Investing...

Work and Home
UPS has gone really well lately, and I'm really starting to see God open some cool doors, just with the people i work with. Today I got my 1 lb bag of coffee for the week from Starbucks (breakfast blend), and i'm bringing it to Larry at UPS. He's a good guy, probably early 40's, married with a 14-year-old step-daughter. I know it sounds weird, but i'm kind of excited to give him this coffee. Got it ground and everything :-)
Starbucks has gone well. I don't have the entire system for every beverage memorized yet, but i can make most of it without direction. The frappuccino's are what I still have to work on, but we're getting there. I'm starting to get names down for the regular customers, or if not that remembering what they do and such, and i love most of them. There are two ladies(who look butch, but i'm sure they're straight) that come in and are REALLY demanding, and always want these two specific chairs, and kind of get in a huff if they're not available, but hey, who hasn't gotten in a huff over a chair??? ok...maybe not many people...especially over the age of 8.

Today while leaving work some of the bikers that hang out every day on our patio in the morning informed me of some not-so-nice news. Texas just passed a law regarding mopeds(my means of transport), requiring them ALL to have registration, tags, plating, and that the driver have a level M(Motorcycle) license, which requires an endorsement here. Just the class to get endorsed is $190.
Whatever happened to the devil-may-care-and-cowboy's rule texas?
Anyways. This means I will most likely be investing in a car soon. Which costs money that i REALLY don't want to spend on a vehicle at the moment. So please pray that all this is worked out and I find something great at low-cost. It is totally a god-thing that i found out this way instead of getting pulled over and getting a beastly ticket.

Word and Church
Well, Freedom Church has a venue! The local Y, which i must say, looks nothing like a YMCA. We're all really excited; we start team services October 3rd, and others are invited to join starting October 17th. And yes, we're a saturday night church. Sunday is amazing when taken completely off. And as anyone that's ever taken ownership at their church can testify, sunday's rarely feel like a day off when church happens that day.
I feel like this whole past week, God's really just been showing me to listen to him, and that none of us have to be searching out opportunity to make the body grow: He puts people in our paths. That being effective does require us to have our eyes open to it though! :-)
So today, one week after starting at Starbucks, I've already really built some relationships there, and had great convo's with some of the customers. Randall is probably late 40's/early 50's and moved here 5 years ago from Las Vegas. He still tithes to his church in Vegas because he hasn't found a home church here. Guess what church he's going to come check out?
Yep. Freedom Church.
I tried starting a convo today with one of the bikers that comes in, and felt completely stonewalled. But it was weird, because i felt compelled to keep talking to him and pretend like he wasn't being awkward. So i did. And we all know i love being awkward, so i kep talking a one-sided conversation to his completely expressionless face for a solid 3 more minutes, still with no response.
When I got off work at 9.50am, He got up from the buddy-club on the patio and just started talking to me as i was putting my things away in the Ped. We stood their and talked for a half hour.
Sometimes when God tells us to act or to speak, and we do it, a little hesitantly, but we do it, and we don't see visible response, it's easy to feel like nothing happened, and the whole thing was completely pointless. It's easy to walk away and not realize that as He works in people, the result isn't always immediately on display. But I believe that as we remain listening to God, willing, and open to people, things will happen. Be willing to invest in people that you don't know. It's been a big challenge to me this week and I think this whole month to let God get me to be a little bit spiritual, and ok with it. That my time with him, and the time he talks to me isn't boxed into my devo time. Hope some of you have felt challenged by this.
P.S. I did not ask Randall if he was saved. Nor did I ask any of the bikers if they were hells angels, and if they really knew what hell was. Nor did I try to convict my boss for living with her boyfriend. God works in people. Be normal people! hahahaha, oh....but really.