New Light of Excitement about Praying with Kids

How many delightfully different kids from around the world does it take to turn on a light of excitement about talking to God? Well, the author and photographer of the new book Jesus, Let’s Talk discovered that about 30 could do it beautifully! 

Walk Right in Ministries is very excited to partner with the creative team of Lisa Jamieson (author) and Ann L. Hinrichs (photographer) in introducing the new children’s picture book about prayer called Jesus, Let’s Talk. It released on Amazon this Tuesday to raving reviews and plenty of smiles, especially from the young people who had the opportunity to model for the project.

One young man featured in the book opened his early-release copy recently and eagerly flipped through the pages. But he quickly overlooked any photo of himself because he was more excited about finding his friends pictured there. 

Jesus, Let’s Talk is helping children, early readers, and people with developmental differences enjoy the sweet basics of conversation with Jesus. There are many ways to worship and this natural approach to prayer inspires both the young and young at heart. 

Colorful photographs of children and young people celebrate that the fingerprints of God are on all people, all around the world. The book also highlights key prayer words using American Sign Language. Young ones who are not yet talking, those who experience hearing impairment, and others who simply want to explore the joy of communicating non-verbally will have fun learning new ways to express themselves.

Featured prayers include:

Thank you, God
I’m sorry, Jesus
Help me, Holy Spirit
I’m listening to you
I believe in you
I love you, Lord

We hope you'll join us in sharing this wonderful new resource with others. Introduce a child to a personal relationship with their Creator, Savior and Friend, Jesus. Jesus, Let's Talk makes a perfect gift for toddlers, early readers, and for young people with developmental-intellectual disabilities.

Also, would you please go to Amazon and write a review? Sharing your confidence and encouragement is invaluable in helping us get this book into more homes where families can experience the love of Jesus and grow in relationship with Him.

Shop Amazon

Write a Review
                                                             
Visit the Online Release Party

Lisa Jamieson (author) parents a grown daughter with special needs and is a national disability ministry leader who is also a speaker and author of Finding Glory in the Thorns and related Bible study materials. Jesus, Let’s Talk is her first children’s book. Connect with Lisa at lisajamieson.org .

Ann L. Hinrichs (photographer) serves missionaries worldwide while enjoying the arts as a musician, worship leader, voice teacher, and international photographer. Find out more at annhinrichsblog.com .

 

Selective Sharing

A few months ago, I posted this statement on Facebook:

"I don't believe it can be overstated how stressful and wearying it is being the parent of someone with significant developmental and medical needs. There is also unspeakable joy. But make no mistake that this life is OFTEN more than overwhelming. I speak for my own family and many others when I ask you to pray hard and regularly for anyone you know living this life. We need your persevering friendship and sometimes help. We wish we didn't need help, and very often we don't even know what to ask for. But we can't do this alone. Practical, emotional and spiritual encouragement is a gust of wind in our sails."

This got a reaction. Most people who responded were caregivers themselves. They resonated deeply with the sentiments I expressed. The rest of those who responded were encouraging friends whose comments usually indicated that they were praying for me. I was grateful for the prayers but even more moved by the hunger among caregivers to feel NOTICED and HEARD.

Since so many caregivers practically begged me to get this word about their (our) chronic stress out more broadly (on their behalf), I posted again the next day with a very personal and rather lengthy explanation about my own chronic stress and why I talk about it the way I do.  I wasn't expecting to post it yet again on my blog but subsequent conversations suggest it deserves one more share. So here goes...

WHY DO I SHARE WHAT I DO, WHEN I DO (AND WHEN I DON’T, WHY I DON’T)?

There are a variety of reactions I encounter whenever I talk about how chronic stress is affecting my family and others in intense or complicated, often long-term circumstances. 

SHOCK
WORRY
APATHY
DEFENSIVENESS
RESONANCE/APPRECIATION

Obviously, not every reaction is helpful to a family like ours. But trust me, I understand most people are well-meaning and I’m very hesitant to criticize any reaction — I mostly appreciate ANY reaction (except apathy). Larry and I don’t expect perfection in understanding but we do hope people at least care and try. And we hope people won’t over-simplify what we are experiencing. That feels like invalidation of something that is very big and very real for us.

