Good morning and Happy Friday,

This post may be best served with a hot cup of coffee, in comfy cozy pj’s, on a couch with a blanket and plenty of free time…. 

Have you ever had a friend give you an unexpected gift? Or a spouse just out of the blue do something that makes your heart skip a beat? Just because flowers!? (They are my favorite). I don’t know about you, but whenever that happens I can’t wait to reciprocate. 

That’s how I feel about Jesus. He has been so sweet to me over the years. For ONE He suffered, and died for me, (and rose again on the third day!) so I could be in right standing with God! That alone is enough to want to serve Him every day of my life!  

Icing on the cake - healing Katie, precious hugs from heaven and the unlimited blessings He surprises me with often, those keep me motivated to seek and  discover what puts a smile on HIS face. 

Over 2000 times throughout the Bible it mentions taking care of the poor. So this month - that is where my heart is at!

Whoever oppresses the poor shows content for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

The next four Fun 5$ Fridays I would love to bring your attention to the Orange County Rescue Mission. Under the umbrella of OCRM are many opportunities to serve and to give. 

This organization not only shows kindness to the needy; they clothe, feed, put a roof over their head, educate, provide free medical and dental care, rehabilitate and eventually provide access back into life with mock interviews to prepare them for well paying jobs. All the above mentioned is done by public donations ONLY! They need our help. 

Don’t take my word for it. I attached the website. Sign up to volunteer or at the very least take a tour and see what a handful of Godly men and women are doing to change lives ~ which will change communities, states, the country and possibly the world! Your FIVE dollars would make a huge impact. 

Before I share more about OCRM, I want to tell you a story. I want to share one of those unexpected gifts from a friend - you just can’t out give God. 

I met Jesus at the young age of six. My ‘imaginary’ friend Jesus, not only happened to be alive, He was also the Son of God. I would chat with Him and my cat every day after school. He helped me with bullies, had me babysit my Jewish neighbors for free and taught me how to be nice to the outcasts. At ten, I didn’t even know or understand what it meant to be Jewish ~ could you imagine the giggles when I approached the family saying I wanted to watch their son for free as a way to serve Jesus! 

In my teens I was introduced to the written Word of God, the Bible and slowly my journey of faith began to grow deeper roots.

During these teen years like many young girls I found myself crushing hard on a boy. However he happened to be a grown up and the district manager of my place of employment, let’s call him EGL. I was gawky and awkward to say the least, so I believe I’d choose impossible conquest so I couldn’t really ever get hurt. 

When EGL first introduced himself, I was completely tongue tired. He was ten years older, in law school and my manager. He had just finished a baseball game, his red hair matted to his forehead under his baseball hat, his smile literally made my knees weak and his subtle composure and confidence had me blindly spell bound! Here I was 16 and madly in love with a 26 year old man. He caught wind of my schoolgirl crush, was flattered and would innocently flirt with me, most likely to stoke his ego with my blushing cheeks and inability to form a coherent sentence. 

Why am I sharing this you may be thinking? Because I want to give God, my Heavenly Father GLORY for not only protecting me, but for showing up in my life as a Father, as a friend, to remember His love for me ~ which causes me to fall more in love with Him. 

Why am I sharing stories from my past? Because I want to build a foundation of faith for you to build upon. I desire to do what makes God happy. He desires me (you) to share with the poor… so little things like Fun5 Dollar Friday is my (our) teenie/tiny way of giving back and showing Jesus I love Him through action.

John 14:21

Jesus speaking;

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who LOVES ME. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and SHOW MYSELF to them.”

Who doesn’t want God to show Himself?

Here are a few of His commands regarding the poor;

Ok… back to my story. 

For over three years I stayed employed under my puppy love employer. Hey, having an infatuation as a teenager is a super great motivator for getting up in the morning. Simultaneously, finishing high school and attending night classes while working various shifts I finally adulted my way into a ‘real’ job with Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in Corporate America. Christopher Robin and I parted ways with youthfulness and childish optimism. 

Fast forward ~ I left EDS, sold and gave everything I owned away signed up for Youth With A Mission, setting off for adventures beyond my imagination. 

Returning for a visit home, EGL reached out to me and asked me to dinner. The evening was everything I had ever imagined. The kiss goodnight, as he gently pulled me close, staring intensely into my eyes, slowly moving toward me - well let’s just say, if this had been a scene in the movies, it absolutely would have included fireworks, ocean waves crashing and worlds colliding! However, I was (am) a good girl. His disappointment as the evening came to a sudden end, perhaps ended any hopes of future dates.

