Meet Jimmy and Lance. They live on exit 107, in the woods. No tent, no food and no hope for a job. I found him the other day when I was driving my daughter to the Dr. I gave him all the cash I had on me (around $16) and asked what his situation was, he told me he lived in the woods behind him. I drove away as I prayed for him, and asked God to allow me to come back and help him. I got the idea of getting a big rolling duffle bag and filling it with all the basic necessities and bringing it to him with a meal and of course priority number one…sharing the GOSPEL (Way of the Master style). 🙂

This morning Dave and I packed the duffle bag with shirts, pants, underwear, tooth paste, tooth brushes, shower gel, lotion, deodorant, sheets, towel, can opener and a few other things. We went to the christian book store and bought a NT (ESV) bible since we had run out (we give them away to people we meet) put some encouraging verses in it along with a track (we only give tracks for them to go back and read them, we share the gospel with them first! No sinners prayer needed!). We went to MacDonald’s and bought 6 cheeseburgers and 2 bottled waters and on we went to exit 107. Praying he would be there. Parked the van and went into the bushes and lo and behold there were 2 homeless guys, not just one! I am so glad we put extra clothing and necessities in the bag and bought enough lunch for them. They were stunned that we came into their turf rolling a big bag with us. We went on to chat with them, shared the gospel and gave them what we brought. They were so thankful! One of them gave us an outback steakhouse gift card someone gave them. We refused but after telling us they had no way of getting there we made a deal…we would go to outback and buy them each a steak and bring it back to them! They said ohhh man that would be awesome! So we kept the card and will be going later on to bring them some steaks back. 🙂 They shared with us that they got poured on yesterday and their clothes were still wet. So God provided clean, dry clothing for them today! ❤

Dave and I will be going back on thanksgiving day to bring them a meal and are going to buy them a tent and warm clothing as winter is coming around soon. Lance and Jimmy have been adopted by our family, we took all 4 kids ( my teaching moment was to Franky most of all), taught him that as believers we ought to be Jesus hands and feet. We need to not just pray for those in need but do something about it. We need to get out of our little bubbles we live in and purposefully be looking for opportunities to bless others. Franky was so happy we helped them. I told him Jesus was a philanthropist and so should we be. He healed and helped those who came in contact with Him. We should live mindful of those around us that are in need. To say you are a christian and that you tithe and are not actively looking for people to help/bless is to excuse yourself from the work it takes to actually get out there and DO IT!

Dear friend, if you are one of those people that have ignored a homeless person with the excuse of I don’t have anything or they will “drink” the money I give them you are without excuse! You can easily go to the store and buy them water and a meal…you can go to your local thrift store and purchase a jacket for a cold homeless person. It’s an inconvenience you say? How inconvenienced was Jesus when He was told He had to come die on a cross for YOU?! Talk about an inconvenience, He left His throne to come save the elect!  Can I encourage you to please put a bag together of anything that could be useful and a blessing to a homeless person and keep it in your car. When you see the next one, bless them with the basic needs. You don’t have to give them money….there are others things you can do to bless them. If you live in Naples would you please get off on exit 107 and look into the woods, you will see 2 homeless guys who need your help…would you help them? Maybe a blanket…or a clean shirt…anything will help them. We are called to help the homeless, the orphans and the widows…ARE YOU DOING YOUR PART?????

In our home, our motto is “You do what you can with what you have!”

These are the things we do as a family…we want to not only share the gospel with our precious children…we want to LIVE the gospel before them. That way they can see what TRUE Christinity looks like in a world of wishy washy “christian” people. They asknowledge God but live like like He doesn’t exist. We call them, the Christian ATHEIST. There is nothing more I long for than for my children to grow up and say, I saw Jesus in our home. My parents modeled for us how to live out the NT! ❤