Some people want to better understand this so I’m going to try and explain more about it today and I’m going to be pretty transparent. I know that I’ll be articulating perspectives that are not just my own because I’ve had emotional discussions with others about this very issue, one as recently as this morning when a friend called me from another state about the post I shared yesterday. Yup. This hit some nerves.

When we don’t talk about our challenges very often, it is not uncommon for people to think that all is well. Some others who have some idea that life is ALWAYS hard over here at the Jamiesons think we are just trying to keep a “stiff upper lip” or are wanting to be self-sufficient in our challenges. Some people believe we are trying to be “missional” in an effort to “look” put together with the power of God. Seriously, we’re not trying to hide anything or even prove to anybody that “God’s got this.” 

Don’t get me wrong, I certainly hope my life points people to Jesus and shows that God is fully able, accessible and worthy to be praised. Because He most certainly is. I don’t know how anybody lives through a crisis like this without a relationship with Jesus Christ. But that’s not what underlies my philosophy (or for lack of better word, strategy) for deciding when and how to share the inner realities of my situation. Of course we hope people will somehow see Jesus in us — whether through how He meets us in our challenges or for any other reason! Don’t we all want to see evidence that the living God is real? 

But the way I express my stress publically is way more selfish than that. 

Larry and I are, first and foremost, trying to live in a way that helps us thrive as individuals, a couple and a family. In the process. We just want to live within relationships that are REAL. I gave up trying to tough things out a long time ago. I do just exactly what I have to do every day to survive and thrive. So, trying to look “good” or more “Christian” is far from the reality for me and Larry. We always want to be authentic with people and we highly value people who are willing to be real with us. In truth, there are a whole host of reasons why I talk about our specific challenges or overwhelm rather infrequently compared to how often we are actually struggling.

For today, it’s important to me that you know WHY. God seems to have prompted me to just lay it out here for whoever cares. So…in no particular order…these are just a few of the reasons why I personally don’t talk often or widely about the specifics of my personal stress…

• I’m not always in touch with the reality of how extremely stressed out I am.
• I function on autopilot a lot.
• I don’t want people feeling sorry for me. 
• I have all the same stresses everybody else does and would really like those to be recognized as part of who I am too.
• A whole lot of people would rather just believe that “it’s all good” over here. 
• Some people just want to cheer me up. 
• Some people tell me, “you deserve to feel sorry for yourself.” This isn’t helpful for me. I appreciate the attempt at empathy but I don’t believe this is right thinking and it is rarely helpful for me to go to that place.
• I spend a lot of my daily energy trying to pace my energies and emotions. That means I have to spend proportionately high amounts of time with Jesus and in prayer. Since my physical body is increasingly deteriorating due to Carly’s 24/7 cares, my age, long years without adequate sleep, etc., I have to give some priority to taking care of me as best I can (which is never really enough). I need more naps than the average person because I spend a lot of time awake at night. I need to serve others. It’s a great outlet for me — gives me a sense of purpose and keeps me from feeling consumed with my own challenges. Needless to say, all of that doesn’t leave a lot of time left over for complaining and explaining. 
• Sometimes I’m just plain tired of explaining.
• I don’t like people dismissing me as a “drama queen.”
• I get tired of feeling like I have to be one of the world’s “teachers.” 
• I weary of the disappointment of trying to build understanding and having my hopes and needs for resonance dashed when people don’t “get it.”
• I don’t want to get my hopes up that someone will care (reach out) only to be disappointed.
• When my situation is most overwhelming, I feel unable to explain my situation or emotions. My mind and heart feel too complicated to explain. So, if I feel able say anything at all, I just try to articulate even one thing I know people can pray about or help with. But that can give the impression that just one thing is weighing on me. (Yet, rest assured, whatever I am saying out loud is probably just the tip of the iceberg with lots more behind it.)
• It helps keep me out of depression and those woe-is-me places if I focus on what is going well and what I’m grateful for.
• Focusing on Carly’s strengths gives her the best shot of reaching her potential. 
• Focusing on Carly’s strengths (instead of why she’s making things hard for me) feels more respectful to her.
• Any time I talk about how hard it is caring for Carly, I risk undermining our ability to ever find or hire respite helpers (because people think they won’t be able to handle it).
• I don’t want to worry my family.
• I don’t want people to quit sharing their own concerns with me because they feel badly that their own issues may seem insignificant next to mine.
• I often feel misunderstood and since I’ve been misunderstood a lot in my life, I avoid that pain.
• I don’t want to feel analyzed.
• I get tired of talking about the same thing. Being “that person.” Sounding like a broken record.

