Thursday, December 13, 2007

Meaningful Words (12/13/07)

As I reflect back on this month a couple poems and a favorite Christmas carol come to mind:
Winter
Snow has fallen and ice has formed.
Making everything more beautiful than before.
Yet in this beauty there is a coldness.
As with many beauties there is a bitterness.
For many a beauty will cross His path.
But few shall He choose.

In such a time as this
His Chosen One was born.
And in such a time as this
His Chosen One was torn.

Torn for my cold.
And torn for yours.
He was torn to make us whole.

Immanuel
Son of God, Immanuel
Tonight You came with us to dwell

You came to show us how to live
You came to us eternal life to give

Child of the King, You came from above
To teach us the true meaning of love

Took on our flesh, took on our sin
Our earthly burden, You took within

By Your hands, our wounds were healed
With Your blood our hearts are sealed

Teach us this day
To walk in Your way

Almighty Father, watch over us
Protect us from our darkness

Holy Spirit, Who dwells within
Keep us this day from all sin

Jesus, Redeemer, Lover, and Friend
To us Your embrace now extend

As we gather with our family
As we gather with our friends

Your love guides our hearts, as we amble blindly
While we hold hands, Your grace descends

And for those of us, who spend this season alone
As our spirits within us groan

Remind us, I pray, that You are always there.
Remind us, O Lord, that You always care.

The road we walk is treacherous
But You O Lord are ever with us

Give us this day our daily bread
Watch over us as we go to bed.

A-men.

Little Drummer Boy
Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,
On my drum?

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.
- Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone

Thank you each and all so much for all your continued prayers, support and encouragement as I work through this transitional period in my life. My prayer for each of you is the same prayer I ask you to pray for me as I continue to work through this time of discernment: “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-21)

Sharing My Life: Simplicity (12/13/07)

As I work on reconstructing my life these days, one of my disciplines has become simplicity. I want to keep the amount of things going on in my life to a minimum, so I can have more time to spend being with God and the ones I care about. That way the things I do can flow out of my relationships, instead of the two vying for my time as they often have.

It’s also interesting that this desire to be simple should happen around this holiday season, when everything normally has a habit of getting busy, busy. 2000 years ago, Jesus came into this world very simply. He did not come in the power and glory of a conquering king like many of His people might have expected Him to. Instead, He came as a small, fragile, helpless baby and was laid in a manger, normally the feeding trough for animals. In this way, He came into the world as a humble savior sent to share His love with the world through His life (John 13:1-5), to save it through His death (John 3:16-18) and to transform it through His resurrection (John 11:25).

Life Update (12/13/07): Step by Step

I have now moved into and settled in a bit into my new place. My new address there is 619 19th Avenue NE, Minneapolis MN 55418. They don’t have a land-line in the house, so you can call me on my mobile phone which continues to be 651-303-9675. Unfortunately I did not get the job I interviewed for with Touchstone, but I was able to get my old job with Accessible Space, Inc. (ASI) back. I am currently working with them as a Resident Assistant (RA) helping a few of the same clients I did when I was working with them previously. They are also setting me up with a couple clients that I can work with as an Independent Living Skills assistant (ILS). That means I help those clients work through things like getting groceries, setting up budgets, balancing their checkbooks and things like that. It’s not my “dream job” but it will help me pay the bills as I work through this discernment period with God.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

Fresh Poetry (12/01/2007)

Who Am I
Who am I , Lord,
that You call me child
Who am I, Lord,
that You call me servant
Who am I, Lord,
That You have redeemed me and called me Your Own
Who are You, Lord
that I should call You Father
Who are You, Lord
that I should call You Master
Who are You Lord that You have redeemed me and called me Your Own.
I am Yours
You are Mine
That is all I need to know.

3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believeth in Him, shall not die, but have EVERLASTING LIFE!!!
Oh God, my God
You gave Your one and only Son that I could live
Yet what have I to give
You know my heart
You know my life
You know me
better than the world
better even than I know myself
You see my good days
and my bad ones
You see all that I have accomplished
and
all I have destroyed
All that I could have been
All that I am
All that I ever could be
and will be one day, if only . . .
You see it all
and
You call it worthy
Yet not only me
Not just for my sake alone
You died for
each
and
all
for everybody and everyone
Not one was left in the dark
Not one was left without hope
For in Your death we all find life
In Your life we each find hope overflowing.