What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive,…
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 (NIV) A bonus of being the pastor of a church with a preschool is the daily opportunity to see children exploring their world and making new discoveries. A few years ago…
Some of my earliest memories are anchored in the sensations that accompanied our family’s Easter observances. Scratchy petticoats under new spring dresses. Bonnet straps tied too tight under the chin. The tickling ruffles of white anklets and toes crammed into shiny new Mary Janes. The smell of ammonia rising from Dad’s urinal zipped into the…
He’d been packed and ready to go for weeks—just like the chipmunks stockpiling nuts in my flower containers for the winter. Joey was ready to join Aunt Susie at Lakeside for a fun weekend of shuffleboard, relaxation, and fun! In perfect timing, his bedroom was needed for a houseguest. As my daughters and I finished…
I woke up the other day completely exhausted emotionally and physically. I had one of those days where my body, mind, and soul were just so weary and tired. Have you ever had one of those days? Have you ever felt hopeless? Have you ever felt like just giving it all up? I…
I am a bit of a control freak. Shhhhh. Don’t tell my family I have admitted to this teensy flaw. Just because I like things to go my way a good deal of the time doesn’t mean I’m controlling. I’m just usually right, right? (This makes sense in my head.) So when it comes to illness…
Thornton, Colorado, February 23, 2017. A heartwarming story broke of a teen inviting a peer with special needs to their school prom, replete with onlookers, flowers, and even serenading violins. It’s the kind of story we all love to hear. The two became friends as he volunteered in her gym class as a helper. His face…
“The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” (Proverbs 18:14) He didn’t cry why they showed him to me. Not right away. The nurses rubbed and patted and turned him head down and rubbed some more. When they finally coaxed a cry from him, the relief pressed…
Dear special needs parent, Some people will never get what it is like to walk in our shoes. No matter how many times we try to explain our situation, our child, the challenges our family has to face—no matter how many details we share—the reality is that most people won’t get it. And some people…
My son, Sam, always best handles instructions or requests of him if he feels he has a good, solid understanding of what’s going on. Not just the nuts and bolts of the situation, but most importantly, the reason for it. If we ask or tell him to do something, one of his first responses is usually,…