“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is perhaps one of the best known phrases penned by our founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence.   They considered these to be three unalienable rights of human beings.   I find it interesting that it is the right to the pursuit of happiness, not the right to happiness.  Our society sometimes gets that confused and our culture seems to think that we have the right to be happy and if something doesn’t make us happy, we should avoid it or remove it from our lives.    And this right to happiness seems to be my individual right to happiness which has no thought about how my happiness might impact anyone else’s happiness.  

This sense of entitlement has impacted how we as a society view people with disabilities.   The thought of having a child with a disability might mean that my life might not be as happy as I would like it to be, so it would be better to abort a baby with Down Syndrome.  Ninety percent of women who discover they are carrying a child with Down syndrome, abort the baby.   However, I’m guessing that most of those women have never met someone with Down syndrome.      Recently our STARS sang “You’ll be in My Heart” at the You Raise Me Up concert to benefit Special Olympics and they will definitely always be in my heart.    The International Down Syndrome Coalition used this song for the video they produced about having a child with Down Syndrome.   These parents let the world know how their children have positively impacted their lives.  Check it out:  http://www.youtube.com/watchv=jVxz71ygHbk 

Another tribute to the value of the lives of people with Down Syndrome is written by George Will of the Washington Post.  He says of his son, Jon, ” Judging by Jon, the world would be improved by more people with Down syndrome, who are quite nice as humans go.”   You can read the entire article at:     http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/jon-will-40-years-and-going-with-down-syndrome/2012/05/02/gIQAdGiNxT_story.html

At our recent Disability Ministry Sunday, Glenn and Debbie Kosirog shared how their faith in Christ and experience of having a daughter, Christy, with Down Syndrome has impacted their lives.   Glenn is a pharmacist and he took the unpopular stand of refusing to sell the “morning after pill” in his pharmacy.  The state of Illinois theatened to take away his pharmacy license and his pharmacy, but Glenn and Debbie decided to fight the action in the court system.     Glenn said, During the court battle, I was asked  “What does my religion have to do with abortion pills?”   It is not about religion for me.  It is about a relationship with JESUS.  GOD loved me so much that HE gave HIS only SON JESUS to die for me.  What great value I must be to our FATHER GOD!!  What great value each of you ….  each of the yet unborn…..  each of you STARS  must be to our CREATOR GOD!

Then Debbie added, We have our own STAR teaching us about the value of life.  Our youngest of 5 children,  Christy was born with a serious heart defect and with Downs Syndrome.  After Christy’s birth we told GOD we could deal with the heart issues, but we could not deal with the Downs.  Well meaning family said  “It’s a mistake”  NO – The Downs was no mistake but instead the Sovereign hand of GOD showing us HIS goodness in an unexpected way.”  

In 2011 the 17th district circuit court ruled it was unconstitutional to mandate that all pharmacists dispense abortion pills.  This was a tremendous victory!  However, the state of Illinois is appealing the decision.   

 Let’s fight in the court and in prayer so that our brothers and sisters with Down Syndrome can pursue happiness and be all that God intends them to be.  Would you join me in praying that the ruling of the 17th district circuit court would stand?  

“Branding” seems to be the passion of the day.  Companies spend countless dollars on getting their ” brand” out there.  And it isn’t just secular companies that talk about “branding.”.  Our modern day brand of Christianity is often about self-promotion and the proclamation of the gospel becomes about the right method.  Lon Solomon says in his book, Brokenness, “We have begun to associate the moving of God’s Spirit with bigness and dazzle and glitter…Self-promotion has come to be promoted and even applauded among those who purport to be men and women after God’s own heart.”    We want to be the first to do something or  be the one who comes up with the “original” idea.  We want to be on the cutting edge of ministry.  And that becomes our focus instead of Christ.  This often leads to jealousy, strife and competition about who has the “right” method.  If an organization seems to have some “success” and people come to Christ, then the rest of the Christian world is  clamoring to figure out how they have done it so they can reduplicate it.  Our American entrepreneurial can-do spirit wants to franchise the Holy Spirit. 

