God's restoration power on full display

Tears of joy flowed all week. From an amazing salvation to family restoration, we witnessed the restoration of our God.

Thursday one of our homeless friends finally surrendered to Jesus after three-plus years of pouring the Gospel and love of Jesus into him. His decision reminded me that God never gives up on us. I wondered if he would ever give his life to Jesus. In fact, with his lifestyle, I thought he would end up dead without Christ. Thankfully, I was wrong. The Holy Spirit kept drawing him.

When he resurfaced about six weeks ago he was reading a Bible our friend Barbie Nolan from Covenant UMC had given him two years ago. He started quoting scripture to me. He had never read the Bible, much less quote it. He said Proverbs was messing him up, because he saw that he was the fool God talked about in Proverbs. The Word of God was drawing him. He said something has to change in his life. I told him Jesus was the only way, but he wasn't ready.

Then, on Thursday as he talked with one of our volunteers, he surrendered to Jesus. Praise God! Tears filled my eyes as I hugged him. A young man from The Ark was at LIA waiting for the Samaritan Clinic to open. He immediately started telling our friend about The Ark and how his life could be transformed by the power of God through their 12-month program. To my amazement, he wanted to go to The Ark.

You have to understand, this man never wanted anything to do with God even though we had prayed with him and showed him the love of Jesus for several years. Those were seeds of the Gospel being planted and watered. God truly brings the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6)

By Friday afternoon our friend was in The Ark. Praise God! I'm not going to mention his name, but please pray for him. God knows who you are praying for. Jesus forgives, saves and restores us to the Father. Our friend is now restored to our Heavenly Father.

Friday evening we saw God restore a family. One of our homeless friends walked out on his family 23 years ago, his son was 4 years old. On Friday, his 27-year-old son and wife picked him up at Love In Action to begin learning about one another and becoming the father and son God meant for them to be. To God be the glory!

We prayed with the three of them and watched them drive off together. I couldn't keep the tears from streaming down my face. God's restoration is beautiful.

These were two of many amazing things God did last week. This ministry is hard. We constantly battle the forces of darkness as we reach into the enemy's camp to bring people into the light of Jesus. Weeks like this makes all the battles, heartaches and frustrations worthwhile. It reminds us God is at work in the midst of the craziness. We are reminded of 1 Corinthians 3:6, some plant and some water, but God brings the increase.

More than shoes

This is what 200 pairs of shoes look like. We praise God for such an outpouring of love.

Want more proof Dothan, Alabama, and the Wiregrass is the greatest place in the world to live? Just take a gander at the photo above.

Our shoe supply for our homeless and impoverished friends had dwindled, especially work shoes. Just like they did last year, our friends at the JoyFM stepped up to help. We partnered to host a shoe drive yesterday. Russ and Nancy brought their "On the Road" show to our Connected Coffee Cafe on the Love In Action campus and did their live broadcast.

Throughout the week, the JoyFM promoted the shoe drive on air and via social media. We also blanketed social media promoting the event. And, once again, our community responded with a great outpouring of love.

Last year we received around 155 pairs of shoes. Yesterday, the total was 200. Praise God! What makes that number even more amazing is this is spring break, and Friday was the start of the final weekend of spring break. Yet, people responded to the need.

You just don't find that anywhere. This part of the country is special. Why is that? Jesus is the reason. There are a large number of people who love Jesus who make their home in Dothan and throughout the Wiregrass. When you love Jesus, you love people and respond to the commands of God to take care of the poor.

People from Dothan, Enterprise, Ozark, Rehobeth, and other cities and towns throughout the Wiregrass stopped by to drop off shoes. Some new shoes and some used, but barely worn shoes, were given.

How can donating shoes help the "least of these" in our community? It helps in many ways. The work boots donated will give our homeless friends exactly what they need when they are hired for jobs such as construction and roofing. The black slip-resistant shoes will help our friends who land restaurant jobs.

