Monday, May 31, 2010

Because of them.

Because of them, I slept soundly last night without any fear of a foreign army invading my city.

Because of them, I went to the gym this morning without even thinking twice about it.

Because of them, I was able to mow my own lawn without fear of my piece of land being confiscated without recompense.

Because of them, I was able to paint my front door without worrying that it will ever be broken down by gestapos.

Because of them, I'm able to post this without fear of it being monitored by the government, censored by them, or taken down because they do not like the views I express here.

Because of them, our Constitution has been protected and still guarantees me many freedoms I take for granted.

Because of them, you and I say and do hundreds things every single day in freedom, without fear of the government or any foreign enemy.



Over one million men and women of every race and creed have given up their lives for the sake of freedom, for the sake of this great country, and for our sake. May we never, EVER forget their sacrifice.

To all who have ever sacrificed for our great country: thank you.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

I have a dream.

So we all know the most famous line from Martin Luther King Jr. - "I have a dream ..."

Do you?




Seriously. Do you have a dream? Mr. King had a dream, a dream that he died for. A dream that has mostly become a reality in the generation that came after him.


It's amazing how powerful a dream can be - powerful enough to cause someone to lay down their life for it.


I've had a dream for awhile. I don't know how to bring it to fruition, I don't know how much it'll cost, I don't know the details - I don't even know what the first step might be - but I know it's a dream that could be used to make a huge impact for God's Kingdom and could really help people in their time of need.


Here's the dream: a mobile help center.
Imagine with me; you have a crisis at your home, like a water pipe bursting and flooding your home, or a house fire or God forbid, a murder in your home. Or anything really that causes you to be in a crisis. You call 911 and the appropriate first responders show up but not long after them, another group shows up: the service team in their mobile help center.

This RV or trailer pulls up in front of your home with the people and resources ready to help solve your crisis as much as is humanly possible.


- If your home is flooded they bring shop vacs to clean up the water and vacuum our furniture, tools to remove ruined drywall, a fresh supply of groceries, a place to wash & dry clothes, etc.


- If there's a murder in your home, this team has all the equipment necessary to clean up the scene after the police are finished so that you don't have the clean up the spilled blood.


- If there's a fire - food, pillows & blankets, clothes, toiletries, toys for the kids, etc.


- It would be versatile enough that it could be used even when a crisis isn't occurring; it would also be used for blood drives, food drives, health fairs, service projects, etc.


Sure, other churches have done something similar to this. And the Red Cross offers some of these services. But I'm imagining a mobile help center, stored in a warehouse with a variety of supplies in stock, that is versatile enough to meet nearly every need a person might have and that can be there right away to help. It would also be used in months following a crisis to help people for the long haul - not just a few days or weeks.


And most importantly, this would all be done with the love of Jesus in the Name of Jesus.


This would probably cost a lot to start and maintain, and it would require some well-trained, committed team members who could be on call 24/7, but I think it's doable. This dream surely requires some fine tuning, but I think it's definitely doable.




What do you think - any thoughts?