In this next post let’s say goodbye to Old Man Winter!

Like that not so favorite cousin, uncle or friend, Old Man Winter has overstayed his welcome. I’m ready to move on. I’m over being cold already. I am ready for Spring.

At my work, we’ve stayed open numerous nights to serve our Dallas unsheltered community. Normally, we serve about 200 guests who inhabit the nearby surrounding neighborhood we are headquartered in.

During Inclement Weather, our numbers double and triple, growing until such a time that the City opens an offsite warming shelter. Then we are looking at 1,000 to 1,500 unsheltered folks finding their way to us from throughout the Dallas area. We are situated smack dab in the middle of the intersection separating prosperity to the North and poverty to the South.

Leadership, as we have witnessed the past several days, is a funny thing. At its best, leadership solves more problems than it creates. At its worst, leadership creates more problems than it solves.

Strong leaders are interested in solutions more than they are enamored with problems. They already recognize there are plenty of problems. They are seeking ways to solve that one particular problem that no one else wants to tackle and the one they are designed and equipped to solve. Problems impede progress. Leaders are focused on completing the mission, especially during times of crisis.

Leadership isn’t decided by serving your time and waiting your turn. It’s determined by grit and demonstrated through your courage in standing up and facing a crisis against all odds. Real leaders know when it’s time to ditch the suit and don the tee shirt.

Emergency Inclement Weather Shelters Operating Across North Texas

At its best, leadership solves more problems than it creates. At its worst, leadership creates more problems than it solves.

Rainer Bantau

Blogging is something I began because I wanted to communicate with a greater global community. Presently, my blog has readers in over 150 countries, including Ukraine. It’s mind boggling enough that anyone would want to read my blog let alone someone living somewhere far away that I’ve never met in person. It is also a great privilege and honor that people would give me their most precious commodity: time.

February has proven to be a difficult month to keep up my regular posting schedule. However, you roll with what life presents you.

For the people of Ukraine who read this blog, know that our prayers are with you. We have watched from a distance how admirably and valiantly you are fighting for your freedom and your country. Keep up the good fight.

Freedom is never guaranteed. Staying free means taking on the responsibility of defending your liberty.

As a great American leader once said:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

Ronald Reagan

Homeless people and freedom have more in common than you might think. I’ve had numerous conversations with grown men and women who refuse to come off the street because they value their freedom and independence. They miss out on the fact that they are dependent on others for safety, food, and shelter. But they want to be free of rules and being told what to do and when to do it. They want to be free of expectation and responsibility.

But that’s not really what freedom is.

And no…it’s not all unsheltered people who fall into this caveat. Many are escaping inexplicable abuse and trauma, often from the hands of those who were supposed to love them best.

These are difficult and challenging times. I’m praying for you, my dear reader, wherever on the planet you call home.

Goodbye Old Man Winter and so long February…

Blessings,

The Devotional Guy™

Please comment and like this post if it encouraged or challenged you. Be sure to follow this blog to be notified of new posts.

You can donate to OurCalling here.