Here's an example. One of our friends received great news yesterday. She was hired for a job at a restaurant. However, there was a big hurdle in front of her. She needed the right shoes. Being homeless with no job or money, they might as well have told her she needed to purchase a new car before she could work. Many times, hurdles like these are so frustrating people give up. They hit one obstacle after another, and then something good happens, only to have another bump in the road to smooth out.

Tears streamed down her face as she held a new pair of black slip-resistant shoes that were donated yesterday. There were hugs and tears aplenty in the coffee house at that moment. Those donated shoes represented hope, love and joy. Hope that God hadn't forgotten her. A show of love that people care enough to help her. Joy from the knowledge God provided exactly what she needed.

Other shoes such as tennis shoes and other casual shoes were donated. These will be a great blessing to our many friends whose treads have worn out. They spend a lot of time on their feet walking, so a comfortable pair of shoes are very important.

Thank you to Russ and Nancy, Earl, Mark, Linda, Misty, and all of the gang at the JoyFM for partnering with us and making this shoe drive such a success. Thank you to everyone who donated, including those who donated money for shoes. The shoe drive was successful because all of you responded and donated 200 pairs of shoes.

Thank you Dakota Coffee Works for donating the delicious coffee and Krispy Kreme for donating those tasty donuts.

We are humbled and thank God for His provision and for allowing us to live and minister here in the most wonderful part of the world.

Sharing Jesus with others is addictive

Sharing Jesus at Love In Action as we help with food, clothing and hygiene items.

Nothing excites me more than sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with someone and seeing them give their lives to Jesus. True transformation begins right then, and the assurance of eternal life is secured as they become a disciple and surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

What's just as exciting is seeing our Love In Action staff and volunteers sharing their faith and leading people to Jesus. That's all part of discipleship. When 90-95 percent of professing Christians in the U.S. never share their faith with others, to see people do it on a daily basis is awesome!

There are many reasons why people don't share their faith. One is they aren't encouraged to. I know that's hard to believe for many of you who attend houses of worship where your pastor does encourage you to do so. However, sadly, that's the exception rather than the rule.

If people are encouraged, many times they aren't trained how to share their testimony and share Jesus with others. At Love In Action, we thrive on training people to share their faith and giving them opportunities daily to do so. Sharing Jesus with others is addictive.

Not only are the people's lives transformed when they give their lives to Jesus, but we are transformed by the power of God as we share the greatest news ever. The more we share the more we realize how truly awesome God is and how much Jesus has changed our lives.

It's extremely humbling to realize the God of the universe, the Creator of Heaven and earth and all this in them, has commissioned us to share His message with others. That's mind blowing. It makes no sense. Why does He call us, who are so unworthy? The simple answer is because He loves us.

Share Jesus with others. Yes, the first time you're going to be nervous. You will the second and third time, too. But, once you do, you won't stop. It will become a lifestyle. Living out the Great Commission is the greatest lifestyle there is, bar none. There's nothing like knowing we are fulfilling our Heavenly Father's will for us.

If you want to learn how and want opportunities to share Jesus with others, come see us at Love In Action. Here's a link to our website for our weekly schedule, https://loveinactionministries.com/dothan/weekly-schedule
Pick a day that works best for you and come join us.

Following Jesus in Baptism

John was one of six people Ken and Martha baptized Wednesday night.

There’s only one thing that excites me more than baptizing people, and that’s seeing people surrendering to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

A first occurred at Love In Action this past Wednesday night. While we have baptized hundreds of people over the years, this was the first time we’ve baptized people on our campus. Usually we baptize in a river, ocean, lake, pond or swimming pool, but Wednesday it was in a trough in our coffee house.

