Canasian Contemplations

D o you ever have moments in your life where you finally feel vindicated in your hopes and prayers to God? I would hope that particular question is rhetorical for you, and that with pure honesty you can yes because there is nothing quite like knowing your perseverance having paid off. It is not simply the joy of knowing that you have aligned yourself with God's will in your walk, but also the reminder that God is still intimately intertwined with your daily life. Personally I find it hard to hope and have been criticized for the lack of hope I have at times. Perhaps guarded by what I deem to be realistic expectations or being jaded from personal experiences or whatever the case may be, it has definitely been a challenge and steps of faith for me to understand and explore what it is exactly to hope. To hope beyond reason and believe and to trust that a God who is beyond my capabilities and understanding, desires for me to attain certain attributes and experiences in my life.

  They say a picture is worth a thousand words and much can be inferred, assumed, and unraveled from a single picture.  This may seem like a simple picture at first; the aftermath of my wife making a gaffe in the kitchen while attempting to make me a smoothie. But context will always give better insight into situations.  Even though this picture was only a couple of months ago, I can look back and see in this picture a tipping point in an extremely troubling time in both of our lives.  Despair, frustration, grief, anger, sadness, disbelief, disappointment and so much more that I cannot put into words flow through this image. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV I cannot speak for my wife, of her experience and feelings in regards to all of life's recent lunacies

Just as I am, without one plea But that Thy blood was shed for me And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee O Lamb of God, I come! I come Just as I am, though tossed about With many a conflict, many a doubt Fighting and fears within without O Lamb of God, I come, I come Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot O Lamb of God, I come, I come Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind Sight, riches, healing of the mind Yea, all I need, in Thee to find O Lamb of God, I come, I come! Just as I am, Thou wilt receive Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve Because Thy promise I believe O Lamb of God, I come, I come Ive been meditating on this hymn for about a month, suffice to say this year has been hard and difficult in more than one aspect but its forced me to step back and look at myself spiritually and reassess understand what I am content with and what I am seeking. The one thing I am finding immense comfort and joy in is that regar

I was listening to a podcast recently and it was talking about spring, and how spring spurs on changes within life. Flowers bloom, animals come out of hibernation, days are longer and for the most part, we change our routine up. We have spring forward, spring cleaning, spring break etc. Change can good, it is a necessity and an inevitability of life whether or not we desire or seek it out, it is as consistent as the flow of time and it is a fruitless effort to try and stop change from happening. This is my thought, that despite the steady river of change that is life itself for better or worse, it is a comforting thought that God is consistent in His characteristics. He is forever merciful, gracious, kind, loving and yet powerful, just, righteous and so much more. It is quite a remarkable and stabling thought to sit back and consider, to look back at life events and see God weaving in and out of the good and bad, but also to look at the events where you still can't see God an