Joyful Heartache

Right now I’m listening to a Christian radio station the song(s) that are on presently are ones in which speak of the pain in a life. One of the songs was about losing a loved one... called something to the way of “When Superheroes Die”. The reason these few songs are currently playing is because someone has recently come to such lose and let the DJ know about it. While the songs were playing I was reading a bit about the Compassion child I recently decided to sponsor. His name is Pritom Sarker Porash and is about six years old, He’s from Bangladesh and the Lord loves him just as much as He loves you! It’s seems it is becoming less common for me to focus on matters such as these (not necessarily a bad thing) but for some reason our Lord has helped me to see such a beauty in the painful things in life. I think of that now as I consider the lady in Edmonton area who admitted her pain over someone very close passing away on her and as I think of this boy Pritom and his family.
Why is it that I find such beauty in the painful/hard things of life? Well there are a number of reasons I could guess for such a thing but let me first share a couple of verses with you I’ve been enlightened to lightly. “...But let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position; and let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away...” ~Ja. 1:9-10. At first these verses are fairly confusing but looking a bit deeper helps bring out the meaning. It is an “upside down kingdom” in which we have been adopted into as God’s children and yet so often even as believers we get off track. If we were to write these verses it would be more like, “He who is living pretty good (has wealth, great relationships, and the such) let him rejoice for what he has; he who doesn’t have so much in life let him bag the Lord for mercy.” We didn’t write the Biblical words though, James did and he did so through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
To help understand what is being said here look towards the start of the chapter, James says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trails, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” ~Ja. 2-4. Why is it that we are to rejoice in our trials? Why should the one of “humble circumstances” glory in his position? Why should the rich be thankful for that which humbles him? For this reason, true and enduring riches are not found in things or in what the world seeks. True and enduring riches are found in the Lord and being near to Him. As we allow those hurtful/hard situations and times in our life to draw us ever so nearer to our King we will find a beauty in the Lord like we have never known before and more and more our hearts will be satisfied with little else.
So then it is not so much the pain/hurt in life that I find beauty in but rather the wondrous riches the Lord draws out of such. If you are hurting right now, for whatever reason, may you be reminded of the beauty which the Lord is trying to create within you and let Him do His work. If you only know those who are hurting this day believe God for them and comfort them with His love.

"Wild" Boys, Amazingly View

So finally I got a picture of where I work! (Left) It is the home covered in trees right beside the river. We see some interesting things go by on the river every now and again (i.e. a Jet Boat). The field to the left of the picture is the group home's property as well it is used for baseball, soccer, golf... but most commonly for walking laps when the boys misbehave (it a good size). In between the rows of trees and the road are a bunch of dirt jumps the boys made (I haven't yet seen a better hick version of them). This is actually the older boys home where I've been working since the beginning of April, it is nicknamed "Riverside".

This is the main home (for younger boys 8-12), we call it "Forestview" (Right). It is just up the hill (to the right of the last pic) from the other group home. It has a hockey rink and a great sledding hill among other things. All the bush in in front has trails through it which are great for Skidooing and other adventures. What a beautiful place out in the country! Much better then what most group homes have to offer (many are in the city).

I sure hope you appreciate these pictures because I sure took a wild trek up some cliffs to get it! Along cliff walls covered in wasps, through thorns and brutal branches, infested by mosquitoes (I'm not joking at all! It is quite the journey... actually one we take with the boys the odd time)...the view is great though!

I've got a few more pictures I'd love to share... I'll do that later probably (although I'll be posting them on my Facebook account soon as well). It is a blessing from the Lord to work where I am, there are those tough days to be sure but there is something so much better about working in this type of capacity for people rather then bending a piece of tin! Somthing the Lord seems to be pressing in my life lightly is the need and blessing to think of others and serve them with my life, actions, words and prayers. That takes a lot of work!

I Love Natives

Well let's see how this one goes... I just read a comment from a friend of mine that she recently sat thorough a long meeting with those who do not share her worldview! That is quite interesting as yesterday and today I was in a course for my work in the group home. It was an Aboriginal Cultural Awareness course and now that I'm done it I've completed the course requirements for my job (until the upgrades are needed). It is kind of neat to take these courses aside from the length of them and the times you feel like sleeping. One of the things that makes them neat is that you are able to talk with people who share much the same kind of job as you from various different organizations across the city of Edmonton and surrounding areas.

Sometimes you met pretty nifty people sometimes you thank God your not working at other homes. It helps me to be thankful for the home I work in as although I don't make as much $$ as the other people I can remain decently sane after a twelve hour shift. On top of that is the blessing of working in a situation where Christianity and it's standards are out in the open and we seek to put into what we do the truths of Scripture. This makes for a much higher standard of expectation for both staff and "clients" (a.k.a. the boys), it also provides a clear direction on how we are to do things.