When you boil it all down, this is probably the biggest reason why you don’t regularly hear about or see the degree of my stress:

I WANT TO LOOK AND FEEL AS NORMAL AS POSSIBLE. 

I don’t want to look normal for your benefit. I want it for me. 

So even though taking a shower, fixing my hair and putting on a cute, comfy outfit to go out in public takes the alignment of stars at my house and risks masking a reality about how much I need your prayers, help and friendship — I’m going to risk it. Because for a couple of hours, I’m happy to be clean and out in a “normal” world feeling like a “normal” human being with a “normal” life. Any illusion is for me. Not for you.

And here’s one more thought for you to chew on. If I wrote about this regularly, many of you would have stopped reading my posts a long time ago. You’d be too overwhelmed, irritated, or numb. My perpetual drip of whining would wear you down and lose its oomph. (For some people, it already has. They not even curious and are no longer reading this right now.) 

So, consider this “rant” my way of trying to get your attention and urge you to remember there are friends around you struggling mightily with chronic hard stuff — whether or not they look like it or sound like it. Please don’t check out on them, whether they are good at how they handle their communication or not. (Doing this well is hard and even harder when you’re stressed out and/or sleep deprived.)

Thank you for listening.
I’ll write again soon. 

But not too soon.

NOTE: This blog is a repost from an "Open Letter" Lisa shared on Facebook in April 2017.

Share HOPE for Christmas

SHOP AT AMAZON

Delightful Opportunity for Dance Studios & Special Needs Families Nationwide

Do you know a child with special needs who would jump, twirl, bounce and hum at the chance to be part of a dance class? Darby’s Dancers is a wonderful new adapted dance program (non-profit based in Alabama) that has been growing rapidly nationwide. My daughter, Carly (with Angelman Syndrome, del+) has been in the program for 3 years and loves it!  Classes and costumes are FREE to students with special needs and each student is paired with a volunteer coach-helper.

I have come to know the founder of the program quite well and have offered to help her get the word out to others. Here's her greatest challenge:

In signing up new studios to host Darby's Dancers programs, they are finding that studios are very eager to support the concept but apprehensive about whether they will get enough students to fill their class(es). For example, right now Darby's Dancers has two studio owners on the brink of signing — one from GRAND RAPIDS, MI and the other in MADISON, WI.

There is no question in my mind that lots of families want this type of program. It is just a matter of getting the word out. And as I know all too well, non-profits have limited budget for marketing. So we need to rally the word-of-mouth troops — and that's YOU. Please help spread the word about this fantastic opportunity! Studio owners and the Darby's Dancers team want to connect with parents of children who have special needs and organizations who serve them. These connections help them get the word out and build confidence with potential host studios that there will be enough interest.

Anyone interested in having a child participate and studio owners wanting to know more about offering classroom space should contact Valerie Jones darbysdancers@yahoo.com.
http://www.darbysdancers.com

About Darby's Dancers

12News Story about Darby's Dancers

One Father's Desperation Holds Urgent Lesson for Us All

These comments from July 25, 2015 warrant reposting today.

The Angelman Syndrome community worldwide has been reeling this week -- experiencing a horrifying, heartbreaking loss. Never before has my passion been greater that caregivers need support, encouragement, a place for resonance, an adequate rhythm of respite and the kind of hope and strength that only Jesus Christ can give. 

Take a moment to read/watch the full news story (July 23, 2015). Click here: "Facing changes to the respite care situation for his 16 year old son, a father took his son to an area park and killed him" and then killed himself.