Our brother and friend, Kody Kirchhoff, of The Harbor, let us borrow one of their troughs, and it was a wonderful blessing. Six precious souls followed Jesus in baptism Wednesday. I taught on baptism that night to make sure everyone understood what was taking place. Those being baptized understood.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:3-4. “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

While baptism isn’t what saves us and gives us eternal life, it is very important. It is an outward witness of our faith in Jesus, showing people we are following and committing our lives to Jesus.

It is symbolic of dying to our sins with Christ when we are immersed in the water, and of coming back to new life in Christ when we come out of the water. The water is symbolic of the blood of Jesus washing our sins away.

It is also being obedient to a command of Jesus. He tells us in Matthew 28:19, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus was baptized, therefore we should be if at all possible. The thief on the cross next to Jesus couldn’t be baptized, but that was an extreme situation.

One of my favorite parts of baptisms is the excitement of those being baptized. You often see it on their faces when they come out of the water. Pure joy that can only come from following Jesus.

Please pray for those who were baptized as they continue their walk with Jesus by going through our discipleship method Training for Trainers (T4T). Jesus picked the most unlikely of candidates to be His disciples. We have seen Him use the homeless to carry His Gospel to the nations. We are praying these six will be the next disciples who live out our Lord’s Great Commission.

Praying for a repeat of last week

You just never know what to expect week to week. That holds true no matter what job you have. Whether you are a pastor, newspaper editor, a doctor, cashier at a local convenience store, teacher, or stay at home mom. Each week brings something new.

Our week at Love In Action begins on Tuesdays as Monday is our day off. I'm putting in a request for a repeat of last week. I don't think God will mind. He knows what's best, though, so I'm good with whatever He wants to do this week.

We saw eight people make decisions for Jesus last week. Six of those decisions were made during our Bible study. The Holy Spirit was really moving and touching hearts. The message was about being a true disciple of Jesus and what that looks like.

Another decision came last Thursday during our regular ministry time at LIA, and another decision made on Friday during our LIA Mobile Kitchen outreach. There's just nothing better than seeing people choose Jesus.

My prayer for this week is for more people to turn to Jesus, and for these new believers to follow Jesus in baptism. We are planning to baptize people this Wednesday night. I'm excited about it. If you don't get excited about seeing people obey Jesus, something is wrong. While baptism doesn't save us, it is obedience to Jesus and an outward witness to our decision to follow Jesus.

I'm looking forward to this week. Whatever comes our way, I know God is in control. Knowing that truth always gives me great peace. Psalm 27:1 comes to mind, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

That's a powerful verse to memorize and hold fast to.

How can we not tell others?

Do you ever have one of those feelings that just won't go away? Maybe it's a conviction. Sometimes it feels more like frustration.

For me, it's that of Christianity in the US. So many people in our nation call themselves Christians. That's a nice thought, but is it true? Nobody knows for sure but Jesus and each person. What continues to bother me are people who profess to be born again, but there is no change in their lives.

I'm far from perfect. I don't claim to be, I never have. I have plenty of faults. I continue to be and always will be a work in progress until God calls me home. But, I can look at my life and see transformation, and I pray God continues to transform my life.

When we have an encounter with Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, how can we not be changed? When we've truly experienced His love, forgiveness, salvation, mercy, grace, kindness, and awesomeness, there's no way we cannot be changed.

We can't live the same way we did before we surrendered to Jesus. It's impossible. We become a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17).

We should look different than the world. We shouldn't be following the ways of the world or living to the world's standards. We should be following Jesus and living to His standards.

Here are three verses that should shake us all to the core and cause us to pause and consider our relationship with Jesus ... are we truly following Him?

The scripture is Matthew 7:21-23. Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"

Just saying we are a Christian doesn't work. Are we living in total abandonment for Jesus? Are we telling people about Jesus? That's an easy answer. Studies show that 90-95 percent of professing Christians in the US do not share their faith with anyone. That's stunning and extremely disappointing.

