I got McNOTICED
yesterday morning
going through the drive through
for my egg McMuffin. . .
as he took my money,
he was staring at me
and then said,
“Sir, you had the funeral service for my grandmother,”
he swallowed hard
and his eyes filled up with tears and then he said,
“You did really, really good. . .thank you.”
We both paused
just short enough for those behind me
to begin McHONKING. . .
I swallowed just as hard
and thanked him for
(literally)
McNOTICING ME!
We both
McLAUGHED
and bid each other a good day. . .
GET McNOTICED
and more. . .
do something to make sure you’re never
McFORGOTTEN!
A CHURCH THAT ISN’T
P L A C E
Is it just a
P H I L O S O P H Y
Is it just a
F E E L I N G. . .
It was an early Sunday morning
not on the way to Church
and she was laying under some bushes in a vacant parking lot;
He didn’t see her
She did. . .
After going through the driver thru of Starbucks,
they went across the street and went through the drive thru of McDonalds
and bought a Big Breakfast with pancakes
and a medium coffee;
when they came to the vacant lot
they found that she was still sleeping, wearing most probably everything she owned, sitting by an empty pizza box and half 2 liter bottle of Shasta Ginger Ale;
He stayed in the car. . .
She got out with the McDonalds and went over to her quietly
not really trying to wake her
(what a great way to wake up, huh? McDonalds in the bushes!)
She woke up a little startled but was calmed quickly;
at first she refused the meal and the $20 bill
but was convinced to receive it not so much as a
G I F T
but as a
F A V O R
(to make the humble Giver’s feel better about themselves)
She accepted
If the definition of a musician is:
P L A Y I N G M U S I C
He is ONE;
if it’s one who plays music
F O R F R E E
He’s the most purest of Maestro’s;
He played on the Boardwalk as people walked by
TRYING NOT TO LOOK
and absolutely not stopping
and adamantly not GIVING
in his bent up rusted Maxwell House Coffee Can
but when he began a rendition of
AMAZING GRACE
angels wept
(as did I standing not so closely beside him, looking out at the ocean)
He asked for a glass of wine
(was refused it because of it being Sunday)
and got a glass of water with very few ice cubes
that didn’t jingle so well as he swirled them around his glass after a few sips;
It wasn’t that he looked poor
It wasn’t that he looked hungry
It wasn’t that he looked forgotten
It wasn’t that he looked used/abused
so much as he just looked lonely;
The Waiter was called over and the couple asked for his bill to pay as they were leaving to pay their own;
He never knew W H O
and they didn’t stay around to see HOW he responded. . .
Is it just a
P L A C E
Is it just a
P H I L O S O P H Y
Is it just a
F E E L I N G. . .
S o m e t i m e s
Church doesn’t have a specific address
Church doesn’t have a specific location
Church doesn’t have a phone number
Church doesn’t have specific hours or times of Service
Church as it’s best is when it ISN’T
and then. . .
It’s MUCH MORE!
Why Wear or Share your Faith
when you can help ANOTHER
EXPERIENCE their OWN. . .
. . .and it’s most sacred
(just by showing up)
When Competition, Isn’t….
Does it ever end well. . .?
An older Pizza Hut Delivery man comes marching into McDonald’s at one of their most busiest times, right at lunch hour.
You could see that both of the Drive-Thru Lanes were packed and there were three lines of hungry people, four or five deep waiting to place their orders.
This Pizza Hut Delivery Guy wasn’t about to wait in line. As soon as he got to the center of store, he started, very loudly yelling, “WHERE’S THE MANAGER? I WANT TO SPEAK TO THE MANGER, NOW!” The loud
N O W
Almost sounded like an angry dog before he was ready to sink his teeth into any soft flesh available.
Everyone stood there stunned. It got very quiet.
No cash registers were ringing.
No orders were being taken.
No one was moving.
No one expected a good outcome.
Would you?
Does a scene set up like this ever end up well?
Their was hushed mumbling and then yelling for “RON” (Oh the Irony–RON–Seriously? A distant relative of THE RONALD McDONALD?)
to get out to the front.
Uh-oh. . .there he was. RON, a young manager in a not-so-white-stained-barely-tucked-in-shirt with a black wrinkled tie, and dirty eye-glasses that were somewhat askew.
SHOW TIME:
“You the manager,” the Pizza Hut Delivery man more accused than asked?
“Yes sir, my name is Ron. How may I be of help?”
“Well I came here to get something straight,” he started out, not in any low tone manner.
EVERYONE WAS WATCHING THIS…MUST SEE REALITY. . . .
“My mother was in here the other day,” the Pizza Hut man continued, “and she kinda got stuck over there in that booth. She’s having trouble getting around and she said everyone was laughing and no one was out here helping her. . . ,”
“Sir,” Ron butted in to begin defending himself, but Pizza Man was having none of it.
He put his hand up in front of Ron’s face as he continued.
“Hold on there, Son. She said everyone was laughing and snickering and talking about her and no one was doing a thing and then you came out and brought her a coffee and a glass of water and you helped her out.”
This went
H A L L M A R K
quicker than you could say: M c P I Z Z A. . . .
And then, then came the McPLAUSE and rightfully so.
Pizza Man pulled a steaming, hot pizza from his delivery bag as he said, “Here, Ron, it ain’t much but a man who does good deserves good.”
And with that he hands him over a Pizza–SPECIAL DELIVERY–as it were.”
People applauded and cheered. A few whistled.
They shook hands and then hugged.
I WANTED TO KNOW. . .to HEAR what Pizza Man told Ron McDonald Manager as they hugged there for a moment.
Quite a moment. . .still is.
When the Competition, ISN’T. . .the most amazing things happen.
McBrought It
I’m impatient.
That’s a huge McUnderstatement.
Would you like a McClassic Example?
So very crowded was the line inside of McDonald’s that I went back outside, got in my car and got in the drive-thru line.
It was also a dramatic illustration of just how competitive I am, even with myself. My personal-no-one-even-noticed-Game was to get in my car, go through the drive-thru, get my order, park my car and get back into McDonald’s and eat my sausage egg McMuffin without the last person in line inside the store getting their order.
Little did I know that there was another game about to take place. . .
One with a couple of Winners.
I first heard her voice when I came up to the speaker to place my order.
Before she ever asked me for my order, she asked me this:
“Good morning. Are you having a good day?”
I told her I was having an awesome day and asked her how she was doing?
She told me, “Most Excellent.”
“Now what can I get for you to make the day better,” she asked?
I placed my order and was a little intrigued to find who this Order-Taking Wizard was.
She was young, and had a smile on her face that filled the window.
She told me what I owed her and as I handed her the money, I told her I owed her much more than that.
“How is it that you are TAKING orders but GIVING so much more than what you could put in a bag?”
She laughed and said, “I’ve never heard it put THAT way before.”
I thanked her for making my morning and she thanked me for coming through her line and told me it was good to see me.
I gave her my standard reply to that comment: “IT’S BETTER TO BE SEEN THAN VIEWED”
She laughed and that when I said, “Hey, thanks for bringing it. . .you McBROGHT IT!”
She yelled as I drifted away, “Thanks, you McBrought it, too!”
I hurried and parked my car and went back into McDonald’s to read the papered news and eat my Sausage Egg McMuffin.
Oh yeah, I was smiling big because I had beaten the people who were still in line waiting for their orders.
I WON!
…and then, and then I realized, I ready had W O N. . . .
When was the last time Some One McBrought if for you?
When was the last time you McBrought if for Some One Else?
Let the Game begin. . .
McBring It!
W I N