{"id":301931,"date":"2009-12-03T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-12-03T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/who-are-the-homeless\/"},"modified":"2009-12-03T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-12-03T17:00:00","slug":"who-are-the-homeless","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/who-are-the-homeless\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Are the Homeless?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you see the homeless man holding a cardboard sign asking for help, what do you really think?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2009-12-03.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"11.41M","filesize_raw":"11968423","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2821],"tags":[4476,4126],"podcast_series":[7693],"cwp_profile":[3373],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-301931","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reaching-out","tag-homeless","tag-ministry","podcast_series-no-room-at-the-inn","cwp_profile-michael-and-hayley-dimarco","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/301931\/who-are-the-homeless","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/301931\/who-are-the-homeless","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"aimWkZcIdN\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/who-are-the-homeless\/\">Who Are the Homeless?<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/who-are-the-homeless\/embed\/#?secret=aimWkZcIdN\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Who Are the Homeless?&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"aimWkZcIdN\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var 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think?","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2009-12-03.pdf","transcript_content":"<strong>Bob: <\/strong>\u00a0But I\u2019m talking about jumping into a motor home and going 10,000\u2026\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hayley:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 This is what happened.\u00a0 He came up with the idea and he thought man against the world and he was going to go out in a van and travel across the country.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 By himself.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hayley:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, by himself and sleep in a parking lot and I thought how fun.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t have to shave or bathe or anything.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hayley:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think I\u2019m kind of an unusual woman because we\u2019ve talked to a lot of women who have said they would never do that.\u00a0 I thought that would be great.\u00a0 So I wasn\u2019t in the picture but a few things happened in our lives that Michael decided and so did I that we should all go us and our daughter.\u00a0 I thought it was great.\u00a0 You get to travel the world.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 How old is your daughter?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 Three when we started.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hayley:<\/strong>\u00a0 Four.\u00a0 That\u2019s right she was three when we started and we had her birthday on the road.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So you are traveling around visiting major cities?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, major cities and minor cities as well.\u00a0\u00a0 Visiting homeless shelters, faith based organizations, and Christian organizations that have a heart for being Jesus\u2019 hands and feet to the homeless and the hungry.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Did you start off with the heart for the homeless?\u00a0 I mean I kind of confessed my own bias here.\u00a0 Is this something that has been on your heart for a long time?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, you know me but anyone that knows me knows that I am fairly heartless so that\u2019s the weird juxtaposition of me on this project.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t(laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Do you think God is trying to do some heart surgery?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s the thing.\u00a0 Hayley and I for any of the projects that we tackle we tend to tackle the good ideas regardless of the state of our heart.\u00a0 We find that God works on our heart through those projects.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know we have found the same thing to be true as we have attempted to help orphans.\u00a0 We thought we were doing something noble to help orphans and it turns out as we reach out to the foster care children and to orphans and talking about adoption God has some surgery to perform on our hearts as well.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think it\u2019s important for our listeners to hear you say that because you don\u2019t have to have a degree in social work to venture off into this.\u00a0 You have actually found yourself in Las Vegas going to where the homeless people go.\u00a0 They lodge in an unusual place though.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael<\/strong>:\u00a0 Las Vegas has been named the most unfriendly city to the homeless in the nation because of a lot of the city ordinances they have passed to make the Las Vegas strip family friendly.\u00a0 At first the homeless would set up in what they call tent city which was some blocks off the non new seedy part and then the city broke up tent city where these tents would be lining two city blocks and they put barricades up on the sidewalks so they couldn\u2019t set up the tents anymore.\u00a0 So a lot of the homeless actually have moved into these flash flood tunnels that are beneath the strip where it\u2019s cooler in the summer but they average one to two deaths a year just from people being trapped down there when the storms come and flash flooding happens.\u00a0 People set up like their bookcases and their flashlights with huge dangers of black widow spider infestations down there. