First This, Then She Moves Out

This is just the beginning… Next it’s the prom and then her first car and, BAM! It’s “Daddy who?”

I can see it now. It all starts with that dang first tooth…

After The Savagery

Happiness Is

…having your car hit in front of your house by your teenage neighbor.

Your teenage neighbor who charges you $50+ each time she babysits.

The one who doesn’t want this on a police report or an insurance claim.

The one who’s babysitting for free until she moves out and gets married. =)

His Name Is Dwayne

I stopped this morning and talked to the gentleman pictured in the previous post. His name is Dwayne Murphy and this is pretty much his job, he told me. I talked to him for about 2o minutes on the way to work this morning and I didn’t really know what to expect. I walked up to him and he grabbed my hand as if to shake it and it was then that I realized that he was using my hand to pull me in for a hug! He hugged me and said, “It’s so nice to finally meet you, brother!” And was it. He’s just as kind and good-spirited in conversation as he is when I pass him at 40mph.

He shared some of his story and intimated to me the story of a near-death experience a few years back where he was shot 5 times and couldn’t work as a result of the lingering pain and physical ailments. He pointed to the parking lot and showed me the bright, shiny truck that a very kind passerby/stranger/local business owner had given him a few weeks back upon hearing that his minivan was out of service. That’s right… A stranger just gave him a truck. A nice Dodge Dakota. Only a couple years old, too. He has a family – been with his wife for 13 years now. Five kids, the oldest of which is currently in college and the youngest of which just turned 10. He told me of the time he walked to Florida from Lawrenceville about 7 years ago. (We didn’t have time to get to that one, but we will!) He gave me some papers that contained messages with scriptural references. He also gave me his number and invited me to said local business owner’s store on Saturday morning, where said business owner has opened his store up for a gathering of local men (all of whom Dwayne met while on said street corner) for general fellowship and maintaining good spiritual health. I think that’s amazing. A gathering of strangers – men from all different walks of life who wouldn’t normally come together under normal circumstances – for nothing but to lift one another up in brotherhood to face life’s everyday ins and outs. To pray for each other. To help one another and to provide insight and understanding. This gathering of 12 men as a result of God’s call for Dwayne’s heart. I felt privileged to have shared that little bit of time with him on the sidewalk this morning, amid ALL the honks of his passing fans. There were a ton of them. I found myself waving at all of them too! =) Kinda fun!

Needless to say, I’m glad I stopped. I say humbly that we all have a chance to “stop” everyday.

We’re always better as a result of it, I’m finding.

My Current Favorite Guy In The World

Okay… Hear me out. For those of you thinking I only have this guy on here because of what his sign says, I say, “Partly.” His sign could say “Have a nice day!” or “Kiss me, I’m Irish!” Although I DO doubt that.

I admire him because I’ve been seeing this guy off and on at random intersections all around Lawrenceville for the last 4 years we’ve lived here. Always with his chalkboard with a different daily message. Some days he keeps the previous day’s message. Perhaps he got some extra honks with it the day before. This morning’s message was, “Jesus! Is in you” Yesterday was “Jesus! The Cure.” Earlier this week it was, “Forsake this world.” Last week he got artistic and drew an eye with a cross in the middle of the eye, with the message, “What are YOU focused on?” I see him everyday now that I have a new job with a new route to take. Some people honk. Some wave. Some just stare and others probably don’t even see him at all. That’s okay though. He keeps smiling and waving to whoever will cast a glance. In between cycles of the light he reads from the Bible he’s always got in hand. He’s not homeless, either. I think some people suspect it, thinking that he’s just got nothing better to do, or nowhere else to be. “THAT must be the reason for his insanity!” No, not that, either. He drives there in the car you see parked behind him in the adjoining parking lot. He dresses well and brings coffee, too.

Okay… I do happen to think that it’s a bonus that he’s out there spreading the word of God. I am in awe of his spirit. Not just his Chrisitian spirit, necessarily. The desire to get up at the crack of dawn to go out and hold a sign on the street corner… In hopes that WE would read it. Think about it. The only people you normally see out on the street corner are ASKING YOU for something. Car washes, people looking for donations, flower peddlers… Even people dressed as Uncle Sam and The Statue of Liberty want you to come in and buy a mattress. But this guy? He doesn’t want anything from us. He actually wants to GIVE us something. Free. A message. Maybe you could honk for him. That would be nice.

Like I said, his sign could say anything and I’d still post it here. His spirit and love for doing it is what I envy. When was the last time I got out there and jumped up and down for something? Y’know?

It asks me to live life with wider eyes (Save your Asian jokes… =) and see the light that beams from others  Maybe you’ll open yours wider too, now.

But you can’t totally reject the allure and importance of the message, either.

I’m sure that the “secret” to his spirit, love and motivation lies in his message, after all.

Which isn’t really a “secret” now, seeing as to how he’s out there, everyday, trying to share it with us in the first place.

Thanks for reading.

Back In The Saddle Again

So you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been away from here for a couple weeks now. It’s because my JOB has me busy! That’s right. My job. Employed once again, thankfully. I’m working for the leading wireless on-site paging company. We provide retailers, restaurants, churches and hospitals with their paging systems. Have you ever been to a restaurant and had to wait for a table? While you were waiting, did they perhaps give you a coaster that alerted you once your table was ready? Chances are, that was our system they were using. We do Target pharmacies so that you can shop around and be alerted once your prescription is ready. Auto service centers, etc… We also do the church nursery paging systems that alert parents when their kids get fussy. It’s a fun job and atmosphere. I look forward to getting better at it.

Quick God story and how all this worked out for His glory…

I saw the ad online and applied. Something about it sounded fun. I get a call a week later to set up an interview with a guy whose name sounded awfully familiar… Turns out that the guy is our Bible study group leader’s ex-husband!! Our best friend’s ex-husband is now my sales manager! Uh-huh… Crazy, huh? If that wasn’t enough, one of the owners of the company goes to our church and the lady from the marketing dept. babysits Olivia in the children’s ministry! Knew her by name and face! Crazier, huh?

I was blown away by the way it all came together. When you first hear the story, you (like I) would say “small world, huh?”. But instead of chalking it up to a small world, I’ll give it up to a big God.

Thanks to you for your prayers and well wishes.