she loves books.

right now i am reading a book by Tony Campolo called Let Me Tell You a Story. its kind of funny how i came to start reading it actually. i think i got it from a book warehouse in pigeon forge over thanksgiving break, and yet its taken me this long to get to it. and the thing is i wouldnt have gotten to it yet had the book i was looking for on saturday decided fall into my clothing hamper and hide from me, forcing me to pick another to take to the park. its funny how some things work out. anyway, the book is a compilation of stories that Tony has either heard from others, read about, or experienced himself. this particular story is one that he experienced, and stood out enough for me that i wanted to share it with you.

sharing coffee

If you need some good stories, just come to Philadelphia and wander around the streets downtown. You will meet many wonderful people and have many varied experiences. You will certainly come away enriched by some strange encounters.
One day, about the noon hour, I was walking down Chestnut Street when I noticed a bum walking toward me. He was covered with dirt and soot from head to toe. There was filthy stuff caked on his skin. But the most noticeable thing about him was his beard. It hung down almost to his waist and there was rotted food stuck in it. The man was holding a cup of McDonald's coffee and the lip of the cup was already smudged from his dirty mouth. As he staggered toward me, he seemed to be staring into his cup of coffee. Then, suddenly, he looked up and yelled, "Hey mister! Ya want some of my coffee?"
I have to admit that I really didn't. But i knew that the right thing to do was to accept his generosity, and so I said, "I'll take a sip."
As I handed the cup back to him I said, " You're getting pretty generous, aren't you, giving away your coffee? What's gotten into you today that's made you so generous?"
The old derelict looked straight into my eyes and said, "Well... the coffee was especially delicious today, and I figure if God gives you something good, you ought to share it with people!"
I thought to myself, Oh, man. He has really set me up. This is going to cost me five dollars. I asked him, "I suppose there's something I can do for you in return isn't there?"
The bum answered, "Yeah! You can give me a hug!" (To tell the truth I was hoping for the five dollars.)
He put his arms around me and I put my arms around him. Then suddenly I realized something. He wasn't going to let me go! People were passing us on the sidewalk. They were staring at me. There I was dressed in establishment garb, hugging this dirty, filthy hum! I was embarrassed. I didn't know what to do. Then, little by little, my embarrassment changed to awe and reverence, I heard a voice echoing down the corridors of time saying "I was hungry; did you feed Me? I was naked; did you clothe Me? I was sick; did you care for Me? I was the bum you met on Chestnut Street... did you hug Me? For if you did it to the least of these, you did it unto Me."


another one of the stories in the book was about a large inner city church that had a popular soup kitchen on Sundays. as time passed the homeless coming into the soup kitchen made their way into the Sunday Service. some of the members of the church were uneasy sharing their pew with these people and a deacon asked if there could be a separate service for them. the pastor replied that he wanted everyone to have a fair shot at meeting Jesus face to face. the deacon agreed and said that they should have the same opportunities. the pastor then claimed, "I'm not talking about them, I'm talking about you!"

these stories made me wonder how many times i encounter Jesus and choose to ignore Him because i dont think i have the time or the energy to spend on Him. i would like to think that i take advantage of those opportunities but i know better.

No one told me
The right way
The right way to go about this
So I'll figure it out for myself
Cuz how much
Is too much
To give you
Well I may never know
So I'll just give until there's nothing else

Yeah I'll give give give (until there's nothing else)
Give my life (until it all runs out)
Give give (and I'll have no regrets)
I'll give until there's nothing left
I'll give

No one told me
How bad I need you (need you)
But I somehow arrived
To that conclusion all by myself (all by myself)
And I want
All you have to offer (to offer)
So I offer myself and I'll just give until there's nothing else

And I'll give give give (until there's nothing else)
Give my life (until it all runs out)

Give give (and I'll have no regrets)
I'll give until there's nothing left to
Give give give (until there's nothing else)
Give my life (until it all runs out)
Give give (and I'll have no regrets)
I'll give until there's nothing left

Sometimes it seems
Like all I ever do
Is ask for things
Until I ask too much of you
But that's not the way (that's not the way)
I wanna live (I wanna live)
I need to change (I need to change)
But something's got to give
Yeah something's got to

Give give give (until there's nothing left)
Give my life (until it all runs out)
Give give (and I'll have no regrets)
I'll give until there's nothing left to give
Give give give (until there's nothing left)
Give my life (until it all runs out)
Give give
Give until there's nothing left
I'll give
Relient K: Give until theres nothing left