I'll never be able to thank enough the many people that have poured into our family so that we can thrive amidst the 24/7 weight of "extreme caregiving." Some seasons have been better than others but there's no denying that the way people have come alongside to support us is remarkable. (It should not be remarkable. It should be commonplace for all of us to have enough compassion and margin in our lives to reach out to others who are so stretched.) 

While I can't fathom taking the kind of action this dad took, Larry and I (as well as our oldest children Alex and Erin) all know too well the kind of desperation that can be felt behind closed doors when things like difficult behaviors, seizures, diaper catastrophes, cyclic reflux vomiting or sleep deprivation have taken us to our wits end. My heart aches and a sense of nausea wells in me when I consider so many friends who struggle daily with deep depression and/or sense of overwhelming loneliness/isolation caring for a loved one. 

Our culture doesn't value caregivers enough, doesn't pay respite staff enough (it's extraordinarily difficult even to find people willing to work this type of job at ANY rate of pay), doesn't encourage enough. Yet there are shining examples of progress. For example, the heart behind Caroline's Cart and practical value it is bringing to families is like a hug from God. 

We must pray for the reality of this need for community and outreach to sink in and fast. May all of us to value more highly our opportunities to encourage one another, lead lifestyles that prioritize time to support a weary friend and have courage to ask for help when we're struggling. May we create churches that go beyond just being welcoming places to becoming places that truly ENGAGE with these families, do more than just "be nice" and actually figure out how to carry another's burden. 

Lord, help us all. 

When Graduation SHRINKS Rather than EXPANDS a Young Person's World

Spring is here in all it's glory and the greens seem more vibrant to me than ever before. I hope you're seeing opportunities to soak up the refreshment of this new season!

Our daughter Carly turned 18 years old this past weekend. And she'll graduate from high school in just three weeks. For Carly this is a dramatically new 'season' and you might be surprised that there are some very unsettling things about this for her dad and me—things that are causing us some grief. I hope you won't mind that I share some personal reflections about it here because I believe God has something to say about this to each and every one who is reading today. 

As other students head off to college, explore new jobs or take a 'gap' year to discover their true passions, Carly will begin a transition program a few miles from home in a building filled with several other young adults who, like her, experience significant developmental disabilities. While there will be plenty of important and enjoyable activities, a skilled and caring staff, and new friends among her classmates, there will be no typical students in that building. None. Unlike high school where Carly participated in the mainstream choir class and walked halls with typical teens, she will now be more isolated from 'normal' society than she has ever been before. Occasional school outings to places like the grocery store (to learn money skills), some family activities and church attendance will be the extent of her exposure the 'outside' world.

Typical high school graduates are seeing the world open up before them; opportunities and relationships are blossoming. But for Carly, becoming an adult and finishing high school means that life will be changing in very different ways. In contrast to Carly's peer experiences, her world is in high risk of shrinking. Unless somebody thinks creatively and takes initiative on her behalf, Carly's opportunities and relationships will immediately start narrowing after her last day of high school.

Carly is highly social. Yet she is fully dependent on others to bring her places and help translate her efforts to communicate and engage with others. Her social connections will continue to narrow unless her caregivers, church and community are intentional about optimizing connectedness for her. Carly also has gifts to share with her church and community. Yet she is fully dependent on others to make room for her and assist her in plugging in. Unfortunately, I see a world that is too naïve to notice and too busy to join us in exploring and embracing the possibilities. So I'm praying for a culture change. I'm also praying that God would give me fresh energy and vision to see the opportunities for Carly (and others like her) and show me how to facilitate connections and belonging for her in a world that doesn't really understand what God has said:

“Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts we think are less honorable we treat with special honor." 1 Corinthians 12:22-23  

"God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another." 1 Peter 4:10  

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these'" Matthew 19:14

How about you?

Have you noticed any adults in your congregation who have disabilities? If you have, you might praise God for the caregiver or group home staff who have been willing and energized enough to initiate that outing! You can greet these friends — BOTH the caregiver and the resident. You can thank group home staff for their supportiveness. You can greet these friends and ask questions about their day as you would with any other friend. The few moments you spend chatting with them may be among the very few 'outside world' interactions they have all week.