Yet this is nothing new.   The apostle Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians.  In his day, he and Apollos were the two great Christian teachers and evangelists.   And instead of focusing on Christ, the Christians started identifying with the minister of the gospel instead of the author of the gospel, that is Christ.    They started saying, “We follow Paul” and others, “We follow Apollos.” And jealousy and competition started to creep into the church.   But Paul would have none of it.   He tells the  Corinthian Church that he and Apollos were only ministers through whom they came to believe.   And he reminds them that they had nothing that they hadn’t received from Christ and if they had received it, they had nothing to boast about.  ( I Cor. 4:6-7).  

Paul planted the churches and then Apollos came and watered the churches through his teaching, but it was GOD who made the churches grow–not the ministers of the gospel or their methods.  I even see this happen in disability ministry.  Some say, “I am from the STARS ministry” and others, I am from “The Joni and Friends ministry. “  It is all too easy to focus on the ministry instead of Christ.  What are any of us except ministries through who people with disabilities have come to believe?   And God decides who he will use and how, not us.  

 J. Oswald Sanders in Spiritual Leadership illustrates this point in the life of  St.  Francis.  A brother came up to him and asked, “Why does everyone want to hear you, see you, follow you?  You are not at all handsome or learned or from a noble family, but the whole world seems to want to follow you.”    And St. Francis replied,  “He chose me because he  could find none more worthless, and he wished to confound the  nobility and grandeur, the strength and beauty, and the learning of this world.”  God is not looking for the best of the best, but the least of the least so that the world sees that the power of the gospel comes from Christ and not from us.   God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.  The weak things of this world to shame the strong. (I Corinthians 1:25)  It is His sovereign choice. 

Perhaps this is why God often uses people with disabilities to spread the gospel.  Through their own brokenness they have experienced the power of Christ and the gospel in their own lives. 

If we are going to talk about branding, let’s talk about the Christ Brand.

This past weekend I was in Jackson, Mississippi, speaking at the Love Finds a Way conference sponsored by MNA special needs  and Joni and Friends, Jackson.    Over 200 people came to learn more about working with people with disabilities.  I was encouraged to see how churches are really catching the vision to welcome people with disabilities into their church family. 

I presented the workshop, Worthy to be Taught, which is one of my personal favorites. I have had people say to me, “Why bother teaching people with intellectual disabilities.   Don’t they automatically get into heaven?”   Yet, Christ commanded us to make disciples of ALL nations and that certainly includes people with various disabilities.   And most people with intellectual disabilities have a mental age between 6-12 years and we know that many children between the ages of 6 and 12 come to faith in Christ.   Jesus reminds us in Matthew 18:3 that unless we change and become like little children, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
 

Often people can think that teaching a Bible lesson to individuals with intellectual disabilities shouldn’t be too hard and don’t think they need to spend much time preparing.   However, the opposite is probably true.   A real test of your theology is whether or not you can explain a Biblical concept to someone with an intellectual disability.   These individuals are concrete thinkers, which means they understand words in their literal sense.  Like, “How does Jesus get into my heart?  Through my stomach?”  They also may understand more than they are able to express.    This requires much patience on the teacher’s part and trust in the Holy Spirit help them understand.  Yet the rewards are great. 

Amy is a young woman with Down Syndrome and she has come to Sunday morning Bible classes for years.   She rarely says anything and for a long time we thought she was unable to speak.  Sitting still is hard and Amy often wanders around the classroom during singing and story time.   The teachers often wondered, “Is Amy really getting anything out of the class?”  Yet they remained faithful and continued to teach in a variety of ways.  They were rewarded when several weeks ago Amy stopped in class and sang, “Jesus Loves Me.”  Their eyes filled with tears as they realized that Amy did “get it.” 

Yes, Jesus does love all the Amy’s of this world and he speaks their language.  As Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.”  

 Yet, it was the generosity of all the people putting on the show that made the greatest impact on me personally. Emcee Todd Busteed and the Musical Moms–Jolene Billingham, Marcia Macy, and Robin Wiper, donated their time and talents to get the message out.  They wrote the show and spent countless hours rehearsing, memorizing their parts and arranging for all the performers.  Bill Billingham, Jolene’s husband, is a conductor at the Lyric Opera and he donated his time to provide the accompaniment, write music and conduct the Little Britches Band. 

