tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33160055376311058472024-03-13T10:20:25.540-07:00The Soup Kitchen at Faith MissionLooking at lives through the eye's of anotherDr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-9953181689630594342015-08-15T13:56:00.001-07:002015-08-15T14:01:34.548-07:00Choosing your path<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrdK7qhvOEEIDCoy0-mZ3qt9CV62hcsfwcBHDO2wI3CNFaijl18qKLjjyjzqiN0zv45cMmO2LgO0sx_3Rm68PY2zmvy-HHXjxhl_RXNdX-ZBpJIgrHYECDeDwtppNOBbKt28uV3hYsR6B/s1600/1-divided-path-tracie-kiernan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrdK7qhvOEEIDCoy0-mZ3qt9CV62hcsfwcBHDO2wI3CNFaijl18qKLjjyjzqiN0zv45cMmO2LgO0sx_3Rm68PY2zmvy-HHXjxhl_RXNdX-ZBpJIgrHYECDeDwtppNOBbKt28uV3hYsR6B/s320/1-divided-path-tracie-kiernan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">She was a blonde, and from a distance a very attractive
one at that, but as you got closer the tell tail signs of years of
alcohol and drug abuse, cigarettes and poor eating were advertised in
the lines of her face. </span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2514" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">" They pushed a needle into her heart to try to
save her" </span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2514" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">someone told me, assuming a shot of nor epinephrine to revive
her, but she was too far gone. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">That is the first thing I saw after
taking a month or so sabbatical from the soup kitchen. I stood there and
all I could think of is " what a waste". </span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2514" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">How can anybody just throw
their life away like that? </span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2514" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">As I stood in silence for a moment my mind
reflected on something it completely blocked out from 3 years prior. It
was a rainy day and Johnny was slouched over at the table with his half
eaten breakfast on his lap. I usually dont let clients in that are drunk
or high but this guy was always high so I went over just to make sure
he was alright.</span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2514" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"> " Someone is going to kill me"</span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2514" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"> is what he said as I woke
him out of his stupor</span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2514" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">. Johnny I said, every week you have a new story
why would anyone want to kill you? </span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2514" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">He told me some half baked story that
really made no sense to me. I never am comfortable trying to talk to
someone when they are in that condition yet alone when they try to grab
my arm in desperation. I usually try to give some words of advise but I
really did not think he would ever even remember having this
conversation with me and so I moved on to more pressing issues.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"> The
following week I came in and I was told that Johnny was murdered. I felt
a little numb, a little angry, and very very helpless. I thought what a
waste that this 30 something very good looking intelligent white male
with a 4 year degree was a little more than a report in some police file
with a tag on his toe in the county morgue.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_3642" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">I
thought to myself it is a shame that these types of people end up this
way. </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">But who are "these types of people?" </span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_3642" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">Were they also not conceived
with the same breath of God that I was? </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">Were they not offered choices to
do good or evil as I was?</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"> There are some moments in everyones life when
you stand over a great canyon and just yell at God</span></div>
<div data-setdir="false" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_3642" style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"> " WHY?" </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">I have seen
people like this too many times live a life of hell and simply die a
meaningless death. But I was also reminded of those that were brought
into the world with less and died a very noble death after living a life
of very difficult choices. In my minds eye I heard a conversation going
on that sounded like this. </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"><br /></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">Life
is a test. </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">It tests everyone from the greatest to the smallest and no
one escapes it.</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"> Every little circumstance, every conversation, and every
small event presents a choice that we must make.</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"> " How will I respond"? </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"> That choice, and every choice we make in life from choosing what kind
of dog food to buy to how will I respond to my crying child puts us on a
path. </span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">Every man, woman, and child, chooses the path they are on and
that path ultimately leads them to a destination. Free will in many ways
for me is as difficult to understand as the mysteries of the universe.</span></div>
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</div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566"> Life is not just some random set of events, each of us live life as if
on a stage, the difference is that we can choose our character. That
choice puts us on a path and that path leads to a destination. Villain
or hero, sinner or saint and yet even these black and white titles may
not be that crystal clear. </span></div>
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</div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">We often judge by what we see from the
outside but the greatest adventures we live and the greatest battles we
