Oil For a Change

If you live in Jackson and know single moms in the area or you are a single mom yourself, this might make your day . . .

Imagine a line of cars outside of a local Auto Care business full of single moms and their kids waiting to get their oil changed, fluids checked, some hot dogs and drinks, and a car wash--ALL FOR FREE. This weekend!

Oil For a Change is a cooperative effort between Westwinds and Choice
Auto Sales and Service of Jackson. This year, on May 21st and September 10th, Oil For a Change will give away free food, car washes, and oil changes to over 300 single moms (165 each date).

Last summer, Ben Redmond and I did a message series entitled “Jesus Jackson” where we discussed how Jesus would respond to issues specific to Jackson and the people who live here—unemployment, underemployment, Jackson’s view of itself, opportunities to heal the community, the young and old, transplants and native Jacksonians, our work ethic, hope for the city, etc. We asked, “What would Jesus care about in Jackson? What would compel him? What would make him sad? What would he celebrate?”

I spoke one particular Sunday and mentioned a list of dreams I had for the city while encouraging others to dream in the same way letting people know “You can’t separate who you are from where you live,” and “God wants to use what you do and who you are to impact this place in a way that only you can.”

After hearing the list of dreams and being encouraged to imagine ways individuals could help Jackson, Carmela Lazarus, a local business owner and Allegiance Health employee, approached me with an idea. She heard me mention in a long list of dreams an idea to change the oil in the cars of single mothers as a display of hope and healing for our town.

Carmela (whose name has an accent on the first syllable) said, “My husband Chuck and I own a business where we service cars. I think we could actually do something like this.”

And so, the idea for Oil for a Change was born.

You can listen to one of the interviews we did on local radio station 89.3 The Message below.

Oil For a Change 89.3 Interview

On Christmas Eve, Westwinds Church traditionally gives an offering to something in the community that offers hope. We told the story of our dream for Oil For a Change and on December 24, 2010, Westwinds raised enough money to change the oil in the cars of over 300 single mothers.

Tickets for oil changes are available in advance at Westwinds, Choice Auto Sales and Service, or the day of the event at Choice Auto Sales and Service. While we don’t want to turn anyone away, supplies are limited to 165 each weekend. Your best bet is to get advance tickets or show up early.

My Life a Movie?

Today I was thinking about how much I love my life. I have a great family, great friends, a great church, a lot of freedom to be creative, and a lot of opportunity to experience some cool things .

A guy told me the other day I live a charmed life—like in the movies. Ha. I am pretty thankful for what I have and what I’ve experienced but . . . charmed? Movies? I think he was just jealous that Sheryl Crow sang 5 feet from us the other night. I’d be jealous of me if I were he too.

Then I got to thinking . . . if my life were a movie, what things would I want to experience? If I could be assured no one get hurt, I wouldn’t get caught, Jesus would still be smiling, and I would still have a good reputation these are some of the things I’d like to try.

P.S. This is not a morality debate. This is the movies.

1. Impersonate a high-profile politician and gain access to a party.
2. Tell a guy or gal at the airport holding up a sign with someone’s name on it that I am that person they are waiting to pick up. Then, get in the limo and be taken to that person’s destination.
3. Hang from the bottom of a helicopter—either on the landing gear or by a cable/rope.
4. Diffuse a bomb with seconds to spare. I want to be the guy who chooses the right wire. However, I don’t want to feel in danger at any time so it probably will never happen.
5. Lift a fingerprint from a wine glass and use it to access a classified room at one of those secret password fingerprint scan thingies they have outside of the door.
6. Jump from a building while holding on to someone and land on one of those airbags or better yet, be caught by one of those round thingies the firemen all hold on to.
7. Run someone off the road I don’t like. You know you want to do it too.
8. Throw things out the rear double-doors of a moving truck at the cars behind us as they swerve.
9. Chase someone through the streets of New York (or other cool city) through subway stations, parks, grocery stores, restaurant kitchens, etc.
10. Push someone over while running.
11. Go out into a traffic-filled street and halt cars while jumping over taxi hoods.
12. Drive my car down a staircase in a crowded area.
13. Commandeer a vehicle by pulling the driver out of his car by the collar. Apologize quickly. Say, “thanks, man. Sorry, I need this.”
14. Have a stranger buy me a beer/bottle of wine/meal and just give me that two-fingered salute from across the room.
15. Meet my twin brother I never knew I had, put two and two together, pretend to be the other for a day. Except, I draw the line at any contact he may want with my wife. Otherwise, he may be on the receiving end of #7.
16. Meet an extra-terrestrial and prove to everyone they mean no harm.
17. Be called upon to solve a major crisis involving multiple countries where only I possess the knowledge to bring about a peaceful ending. I want the guys with suits and black glasses to show up at my door, say my name, flash their government badges, and say, “we need you to come with us.”
18. I want to be the guy standing behind someone when they actually say, “He’s standing right behind me, isn’t he?” I want whatever I overhear to be really, really worth it. I do not want to waste this moment.
19. Pick up the wrong suitcase. Have that suitcase be filled with money.
20. Redirect the traffic patterns by messing with the stoplights from my laptop so my buddy can take the route he needs to get to wherever he needs to go.
21. Go into a building in one outfit. Change. Exit building in a new outfit/disguise.
22. Tell a cabbie, “you wait right here.” Hand him a wad of cash. Do what I need to do in a hurry. Come back and get in that cab.
23. Tell cabbie, “follow that car!” Have him drive at break-neck speeds to catch the car. I don’t know why we are chasing it. Doesn’t matter.
24. Drive the car that splashes that guy reading the paper on the street corner. Destroy man’s suit. Have man clean his glasses with his shirt and keep reading as if nothing happened.
25. Be the guy that walks into a courtroom right before a judgment and says, "not so fast" while everyone turns around and looks. Win the jury over. Walk away.

This is my Top 25. You have any you would like to share?