Life As I Live It… » eyes and ears- The Personal Blog of Chad Block

The Soloist

Blog Category: eyes and ears — Blogged by: chadb_ca on March 29, 2009

When I started working at the Salvation Army I knew I would be encountering a pretty steep learning curve. I've never been homeless, addicted to drugs or alcohol, and I've never suffered from mental illness. The past year has opened my eyes and my heart more and more of what it would be like to live life with any of the above. I have to admit that the most frustrating and eye opening struggle I've witnessed has been that of mental illness. A homeless friend of mine here in the Valley said it best one day when he passionately addressed a group of service providers: "If your mind ever leaves you you'd better pray to God you have family and friends who will love and surround you!" When he spoke those words my eyes filled up with tears.

My friends words very clearly reveal the harsh reality of the world we live in, and they ring in my head many days and in many meetings with those who live with mental illness. Mental illness is a confusing reality, and not just for the individuals that suffer from it's effects. The more I interact with the mentally ill the more I'm alarmed by the lack of services/help available, the barriers between them and the limited resources that are offered, and the immense lack of compassion/understanding that exists in our society. A young man with schizophrenia, a woman locked up in her house with severe depression, a single mom fighting to raise her children while battling the unpredictable effects of bi-polar disorder, an old man crippled by an anxiety disorder that stems from a unspeakable childhood trauma….

I recently read a book titled The Soloist by Steve Lopez . It's Steve's personal story of how his life was radically changed when he began to share life with Nathaniel, an individual suffering from Schizophrenia. It chronicles the intense ups and downs of Nathaniel's life, and the desperate efforts of Lopez and others to help Nathaniel find health again. The book really helped me wrestle with some of my own relationships and experiences. If there's one thing I've taken from the book it's that the greatest thing we can do in there encounters is to 'be there'. I'm reminded of what Henri Nouwen called the 'Ministry of Presence '. Thinking back on my friends words, the one thing I know we can and are called to do for the mentally ill is 'be there'. A little over a year ago (while working at Starbucks) I asked God what he wanted me to do, and as I write this I'm reminded of His answer – "Live life with people, and as you do, love them".

I'm still very unsure how to step into the lives of these people where friends and family have been lost, unable, unwilling, etc. However it happened, many of them are alone. I believe that I've made baby steps in this area, but pray for God's help with the bigger picture. These people are no different than you or I in a lot of ways (they need healing… they need a saviour) yet in so many ways we will never fully relate to the pain, frustration, and loss that they experience on a daily basis. I pray for compassion, and for eyes to see. I pray that God would teach us how to better care for those who so desperately need us. Mainly I pray that God would teach me to "live life with people, and as I do, to love them".

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Our Saviour Is Born

Blog Category: eyes and ears, recordings, wonder — Blogged by: chadb_ca on December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas! I pray that this entry finds you safe in the care of the God who's birth we celebrate. I can say without a doubt that Janna and I definitely are. The year that we've lived since last Christmas has been filled with opportunities to see Him at his best. There are obviously too many stories to even touch the surface here, but I did want to share one major blessing that has changed our lives forever. In the spring of this year I accepted a job with the Salvation Army, and that decision has brought about an indescribable blessing in our life together. With the 'job' has come the lives of many who struggle to find meaning, purpose, freedom… the list is endless. These lives have deeply touched ours, and know find no exagerration when I say we will never be the same.

I've learned so much from these people, and from my daily interaction with them. I've learned that very little seperates our lives, and sometimes am awe struck by how close our realities really are. God has shown me a piece of his heart as I've spent time with those who have little, but often give generously, love without pretense, and show genuine passion for justice in a world filled with injustice. I know count many my friend who were only months ago hidden to me. They teach me daily what it looks like to live honestly even when the honesty of their lives may discust even themselves. I've seen too the 'wages of sin' and have felt the sorrow of seperation from God like I've never seen it. Lonliness, regection, faiilure, shame, drunkeness… the tip of the iceberg where the 'desires of our sinful nature' are realised. (Galatians 5.16ff)

There is one thing I've head God say louder than any other this year. It is simply but profoundly this – "We need a Saviour". The reality of this need grips me even as I write this. I can help but think of those I just spent time with at a community Christmas dinner. Men lost in drunkness. Women overwhelmed with sorrow on a day that should be filled with praise. People who often know no hope. The reality of Jesus birth, the coming of a saviour! I am filled with worship and moved to prayer for those who don't know Him. Father, speak… show your face… touch hearts… that they would come to see You, and join in the truest song of Christmas- Christ, our Saviour is born.

