Breaking the ice

Recently we had a weekend filled with snow. As the weather allowed I did my best to keep up. With my daughter being in a wheelchair it is all the more important that we keep the walkways clear. However it came to the point on Sunday afternoon where I had to go to bed, this meant there would be more snow to shovel when I got up around midnight for work. Sure enough there was about an inch of heavy weight snow. As quickly as I could I cleared a path to our cars and headed off for work.

When I got home though things were different. That heavy weight snow had frozen up due to the drop in temperature. The good news was that everything I had shoveled before work was still clean. While the bad news was the snow plow had come through and pushed some snow back over the section of road that had been cleared dor my daughter to get on and off the bus in her chair. Cars had driven through and the neighbor had also backed over the freezing snow turning it to hardened ice. There was no time to try using salt to melt the ice. Experience had taught me that at this point I need my ice breaker and shovel. That ice breaker would chip away at the ice and the shovel would move the broken off pieces put of the way.

I would love to say I cleared the area of ice by the time my daughter came home, but that wouldn’t be the truth. Still though I did bust up some ice which opened up a little of needed area. Those parts where the ice was too hard I worked on chopping grooves into it to allow our boots a means of gripping the ice instead of only dealing with that super slick surface.

While I was working away I got to thinking about John the Baptist. Over in Mark 1:3 he was described as the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” his call was to “prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” He wasn’t the voice of all nor were multitudes gathered saying the same thing as he was, he was just one voice doing what he could. His task was similar to mine in a way, we both had to prepare the way for the arrival of someone important, it’s just that his person was vastly more important than mine. For the brief amount of time he had John did what he could with what little he had. We actually have more than him as that we have the complete Bible and that Jesus has already come the first time. Whixh brings me to my next point, that being Jesus is coming again soon. It is our duty to prepare the way for Him into people’s hearts. Because the next time He comes for those who are not saved it will be too late. Chip away at the cold hearts with what you got about eternal salvation, it might make all the difference and keeping them from falling into Hell one day.

Does God have nightmares?

I had another rough night of sleeping the other night. Not so much from the pain and discomfort in my neck due to the accident. No, this was because of some bad dreams and nightmares.
Just before bedtime my wife had informed our daughter it was time for bed, she very plainly said “I don’t care”. Well around this house dad and mom are still dad and mom and those living under my roof will respect that. She got a spanking for what she said along with the reminder as to who God has placed in charge. For me though all my dreams that night were about my daughter getting in trouble for saying and doing things she shouldn’t have. It was terrible, I love my daughter and don’t want to punish her.
That lead to this thought, does God have nightmares? To start let’s clear one thing up Psalms 121:4 “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” God Almighty never has to even take a nap let alone sleep. Sleep is for us humans. Now in Mark 4:38 we find this about Jesus, “And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow”. When here in his 100% human body Jesus who was also 100% God had to sleep. I don’t know if He dreamed any. What I do know is that most dreams and nightmares I can recall are centered around lust (lust isn’t just sex but anything we crave can be a lust such as food or people or cars etc.) laziness (not working even though I should and can) nightmares are generally about being afraid and fear is the opposite of faith.
Well God doesn’t sin so that basically eliminates all of that. So does God have nightmares? In the loosest sense of the word, yes. His nightmares are when His children disobey Him and get out into sin. Not that He has been caught by surprise. Nor has it ruined His plans. It is about His children who are called by His Holy name living in sin with His Holy Spirit living inside of us, 1 Corinthians 6:19. That means the Holy Spirit, the 3rd member of the trinity, has to go through that sin that we are enjoying. For Him that is Holy that is a real nightmare.

Keep seeking till you get the answer

A couple of weeks ago my family stopped at Memories Pizza in Walkerton Indiana before a church service. On each of the tables is a cheap little game to entertain their guests while they wait for their delicious pizza. Our table had a combo kit and one of the games was Pick Up Sticks.

