a prayer

love this one...

"Almighty and eternal God,
so draw my heart to you
so guide my mind
so fill my imagination
so control my will
that I may be completely devoted to you.
Then use me as you will
and always to your glory
and the welfare of your people
through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen."

 diggin the songs "I'm Free" by the Psalters and "Jesus" by Welcome Wagon. check em ouuutt!


-Snow

further thoughts on rest and how God is God

Lately I have been reading Job 38. It is God answering Job after all the shit that went down, and Job NEVER spoke out against God. He lost everything in one year of his life. Hence the justified use of the word shit. 

This story centers me so much when I am frustrated with my season of darkness and limited encounters with the Lord who is my everything. I long for Him and yet I cannot sense him easily. I know this is a season of formation for my FAITH. My senses are truly suspended. No longer can I rely on goosebumps and the light poetry of easy psalms and pop worship songs. Sometimes I feel stuck here, pushing on a boulder that I know I will never be able to move. He must do it. 

Once I know that it must be Him, it is a pleasant surrender of my own strength and my ants-in-pants strategies of how to make things go my way. I release it to him in rest and trust, and sometimes this has to happen multiple times a day. 

Generation of grown up children...

Here is a poem I wrote recently talking about my desires to have Jesus and only Jesus.

Let's go on a walk through my hopes and dreams, fears and failures.

This is a note to challenge. this isn't fact, this isn't completely my belief. Read and think about why you  do the things you do, and if they don't align with Christ, CHANGE IT.

enjoy... 

Right now everyone is telling me.

You need to grow up.

Apparently a beard doesn’t qualify as ‘growing up’.

Agreed btw…

Ok so I grow up then what’s next?

Get a better job.

Ok so I get a better job then what’s next?

Get a perfect girlfriend/fiancé/wife.

Ok so I get a perfect girlfriend/fiancé/wife then what’s next?

Buy a house.

Ok so I buy a nice two story house, then what’s next?

Well have kids of course.

So I have kids, three beautiful kids, then what’s next?

My wife stays home, I have work 8:30 to 5:25. I come home, traffic is pretty bad. 6:35…late for dinner. Macaroni and beans and weanies (perfect). I am frustrated. I have already had a tough monotonous day and I come home to the same schedule of eating, cleaning the dishes b/c my wife cooked, helping kiddies with hmwk, watch Parenthood on tv, and get in bed just before the clock strikes 11:15 so I can get up to do the same thing over tmrw, w/ maybe a variation of the tv show and the main course.

When will I ever break out of this?

I have heard people’s answers… “never, once you get in it is hard to get out.”

So again I ask. When will I ever break out of this?

“Now.”

The answer I hear in my head.

So I hear everyone telling me to grow up. Grow up to do what?

Become comfy and live a normal life?

Seems more like a prison than the American dream.

I refuse to settle.

That can’t be the answer… “grow up.”

Grow deeper maybe? Grow closer maybe? Grow intimate maybe?

Do I need money? Yes.

Do I need a job? Yes.

Do I need all these things? Yes, to a certain point.

But what is the end all?

All these things will rust, and gather dust, and be nullified when we get to the kingdom anyways.

So what should I be doing right now?

The little passionate boy trapped in a man’s body trying to get out, but being told he can’t, he must grow up. He must stay hidden.

Should I…

Getting that perfect job lined up?

Making arrangements for a future relationship?

Start recording my favorite tv shows?

Have a perfect plan together to answer the people at church who ask, “what are going to do next?”

Is it ok that I don’t have it all together?

            that I don’t feel ready to wear a suit everyday 9-5?

            that I won’t settle for comfort, or even your comfort knowing that I will be ok?

            that I may look foolish?

I will tell you one thing people.

I am here to confound the wise.

Change the world.

Challenge the comfortable.

Light a fire under the complacent.

Speak wisdom to the elders. Elihu did, why can’t I?

Please do NOT look down on me because I am young.

My generation is just waiting for people to believe in them.

My generation is just waiting for people to love them as they are, as God created them.

My generation is just waiting for people to speak life into them.

My generation is just waiting to walk in that childlike faith.

My generation is about to change the world and you are asking us to grow up?

 Why don’t you start asking us to grow deeper with the almighty

                                                      grow closer

                                                      grow intimate

And leave it at that…

I think our heavenly father knows what He wants for us.

He knows we have 30 + g’s in college debt to pay of.

He knows we have lights that need to be on, showers that need taken, electricity needed to be used.

Please fathers and mothers. Mentors and friends. Lovers and haters.

Point us to Christ.

Not to the overwhelming and suffocating mountain of necessities and musts.

Please fathers and mothers. Mentors and friends. Lovers and haters.

Point us to resting in the almighty.

Not resting in a fat/phat paycheck.

Please fathers and mothers. Mentors and friends. Lovers and haters.

Point us to the only thing/person/lover that can really meet our needs physically… spiritually… emotionally.

Not a white picket fence.

Please fathers and mothers. Mentors and friends. Lovers and haters.

We need you to show us that you trust and believe in our ability to walk with Christ.

Not our ability to knock out an interview or apply for fifteen jobs w/ fear in our eyes.

My human nature makes me want to apologize right now…

In case I offended anyone, because it is me natural tendency to want everyone to like me.

But no, I won’t apologize. Stop pointing us to worldly answers. Worldly comforts.

Point us to the one who owns EVERYTHING, not the one who owns 120 shares of Apple’s stock.

Point us to the one who cares more about our EVERYTHING, not the one who cares of how I can meet their needs.

Point us to the great “I AM”

Point us to Emmanuel- God with us.

Point us to Yeshua, Jehovah Jirah, Abba father, lover.

I will put God first.

He is my necessity my life.

Not a guarantee of a job, or a one year lease, not a comfy relationship, a nice church to rest in to escape all my crap, not even the comfort of parents who love and adore you.

All these things are amazing.

But they aren’t Jesus.

I need Jesus.

Think about it.

-Ryan Gunnarson-

Rest

Hey guys. this is cool.

Lately there has been some conversations about resting in God... like how do we do that?

Trusting Him enough to simply sit down and rest... this can be difficult, especially for those wired to be leaders and activists (which it seems like a lot or maybe even all of us are). What would it be like if we only sat and waited for a while? 

Just wanted to open up this can of wormies. Maybe I will share more later. What are your experiences with and/or thoughts on resting in God?