April 4th, 2009, Des Moines, Iowa
We are under a winter-weather advisory through tomorrow night. I love snow as much as the next guy, but seriously?!?! This too shall pass.
I was in a meeting on Thursday night, and we were talking about our blog presence (more on this in a few sentences). Our blog hadn't been updated in over a week. One of our team members politely pointed out that it's not a blog if we don't blog regularly. He insisted that if we are going to have a blog that we need to keep it up-to-date. Mmm...this is familiar advice (yeah Roach, I'm talking to you). So here I am.
So, Thursday night...awesomeness. As some of you may know, I have the blessing and honor of helping out with a special needs ministry at my church called One Body. I have met so many amazing people through this ministry. And it has brought back my love of working with kids (see previous blog on numbness for a smidge of context on that). The father of a child we work with, to make a long story shorter, was called by God to start a village for adults with disabilities in the Des Moines area. At least, that's what he understands when he talks to God at the moment. He asked me to be a part of the team to start the initial development work.
This is quite an honor the way I see it. I find it very humbling, to help someone fulfill God's call to them. It is even cooler given how much time I spend trying to shut God's voice out of my life. I feel so awesome after spending time working on this. Not like "wow, I'm so great for giving my time to do this work." More like God just fills me up and teaches me when I'm helping out. That makes Henry Bear happy.
And since you asked, the name of this village, as of right now, will be Hope Village. Not to be confused with Lutheran Church of Hope where I attend. Hope Village is not officially connected to Lutheran Church of Hope. Spread that work, as we are already having trouble with that misconception. We are having our first informational meeting on Tuesday. At last count, we have about 130 people RSVPed to attend, and that's growing I think. Hey, that's a good thing for me to blog about. Mmm...
I have found that my desire to and following through with blogging is a great barometer of my mood. If I land here blogging, I'm feeling somewhat energized but typically still brooding over something. My brooding today isn't too bad actually. I've gotten some work done. I finished my taxes. I took a decent nap. About an average nap. Not great, but not bad. I'll take it. When I was little, I would never lay down to take a nap. Now, I'll lay down anywhere to catch some quick Zs. Ah, I'm all grown up.
I like that last time I talked about some music I've been listening to. I don't know if you did, but it's my blog, so I'm going to do it again. This time, I'll talk about a band I hadn't even heard of a month before, Paramore. There are several websites for them, but I prefer this one. They have free downloads there of their music. They seem to be geared mainly for the MTV crowd, which is certainly not a demographic I belong to anymore. But the band members are all Christian, and they are talented musicians. Several of their songs could be interpreted many ways, but the lyrics to many of their songs are beautiful examples of Christian faith. Right now, I'm digging this video the most. You should check it out.
One thing I decided, just now actually since I started this blog entry, is that I do not ask for prayers nearly enough. That might sound a bit selfish. First of all, I don't mean just on my behalf. I don't ask for prayers on others' behalf nearly enough either. But I need prayer. A lot. I have learned about this from the man who is spearheading the Hope Village above. He asks for prayer all the time, and it's awesome! So, here it goes. Please pray for:
- my friend John Dana as he leads the informational meeting for Hope Village Tuesday night at 7:00. Give him courage to speak in public, which is not something he is comfortable with. Pray that God would speak through John, so that those listening would understand God's plan for them in these efforts, whatever that may be.
- the agency I work for, and all those that work there. We have suffered job loss like so many other workplaces have. Pray that God would help those who are losing there jobs to find comfort in Him, and find employment quickly. Pray that the hurt for those who are losing their jobs and for those that remain that the pain subsides quickly. And finally, please pray that God's presence can be felt, and that we all glorify Him through these tough times in our actions, words, deeds, and thoughts.
- my continued healing from my headaches. Although they have improved greatly, I still have a while to go until I'm back to normal. Pray that if I am to continue carrying this burden, that I would gain greater understanding of how I can glorify God through this challenge.