Years passed in YWAM, as I volunteered in maximum women security prisons, walked the streets of London helping the runaways and the homeless, living on the Big Island of Hawaii studying the art of counseling… finally ending up in California as a live in nanny with Deborah Green and family (now best friends), hoping to save enough money to venture back into missions someday! 

Now this may make me sound a tad ridiculous, but being born and raised on the east coast, I was so excited to finally be in California, imagining movie stars on every corner, with hopes of meeting Moon Doggie and or Frankie Avalon. 

Shopping at JC Penny’s one afternoon I noticed two sweat shirts; one UCLA and the other USC, desiring to embrace my new west coast culture I finally decided on the USC hoody. The ridiculous part, obviously I hadn’t attended either university - I hadn’t even visited the campus or watched a football game. I didn’t care, I bought it anyways and wore it a lot!

After several months in ‘the valley’, for shure, (no cells phones in the 80’s) I get a call from no other then EGL! I have no idea how he tracked me down? He invites me to San Francisco, an all expense paid mini vacation. Reluctantly, I say yes, crazy how the butterflies immediately found their way back to my gutt. I did tell him it would be a strictly platonic arrangement. He agreed, so I packed my bags and off I went.

That was a HUGE build up, but I had to give you the background information for the story to be complete. 

Our first day together was magical. We strolled the streets of San Fran, had brunch on Fisherman’s Wharf, we drove Zig Zag street, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, sang Prince songs and ended the evening with a romantic dinner at sunset on the water. 

When night fell - I soon realized he may not have known the meaning of platonic!? Strong in my morals, convictions and values, he soon did realize I did know the meaning and this night was over. Frustrated with his feeble attempts, he ended up dropping me off the next day at the airport, almost six hours early. We parted ways and never spoke again.

In jeans and my USC sweatshirt, I grabbed my boarding pass and headed to the gate. Wandering aimlessly around the airport, embarrassed, yet relieved the trip was over, I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner, though at this time in my life, I may have had less then 50.00 bucks in savings. I ordered a bottle of wine, the biggest steak on the menu and was definitely eyeing the crème brûlée for dessert. 

Lost in thought, conversing in my heart with Jesus, an elderly man walks up to my table of one. His smile is friendly. He says casually, “Go Trojans!” Ok - you may laugh… but I simply smile and nod my head. I thought Trojans was the name of condoms, I had seen it advertised! I had NO idea it was the USC Trojans!? I believe we shared some small talk, it was so long ago I can’t remember.

Moments later the waitress walks over with my bill. You know that feeling you get when you’ve just purchased something you can’t afford? Buyer’s remorse I believe it’s called - except I can’t take back my dinner. She also greets me with a smile, and explains why my debt was paid for. “That gentleman you were speaking to a few moments ago paid your for your dinner. Before he left he wanted me to tell you he’s a Professor at USC and wanted to gift you your meal. So you are good to go!”

A coincidence? Perhaps. A blessing from heaven? Absolutely. 

It may seem like a little blessing to you, but I was beaming, laughing and smiling the entire flight home.. especially when I discovered it was the USC Trojans! Haha… These moments when Heaven and Earth merge, the roots of my faith plunge deeper without effort. My love for King Jesus grows stronger. A desire to give back is impossible to resist! 

Throughout Psalms David reminds the people of Israel to remember and reflect on the Grace of God. He encourages us all to take a moment, take a breath and reminisce with the miracles of the past. For one, it helps when  struggles in life are challenging and the future seems bleak. Second, thinking of His past interventions wash away fear, doubt, and clearly allows you to see His love, His plan, His faithfulness.

In turn, I want to be faithful to Him. To do what He asks of me… to take care of the poor!

That’s one of the reasons I’m here this morning - pleading with you to help me, help Orange County Rescue Mission help the poor, the lost, the least. 

Several ways you can help; sign up as a volunteer! They always need help. 

Venmo me 5.00 dollars 

…or directly go to their website and donate! All I ask is you do it in honor of Katie Hawley (my walking miracle!)

I’m always shocked when I see you made it all the way through this post. For fun, put “OCRM” in the comments, so I know you finished reading till the end! 🤣

Ok - here we come Fun FIVE Dollar Friday!! I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together with a simple 5.00 dollars.

Keep my mom in your prayers, she’s still in rehab after several strokes, Lisa, my sister in law as she fights cancer,  Melanie as she finishes her second year of law school, Katie’s health, Andrew, me and Bob… 💕

Trusting Jesus - doing my little part to pay it forward ~ until she sees her children’s children!

Love you,

MK