So as many of you know people in Minnesota lost power last week. My family has been without power since 8 pm Friday night. Yes I remember the time because there was a huge fireball shooting from the power line by my house. We we have a power line down in our front yard and no power. Thankfully we had people step up and offer us places to stay and places for our food to stay as well. What a blessing to have this. It has been very frustrating to wait for our power to come back on while the people across the street have power. Just one line down in our yard could make the difference between power and no power.
I know that people are working really hard to get us our power back and I have been so thankful to the people in our church for helping us out. Where is my power? My ultimate power is in something greater than myself. It is in my ABBA from heaven. He is the one that gives me what I need. The idea from Brennan Manning that "my abba is found of me" has rung true as the last three days have come and gone.
I pray that my power comes back on VERY soon but until then I will allow my abba to give me his power as well as the blessings he has for me.
Ryan Trosen
Monday, June 24, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
What can God do?
I have been thinking a lot over the past week or so about what can God do. Mostly I am thinking about what God could do with me. I am not the greatest at much and I am not the biggest guy. But I constantly wonder what God could do with me. I know that he did so much with so many people in the bible and some of them were nothing special, at least in the beginning. One thing that sticks out to me is when Samuel keeps hearing the voice of God and thinks it is someone else. When Here hears someone call his name and he thinks it is Eli. But it is not rather it is God. Eli eventually catches on and understands that it is God called Samuel. I think that it is amazing each time he hears the voice his response is not to turn over or turn the music up louder but rather each time he says, "Here I am". The passage talks about how Samuel had not yet heard the voice of the Lord and so he did not know it. So Eli teaches him.
I think that it is so amazing what I have been given. I have been given the chance to speak into the lives of young people and help them start to hear the voice of God. God is calling our young people and what are we doing to help them hear the voice? What are we doing to help them listen and respond correctly? Are we bringing them into the presence of God? Are we showing them with our actions? Are we encouraging them to come to church and participate in small groups (teen group) with other people their age?
I am not sure about you but I am doing what I can with the kids God is placing in my life to help them to hear the voice of God and see what God can do with their lives. I am thankful for the parents in my church who make God a huge priority in their kids lives. I am thankful for the teens that make it a priority in their lives. But to those who are not it is not to late to help them turn and say, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
That is what I want, I want my words to be, "Speak,LORD, for your servant is listening." I hope that this are not just my words but my teens words and eventually my sons words as well. What can God do with me? It starts with listening for the voice of God and then just responding in humility, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
I think that it is so amazing what I have been given. I have been given the chance to speak into the lives of young people and help them start to hear the voice of God. God is calling our young people and what are we doing to help them hear the voice? What are we doing to help them listen and respond correctly? Are we bringing them into the presence of God? Are we showing them with our actions? Are we encouraging them to come to church and participate in small groups (teen group) with other people their age?
I am not sure about you but I am doing what I can with the kids God is placing in my life to help them to hear the voice of God and see what God can do with their lives. I am thankful for the parents in my church who make God a huge priority in their kids lives. I am thankful for the teens that make it a priority in their lives. But to those who are not it is not to late to help them turn and say, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
That is what I want, I want my words to be, "Speak,LORD, for your servant is listening." I hope that this are not just my words but my teens words and eventually my sons words as well. What can God do with me? It starts with listening for the voice of God and then just responding in humility, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
Friday, June 14, 2013
Back at Home
My son and I took a few days to go out to my parents house as my wife was out of town with our church kids. I was thinking this morning how blessed I am to have a wife that is willing to sacrifice her time and effort in order to bring kids to camp. These kids are getting a chance, for one week to be surrounded by Christ. They all have godly families but this is a chance for them to disconnect from the things that are normally around them and connect to Christ.
It was a great chance to get away for me to get away and try and connect to what God has for me. I am praying for God to bring passion and love for people into the lives of the lives of our youth.
Here are my 5 areas I want to see our teens strive for:
1. Have a friend, Be a friend
2. Read your Bible
3. Serve once a month
4. Invest and Invite
5. Do the NEXT right thing
Lord Help Us-
It was a great chance to get away for me to get away and try and connect to what God has for me. I am praying for God to bring passion and love for people into the lives of the lives of our youth.
Here are my 5 areas I want to see our teens strive for:
1. Have a friend, Be a friend
2. Read your Bible
3. Serve once a month
4. Invest and Invite
5. Do the NEXT right thing
Lord Help Us-
Thursday, June 13, 2013
#$%@ People Say To Transracial Families
I had watched this about a year ago after we had gotten home with our son. Some people I tell ya!
Another Wedding
My wife and I had the joy of doing the ceremony for my sister and her husband almost two weeks ago. It was my second wedding and the first for my wife. It was such a blessing to perform the ceremony and see two people come together in a union with Christ.
I used the passage from Joshua 1, in which Joshua is getting his instructions from God as he is going to be taking over the leadership position with the people of Israel. I cannot tell you how often I have had this passage come back to me when I am in a time of need. How blessed we are to have a God that is there for us. What a great thought that he loves us in such a way that he is willing to come to us and let us know that we can be strong and courageous when we might be struggling. It helps me when I am dealing with stress or things in my life that might be overwhelming or attacking my spiritual life.
I am grateful for a wife in my life that cares for me. I am so blessed that we have done this life together and that we have God as our center. For those that are struggling with where God is or what he has for you, just remember that He has said that he will be with you and will not leave you. I know it is corny and a little cheesy but I remember that poem of the feet in the sand. Why were there only one set? Because God might be carrying you through something that you did not know.