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0Just living under ground?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 Living under ground because they can\u2019t even live on the street because of the city has been dispersing them.\u00a0 Hayley and I can\u2019t leave a good idea alone whether we are qualified or not because we feel like if God gives us an idea to do something and we have the means to do it we\u2019re going to do it.\u00a0 So we sold our brand new minivan that was paid off and paid for and we sold our ski boat and bought this motor home and started off on a journey.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 10,000 miles?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 10,000 miles and no camera crew or anything like that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You are doing your own video taping?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 We are doing our own video taping, audio taping, and did all of the editing.\u00a0 Basically all of our gear fits in a duffle bag in a back pack and No Room at the Inn is done.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You are speaking of the Christmas story being read by homeless mothers?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\u00a0 Homeless women and mothers and also video of their testimonies and their stories because so many of them respond the same way and say the same statement.\u00a0 I\u2019m not your typical homeless person.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hayley:<\/strong>\u00a0 And yet they aren\u2019t.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is what we think and what the general population thinks of homelessness is the guy on the street with the cardboard sign that is begging you for money so he can go get a drink.\u00a0 Face it.\u00a0 That\u2019s what we think of when we think of homelessness and that is why most of us cross to the other side of the road especially for me being a mom with a toddler.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to go down the street where there is a lot of people begging and grungy guys are wondering around.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut what we\u2019ve discovered is that is not the majority of the population of homelessness.\u00a0 It\u2019s women with children.\u00a0 These families have been displaced.\u00a0 Or who through addiction or bad choices have ended up on the street.\u00a0 These are women as I\u2019m seeing that are like me.\u00a0 They have little kids that play with Addie.\u00a0 They are the same age and that to me is the compelling story that we are missing.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen we think about homelessness and helping that cause we miss the fact that that is really who is out there calling for us to help them and who will take our help and make a change rather than the guy on the street.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 So the picture that I have in my mind and you describe some of it.\u00a0 I think of people with emotional problems, people who are drug or alcohol dependent often.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And you generally think of men.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hayley:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I generally think of people who have just developed survival coping skills and if you came along and said look we\u2019d love to take you into our home.\u00a0 We\u2019d love to help you get a job and get established these guys and I say guys because I\u2019m thinking of men but these guys like their street life better than they would like the straight life. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMichael:\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 Just to take one city for example we spent a lot of time in Denver this summer because the international Christian retail show was there so we were there for book signings and things like that.\u00a0 We actually spent the bulk of our time there with the Denver rescue mission and a great organization called Providence Network.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is in Denver less that 10 percent of the homeless is what people consider chronically homeless.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 The people I\u2019ve described?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Yes, people with the shopping cart and card board sign under the overpass people. <strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Ninety percent of the homeless population in Denver don\u2019t fit that category.\u00a0 It\u2019s almost a category of invisible homeless and the shocking statistic is that 48 percent of the nearly four million people that will be homeless at some point this year will be women or women with small children.\u00a0 That is not the picture that we have of homelessness.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 One statistic that I ran across said that 7 percent of the population are unaccompanied minors.\u00a0 We\u2019re talking about children under the age of 18 on the streets alone.\u00a0 That is a huge number.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 It is huge.\u00a0 Part of the cause of that is our culture glorifying a lot of different experiences and places.\u00a0 I met a young man in Orange County California who grew up in the south and saw images of LA and Hollywood and said I\u2019m having trouble in school so I\u2019m going to hop on a bus and go out to LA.\u00a0 He went to Los Angeles, California with less than $100 in his pocket.\u00a0 Now how long would you or I last with our resources in LA?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat happens is he starts meeting people and looking for a part time job.\u00a0 Even with a minimum wage job you can\u2019t live in Southern California so he starts couch surfing as a lot of people like to call it.\u00a0 Surfing from couch to couch with different friends and it ended up that even though he didn\u2019t do drugs a lot of people that are in this couch surfing culture do drugs he literally found his bottom.