CULLMAN, Ala. – Volunteers stood along Main Avenue Southwest and U.S. Highway 278 Wednesday, Dec 20, waving signs making passers-by aware they were welcome to come pick up a free, hot, homemade holiday meal. Devil Dawgs Concessions food truck owners Joe and Pat Brown, along with their team of volunteers from Daystar Church, handed out an astonishing 493 boxed meals as they shared the love of Christ the best way they know how – through loving their neighbors and filling empty stomachs around the holidays as they have been for the last seven years.
Devil Dawgs Concessions has been distributing food plates since 2013. Joe Brown recalled a story from the first holiday meal. “It was our first year doing it, and one man came up early and asked for a plate,” he said. “I was in the back smoking turkeys and I was irritated, so I snapped back ‘Give me six minutes and 37 seconds!’”
Later that night, he said, his wife Pat Brown asked why his time had been so specific. It wasn’t until a few days later that Joe picked up his Bible and flipped to Mark 6:37, which says, “You give them something to eat.” The Browns believe that was God blessing their endeavors, and their business has flourished in the wake. Occasionally, the Browns are asked “Why? Why give away free food when things are already so expensive?”
Joe Brown spoke softly with an air of authenticity, “The simple answer can be summed up in one word: love. In Mark, chapter 6 is the story of Jesus feeding the crowd of 5,000 men and their families. It is interesting to note that before Jesus taught them and before everyone got hungry, the Word says that as soon as Jesus stepped off the boat and saw the crowd, He had compassion for them. He loved them. It was because of His love for them and now for us that we want to show our love AND His love to others by giving.”
He continued, “In the same biblical account, Jesus says to His disciples in verse 37, ‘You feed them.’ We, as His current-day disciples, take these words and do all that we can in our community as Jesus’ hands and feet, as a show of His love, and feed those around us. We are blessed to partner with Daystar Church and LM Plumbing so we can do it at this time of year in celebration of Christ coming to Earth for us. God has so graciously blessed us and we want to, in turn, be a blessing to others and thereby give God the glory that He so deeply deserves. We don’t do this for publicity or gain – we do this out of love.”
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