Blessed the most when you least expect it

Well, as I write this post, I can't say that I didn't
really expect to be blessed, but I guess I'm amazed
at how blessed I was last night. I have a heart to
help others and serve others and sometimes feel like
I don't know where to start. I'm very involved with
Bible studies and serving at church, and travel,
not to mention taking care of my kids and being a
wife. But I want to get out of my comfort zone so
I can be stretched.
Last night I was able to go with a friend and some
people from her church to help feed the homeless. I've
done that a couple times in the past through our church
and have been blessed to help prepare food and find these
people some clothes that fit them through donations of
clothes people have given. But this was a little
different. A handful of people from a local church
started cooking hot meals for the homeless once every
two weeks. They just started going to a park where
some people are living and handed out invitations to
get a warm meal. I was a little late last night, but
I took my two boys with me and we showed up with a
bunch of cookies. The boys went around and handed out
cookies and gave big smiles to the people they met.
They received big smiles in return. The boys also
played with my friend's two sons and they ran around with
a dog of one of the homeless couples.
Here are some ways I was blessed last night:
1. I stepped out of my comfort zone and approached
people I didn't know (doesn't seem like a big deal to
some but it is for me)
2. I was able to ask what major needs are and found
out that something as simple as a sleeping bag could
be huge for them (*on it!)
3. Found out a shoe size and it's the same as mine
so now I have a place to give that extra pair of
tennis shoes I have
4. Found out that these people start out with a life
that looks just like mine (one lady has 4 boys) but
then circumstances rock their world (I know sometimes
it is their own choosing, but not always)
5. I learned that one guy works the night shift at
Denny's, but it's not enough to afford a place
6. I learned that they feel like they are a burden
to others so they don't want to ask
7. I found out that some of them do enjoy hearing
people talk about God with them and pray for them
***One lady said that God answered a prayer the next
day after somebody prayed for a place to stay (even
if it was temporary!)

These are just a few lessons. I plan to step out
more often and am thankful my boys could be with me
to experience helping others as well. They ended the
night meeting the "Cookie Man" because when they asked
if he wanted cookies, he jokingly grabbed the whole
package and put it in his coat. Jake didn't know
what to think and the guy cracked up at Jake's response.
By the end of the night, I told the kids that they
couldn't have any more cookies because we gave them
to the people there and Drew said, "Did the Cookie Man
take them?" and ran and told the boys that is was the
Cookie Man who took them after all!