Meaningful Words (3/29/08)

I also find myself reminded of a couple of my poems:

Forgiven
The Father:
I have already forgiven your sin.
Why do you bring it before Me again?
I have already washed you clean.
Why do you insist on playing in the dirt?
Accept My forgiveness.
Receive My cleansing.
Why do you cling to that which I have already released you from?
Why do you remain in the dungeon?
The chains have already been broken and the key thrown away.
The gates of iron have been flung wide open
And yet still you cower in this cage of your own making
The light has been shown forth
Yet you prefer the darkness
What more can I do for you, My child?
How else can I bid you come?
The table has already been set and the dinner bell is ringing
Is it possible you have not heard Me calling?
Answer Me and I will give you the desires of your heart.
I am your Father and have always been faithful.
Is this not the truth?
Listen to your heart, My child.
You know Who I am.
You have always known.

His Child:
Come unto me, O Desire of my heart!
Beckon me unto Your Feast, O Satisfier of my deepest hunger!
Dance with Me, O Romancer of my soul!
Set me beside the still waters, O Author of my peace!
Run with me, O my Ever True Companion
Guide my steps, O Victorious Winner of the race set before me!
You Who began this good work in me,
You are my Faithful Father
And You will finish what You have started!
Yes, You will finish what you have started!

Let Go
The Father:
I invite you, My child, to let go.
Let go of your need to worry,
for it really does you no good.
Let go of your need to control,
for you really have none.
Let go of your need for a plan,
for I am all you really ever need!
I invite you, My child, to let Me in.
Let Me into your concerns,
for I can bear your load.
Let Me into your life,
for I do know what I am doing.
Let Me into your heart,
for I am the One you were created for.
I invite you, My child,
to know the truth.
Know that I care for you and I will see to your needs.
Know that I am taking care of them even now.
Know that I am Your Faithful Father.

His Child:
Lord, help me to trust when I don’t want to trust
Lord, help me to love when I don’t want to love
Lord, help to give, when I don’t want to give
To give my life to You.
For You, O Lord, are the Lover of my soul
And You, O Lord, are faithful
Yes, You O Lord, will watch over me
And care for me better than I ever could.

Thank you each and all so much for all your continued prayers, patience, support and encouragement as I continue work through this transitional period in my life. My prayer for each of you is the same one I mentioned earlier: "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:3-6).

Sharing My Life (3/29/08): Take things as they come

Some of you know I have begun to take a recovery approach to working through my personal issues, as well as to my life as a whole. One of the things God is continually teaching me as I take this approach is to take things as they come. Living life moment by moment and day by day is helping me to worry less and trust more. In the past, I have expended much energy on trying to figure out where God is leading me and to get there as soon as possible. Yet, now I am finding, things come and go much smoother if let go of my need to control and take hold of God’s guidance for this moment and day. I often find my increasing one on one work as an ILS worker to be quite challenging, yet at the same time I feel a peace about the challenge, knowing that it is God Who brought this challenge into my life, that He has given me all the experience and knowledge I need to complete the tasks before me and that He will be with me all the way through them.

It all kind of reminds me of Jesus when He encourages His followers "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34) and the wise words of Paul the apostle, when he affirmed the members of the church in Philippi "that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." I can feel God’s words in these passages coming true in my life as I work to follow Him more closely each day. Funny, that reminds me of a song from one of my favorite musicals Godspell: Day by day, day by day, O dear Lord, three things I pray, to see Thee more clearly, love Thee more dearly, follow Thee more dearly day by day . . ."

Lfe Update (3/29/08) Still taking things slow

I apologize for the long delay in writing you all. Though I continue to work at keeping things simple and easy, life, I have found, works equally hard to keep it all complicated. Currently, I am still living at 619 19th Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418 and working for Accessible Space Incorporated as both a Resident Assistant (RA) and an Independent Living Skills (ILS) worker. Although recently, my ILS work is increasing and my RA work is decreasing. That means my work is becoming much more challenging, as ILS work requires working individually with each client and their case works to access what tasks and goals they would like me to help them out with, working with them through those tasks and goals and continually re-assessing their needs and desires all along the way. Lately, I’ve really been thinking about going into counseling, so I do see this one-on-one work as good preparation.

I also just recently came back from going on a Spring Break trip down to New Orleans, LA with Christian Student Fellowship to help them out with some Katrina relief work there. It was a great time of bonding and serving. I continue to be amazed and encouraged by the enthusiasm, character and desire to grow and serve of these young people. Being with them often makes me want to re-visit my own college days and wishfully wonder what would have happened if I had done certain things differently, yet I know, for better and worse, I am who I am today due to the choices I made back then and throughout my life. I also took plenty of pictures which I will be sharing on Facebook once I work through some technical difficulties I’m having with my network filter.