Ten Tips for Working with the Deaf

Hello!  This is Selah's mother, Vonda Hamilton!  I am so thankful that I have been invited to blog on my beautiful daughter Selah's website.  I am celebrating her graduation from high school and imminent departure for college.  Selah has been blogging for several years and I am honored to be a guest blogger on one of her blogs.  I have just started my own blog for our mission, Expressions of Emmanuel, which you can find at www.expressionsofemmanuel.blogspot.com.

Ten Tips for Working with the Deaf

The tip of the arrow beautifully hit the bright red circle!  Yes!  You did it!  You hit a bull’s-eye!  When you interact with the Deaf, you also want to hit the bull’s eye and truly communicate.  Here are ten tips to help you successfully connect with Deaf people.­

Tip #1

Notice the word “with” in my sentences above. It is a great choice because the same sign “with” when moved in a circular motion means “together.”  Any people group must be approached in a manner of humility and camaraderie.  If you start a Deaf ministry program or any Deaf group and you use that little word “to” (i.e.”Ministry to the Deaf”), it can give the connotation that you are extending help.  Any ministry should extend help, but it is so much better to extend help and to receive help – to work together with the Deaf.  The word “with” can proclaim, “We are in this together.”

 You want to value each person: the Deaf, the hard-of-hearing, the hearing, and get input from them all to make your program a success.  When it comes to a Deaf ministry, the Deaf can give valuable input!  They can because they know the challenges and blessings of being Deaf.  However, just as all people differ, you will find that Deaf people may have a lot of common denominators, but each person is a unique child of God, too, and so each person will have different ideas and needs as well.  So, humbly work with the Deaf, they will help you more effectively serve.  Encourage the Deaf to be servants of Christ and leaders in Deaf ministry.

Tip #2

Learn sign language.  If you want to communicate with Deaf people, learn their language!  I encourage folks to first learn American Sign Language and then later learn signed English.  It is important to work towards fluency and be able to communicate with Deaf people who use different sign systems.  Lose your pride and strive to communicate.  Never nervously let your hands flap, aimlessly pretending to sign.  It is not funny, it is actually insulting! 

If you have to mime, draw pictures, or write notes, take the plunge to communicate!  If a Deaf person wants to read your lips, then move your mouth.  If they want ASL with no mouthing, then do that!  Immerse yourself in sign language communication with Deaf people. 

Edwin Westlake is a brilliant older Deaf man, who said to me, “People learning to sign need to remember to not only learn to sign, but to also work on their receptive skills and learn what the Deaf have to say, too!”  It can be a terrible bore and disappointment to the Deaf if you don’t take time to listen with your eyes to what they have to say!  So, work on fluency with expressive and receptive communication skills!  But don’t expect it to be easy!  You won’t be a perfect signer at first!  “Baby talk” in sign language, but keep growing!  Be patient with yourself!  But also keep motivated and never give up!  You can hit the bull’s- eye of communication!

Tip #3

Reciprocate!  People love to share!  You should seek to be a blessing to Deaf people, but you should allow them to be a blessing to you as well!  Learn to serve each other with love.  Also, if a Deaf person pours their heart out to you, they want you to share from your heart, as well. 

Effective Deaf mission work will be accomplished when we learn to serve others with love.  It is important for us to value each other and bear one another’s burdens.  To share one’s struggles in this life (share what you feel comfortable sharing however) is a candid way of valuing each other.  So, with wisdom, share deeply from your hearts.  Reciprocate. Help each other!

Tip #4

Treat Deaf people as equals.  We are all equals.  Don’t pity or feel sorry for Deaf people, they are valuable people.  But, do have compassion for them in their individual challenges, as you would for any person!  No one wants to be devalued with pity.  No one wants to feel “looked down upon” because we are all beautiful in God’s eyes!  Value the deaf!  Learn from them!  Help them grow!  Let Deaf people help you grow in Christ, too!

Tip #5

When teaching the Deaf, use lots of visuals!  Deaf people think visually; approach them using their own learning style to teach excellently!  Use props and all kinds of visuals. 

Also, don’t do obnoxious visual movements that obstruct learning!  Don’t do nervous leg shaking or finger tapping in the view of interpreting or Bible teaching!  (These visuals and those vibrations can detract from learning.)  Also, avoid, walking in front of the interpreter, Bible teacher, or preacher.  When people are drawing or doing overactive movements in the line of the presentation, it can be very distracting.  The profoundly Deaf can only learn with their eyes, so distractions must be minimized!  Remember, keep your visuals forefront in your teaching so as to keep the attention of the audience and to help them “see” the truth!

Tip #6

Don’t expect Deaf people to have the same writing and reading skills that you do!  Most Deaf people have an amazing command of American Sign Language – which is a true language.  You can learn lots from Deaf people about how to develop fluency with their beautiful cherished language!  There are many Deaf people who are fluent in reading and writing English or whatever is the spoken or written language of the land.  However, the majority of Deaf people struggle with reading and writing.  Once again, that does not mean that Deaf people lack intelligence! 