How can we not tell people about Jesus? We can talk about football, politics and the weather, but not Jesus. That makes no sense to me. Heaven and Hell are real. With Jesus we go to Heaven. Without Him we go to Hell. If we have surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then we know how awesome He is and that He has given us eternal life. How can a person not share that?

The Christian faith isn't something to keep private. We must tell others. Jesus commands us to proclaim His Gospel. Just look at Matthew 28:18-20, "All authority in Heaven and on Earth have been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

I like what David Platt said, "Don't patronize Him (Jesus). He is worthy of more than nominal adherence and casual association. Jesus is worthy of total abandonment and supreme adoration. This is not a game. Jesus is saying, "follow me." You either turn and run or bow and worship. You are going to look really different when you truly follow Jesus. Everything changes."

We must honestly look at our lives and ask ourselves, "Has everything changed or beginning to change? Am I being transformed? Am I truly following Jesus?

'I had no idea there was so much poverty'

Serving meals with our Love In Action Mobile Kitchen gives our friends an
opportunity to enjoy a good meal.

A woman said something profound Sunday morning at First Baptist Church (FBC) of Dothan as she shared about her experiences of volunteering at The Harbor Church.

"I had no idea there was so much poverty just a few blocks from our church. I had no clue." she said.

A youth's eyes were opened as well through volunteering at The Harbor. "It was an eye-opening experience for me," he said. "I just didn't know Dothan had parts of the city like that."

FBC held its annual "Missions Emphasis" day, and members of their church spoke about their experiences volunteering in Dothan and in other parts of the US and world. I joined Jeff Peacock of The Ark, Kody Kirchhoff of The Harbor and Melanie Deal of the Southeast Alabama Baptist Association to inform the members of FBC what our ministries do.

Most people who call Dothan home who don't live in the inner city are clueless to the poverty that exists downtown. Despite the media coverage over the years, many people are still surprised of the number of homeless people in Dothan.

Why is that? If you are like I was before God opened my eyes, I just put my blinders on and focused on myself and my little part of the world. Not in a mean kind of way. It's just how I lived. If it didn't affect me, I didn't really care.

A friend of mine who leads a homeless ministry with his wife in Memphis, Tenn., said the same thing. "I left my (dental) practice and drove through the inner city with my blinders on," he told me. "I drove to my nice home in the suburbs and didn't pay any attention to the homeless."

God took his blinders off, too. He ended up selling his dental practice and devoting his life to ministering to the homeless with his wife.

I certainly understand that decision. Martha left her medical career after 22 years, and I stepped down from a 22-year career in newspapers to dedicate our lives to reaching the homeless and impoverished here, nationally and around the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God doesn't call everyone to do that, but He does expect us to take care of the poor. He tells us throughout the Bible. Read Matthew 25:35-40. That's the scripture Love In Action is based upon. Read Proverbs 19:17, 1 John 3:17-18, Isaiah 58:6-7, and Luke 14:12-14. Those are just a handful of verses where God tells us to help those in need.

Come volunteer at Love in Action, The Harbor, and The Ark. You will see the homeless, the poverty, and the hurting. Allow your eyes to be opened to the needs of people who are hurting in our city. Help us not only meet their physical needs, but more importantly show our friends in the inner city the love of Jesus.

Offer smiles, hugs, and encouraging words. Be a mentor. Be a friend. As Pastor Matthew Barnett of the Los Angeles Dream Center said, "Once you put your feet in another man's shoes you will never be the same."

That sweet woman sharing her experiences at First Baptist yesterday will never be the same. Neither will that young man. I know mine and Martha's lives are forever changed for the better. Yours can be, too. Come join us. Come see how Jesus is working in the inner city of Dothan, and be His hands and feet to bring His love to the hurting.

When brothers dwell in unity

I look forward to Wednesday mornings. I'm up earlier on Wednesdays than any other day of the week. It's not about seeing the sunrise, though that's often a benefit. It's because I'm about two spend some time with two very special brothers - Jeff Peacock and Kody Kirchhoff.

