I Am NOT Just a Number

In a small cafe in a city in Florida walked two homeless men on a Monday night. Both had long stories including stints in prison, heart break, addictions, and loneliness. One claimed to be intellectually savvy, while the other claimed to lack schooling. Both men were disabled. One had a phone charging as he sat down, the other one had no phone. A short devotional was read by one of the 5 volunteers and testimonial time came. The intellectual homeless man spoke of his pasts including being served as a homeless man and actually serving the homeless in the days of his youth. Nobody sets out to be homeless. The other man, appearing slightly more vulnerable, yet speaking less, claimed his heartbreak and additions led him to where he was today. He spoke of God's presence getting him through each day, but then quickly added how much he disliked law enforcement for causing him all the fines and court fees he had racked up and could not pay. His anger and resentment towards his seemingly ...

On a beautiful, breezy Saturday morning, a group of church members banded together at a local beach near Melbourne, Florida to begin cleaning up the beach. They posted their church flags at the entrance to the beach, donned their shirts "Give Your Faith Flight", and most importantly put on gloves and off they went. From cigarette butts to an old buoy, these families collected trash. As the beach waves rolled in, large planes could be seen flying in and out of a large air force base nearby. Dolphins were seen jumping in and out of the water, seagulls were desperately searching for food, and residents were enjoying the sun after a season of winter. What a beautiful day and what a beautiful beach. Isn't it interesting that at such a beautiful beach, there is so much trash? I couldn't help but think about the picture in my mind of my own life. What is on the outside, is not what God is looking at or really interested in. He is looking at the possible cast nets, old fish...

Facebook Marketplace made its debut in 2016 as a place for people to buy and sell within their local communities, everything from a car to a slice of pizza. Law Enforcement was quickly introduced to the dangers as robberies, homicides, and thefts were reported due to the marketing of "wares" on this site. Who would have thought that placing an advertisement for shoes could set you up for robbery? However, many a victim and officer could vouch for the sinister side of its existence. As bad as people may think the Marketplace is, it has also been used for good. I remember posting a huge picture from Ikea for sale on Marketplace and the blessing it provided to a kind family who could not have normally been able to afford the picture. My resale price was $80.00 less than the original. There were no flaws, marks, or tears and the family drove away increasingly happy which left me feeling blessed. A Marketplace is described as an open space or an arena housing the world of trade....

If I ever took a loss, I learned a lesson I won't ever think I'm better than the next man I've been down before the come up, I ain't stressin' I'm too busy countin' all these blessings Lecrae's song Blessings encourages us to look for the good in our failures, losses, and trials. Counting our blessings with everything seemingly collapsing around us is not a popular self-care technique, but needs to be. When we walk around every day, we pass so many painful people. Think about walking around an infectious disease while carrying around the antidote. We do that in a way when we carry around the true Hope and purpose given to us by God, but fail to inject its truth into anyone we meet. Many times, we do this because we are such hurting and broken people. When we focus on our own critiques, failures, losses, and past "diseases", we again are choosing to throw the antidote out the window to instead battle the problem alone. Isaiah 38:17 sa...

OfferUp made its debut in 2011 as a mobile driven marketplace advertising "gently owned" merchandise. This company was named one of the hottest startup companies in 2015 and partnered with local law enforcement across the country with "safe spots" where users could go to exchange money for merchandise. Law Enforcement of course has come to know this platform well as victims of robbery, theft, and even homicide began being reported across the country. In this profession, you learn that any good thing can be used for evil. One great thing OfferUp provides customers is their "safe spots". Across our great country, just the presence of law enforcement officers may provide a sense of safety to the public, but what about "safe spots"? In analyzing crime, officers are many times dispatched to areas dubbed "high crime spots", but the low crime areas sometimes get overlooked and later overrun with crime if we put all of our resources in just o...