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOne morning he woke up after sleeping like sardines or lined up like corded wood on a living room floor to his best friend who had overdosed that night.\u00a0 He woke up to his friend\u2019s body cold and dead.\u00a0 That\u2019s when he said I need help.\u00a0 Fortunately, providentially, he went to Orange county rescue mission which has a great program and Jim Palmer the President and Director of that rescue mission helped take him in and got him not only fed and under a roof but he also gave him a purpose and taught him about the love of Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s what this project has been all about.\u00a0 It\u2019s hearing these people\u2019s stories and showing people that these men and women could be your sons, your daughters, your sisters or your brothers.\u00a0 They could be your next door neighbors.\u00a0 It\u2019s no longer the classic case of the mentally ill homeless person as the majority.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s where again this preconception that I have of the rugged individualism.\u00a0 Your family would kick in or your church ought to kick in or you figure out a way to get tough and get a job and survive.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to lack compassion for those who are genuinely in need but there is part of me that I think looks and goes \u201cif these people really wanted help they could get help and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.\u201d\u00a0 Is that right or not?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s totally right as far as what should happen but as you are intimately aware the family unit is on life support in our country.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019re saying that some of these families that they come from aren\u2019t in existence or aren\u2019t in a position to be able to welcome them back or to help them?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 At times it\u2019s that.\u00a0 Other times it\u2019s pure pride.\u00a0 Like I said I was going to come to California and my dad said you\u2019ll never make it.\u00a0 It\u2019s a stupid decision.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to prove him right so I\u2019m not going to call them and tell them what I\u2019m doing.\u00a0 That I\u2019m sleeping in cars or meeting men just to find a place to live.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to ask for help.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 So there is this huge population of people that whether by addiction or by bad choices or just life happening to them they are finding themselves in these places.\u00a0 And we also want to tell the stories of the people that have stepped out to help and who are trying to be Jesus\u2019 hands and feet.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just social workers.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just kind of the bleeding heart soft fuzzy but a lot of them are reformed elder brothers who have found a lot of the things they have been prioritizing in their lives isn\u2019t as enriching as helping those in need.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know as we talk about helping those who have no home and are poor and have had some tough things happen to them here at Christmas time families think about these matters and they ask what can I do?\u00a0 Perhaps we\u2019re walking by these people in the market place as we go shopping.\u00a0 They are begging.\u00a0 I\u2019m wondering what would you advise of a family that is listening?\u00a0 Would you advise them to put $20 in the hand of that beggar or would you advise them to do something a little different?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I\u2019d never advise them not to put $20 in the hands of the beggar because I think that is up to the person and how the Spirit of God is working in them at that moment.\u00a0 But what I would say it that almost every expert because we are not experts.\u00a0 We\u2019re learning on the fly.\u00a0 What every expert has communicated to us as far as people that are working to get permanent change in these people\u2019s lives is to volunteer or give their time and money to those organizations in their communities that are really focused and dialed in to the population.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And helping them develop job skills and financial plans and maybe take on some of the issues that ultimately resulted in them being homeless.\u00a0 Help them work through an educational and training process as well as talking about the spiritual issue of life to them.\u00a0 That\u2019s where you\u2019d give your time.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Michael:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right because the return on investment of a person\u2019s time going into one of these shelters or group homes to paint a wall, to redo some carpet or to just volunteer your time is immeasurable besides just the dollars.\u00a0 We would really encourage, too, to make it a family affair.\u00a0 Not only is it rewarding and teaching them ministry opportunity there is also some education by example.\u00a0 They can hear these women\u2019s stories and how they made bad decisions so that they can maybe avoid those by seeing the consequences in the flesh.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hayley:<\/strong>\u00a0 I want to say that I think it is important to look at these situations of homelessness as a spiritual opportunity.\u00a0 To me that is the big thing for us to consider.\u00a0 There is a spiritual opportunity to bring these people to an understanding of a relationship with Christ.\u00a0 Because the people who don\u2019t have family and don\u2019t have a church family they can go to they are finding themselves with nothing.\u00a0 Those are the people that need help and know they need help.\u00a0 We all come to Christ because we get to the bottom.\u00a0 We finally realize I can\u2019t do it by myself.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Hayley:<\/strong>\u00a0 So this is an opportunity.