Sing Praise!!

Psalm 7:17  "Oh, how grateful and thankful I am to the Lord because he is so good.  I will sing praise to the name of the Lord who is above all Lords!"  and Psalm 9:1  "O Lord, I will praise you with all my heart, and tell everyone about the marvelous things you do.  I will be glad, yes, filled with joy because of you.  I will sing your priases, O Lord God above all gods."
      If you know me, then you know that in my flesh- I can not sing!!! Now my husband can sing!..... but I just make noise to the Lord!  However, I can and do sing praise to the name of the Lord!!  Each week that we go down to North 1st street the Lord seems to amaze me... each and every time!  This week was no different. 
     I never know where we will get the things that we take down to the homeless.  I do know though, that ask and you shall receive.  The Lord does provide all that you need.  My sister-in-law Debbie manages The Old Light House which is a second hand store for the mission.  She allowed me to go in and pick some things... o.k. a lot of things :0)  for Sunday.  Then Don's Donuts and Julie's Java (which is the best donut place ever!) gave us all of their donuts that were left over from yesterday's batch.  Doug Snipes' two boys had a New Year's Eve party with their friends with the hook that their friends needed to bring clothes to donate to the homeless!  A man who lives at the mission met us at the car when we pulled up and asked us to help us hand out clothes- he was hispanic and was able to also translate for us (God, You think of everything!!!).  Pastor Mel and Jerry brought some wonderful men's clothes as well as a bucket of candy (Yes!!! Everyone likes candy!!!).  Tim, Janet, and Ken brought sandwiches and clothes.  Tom brought a whole bunch of energy and some stocking caps.
      The young man who was suicidal two weeks ago and scared to death to stay at the mission prayed with Keith and the guys then returned last week to tell us he has a job working at the mission- and then returned this week to give us $20.00 to buy toiletries with. A man stopped to give us $5.00 to put towards the cause, and a young couple stopped by to give us the bucket of little girls clothes that they were taking to Good Will.  Each one of these things may seem like no big deal, but in the scheme of things.... God provided ALL of our needs and wants (because it is hard to say that "donuts" are a need :0)   The bucket of little girls clothes went to a 4 year old girl named "Lexi" who desperately needed them.  Some would say it was just a coincidence that the couple was driving by at just the right time and were prompted to stop in a vacant lot and donate their clothes to a bunch of strangers.  I call it God and I sing of His Praises!!!!  Is it a coincidence that we stopped at Don's Donuts and Julie's Java on Saturday morning for a donut treat for New Years and then they offered to give us all of their extra donuts?  I call it God and I sing of His Praises!!!  It is amazing what a donut and a warm cup of hot coco will do to bring a smile to someone's face.  Is it a common occurance to have a person who was suicidal and desperate 2 weeks prior to come 2 weeks later and give us money???  I call it God and I sing of His Praises!!! I am truly humbled by the acts of  love and compassion that God allows us to see from people who have very little to give...but who choose to walk in faith and give.   I have no doubt that God is changing the hearts of the people on both sides of the box (those that are giving, donating, praying as well as those that are receiving, thanking, and praying. 
     David came today... He has not shown up for 3 weeks.  David is a meth/heroine addict who could hardly speak due to his twitches and writhing the first time we met him.  Three weeks ago, however, he asked for a bible.... then we did not see him.  It was such a blessing to know that David is back- he was high and twitching like crazy.... but he was back.  What that means to me is that David has hope.  He did not die this week- Thank you Jesus!!  It is not up to us to save- but we believe that it is an honor to be able to love- God takes care of the rest! 
     The young man that came with his 4 year old daughter looked so young.  My oldest son is 21 and he looked close to that.  He lives out of a motel room and is going through a divorce.  He has his little girl every other week but does not have clothes for her.  It humbled me to stand out on the sidewalk with this young man who was trying the best he could to be a good dad.  My heart melted as he held up the little shirts to his daughter and asked after each one if she liked it.  He was so thankful and appreciative.  His voice reverberated back to us in thanks as he walked down the sidewalk - box and bags of clothes in one hand, his little girl's hand in the other.  Lord, I sing out my praises to You!!! Thank You Lord for growing us, stretching us, and filling us with the love that you extend to all of us despite our address... or lack of.  I love You Jesus with all of my heart-  In Jesus Holy Name, CC