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Hands In Christ Deaf Ministry
Dee's Random Thoughts
Welcome
February 19, 2008, 2007
Abilities
Tonight watching T.V. I was moved deeply by a young man who was blind and yet not "disabled". His ability to play music was inspiring, his love of people was amazing, and his acceptance of people not by their looks, or color but by what was in their hearts was nothing short of a God given grace.
All my life some of the things I have heard people say:
"Oh your poor Mom and Dad are deaf, what an awful burden not to be able to hear".
"The deaf miss out on so much, they will need help all their lives because they are "disabled".
"I just can't imagine how difficult it must be for them"
You know as Christians we talk about the "Fruit of the Spirit" (Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering (patience), Gentleness (kindness), Goodness, Faith (faithfulness), Meekness, Temperance (self-control). But God has given us something else no matter who you are. Ability, the ability to do anything with God. The ability to overcome any obstacle on earth with His love and encouragement.
Each of us suffers from some sort of "disability". Maybe not one the world can see but one you carry as a burden. How you carry this "burden" will say a lot about who you are and how you have used the "gifts" God has given you. Personally I don't really like closed spaces of any kind. I have passed up many chances to scuba dive because I just can't seem to get pass the idea of having tons of water over my head. This is one of my unseen disabilities. Silly to some people and met from time to time with laughter. But God replaced this fear with a joy of seeing one of my favorite birds (the Hawk) fly across the sky, or over the mountain tops. To find peace in the wide open range riding a horse with the wind blowing across my face. And one of my favorites holding a sweet smelling child after a bath. I rather be in a tent (in the summer) than in a building and some friends think I'm crazy. But I love laying in a bedroll at night listening to the frogs sing to me, or just having total peace and quite. Beats the hum of a loud air conditioner running all night!
According to Merriam-Webster disabled means: physically or mentally impaired in a way that substantially limits activity especially in relation to employment or education.
I much prefer the word "Ability": The quality or state of being able, physical, mental, or legal power to perform, competence in doing .
Maybe what we call a disability is God's gift to "inspire". Maybe a disability is just another way to find a gift that is hidden in each of us. And maybe, just maybe it's not a disability but a gift of love. A little boy I know named Jake brings sunlight whenever he enters a room in his wheelchair. He cannot speak like you or I but his smile says more to me in five seconds than most people can say in a day. My mother cannot hear the music but she feels it not only with her body but with her soul. You hear the deep notes, she feels them like vivid colors dancing across the sky. A deaf and blind woman I knew years ago use to say to me she could feel my smile. Wow, feel my smile what a wonderful comment to make to a person. Can your friends and family feel your smile? Can the music bring awesome images that touch you? Try singing Amazing Grace with your eyes closed, and your heart open to the words. And when you have the opportunity watch the words signed in American sign language, talk about a visual experience! God's gift of hands that can paint a visual picture, awesome!
No matter what your "abilities" or "disabilities" are, you can feel God's love. It is like the warm sun that chases a chill from the air, it is like seeing a hawk against a sky so blue you can't stop smiling, it is like the feeling of knowing you are safe and warm. People in our world have decided what a disability is and many are not willing to see what the gift of ability might be that God has given to that person. I think sometimes it is because they are scared and not willing or able to see beyond the physical exterior. But thank God He can!
Sometimes a person with a so called disability has harden their hearts against the world. The world keeps walking by with pity in their eyes and the heart becomes colder for both of them. Churches, men and women go around the world in mission trips to bring God's word, as they should and are commanded to do so. But my question is what about those in our own back yards, neighborhoods, state, and country? Are you sitting in your house waiting for someone else to "go out"? Hearing, Deaf, blind, in a wheelchair, God has a use for you.
Think about It...
*People with disabilities are less likely to "hear" God's word, people with disabilities are less likely to attend church.
*In America, the colonies' first settlers would not admit people with disabilities because they believed such individuals would require financial support. In today's churches many will not start a program for those with "disabilities" because it cost to much or requires to much time. Not much has changed in 200 years.
Picture if you can, a church where every curb has a curb cut and ramp - an elevator to reach Sunday school classes upstairs- where people with disabilities are provided with class rooms where God's word can be taught no matter what the disability -- where there are no feelings of non acceptance by the church body -- where church buses and vans are equipped to pick up any type of passenger, including those who use wheelchairs or have other mobility impairments -- where closed or open captioning is available in every church and for every service or program --where the church service includes those with disabilities in the choir, as deacons, Sunday School teachers, ushers, greeters, lay person. Such a vision is possible through God and YOU!
Don't sit around feeling sorry for yourself or someone you think has a disability. Look for the ABILITIES!
Don't wait for someone else to do it, just do it!
Don't wait for "them" to get it right. Teach, educate, share, and show what abilities God has given you and others.
There's plenty of room at the cross, no matter what our abilities!
God's saving grace is for everyone!
*Louis Braille, inventor of the Braille system was also blind.
*Alexander Cruden, who prepared the first notable English-language concordance, was in and out of mental institutions
much of his life.
*John Kitto, who enhanced Bible dictionaries was deaf.
August 4, 2007
As the holidays become closer the 2008 plans for the Hands In Christ Deaf Ministry become even closer. We are becoming more excitied to see how God will work in the new year. Many Deaf ministries struggle across the country, some with poor attendance, some with gossip that attacks and tears apart brothers and sisters in Christ, and some with limited funds struggling to make ends meet. Some have a pastor, some do not have a pastor but have faithful Christians who work for God's glory. Some are blessed with a church building, some just meet in a small room. But just like people who are different, each one has it's own unique ministry and those who serve in it.
No matter who they are, wherever they are located all should have one thing in common. Serving the one God, working to bring His word to those who do not know Christ. That is our goal at HIC but we must not only teach His word but live by it. We can't be Sunday only Christians but live it by our example in our daily lives. It has also been our goal to bring to the hearing a better understanding of the Deaf, the culture, and the language. Understanding that the mission field is here in our own backyard. With only 2% of the Deaf worldwide knowing Christ we have as Deaf and hearing Christians a huge responsibility to reach the lost We have accomplished so much here at HIC in the community and our church but we want to urge each of you in your own ministry to step up and serve. Find what your "fruit of the spirit" is and give back to your church and ministry.
August 10, 2007
What makes you happy?
As I begin the work of putting things together for the 2008 revival I found myself gettng so excited for what God will do during this time of revival. I begin to think about what is "Joy".
Joy, unlike happiness, does not depend upon my situation in life. Joy is deeper and more abiding than happiness. Joy is something that God gives His children.
1 John 1:4 says "We write this to make our joy complete." Sharing God's word, sharing your joy of knowing Christ with others brings a joy that cannot compare to anything on this earth. Full and complete joy results from a relationship with Christ. God has given us a promise of joy. As my heart sings and my hands fly in song I hope you also find that same joy that Christ has for you.
John 15:11, "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
Hands In Christ Deaf Ministry invites you to attend church with us!
Worship Service 9:30 am (interpreted)
Sunday School 11:00 am
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