Jeff is the executive director of The Ark and Kody is executive director of The Harbor. You won't find two better guys.

All three of us minister to the homeless and those living in poverty here in Dothan, Alabama. We get together on Wednesday mornings to talk and pray. We talk about ministry and how we can better work together to help those we all see. We talk about the things of God and we pray.

Don't get me wrong. It's not all about scripture and ministry. We just love hanging out together. We genuinely enjoy each other's company. We're like brothers. We pick on each other and joke around. I often refer to us as the Three Stooges.

God tells us it's good to dwell in unity. In Psalm 133, David writes, "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore."

Ministry is not easy, especially when you are on the front lines reaching into the darkness and pulling people out into the light of Jesus. We encounter spiritual attacks and heart aches. We also experience great victories and see lives transformed by the power of God.

It's great having brothers who will stand in the gap for each other, help one another with any situation, and celebrate victories in Jesus.

So, yes. Once again God is right. He always is. It truly is good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity. Thank you Kody and Jeff. I love you both and count it a great honor to serve Jesus with y'all.

Another heart-wrenching day

It's not unusual to experience days that rip your heart out. Days that tears won't stop. Ministering to the homeless and hurting for 19 years has taught me there are more hurting people out there than one could ever imagine. Only God could handle all of them.

This is one of those heart-wrenching weeks. Back-to-back days of sad, heart-rending situations. My heart can't take much more this week.

As I posted yesterday, we found out one of our homeless friends died and another was in CCU after a motorcycle accident. Today, a young woman made a wrong and dangerous decision. A decision that could cost her her life.

Last week we met Michelle. That's not her real name, but for her own protection that's what I'm going to call her. Michelle was coming down from drugs. She was shaky and she had a hard time staying on point. We helped her, talked with with, and prayed with her.

Through the weekend she made progress. Her speech was rational, and on Thursday she prayed to give her life to Jesus. That thrilled us all. In earlier conversations she talked about different religions, and then she experienced the love of Jesus and decided she wanted Him. Michelle told me she knew some women who gave their lives to Jesus and their lives got better. 'It actually works," she said with a surprising inflection in her voice.

As we got to know her better we discovered she was escaping human trafficking from another city. I immediately contacted my friend Gia Hughes of Hope Rising, which is a ministry that brings the hope of Jesus to women who are hurting, helpless and hopeless due to sexual exploitation. It's an awesome ministry here in Dothan, Alabama.

Gia came over and talked with Michelle. She found out more information and got her to a safe place for the weekend. Michelle expressed she wanted out of human trafficking. God brought her to the right place at Love In Action to meet the right person, Gia.

Michelle came to Love In Action today. She looked refreshed and happy. Surely the beginning of a successful rescue, a rarity in the human trafficking world. Not so. She said she wanted to go back to the city and life she ran away from, and she had a bus ticket. No! Why?

Understanding the state of mind women like Michelle are in because of human trafficking is difficult unless you work with them. Even then it's hard to understand. There's an open door to freedom. Run through it!

Though not shackled by physical chains, Michelle and millions of others like her are handcuffed by control, threats and addictions. A complete change in a way of life can be intimidating, especially one as radical as coming out of human trafficking. For non-victims it seems like an easy and simple decision. Oh, if their minds could only see it that way.

Human trafficking is absolutely evil. Once trapped in it, escape is difficult, even when there's an open door to run through.

Some actually make it out ... very few. Statistics show 1 percent of human trafficking victims make it out. There are upwards of 40 million people trapped in human trafficking throughout the world.

Michelle left this afternoon. We are praying she did not board that bus and will reconsider her choice. To know she's going back to the dark, dangerous world of human trafficking is horrifying. Please join us in prayer. God knows her real name. God knows right where she's at.

Seeds of the Gospel have been planted, and she's been shown the love of Jesus. Pray she will receive His love, His deliverance, His healing, His freedom.