I remembered this game from my youth but my wife and daughter had never seen it. So I took advantage of their curiosity and started the game. My wife instantly realized the potential to help our daughter and her fine motor skills. You must be precise and not move any other sticks when you pick up your chosen stick. Since then we have been searching for our own set.
I guess the fact that my wife had never heard of the game should have been a clue as to how difficult it would be to find this game. We have searched the internet. Dollar stores and toy stores alike have been searched. People have said how surprised they were that their store didn’t carry it or that they had recently stopped carrying them. As I went to finish my shopping I stopped at a Christian book store to see if they had any books I would be interested in, which they didn’t. My bladder made a request to be emptied so I made my way to their washroom which took me through their small toy section. And their it was, a container of Pick Up Sticks. These will help my daughter.
Jesus talked about this effort in Matthew 7:7,8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
What Jesus said here is a command, one that we as believers are to always be doing when it comes to God, His word, and His will. Don’t stop looking because others have. Keep searching because in your effort to know God better He will bless you because you will be continuing in faith. Faith that God wants you to experience Him more and know Him better. This isn’t about riches or health but about your relationship with God.

Mother’s day with the in-laws

Ruth 2:23 “So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.”
We do make a distinction between mother and mother in law. And it is a shame how many times the mother in law and the child in law don’t get along. Here though Ruth shows us that it is possible for the two to get along. Even to the point that although Naomi had fallen into depression and seemingly given up Ruth stayed with her and took care of her. She could have easily just decided to watch out for herself and leave Naomi behind but she didn’t. Ruth went to work and supported Naomi and herself.

Movement

The other day I was sitting on the couch watching my daughter move around on the floor. She was completely oblivious to my gaze. In my mind I thought about how much I love her and wish I could do more for her.
She has made a great deal of progress thanks to her therapies. Hearing her talk to her toys is a joy, especially given how at one time all she could do was chatter in some sort of baby talk when she should have left that behind long before. Her C. P. is not cured but all improvement is greatly loved.
I wonder if God looks at us the same way. At one time we were crippled by sin. Then, for those who accepted Jesus as their Saviour, healed. Sin still exists with us because we are still humans living in this robe of flesh. Every set back due to falling into sin is hard on us but when we come and confess that sin He forgives and restores us, 1 John 1:9.
We are running a spiritual race, one that involves a great many crashes on our part. We fall down and have to get back up again. I have to imagine when we do get back up again (confess those sins) our Father smiles a little because He loves us.

Lot, to not a whole lot

In Genesis we are introduced to Abraham’s nephew Lot. After Lot’s father died Abraham raised him and even took him to the promised land with him. Along the way both men got very rich, back then wealth was measured by herds and such animals more so than money. By the time chapter 19 rolls around Lot is so rich he had to separate himself from Abraham because both men had more animals than the land could support. Lot has even gone on to be a prominent member of society while living in Sodom. He had it all.
But then judgement of Sodom came there in chapter 19. Suddenly Lot found out he was really bankrupt; spiritually, morally, and financially.
In verse 8 he is shown as morally bankrupt when he offered to give his 2 virgin daughters to the men of the city to rape instead of the 2 strangers who were now in his house. In verse 14 he is shown as spiritually bankrupt when his testimony is revealed to be so bad that even though God was willing to spare him and anyone he could get to leave the city and Peter calls him “just Lot” (2 Peter 2:6,7) that his sons in law think he is crazy. After their escape before the city is destroyed Lot finds he has nothing left but his 2 virgin daughters and the clothes on their backs,  verse 31 no wealth so why would anyone want them attitude.
Lot who had has money, servants, cattle, a wife, daughters, and in laws has found out the hard way that none of it will last. But God. Remember God did spare him and the Bible does call him “just”. I believe we will see him in heaven one day but his bankruptcy will include no good testimony, only that he was saved by fire.

