Heavy fog

Yesterday was one of the warmest days we have had in Stockton in a long time. It was beautiful and sunny and it reminded me of the warm sunny Southern California Summers that we were so fortunate to have. Today is not one of those days.

I opened the door as I was leaving this morning and I was greeted by a very crisp, dense, heavy fog. Hannah, my sweet 2 ½ year old daughter, was next to me as I opened the door and as we both looked outside she said “Daddy, look. Smokey outside.” I said “That’s fog honey.” She responded with a very sad, “That’s fog? Its foggy outside Daddy.”

The weather is a such great metaphor of the spiritual state of our city. There is a dense fog present today. It is heavy, it is thick, it is visible, and it is real.

Sometimes it is really hard to see in the fog. Driving down Bianchi Road on the way to the office this morning I almost drove right through a stop sign. What’s funny is that I know the sign is there, I pass it almost every day as I drive through that neighborhood. But the Fog is so thick and so distracting that I still almost miss the sign.

Isn’t that so true in our lives? Sometimes the fog, spiritually speaking, is so thick that we miss the signs. We even know what the signs look like and where they are. But still, we can miss the signs. This City is covered by a thick spiritual fog, but the light of the Gospel of Christ is bright enough to shine through.

Pray that the light shine bright in this foggy city. Pray that the fog is lifted. Pray that people see the light!

God uses Oranges

When we moved in to our home in Stockton we were so excited to have an orange tree in the backyard. We were amazed that it produced oranges through the whole winter. It seemed really weird. Now we know why. God is using our orange tree to share the Gospel. Yes… God can use even our orange tree to share the Gospel!

One morning a few months ago as we were sitting on our front porch swing reading our bibles. A woman who was walking her dog stopped to talk to us. We talked about life for a few minutes and she mentioned that we should meet her husband. We agreed but didn't really think anything of it at the time.

A few weeks later an older man was walking by while I was mowing the lawn. He was walking the same dog that the woman had been walking a few weeks earlier. He stopped and just watched me mow the lawn. It was a little awkward, I admit. Then he finally said something... "Are you the guy that reads his bible on the porch?" I was a little surprised, I had never seen this man before but he apparently knew who I was. I responded with a quiet "yes..." Then he says "My wife gave me a bible, but I don't read it or anything...That's what bible studies are for, right? Do you actually understand what you read?"

OK, so at this point I am amazed at the conversation and praying in my spirit that God would do something. I respond again with, "Yes, I do understand." He mentioned that his Bible was in English and it was difficult for him to understand because it was not his primary language. Before I know it, we are talking in Spanish.... About the Gospel!!! It was incredible.

At this point in our conversation I am amazed at where it is going. That’s when he comes out of left field with the question… “Do you eat all the oranges off your tree?” I say “No???” I was totally caught off guard and wondering why he is asking me. Then he asks if it’s ok if he picks the oranges off our tree in the backyard. I realized that is the whole reason he was trying to make conversation, He wanted oranges and came by our house trying to make conversation so we would let him have oranges.

That was about 2 months ago. Ever since then he comes by about every 10 days and asks for more oranges. We go to the back yard and pick him a bag or two of oranges and we get to talk to him about life, Family, the weather, and yes…. The Gospel! Praise the Lord for oranges in winter.

God can even use oranges to share the Gospel. Pray for our friends Salvation!

The 3 mile Walk

This week has been an amazing week. God has opened some really neat doors with may locals in our neighborhood in the last week. From meeting the owners of 3 local shops to meeting the new neighbors across the street, God has truly shown his hand in our lives.

Yesterday we went on a 3 mile walk as a family. We never get very far from our home, we just sort of zigzag back and forth up and down the streets praying for God to do something in our area, and letting him know we are willing if he wants to use us. We were almost home, about 3 doors down, when we stopped to talk to a neighbor who was also out walking with his daughter. We were talking about our common interests, landscaping, homeschooling, the miracle mile...and he interrupts to say, "Hey did you guys really help the people who lived behind you move?" He looked surprised that we would be helping someone who wasn't even a friend of ours, just a neighbor. I said "Yes".

We had helped a neighbor move to another part of town. They weren't really good friends, just the people next door. When they told us they were moving we offered to help. They agreed that we could help and when we showed up there were about 6 of us from church who helped them start to finish. We didn't pressure them to come to church or anything, just loved our neighbors! Literally!!! We have since been in contact with them a few times, actually they have contacted us to see how we have been doing. It is really amazing how simple acts of kindness can break down walls and open doors for us to be involved in each others lives. We plan on having a BBQ with our ex-neighbors when the weather gets better.

Anyways, back to our 3 mile walk only 3 doors away...So It also amazes me how God used moving our neighbor as a testimony to the other neighbors in the area. I thought no one noticed..But aparently they did. It just goes to show that God can use us through such simple things to advance his kingdom in such radical ways!!! Praise the Lord that he uses fools like us.