Let me get back to the course I just finished... I need to be careful here... let me first of all say I appreciate the course for the knowledge it gave me (and others) about the Native culture and history. What I didn't appreciate about the course is the that the teacher seemed to teach from a type of resentment and strong basis (not that she doesn't like white people but she was against much of what the government did/is doing). Actually she (and others) ended up getting very upset at me for some questions I asked... I ended up feeling like everyone thought I was racist (which I definitely didn't mean to portray). Others in the class (who didn't know me) didn't understand why these people were so frazzled... I suppose those insecurities/hidden wounds just happened to lead them to the wrong conclusion before I was even done asking a question. How many times does that happen to us?! We jump to conclusions and in actions or just in our minds we rip someone to pieces for something that don't even believe. Anyway aside from all this I learned to have a better appreciation for the Native culture.

I was saddened for the way in which these instructors seemed to talk however... Here is someone who is involved in child/youth care and to some extent has made something a little more from her life... What does she do? In subtle ways she teaches people that all the problems of her life, but more so the Aboriginal people in general, are the fault of others... The government did this... the people are not on a 100% organic diet (took some blame for the drinking problem), White people introduced all these new things into their culture... Please don't get me wrong I'm sure many of these things have some truth to them and they likely have much to do with the beginnings of many problems among the native people...

I love native people (as I do anyone)! That is why I point out to you a lesson I learnt both though experience and through Scripture... If you don't own up to your own problems you will seriously hinder your ability to progress in life in a meaningful way! That is, we need to point at ourselves as the problem not someone or something else. There is a whole lot more people then just some Natives who need to learn that lesson (i.e. Freud). Scripture/God honors not the prefect but the humble... those who admit their need (not their problem), people who take responsibility for their problems and sins. In fact, as I have recently learned, one of the Seven Teaching of the Native culture is just that, "Humility" along with "Honesty" and "Truth". You want the truth... listen to Eze. 18:20, "The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him."

We are responsible for the lives we live! On Judgement day there is no such thing as the blame game... The scapegoat was for those who recognized their need for it, not for people to avoid understanding their need for it. So too with Christ's death on the cross, it's was done for those who would recognize their need for the salvation brought through Christ, not for people to be washed of their responsibility. Here stands the honest truth and the need for Humility which is honored among the native people, along with many others.

Herein the hope, Eze. 18:21-23...
"But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"

and John 6:28-29...

"Then [the disciples] asked [Jesus], 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'"

P.s. In case you where wondering this is not what the teacher got frazzled about

The Mighty Hands of God

“Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” ~Ps. 40:4
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?... Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” ~Ps. 42:2, 11
“Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.” ~Ps. 44:26
“My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king…” ~Ps. 45:1a
“You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” ~Ps. 45:7
“God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble… The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” ~Ps. 46:1, 11
As summed up in these verses the last little while devotions seems to have run a theme, at least within my heart, of trusting in the Lord. These are times of seemingly greater struggle and falling yet the Lord through all of that desires and asks me to trust in Him. To trust Him for His grace and forgiveness, to trust Him for my desires and passions. To trust Him to provide the relationships and various other social, psychological, and physical needs I have. Extending off that comes the need to be one who seeks the needs of others, to reach out and not worry about people reaching into me. In Ps. 44 the psalmist writes a fairly interesting reality of the Lord allowing hardship to fall even while the people are trusting in the Lord. The response is to keep trusting, keep believing in the power and unfailing love of the Lord. As he says, “Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.”
Today that theme continued as I read through Ps. 45 and 46… I love the “poetry” of 45:1 and the truth of verse 7. This latter verse shows how as we seek to live right lives, even in the midst of a dark place where there is little companionship towards that end, we are set apart by God. Not set apart so as to boast, nor necessarily in how perfect our lives are/look; rather as I seek to know the Lord more and more, closer and closer, I’m set apart in the area of joy. Many of the circumstances may be the same but I’m different in the factor of trusting and knowing the One who is in control of it all. I can know and feel the safety of God’s mighty hand around and upon me as I walk in the midst of a battlefield.

In other "news" yesterday was really great for me, the morning I wasted but it was all pulled together in the afternoon. My friend Tim and I went Bowling, talked with some "Church of Latter-day Saints" (Mormon) guys... that was interesting we'll probably be in touch again. We also walked around the Legislature, out for a Mongolian Supper and then played pool with others (i.e. Conal). Tim also put up with me stopping at a place I used to live and walking around telling him all kinds of stories, great friend or what :)

More Blogging!!

Hey there. Just thought I'd let you all know about a new blog I set up specifically for sharing and enforcing some of the things I'm learning... I'll likely stick to one topic at a time... Right now I'm working on a book about Teenage Guys, basically understanding them and developing strategies to help them in this critical time. Your more then welcome to join me on my quest for greater knowledge and hopefully in turn greater effectiveness in these areas! I wound love if it even turned into a type of discussion through e-mail or whatever other means of communication. The blog address is http://whatimlearning-pablo.blogspot.com/ or you can at any time simply click on the link at the top of the page.