fight are always within the human heart which judgement thank God is in the end, </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_16_0_1_1439668271810_2566">left to a merciful God.</span></div>
</div>
Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-44624847220842033242013-11-02T12:08:00.002-07:002013-11-02T12:23:53.866-07:00To serve or be served<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /><br />I am always amazed at how many people want to do good. When we look at the world at times it seems like it is literally falling apart, and yet suffering seems to be the glue that puts it back together again. I find most people want to do good but they don't know what to do, there is no one to lead them. It has been my observation that when people observe some one or something good happening, they simply want to be a part of it. Suffering brings either the best or the worst out in a person.They say you can learn more about the character of a man in 5 minutes of stress than you can in 5 years of good times.<br /><br />Our country, our community, and yes our Church are going through some very stressful times. It is in these moments that heroes are made or dictators resurrect.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:<br /><br /><br /> <br /> <br />From bondage to spiritual faith; <br />From spiritual faith to great courage; <br />From courage to liberty; <br />From liberty to abundance; <br />From abundance to selfishness; <br />From selfishness to complacency; <br />From complacency to apathy; <br />From apathy to dependence; <br />From dependence back into bondage. "Tyler" said in 1750 <br /><br />In my world I see us on the brink of moving back into bondage, the last rung of the ladder. It is sad that we are in the end of a great era, but I am hopeful for the future because as history unfolds her wings we are on the dawn of a new outpouring of spiritual faith, The stuff that greatness is made from.<br /><br /><br /> I want to talk about two men that met me today at the soup kitchen. They are very busy men running a large organization, they have families and responsibilities and yet they came down today because they have a deep desire to serve. They want their organization to revive their spirit of service.<br /><br />They see that in order to grow we must inspire, we must serve. Selfishness, and entitlement is a failed experiment. It has been said by the greatest teacher that " The greatest among us will serve the rest" <br /><br />and in the words of a dead president, "let us not ask what our country ( community, organization, or church) can do for us, rather ask what we can do for our country."<br /><br /><br /> Real Leaders, Servant leaders right now are more precious than gold, harder to find than diamonds. As we look next week to another election day and are discouraged by the choices that are again presented to us. Do not be discouraged for in the words of Mother Teresa, "we are not called to success, but rather faithfulness" <br /><br /><br /> If I may be so bold in adding a thought to Mother Teresa's quote, I believe it is in faithfulness that make us a success.<br /><br /><br /> Mother Teresa said something else which if every man, woman, and child, followed, the world would be plunged into a utopia. She said, "don't wait for someone else to do something great, do it yourself!"<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-76106073926901319102013-08-11T18:42:00.001-07:002013-11-02T13:45:02.633-07:00Blowin Sunshine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKTBdPPSnOo_3ei5eDHZByh3kRfcr-oV9WIscqzQmepr4MRdKtGKHbV2PB3PhWSMEmsFaGX07OEH40eIedVKdbhoIiFsGGGX11vqRONy0OIGrb1Z7_wsS7j_GGjiNAIctpoQYML_3nnj6n/s1600/magic-wand-300x201.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I thought I was a celebrity!</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><i>" How are you, you fantastic person?'</i></h3>
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<h3>
<i>" You are how old? you look like an athlete in his prime!"</i></h3>
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<h3>
<i>" You really are an amazing person"</i></h3>
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<i>" Hey Champion, its GREAT to see you"</i></h3>
<h3>
<i>" I bet that you could do anything" </i></h3>
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These are only a sampling of the words I am showered with whenever I see Charlie's smiling face at the soup kitchen each Saturday!</div>
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Many of the stories I have written on this blog are sad and sobering stories, </div>
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I thought it was time for a change of pace.</div>
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This is a story about what each of us is capable of doing with each passing moment of our lives. </div>
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I met Charlie some time ago, he knew nothing about me.</div>
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Working with so many at the soup kitchen so often one has to be on guard because there are as many <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>"characters"</b></span> at the soup kitchen as there are in a fat Webster dictionary.</div>
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At first I didn't know what to respond with or how to react because if you are from the same planet as I come from, flattery is a red flag, and unconditional love and acceptance is about as rare as kryptonite.<br />
My first thought was<br />
<i>" Is he for real?" </i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Like clockwork he would show up each week serving faith missions finest coffee.</div>
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<i>"Want a cup?"</i> He would ask a homeless man</div>
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<i>Only $20 for you, milk and sugar are extra!</i></div>
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Thats how he would break the ice with all the new people that came to the Kitchen.</div>
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Then he would let out one of his wonderful laughs as the man slowly broke a smile back at him, not quite sure if he was kidding</div>
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After that he would whip out his magic tricks to bring all the children to life.</div>
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<i>"Do it again!'</i> cried the kids as Charlie would would remind them that a true magician never repeats a trick but because they were such special kids he would make an exception just this one time, each time getting the same chuckles and giggles from his young audience and even from a couple of the adults passing by.</div>
