Bethany came home from Dazzlers with her yearly dance pictures. On the top of the photo sheet was her individual pose- on the bottom, the picture of the team- she is absent- missing- vamoose. Her daddy asked her, “Hey Beth, why aren’t you in the team picture? Where were you?” Immediately she covered her ears, […]
“Mom! I can’t find my Bible Verse in your phone Bible, Mom!” I looked at my screen and double checked. “What’s the Bible verse again, Bethie?” “Ephesians 2:8,9 – It is by grace that you have been saved, through faith. It is a gift of God, not by works, so that no one […]
Brandon Heath sings a poignant song, Give Me Your Eyes. The chorus is this: Give me your eyes for just one second Give me your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missing Give me your love for humanity Give me your arms for the broken-hearted Ones that are far beyond my reach. […]
Dazzlers is the dance group Bethany has been privileged to be dancing in for the past seven years. A beautiful picture of inclusion, Dazzlers ends each session with joining hands in a large circle, praying and after the Amen- they spell- D-A-Z-Z-L-E-R-S. We might have missed the chance to be included. I expect inclusion […]
Hustling into the bedroom, determined to “hurry” Bethany along so we could get to school on time, I stopped abruptly. Bethie was sitting in the middle of the floor, still in her pajamas, sporting a blonde wig. “Beth- you need to get dressed for school.” “This is what I’m wearing today mom. I decided.” “Well, […]
Advocate- one that defends or maintains a cause or proposal Wouldn’t it be nice if things would automatically work out for the best in our lives? But since they don’t, 🙂 I’m raising the praises today for Bethany’s many advocates! Without her team of supporters, she would likely be pigeon-holed by low expectations and lose […]
I am a Special Needs Parent- that makes me a Rope Walker. ~ Sometimes, just 1 THANG- (you know the word”thang”- it’s a gargantuan THING) breaks me down, open my floodgates and I begin to cry. I am a rope walker. When I look down I’m afraid of falling. How do I begin to explain […]
We can’t stop every “Word Bully”- but we can teach our children about the power of words and how to overcome! There will always be word bullies. Sometimes it’s because “Hurt people, hurt people.” Other times, people have evil hearts that crave hurting others. What ever the case – we need to be prepared BEFORE […]
“Mommy! I SAY…… I want to work at the hospital.” d “MMMhmmm. I know.” I murmured. 100 times of hearing that sentence in the last 24 hours had me scrambling to think of anything to get Bethany Re- Directed. d s Bethany gets “fixated” “stuck” “embedded”- Focused on what she wants- She keeps talking about […]
d I tailor make a lot of Bethany’s reading books because there are some very specific things I want her to know. The first book I made was a catechism of sorts titled “Who is God?” It asks questions and then gives simple answers. ie- Who is God? God is my Creator! Who is God? God […]
I abhor prejudice! I detest the unjust treatment of someone based on their gender, color, IQ, age, wealth or lack thereof. I believe God detests prejudice also. God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34) He makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust. (Matthew 5:45) God’s Son was sent to save […]
Having home schooled Bethany until last year- we were blissfully ignorant about constructing an IEP. Each public school child receiving special education & any related services must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Each IEP is an individualized document which creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel and students (when appropriate) […]
I love the story of the man methodically picking up and throwing starfish back in the ocean- one at a time. Someone ridiculed him and chided, “You’ll never be able to save all of them….why even bother- does it really make a difference?” He wisely replied, “It makes a difference to this one!” We can’t […]
“Nana! Nana!” Finley and Amy came running back to the house from the church parking lot where they had been playing. Bethany was close behind with a guilty look on her face. “What Finley? What’s going on, Amy?” Wide-eyed and breathless, the girls told me Bethany had called 9-1-1 on her cell phone. I […]
Last Friday and Saturday I was blessed to go to the Believe– Woman of Faith Conference in Kansas City with 7000 other Christian women! But by far the biggest blessing was that all three daughters attended with me. (missed my daughter-in-loves but they are busy in the midst of raising babies and we all know […]