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L.O.V.E. C.A.M.E.
Posted on 19 August, 2017 at 0:40 |
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“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds, you have been healed” (I Peter 2:24, NIV).
Love of Christ shine out of me
Open hands of Christ to suffering humanity
Valiant spirit of Christ, help me fight against inhumanity
Enfold me in a far greater humility
Christ who died carrying the weight of your sin to the cross
asks you would pray,
“Make me free from sin’s captivity.
Erase all the wounds in me.”
Kevin and Karen Osborne are psychotherapists and pastoral counselors. Kevin is going to be a chaplain. He also feels called to be a professor of Psychology specializing in Pastoral Theology. Karen is the Director of a women’s abuse shelter. She enjoys doing cross-stitch while I like writing and singing songs. Karen makes me laugh when she sings the kitty bed-time song saying, “It’s that time. It’s the bestest kitty time of the day!” Kevin enjoys teasing the kitties and making them do kitty dances with music. Their kitty, Catherine, loves it when kitty daddeh sings All Things Bright and Beautiful. Kevin likes doing impressions. He tells children’s stories and helps others with their problems using his hand puppets, Dr. Teddy, who is a therapy teddy bear, and Mike the Moose from Matheson. This is a small town in northern Ontario, Canada, an hour’s drive south of the city of Timmins. Dr. Teddy and Mike the Moose from Matheson are consultants with us in our counselling practice.We are available to assist with worship and preaching to give busy ministers a much-needed break. We offer in-office, and phone counselling to anyone in the world.
Co-author on Mind’s Seat, a Christian inspirational blog
The Path of Peace, Forgiveness and Love
Posted on 21 January, 2017 at 0:25 |
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God’s peace walked with me amidst my busy day
His strength was with me as I did pray
He reminded me Christ is my hope and stay
His love is with me all the way
I love You, Father, more than I could ever say
When I get it wrong, You are always there to forgive
Have me my apology to those I’ve hurt give
Then, I feel a growing love for them in my heart live
Thank you, Father, for loving me with all my sin
Cleansing sin’s soot within
Flow healing river within me
Make me who I ought to be
Looking beyond my abusive past I finally feel free
See more of my God-given destiny
Blue sky of joy peaking through the gray I see
I rejoice that You love me!
Help me each day to love others as You love me
Never be offended by their hostility
Look beyond hurtful words to the pain inside You see
Listen with my heart and mind to suffering humanity
Everyone has something to teach me
A lesson
An experience
A new way of looking at things
In my weaknesses am I made strong
Through my challenges I see how You to my life does belong
You use those who can’t walk, hear, see or slow to understand
To teach others how we’re all fearfully and wonderfully made by Your hand
No one is ugly in Your eyes
We’re all beautiful
We’re all unique
Help me and all of us see Your path of peace, forgiveness and love
To soak in Your peace with all the business of life
To feel the healing flow of forgiving others and ourselves
To love one another as Your Son loved
Unconditionally
Completely
Sacrificially
With two open hands
Thank You, Father, for teaching us about Your peace, forgiveness and love.
Amen.
Kevin and Karen Osborne are Christian pastoral counsellors and psychotherapists. Kevin is studying to become a chaplain and professor of Psychology specializing in Pastoral Theology. We have started You Can Hope Again Counselling. Karen enjoys doing cross-stitch while I like writing and singing songs. Karen makes me laugh when she sings the kitty bed-time song saying, “It’s that time. It’s the bestest kitty time of the day!” Kevin enjoys teasing the kitties and making them do kitty dances with music. Their kitty, Catherine, loves it when kitty daddeh sings All Things Bright and Beautiful. Kevin likes doing impressions. He tells children’s stories and helps others with their problems using his hand puppet, Dr. Teddy, who is a therapy bear. He is a partner with us in our counselling practice.We are available to assist with worship and preaching to give busy pastors and ministers a much-needed break. We offer in-office, and phone counselling to anyone in the world.
Co-author on Mind’s Seat, a Christian inspirational blog
Love Call from Bethlehem
Posted on 7 December, 2016 at 14:05 |
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Dear reader:
This reflection is based upon life experience and real situations that happen in the lives of others.
I’m in a hurry today
So many gifts to buy
Lineups in the store to face
Deadlines to meet at work
Have to deal with my teenage daughter addicted to drugs
An eight year-old special needs son, for whom I never have enough time
My wife is in burnout
Both of us are juggling a career and family
She never has enough time for me
She tells me I never have enough time for her
When can we have time to breathe?
To stop this hectic pace of our lives
Have we focused too much on doing and not enough on being?