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The kids smiling eyes were like rays of sunshine as they pierced through the toxic mist of their broken lives.</div>
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Charlie, reminded you of who you really were, and who you belonged to.</div>
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He reminded you that life is not a spectator sport, it was meant to be lived and lived to the fullest.</div>
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He made you feel like you were the King's very own kid.</div>
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Then he would tell you a story about the hero in the latest novel he was reading.</div>
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He would get real close to you, look you right square in the eyes and tell you that you remind him of that character.</div>
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No matter what the need, if you asked Charlie it would be done as if it was the most important job in the world.</div>
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I know he will probably object to me writing this about him because he never assumes the limelight.</div>
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That is always reserved for the one he is speaking with. </div>
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At the end of the day he quietly sweeps the corners and edges of the dinning room</div>
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stopping to talk to each person that walks by</div>
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asking them how they are doing and if they would like one final cup of his famous coffee.</div>
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Why do I write about Charlie?</div>
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He is only just 1 single solitary ordinary man!<br />
How could 1 ordinary person make a difference? </div>
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The truth is, He reminds me of something Mother Teresa once said .</div>
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<u><b>" Make the ordinary, extraordinary!"</b></u></div>
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When a person Mother Teresa was helping asked her if they should convert to Catholicism </div>
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she would ask them what religion they were.</div>
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If they were Muslim, she would say, " become the best Muslim you can be.</div>
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If they were Hindu, she urged them to become the best Hindu they could become.<br />
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Charlie, never preached, he was simply Charlie<br />
He brought light where there was darkness <br />
He brought out the best in people</div>
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<h3>
Anybody can serve coffee, tell a few jokes, or perform a few cheap magic tricks, but what is so mystical and magical about Charlie, like Mother Teresa, he would become totally present to whoever he was speaking to, and make the ordinary disappear with a simple wave of his magic wand,</h3>
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<h3>
<span style="color: magenta;"><b>... and reveal the extraordinary!</b></span></h3>
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Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-18425904429533536812013-07-07T15:41:00.000-07:002013-07-07T16:32:51.167-07:00Chastity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Her name was "Chastity" she was a very pretty woman with clean but visibly worn cloths from repeated wear. She came over to me and asked me if I could help her. At first I thought she was a volunteer because she seemed like she could have been the girl next door.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">"Can you help me load my bike? "</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">"What do you mean" I said.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> She said "I lost my job and can't pay for my car so they took it, and now I am trying to feed me and my son but I can only carry a little bit of food on my bike. I am doing the best I can, trying to smile and stay happy for my son but I don't know how long I can keep this up. How can I find work when I don't have a car or have decent cloths for an interview? I don't want a handout, I want to work" as she tried to hold back a tear. "You know what the worst thing is though? Its how so many people look right through me because they think they know what and who I am, as if I were invisible, or if somehow I choose this way of life. Its so hard to keep my dignity, my self respect when I feel like no one can hear me or see me. Do you know what I mean?" </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I was about to say something " appropriate" but I felt God nudge me. He has always given me a word to say in these moments and this moment was no different, but what was spoken did not come from my lips or my head, it came from my heart, perhaps even God's own heart.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I looked at her intently and just wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly as she laid her weary head on my shoulder for a deep long cry. At first I could feel her body ridged and unyielding but then I heard a deep sigh as if she resigned herself to receive Gods love through this broken stranger. The moment became somber, sacred, and holy as if grace was watering a dry and dying flower neglected in some forgotten corner of a sun scorched garden. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">"Thank you so much for the food she said, I think I feel better now, I think I feel less invisible now, yeah, thats it "</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">" You are most welcome, I said. Please come back.... </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I would like to <b><u>"see" </u></b>you again.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKx8RZXFfh2XRX9QtNVwLot2yHobtwgIUG6jiHxW7lbsV888grKfNiiBJ-jS7im9H-09kId85I8d0IGlTrYOLH8Qt1-gUBESnGMaE7nSHWaEGUQ_KorD3IFiEnNgxsOOb1ABYZq2YNvg9/s1600/chastity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> There are many incredible people I meet along my journey who want to make a difference in the world. Some of them tell me they
