Good Press for Homewood

For all of the attention I give the media when they are so quick to point out negative things in Homewood, I need to make sure they get some kudos when they cover something good.  Julie and I and our neighbors were featured in an article in The Pittsburgh Courier about living in our new housing development in Homewood on Susquehanna Street.  I could not find the article online for some reason, so if you live in the Pittsburgh area you should buy a copy of the newspaper to check out the article.  The article is called "New Homes Renewing Homewood."

God Has His Reasons

What a day! This morning I had the opportunity to provide mentor training for eleven new mentors at North Way Oakland. It was a dynamic and fun group of people, and I had a blast sharing stories about things I've done wrong (and occasionally right) over the the past five years as a mentor to many young people in Homewood. I think my mentoring glory stories become more and more embellished over time (just like my high school football stories), but I do have a good time sharing the stories. I think all leaders should develop the ability to tell good stories in order to bring interest and value to the message that they carry. If you are a leader... be a good story teller! God has placed you in a leadership position for a reason!

After the training I had the chance to meet with a young man from my church who gives me great hope for the people in his generation (he's 22 years old). He had some great ideas about how to teach kids to be entrepreneurial and develop innovative and valuable skill sets which would be useful in today's marketplace. He is a young businessman who is developing a healthy theology of work, and I hopefully helped him navigate through his calling from God to make the world a better place by using his business sense. If you are a person who loves business... you do not need to work at a church or a nonprofit, parachurch organization to make a valuable difference for the Kingdom of God with your life. God has you in your job for a reason!

This evening I took a couple LAMP kids to the Pirate game and fireworks at PNC Park. It was an exciting Pirate victory, and the sold out crowd loved the post-game display. I love Pittsburgh! The buildings downtown looked so amazing with all of the fireworks explosions reflecting off of the windows. Pittsburgh has been blessed with a strong urban center, beautiful rivers, and great people. If you live in a city... then love your city! God has you in your city for a reason!

As I try to drift off to sleep tonight, their are noises of laughing and video games coming from downstairs where the LAMP kids have crashed in our living room. Julie and I love to open our home to the people in our neighborhood. I'm sure I'll have to go down there a couple times to get them to settle down, but I know they're just having a great time at our place. If you live in a house or apartment... open it up to other people! Your house is meant to be shared, in authentic community, with many people (even people who are different than you). God has placed you in your home for a reason!

Maybe God has you reading this blog post for a reason! Today you have the opportunity to choose to lead with purpose, work with purpose, love your city with purpose, and share your home with purpose. God has his reasons...