Would you take a homeless teen into your home?
Whew. Not an easy question, right? But that’s the exact question my novel, Hungry for Home, asks. And, like real life, the story provides no easy answers.
Here are a few more details about the book:
It’s December in Minnesota, and if you know anything about Minnesota Decembers, you know they can be quite frigid and snowy. While the temperatures can vary greatly, the average temps are 27 degrees for a high and 12 degrees for a low (in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area). Add wind and snow to the mix and it’s not exactly the weather in which you want to sleep outside.
But that’s the exact predicament Austin finds himself in. He’s aged out of foster care and is now living out of a broken-down car. He wants to do the right thing, but he also wants to eat and stay warm, so he resorts to stealing.
When he nabs Sheila Peterson-Brooks’ purse, though, he never imagined he’d end up living in her home.
And Sheila and her husband, Richard, never imagined the journey this act of selfless love would take them on.
Could you open your home to Austin?
Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean a different gesture isn’t as unselfish or important.
- A good friend of mine hosts a meal for 100+ homeless people twice a year, and recruits his friends to help.
- Another friend is a Salvation Army bell ringer.
- Our church just helped pack a few hundred boxes for Operation Christmas Child.
- And then there’s this fun story: my dad went grocery shopping yesterday, and as he stood in line to check out, he struck up a conversation with a young mother in front of him–which is not at all unusual for my dad. But when he checked out, the woman he’d spoken with had paid for his groceries, and didn’t stick around for a Thank You.
I could go on and on with stories that show love in action, particularly during Christmas season when we celebrate Jesus’ birth, the ultimate gift of love.
No act of love is too big. None are too small, and each will have an eternal impact.
I’d love to hear your stories!
Share below for an opportunity to win my Coming Home Series Box Set: 4-in-1 Special Edition. This includes Hungry for Home, book #4.
Giveaway Details ~
I’m giving away (1) Kindle copy of the Coming Home Series Box Set: 4-in-1 Special Edition. Contest is open until midnight today (November 27, 2017) MST. To enter, answer this question in the comments below:
Do you have a personal love-in-action story you’d like to share?
We’d love to hear it!
About Hungry for Home ~
After a troubling encounter with a pregnant teen, Sheila Peterson-Brooks hurries from the crisis pregnancy center into the frigid Minnesota winter where she is mugged and left for dead. After a frantic search, Richard, her husband, finds her, and the police quickly nab the mugger …
A hungry, homeless teen.
The brother of the pregnant girl Sheila had just counseled.
The girl pleads for her brother, and Sheila and Richard choose not to press charges. Instead, they open their home to the boy, a move that could cost them their possessions, and their hearts.
And, in the process, teach them the true meaning of home.
Hungry for Home, book #4 in the Coming Home Series, is available at the following retailers ~
Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Other
Brenda S. Anderson writes gritty and authentic, life-affirming fiction. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and is Past-President of the ACFW Minnesota chapter, MN-NICE, the 2016 Chapter of the Year. When not reading or writing, she enjoys music, theater, roller coasters, and baseball, and she loves watching movies with her family. She lives in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area with her husband of 30 years, their three children, and one sassy cat. Readers can learn more about Brenda S. Anderson at www.brendaandersonbooks.com
Here in Australia we have a charity which started called Share the Dignity. it’s aim is to collect Pads and Tampons every April and August and in the lead up to Christmas they have a its in the bag collection. Here you either buy a new or used handbag and make sure it has some of the essentials (sanitary products), shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothpaste and brush. Then add other things you think a lady would enjoy. They also do one for teenage girls from 14 – 18. It feels good to be able to add things like body wash, soap, body lotion, etc. I added a wordsearch book to each one, along with a few other items. It is a great charity that supports homeless women and families often fleeing domestic violence.
Hi Brenda, your story sounds interesting. I appreciate that it tackles such a big topic- definitely not an easy question! We have started giving our boys some money each year that they need to use to help others- either through donating it to a charity they have researched, or some other way to help others. Our goal is to get them to focus beyond themselves and put Jesus love into action.
There have been so many times that someone has gone out of their way to show me love in action- from lending my husband and I a car, making meals for us to simply giving us hugs, God has blessed us with His angels in human form, people in our lives who show us who God is in action.
