Assumptions

I'm quiet, so they make assumptions.
I'm alone, so they make assumptions.
I'm afraid, so they make assumptions.
I'm religious, so they make assumptions.
I'm different, so they make assumptions.

Should I take these assumptions personally?
Should I be hurt by these assumptions?
Should I look down upon myself from these assumptions?
Should I change how I am to match these assumptions?

The answer is no.
Yet my answer is yes.
Why?
Is it the way they see me?
They assume the unknown, because I am quiet,
Because I am alone,
Because I am afraid,
Because I am religious,
Because I am different.

I'm mysterious, so they make assumptions.
I'm unnatural, so they make assumptions.
I'm incomprehensible, so they make assumptions.
I'm different, so they make assumptions.

But I don't change.
I silently get hurt.
But I want change.
I cannot handle my emotions.
But I can't change.
That would ruin my reputation.
But I need change.

Then, I do change.
Not to adapt to their assumptions, to ignore them.
I will no longer think down upon myself.
I will no longer be hurt.
I will no longer care what they assume about me.
I won't change anymore.

- Matthew McCaskill, 2016

Out of His Grace

Because of His grace, we are loved.

We need not long for his approval.

We need not ask for mercy.

We need not be perfect.

He loved us out of His grace.

Because of His love, we are rescued.

His house always has an open door.

His arms will pull us up through all struggles.

His heart wants us regardless of our sins.

He rescues us out of His love.

Because He rescued us, we are united.

The rescued have an invisible unity waiting to be unearthed.

The rescued can come together with no fear or struggle.

The rescued make an unimaginably bigger impact together than alone.

He unites us out of our rescued souls.

Because of our unity, we are changed.

Our scars are healed, our wounds mended.

Our past is forgotten, our future planned.

Our faith is strong, our hearts stronger.

He changes us out of our unity.

Because He changed us, we are sent.

We are sent to help the helpless.

We are sent to heal the ill.

We are sent to make new believers.

We are sent to do kingdom work.

We are sent to change our world.

He sent us out of our change,

out of our unity,

out of our rescued souls,

out of His love,

out of His grace.

- Matthew McCaskill, 2016

Heavily inspired by CIY Move 2016: Kingdom Workers.

The Wild

The Wild is not ordinary, it is extraordinary.
The Wild is not somewhere to be with others, it is somewhere to be with yourself.
The Wild is not a place to look at the past, it is a place to look towards the future.
The Wild is not the end of a long journey, is is the beginning of a great adventure.
The Wild is not somewhere to visit, it is somewhere to escape.
The Wild does not show you who you are, it shows you who you are to become.
The Wild does not open up to you, you must open up to it.
The Wild is not just a place to speak to Him, it is a place where He speaks to you.

- Matthew McCaskill, 2016