"Look, Dad! The birds have come!"... I went to see Lars last night around seven...
COVID-19 Diary: Caring for the Birds
COVID-19: Tuppence A Bag
I don't always wake up with a song in my head, but today I did and it was, "Feed the birds, tuppence a bag." And so I got out of bed, got dressed, and went to find Lars and leave some granola bars for him.
COVID-19, Spring Break, Days 5, 6 & 7
Sometime after lunch I realized that God was talking on Thursday... They were only letting so many people in the store at a time... The hymn melodies rang back in echo off the mountains...
Under the 24th Eve
For those on the street this December
French Fry Failure (*last time?)
French Fry Failure No, Lars and I aren’t smoking a bag of weed. It’s Five Guys fries. A couple weeks after Lars’ birthday, I decide that if I don’t get called into work I’m gonna go to Five Guys and order two large fries for lunch. The girl shovelling fries into the paper bag asks …
Is that Jesus?
My son saw me loading this sketch and asked, "Is that Jesus?" A Jack and Lars Update I haven't seen Jack since some time in October. I was in Tim Horton's, frustrated that I needed to get a job and couldn't just make it happen, angry that any job would take away time from me …
Faces of Jesus: Lars & Christmas
Faces of Jesus: Lars & Christmas Today Lars has survived our first serious frost. I asked him today how he spent the night. "Right here." Under the awning of the building where one can go inside and choose carpet and flooring. I handed him my typical Nature Valley granola bars and a five dollar bill, …
Winter’s First Blast: Homeless Survive?
Jesus, I want to look at this guy and see You, but that's hard anymore. You, at least occasionally, I can understand.
We Would Help–and WE’RE “Church People”
Aaron and I are sitting on the sidewalk, talking to Lars, and apparently this old woman feels like we have sympathetic ears because she begins to unloaded her story. "The market is squeezing the seniors out onto the streets!"
The Devil, My Daughter, and the Town That Almost Cares
My daughter is teary-eyed as she gets in the car. The only religion off the table for the kids to choose from was Satanism. Witchcraft, okayed. Voodoo, okayed. "I had to switch groups and I broke down crying in front of the whole class."
Homeless Jack needs prayer. Now.
Jack needs prayer. Now. I had planned on taking my time with this story and do my best to relate my experiences with Jack so that you’d feel like you knew him as well as I do. But now there’s no time for that. You’ll just have to fill in the blanks on what you’d …
Street Drugs and Jesus
Faces of Jesus: Jack and ... Jack doesn’t see me coming so he’s off guard at first, wondering if I’ve noticed that he has signaled this other guy to put some stuff away. The way Jack talks, the way his mind seems so clear, his thoughts so logical, plus the I’m-above-them attitude he has about …
Jesus Wears Johnny Cash Black: “I was naked and…”
Faces of Jesus: Lars I’ve learned. The next time I see Lars I don’t hand him anything. I say, “Hi,” and sit on the sidewalk next to him for a long and intentionally silent conversation, keeping five bucks hidden under my hand on the curb. It’s almost nice. I mean, twenty-five minutes of being still, …
Continue reading "Jesus Wears Johnny Cash Black: “I was naked and…”"
Jesus, Hiding In Plain Sight
Faces of Jesus: Lars God’s not subtle. I’ve just dropped my son off at youth group, and with two hours to kill I’m about to try grocery shopping at night. I’m hoping the store’s near to empty. No crowds. No lines. Quick and easy. But as I’m driving down the four lane street, the sun …
Faces of Jesus: God Comes to Jack
Tuesday After I play my trumpet, Jack and I sit in the cool of the shade and listen to the cars hum overhead. I’ve never been great at shooting the breeze. The breeze always moves, and I always miss. So I end up answering Jack’s questions. “What are you doing here?” “Playing my trumpet, talking …
Faces of Jesus: Jack
The Next Day “Ha!” Jack laughs in his chair. “You came back!” I smile as I step out from the morning sun and into the shade of the overpass. This time, I’ve parked my van in the McDonald’s parking lot that’s planted right next to this huge mass of concrete gray, the golden arches emblem …
Faces of Jesus: Under the Overpass
Two Days After Lying To Jesse I'm on my way to Grandma's, and I get to the turn where I can choose to take the highway or meander through town. Wanting to be open to God's leading, I ask, "Which way?" Feels like God says, Through town. And then as I start to go through …
Faces of Jesus: Lying
Spring 2016 I've just spent $100 on books. Books about missionaries. And I'm sitting in my car outside the Christian bookstore, trying to read this particular book about a guy from Pakistan who takes a stand for Christ and gets stabbed for it, trying to distance myself as I feel the Holy Spirit stirring around …
