Changing Direction

When I started this blog, one of my purposes was to be a source of relevant information for the Charles County Brain Injury Group. I also wanted to work with my son Mike to assist him to reach out and touch his world with the gospel. Jesus said to "Go." It should be the rare exception if we "stay."

To purify the focus of this blog and to make sure that the Brain Injury Group has a dedicated site that can focus on their unique needs, I am separating the two sites. This blog will be named "Joy in the Journey." I got this from the title of one mine and Mike's favorite songs. It was written by Michael Card. One of the lines in that song is "...hope for the hopeless and sight for the blind." This is the purpose of this blog.

I am creating another blog specifically to meet the needs of the Brain Injury Support Group. This site will be hosted at http://www.ccbrain.wordpress.com. This site is new and still in development but come over and take a look.

Don't Lose Heart

So we do not lose heart [we don't get discouraged]. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us [right now!] an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison... (2 Corinthians 4:16-17 RSV)

Sometimes, I just wait for God to tell me to do something. But the New Testament never instructs me to do that. Its message is: God is with you; therefore reach out, risk something, venture, move out, plunge in, try something new that you've never done before and trust God to see you through it. The promised result is a life enriched beyond your wildest dreams.

"Lord, help me to venture out for You today. Help me to get out on a limb where the fruit is."

God's Masterpiece

Whenever you feel unqualified, insecure, defeated, or just plain overwhelmed. Remember what Jesus says about His children - you are His masterpiece!

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:10

"The word translated "workmanship" is really the word poem. We are his poem. Or, if you like, perhaps it would be better rendered "we are his masterpiece." God is working out in our lives a tremendous exhibition and demonstration of His wisdom, His power, His love, His life, His character, His peace, and His joy. He is teaching us, training us, bringing us along, applying the paint in exactly the right places, producing a marvelous masterpiece to be put on display. This is to result in good works: kindness, love, mercy, compassion, help to one another, meeting one another's needs." - Ray Stedman

Involve Me

Tell Me and I Forget

Show Me and I Remember

Involve Me and I Understand

Good advice. One objective in starting this blog was to involve Mike and share his passion for Jesus and compassion for others. I happened across an interesting technology that is getting better all the time. That technology allows Mike to hear the posts and provide input. It allows him to hear your comments and the emails you send. This text-to-speech capability is not too bad. It helps us proof-read information before we publish it. I downloaded the free software at NaturalReaders.com. They also have a good demo available. The free version is not too bad. The voice is a little rough but usable. You highlight the text you want to read, hit CTRL F9, and it reads what you select. However, the free version is limited in the amount of text it will read. I have since upgraded to a higher quality voice. The download size of the voice was over 500 Mb. I used a program called Flashget to speed the download. Next, Mike and I will research speech-to-text capability. With speech-to-text, Mike will be able to share his thoughts directly. We are also looking at podcasting and video. Too much to do and so little time but ain't technology great!

More On Faith

"Fear looks around, but faith looks up."

"Don't have great faith in God, but have faith in a great God."

"Faith is born in the storm and conceived in the incubator of impossibility-don't panic-don't quit-don't stop short of the prize. Remember: your need is just a miracle in disguise"

"Faith doesn't make sense, but it does make miracles."

"A teapot is in hot water up to its neck and still sings."

And finally, just remember that behind every dark and stormy cloud is a ruined hairstyle and worms on the sidewalk.

Faith

The other day, we went to a Bible Study where the discussion centered around faith. Afterwards I heard a good definition of faith by Bob Gass (Word for Today).

• You go to a doctor whose name you can't pronounce,
• Receive a prescription you can't read,
• Take it to a pharmacist you don't know,
• Get medicine you don't understand, and
• Take it with confidence.

Now that's real faith!!

The Answer

I received this comment from Alistar who lives in Brisbane, Australia: "There is a little girl about 12 years old here in Brisbane Australia, confined to the bed or the wheelchair, unable to feed herself or talk. She's been like this since birth? How can God use her?"

Alistair, thank you for your comment. Believe me, I can identify with the pain of the family. Mike can identify with the pain of the little girl. After my son Mike was in the car accident, he was hospitalized for over 18 months. He came out of that coma very slowly. For most of this time, he could not walk, talk, or feed himself. Initially, we fed him by hand--with an eyedropper--drop by drop. As you can imagine, after many months this wore us out and the nursing staff attending him. We had to agree to begin feeding by a tube inserted into his stomach. I constantly asked the question "Why Lord?" and how God could possibly use this situation to work for good. The only answer I can give is found in Proverbs 3: 5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

I have learned that all things are working for "His Good and His Glory" and not what I think is good. My definition of good centers around me and my comfort. "His Good" has an eternal purpose. His purpose and plan for that young girl and her family was developed by a loving God before time began. I don't pretend to think I have all the answers . But through it all, I have come to realize that "He is the answer." I must totally trust Him each day and every step of the way.

I asked Mike what he wanted to say to the young girl. His reply "Ask-keep on asking and you will receive. Seek--and keep on seeking and you will find. Knock--keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. We serve a God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask, think or even imagine. There is nothing impossible with Him."

Alistair: Mike and I believe in miracles. We are praying that one is heading your way.