lwagner's blog

Speaking words of encouragement allows you to call out what you see in them. Many people have gifts and talents that they know nothing about. These hidden abilities need to be exposed.

God built gifts into the people around you that were designed to change the world. You have the unique opportunity to call out this amazing gifting. Like a baseball scout watching a high school game looking for future talent, you can see things in the people who are in your life that others cannot.

Last Saturday, 69 Bethany friends spent half of the day serving others. We painted a trailer for a friend whose trailer needed some sprucing up. We cleared a yard whose owner had been unable to work on it (almost 2 tons of green waste was hauled away!). We put up some drywall and did some painting at Kingdom Causes' new community center (helping get it ready for them to move in later this week). We did some roofing work at a home that is being rehabbed for a low income family. And we threw a block party that allowed a neighborhood to get to know each other.

Over the past couple of years, Bethany Church has done something called "Servant Saturday" about 3 times a year. We've done projects like park clean-ups, painting at a men's rehab center, work at Mexican orphanage, a garage sale where clothes sold for a quarter and TV cabinets went for 5 dollars, and a trailer park rehab. It's been a wonderful way to get out into the community and be the church in action.

Going through situations like my daughter’s leukemia causes you to think. You ask questions like “Why?” Sarah is 4 years old…why does she have to get this potentially fatal disease? As a father, I want to bargain with God to change the circumstances. It doesn’t cause me to doubt God or His goodness but, nonetheless, it does cause the question: “why?”

This story has 2 parts...

It begins about 2 weeks ago when an envelope appeared in my mailbox at work. Inside the envelope was a $100 bill with a note saying, "This is for you to use to bless the homeless people who come to your Wednesday night dinners." No name. $100 to "bless" the homeless. Thoughts ran through my mind that all fell into the "practical" category. Fortunately, I work with a Sr. Pastor who has a huge heart and great imagination. When I began wondering aloud in the office, right away he said, "Throw them a party!" A party...of course! Why didn't I think about that? How long has it been since any of them have been invited to a party, much less a party in their honor?