Right Now

Right Now,
I am warm
Well Fed
and Comfortable.

Right Now,
I have running clean water, and electricity,
A bathroom,
A fridge, that is full.

Right Now,
I am not alone.
My parents are alive,
and My children are safe.

Right Now,
I have change in my wallet,
Money in my bank,
and Hope for my future.

Right Now,

I

Am

Rich.

Homeless (cont.)

Last Friday night the ladies at my book club discussed our recent book Paris Wife,(good book btw). A book about Ernest Hemmingway's first wife and then somehow in some strange way this became the topic of conversation;

Should I give money to homeless folks or beggars?

I found it so interesting because I didn't bring this up, yet it was a thought that had consumed quite a bit of my time last week after my somewhat encounter with the beautiful stranger(see blog below).
In scrolling around on my usual reads this morning I found this lil note written to the above question by one of my favorite authors, Shane Claiborne.

"Jesus said give to everyone who asks. That’s a tough command. Sometimes we wonder what Jesus would do in the Calcutta slums or in these heroine-haunted streets where folks ask for change on every corner. What we can say with confidence is that we are to give something to everyone who asks – dignity, attention, time, a listening ear. Sometimes we may give money, sometimes not. But we can always give love. And there are times when giving money can even be a way to insulate ourselves from friendship or the messiness a real relationship might demand. So you can toss a few coins to a beggar or write a check to charity precisely as a way of insulating ourselves from relationships (and still appease our consciences)… but at the end of the day Christ’s call is to relationship and compassion. When Jesus speaks in Matthew 25 about caring for “the least of these”, the action he speaks of is not about distant acts of charity but personal actions of compassion – visiting the prisoners, caring for the sick, welcoming the strangers, sharing food with the hungry. Better than sharing money is sharing life, a meal, a home. Having said that, most Christians need to get taken advantage of more. And we can usually spare some change. Sometimes folks say this question about giving to beggars and panhandlers with suspicion, speculating that homeless folks will just use their money for drugs or alcohol… which happens sometimes. But we don’t always ask what CEOs are doing with our money when we give it to their companies (and the recent events on Wall Street raise some flags about how responsible they are!). In the end, if we cannot take someone to dinner or give them a ride when they ask for money, we might as well give some money. It’s better to err on the side of grace than on the side of suspicion. And we doubt that Jesus is going to reprimand us for giving too much money to addicts… more likely, we will discover we could have been a bit more generous than we were."

Shane Claiborne

Even if you are NOT a follower of Christ I think this blurb has some very good points to consider. Like we might not need to give money but we can always give LOVE. I like how Shane comes at the age old argument of not giving because they might use the money for drugs or alcohol, combated with do we scrutinize America's public servants, aka politicians with the same rule of thumb?
I believe the topic of people in need is one that will continue to resurface as the programs that were once in place to help those in need are now being shut down. I don't necessarily think this is entirely bad because it now gives us "the human race" the opportunity to step up to the plate of real true need, and help meet those needs.

I want to do my part. Not exactly sure what that looks like, but I think it begins with "giving to anyone who asks".

I am proud of my little book club because these thoughts and more were all part of our conversation last Friday night. And now I leave you with the same question;

Should I give money to homeless folks or beggars?

The Homeless

Today I had a strange thing happen to me. I was sitting in my car in front of Safeway getting ready to go to the grocery store for the umph-teen time this week, (I feel as though I live there, but I digress) and I was txt-ing back a friend and when I looked up I saw a beautiful, clearly homeless woman sitting in front of the store at Safeways outside tables. She was sleeping peacefully, and she had figured out how to chain all her bags to her person so they wouldn't be stolen while she slept.

I saw her and paused...

And then I paused some more and thought, what must that be like?

Taking a nap outside of Safeway, having everything you own in the world chained to you, and resting peacefully?

I thought maybe I should leave her some money because clearly she could use it, right? Or maybe not. She didn't have a sign up saying that she needed money so I thought maybe she was okay for now. Then I thought maybe I should go in and get her a Starbucks on the way out to help her wake up from her slumber.

Then I got thinking about how many people choose this way of life because they are so tired of running the rat race. I wondered IF she had in fact chose this way of life or if life and it's cruel ways had forced her to this place.

She sat there in the middle of the day sleeping, and here I was running from here to there, trying to make it all work. Napping in the middle of day is not a bad gig. Ask anyone who has done it. It is glorious! But this was different, or was it?

So in the end, after I prayed to see if I was to give her anything besides my prayers I didn't end up giving her anything at that time. A while back I blogged about how convicted I was by not giving to homeless people when they asked for something and ever since have made it a point to give something, anything if I can WHEN ASKED! But she didn't wake up and ask so I walked inside and thought if she is awake when I walk out and IF she asks for something I will give. Whatever it is... maybe she will ask for coffee, a meal, some cash?

