momma told me there'd be days like this...

so there was this conversation between friends yesterday in which one walked away a bit concerned about the other.  you see, her friend seemed to be doing fine...no signs of sadness, despondency, or anything...but there also seemed to be no signs of joy, no signs of excitement.  it was as if she was just there.  now, i know there are seasons in life, we go through those kinds of things, its natural....but it got me thinking about our time out here...

'momma told me there'd be days like this, days like this my momma said...'

i've sung myself that many times.  there have been many days where i couldn't be more frustrated, wondering what in the world we are doing...are we having any kind of impact? are we being faithful?  are we being obedient...cause surely we'd be able to see some kind of growth right?  but I distinctly remember, during those times of frustration, sadness, anger...if someone asked me how things were going...stories would flow, stories I couldn't have recalled in moments where i was by myself, stories that didn't seem big in the moments they happened, but stories i could tell of how God is moving...even if what seems like, ever so slightly.  and as i would tell those stories, even in my sadness...joy would creep through, the stories would overcome any sense of sadness or frustration because God would show me that its worth it.  God would show me, that even in those moments of frustration, moments of 'are you kidding me?!' Emmanuel is still Emmanuel.  and that is cause for joy.

thats the power of story i think.  well, maybe its the power of God within the story, but as we swap stories, as we share about real life change, no matter how small, they infuse a sort of joy, excitement, anticipation and expectation for more...like this story has more chapters to be written, dialog to share...the story goes on, and Emmanuel remains...

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from a pen to a prayer

'hey man.'
'morning, brother, how you doin?' i asked.

'good, just gettin my girl a pen.'  he walked to his car with purpose and i thought, 'alrighty then.  7:50 in the morning and a pen is priority i guess.'  all this went through my mind as i felt the pen in my pocket, one of my pens...i'm kind of anal when it comes to my pens.  i get specific kinds of pens that i enjoy using and i give mandy junk whenever she tells me to get her wallet out of her purse and i find one of my pens there...
'this your job?' he asked as he backed towards his car interrupting my pen dilemma.
'yeah man.'
'they hiring?'
'not here, but maybe at some of their other properties.'
'they hire fe...'
'what?'
'they hire felons?'
'i don't know their policy.'
he shrugged and made it to the car and began digging around for a pen, clearly not surprised or even disappointed by my response.  seemed to be something he almost expected to hear...of course there would be a policy regarding felons, of which he was classified.  meanwhile, my pen is still stuck in my pocket begging to be given away...alright, alright, you got it Lord.
'you find one?'
'wha?'
'here man.'
'nah man, she needs it.'
'its ok, i got other pens at home.'
'cool...i just got out ya know, about a 1.5-2 years ago.'  he shared how he completed his bid, without getting anything additional, just did his time, his job on the inside and even went to school while inside.  he then began to share about the job he held for a year, he had earned full benefits even...and then, after a year of employment, they ran his background check.  they at least continued his benefits for six months. 'you know anyone who hires felons?'  i tell him of a church around the corner and their non-profit that hires high school kids and guys out of prison...wishing i could give a definite response, or walk him through the process somewhere, or hire him myself.  we chatted some more about an apt that had said to him, you and your girl can move in here, then ran a background check and said she can stay, but he can't...
'well, i'll let ya get back to work.'
'i'm nick man, what's your name.'
'i'm e_____.'  we did the one hand shake-hug thats a commonplace greeting and i said, 'lemme pray real quick.'  as we finished praying and we did the hand shake-hug we heard...'i want in. brothers, i want in'
Up walks a woman who lives around the corner and works at the local elementary school.  she's on her way to court to be with her daughter who's in 'a little bit of something that starts with an s and ends with a t and could be headed to prison' she tells us through tears.   so we grab hands...and e______ begins to pray for her...praying as best as he knows how, and its beautiful....
Around 3:30 in the afternoon, i head to her house, ring the doorbell and she smiles as she answers...no prison, probation with community service that can get reduced if she goes after that GED.  she's so happy as she looks at me and says, 'prayer works.'  oh, and she's Buddhist....

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one of my 3rd graders...

i posted a while back that i'd be volunteering at the elementary school down the street a couple times a week.  i was going to work specifically with two boys, but have ended up hangin out with and helping the whole class out.  it's so much fun to walk in and hear in unison, "HI MR MUCCI"...anyway, they've been learning letter writing and they are allowed to write letters/notes/Valentines to anyone they want.  Well, one of the fellas decided to write to me each time and here are some of the things he's said to me in these letters:

Dear Mr. Nick

You are smart.  You are strong.  You are big. You are cool.  You are awesome dude you are the best and Happy Valentine Mr. Nick.

Dear Mr. Nick

You are very smart and funny...so bye and I hope you like this post card.  You Rock Mr. Nick

Talk about an ego-boost!!!

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grace and transformation..

so my dad's comment on a couple posts ago got me thinking...the life of a disciple is a life that is transformed and is being transformed by grace.  We as the church, as Christ's bride, we are as much in need of grace today as we were in the moment we realized that is what saves us...

...i started to put a question in the comments and decided to make a new post instead.  I was talkin with a brother yesterday about our desire to love on people and show them grace, the same kind of grace we were shown...but at the same time had a desire to call people towards 

transformation or holiness if you will...and while we didn't settle on any kind of answer, it's something i'm continuing to attempt to balance with my neighbors and friends...can you share a story of how you've extended grace and encouraged transformation with the same person?  

i think of my neighbor and how we've tried so hard to extend grace and love to him.  he's made bad decisions, and he'll say that, and he continues to make ones he wishes he didn't.  we are at this point where i am giving him more of a call to be transformed by God's grace, rather than just receive it like a back rub or get out of jail free card.  we've encouraged him to join our male DCAF on wednesdays where we encourage one another and while he hasn't come yet; he says he's getting it, and that he understands his life needs to be different...whether he can free himself to be transformed, rather than attempt to transform himself is still unfolding...but that's my story that comes to mind...

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