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Silent Night by Joseph Mohr 1816 – Preformed By Chad & Janna Block

17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
      for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
   He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
      that the blind will see,
   that the oppressed will be set free,
      19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

Luke 4:7-21 (Isaiah 61)

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The ‘Ministry of Presence’

Blog Category: eyes and ears, lessons — Blogged by: chadb_ca on December 15, 2008

Lately I've been finding myself deep inside a tension between caring and becoming overwhelmed. I have the deep privillage of being invited into peoples lives daily. I sit with multiple people everyday and listen to their stories, share laughs, hugs, tears, etc. I get to pray, encourage, give to, and receive from people countless times every week. It really is an incredible blessing to have been given the life God has given me. That said, I often become quite overwhelmed by life. The world is with out question in a bad way, and I'm consistently surrounded by people who have lost all hope.

It's in these moments of overwhelming and desperate need for peace, rest, guidence, wisdom, etc… that God has proved to me His faithfulness time and again. A couple weeks ago I was feeling particularly defeated, and God encouraged me during a chat with a buddy. He, like me, spends his days surrounded by marginalized people. He was able to speak such encouragment and life into me when I so badly needed just that. We talked about how often we wonder if what we do is enough, when God reminded him of something he'd read. The following was written by Henri Nouwen, and God spoke to me deeply through these words:

“More and more, the desire grows in me to simply walk around, greet people, enter into homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice the simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be a part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets.

It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them but truly love them.”

[Henri Nouwen in Gracias! Published in 1983, pg. 147-148]

At the end of last week I started to feel very heavy again, because while I believe Henri's words completely, I very quickly loose sight of their simple truth. Is it really enough to just 'be' with the broken, lost, tired, lonely, afraid, abandoned, abused, rejected… ? This question isn't new to me, but neither is the answer. God very clearly spoke to me about a year and half ago. I had just asked the same question (while working at Starbucks) and His answer was – "Share life with others and love them as you do. Always remain true to who you are in Me." As I read Henri's words again today I hear the voice of God saying: "Yes, it's enough, because I am in you, and I AM enough."

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How He Loves Us – Romans 8

Blog Category: eyes and ears, stories — Blogged by: chadb_ca on October 4, 2008

Today is a hard day for me. A client I worked with for a couple months passed away about 3 weeks ago and the funeral is this afternoon. The situation is difficult not only because family and friends feel such loss and sorrow, but also because of the brokenness that surrounds this situation. I have to admit it's feeling very weighty to be Christ's hands and feet today. To know that He loves us so completely, but to be so unsure of how to best share that good news. One thing is for sure… I am desperate for God to move in my words, and even more so in my actions.

When the young man's mother asked me to help with this 'celebration of life' she asked if I could represent the 'religious part' of things. I told her I'd be happy to come and be of help in any way I could. I asked what she thought it would look like for me to "represent the religious part of things". She leaned into me and simply said… "I just want you to come and be you." In that moment I felt God speak words of release and peace to me. Today as I head over to the church to facilitate what is bound to be a very un-traditional funeral I pray for nothing more and nothing less than Christ in me, the hope of glory. (Col 1.27)

I'll be sharing from Romans 8, specifically about love. The love of a son for his mother, of a friend, of those here on earth for those who we've lost. I pray God breathes life into His word as I share the simple but life changing truth of God's perfect love. That so many who desperately need Him, I pray the unmistakable presence of The Father.

Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Romans 8.31-39

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Let There Be Justice

Blog Category: eyes and ears, lessons, musings, stories — Blogged by: chadb_ca on July 2, 2008

Stephen Lewis

Last Friday evening I had the great pleasure of hearing Stephen Lewis speak. He was invited to the Comox Valley by the World Community Development Education Society (a local organization with a big heart for global social justice.) I have long been inspired by Stephen Lewis, and so I was incredibly excited to join 1699 other people for his visit. As Stephen shared his experiences, dreams, frustrations, and ambitions related to helping the continent of Africa I was again moved by a man who's heart beats so deeply for others. It was so incredible to hear detailed and educated accounts of the alarming and complicated injustices facing the African people. It would have been impossible to not be touched by story after story of how it's impacting lives. Just as moving was the response of the 1700 that had gathered to hear Stephen Lewis speak. The applause that filled the room multiple times through out the evening stirred me deeply. It spoke of peoples deep commitment to help the ease the suffering of others. I was in that moment reminded that as humans we are created in God's image and therefore have an intrinsic dedication to seeing justice come to the lives of the broken and the poor.

Over an over Stephen Lewis made reference to promises that governments have made and subsequently broken. He asked the question that is on so many of our hearts when we encounter the injustices of this world… "How can this happen?" In a day and age when solutions are available, people are still dying at a rapid rate. Why!? You could almost feel the weight and desperation behind that question as it filled the hearts and minds of each one present. This brings me back to the most significant thing I took away from the evening: people… Canadians… care. Often I have felt that our governments do not represent our commitment to fight injustice very well. That doesn't change the fact that when you get down to the grassroots of the issues we are ready and willing to do what we can. I celebrate the heart and passion that I experienced in that room Friday night. I don't often see it, but I believe that at it's core is the heart of our creator who admittedly came to

"to bring good news to the poor. …to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed." Isaiah 61.1

