New Song by Brandon

17 July, 2010

Mick Christianity , , , , , 2 Comments

Here is a new song written by my good friend, Brandon.

Helping the Homeless

12 July, 2010

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Last night I had the privilege to go to MorningStar Mission in Joliet to help serve food to the homeless.  When we showed up we got in place with our aprons, hair nets, and plastic gloves and awaited the crowd.  It reminded me very much of a school cafeteria.  For about one and a half hours we served food to needy people that just came in for a warm, fresh meal.

One of the things that was most noticeable throughout the entire time we were there is how many people said, “Thank you.  God bless.”  They were very grateful for the work we were doing.  The crazy thing is, we didn’t even do that much.  As little as each one of us did last night, it was still a tremendous help to these people.  All I had to do was sacrifice 2 hours of my day.

So here’s the question that was going through my mind on the way home, “What more can we offer?”  I’m not trying to downplay the volunteer work we do at MorningStar.  I think everyone should help out there if they can (and I know you can).  But as Switchfoot once put it, “we were meant to live for so much more.”

Two hours of my time was a small sacrifice.  What else can I sacrifice?  What can you sacrifice?  How can we help the downtrodden of our society?

Community 4:12

18 November, 2009

Mick My Thoughts , , Leave a comment

I met with BT from Community Christian Church – Shorewood Campus over breakfast this morning at the Crispy Waffle. We are making plans for music to be played during the Christmas mart in downtown Joliet. I’m excited about the event because it gives us another opportunity to serve the community of Joliet, as well as the fact we are partnering with another church. I love seeing God at work.

A Day of Community

24 May, 2009

Mick Christianity, Community , , , , , , 1 Comment

I want to share with you my great day yesterday.  Please do not look at this as me bragging and saying, “look what I can do.”  But rather let this be an encouragement for all of us to pursue constant community with other Christ followers.

With the nice weather comes great activities that can be done outside.  One of those is riding a bike, and Joliet has some good trails that encourage people to enjoy the sport.  I met up with man from Crossroads who also enjoys biking and went out for about an hour and half.  We had some good conversation and got a good workout at the same time.

As soon as I returned home and cleaned up, my exercise was ruined by an Italian beef sandwich from Portillo’s.  Another person from Crossroads met with me there and discussed various things including Crossroads, college, and community groups (how’s that for alliteration?).  We also talked about how we need to be growing more organically… but that is for another post.

A tire on my wife’s bike needed to be fixed, so as soon as that was done I went out again.  This was not for near as long as earlier in the day, but just a chance to do something outdoors.  She wanted to show me where someone else from Crossroads lived in relation to us.  As we peddled by, one of them was outside.  Long story short, I spontaneously hung out and played some video games with another guy in our community.

I wish everyday was filled with this kind of togetherness.  We were not just getting together because we had to or felt obligated to, but because we just wanted to.  That is really what organic community/growth is all about.  Be looking for more on this topic in the near future.

The Espresso Train

18 July, 2008

Mick Miscellaneous , , , , , , 1 Comment

After a long break, I am back once again.

A couple of days ago I needed to go pick up a friend at Union Station here in Joliet.  There is a coffee shop on the first floor that I have always wanted to visit, but have never been at the station while it is open.

I pass a sign that says “The Espresso Train Gourmet Coffee Shop,” and the first word to come to mind is ‘creative.’  The second line of the sign says espresso, cappuccino, coffee, and pastries, indicating that those things are sold at this store.  That was no surprise to me considering almost every coffee shop in the world has these items.

Upon entering, I see there is no espresso bar.  Thinking this could not be so, I looked around the store only to see coffee brewing and a stack of newspapers.  Leaving the store disappointed, I went back to the sign to make sure I read it correctly.  Espresso was definitely on the sign.

Thinking that maybe the espresso bar was in the back room for some reason or another, I re-enter and ask the lady behind the counter if they have espresso.  “We do not have espresso, but we have cappuccinos.”  While saying this, she pointed to gas station cappuccino machine.

Don’t get me wrong, I love gas station cappuccinos.  I used to get them all the time, but they are not cappuccinos.  They are lattes… or sugar with some milk and coffee.  Any gourmet coffee shop would know the difference.

The one thing that really got me was that the Espresso Train did not sell espresso, even though they advertised it on the sign.

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