 Then there was Dick Dahlstrom who donated his time to design and build the set and provide a place for it to be stored.  He added a barn to the set this year and personally painted each board.  He arranged for a crew including Jim Stough and some Wheaton College wrestlers to help set up the stage and tear it down.  Steve Newhouse, son-in-law of Board Member Tim Klenk, spent many house on the set and took charge of the deconstruction.   Would you believe the entire set now fits in a small portion of the garage at Washington House? 

College Church donated the space in the sanctuary for the week before the shows and provided excellent support for the performances throughout the entire week. College church staff  Tim Hollinger, Dave Carlburg and John Packard gave sacrificially of their time to organize and support the sound system and the set-up.  What a blessing!  The Handbell choir gave up their rehearsal time so that there could be a full dress rehearsal on the Wednesday evening before the show.  Thank you Paul Wrobbel.  Pastor for Worship and Music Chuck King moved his choir to another room on Thursday night so that the sound and recording equipment could be left in place in the choir room. And this was only weeks before the choir’ presentation of the Messiah on April 1.  Thank you, Chuck, for your sacrifice.  

 Then there were the STARS parents.  Trish and Al Seagren coordinated the entire event and spent countless hours making sure all the details were covered.  Ray Klein organized a team of parents to flood the community with flyers about the shows and did an excellent job of getting the word out.  He also organized parents and STARS to be ushers at the show.   What can I say about the Dessert Divas?  STARS moms, Alyce Belgio, Pam Matrisciano, Trish Seagren, Kathy Carter and Nancy Delort handmade and decorated the “cake balls” and put them in spring baskets for edible centerpieces at the reception following the Friday night show.    The costs for the reception were minimal because STARS families provided all the handbaked cookies.    

 The Washington House Parents  were hostesses at the reception  and shared their experiences.   The Washington House staff, Darlene Yamane, Christine Williams and Trace Nelson donated their time to help at the reception.

The SFS Board Members (Ray Chase, Jim Davis, Ken Swanson, Michelle Linhardt, Nancy Singer and Joan Stough) supported the LPOH in a myriad of ways.  Most of them  have full-time jobs and everything they do for STARS Family Services is in addition to what they are already doing. Board president, Ray Chase, spent countless hours consulting with the performers and the development commission.  He always kept the big picture in view, but excelled at the small touches like providing a meal for the performers at the dress rehearsal.  Board Member Michelle Linhardt did a fanstastic job notifying the media about the upcoming event and handling all the publicity.   Development Commission Chairperson, Rose Gustavson, is a volunteer and guided the LPOH commitee in the planning and strategy of the event.    This is truly a labor of love. 

The only thing all these people asked in return was for people to donate generously to provide supported living arrangements for our STARS.  This is how God intended the body of Christ to work–that we would have equal concern for one another.  That when one part suffers, we all suffer.   We are to look for ways to carry one another’s burdens.  As Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”    And how does Jesus love us?  With a self-sacrificing and generous love.     When we do that, we truly become “little patches of heaven.”

Ravi Zacharias once asked this question:   ” How do you reach a generation that listens with its eyes and thinks with its feelings.”   Perhaps the answer is come and Square Dance with the STARS!  On Friday night we had over 30 high school students join the adult and teen STARS for dinner and a square dance.   They modeled Biblical love, actively listened to the STARS, engaged them in conversation and danced their hearts out!   By the time the worship and Bible story time came, the STARS were more than ready to listen to their high school friends because their eyes had told them that these students cared and valued them.  

And the high school students learned something about worship as well, for STARS are not inhibited in expressing their praise.   As someone recently said, ” The STARS sure do know how to worship!  Shari & David were dancing, singing and raising hands and praising the Lord!” 

Psalm 150:4 says, ” Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe?”   

When was the last time that you were so enthralled with Jesus and what he has done for you that you danced for joy?

On Sunday morning, I was walking through the halls of our Kid’s Harbor children’s ministry and saw four year old Paul coming to church.  He had a big smile on his face as he walked through the halls using his shiny red walker.  I thought, “Oh, good!  Joe will be so happy that Paul is here today.”   Shelley Swanson, our inclusion coordinator, tells how God is using other children to include children with special needs in our regular classrooms. 