How can you help adults with special needs in your congregation find ways to serve and increase their sense of belonging in the community? The church is not complete without these friends. More than just being friendly with each other, we must think of each other as ministry partners and invest in helping each other share in the life of the church and in life with Christ.

Does it cross your mind that there are numerous adults in your community who are invisible to you? Perhaps they are there and you just aren't paying attention. Perhaps they are not there because nobody has made a place for them. There are a range of obstacles that keep people with special needs from attending church. Although building accessibility and transportation can be challenges, the more frequent issue is emotional. None of us wants to keep going where we aren't noticed, cared about or feel like we belong.

Angela's Glory Story

(Above) Lukas — 2009

This Glory Story was originally posted in the spring of 2009 at www.findingglory.com and appears today with a marvelous update at the end. 

I would like to share my story with you about what "getting out of a comfort zone" (taking a step of faith in Jesus) looked like for me and my husband, James. 

My husband and I started dating in July of '98 and were quickly married in June of '99. It was quick but when you know, you know. We tried for years to have kids and with no luck. We even tried fertility and still no baby. Well, life changed for us drastically in June of 2005. We learned that my husband had a child out there from a prior relationship before we met. He never knew about this child and this really was a shock to both of us. There were moments for me of confusion, anger and sadness that I was not going to give him his first child. 

We went through the motions required to determine if this child was actually his. The day before Fathers Day we learned that James was indeed 99.99% the father of a little boy (7). He was actually born 3 months before we started dating. 

We were determined to make sure that we would be part of this child's life since we finally knew about him. We still were not prepared for what would lie ahead of us.  

We finally got to meet this precious boy (Lukas) to find that he was wheelchair-bound, non-verbal, drinking out of a bottle, not able to feed himself, mentally about 18 months and had many behaviors. But, oh boy, did he have a heart of gold and the smile to light up the world.  

Okay, so now we had found out about this boy and then learned he has special needs. What a shock!! There was no diagnois at this time. The mother was not actively trying to find one nor was she taking him to any type of therapy, relying completely on the school system to provide his care.  

We immedaitely starting having Lukas over every weekend and as often as we could. We wanted to build a relationship with him and see how we could improve his quality of life. There were so many unanswered questions and the mother was not cooperative. After many doctor appointments we learned that he was being abused at home and not getting quality care.   

We were successful in gaining custody and he came to live with us full time on June 23rd, 2006.  In the first two and a half years of having Lukas in our home he was able to walk, grew to functioning mentally at about 3 years old, was less combative, started drinking out of a cup and feeding himself, began playing with toys and was beginning to use a communication device to talk with us. We enjoyed wonderful moments with his smiles, hugs, and loving spirit. We also received a diagnosis. We found out in early 2008 that he has Angelman Syndrome with the deletion of the UBE3A gene.   

We prayed for children and our wish was granted — though not in the manner we thought would happen!  

God has a plan. I believe that with everything that I am. We are so blessed to have this little boy. It's not easy. Our support system is extremely small. Date nights do not happen. We spent many years married with no kids and the ability to do anything together. This has been a drastic change for us. But, we would not give it up for anything. Our faith has helped us through this time. I think that most marriages would not have made it through this.  

We were shaken out of our comfort zone, that is for sure. But, God is good. We have a wonderful child in our home who is thriving and improving each and every day!

MARVELOUS UPDATE:  
Angela originally shared this story in 2009. Since that time, Lukas has made ongoing and encouraging developmental progress while the family has continued bonding and growing together. Angela gave birth to Lukas' little brother Brody in May 2012. 

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17

May we never stop being amazed by how creatively and beautifully God reveals His presence, power and goodness in our lives!

(Above) Lukas and his little brother Brody — November 2012

Scott's Glory Story

I want to thank Scott Price for allowing us to share his recent personal reflections for this week of Thanksgiving. Scott and his wife Laura have responded to a calling from God to adopt several children with special needs. Their daughter, Vicki, was able to return home last week after being hospitalized for 28 days with a life-threatening infection. Scott first shared this story on Vicki’s CaringBridge blog three weeks ago and it spoke volumes to me about the power and purposes of our sovereign God. It stirred me to marvel and give thanks to Him. I trust it will turn your eyes toward Jesus also.

