"J" DOLLAR

Fortunate enough to receive one, then don't spend it. Tuck it away in a safe place.

Now, here is how you get your blessing. The next J Dollar you receive, pass it on to the next person, in need of a blessing and instruct them to do the same.

K.E. Dobson

Mon, Sep. 18, 2006

I don't get too attached to dollar bills. For one thing, they never hang around long enough for me to get to know them.

Here today, gone ... usually later today.

But, thanks to Larry Myers and Kenneth Dobson, I've been paying more attention to every Founding Father George W. in my wallet.

I've started taking note of the serial numbers. Here's one: J40029907C. I've earmarked it for lunch, but that's subject to change. No pun intended.

The numbers are not important to Dobson and Myers. Both are retired Macon men who have devoted part of their lives the past few years to helping others.

The "J" is what means something to them.

"That's a Jesus Dollar," said Dobson.

A larger "J" appears inside a Federal Reserve Bank seal about an inch and a half to the left of Mr. Washington's rather prominent nose.

Myers and Dobson take every Jesus Dollar that comes their way and use it as part of their own personal ministry. They have helped families with hospital expenses, purchased groceries for people who are out of work and stretched those bills far enough to help a stranded couple get home to Columbus, Ohio.

They once helped a struggling family buy a washer and dryer. They donated money to a food bank in Minnesota.

"Somebody somewhere is always needing help," said Myers.

Myers first learned of "Jesus Dollars" after reading a story in "His Voice," a Christian news publication based in Warner Robins. He said there was a story of a young man with cancer who asked for his $20 allowance in $1 bills. He then pulled out the ones with a "J" at the beginning of the serial number and designated them as "Jesus Dollars."

"We can't ever spend them on ourselves," said Dobson. "I was on my way to help somebody, so I thought I could use a few Jesus Dollars to put gas in my truck."

At the pumps, though, Dobson felt the guilt of a telegram from the man upstairs.

"God was telling me those Jesus Dollars were not for me," he said. "I need to use those to help as many people as I can."

Sometimes they find the people who need help. Other times the people who need help find them. They also work closely with their church, Living Waters Fellowship on Thomaston Road.

They don't know the odds of a Jesus Dollar floating their way. It's all random.

"You can get 20 one-dollar bills and only have one Jesus Dollar," Myers said. "But the other day I went to Wal-Mart and got three Jesus Dollars back in change."

They have a network of friends and neighbors who collect the Jesus Dollars for them. Several businesses, such as Hamrick's Barber Shop in Lizella, also keep their eyes on the lookout for J bills.

Myers recently returned from a horseshoe tournament in Hull, Ga. He left with 90 Jesus Dollars and came back with one. That's because it went to help with pledges for a cancer walk.

He got his lone Jesus Dollar in his change at a Burger King on the way home. So he started a new fund.

Dobson helped out two men in Warner Robins who lost their jobs and were having difficulty paying their rent.

Now that they're back on their feet, the two men have been contributing their own J bills to Dobson.

Those Jesus Dollars have a way of coming back around.

Reach Gris at 744-4275 or egrisamore@macontel.com. Visit his blog, "Daily Gris," at www.macon.com.