Just a guy on a Journey!

 50 Things

The “Next 100 Years” is a beautiful love song by Bon Jovi where he testifies his love to someone for the next 100 years. Now granted that may sound ritually romantic but it is also unrealistic. Keep the 100 years. I will be happy with another 50 years.
I can relate more to the singer songwriter James Maddock (age 50ish) in his song “Another Life.” He goes on to sing about his desire to live for another 50 years and he mentions a few of the things he would do during this time-period that he calls Another Life.
He mentions riding an elephant, sailing the Baltic Sea, hiking the Himalayas, backpacking in Australia and maybe learn to play the sitar.

Those things sound like fun and with the right resources we can all do those fun-filled things and more if we so desire. One important resource we need to do these things are… time. More time. Perhaps, another 50 years.
As the chorus gets sung by the raspy voice English-born songwriter,”We all want another life, another 50 years to see the Outback and the Himalayas….,” it prompts me to want another 50 years and causes me to think what would I do in the second-half of life that I did not do in my first 49 years.
The suggestion in the song is we all want another 50 years to do things we did not do in the first half of our lives. If you are a contemporary of mine and turning 50 soon, allow me to encourage you to write down 50 things to put on your bucket-list with the goal of accomplishing one of them a year for the next fifty years.
50 things!?!….Start writing now.
Ok, I am closing this writing now because I am going to start jotting a few things on my list. Raise a glass to the next fifty years. I trust they shall be awesome. Come hike the Himalayas with me.

Holy…Holy…Holy, the earth is filled with His glory. Yes it is. It permeates everywhere.

Yes, unfortunately there is cruelty in this world but beauty also abounds everywhere.

Look around you. Do you see it? Who are you sitting next to right now? Thank the Lord for them, appreciate their God-given beauty. It is God’s glory that created that person.

If you have no one next to you right now, go look in the mirror. Open your eyes wide and see the glory in the reflection and your “one of a kind” creation that you endow this planet with.

Smile wide, internalize this gleaming glory and allow God’s glory to infiltrate your heart.

Now go outside and look up at the bright sun, shining stars, or even the darkest cloud. Glory will bust through that low hanging cloud soon, either through refreshing rain-drops or at the break of a new day with rays of sun to warm your heart, soul, and Earth.

Yes indeed, the Earth is filled with His glory.

Hungry people lined up at Kyle’s car.

Today one of my Texas buddies passed from this earth and went home to be with the Lord. This is the text I received from his wife.

Kyle breathed about one minute on his own. In the ultimate healing, the Lord took him home at 10:12 am, Wednesday, October 22, 2014. Praise God for the life that was Chef Kyle Humphrey. He is no longer suffering and in pain. It was my privilege to make sure the little boy who just wanted to be loved knew he was loved and to hold his hand as he passed. I thank the Lord that I know I will see him again in heaven. Hearts for the Homeless will continue in his memory. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Hearts for the Homeless, 6616 Aztec Ct., Fort Worth, Texas 76135. Thanks! God Bless you! Alma”

Kyle had a strong purpose while here on Earth. He was an example of love. Springsteen’s most popular song “Hungry Heart” comes to mind when I think of Kyle. Kyle’s heart hungered to feed the homeless. Bruce suggests “Lay down your money and you play your part, everybody has a hungry heart” Kyle did. He layed down his money and he played his part and he did it well.

My buddy Kyle not only had the biggest heart of anybody I know, he had a hungry heart for homeless people and wielded a strong desire wanting everybody to be fed that could not afford to eat.

His passion was to make sure nobody In Dallas Fort Worth went hungry. He would have done it every day but with limited resources and funds he could only commit to one day a week. Faithfully every Friday without fail, a long line of hungry homeless people at lunch-time lined themselves up in orderly fashion along a brick wall of an abandoned graffiti style factory and watch Kyle and his wife Alma pull up in their SUV, lift the tailgate as they ran towards his car and distribute a trunk full of brown paper bags. Each bag (sack, as they say in Texas)contained a sandwich, a cold bottled water and a sack of chips or some sort of goodie.

They absolutely loved it. Kyle would recruit four or five volunteers and have an assembly line in his house with each person participating in making the sandwiches while another person opened the sack and another person sealed the sandwich in a baggie. Kyle smiled the biggest smile with joy written all over his face while overseeing this process take place in his own home.

Kyle was once homeless and he promised God if he gets his own home he would feed the homeless and take fresh food to the streets.. And he did. He started a charity/ministry called “Hearts for the Homeless”

His wife is hoping this ministry continues in Kyle’s memory,
You can like his page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/heartsforthehomeless If you care to donate any small amount to this noble cause, just send a check to Hearts for the Homeless.

I will always remember Kyle and I will never forget that hot summer Friday afternoon in Texas when I experienced the joy of serving with Kyle for half a day. Kyle’s spirit will live forever. Rest in peace my brother.  You are forever loved!