Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Servanthood

Working at a crappy grocery store such as Albertsons has enlightened me in many ways. I have learned that people can be real, 100% certified jerks sometimes. It's not so much that this offends me but I just hate to see people from my very own church come into the store on a Sunday afternoon and be extremely rude to a high school kid just tryin' to save up for college.
Now don't get me wrong I'm not complaining, it's just that God is an awesome teacher and even though I catch more crap a day than a port-a-potty does all week He still taught me to be more kind and compassionate to the people that serve me.
Like today the lady @ Wal-Mart messed up my checkout somehow and had to call her manager over for something. The lady had obviously had a long day and was becoming frustrated so I struck up a friendly conversation w/ her instead of getting my feathers ruffled over the situation like the guy in front of me did. At the end of my transaction I said "thank you, and have a good rest of the day" to which she responded with a grateful smile and said "Thank you, you too."
Along w/ her grateful smile came somewhat of a curious glance like she was wondering why I wasn't like every other rude customer she had dealt with on her shift.
We are called to be Jesus to the people around us and sometimes that makes us stick out. We are resident aliens on this earth and are called to a higher purpose than anything we can strive for here. If you're not good at talking or teaching about Christ's love (which I'm really not) then show his undeserving loe to the people that surround you because imitation is the sincerest form of servanthood.

Mission Trip

This past week I had an amazing opportunity to embark on a mission trip to the one horse town of Coweta, Oklahoma. I went with Amy's church so I didn't really know anybody but it didn't matter because our work team of 7 people came together and meshed so well. We basically rebuilt the inside of an apartment that a sweet old lady named Ms. Lu Prather is trying to rent out. She only makes $12,000 a year and receives her food consisting of pinto beans and rice from her ex-husband. She had no electricity, heat or A/C. Her son, Allen, started the repairs and then they got in a huge fight and he packed up and returned to NYC. Despite all of the obstacles in her life she would not stop telling us about how God blessed her so much throughout her entire life. I am extremely grateful that God presented me with the chance to be his hands and feet. We finished every part of the house except the bathroom. Keep Lu in your prayers and pray that somone else will finish the work we came so close to finishing. She is the lady in the pink in the middle of the picture. Oh yeah and I'm the dork holding the speed square up to my face.

One last note: to all of you who saw me on Sunday when I was feeling like crap....I so have pneumonia and a wicked case of bronchitis. It's cool though cause I'm a beast.