Acts of Kindness Shouldn't be Random

Wow!
It has been nearly three weeks since I've posted here!

I know that there have been several days that I started to write but then decided against adding to the steady stream of negative garbage that floods the internet these days. I'm not swearing off of the political or religious bandwagons but I am going to let you get most of that news from other sources.

Much has happened in the past few weeks -- a couple of kids's camps, a broken down motorcycle, serving breakfast to homeless people, an outing with church friends and one with old work friends, a day at the lake, and a few days of doing nothing, as well.

I'll get to the kids' camps after I've had time to put a little distance between the camps and writing. They can be a little tough sometimes and it helps me if I give them some time. I also need to let some of the adult drama and church politics settle a bit.

The motorcycle breakdown happened on the way to a camp and it was truly amazing at the amount of help that people were willing to provide. People took time to get me (and my bike) to and from a shop (that was unable to repair it until the following week). Daniel took the afternoon off from work to drive four hours to pick me up and tow the bike home. And strangers on the way helped us when Daniel's alternator on the truck went out.
In the end we had to have the truck towed the last 40 miles home and the trailer with the bike towed separately.

I am grateful for the kindness we received along the way and am paying it forward by serving with a group of people from The Venues. Every Friday morning, a group from the church provides the food and serves breakfast to about 150 homeless people at the the Veteran's Center in Springfield. It is just one of the ways that The Venues acts out the teaching of Jesus by caring for others. I plan to be a regular at this service event since retirement gives me the time to do it.

I've also arranged a night (next month) for our small group (also from The Venues) to prepare and serve dinner at The Ronald McDonald House in Springfield.
I'm finding it to be a great pleasure to be associated with followers of Jesus that are actively working to share his love by taking care of people in the community -- not once in a while, but as a regular part of who they (we) are. It's amazing how much you can learn about love from people that have been hurt by the traditional churches in the area or by other so called Christians.
Certainly, not everyone at The Venues has suffered church trauma, but it is a very different gathering of Jesus followers.

In any case, I wish you a grand week and I'll be back with more to share.
Show somebody that they are loved!

John <><