Blessings-
Ryan
I used the passage from Joshua 1, in which Joshua is getting his instructions from God as he is going to be taking over the leadership position with the people of Israel. I cannot tell you how often I have had this passage come back to me when I am in a time of need. How blessed we are to have a God that is there for us. What a great thought that he loves us in such a way that he is willing to come to us and let us know that we can be strong and courageous when we might be struggling. It helps me when I am dealing with stress or things in my life that might be overwhelming or attacking my spiritual life.
I am grateful for a wife in my life that cares for me. I am so blessed that we have done this life together and that we have God as our center. For those that are struggling with where God is or what he has for you, just remember that He has said that he will be with you and will not leave you. I know it is corny and a little cheesy but I remember that poem of the feet in the sand. Why were there only one set? Because God might be carrying you through something that you did not know.
Blessings-
Ryan
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Adoptive Father, Adoptive Son
So our son is now a year old. My fathering skills have had a year to grow. I am not sure how much better I am that I was a year ago but I know that I am faster at changing diapers and according to +Mark Zubert I am a pretty good at humming.
In the past few weeks I have become more aware of the people around me. I have started to notice how people look at me and how they then look at me when I am with my son. Many of them will not approach me or talk with me. Maybe it is the crazy beard? If people that have questions would be willing to come and ask or talk with us I would be more than happy to share our story. It is a pretty awesome story if I do say so.
No one reads this blog but just in case someone does I would like to share a few things with you from an adoptive fathers perspective:
1. If you would say it to a family with biological kids then it should be ok to say to adoptive families.
- A lady came up to us the other day and said, "Boy is he so lucky to have you guys." But I did not see other families get that as well. I feel that it is being said to us because my son is adopted. Yeah he is lucky to have great parents, but are not all our kids lucky to have parents that love them and love each other. Are they not all lucky to have people care for them and love them without bringing harm to them? Is he really lucky or is it the blessing of God? Does God just know what we need better than what we do?
2. Ask questions do not give statements.
- I think that this is something that people do not think of. Rather than asking you about your story and process they give statements that then make us as adoptive father's pull back with a sting of pain. I would love to answer questions that people have and I try to understand that at times most people are ignorant of adoption and all that goes into it.
3. Watch what you are saying...
- I think that it is easy for some people just to say things because they think it might be funny. Our family is transracial and so we deal with racial comments once in a while. I was talking with my wife and we started talking about the various things that have been said to us or our son over the past year. People will say things to him because of his race that they think is funny. How do we handle it? We have to handle it different than other things especially now that he is starting to get the point of understanding what is being said to him. Some people do not mean to be mean but are. They are ignorant of the idea that their words could be hurtful. We as his parents have a chance to show him how he can react to these comments. We can react with humor and then he will use that to deflect pain. We can use anger to deflect these comments but then he will use anger and that is not something that we want. Or we can show him how to explain who he is and what his story is to people, to stop the ignorant comments and bring knowledge to them.
I love being a father...Yes I am a father of a child who skin color is not like mine but that is similar to so many people today. I ask that before you make a comment stop and ask how this is going to come off. I love to tell our story and answer questions people have. I never know who could benefit from our story or who could be in a place I was just a few years ago. What does God have for us? I have no idea but I am excited to share it with you.
In the past few weeks I have become more aware of the people around me. I have started to notice how people look at me and how they then look at me when I am with my son. Many of them will not approach me or talk with me. Maybe it is the crazy beard? If people that have questions would be willing to come and ask or talk with us I would be more than happy to share our story. It is a pretty awesome story if I do say so.
No one reads this blog but just in case someone does I would like to share a few things with you from an adoptive fathers perspective:
1. If you would say it to a family with biological kids then it should be ok to say to adoptive families.
- A lady came up to us the other day and said, "Boy is he so lucky to have you guys." But I did not see other families get that as well. I feel that it is being said to us because my son is adopted. Yeah he is lucky to have great parents, but are not all our kids lucky to have parents that love them and love each other. Are they not all lucky to have people care for them and love them without bringing harm to them? Is he really lucky or is it the blessing of God? Does God just know what we need better than what we do?
2. Ask questions do not give statements.
- I think that this is something that people do not think of. Rather than asking you about your story and process they give statements that then make us as adoptive father's pull back with a sting of pain. I would love to answer questions that people have and I try to understand that at times most people are ignorant of adoption and all that goes into it.
3. Watch what you are saying...
- I think that it is easy for some people just to say things because they think it might be funny. Our family is transracial and so we deal with racial comments once in a while. I was talking with my wife and we started talking about the various things that have been said to us or our son over the past year. People will say things to him because of his race that they think is funny. How do we handle it? We have to handle it different than other things especially now that he is starting to get the point of understanding what is being said to him. Some people do not mean to be mean but are. They are ignorant of the idea that their words could be hurtful. We as his parents have a chance to show him how he can react to these comments. We can react with humor and then he will use that to deflect pain. We can use anger to deflect these comments but then he will use anger and that is not something that we want. Or we can show him how to explain who he is and what his story is to people, to stop the ignorant comments and bring knowledge to them.
I love being a father...Yes I am a father of a child who skin color is not like mine but that is similar to so many people today. I ask that before you make a comment stop and ask how this is going to come off. I love to tell our story and answer questions people have. I never know who could benefit from our story or who could be in a place I was just a few years ago. What does God have for us? I have no idea but I am excited to share it with you.
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