The Need

Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.
A couple of years ago the Lord began dealing with me, at the time I didn’t know what about exactly. I just knew something was coming up. A few weeks later my parents came up from Tennessee and while they were here they informed me that they were going to give me a small truck and that when I had time to fly down there and drive the truck back. When the time came I flew down there spent a few days with them and drove the little blue truck back. God supplied the need.
It did however seemingly put me in a bit of a bind. We now had 4 vehicles to put plates on, insure, maintain, and drive. I am certainly not complaining because God had it all worked out already. My green truck was developing problems and I am no mechanic, so fixing it cost too much for me. It ran but needed work. A few months later a friend of mine knew of a family that needed a vehicle bad so they bought the green truck. God supplied the need.
Most of time I left the blue truck in the garage because me and my wife can only drive 2 cars not 3, but the little car I was driving for work decided one cold February day to not start again. So the blue truck was called upon to take me around. God supplied the need.
It doesn’t end there though for this little car. After months if sitting, with plates due soon, and a code that said it needed a new timing belt which would run over a thousand to fix, the youth pastor at our church needed a second car. His father-in-law was willing to help him get the car and fix it. They bought it and despite the code reader saying it needed a new timing belt it didn’t just a couple of other things done and it runs great for them. God supplied the need.
God also laid it on my in-laws hearts to buy us a new van because our daughter who has Cerebral Palsy was getting to big for us to get her in and out of my wife’s jeep. God supplied the need.
Two weeks after we got the van I was driving the jeep, because I need a little suspension work done on the truck, I was involved in a fender bender. The other guy blew a stop sign. Everyone was okay. I drive the jeep home, to work the next day, but after work the check engine light came on. My code reader can’t read the jeep for some reason. Right now I don’t have the money to fix it and the other guy had no insurance. So I am only driving the jeep to and from work. Yesterday I got to go preach at a church that was over an hour away, and it was a blast the whole day long. The little blue truck came out of the garage again and ran like a champ. On the way out there I began to think of this blog and how God had already supplied the need for this day two years before hand. My wife had an obligation at our church and had to have the van for her and our daughter but God wasn’t worried about it He had already supplied the need.

Climbing

As I was preparing to leave a stop today there was a somewhat older looking man and a little girl, who I would guess to be about 2-3 years old. He had just finished paying the breakfast bill and turned with the little girl to go back to their table. To do so they would have to climb four steps. She reached over and placed her hand on the wall and then raised her little leg to step up onto the first step. I couldn’t stay and watch her climb, no one was pushing me to get out nor did I feel wrong about watching her. It was a matter of how much it stung that my little girl won’t be doing that anytime soon. If your child walks and climbs stairs don’t take it for granted.
As I walked away the thought came to mind, will there be stairs in Heaven for my daughter to show off on with her perfect body(1 Corinthians 15:52-54)? I am no expert on the New Jerusalem. At the same time it really doesn’t matter. See one thing we know for certain that won’t be there are our failures. Our sins and shortcomings won’t be found inside those gates. In Heaven only the victories will be remembered as we go about in our new sinless perfect bodies. We may not even remember a time when my daughter couldn’t walk but if we do it will be because there is glory for Jesus to be found in the story of her overcoming through Him!
We need look no further than Hebrews chapter 11, the Faith Hall of Fame. Here is a cast of characters who had their faults, sins, and shortcomings. Take Rahab for example. This is the only place in scripture where she is not referred to as being a harlot (prostitute). How about how Moses killing a man or Noah getting drunk? Nope. Victory is the story. Don’t let your past failures and disappointments keep you down. Keep climbing, it will one day be worth it.