I then imagined how cool would it be to sit down and have a conversation with her.

She was awake when I came out and both our attention was drawn to a toddler that was not being watched by it's mom and playing with a gadget about ready to walk into a wall. We both shook our heads by this, and smiled in acknowledgement of how cute the toddler was. I waited for a plea for help, a hand outstretched for something but there was nothing.


Hmm....


I wish I could say that I was my usual sanguine self and sat down to strike up a conversation with her but I didn't. I put my groceries in the car, she put her head back on the table, and I drove off.

Maybe next time.
Maybe she was an angel I could have entertained?
She sure was beautiful.

Coffee Fast Is Over...

It's a funny thing, my fast from coffee ended yesterday and I think I had about 3 or 4 very good, very full cups of coffee, but here I sit today with a cup of Green Tea and one stevia. (My replacement drink of choice in the mornings)

Giving up coffee was not an easy fast for me.
I am still not entirely sure why I did it.?
I know I wanted to give up something for Lent that wouldn't have a dual purpose.
By that I mean, often times when I fast, to be quite honest I hope that it will help me lose weight.
I mean, I don't set out going "I am going to fast from sugar so I can lose weight!"
I definitely disguise my fasts with a much more spiritual expression as to why I am fasting from whatever it is.
So a true confession I am giving you here is that, when I fast from time to time to pray, seek God's wisdom, or for a friend or whatever the reason, deep down I think this will help me too!

Shocking I know, but there you have it!

But coffee never entered any of those categories.
In fact, I think I remember telling myself that I could never give up coffee.
It was like the one thing in my life I would never do.
When others would talk about not drinking coffee anymore I would actually feel bad for them.
As though they were missing out on something so precious in life, so wonderful, so essential... why would you ever give it up?

Well, here I sit on this gloriously rainy, perfect Washington morning and although I could have coffee I want Green Tea.

Huh? I didn't see that one coming!

Fasting I have learned over the years is more a matter of choice.

And how luxurious a life I lead that I GET the choice to FAST from anything!

If there is just one thing that I really took away from this Lent season it is that.
I have the choice to fast from food, drink, television, certain clothes(free trade), stores i will shop at, etc.

And what a gift that is.

Truly we (Americans especially) are saturated with choice.
It is a freedom, I know I have taken for granted over the years.

This Lent season helped me to realize that, and so much more and I am hoping I don't soon forget it.

If there is nothing else you have to be thankful, grateful for in your life today let it be that you have the choice to choose whether to drink coffee or tea, or clean water and be blessed by that alone.

A Quote

"Among us English-speaking peoples especially do the praises of poverty need once more to be boldly sung.

We have grown literally AFRAID to be poor.

We despise anyone who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save inner life.

If he does not join the general scramble, we deem him spiritless and lacking ambition.
We have lost the power even of imagining what the ancient realization of poverty could have meant; the liberation from material attachments, the unbribed soul, the manlier indifference, the paying our way by what we are, NOT by what we have, the right to fling away our life at any moment irresponsibly- the more athletic the trim, in short, the fighting shape."
William James

I have been reading everything that I can get my hands on written by Shane Claiborne for quite some time now.
The most recent book that this quote came from is out of a workbook that goes along side a video titled, Economy of Love. I got the workbook first and read it quick. Then I went back and realized that almost every page was tagged for me to return to some day. You know you have your hands on a good read when the top corner of your book starts to fan out from all the folded corner tips. And that is what I have here. There were just so many good tid-bits I felt compelled to share. Thank you for obliging me in this.

So this above quote was just the first quote of many that got my attention. It reminded me of some things that God had stirred in my husbands heart quite some time ago and I was too afraid to admit that those stirrings might be prophetic.

He told me that he had a dream or vision that black birds were flying out of his eyes so quickly that he could no longer see. When interrupted the dream was said to be about our finances and us loosing everything of financial value. This scarred the crap out of me. It still does scare me. This was a dream given 1 year before we were to lose our home through a foreclosure.

Sitting here now, I am no longer afraid of losing everything because the funny thing is once you go through something like what we experienced last year you realize two things;

1 God is still on the Throne
2 We survived

I am not saying that I would wish what happened to us on even my worst enemy(of which I have none) but still we not only survived, I feel by the grace of God we thrived.
Why this was our story I am not really sure. I can only attest to God's grace that covered us like a big bubble in the midst of some of the hardest months that MoNoSco has ever faced.

More thoughts on this topic later