Dear Friends and Family:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! The time of year is here once again where we celebrate all that is good and great…and the Lord has sure been both in my life this past year. I would like to begin by thanking each and everyone of your for your steadfast prayers during this time in my life. I arrived here in Colorado on Saturday, August 19th and have been loving it ever since. I have made some wonderful friends, re-established some friendships and overall have been blessed by so much out here.
I started this journey west over a year ago when I recommitted my life to the Lord after seven years of not actively being in Communion with Him. He has surely carried me through this time of repentance and forgiveness with unfathomable love and kindness. In July of 2005 I moved back home with the folks for a time to gather my thoughts and life and get finances back in order. This time spent close to loved ones was a blessed time of renewal and rest in my life, especially spiritually. I started attending Brandywine Valley Baptist Church with my sister, Jen, and made some lasting friendships that I look forward to seeing grow, even with such a great distance between us. In August 2005 I made the decision to re-enter my field of Outdoor Education and began quickly pursuing the notion of graduate school. I visited the University of Utah in January of this year and had a wonderful time reminiscing with friends and skiing the great snow of Utah. Unfortunately, graduate school did not work out and so I started looking for work in Utah and Colorado. After a thrilling 5 day road trip across country and a jam packed Saturn, I arrived in Gunnison, CO, ready to face the world.
I have been with San Juan Youth Works as a Wilderness Instructor since August 21st. SJYW is a 90 wilderness therapy program for at risk young men between the ages of 13 and 17 in the state of Colorado. It is a challenging, rewarding, tiring, stressful, awesome job where I am able to touch the lives of some lost young men in this world. The schedule is great, with 8 days on and 6 days off and a two month sabbatical from the kids during the winter months. This gives me time to rest, visit with friends, enjoy the Colorado winter, and catch up on things in my personal life. You never know when I will call and say I am going to be in town during this time, so be prepared for a guest.
As I mentioned before, this is the time of year to remember all the Goodness and Greatness that our Lord is in our lives. He has taught me so much over the past 18 months about who He is and who I am in an everlasting relationship with Him. I have found a great little church here in Gunnison and have made some great friends there. We are currently reading a book called Driven By Eternity by John Bevere. The one thing that I have learned from this book so far (and the most important lesson in my life so far, which is why I want to share it with you) is that we all have an eternal destiny. What is yours? What is mine? How is the life that you are living today and for the rest of your life going to affect your life eternal? Our Heavenly Father wants to be in lasting communion with us. My life for seven years is a picture of the eternal life that one can have without this communion with the Lord, Our God. It can be either eternally lonely and heartbreaking separate from Our Creator or eternally joyful and awesome with the Giver of Life. Ultimately it comes down to Grace – the undeserved gift that our Father has given us on the Cross over 2000 years ago. Do I accept this gift, forsake my self, pick up my own Cross, carry it and live my life accordingly or do I deny the One who Redeemed me and live my life according to that decision? He is the Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life. No one can enter the Father’s Kingdom except through Him.
The Lord has been so good to me during this time in my life and I look forward to hearing what Fruit your own life has been producing. In the meantime, would you please pray for the following areas in my life:
- May the Lord continue to bless me by surrounding me with those that will carry towards the Lord and not away from him.
- May the Lord continue to have His hand in the relationships that I have far away.
- May the Lord continue to watch over those loved ones back in Delaware that I have left behind, especially my Grandmother.
- May the Lord continue to have His hand in my personal life, financially, emotionally, and spiritually.
- May the Lord continue to heal me as I continue to forsake my past and battle with the temptations of this World.
- May the Lord continue to use me for His Glory and not my own.
- May the Lord continue to direct my Life for His Will and not my own.
- May the Lord continue to keep me focused on His Grace and the Gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.
- May the Lord continue to assist me as I declare my Dependence on Him.
- May the Lord continue to use me as a vessel to declare His Message to the World by living my Life according to His plan.
Thank you again for all your prayers and support and I look forward to hearing from you soon. If you ever find yourself in my lil’ corner of the world, please let me know. I would love to share this with you.
Lovingly His Faithful Servant,
Chas
No comments:
Post a Comment