Father, do You hear us?
Where are You?
We have lost our way
We don’t know if we can go on
Father, show us the way back to You
Show us how we can get our lives back
our family back
Father, we hear You
You want us to spend more time alone with You
To feed on Your Holy Word
Flood our souls with music that quietens us
Be willing to let go of this stressful pace of our lives
You call us to spend more time with our children
To never stop loving our daughter
Be willing to fight for her recovery
Tell her in love she needs to go into treatment for her drug addiction
You say to my heart I need to love my wife more
Pray You would put Your love in my heart for her
You call to my heart to embrace my son more
Encourage him that through his learning challenges You’re calling him to help others
We pour out our hearts to You
You let our tears come
Then, You remind us of this truth:
Those who are lost can be found.
They only need to say,
“Lord, here I am with all my sin.
Let me from the darkness come in.
Warm my longing spirit with Your love’s flame,
remembering Your Son,
who died that a world in darkness would see
Christ’s light that shines eternally.”
Father, thank you for loving me and my family
For teaching us about love from Bethlehem freely given
Love that was born in a manger to give us life
Love that grew up to give all it could
dying for a sinful world on Calvary’s cross
Love that heals us
Love that sees us
Love that hears us
Love that knows us
Love that conquers hate in us and others
Love that gives hope
Love that releases Your love to all we see
Kevin and Karen Osborne are Christian pastoral counsellors and psychotherapists. Kevin is studying to become a chaplain and professor of Psychology specializing in Pastoral Theology. We have started You Can Hope Again Counselling. Karen enjoys doing cross-stitch while I like writing and singing songs. Karen makes me laugh when she sings the kitty bed-time song saying, “It’s that time. It’s the bestest kitty time of the day!” Kevin enjoys teasing the kitties and making them do kitty dances with music. Their kitty, Catherine, loves it when kitty daddeh sings All Things Bright and Beautiful. Kevin likes doing impressions. He tells children’s stories and helps others with their problems using his hand puppet, Dr. Teddy, who is a therapy bear. He is a partner with us in our counselling practice.We are available to assist with worship and preaching to give busy pastors and ministers a much-needed break. We offer in-office, and phone counselling to anyone in the world.
Co-author on Mind's Seat, a Christian inspirational blog
Blessings in the Forgiveness
Posted on 11 September, 2016 at 0:05 |
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I have had people who have been mean to me
There are times forgiveness for them has been awfully hard to see
But I had to learn by holding on to the past of my abuse
verbally, emotionally, physically, to no one could I be of use
I had to let go of hate
Let love in
That’s the thing that gives true peace within
It’s tough to forgive those who have hurt you
To release all of that pain
It will take time to forgive
That a renewed hope for life in your heart would live
I pray that you would see hate will only leave you imprisoned
Caught
Bound
Trapped
It took me decades to begin forgiving my father for abusing my mother, brother, two sisters and me
I was filled with sadness
Times were rare when I would have true gladness
I had to see through the lies that I was weak, and always would be a failure
Counsellors, family, friends and colleagues helped me see I am not the lies I was told
Guided me in singing a new song of
Freedom
Beauty
Love
Joy
There were times I screamed at God, “When I was abused why weren’t You there?
If You didn’t stop it, then You don’t care!”
When I became a Christian at 19 as I prayed at the altar I felt God say to me,
“Kevin, in every blow, in every slap, in all the terrible things your father and others said about you, do you really think I wasn’t there?
I felt every tear you cried
I was angry at how you were rejected by your father
I was there all the nights as a child and adult you have been afraid to sleep
Terrified your father would come into your room, smother you with a pillow
I was with you when you prayed at five under that willow tree
Pleaded with Me from your father’s abuse you and your family would be set free
I know this is hard for you to see now
I can’t change the way others act towards you
When I created you and all humanity,
I gave you the ability to choose how you would behave
Look at all they did to my one and only Son
He was
Rejected
Hated
Abandoned by his followers
Persecuted
Ridiculed
Beaten
Crucified
Don’t you think that tore away at me?
How I allowed Him to die
How he asked Me on Calvary’s cross,
“Eloi, Eloi, sabachtani?”
Meaning, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
In his humanity He asked the same question you’re asking Me now
“Father, when I needed You most, You where nowhere to be found
Alone, abandoned You left me!”
“Kevin, this truth I hope you will come to believe
I didn’t want you to be abused
But some day you will see how loving and gentle a man of God you are
Why?
Because of all I allowed you to go through
That for others you would be truly there
For others you would mean it when you say, “I care.
I will be here as long as you need me,
so from your abuse, from whatever issue you have,
you would be set free.”
