I've Never Been To Jail!

Wow. tonight I am thinking about going to jail. I hope this doesn't happen but I am fully prepared for it if it does. Let me guess, you just want to know what I've done? If you know me very well, you are probably imagining ALOT of things that could send me to jail.

Well, I haven't done anything yet. I am hoping I don't have to do anything! If you have been reading any of my facebook posts or some of the blogs I have written, you know I am passionate about our homeless community. Tomorrow morning at 7:30, our city council will present two city ordinances that essentially make it illegal to be homeless.

I don't really know where this thinking comes from or how it makes any sense, but that is where we are. I am praying that the ordinances are tabled and we are given an opportunity and time to come up with solutions. I am praying the council will see that there is no way to come up with a solution unless they are willing to zone a building for a shelter. I am praying alot of things just finally come together and we will all find it in us to do the right thing.

I am praying for all of these things but am fully prepared for the council to be a little more stubborn than this. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst I suppose!

THis passage speaks volumes to me about being homeless!
1 Corinthians 10 - 12  The Message

 ^9-13It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We're something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We're the Messiah's misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we're mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don't have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, "God bless you." When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We're treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture's kitchen. And it's not getting any better.

There is something moving in me, actually, it is past moving, it is literally churning inside me. My heart knows without a doubt that I am supposed to make a difference. I am praying for direction and guidance and I do believe I will get it, but I will make plenty of mistakes trying to get it all right. As of now, the only thing I know to do is support my friends that are less fortunate. I will do that by being fighting city hall, by providing for whatever needs I can provide for and by participating in a non-violent protest that may actually get me thrown in jail. I'm okay with that because I know God is using everything for good. I will do my best to feed Him when He is hungry and give Him a place to lay his head when He is homeless. I will do that through people like Carey, Jack, Red, JP, Luis, and so on. That's what I will be doing, protesting the inhumanity of telling someone they are not allowed to sleep, anywhere.