Make it happen

A couple of weeks ago some college students moved in just a few doors down.  That night they had a party to celebrate their new move and the beginning of the Fall semsester at WMU.  To my surprise, they kept the noise down.  Our parking lot was flooded with cars for most the night and into the early morning hours, but by 7am most were gone.  The remenence of plastic cups on the ground and stale beer in the air was the only evidence of that night.

As I walked out to my car that morning I was a little taken back by all the trash (plastic cups and some other garbage) that was scattered around the parking lot and in the grass.  Had these students really just moved in and then trashed the place? 
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Coming home at the end of the day, I quickly noticed how clean everything was.  All the trash was picked up, the garbage on the lawn was gone and everything looked normal.  It wasn't that these new tenants woke up and cleaned up the mess left by their celebration.  Instead, it was John.
John is an employee of our apartment complex.  I have seen him before walking around with a 5 gallon bucket and tool used to help grab trash.  Every morning he goes through the entire apartment complex (and it is huge) picking up random trash. 

After I got home I made it a priority to go to the main office and let them know that John had done a great job in keeping the area clean.  I asked if they would relay the message for me and let him know that someone has noticed the good job he is doing. 
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This morning Danielle (my 8 month old) woke up early crying.  She has not been feeling good for a couple of days now.  At 6am she decided that she wanted to be inconsolable for the next 75 minutes.  I took her down stairs and rocked her, fed her, and Asia sucked the snot out of her nose with the one thingy.  Eventually she went to sleep. 

So... I decided to skip the morning workout and just come into the office early today to get things done and while walking outside I noticed John out picking up trash.  Yesterday I preached and one of the things I encouraged the congregation to do was to take chances that were presented to them and talk to people.  Specifically attempt to start relationships, or advance previous ones, in attempts to share love and the gospel with them.  Now i dont want to see a bunch of people shoving religion down the throats of others, but i do believe we as Christ followers need to be conscious of the fact that we are called to be light and salt in this world.  We can only be that if we act.  It would be wrong of us to merely sit by and allow the world around us to continue to go to hell.  We need to be actively and shrewdly seeking the lost.

I walked up to John and introduced myself and let him know that i noticed he had been doing a really good job.  I mentioned to him that I complemented him at the front office and before I had a chance to ask if they relayed it to him, he said, "So your the one."  With a big smile on his face, he took off his work gloves and shook my hand and shared how much he appreciated what I did.  I didn't have to complement him at the office that day a week ago.  I didn't have to say a word to him this morning either.  But I figured if I preached it, I might as well live it.

Hope you get a chance too............................. 

Cage fighters need Jesus too

This morning after working out at the gym I saw a guy I haven't seen in a while.  He is a lightweight cage fighter.  He and I have talked superficially in the past but I haven't seen him for at least 3 weeks.  It would have been really easy for me to walk out after my workout, and actually I did partially make my way to the locker room when my mind said, "Cage Fighters need Jesus too."  I turned around, went back to the cardio room to at least say hi and let him know i had noticed his absence from the gym.  I didn't expect much but I knew I have to start progressing relationships like this if I really want to put Christ first in my life. 

As I walked back into the cardio room, just by chance, his workout on the treadmill was finished.  He stepped off and looked up just as I walked in and a huge smile came over his face.  We both said hi and I asked where he has been.  Come to find out he has been recovering from 2 cage fights over the past 3 weeks.  He had some sore ribs from his last fight.  I asked more questions about his fights and how he was doing and all of that.

"Jesus" never got brought up, but I know that if I ever hope of reaching a guy like this for Christ, I have to be intentional with developing more than a superficial relationship.  I know that this Cage fighter needs Jesus.  Who's the person in your life, friend or just someone you see once in a while who you need to be more intentional with?