It's been a tough day

It's been one of those days you wish never happened. We received word this afternoon that a long-time homeless friend died. Then we found out another homeless friend is in critical condition in a local hospital following a motorcycle accident.

Rico was a sweet soul who never overcame the loss of his daughter. Oh, how he loved her. He talked about her often, then tears filled his eyes. A parent should never have to bury a child. He did. His heart never mended.

He loved Jesus. Rico had his faults. We all do. But he would tell you quickly that he loved Jesus and he knew Jesus loved him. Through his struggles, Jesus was the one constant in his life. He also knew we loved him, and that Kody Kirchhoff of The Harbor loved him. Kody is the one who called me to deliver the bad news. We don't know the reason he died, but with all of the health problems he battled, I would guess it was health related.

As far as we know, Rico had no other family. His parents had long passed, and after his daughter died there was nobody else. He died alone in his tent. Nobody should die alone in a tent. Sure, Rico made his own decisions, and they weren't always the right ones. He knew that. He never complained to me about living in a tent. Even so, nobody should die alone in a tent.

Kody also told me the news about our homeless friend in critical care. I'll call her Olive. That's not her real name. Jeff Peacock of The Ark was on his way to visit her when Kody called. Martha and I were not far behind him.

An accident left Olive with a broken wrist and broken back. There is a chance she may be paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors aren't sure yet. She has movement in her hands and arms, which is positive.

Martha and I entered her room and it brought back painful memories of another friend who was in CCU a year ago. His was cancer-related, not due to an accident. Olive looked horrible. The usual jovial young woman who bounced around laid in a hospital bed with tubes down her throat.

We stood beside her and said we were going to pray for her. Her hand moved under the sheet. She knew we were there and wanted to hold our hands. We prayed. She was trying to tell us something, but with no way to communicate we had no idea what she was trying to say.

Our hearts are broken. It's not the first time in these 19 years of ministry, but it's not often we receive a double dose of bad news the same day. Through it all, we know God is in control. He is sovereign. We know He will bring good out of all this bad.

How do we know? We've seen Him do it countless times. God is true to His Word. He tells us in Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose."

Please keep this young woman in your prayers, and please pray for all of the other Ricos who are out there alone in tents. May they know the love of Jesus and allow Him to bring them up and out of their situations. He can. He will. "He makes all things work together for good."

Coffee, breakfast casserole, transformation

Deep discussions about 2 Corinthians 12:6-7. Confirming Paul's claim that God's grace is sufficient.

Personal testimonies of how coming to the Light removes the darkness of addiction, opening the eyes of understanding to making decisions that keep us on the strait and narrow.

This wasn't a Bible study or church service. It was a talk Saturday morning at Love In Action over cups of coffee and a tasty breakfast casserole.

One brother shares how crack cocaine drove him to the point of literally choosing between life or death. Prison time and living on the streets were direct results of addiction. He understands John 10:10. He's lived it. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

How is homelessness "abundant life?" Living forgiven and drug free is abundant life. If you've never lived in the prison of addiction it's hard to understand what this brother is feeling. With his new life, he's working on coming off the streets. Jesus delivered him and set him free. Now with a new outlook on life, it's just a matter of time before he will not be part of the homeless population.

Another brother shares how drug addiction landed him in jail. Time served, then back on drugs. The last time he was incarcerated, he was placed in a program. He learned and realized that the only way out was through Jesus Christ.

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." He knows that's the truth. The moment the eyes of his heart were enlightened and knew the hope he was called to (Ephesians 1:18), God set him free.

He is early in his new life, but he's excited. He understands his environment is important. He needs to continue surrounding himself with other believers who will mentor and encourage him. That's why ministries like Love In Action and The Harbor are so important. The environment our friends live in is not always positive. There's temptation on every corner. Finding safe places filled with the love and life of Jesus is key.

