The number one thing we are getting asked for right now from our friends who live outside is hats – something warm to put over their ears to keep the wind off.

A good, warm winter hat can be had for about $4. Or about as much as a large latte at Starbucks. And we all know how warm and toasty that makes you feel.

Our goal this week is to buy 250 warm winter hats for our friends, to help them face the coming winter.

Can you help us with this?

Click the button below to send $4 today by credit card or Paypal and know that someone who sleeps outside will be a bit warmer this winter.

If you want to help more than one person, you can adjust quantities on the order page – $20 will buy us 5 hats, or $100 will buy us 25 warm, toasty hats. And if writing a check is your thing, just go to this page and follow the instructions at the bottom of the page.

And however you do it – Thank You.

In Moore Square (click here for a map) in downtown, Raleigh, there will be hot dogs, baked beans, watermelon, lemonade and much more (we hope, anyway). If somebody could bring some guitars, footballs, a wiffle ball and so on, that would be pretty cool too.

Why are we doing this, you ask? Because who you eat with, matters. Jesus believed that with every fiber of his being and his entire public ministry gave testimony to this. When he ate with prostitutes and tax collectors, he was making a statement about who God is. And when we ignore the homeless and poor to eat with folks like us, we make a statement about who we think God is.

Other reasons:

• Because while no doubt you have friends and loved ones to spend the Fourth with, many of the homeless and poor do not. Bring your friends and loved ones with you.
• Because on holidays the soup kitchens are closed, so any free meals usually consist of bag lunches with peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Surely we can do better than that?
• Because when the poor go hungry, it ticks Jesus off.
• Because you need more friends who have less than you do.
• Because you will get to eat with some really cool people.
• Because things like friendship, community, dignity and happiness are important in the Kingdom of God.

If you would like to help, here is a list of things we really need. If you have any questions, or are planning to come out with your family or friends to celebrate with us, please email Melissa at melissa@lovewins.info and let us know.

We spent an afternoon assembling hygiene kits that we will distribute late to our friends who live outside. Because of their help, we assembled over 100 kits that will provide much needed hygiene items to people who desperately need them.

You can see more pictures from their visit on our Facebook page.

If your church or small group would like to help us out here at Love Wins, please let us know!

If you have photos of your Love Wins stickers in the “wild”, please send them in or post them on our Facebook page. We want your help to spread the message that love truly does win!

(You can get your sticker here!)

Our delayed-but-sincerely-heartfelt thanks goes to:

Adventure Landing
The Angus Barn
Barley & Vine
Brixx Wood Fired Pizza
Burning Coal Theatre
Brio Tuscan Grille
Carino’s Italian (Brier Creek)
Carolina Ale House
Cathy’s Paint Your Own
Champps Americana
Charlie Goodnight’s Comedy Club
The Cheesecake Factory
Chick-fil-A @ Town Ridge Square
Cold Stone Creamery
Comedy Worx
Cracker Barrel
Fat Daddy’s
Frankie’s Fun Park
Fuddrucker’s
Hand Embroidery by Katie Moore
Harris Teeter (Leesville Road)
Hooters (Morrisville)
I Crochet Therefore I Am
Imagine Boutique
Karen Spears Zacharias
Longhorn Steakhouse
O’Charley’s (Brier Creek)
Old North Images
Olive Garden
Papa John’s Pizza (Strickland Road)
Pier 1 Imports
Mason’s
McDonald’s (Creedmoor Road)
MP Originals
NOFO
Red Robin
Regal Entertainment Group
Rush Rush Music
Sam Ash Music Stores
Simply Photography
Starbucks (Brier Creek)
Sweet Tomatoes
Total Wine
Tropical Smoothie Cafe

…and a HUGE thanks to Melissa Poole and family, who pulled together all the raffle, silent auction and food donations.

News & Observer religion report Yonat Shimron came out to the benefit – here’s an excerpt from her article in Monday’s paper:

Zacharias, who grew up in a Georgia single-wide, is not out to debunk Christianity. She is a believer, and her book is laced with stories of people who, she thinks, best convey a genuine Christian message. Hugh Hollowell, who founded Love Wins, is one of them.

A former Marine who gave up a successful career as a financial planner, Hollowell now devotes his life to helping homeless people in Moore Square. He is one of the people featured in Zacharias’ book, a collection of 19 stories.

About 100 people – including four or five homeless people – showed up at the Meymandi Theatre at the Murphey School for a silent auction and raffle to benefit that ministry. They listened to Hollowell and Zacharias propound their view of the Christian message – one of neighborly love.

Read the full article here.

(Word on the street is that a second article focused primarily on Love Wins is in the works…so stay tuned!)

Without further ado, let’s get to the exciting stuff ~

Love Wins Benefit Party on 3/21
The Love Wins family invites YOU to celebrate with us the evening of Sunday, March 21! We are are becoming a self-standing, legal nonprofit, which will provide some perks we couldn’t receive before. Plus, Love Wins is featured in the newly released book, Will Jesus Buy Me A Double-Wide?, by Karen Spears Zacharias (and she’s coming to the party!).

• What: Food, fellowship, live music, swag, raffle prizes…did we say party?!
• When: March 21, 7-10pm
• Where: 224 Polk Street in Raleigh (Meymandi Theatre at the Murphey School, a.k.a. Burning Coal Theater’s downtown performance space)
• More Details Here

(We are in need of some help with supplies, promotion, etc., so stay tuned for more info about that soon.)

Love Wins on Facebook
We’re finally on! You can now find us at www.facebook.com/LoveWinsMinistries. Thanks to the many of you who have already become a fan…tell your friends!

…And lastly, here’s an excerpt of a review of Karen’s new book, Will Jesus Buy Me A Double-Wide?:

One of the most heart-wrenching stories was about a Marine who feeds the homeless, not so he can preach the gospel, but because it is the gospel. The poem “Being Homeless” by Hugh Hollowell will open your eyes as it speaks truth where assumptions run rampant.

Read the Review | Learn More About the Book

Leading up to that first Christmas, Mary wanted:

The lowly lifted up.
The mighty humbled.
The proud scattered.
The hungry filled.
The rich to experience lack.
God’s mercy.

Probably not a bad place to start. What do you want out of Christmas this year?

About a month ago, Chad lent Mike his digital camera for a few weeks, to see what he would come up with. He took some awesome pics!  As a result,  we have made Mike the unofficial, official photographer for Love Wins Ministries. We are processing and editing some pics he has shot for us, but meanwhile here are some from the Fourth. In the future, we will give Mike his own author account here, so his pictures will be their own post.

More writeup on the Fourth is forthcoming (no pun intended).

Three hours with people who did  not look like me, who don’t have homes like mine, who don’t have jobs like mine, and who don’t believe the same way I do. I spent three hours with people who care about me not because of material things, but because I am their friend and the feeling is mutual.

Love Wins sponsored a community cookout and the poor spent time together. Some of us were poor in spirit, some poor in money, some poor in friends, but we all gathered to celebrate the freedom we have as citizens of our country. There weren’t any prayers prayed, there weren’t any invitations given, we just showed up to love and be loved. I guess like we like to say, Love Wins.

Note from Hugh: This is the first of several posts that will talk about what happened on the 4th of July in Moore Square. Pictures are coming soon.