Comments for Special Hope Network

Comment on Today in the Washington Post by John Burke

John Burke — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:32:37 +0000

Pray for those involved with the movement to eliminate the “R” word. They speak for many whose voices are never heard. In terms of “what word will be next….” if there is another word that is demeaning, inaccurate, hurtful, and stigmatizing that word would be a good candidate.

Human expression develops over time. “Moron, idiot and imbecile” were the terms used just decades ago to refer to those with developmental disabilities. Like “retard” those words lived out their place in the vernacular.

Take the opportunity to communicate with an individual with intellectual disabilities. Then you’ll be able to call hm/her by name rather than by the term society uses to calibrate their degree of “normalcy.’

Comment on E-News and Updates by Open Your Mouth- A Night of Worship and Advocacy | Special Hope Network

Open Your Mouth- A Night of Worship and Advocacy | Special Hope Network — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:48:35 +0000

[...] E-News and Updates [...]

Comment on Today in the Washington Post by gordon

gordon — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:22:38 +0000

use kind words, moll … be kind to your sweet stister -
if we all heard the words of the Lord out loud, every time we found ourselves slipping into “unwholesome talk,” what an amazing grace would fall upon the world.
there’s a lot to be said for the noises of nelsons; let’s all use kind words to our sweet sisters and brothers. they are everywhere.

Comment on Who Are You Forgetting? by Brooke

Brooke — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:47:45 +0000

I cried reading the description of the kids…oh how I’ll miss you all! Thinking and praying for you guys as you pack up this week!

Comment on Value and Noises by liz

liz — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:39:53 +0000

We will miss the Nelson’s too! Tanner keeps saying,” The Nelson’s are moving to Africa. What will they eat? Do they have mcdonals there?” I share your feelings on going out in public. When Tanner was smaller and would touch anyone who walked by I was always so scared that they were going to have a bad reaction. Only once did that happen and I remember telling them he Can’t help it. You will be a great mom no matter where you are. I will remember our trip to the apple orchard and all the singing and laughs our children had that day. Prayers and love for you always!!

Comment on Value and Noises by gordon

gordon — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:07:05 +0000

i remember when we knew you guys were coming into the classroom as soon as you entered b building – twins are here! one of us would shout … like susan, i will miss the sounds of your family. once, maggie climbed up to one of the cupboards and turned on the tape player secretly, hoping for some sharon, lois, and bram, and instead pressed the record button.

we listened to the tape later, laughing that all we could hear were porpoising and cleaning groans, happy dance noises and the occasional wild giggle; thankfully it was not a day with any howls or perseveration or repeated self talk – don’t hit your sweet stister, moll – best fwend – at least, none of those noises ended up on the tape.

oh dear nelsons! your pale skin and blue eyes and blond hair will cause heads to turn anyway – your singing, darker children will be the ministers they have been here, and i know that two things are sure: first, that the people who do respond will be so blessed that their hearts will overflow toward you, and second, the Lord is pleased by the joyful noise!

sub-saharan africa will never be the same … and neither will those of us who have been so blessed by you all here. the same Jesus who gives you the courage to face the blank stares or hostility in the local stores or community will give you more than you could ever ask or imagine when you are sojourners in a foreign land.
we will never stop praying for you, either -

Comment on Value and Noises by Susan

Susan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:12:17 +0000

I am really going to miss the noises of your family.

Comment on Why We Need A God Who Favors The Weak by gordon

gordon — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:14:47 +0000

today i sat with a 14 year old boy as we waited for the ambulance to come yet again, and i watched his limbs shaking and his eyes trembling and heard his wild laughter and his wordless sounds and felt his hot skin under my hands trying to calm him; he shook and cried and laughed and his thin legs plunged up and down against the stiff metal of his wheelchair, and i was powerless.
the medics arrived, cool and professional, scooping him up, all the while taking histories of illness and medications and disabilities, and carried him away to the enormous, clean, well staffed teaching hospital of the university town where we live. there his blood levels of various important things will be tested, he will be evaluated and assessed and given nutrition and hydration and eventually, God willing, he will be released to his loving, worried foster mother.