Blessings:)
I have many little stories where we have felt God nudged us to pay for someone’s bill or give something to another, but when it’s done anonymously we don’t hear how it blessed them. But one time really stands out because the couple found out that we paid their restaurant bill. Her husband had lost his job, and they really couldn’t afford to eat out, but she was so distraught that her husband wanted to take her away from everything for just a short time. After we left, they somehow found out that we had paid for their meal. The next time we saw them, she came to me with tears in her eyes and told me how God had used that to encourage her, and I cried right along with her. We also have taken people into our home at various times when they needed a place to stay. God actually uses those situations to grow us and our trust in Him. But then I think of all the times that other people have blessed us, and have done little/big things for us. God always knows what we need – whether it’s giving, or receiving.
Oh, what a wonderful idea, one that would be so easy for each of us to participate in! Thank you for being God’s hands & feet!
Love that idea, Wemble! It’s a perfect way to encourage our children to think beyond themselves. Even though our *kids* are in their early 20’s, I’m thinking it wouldn’t be too late to start that tradition. :) Thank you for sharing!
I love how you say that “God actually uses those situations to grow us and our trust in Him.” That’s so true. Thank you for showing Jesus to others!
Hi Brenda! My husband and I served in the ministry for 35 years. While living in Chicago, during some severe winter in the mid 1980s and living in a parsonage next door to the church, I served many a homeless man breakfast (eggs and toast – easy to digest – many had not eaten for several days), made a sack lunch (peanut butter sandwich and fruit) and gave bus tokens (liquor store down the block / many had abuse issues). My husband contacted homeless shelters and drove them to shelters. We also took in a Moody Institute college student in for 2 years – his rent was $100 a month and free babysitting once a week. We helped a Vietnamese refugee who showed up at our door step with his English skills – he was a doctor in Vietnam; but had to start over in the states. We helped him process the paper work so he could earn his GED, college education and thru med school. He is a successful doctor in Washington DC. The day he showed up at our doorstep I was serving dinner – boxed mac and cheese and 4 brats. My husband invited him for dinner. I took our two sons aside and told them, they are each getting 1/2 a brat. Then in horror I apologized for the meager dinner. He looked at me in surprise and said in Vietnam one brat served his entire family of eight. Wow – what a humbling experience. He has never forgotten our kindness over the years. Many more situations over the years. Just playing it forward since I immigrate with my parents from Germany in the 1950s.
Reading everyone’s stories of kindness has me crying! Thanks so sharing, everyone. Both sharing God’s love, and sharing your stories here. :)
I think you neeed to be really brave and selfless to completely open you house to a stranger. Having known only stories that ended up badly in real life, I’m not that brave.
Wow! Love your stories, Renate! Thank you for showing Jesus’ light to so many!
Me too, Autumn!
I don’t know that I’d be that brave either, Laura! But we never know how God will use us, and it’s often in mightier ways than we ever could have imagined!
I recently joined a mom group where I live, and they have lived love in action so many times for me, from meals to prayers. They truly model Christ for everyone around them.
Love it! Sounds like a beautiful group to be involved with!
I don’t really have a personal love in action story, but I can share what our church is doing. Our pastor & his wife retired in June after 51 years of ministering; 25 years in our church & the rest in a different one located in Southern Oregon. We had since been in earnest seeking a new pastor and God has given us one, him & his wife will start December 1st with his first sermon on the following Sunday (Dec 3rd). Well, we have a small congregation, probably less than 30 members but the Lord has blessed us so much! We not only have the funds to move the new Pastors from many, many miles away, but help with finding housing and help them get settled in whatever capacity we can. It’s amazing what God can do with willing hearts :-) If that’s not love in action, I don’t know what is! We also participated in the Operation Christmas child and not only packed 305 shoe-boxes to send, but had the funds to pay for the shipping and purchasing of the things to go in the boxes. I’m just always blown away by what God can do with such a small body of believers like us!
Brenda, thanks for sharing your love in action stories here. So fun to read and realize there’s good people in the world!
Love that, Trixi! I’m always amazed how God works through faithful churches! Thank you for sharing your inspiring story!