Stephen Lewis inspired me on Friday night, but more importantly, God spoke. I am reminded yet again that what the world needs desperately, what Africa needs desperately, is not only better government, access to schools, AIDs drugs, and money. We need a saviour, and it's only as we allow Christ to be that for us that we'll be able to really do something with the passion for justice that He gave to us when we were created. Stephen Lewis mentioned a conversation he'd had with an African woman that quite perplexed him. He asked her what she and others like her were doing to help meet the needs of their immediate surroundings. She simply told him "we pray". Today, I join that woman and many like her in prayer. I pray that God brings healing and justice to the people of Africa. I pray that his love and life come to that continent, and that they see Him as saviour. I pray too for Stephen Lewis and the thousands of people who so honourably give their lives and hearts to bring justice where there is none. I pray they too meet the God of Justice as they put their hands to the work of His heart. Finally, I pray that the inspiring commitment an passion for justice that filled that room Friday night would rock the Church.

For the next week I feel challenged to meditate on God's word as it relates to this heart for justice. One verse that stands out to me, and I will allow to permeate my heart is Micha 6:8

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Teach us God. Give us your heart. Fill us with mercy as we are humbled today in the face of injustice. To our great collective "WHY!?" we pray that you'd come and speak truth and understanding. Bring peace Father. Pour out mercy. Let there be justice.

If you're interested in learning more about what's going on in Africa I HIGHLY recommend Stephen's book Race Against Time

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Devil Down

Blog Category: eyes and ears, recordings — Blogged by: chadb_ca on April 13, 2008

Lately I've really been wrestling. In fact, ever since I came home from Encounter in Saskatchewan I've been really fighting with my self, my sin, my weakness. It's been a reminder that our enemy is as real as our saviour, and that he's committed to destroying the very things God is working in our lives. I've been thinking often of this reminder found in 1 Peter 5:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

There's so much in these 3 verses. Encouragement, warning, instruction… ultimately I find it a very sobering reality check for me today. I am reminded too of Paul's instruction, in Ephesians 6, to "put on the full armor of God." I find such freedom in the reminder that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Freedom not because this fight is an easy one, but because faced with it's intensity I'm quick to realize that the fight is not ultimately mine. I'm released from trying to defeat those things that continually beat me down, and able in the same moment to surrender them to God.

My prayers have been very candid and real, as they often are in midst of a fight. The wrestle has awakened me yet again to the incredibly real need I have for a saviour. I've captured that desperate heart of prayer in a song during these past few weeks, and am incredibly grateful for the countless times it has facilitated the pouring out of my heart over the past couple weeks. I pray it can be a song of honesty and one that allows many to "cast all anxiety on Him". A song that might help us as we commit to "stand our ground, and after we have done everything, to stand."

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Devil Down by Chad Block c2008 joseph creative

1 Peter 5.7-9

Ephesians 6.11-13

special thanks to Adam L for leaving a guitar lying around in a weird tuning!

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Shelter

Blog Category: eyes and ears, recordings — Blogged by: chadb_ca on March 15, 2008

A couple years ago I was in a prayer room with some friends. We gathered there to spend some time praying together, and in the midst of our prayers came this song. My friend Paul was praying through Psalm 61, and the chorus became a real declaration. "You are my refuge, You are my shelter, You are my Sanctuary, You are… Everything." The song has since become a real declaration of my heart, and has given words to a multitude of situations and circumstance. I pray it continues to fuel very real and potent times of intimacy in prayer.

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Psalm 61

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments. 1 O God, listen to my cry!

      Hear my prayer!
2 From the ends of the earth,
      I cry to you for help
      when my heart is overwhelmed.
   Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
    3 for you are my safe refuge,
      a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
4 Let me live forever in your sanctuary,
      safe beneath the shelter of your wings!
                         Interlude

5 For you have heard my vows, O God.
      You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.
6 Add many years to the life of the king!
      May his years span the generations!
7 May he reign under God’s protection forever.
      May your unfailing love and faithfulness watch over him.
8 Then I will sing praises to your name forever
      as I fulfill my vows each day.

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“Lord, I Am Coming” Ps 27.8

Blog Category: eyes and ears — Blogged by: chadb_ca on October 5, 2007

This is the second recording that I've done since I moved to the Island. It is a song that I wrote last year, and it has really been a bit of an anthem for Janna and I over the course of this journey. Psalm 27.8 says

My heart has heard You say, 'Come and talk with me.' And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming.'

This verse paints a vivid picture for me in the midst of worship. As I live my life I do so with the understanding that I am constantly invited to live in the presence of God. More and more I am learning to lay down my life and respond to this invitation. I pray this song is a blessing, and that it can be a part of your hearts expression as well.

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The Soloist

Our Saviour Is Born

The ‘Ministry of Presence’

How He Loves Us – Romans 8

Let There Be Justice

Devil Down

Shelter

“Lord, I Am Coming” Ps 27.8

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