what a moment of revelation – that this orphan here in the usa, with multiple, severe, and profound physical and intellectual disabilities, has been in the public school system since he was just out of infancy; that he has been taught by some of the best people i’ve ever met; that he receives the best medical care our area has to offer; that no one has set him aside in an overcrowded, under-staffed, forgotten place without teachers, love, support, or hope.
i couldn’t stop his seizing in the classroom, i can’t make him walk or talk or read or hold a pencil – i can’t heal him; i can’t help all the forgotten, lost children like him in africa – but – through this child and the constant reminders of the frailty of our physical selves, i can see what my weak and complacent nature has led me to forget:
“the LORD my God has brought me into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where we will eat food without scarcity, in which we will not lack anything …” i have been blessed thus, and yet often “my heart becomes proud and i forget the LORD my God, who has brought me out from the bondage” of legalism and lies and the worries of the flesh.

i was today a broken orphan who lashes out at the hand of God, as i held a broken orphan in my arms who simply is in the hand of God; as i am given the extraordinary gift of clarity of vision
through the weakness of this child, mine is revealed; through my weakness, the LORD’s blessings are revealed – and finally the truth begins to dawn: “i can do anything through Christ who strengthens me!” if He leads me anywhere, there will i follow, rejoicing.
The LORD is our strength – where else would we go?

Comment on Why We Need A God Who Favors The Weak by gordon

gordon — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:02:25 +0000

i can process the idea that God is perpetually happy with Himself, but that He is happy with the world and our sin and the terrible things we do outside of Him is a tough one … but possibly that is what edwards is really saying (but i haven’t read it – can you tell?).
anyway, having got that out of the way, i am always amazed that anyone could ever feel consistently strong or safe or protected here in the world; like peter’s response to Jesus: “Lord, where else would we go?”
as i have been reading through the Word, it becomes daily more clear: i have been a slave in egypt and yet while wandering in the wilderness a free woman, i have cried out in anger and self pity to return to the bondage of pharaoh; i have offered strange fire to the Lord; i have bitterly complained that i should be considered as holy as anyone; i have worshipped idols, golden calves made from the leftovers of my past; i have trusted in armies and horses and told lies about the promised land – we can’t take it, it’s defended by giants, fall back, retreat, give up; i have denied my Savior and been inhospitable to strangers and failed to visit the sick, the prisoner, the widow, the orphan … and yet -
who will save me from this body of death? thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord!
without Him, i am a desperate, broken, wandering orphan – where else could i go?

Comment on Our own weakness, ahead of or behind us? by gordon

gordon — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:00:09 +0000

as always, right to the heart of the matter, nelsons.
i am reminded of my first day of teaching – i had begged the autism specialist to be there so that i wouldn’t be completely overwhelmed by the responsibilities and remarkable challenges i knew to be coming, and he had kindly agreed. the day had crashed and burned despite our best efforts, and we were both unable to stop one child from collapsing on the sidewalk, violently smashing his head on the concrete, screaming uncontrollably, and attacking anyone who intervened. when the buses finally left and the kids were gone, he said to me, “today, all of my weaknesses and inadequacies have been revealed.”
your kids were easy for me to love, and it is easy for me to slip into prideful smugness when i read about people being afraid or unkind around them. however, there have been many times when i’ve found myself weeping with frustration and helplessness and shame when i haven’t found love or patience easy to come by.
and yet – how will we know if we are weak and blind and helpless? it is the gift of God that we are given, through your kids and my students and the orphans of the world who have special needs – if we can’t admit the truth of our own limitations of spirit and strength and love, that we have all fallen short of the glory of God, then we can’t really know His grace and salvation. in glorious irony, the Lord has made me rejoice as He has allowed me echo the words of my friend from school: “today all my weaknesses and inadequacies have been revealed – thanks be to God!”