want to go to a far off country to work with the poor.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> I am always in awe as to what they expect to find there.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Is our next door neighbor's blood a different shade of red from those in Africa? Does not our sisters tears in India contain the same amount of salt ?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Mother Teresa once told me that despite the fact that she traveled the world and saw every economically deprived society, she said that New York suffered the greatest poverty. She said "In Calcutta when I give a woman a cup of rice because she hasn't eaten in 2 days, she will will go and share some with her neighbor who hasn't eaten in 3. Loneliness is the greatest form of poverty she said and here in New York people are the most isolated and alone in the world! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">You don't need to go further than your own backyard to feed the poor.....everyone hungers, rich and poor, but not only for food!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
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Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-51867034283150703772013-06-02T09:25:00.003-07:002013-08-17T15:10:48.519-07:00The parking lot<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
I was asked to make sure everyone was gone from the soup kitchen before I locked up. After checking all the rooms upstairs and down I was able to turn the lights out and head home for a short nap before I would go out for a wonderful diner with about 10 friends.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When I went to my car 3 of our homeless were sitting and talking and eating some of their leftovers in the parking lot.<br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> "Arent you going home?"</span><br />
were the words that felt natural to say but I caught myself.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There was a time when I would look at people like this and would be afraid of them. I think back and wonder why? I went over to simply say my goodbys but they were so excited to talk with me. I was exhusted from staying out the night before a bit too long and had every intention of giving them a token <br />
" NY minute"<br />
and be on my way back to "normal life"</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But something happened, I was taken in by their stories. The hopes longed for, the lives lived on the street and the realization that for them that this conversation might in fact be the best thing that happens to them all week. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> I heard the words of the master say, if you do this to the least of my brothers you do this for me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Suddenly I felt like an honored guest. Instead of just listening, I tried to really be present and before I knew it, what seemed to be charity on my part became a lesson in life for me. I was taken by their simplicity and even generosity. One of the men reached down in his old greasy and worn pants pocket, he had about $1.75 in change and gave all he had to another man who did not have enough for a metro card.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I started to think how so much of my generosity comes from my abundance rather than my need, I have never given freely all that I had before like this man! I admit I felt my ego engage when I first thought I was being noble by "giving my time" to what the world called " nobody's".<br />
But I soon felt humbled in this mans presence, He has become my teacher.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Our conversation was interrupted by a call on my brand new i phone when I realized that I had spent about 2 hours in that parking lot after everyone was suppose to go home. You see what changed in those 2 hours was my perception of reality. When I came out I saw 3 homeless people in the parking lot that I felt needed to leave and go home. <span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">When I drove off after our simple conversation I realized that the parking lot was their home.</span></div>
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Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-73572100147239920582013-06-02T07:55:00.001-07:002013-08-18T05:38:33.323-07:00The Eagle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I am embarrassed by how I look, by how I smell cried Tim as he looked right at me with blood shot eyes. I need a place where I can rest, where I can get my respect back, my dignity, even just for a short time.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tim would not go for food stamps or other government handouts, he felt that the governments handouts only enslaved the poor, made them dependent on a new slave master. He wanted what ever other man in the world wants, to work for his daily bread with honesty and dignity. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I lost my sister, she was the best friend I ever had! When will the pain leave me he asked?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">They say that time heals but for me years only seem like moments ago. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He began telling me stories of his family growing up here on Long Island. How at the turn of the century they owned a large parcel of land. He spoke of a time in his life when he remembered life being noble and honorable.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe24D5JfEty6SQUwO_C6FdyPtEj3dygrmwweqD3NaX4hgW-fHQeKJaV5UZ8Aj6BBEn0URVrQKFlXCRClxOdwxEzK0r_b5RTXlHvVdlWOOchWda0oTdocmcr2R6GdY9RqZk_vlWQz-vbBLO/s1600/on-Eagles-wings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe24D5JfEty6SQUwO_C6FdyPtEj3dygrmwweqD3NaX4hgW-fHQeKJaV5UZ8Aj6BBEn0URVrQKFlXCRClxOdwxEzK0r_b5RTXlHvVdlWOOchWda0oTdocmcr2R6GdY9RqZk_vlWQz-vbBLO/s1600/on-Eagles-wings.jpg" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now I must interject here by saying of all the people I speak to at the soup kitchen, Tim is in fact one of the most noble, humble, and grateful men I have met. He is a very tall intelligent and handsome man. I asked him, do you want me to help you go into rehab and get you housing? No, I am not ready for that yet he said. I said Tim, how long has it been, how long are you on the street. The answer was all too familiar; years.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Many men I speak with, I try to encourage to give them confidence, but Tim was very different. Tim was an eagle trapped in a cage and unable to soar. I wanted to tell him what every boy needs to hear to become a great man. I wanted to answer a question that haunts men more than</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> " who am I? " </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">or even </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">" Is there a God? ".