Join in…

As a kid growing up in Tucumcari, New Mexico we would start a baseball game, a game of freeze tag, a basketball game or any game we could think of and the neighborhood kids would come out and join in.  We didn’t always know them on a first name basis, but that didn’t matter. We were just enjoying their company and them coming out to play with us.

In the same way it would be like going into your neighborhood and starting your grill and inviting some neighbors to join you.  Maybe even going into a different neighborhood or apartment complex and taking your grill to help develop new friendships.  You know food has that effect on people. It helps us forget our differences or sometimes it helps us start conversations.  Food is especially important to Baptist. A friend once told me when Baptist meet, a chicken dies.  Food is a good way to connect to people or maybe it is just a wonderful way to bless them.  One meaning of blessing is to confer happiness upon them or to fill them with encouragement.

Last weekend, I had a chance to be involved with many adults and children from our church serving and loving our community through different projects as well as going into neighborhoods across Waco and blessing others.  In one instance, we went to an apartment complex and rolled in a grill and cooked 100 hamburgers and about 75 hotdogs–what no chicken?  Then we waited…and slowly people began to come out. We talked with them, played, and of course we ate with them.  This was all part of our spring break mission project in Waco called Engage His City.  The weather couldn’t have been any better, the food was excellent, and we met and started some new friendships.  We wanted to fill them in two ways, food and encouragement.

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the blessing!  We had hoped we were a blessing to them, but honestly they blessed us.  There is something about hanging out with people that reminds you of God’s incredible love for us all.  His love is unconditional, it doesn’t matter who it is, whoever wants to join in come on.