Kevin and Karen Osborne are Christian pastoral counsellors and psychotherapists. Kevin is studying to become a psychologist and professor of Psychology. He feels called to also be a chaplain. We have started You Can Hope Again Counselling. Karen enjoys doing cross-stitch while I like writing and singing songs. Karen makes me laugh when she sings the kitty bed-time song saying, “It’s that time. It’s the bestest kitty time of the day!” Kevin enjoys teasing the kitties and making them do kitty dances with music. Their kitty, Catherine, loves it when kitty daddeh sings All Things Bright and Beautiful. Kevin likes doing impressions. He tells children’s stories and helps others with their problems using his hand puppet, Dr. Teddy, who is a therapy bear. He is a partner with us in our counselling practice.We are available to assist with worship and preaching to give busy pastors and ministers a much-needed break. Please visit our counselling website, where you will also find our blogs. We offer in-office, and phone counselling to anyone in the world.
Co-author on Mind's Seat, a Christian nspirational blog
Hope Walked with Me
Posted on 20 August, 2016 at 13:10 |
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I spoke with hope for a while as he walked with me.
These are the thoughts he shared with me.
There is a Christian leader I know who follows God.
He is soon to loose his home and car.
I have made appeal after appeal,
only to have those faithful few answer the call.
Hope, please answer this question that perplexes me.
Where is greater community for this beloved friend, a valued mentor
who is seriously ill,
who is down to eating oatmeal and peanut butter?
Hope paused and then prayed before answering this question.
Then, he said to me,
“There are still people who care,
who for the suffering are truly there.
In this ever-darkening world they are getting harder to find;
those who have not forgotten the inner healing power of being kind.
The god of materialism reigns because many live with secret pains,
they don’t want others to see.
They get temporary pleasure from things;
from their big screen TV saying, “I get 500 channels.
Don’t you see how happy I am?”
I live where there is yet those who care;
in those who say to the hurting, “I am there.
I will not go away.
Please tell me how I can bring hope to you today?”
I exist in those who have suffered their own secret pain;
who see when we reach out to others a helping hand,
that’s where hope does with that bleeding soul stand.
Hope said, “There are many people needing me —
the abused, addicted, broken-hearted, those with physical and developmental challenges, rich, poor, sick, searching souls and the lonely.
I must go, so they will not give up on me.”
I’m thankful for the time hope walked with me
Taught me more about him
Brought some brightness into my day
Put a smile upon my face
Had me pray for me and all of us to have a more compassionate humanity,
because like it says in God’s Word, “These three remain,
faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.”
Love is the fire that gives hope life.
Love is the gift we all can give,
for it is in giving love, and helping with the needs of others, hope does truly live.
From Abuse to Alleluia
Posted on 20 August, 2016 at 13:00 |
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Your abuser has told you that you are garbage
That you are of no use
You will always be refuse
Today, hear this truth and hear it deep inside
When from life you seek to hide
Tears are with you day and night
You live in darkness, desire to see light
Because the many lies your abuser has beaten you to believe
Remember your abuser’s goal is you to deceive
To tell you that you are ugly
To have you become a false self
Not the true self you are meant to be
You are a beautiful person inside
Not ugly
Not stupid
Not a failure
Speak these truths to yourself over and over
I am beautiful
I am creative
I am articulate
I am intelligent
I am an overcomer
Believe that in your hurt and pain
New life and hope you will gain
Reach out to those who care
Who will tell you the true person that lies within there
I have been abused too
My schizophrenic father so many times did beat me
He did not in his sickness want me the truth to see
Did not want me from my prison of lies to be set free
These are the lies he told me
You are stupid
You are weak
You are clumsy
Your brother is smarter than you’ll ever be
And these killing words did he say over me
"Kevin, I wish you had never been born.
You disappoint me.
A failure you will always be."
I’m healing from my abuse
Know that I’m not a piece of refuse
And neither are you
Hear the truth of who you are
Heal that searing scar
Don’t try to heal on your own
Don’t try to gunnysack the pain
Hear love’s sweet refrain
That there is a plan and purpose for your life
All things are possible to those who believe
Who love from others they are willing to receive
Who will take your hand through your living hell
And will tell you that you’re really swell
That is how you will go from abuse to alleluia
Because this truth you will then know
That you have an overcoming story to share
And the wounded healer you shall be
The victorious healer you shall be!
Because lives from their living hell you are setting free
The truth that they are beautiful they will see
What an ambassador of hope you will be!
When broken lives their abuse and alleluia you teach others to see
What an overcoming story that will be!