</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">No, unless this one single question can truly be answered by the boy inside, the man will remain trapped inside the prison that holds him captive. That one single question that all men want answered is</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><u> " do I have what it takes to be a man?"</u></span></span></h2>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> A silent moment hung in the air around our table, my heart wanted to reach into this beautiful man and release the wings that have been dormant for oh so long!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">There is nothing special about me that could ever touch that hidden woundedness and bring light into that darkness. Only light itself can do this. But are not we all called to become the light of the world.?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Did not the Master Himself tell us we could do all things?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">There are moments in each life where we see the face of God,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">for me Tim revealed one of these moments.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I looked straight into his weary tearful and bloodshot eyes and felt at that moment to say,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><u> <span style="font-weight: normal;">" Tim, I believe you were made for greatness, you have what it takes to be a great man, it already lies within you!"</span></u></span></span></h2>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Tim just looked at me in silence, I knew those were the words that he has been longing to hear most of his life. Was Tim magically transformed even though that was what he was longing for all of his life?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"I don't know"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I do know the following week he sought me out, he wanted to talk and " eat more"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The food we were giving him at the soup kitchen was more than just meat and potatoes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He told me how grateful he was for all my kindness and invited me to dine with him. This was a man who just weeks before would only eat alone.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We are not called to change peoples lives but we are called to tell them the truth. Only when people come to know the truth about who they really are can transformation begin to happen.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I think of all the lies that I sometimes believe about myself, the cage I have built that locks me in, but more importantly locks others out. I think of all the living I have missed because I did not know the truth. In each of us there is a small fragile little child that simply wants to be loved. That we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Cathedrals are magnificent but they do not hold a candle to the temple we each possess within us, we are church not made of bricks and mortar but of flesh and blood and the light that burns within each one of us still burns even if we don't believe it. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">That is not religion, its truth.</span></div>
</div>
Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-44867828866857907982012-12-18T12:11:00.001-08:002013-06-02T09:51:04.475-07:00A hurricane Christmas message<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEeWcEfyO3ldx2UM-UDCgcGpt_m7rPm7YSed8Zt4F4bNFcfzTuk8XwhZ0JQocZgbwaNkoXY-aIDf1GlaPNsHX8e3hTN-TSdJErHXs6W4aJ1e6fM9uk9OZbZ4XXur-C4JMV7YQlZknNsw0a/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEeWcEfyO3ldx2UM-UDCgcGpt_m7rPm7YSed8Zt4F4bNFcfzTuk8XwhZ0JQocZgbwaNkoXY-aIDf1GlaPNsHX8e3hTN-TSdJErHXs6W4aJ1e6fM9uk9OZbZ4XXur-C4JMV7YQlZknNsw0a/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">I
want to take a moment in my very hectic life to send you a very special
thank you during this Christmas season. The Hurricane literally turned
my life upside down.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
A little over a month ago I felt like George Baily in the movie </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
"it's a wonderful life"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
as he sat desperately sitting at the bar getting drunk telling God he was at the end of his rope. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
There were many other issues that were going on in my life prior to the
storm that was pushing my stress levels through the roof and I felt I
was having difficulty keeping it together. However when my house was
destroyed I simply did not think I could handle any more stress and yet
here I am to write this email to you. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
<b>As a matter of fact, that is exactly why I am writing to you. </b>You
see, here it is only a month after hurricane Sandy and I still feel like
George Baily, but somehow I no longer feel like that desperate George
Baily at the end of his rope. Instead I feel like the George Baily at
the end of the movie when the whole town rallied around him and instead
was called the </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
<b>"richest man in town".</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>
</b></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
One of the reasons I can honestly feel that way is because of you, yes, that's right, <u>YOU!</u></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;"><u>
</u>You may or may
not know what an impact you have made on me but let me assure you, this
whole event has simply changed my life, and although I wouldn't wish
what I am going through on anybody, I wouldn't choose to wish it away
for myself even if I could.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
You see I don't believe that anything is a co incidence including what we believe is tragedy.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
What may seem like a tragedy to us may in fact be a blessing. We have a
tendency to say something is good or bad because it makes us happy or
sad, makes us feel good or bad but I have learned that often our
greatest teachers in life are adversity, suffering, trials, and
disappointments. I have thought back in life to moments that I thought I
would die if I didn't get something I really wanted more than anything
in the world only to reflect on that situation now and realize it really
