to help him and he said that he took care of himself and was too mean to have anyone take care of him. He went on to tell me, in broken speech that was barely understandable, how he was going to write a 500 page book of what he had been through. This was the start of the idea to share peoples stories and give honor to them to prove the resiliency of humanity, shed light on the sometimes forgotten places or people in the city, and to share the message of Christ that is inevitably evident through hearing  the wisdom of others. I find that people that I meet are teaching me so much about the love of my life...Jesus...and seeing them is actually seeing Him. I want to share these real life stories with everyone in the hope that they will see Jesus in everyday life. I am excited to share these adventures! Hope you enjoy, are inspired, and that it encourages you to see life from a new point of view!! Here we go.....

The Beginning...of a Collection of Stories...from the Hood.....
In January several years ago, I lost my car, due to my negligence in some irresponsible driving, which left me with a suspended license. I rode the bus and metrolink now to get where I need to go. Public transportation is great actually and I always say, ‘puts you more in touch with the people.’ My counselor laughs telling me, “You’re already in touch with the people enough!” *BUS RIDING FACT*: This can be crazy. You have to plan ahead like never before.You just have to get up extra early and travel longer than it would take by car. Yet, in that "extra time" stuff, you get to see and experience a whole new world. As I see a young mom with groceries and three kids, I realize how this is real life for so many and what a privelege I have had to have a car. What blessings do we take for granted?

One time, riding the bus home at night, the bus driver lady just randomly started talking to me: “You know the least people could do when they get on here is say HI. No one even says anything. Sometimes I get the whole bus talking. I used to teach for St. Louis Public Schools now I have been a bus driver for 15 years. I am going to an 80’s party soon. What do you think I should wear? I’m thinking a gold lamee top and gogo boots!” We continued this conversation until my stop, in a bus full of mostly men. I think of that too...how we all are in the same space, but hardly anyone makes an effort to talk to people as we all just stare into the distance, without interaction in the very same space. Boxes and bubbles is what it reminds me of...all in our own zones, when I wonder how much we actually have in common and could support each other more outside of our own little safety zones of boxes and bubbles...and learn from each other in the process!

Switch to the bus in East St. Louis. This story is from a few years ago...no car at that time and on my way to work from the completely different world of Fairview Heights, IL, on the bus, looking at a lady acting very strange, who was looking at man who was talking to me, asking me for some food. I still had that ½ sandwich leftover from McAllisters. He was an older man, looked very rough, and when I gave him the sandwich, he literally “tore it up!” He ate it so fast that it made me just remember all those who are really truly hungry and how much I completely take it for granted every single day that I have food. 


 1 Peter 4:7-11The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithfulstewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praisedthrough Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.