CHRISTmas Blessings for “Uncle Dennis” ~ A story about a homeless man who changed our family!!

Oh my heart is so full of so many different emotions. What a day we had with Uncle Dennis. For those of you that don’t know who Uncle Dennis is he is a homeless man that we met at our first FREE Laundry Day in February of this year and began coming to our monthly FREE Community Dinners. There was an immediate connection with him and we knew God placed him in our lives for a reason, but what has transpired I don’t think any of us imagined. You can read more about how we met him, etc here – http://wp.me/p3ZeTk-h46

For those of you that have been following our story with Uncle Dennis you already know how much we love him. He has changed our lives in so many ways and I still remember when he said “What do I have to offer being homeless”. My goodness, he has given me more wisdom and insight on life than any money could buy. I asked all of you back in November to help us give Uncle Dennis a CHRISTmas Blessing and send him cards, clothing, etc to help him. He received so much that even the lady at the post office wanted to know who Uncle Dennis was, LOL We invited him over to spend CHRISTmas with us today and we wanted to make it extra special. I know he knows we love him, but we wanted him to feel extra special, to really know his value, not in wealth but because he is God’s creation. He was already in super good spirits because his phone interview went so well today (one of our friends is trying to get him a job – looks good so far) that they scheduled him for a face-to-face interview on Monday. He is beyond ecstatic. His favorite foods are lasagna, spaghetti, and sweet potato casserole so of course we made it ALL for him. When he walked in, he had the biggest smile on his face and said “Man does it smell good in here” We talked a bit and then Jamie took him upstairs to take a shower. He came down and said he felt like a new man. We showed him what was for dinner and he was so excited. He then looked at the table and how we had it set (we used our best dishes and had my mom’s table covering on it) and he said he felt like a King and we told him, He was a King and should feel that way.

Isaiah said our prayer and we began to eat. He just couldn’t get enough. He told us he doesn’t remember the last time having a meal that good and feeling that full. He said it was the BEST feeling ever!! To watch him eat and savor every single bite leaves you speechless. We talked about material stuff and how that doesn’t matter, but “people matter”. He said he was so excited about this job and one of the coolest thing he said is he dreams about having a savings account. He said this is no minimum wage job, this is a JOB!! A job to be proud of. Danielle and Vanessa showed up and we finished eating and then we took him in the Great Room and I showed him the pile of gifts sent from all of you, from all over the US.

He couldn’t believe it. He just kept saying, boy there is probably someone more deserving than me. We shared with him how much he means to our family and how much we love him. That he has changed our lives. We told him thousands of people are praying for him all over the United States. He sat down and started going through the cards and reading them. The cards from the school in Mississippi had him very emotional. To know he is “Uncle Dennis” to many and that so many of you are praying for him was beyond what he could wrap his mind around. He only opened about ten of the cards and then started opening the gifts. He couldn’t believe all the stuff. He was so excited about his new coat, new hat, new socks, new jeans, new shirt, and then said “I was so worried about what I was going to wear to my interview and God provided”.

Yes, God ALWAYS provides. He loved the cards with scripture. He loved reading all of your messages to him. He said with some of his money he wants to go buy thank you cards and wants to send a handwritten thank you to all of you. He said a video thank you just didn’t seem personal enough. He wants to meet all of you and hug you and thank you in person he said. It was very touching. At one point of opening and seeing the amount of stuff he received, he said “I could open Uncle Dennis’ Department Store”. Too funny!! He truly was overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity. The blanket he received, he couldn’t believe how large it was. He had to lie down on the floor to see if it covered his feet, because the blanket he has now doesn’t cover his feet.

He was excited about the “wool socks”.

In the middle of opening the stuff, he said, my mind is wondering who God will have me pay it forward to. He knew he couldn’t accept the entire blessing without passing the blessing on to someone else. Super cool, to know he is struggling and homeless, but he is wondering what he can do to help someone else. That’s the way the world is supposed to be. When he got the box with the new coat, he said it was like a “treasure chest” so many treats and treasures inside.

He just kept sifting through it more and more. He was so proud when he put the coat and hat on and said immediately come on kids lets get our picture taken. The coffee mug, the hygienic items, the shirts, socks, gloves, jeans, my goodness, the list goes on and on.

He opened his chocolates and told the kids to take some. I watch him with our kids and the way he lights up when talking to them. He is so proud of them and they are so proud of him. I know God put Dennis in our lives for a reason and we are beyond blessed by him. He melts my heart every single time I see him. He makes me laugh with his innocence. At one point, he was getting extremely overwhelmed by all the gifts and emotional. There were 2 cards on the one package and he opened the first card and read it, then he opened the second card, and then he opened the first card again and re-read it like had not read it, and then took the second card and started to read it again and Jamie said “okay you need to take the cards from him” LOL!!! He still has over 155 cards to go through and I can tell you he will read them from front to back and then read them probably 100 more times. He is so proud of it all. The wallet he got was priceless. He kept taking it out and putting his money in as he opened a card, and then would put it back in his pocket, and take it out again, etc. It was cute to watch him. He touched every single dollar like it was $1000. If you watched the video you will see his glasses were missing an arm and kept falling off. After he opened a few cards and saw there was money in it, he said to Jamie, maybe we could stop at the store so I could get a pair of glasses and we did just that. When I watch Jamie interact with him, I fall more and more in love with Jamie. He is so gentle and so compassionate with him. It fills my heart with so much joy. He was so thrilled with his new glasses and Jamie said he proudly pulled out his wallet to pay for them.

He then asked Jamie to take a picture of him and Isaiah. He and Isaiah surely have a special “bond”. Isaiah was showing him how to take pictures on Dennis’ cell phone, which his pretty old, and he took a picture of Jamie. Jamie was adding his picture to his phone number so when he called Dennis, Dennis would know it was him (this was when we were dropping him off). Jamie handed Dennis the phone and called him and Dennis answered it and said Hello! Jamie and I laughed so hard and he said “well Hello Jamie”. He was so excited that Jamie’s picture showed up. There is something so innocent about him. He is full of love and wisdom and the simplicity of his life rubs off on our family. Our kids adore him and he adores them.

He and Buster (our dog) even have a special relationship hahaha!!

Dennis may be homeless, but he is a man. A man of God. He was created in God’s image and is a masterpiece. So many times people look down on the homeless, but they are people too. Don’t judge them, rather love them. You never know what one act of kindness may do in someone’s life. We, as a family, pray daily for God to reveal to us what he wants us to do and who he would have us help. We want to have ears like Jesus and eyes like Jesus. If we see a need, we want God to use us. We don’t want to say “Wow that is sad, but I don’t have time for it”. Rather we want to say Wow that is sad, God how can you use us to impact this person for your Glory?” Life is not about what we can get, but it is about what we can give. I want to use every ounce of my being to glorify God. I want God to use me to help as many as I can. I want to help change the world, one life at a time, all for the glory of God. I want to be used each and every day to the fullest and at the end of my life I want others to say you could tell she loved Jesus by the way she loved on others. If you haven’t been told today, you matter, you life is of importance, and I love each and everyone of you. As CHRISTmas approaches I am so thankful for the gift of Dennis that we received this year. This man has impacted my life more than I can even describe and I am honored to call my friend!! I love him with all my heart and I thank each and everyone of you for loving him too and being a part of this CHRISTmas blessing. May God richly bless your CHRISTmas and remember CHRISTmas is not about gifts, but it is about the birth of Jesus and sharing HIS love with as many as you can!! Thank you all for allowing me to share a piece of my heart with you!!!

We posted several videos on our FB page. . Click HERE to watch them 🙂

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