isn't significant or even not good for me in the long run.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
So many people have
said in the aftermath of the storm, how could God allow this to happen,
yet I have heard many incredible stories of lives transformed by the
storm. The point is, this wasn't the first tragedy in my life nor will
it be the last but if we are open to change then perhaps, just perhaps
God takes it and turns it into something good.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">When the homeless heard I was homeless as well, so many of them that hesitated to trust me or accept me, came up to me after I said grace over the meal and hugged me, even invited me to stay with them! They seemed excited about showing me how to get by!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
I do not pretend to know the mind of God nor do I wish to try, but one
thing I do know. When I felt alone you were there, when I was
overwhelmed and afraid, you were there, when I needed a hand or someone
to talk to you were there, when I was hungry you fed me, and when I
needed an emotional hug it was you that was there. I even felt the
prayers of those who could not be with me!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
..... I don't want to get all preachy and theological on you but the truth is</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
.... you were Christ for me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
Religion has nothing to do with this! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
When we do these things for one another we in fact release a side of God
that always exists in every human being even if we don't believe in
Him. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
That is His incredible goodness.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
It is said that God is love and when we act in love we simply act more
like God, so thank you for choosing to act in this way for me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
It has rekindled a very tried faith and helped me to more fully believe in Him again!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
I was told by more than one person during this crisis that they were thankful that I allowed them to help me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
<b><u> I was blown away by this and quite honestly didn't understand what they meant.</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><u>
</u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
I was told that I always helped everyone else and that although they
wanted to help me in some way, the opportunity never happened. I am so
grateful that the opportunity to help me became available because I
really needed your help, emotionally, physically, and yes even
spiritually!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
This became an incredible experience.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
I think that allowing someone to help you is in fact an act of charity on your part even if you don't need it, </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
but a necessity if you do.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
This tragedy in a
sense has been kind of a funeral, you know how at the funeral everyone
gathers around but then the real pain happens months after, when
everyone Else's life goes on as usual but you must still deal with the
grief.?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
I am counting on you to be there as I work through this thing, maybe
not so much physically involved but I know there will be those days to
come when it seems rough again and life is throwing another curve ball
and I need some moral support. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
So I want to thank you for being there for me in the past but more so
for the future that lies ahead. I have found in all my work with people
that it is in sharing their tears even more than their laughter that we
experience the true meaning of life together. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
That is where we find our passion.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
So maybe during this
Christmas season as you perhaps glance at the baby Christ child laying
there in a straw manger that He in fact lives within you even if you
don't believe it, </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial; font-size: x-large;">
because I have seen Him there with my own eyes.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></span></div>
Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-27926881454216119912012-09-29T14:53:00.001-07:002013-06-02T09:58:35.678-07:00A pair of socks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
"Thank-you Thank-you God bless you"</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
was the greeting I received from George. A gentle man, a traveled man,. and a very educated man. He came from the other side of the sea, with 6 years of very specialized training yet not a job in sight. He said materialism is what causes such sadness in America. When expectations are high, disappointments also run high. He filled me with a sense of peace, he seemed to have a wisdom beyond this world. He was poor in the eyes of the world,... yet so very rich!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I am amazed at the charity of the volunteers. Dr's, lawyers, homemakers, builders. We come from such diverse backgrounds yet there is so much giving. One of the most interesting phenomena is how some that do not profess a faith necessarily seem to be the most Christ like!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8-Y73JEpXT1EuCbyXpcSUt6iiBuWWXrGn1jAWNFFFFxgKq8gZkxB0Ih3T76AFBw_ueanpBJUXLogRSCpXNJPyqCfuIrAbyG8wbJBdA3XO3Vq5wLXi38FAC74Gi2WX35DLfLNWysbMkXB/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn8-Y73JEpXT1EuCbyXpcSUt6iiBuWWXrGn1jAWNFFFFxgKq8gZkxB0Ih3T76AFBw_ueanpBJUXLogRSCpXNJPyqCfuIrAbyG8wbJBdA3XO3Vq5wLXi38FAC74Gi2WX35DLfLNWysbMkXB/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I was taken back when last week there were a few of us cleaning up and about to leave, when a homeless latino came in drunk asking for something. Almost everything was gone and locked and after a few attempts to understand the man, we decided that he wanted a pair of socks because his bare feet were blistering and bleeding in his worn and mis sized sneaker. One of the men who I never expected started taking his shoe off to give him his socks; at first I thought he was joking but then realized that he was serious! Christ sometimes comes to us in the most unexpected ways through people we see as simply "ordinary" This man has no real desire for religion but from where I stand at least for this moment I am given a new meaning of Church.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We are all there for different reasons, but there seems to be something that gives back so to speak, seems to fulfill an emptiness. It seems that the old bible verse is really true, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"It is in giving that we receive"!</div>