In the STARS ministry, we’ve been blessed with some wonderful kids who are being friends and buddies with our wonderful young STARS.  In fact, some of our best helpers with the young children are their peers or near-peers.                                                                                                                                   

 At 9:30, Joe (age 14) assists Paul  in Sunday school.  Paul has trouble with balance and needs someone nearby when he’s trying to walk.  Using an older child as a buddy to Paul was the idea of Paul’s Sunday school teacher Dana.  Dana, a mother of a child with special needs, knows how her own son loves being with other kids.  “Isn’t there an older boy to help Paul?”  Joe fit the bill perfectly.  He was looking for a way to help at church, and since he has a brother with special needs, he was a natural!  What a joy to see children befriending other children!  

 On Sundays at 11:00, older children help our young STARS as they are included into WOW (Wonders of Worship) for children ages kindergarten through grade two.  Lizzie, Sean, Isaiah, Ellen, and Sarah are near-peer buddies, but they are also friends.  And as the children in WOW see these cool older children being friends with our STARS, they are watching and learning.  We’ll be seeing some of these younger children following their heart-felt examples in the years to come. ” 

 And it isn’t only younger children who can learn by their example.  Do you have a friend who might just happen to have a disability?

Recently my husband and I were speaking with a group of college students and sharing our lives and ministry experiences with them.   One student asked me, “You work with people with disabilities all the time.  How do you keep from getting so sad when you see all the brokenness?”   It was an interesting, honest and unexpected question.  I didn’t have an immediate answer.  I reflected for a few moments and then answered, “Look at the image of God in them and not the brokenness.  See what they are becoming, not what they are.”   I will confess that my own words challenged me as well. 

It is all too easy to look at the outward appearance and that doesn’t just apply to the way we look at people with disabilities.   In our own brokenness, we tend to look at the faults and imperfections of the people around us instead of seeing them as individuals made in the image of God and dearly loved by him.   We judge by the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.  And frankly, we tend to be blind to our own imperfections and excuse our own brokenness.

My friend, Steph Hubach’s son, Tim, has Down Syndrome.  Steph said that one day her family had received information in the mail about a certain mercy ministry.  After dinner, the family was discussing poverty, social justice, pros and cons of different methods as well as the different issues that this minstry was trying to address.  In the midst of their energetic discussion, Tim , interjected, “Do we have any money?  Can we send them some money?  Can we help them?”   And the image of God and the heart of God shone through Tim’s response.  Steph said that in that instant we had to wonder who had the disability.   

We are all broken people.  Yet when we believe in Jesus, God gives us this treasure of Himself and His spirit in our own personal jars of clay, which may include broken minds and bodies.  He does this to show that any power we do have, comes from God and his working in us and not ourselves.  How have you experienced this in your own life?

On our drive back from a two week Christmas vacation in Florida visiting kids and grandkids, I started to write out New Year’s Resolutions.   Have you ever felt that making New Year’s Resolutions is like setting yourself up for failure?   I sure have, but it is important to have plans   That’s why we asked Mary Anne Ehlert of Protected Tomorrows to come and speak to our Friday Night Parent Group.  Mary Anne is a phenomenal speaker who shares from her heart about the sister with cerebral palsy that changed her heart forever.   She says, “My close relationship with my sister taught me what really matters, what really is important in life, not only day-to-day, but also for the long term.”   As an expert financial professional, Mary Anne walked the parents through the Eight Steps in designing a Future Care Plan.  At the end of her talk, the parents were wanting more.   The parents came away knowing that they needed to have a Special Needs Trust now and they also felt empowered with the resources that Mary Anne had shared.    So if you need to do some planning for your child with special needs, contact Mary Anne Ehlert at:  mehlert@protectedtomorrows.com or check out their website at www.protectedtomorrows.com. 

