I had an interesting conversation the other day with a neighbor. He came over and said something along the lines of:

“I had to come over to your yard 3 times last night to chase off homeless people, just wanted to let you know…so be sure and close your gates and stuff so they can’t get in. We have been working hard to keep the homeless people away, just wanted to let you know.”

I have been thinking about this some. So, here is my question. What happens when “love your neighbor” conflicts with “help the poor”?

I don’t think that this particular situation is so mutually exclusive, but what if there was a situation where you had to choose?

I think my jaw may have literally dropped.
I think the word “what?!” may have come out of that open jaw in a whisper of disbelief.
I know my eyes were wide with shock.

And I sort of hate that I reacted in any way to someone telling me that Jennifer Knapp was gay.

But I sort of like that I had to find out for myself before I could move any further down the path of thinking about it/figuring out what I believe about it.

And I found some really great stuff here. Mostly because it goes straight to the source.

And as we watched her in concert last night, there were lots of things swimming around in my head…

how?
why?
how can she love God & willingly “disobey”
how do I feel about singing along to these songs that are so powerful to me, knowing they were written by someone who would do that.

how could I be such a hippocrite?
no, wait…it’s wrong to judge her, I don’t even know her.

And then, this thought came to mind…

She’s just not who I thought she was.

As if I even knew her in the first place!

And that’s sort of where I’ve landed with this for right now.
I don’t know her. I know that she has written some powerful songs. And I still love them.
And I know that she sang her heart out last night & it was beautiful to watch her & get drawn into her music-full of questions/honesty/faith/hope.

And I know that we, as Christians, are called to love above all else.

Not fix, or change, or judge.

love.

So I will keep trying to train my brain/emotions/heart to not react so quickly to shocking news. But to love first.

Yesterday I was downtown talking to Margin. Margin is homeless, although she does have a lot of resources through friends. Somehow we ended up talking about cell phones. She has a cell phone, which is an asset to her in terms of finding a job, staying connected to people, stuff like that. This is actually kind of a big thing: how can those in poverty have access to communication tools that will help them find a job, stay in touch with family, etc. Cell phones are one tool that is important (although not universally accepted as a good thing i suppose). Community Voice Mail is an organization that works in this area as well. CVM does not deal in phones, but does give people a voice mail box so they can receive messages.

Margin mentioned that one of the hard parts about having a cell phone is being able to keep it charged. So, i think that if i ever live or have a business in an area where it makes sense i’m going to put a couple power outlets and a bench outside so people can charge there phones.

It’s kind of crazy, the things we never really think about that become hard when you don’t have a permanent roof over your head that is not a bridge.

I have not been able to get this song out of my head for the past 2 days. And as I looked through the verses to see which one to post here…I was reminded of something a friend said this morning as we talked about this song. ALL of the verses are just so powerful. So I didn’t pick one. I picked them all.  Read through this…let these words sink in deep.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

I’m exhausted. Hosting a wedding show is hard work.

Things went fairly well. And I’m grateful for small successes throughout the day. Especially for meeting a new friend & for having a discussion about what the Green Country Event Center actually is & the history of the GCEC & Garnett & where they are now & the vast array of things  going on in that building each day. That was encouraging.

But my feet hurt, and my mind is tired of thinking/planning/hosting.

So I’m taking some time to myself. On the couch. In my comfiest clothes with my feet up.

And I want to also tell you about last night. After a long day of set-up for the wedding show we spent the evening at Joe Momma’s.  Great pizza, our favorite waiter, and some great music. Check it out here. We love the Listener.

And yes, that is a washing machine. And yes, he did have it on stage with him last night. And yes, it was awesome.