\u00a0 The guy on the street who doesn\u2019t care and who likes being on the street that\u2019s not a spiritual opportunity.\u00a0 We\u2019re talking about women, children, and families that want to make a difference for their kids and so this is our chance to help that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 In this economy there is an increased number of these folks that need us to engage and that\u2019s really why Bob and I wanted to talk with you today to bring this before our listening audience.\u00a0 As you look at the month of December don\u2019t merely look at Christmas Day or Christmas Eve but think about how your family could perhaps volunteer and go near those who have been ill treated or have fallen on hard times.\u00a0 Don\u2019t enable them by just giving them money but express the love of Christ by serving them and coming alongside them and cheering those on who give leadership to those organizations that take care of these folks.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 We have a list on our web site at FamilyLife Today.com of some of the organizations that you\u2019ve found that you recommend.\u00a0 In fact you have included that information as a part of the advent devotional you put together.\u00a0 I really like this DVD devotional experience that you have created for us during the Christmas season.\u00a0 It\u2019s called, \u201cNo Room at the Inn\u201d and it\u2019s a 25 day multimedia advent experience.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI know some of our listeners are thinking it\u2019s already December 4<sup>th<\/sup> so we are behind the times on this.\u00a0 You can catch up.\u00a0 You can go online at FamilyLife Today.com and request a copy of this DVD.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat you\u2019ll get is behind the scenes mini documentary that highlights the Hungry Planet Bible Project some of the folks that you\u2019ve met as you\u2019ve toured around the country.\u00a0 Discussion questions so that you as a family can talk about what you can do to reach out to the homeless and helpless at Christmas time.\u00a0 Again, there is information on our web site about the \u201cNo Room at the Inn\u201d interactive advent devotional.\u00a0 It\u2019s a DVD ROM that Michael and Hayley have put together.\u00a0 Go to FamilyLife Today.com for more information.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd while you are there let me also encourage you to get a copy of the book that Barbara Rainey has written called <em>When Christmas Came<\/em> because this whole book is about the givingness of God.\u00a0 John 3:16 says \u201cGod so loved the world that He gave.\u201d\u00a0 If we are going to be Christlike then we have to be givers as well.\u00a0 I\u2019d encourage you to get a copy of the book.\u00a0 It includes original water color work by Barbara along with an extended mediation on John 3:16.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou can order from us if you\u2019d like or you can call 1-800-FL-TODAY, that's 1-800-358-6329, that\u2019s 1-800- \u201cF\u201d as in Family, \u201cL\u201d as in Life and then the word TODAY and someone on our team can let you know how you can get these resources sent to you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI appreciate the fact that our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> listeners are generous people and we have seen that demonstrated by the support that we have received from folks throughout the year here at <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 In what have been challenging economic times many of you have rallied and helped support this ministry throughout this year.\u00a0 We appreciate your generous financial support.\u00a0\u00a0 We are listener supported and without those donations we could not continue to air this program on this local station and on our network of stations all around the country.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThanks for the part that you play in helping with the needs of this ministry.\u00a0 I wanted to mention that between now and the end of the year <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> listeners have a special opportunity to give to this ministry.\u00a0 When you make a donation of any amount this month that donation is being matched dollar for dollar by some very generous friends of the ministry who have stepped forward to offer a $1,250,000 matching gift opportunity.\u00a0 This is the largest matching gift that has ever been made available to us here at FamilyLife Today.\u00a0 We are hoping and praying that we\u2019ll be able to take full advantage of this matching gift opportunity.\u00a0 We hope to hear from you.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou can make your donation online, if that's easiest for you.\u00a0 Just go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com or by calling 1-800-FL-TODAY.\u00a0 If you make a $20 donation it\u2019s matched dollar for dollar.\u00a0 If you make a $50 donation they will pitch in another $50 so as you can see we have a great opportunity here and we hope you\u2019ll consider either going online or calling us today.\u00a0 We really do appreciate your support, and your partnership and your generosity month in and month out in support of this ministry.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTomorrow Michael and Hayley DiMarco will be back and we will talk more about their trip around the country and about the reality of homelessness in America.\u00a0 I hope you can be with us for that.<br><\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We'll see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts for you. However, there is a cost to transcribe, create, and produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>www.FamilyLife.com<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/301931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301931"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=301931"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=301931"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=301931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}