A DELICATE BALANCE  by Scott Price 

Vicki is in somewhat of a pattern. As evening and night roll around, she likes to "party."  Well, maybe party is an overstatement but when there are a lot of people in your room, that should qualify as a party.  (We do have one staff person that's on a mission to get a disco ball in the room, but that's another post). 

She tends to raise her temp and have a harder time breathing late in the evening and during the night.  That brings in the "party."  With these things, she worries her doctors, so they draw labs, do respiratory treatments, alter medications and then she decides the party is over and goes back to sleep—about 5 a.m.  Last night was just such a "party." 

As I ponder this journey, what I am most amazed by is how our bodies are in an extremely delicate internal balance a majority of the time.  Consider all of the things you don't think about like breathing or your temperature.  Your body just does it!  For me, it reinforces my faith in our Almighty God and the fact that He created us.  There's just no way that this delicate internal balance we were given somehow arose out of a combo of gases, or from an evolutionary process, or whatever other theories have been concocted over the years.  A wise and awesome God thought everything through and came up with this amazing and wonderful design. 

What reinforces this great design is how we as nurses, doctors, other staff, and parents are trying desperately to keep Vicki in some sort of balance.  We've done a myriad of things with over a half dozen doctors, the lab, countless nurses, Laura, me, and a couple of PCAs observing, getting tests, attempting interventions, and of course praying to keep her scales level.  

Early on when we tried one thing, it tipped another thing out of balance.  She was on a seesaw for many days.  Now the seesaw still tips back and forth, but it is much less dramatic.  And it's amazing how one little thing like raising the head of her bed at the wrong time or feeding her too fast can send the seesaw into wild swings. 

All of these things just circle me back to an amazing design by a God that really knew (and knows) what He's doing.  He told us this was true in the book of Romans: 

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." Romans 1:20 

This amazing balance that resides in each of us should cause us first to pause at how well it works but then second to realize that God made us and we need to thank Him for that.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

One Mom's Glory Story

The following Glory Story was shared by a mom of several young children who is walking through an unwanted divorce with courage, faith and hope.  In spite of her daily challenges and fatigue, she is choosing joy and lives by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in her.  Please join me in praising God for this example of His power and presence in our day-to-day lives. And while you're at it, pray for this hurting but rejoicing family.

On Friday afternoon I received a 49 page divorce decree which my attorney called "the most complicated decree he has seen in his career." Unfortunately, the most important part (the separate parenting plan) was missing and is expected tomorrow. 

Despite how unwanted, challenging and overwhelming all of this is, I wanted to tell you how I'm being encouraged by "God moments." When I went to bed Thursday night, I peeked at the devotional title for the next morning.  It was titled, "With You To the End." That gave me hope that my prayers for the decree to come in by Friday would be answered.  

When I woke up Friday and read the morning's devotional, it was more than perfect. It was based on John 14:16-17 (CEV), "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."  Even more fitting, I went on to read Matthew 28:20 (MSG): "I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."   

This morning (Sunday), on the way to church, my kids and I had not had a good morning.  To top it off, we were running late and I got stopped by the long light at the intersection next to church.  As I sat staring at the church, I glanced at the church marquee which read the words from — you guessed it — MATTHEW 28:20!  I laughed and smiled all the way into the building. 

God is GREAT all the time, but especially when He gives those "subtle" reminders right when you need them.  

James & Jill's Glory Story

A member of our Board of Directors shared this family's story with me a few weeks ago and I've been so encouraged by it — for a couple of reasons.  A little boy named Micah has been surrounded by a remarkable community of loving and supportive family and friends.  Yet Micah's story should not be remarkable.  God delights in using sacrificial love and the outreach of His people because He uses intersections of love to reveal His power and presence (1 John 4:8) and He delights in surprising us with unexpected gifts (Luke 11:12-14, Ephesians 3:20-21).  

