The Lord knows we can all be pretty darn self-involved. The illustration a recent guest pastor at my church gave to make this point cracked me up. He said if he and his wife hold hands while sitting in the front seats of their car they hear a big “NOOOOOO” from their two-year-old in the back seat. Even if Jay Catanus, a church planter in Chicago who was the guest speaker, simply puts his arm … [Read more...]
Go Therefore…and Minister to Special Needs Families!
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20, ESV). Ever since I became a Christian several years ago, I was always fascinated with the idea of doing missionary work. From my … [Read more...]
From Anxiety to Alleluia: It Went Okay!
I was a nervous wreck. Even more so than usual my family would say! In the last several years God has brought some healing and help to my anxiety issues but there is still work to be done. We are all a work in progress right? And while I was so excited thinking about this long awaited dream for my youngest son coming true, I also woke up at night fretting about how things would go. Would … [Read more...]
What I Learned Through the Deep, Hard Struggles
Lamentations 3:21-23 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. I love to start things. I love the challenge. I love to look at things when they are fresh and new and I also like to create things out of nothing. How about … [Read more...]
Capture the Wonder of Every Day
A few Sundays ago, I listened to the parable of the ten bridesmaids as it was read in mass. The message to “be prepared” came through loud and clear. On that particular Sunday, though, this gospel reading took on a very different twist. You see, three days prior, my father had passed away at the age of 100. He had lived at home rather independently (with some daily support) up until 12 days … [Read more...]
Wholeness Does Not Mean Perfection: It Means Embracing Brokenness
I can’t tell you how many times, over my 32 year journey with autism, I have returned to this quote for inspiration: On July 4, 1999, a twenty-minute maelstrom of hurricane force winds took down twenty million trees across the Boundary Waters. A month later, when I made my annual pilgrimage up north, I was heartbroken by the ruin and wondered whether I wanted to return. And yet on each visit … [Read more...]