</div>
Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-24961509320201846432012-08-16T05:15:00.002-07:002013-06-02T06:32:34.908-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJ0MXhcRqSkF4_p4dNImreOFaGoPvcJYnqmUv1_ZVxrUcFWbaxVIM4N87pusyO0Tm1dXu40s0TzXIMj4z-D38IBBKaTXx_bhvR5TmFACEXIsxM2zQUc07DraZbjO0ix2ivw-pUZzBSKQI/s1600/light+forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJ0MXhcRqSkF4_p4dNImreOFaGoPvcJYnqmUv1_ZVxrUcFWbaxVIM4N87pusyO0Tm1dXu40s0TzXIMj4z-D38IBBKaTXx_bhvR5TmFACEXIsxM2zQUc07DraZbjO0ix2ivw-pUZzBSKQI/s320/light+forest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Philosopher:</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He is kind of a troubadour, he wanders place to place never quite knowing where the next day will led him. He is a people watcher, a life observer you might say.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Today we were talking about why people do the things they do. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He insisted that there was ultimately a self serving reason why all people did everything.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I countered by asking him if it were possible to do something simply for the sake of love.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He chose to tell me this cute little story that appears to win his argument.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">" There once was a judge who had a pig, the judge loved his pig and took it everywhere with him. Each morning all the people of the town would go over to the judge and greet him good morning because he was a very important man. One day the judge's pig died and there was a funeral for the pig. That day everyone in town attended. Not more than a week later the judge himself died but there were none to bid him farewell.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I said none? There was not one person at his funneral?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> He said maybe his father or mother, or a few from his immediate family.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I asked why so few came? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He said because all they wanted was what they could get from him.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Was he a good man? " </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">No, not really was the answer"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">" Then why did anyone show up at all " I asked </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He responded " I guess they were obligated"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps, ....</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">... or perhaps they simply came because despite all his faults they chose to love him anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">---------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Today a Spanish man had a seizure</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I called the medics.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A hundred pair of eyes watched as the man convulsed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There was nothing to do but watch.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Some of his companions tried to open his closed spastic fingers</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">while another held him down.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">9 medics showed up</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">and carried him away.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I talked to his friends with my very poor broken Spanish</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">and with a little help from my friends.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I asked them if they understood what happened to him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's the alcohol, they said, he gets this when he drinks too much.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So I asked them this question,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If he stopped drinking would the seizures stop?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Si" was the answer I received.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">...It seems we all have sins in our closets,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">some can hide them better than others.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The alcoholic and gluttons sins are obvious to all,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">but then there are those sins that hide</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">deep within the recesses of our soul,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">pride, injustice, deceit, dishonesty, lust</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So I ask another question,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">perhaps rhetorical</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Do even the best hidden sins surface sooner or later?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">and doesn't sin not only effect others but more importantly the one who sins even more?</span><br />