James and Jill (Micah's parents) are humble, enthusiastic Christ followers who are trying to help each of their children reach their full potential developmentally as well as in character and Truth.  That SO inspires me!  While the specific circumstances and challenges of our own lives may be very different from what Micah's family lives every day, each of us has opportunity to be blessed and be a blessing when we allow our lives to intersect with other's.  Sometimes that means reaching out to help someone in very simple (seemingly insignificant) ways and sometimes it means doing big things.  Perhaps most difficult of all — yet, oh so important — is being willing to ASK for that help.  

Asking for help can be the open door God uses to spill out blessing in astounding ways around you today!

Thank you to James and Jill Olson of Crosslake, Minnesota for allowing us to share their story and the photo (below) of beautiful Micah. By sharing this family's story, Walk Right In Ministries does not intend to endorse a particular program but does encourage families to seek the Lord and prayerfully explore their options when identifying resources through challenges.

To Our Amazing Family and Friends,  

It has been almost three weeks now, since our trip to The Autism Treatment Center of America for their Son-Rise Program® training in Sheffield, Massachusetts. We cannot express our thanks enough for all the financial support and loving prayers that made this trip a reality! We were so greatly touched by the outpour of love and support. People have been so genuine and sincere with wanting to help and learn more about Micah and how autism affects our family. Please know that our lives, our hearts, our beliefs were touched in a way that we never even knew to expect. God is good, and you are all beautiful angels to our family!  

We stayed on the Sheffield campus for a five day training to learn the Son-Rise Program®. We were there with 81 other individuals, from 13 different countries, seeking a new way to help a loved one with autism. We were all united by our determination and love for our child with our hopes to help them break through autism. It was an uplifting week that inspired hope and courage in us to always press forward, to know that our child’s potential is limitless, to never lose hope, and to always choose happiness today! 

We learned new approaches and techniques to help Micah and our entire family through challenging moments and how to build on already wonderful, positive moments. One of the key parts of Son-Rise is to have the 3 E’s: energy, excitement, and enthusiasm! When we first came home, you could tell the boys noticed a change within James and me. We celebrate (somewhat over the top) each positive moment, such as good eye contact and having flexibility. Micah heard “thanks for looking at me” with such excitement in the first few days, that he started telling us the same thing and eventually asked us to stop telling him that! We also learned new approaches for the control battles that usually led to great frustration and meltdowns for Micah. 

Micah challenged and escalated the situations quite a bit in the first few days, but started to realize that something has changed and thankfully, he is responding amazingly! I have done many happy, victory dances in this house just in the past few weeks!  

We know we have quite the road ahead of us, but we are so encouraged by the renewed spirits we came back with, the hopeful outlook for the future, and Micah’s responsiveness to the program. We will be implementing the program more over the next few weeks. We are setting up a room to be the Son-Rise playroom where we will work one-on-one with Micah to achieve specific goals for his social development (eye contact, communication, interactive attention span, and flexibility).  

We will continue to support Micah’s body with various supplements. We will continue with his HANDLE (reflex integration) and craniosacral therapies and his specialized diet. Above all, we will continue to love and nurture this beautiful, precious boy that God Almighty blessed our lives with. We will take delight in who he is today and give thanks for the creative, thoughtful, and exuberant boy that fills our days with joy and love!  

We thank you again for your loving support! May “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace”. (Numbers 6:24-26)

Recapping the Summit

Larry and I returned from the 2013 Accessibility Summit on Sunday night and I've been anxious to give an update and express our gratitude ever since!  It's always hard to believe so much can happen in just a couple of days.  Frankly, I'm still processing it all.  God is doing beautiful things within the broad community of people serving in disability ministry and we're especially grateful right now for friends at McLean Bible Church who host this annual conference attended by almost 600 people.  Our experiences shared today are representative of many similar stories from hundreds of folks who are planting seeds and reaping harvests of encouragement, insight and soul-saving work.  

God is always faithful and we had the privilege of seeing that in so many ways before, during and since the conference.