Wise people plan for the future and  in Proverbs, the ant is commended because although it has little strength, it knows and plans enough to store up food in the summertime BEFORE the food is needed. Proverbs also tells us to get good counsel: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

However, it is easy to put all of our hope in OUR plans and then if something goes wrong with OUR plans and things don’t turn out like we had planned, we become discouraged and lose hope.   We can also become very anxious when we start thinking that everything depends upon our ability to plan and think through every option in order to keep bad things from happening.   I have often been guilty of this as I try to do 360^o  checks during some of our STARS events.     This is when I am reminded of Proverbs 16:3:   Commit to the LORD whatever you do and HE will establish your plans.   The God who created the heavens and the earth and raised Jesus Christ from the dead has promised that if we commit what we are doing and planning to him, we can trust him to work out all things for our good.  

At the end of his life, the Biblical leader Joshua said, “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.”  

So make good plans, consult wise advisors, but remember to put your hope in the Lord and in His promises to you. He will never fail you.

I confess that I am a “tech-y” kind of person.   We owned one of the first personal computers, the Osborne, which was about the size and weight of a portable sewing machine.    And now I am the proud owner of an iPAD 2 and am I having fun!  As I was preparing to visit my grandkids at Christmas, I started searching for Apps that they would enjoy.  I was particularly interested in Bible Aps for kids.   I was delighted in what I found.  The Read and Share Bible App by Tommy Nelson is great and has ”coloring” pages that go along with the story.  I particularly liked the Nativity Story App put out by Bible Kids 3D and downloaded it for just $2.99.   Can’t wait for more of these stories to come out.  “Coming Soon” isn’t soon enough for me.    The more I watched this App, the more I thought–this could really be great for our STARS Ministry. 

So this past Sunday, I did a little “show and tell” exhibition in the Young STARS classroom, which is for students whose disabilities make it difficult for them to learn in the  in the regular children’s classes at church.  The students’ responses were even greater than I imagined.  Sarah, who has difficulty engaging in the lesson when traditional teaching methods are used, quickly came to life and wanted to see what this was all about.   She loved touching the screen and watching Mary raise her hands to praise God.  She listened intently as the story was read in this interactive format. We had a hard time getting it away from her.    Other students liked playing the Memory Game or putting together the puzzle that was tied to the story.   One of the teachers, Victor, suggested getting a cable to hook the iPAD up to the TV screen so more kids could see.  My good friend, Kathy, recommended getting Otterboxes for the iPADs to protect them.  In the New Year, we are hoping to purchase several iPADs and have them used in our classrooms.   Do you have any suggestions for using the iPAD to teach Biblical truth to kids with special needs?   This Christmas, are you giving  Bible Apps to your kids?  Please share! 

It is exciting to see technology making such a difference in communication with children who have special needs.     And that is what we are all about here at College Church–making the gospel message of Jesus Christ accessible to everyone! 

Let’s not forget that God used some pretty spectacular means to get people’s attention and communicate the message of Jesus’ birth:  bright lights, angels singing, and the brightest STAR ever seen.   How about giving your child an App of Wonder this year for Christmas?

“All those who wander are not lost.”   However, I am directionally challenged, so generally when I wander, I am lost.   Finding my way to a new location is always a challenge for me.  Before the days of Mapquest I would always get lost.   My favorite function on my iPhone is the GPS function.   No longer do I wander around trying to figure out where I am going.  At least not as frequently.   And even when I do get turned around, I love the “Use Your Current Location?”  The answer is always, “ABSOLUTELY!”  Because frankly at that point, I have no idea where I am and am grateful that the satellite “finds me” and tells me where to go.   

At Christmas time it is so easy to get distracted and to lose sight of where the Christmas season intends to lead us.   I get distracted with the decorations; getting the tree to stand up straight; presents for the kids, grandkids and rest of the family.   I need a Heavenly GPS to tell me how to get on course again.  Our recent STARS Christmas program helped me see the Christmas story once again in a fresh way.   The key verse was, “People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  Because Bethlehem was so busy, there wasn’t a room for Jesus to be born in.   A dirty stable was all that was available.   The city of Bethlehem was oblivious to Jesus’ birth.  There were people in Bethlehem a stone’s throw away from the manger, but God didn’t announce Jesus’ birth to them. They had already said they had no room.  Instead,  He announced his greatest gift to a bunch of dirty shepherds who were in fields outside Bethlehem.  God must have seen something in their hearts. He knew they’d make room to take a side-trip to a stable and wind up praising and glorifying Him.   

 How do you keep from getting side-tracked at Christmas?