<u style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">" Si " </span></b></u><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3316005537631105847.post-29919799022994225962012-08-04T17:15:00.000-07:002013-06-02T10:18:38.316-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_E5Z5UPuTG1gRiWDlewy17Dn5-PCad6nlW5-2-lBp6oHqaWaAnTCqgdh8fnSOPtt_q1_z8EsOoFKKwtbD6JNSMjP53gf8BjPl6B8UjwMTwESVbBmpC9TeJr_MN8N4zENTLhZlM6pYcjd/s1600/soupkitchen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_E5Z5UPuTG1gRiWDlewy17Dn5-PCad6nlW5-2-lBp6oHqaWaAnTCqgdh8fnSOPtt_q1_z8EsOoFKKwtbD6JNSMjP53gf8BjPl6B8UjwMTwESVbBmpC9TeJr_MN8N4zENTLhZlM6pYcjd/s1600/soupkitchen.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Today Lauren told me how she could not go on since she lost her husband 1 year ago. Life has been hard but now it seemed unbearable. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfd6MuhFGZJd3uRHU1JmxTzTzl8xusJ9mH63myV-KTp_a0Dnp86A0-zdf8Zlwj-h4Cv10mcFkA56kiFez0YtERVlKS2vEabivD0QDoESVKHxYK1tVxyQMK8-TcBC3PQ35QG7rHsarxLD7p/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfd6MuhFGZJd3uRHU1JmxTzTzl8xusJ9mH63myV-KTp_a0Dnp86A0-zdf8Zlwj-h4Cv10mcFkA56kiFez0YtERVlKS2vEabivD0QDoESVKHxYK1tVxyQMK8-TcBC3PQ35QG7rHsarxLD7p/s1600/a.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A hot meal, a pat on the back, and the usual " I'll pray for you" just would,nt be the right formula for this woman. In fact, there is no formula. Grief is a living death! It scorches the heart, bleeds the body, and isolates the mind...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">-----------------------------------------------------------</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">...Once, there was a very old man who lost his wife, he refused to talk to anyone. Friends, neighbors, and family were shut out from the shriveling soul. One day a neighbor saw a little boy coming out of the old mans house and asked, " How did you get the old man to let you in?" The little boy answered " I cried with Him!"</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCDnhGFZ7Fw1sL4mnEHmfVsO0GjaJAhXW0jXgUVN616iTX01lumpjTZeldlsmxNqg4jwBsTIUBtNxVCC4pZjwLRjuLPYu5cs2plJwQMgwbSsrRx-runcDfp3JnpTX4ISje0QL9D7q1Hh8/s1600/130521120140-ap-23-oklahoma-city-tornado-0520-b-horizontal-gallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCDnhGFZ7Fw1sL4mnEHmfVsO0GjaJAhXW0jXgUVN616iTX01lumpjTZeldlsmxNqg4jwBsTIUBtNxVCC4pZjwLRjuLPYu5cs2plJwQMgwbSsrRx-runcDfp3JnpTX4ISje0QL9D7q1Hh8/s320/130521120140-ap-23-oklahoma-city-tornado-0520-b-horizontal-gallery.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">-------------------------------------------</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Across the room I recognize a young man standing alone up against the wall. He stands, and he watches, but he does not move. There is neither smile nor frown upon his face, he is simply there.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> " You are Fr. Dan" I said. ""We have met before". </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Yes, I remember" he said.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"How are you?",</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> there was a moments hesitation. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"I am taking some time off."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> He looked at me without saying a word but you could read all the words spoken from the reflection seen within his eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are men who give their lives so others may not die, but sometimes the reaper is too much for them. We belong to a family but if we their children do not let them rest, if we do not nourish and give back to replenish their strength their vows cannot sustain them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I look into His eyes I see a reflection of myself,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> giving yet broken, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">healing yet wounded. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Again, what can I say?. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLLJpLUkFoCwkagXC9Z5zqy6DJOnEY2Sg4QIUru8eDrm-4b3nXAB3HUYW5sbdHqqTeZh6t6sMAYCiTACFUO0MTJuAI55SNX4Tezsdd4ErSdqnNJ_3KMCkYfqcwDBzDZOBhTELAsow6NZT/s1600/stock-footage-hd-close-up-of-young-man-s-eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLLLJpLUkFoCwkagXC9Z5zqy6DJOnEY2Sg4QIUru8eDrm-4b3nXAB3HUYW5sbdHqqTeZh6t6sMAYCiTACFUO0MTJuAI55SNX4Tezsdd4ErSdqnNJ_3KMCkYfqcwDBzDZOBhTELAsow6NZT/s320/stock-footage-hd-close-up-of-young-man-s-eye.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So I embrace Him hoping that the pain </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I carry for him can be enough, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">but it is never enough!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Only when my pain, my blood mingles with the Savior </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">can my wounds speak to his broken heart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He walks away, but I never </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> know if he is healed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A man is reading a magazine, it requires a post graduate degree. He speaks of things beyond the minds of the upper middle class and yet he finds himself homeless, looking for answers no book can ever give. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why do these things continue to happen is the question he asks? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's been 40 years! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The dark and empty night cannot answer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He calls out for the maker to touch him, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">to put him to sleep in a warm and secure bed,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> but the journey never seems to end, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">there are only small glimmers of light along the way, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">but mostly darkness.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">"I am a human being!" cry's his spirit,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">but what does one have to do to make them see?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The yellows of yesterday only seem gray today and the poor as the carpenter has told us will always be with us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So what is the point you might ask?,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> week after week , year after year, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They continue to want, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They are given clothes yet remain naked!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">" We want more fish, we want more loaves" is their cry but they do not learn how to use the net</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps all I really have, is my own brokenness to offer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Perhaps I suffer so that I can show them the </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">nail prints in my own hands. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps I am no more than one of them in disguise </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">just trying to find my way home.</span></div>
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Dr Kevin Kulikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00017008539304195405noreply@blogger.com0