• We were sent off with the great personal encouragement of notes from our prayer team — so empowering and comforting.
• Just before leaving we found out our dear friends Kirk Stoa and daughter Jana were in DC so dinner was arranged and we spent our first night treated by really fun fellowship and a fabulous meal.  We received that as a personal touch from God Himself who knew just what would kick off our trip perfectly.
• A group of special needs moms who have been using the Finding Glory small group curriculum asked to meet us for breakfast on Friday. During our rich conversation and prayer time, they shared that one of the moms in their group had left the church for another religion after her child was born with disabilities.  These women invited her to participate in their group and then as they all shared Glory Stories the last week, this woman gave her testimony.  As a result of their study and fellowship together, she's come to full faith in Jesus Christ and caught God's vision for His good purposes in her challenges! Well done ladies!
• God answered many prayers as it relates to the keynote speakers this year who gave hope-filled messages and proclaimed Christ clearly.  Clay Dyer, professional bass fisherman born without legs and only part of one arm was a firecracker of energy.  Emily Colson (daughter of Chuck Colson and author of the beautiful book Dancing with Max) was fabulous.  We had the opportunity to meet her a the leader's lunch.  She's down-to-earth, courageous, inspiring and delightful!
• Larry gave his presentation "The Importance of Special Dads" to a packed room of men and a couple of women.  The strong male turnout alone was a huge answer to the prayers of conference organizers who share our heart to engage and spur on dads who are faced with the enormous challenge of leading their special needs families.  Larry shared very helpful insights and generated powerful discussion among participants.  Of course, he kept them laughing too.  I was so proud and blessed to see Him in his element and know that I get to be one his love spills out on every day.  I'm very excited to see how God is going to increasingly use CLC Christian Leadership Concepts to develop men in all areas of their lives.
• There were hundreds of visitors who came by our exhibit and so many hungry for prayer and encouragement. It was gratifying to serve that way and to meet many with a strong interest in using the Finding Glory small group curriculum in their churches.  I believe we sold over 30 copies of Finding Glory in the Thorns and at least that many FG Discussion Guides. One church in Houston, TX is starting their group this spring and bought 12 study packages.  Another woman came by the table to tell us their group is currently on Lesson 4 and one of the participants just accepted Christ as Savior and Lord!
• God is opening eyes and hearts about the need to care for those who are in caregiving roles as well as the often forgotten/lost group of people experiencing mental health issues.  We were thankful to see there is growing sensitivity to the demanding role of caring for aging parents too.  We are increasingly hearing about churches using the Finding Glory curriculum for "Caregiver Support Groups."
• God gave insights and resources to church leaders wanting to do better reaching out to special families. I had the privilege of being a panelist for a session with these folks serving alongside Joe and Cindi Ferrini (FamilyLife speakers and authors of Unexpected Journey), Karen Jackson (director of Faith Inclusion Network), and Jolene Philo (author of Different Dream Parenting).  I know God stretched and encouraged all of us during that conversation.
• We got to exhibit right beside our friends Nathan and Laurie Chuba from Virginia.  We met them at the Summit last year and Laurie immediately volunteered to serve on the Walk Right In Ministries Intercessory Prayer Team.  What a joy and privilege to share those hours with them and then finish the weekend with a wonderful prayer time with them.
• Larry and I had a quick day afterwards to sleep in and play a little including part of an Orioles game and some sunshine before heading back to "Narnia." (For those who don't know, they had 13 inches of snow while we were gone and school for two of our daughters was cancelled.  Prom pictures were taken from a snow drift just for posterity!)
• Carly was very well cared for by my folks while we were away and grand memories were made as Erin experienced her senior prom surrounded by her grandparents, both sisters and many friends.  Praise God everyone stayed safe and healthy.

I was hoping to keep this recap of Glory Stories shorter but there really is SO much to tell and I believe God wants all of us regularly putting His power and presence on display (Psalm 20:7, 34:2, 96:2-3).  So thank you for indulging me, for praying with us, and for helping others to know that God is very much alive and His Word is active among us!  Save the date now for the next Accessibility Summit coming April 4-5, 2014.

And whenever you have a Glory Story of your own to share, will you please let us know?  Our Intercessory Prayer Team loves to celebrate and sometimes it's appropriate that we share those stories for powerful encouragement at this Blog.

May God bless you today.  Please keep praying for the growth of disability ministry in the Church, for people experiencing disabilities, for caregivers and their families and that God would be made known throughout all of this stretched and courageous community of precious people!  

We're very grateful for the opportunity to walk with you in Christ.