Being homeless doesn't mean you are a lost soul wondering aimlessly through city streets sleeping wherever you can lay your head. We do have brothers and sisters who ended up in their situations for decisions they made. But we also have brothers and sisters who are working to come off the streets for the right decision they made to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The stories are many and each one weaves together the story of God's amazing grace. What our brothers and sisters need are others in the Body of Christ who will encourage, believe in their desire to live for Christ, and help.

Listening to stories of salvation, deliverance and transformation brings great encouragement and increases faith. Seeing it happening in the lives of our homeless friends is uplifting.

Think you know the homeless? Share a cup of coffee with one of our friends and be amazed. And, if there happens to be a mouthwatering sausage and egg breakfast casserole around to enjoy, then that's an extra blessing.

Outreach produces encouragement

"On February 8, I have been sober for four years! Hallelujah!"

"I'm about to start college in business administration and my boss is paying for it."

"God is moving in my life. He gave me this job. I'm walking to work. I know I've got to keep this job. God is good."

Those are some of the praise reports we heard today as we hooked the LIA Mobile Kitchen to Bro. Stan Sullivan's Chevy and delivered 51 plates of food to the homeless and those in need.

It never fails. We are always on the receiving end of encouragement when we go out. Yes, we hear heartbreaking stories and see how hard so many people live, but God is there. He's right there in the midst of the hurting and pain doing miracles.

Not everyone living in tents or low rent hotels are lost. Christians find themselves struggling, and they see God moving in the middle of it all. It makes any problem I may have seem small. It builds my faith.

Jesus is in the midst of the storm. Sometimes we have to drift along through a storm. The seas rage as jobs are lost. Marriages end. Loved one shot in an alcohol induced brawl. Eyes are blackened and arms bruised from an abusive relationship. Trapped in a downward spiral fueled by addictions.

No matter how dark the storm gets, the Light will break through. Call on the name of Jesus and He will say, "Peace, be still." Jesus heals, restores, delivers, and sets the captives free.

We see it happen time and time again. You can't put a price on seeing a life saved and transformed by the power of God. That's the encouragement we receive. We received a lot today.

11,886 steps for Jesus

Ahhh! My recliner feels nice. I'm kicked back with my laptop banging out this blog at 10:15 p.m. It's been a long day. We started at 8 this morning and got home a little after 9 tonight. Not unusual hours for us.

I take a look at the health app on my phone and see I walked 4 miles today ... 11,886 steps to be exact. Most of those steps were around the Love In Action campus. Before going full-time in the ministry, I had to walk around our neighborhood in the evenings to tally 4 miles. Now I just wake up and hit the ground running. Actually I walk. If you see me running then be rest assured I'm being chased.

I take a very Biblical approach to my health and fitness. Proverbs 28:1 says, "The wicked run when no one is chasing them." That's a good enough reason for me not to jog.

We are on our feet pretty much all day at Love In Action. Walking from the coffee house to suite 6 back to the coffee houses, then to the Samaritan Clinic, then to suite 4 to pull food to restock the food pantry in suite 6, and so forth.

We carry trays of pizza, chicken, corn and other food from the kitchen to the serving table in the coffee house. We carry a tray of food to suite 6, so our volunteers can eat lunch. It seems like we are always carrying something.

Now that we have a golf cart, we can load items on it like trash bags and drive it to the dumpster in the back of our property. But, we still get our steps in.

It's usually a 10-12 hour day. Martha and I are tired when we get home. Is it worth it? You better believe it. When people give their lives to Jesus like two woman did today, it's more than worth it. That's the reason we're on this earth. We love living for Jesus and fulfilling the Great Commission.

As I finish a cup of hot tea, I'm ready to call it a night. Another day done. I praise God for this day. Two souls saved, seeds of the Gospel planted, lots of people encouraged (including me), more than 100 plates of food served, and 16 people taken care of at the Samaritan Clinic.

Yep. It was a good day.