Point Of View

What do you see in this photo? A child sitting in a wheel chair? The shadow that is being cast? The ramp ahead possibly leading to the car across the street? How about the shadow in the lower portion?
What you are looking at is my daughter preparing to get on the bus to go to school and that second shadow is mine. Daddy watching out for daughter. The road lies before her.
She is heading off to school having to not only learn but participate in physically therapy to help her walk some. The chair is holding her as secure as possible for the bus trip. What if I told you that you were missing the most important detail. That because of you point of view there is one little thing that means the world to this child? On her shirt she wears everyday a pin that she received at her Nana Brenda’s funeral. With it on she feels like her Nana Brenda is always with her. They aren’t related, they just adopted each other. From her point of view the pin helps her get by.
In Luke 7 John the Baptist sent a couple of disciples to double check to make sure that Jesus really was who John thought He was. In response Jesus performed a bunch of miracles to validate John’s belief. Once they left to report back Jesus asked His disciples what they had originally gone out into the wilderness to see, when they had first heard about John. In verse 25 Jesus called John a man’s man, in v26 more than just a prophet (which is a big deal in of itself), and in v27 Jesus said that John fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 4:5,6 as the forerunner for Christ. Far more was going on then what they thought they saw.
John the Baptist was now in jail for preaching the truth and would soon be executed. He was having a moment of doubt and fear but rather than cling to them he turned to very God and asked for help. From where he was he could see a little bit but needed a clearer picture, and Jesus gave it to him.
There are times that what we can’t see is important and enough so so as that it is for the best if we ask about it. We may uncover some pain but in so doing bring needed relief. Perhaps we see a little detail that no one else cares about but a child holds onto for dear life. It maybe the assurance we need for ourselves to face the trial that lies ahead.

She was left out

Today was supposed to be the first day of 3rd grade for my daughter.  For those who don’t know she has Cerebral Palsy, this means the school system has to provide her with transportation to and from school, a one on one aid, extra time to do class work, etc.  The school she attends is not handicap friendly (even though ADA has been the law of the land for 25 years and they have made other structural improvements to the building over the years). Up until this past year most of her classes have been on the main floor with only library time being on the second floor.  Now there is a very long and steep ramp that leads up to the second floor and her aid the last two years has had no problem pushing her in her wheelchair up and down the ramp.  However this past spring one of the physical therapist who is in charge of her therapists decided that since my daughter cannot wheel herself up and down the ramp without help she needed to be transferred to another school.

We have been fighting this all summer and have gotten other government agencies involved. Let me just state right now the biggest reason for the problems is that the school system doesn’t have the money to get the renovations done and at the same time this should have been taken care of at the very least at some point during the past 3 years knowing that one day my daughter would have to have it. Anyway their lawyer is stalling. From my understanding, not even returning phone calls from the lawyers that are on our side (did I mention that today was the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL). At one point someone from their side said that they could make some modifications to the school but it will take time and she will have to start the year at another school until they get it done.

The beginning of last week the door bell rang and I answered the door.  It was the bus driver who was going to be picking up my daughter and taking her to this other school, informing me as to what time she will be picked up and dropped off. For the record this bus bus owned and operated by the School City of Hammond which is the same school system that is in charge of the schools. Now you may ask why I bring that up.  Well with today being the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL one would think that the new school would have my daughter on record, have her files, have her legally required one on one aid, and know that she is now a student there. Fortunately we were calling her off today because they had none of that, especially that last part about her being a student there. My wife started making phone calls and it seems that the very outfit that deemed she couldn’t stay at her home school and that she must transfer dropped the ball and didn’t get her into any school.

I apologize for this rant I know what I usually publish is Bible based but sometimes I have to vent.  For me, I don’t understand most of the politics and fancy words required to be of any real help here.  Basically I am a fish out of water on this one. And my daughter has gone from not wanting to leave her school and her friends to “why don’t I have a school”?  So for this I will cite 1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” That word “care” means worry, stress, anxiety. If it bothers you than it bothers HIM. The second word “careth” means to have concern or be of interest to. In other words if it bothers you it bothers Him, so give it over to Jesus. And I would ask for your prayers in this matter that it will get resolved quickly.  Thank you.