a night to remember

so we had A Night to Remember tonight at Eastland Community Church (the church i'm serving in/helping start in east nashville). it was a service of remembrance, for 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Tsunami, etc., and also to let the community know we are starting services next week.

the music was great (provided by brentwood baptist, thanks Dennis Worley and crew, and our own worship leader Kevin Lawson), as were the dramatic readings and video interviews of locals. i was a greeter/usher tonight. so, i got to see things from the back for once.

homeless people came in. a few that had come to some of our outreaches before, and one even brought his girlfriend. you wanna see some people really worship with all their hearts? yeah, they did. and you wanna see someone really, really WORSHIP with tithes and offerings? let me tell you...

we were taking up donations for Hurricane Katrina Relief tonight (all tithes last week and this week are going as well). one of the homeless guys, Tim, came up to me (i was holding one of the donation boxes) and he pulled 76 cents out of his pocket. he gingerly placed it into the box, and said, "I don't have much, but I want to give it!" he smiled, and humbly walked on. i knew it was all he had in the world.

remind anyone of a story? yeah, i think Jesus told it. the one about the widow and her two mites (Mark 12:41-44). you wanna talk about the Bible coming to life before your eyes...man, did it ever for me tonight.

as Tim is walking out, he stops and says, "Bless you, ladies! God bless you all! I mean that from the heart!" and you totally know he did. man, Tim, you may never know just how much you blessed me tonight.