I saw one of my homeless friends at church Sunday. He’s been trying to get off the street for a while, and trying to get help for mental illness. It’s hard to get housing when you have no income, and it’s hard to get help for mental illness when you’re homeless and have no insurance. I knew the odds were against him. But I didn’t expect what he told me next.
Archive for October, 2006
When you belong to the world, the world tells you who you are. But when you belong to Jesus, your identity is in Him. And Jesus said:
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you… If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you… because they do not know Him who sent Me.” — John 15:18-21
The source of my strength:
“Unfailing Love,” sung by some guys at a youth camp. I don’t know them, but God bless them. I needed this today. Hope it blessed you, too.
I changed my blog template last night (Tuesday), and it’s not rendering well on smaller screens, so I’m going to try some other templates tonight (Wednesday.) If you’re viewing my site tonight, I apologize for the inconvenience. The scenery may change on you, but the posts will be the same!
Supporters of GPD Officer James Hinson gathered for a press conference today at the New Light Baptist Church on Willow Road in Greensboro, a fitting setting for the Biblical analogies used by several pastors who spoke on Hinson’s behalf.
Read more on Officer James Hinson: “From ‘Hosanna’ to ‘Crucify Him!’”…
Just back from a press conference on behalf of GPD Officer James Hinson. Hinson’s attorney Ken Free read this statement at the start of the press conference.
More details soon…
It’s been quiet on the Troublemaker’s blog for the past few days, so we agreed that I should post this report to let you know what he’s been up to. And it turns out, that today it’s Christian rhyme. Here’s an example:
I saw one of my homeless friends at the library today, and he had a bright green bandage wrapped around his arm. “What happened?,” I asked, concerned. “Plasma,” he replied.
I knew that some homeless people sold plasma. But I didn’t know the details, so I asked him to tell me about it, and he did.
Yesterday, I spent time with a homeless friend who’s working hard to get off the street before another winter gets here, and he’s struggling against the barriers. He talked to me about some of the difficulties that homeless people face in Greensboro:
In July, I wrote about a homeless friend who was hit by a car while riding his bike. He suffered a broken neck and broken leg in that accident and spent a long time in the hospital, followed by some time in a nursing home, which he left a few weeks ago. He’s now back on the street, living outside again, walking on crutches for now. But he doesn’t have a bike anymore.
I dropped by the downtown library this evening, where the Food Not Bombs crew feeds the homeless on Monday evenings. I sat on a bench and talked to several of my homeless friends that I hadn’t seen recently. We all shivered in the breezy cold. As I drove home to my warm house, I thought of all the people who will sleep outside tonight. The forecast temperature overnight is 32 degrees. That’s freezing. Tomorrow night’s low is 31. The shelters are full. And emergency winter shelters open on Dec. 15th. That’s 53 more days…