Hearing people take for granted that we learn words from hearing and overhearing them.  Being able to hear our parents and teachers scold us about verb tenses helped us learn to write and read.  If one doesn’t hear, they might be unaware of many words, verb tenses, etc. 

Deaf people often will not find our puns to be humorous. Puns are funny due to their sound, so since the Deaf don’t hear the “funny pun-ny” it might be misunderstood and not at all humorous.  Even it is explained, often the humor of puns is lost in the translation.  Also, hearing people have been raised learning lots of idiomatic expressions.  Deaf people have not had the same access to numerous idioms.  However, some Deaf people do know LOTS of idioms, because they find that idioms are interesting, so they study to become familiar with idioms!  If they are unfamiliar with an idiom, they could be perplexed.  For example, if the Deaf person didn’t know the idiom, “it’s raining cats and dogs,” they might really scratch their head in bewilderment.  Be purposeful and sensitive to truly communicate with everyone you meet.  So, beware of puns, and make sure your idioms are understood when communicating with Deaf people.

Tip #7

Offer all forms of communication.  Although some Deaf people can struggle with reading and writing, still work towards all forms of communication access.  Add closed captioning and open captioning to everything that you can!  But, also always make provision for everyone to have access to teaching/preaching with sign language.  Offer excellent interpretation for services.  Make sure to get a Christian interpreter to interpret services.  The Spirit of Christ will illumine and shine forth from them as they share God’s Word. 

Statistical research show that Deaf worship services and Sunday School classes where everything is done first in sign language (not interpreted) is often more effective in reaching the Deaf for Christ.  So, prayerfully consider helping start a Deaf Sunday School program and worship service which will often offer more clarity in explanation, more service leadership opportunities, and deeper fellowship.  However, some Deaf people really do prefer interpreted services.  Be sensitive and try to help meet the needs of the Deaf in as many ways as possible.

Tip #8

Be respectful and attentive when talking with Deaf people.  If you are communicating with a Deaf person, and you continually break eye contact and look away, you send a message of rejection.  Always looking away states, “You and what you have to say is not as important to me as all the sounds around me.”  You need to focus on the person you are talking to! 

Did you ever see the movie “Up?”  Well, the dog in the story would always get distracted from his current activity and look at the squirrels!  He would turn his head, widen his eyes, and cry out, “Squirrel!”  When communicating with the Deaf, don’t be crying “Squirrel” all the time! 

Emergencies do arise!  Important things can interrupt any good conversation between any two human beings, whether they are Deaf or hearing, but if you must take a break in a conversation, then respectfully say, “Please hold just a second,” before breaking eye contact if at all possible.  Sometimes babies will stick their fingers in electrical outlets and perhaps you might have some circumstances where you just have to disengage, but typically you can show respect and value to the Deaf person by politely saying, “Please hold!”  So, make your goal to be attentive in conversations, giving facial feedback and comments showing that you are truly engaged in the conversation!

Tip #9

Teach Jesus first.  When sharing God’s Word with Deaf children or Deaf people who don’t have a lot of Biblical knowledge, share the stories of Jesus first.  Of the trinity, Jesus is the most visual.  Jesus is the Son of God and Son of Man, who came to show us the way. 

Since on earth, no eye has fully seen God, the concept of God is challenging at first for “visual” people and really all people.  The Holy Spirit being spirit is harder to explain at first too, so begin first in teaching Jesus.  Sharing Christ’s love and the message of the Gospel should be our greatestrgoal of imparting to others.  Since the Deaf have not had opportunity to receive the word of Christ we should be passionate about Deaf people having opportunity to “hear” (actually “see”) the Good News.  (Romans 10:14-15)

Tip #10

Don’t be a “fly by night” friend of the Deaf, ministry team member or missionary!  Be committed!  Seek God about how much time you can dedicate, but whatever God leads you to do, be devoted to ministry with the Deaf.  So many people are so fascinated with the beauty of sign language that they “jump on the bandwagon” (get excited to learn) to learn sign language, but with time their enthusiasm fizzles out.  People learning any language must know that the point of learning the language is to love and know the people. 

In missionary commitment, there can be different stages: the honeymoon, then the green banana stage, and then finally the committed missionary stage.  When working with any other cultural group, people can first experience “the honeymoon” stage where everything is exciting and wonderful!  What a thrill to learn to use sign language, to be understood!  How moving it is to sign songs passionately and expressively from your heart!  But then later, the “green banana” stage can hit!  Signing can be tiring, challenges can be overwhelming!  When trials come, we can tend to see everything as a “yucky green banana” and just want to quit.  It is in the “green banana” stage that we must remember our commitment to love and work alongside and with the Deaf to see the Deaf come to Christ.

 When we are able to face the “dark clouds” (discouragement) and the sunshine (exciting good times) and come what may, still make the choice to be committed to Deaf ministry, it is then you become a dedicated Deaf ministry servant.  But, of course, we must keep on rededicating ourselves to God’ service as more challenges come our way.  (Galatians 6:9)

So, put the arrow in your hand, make it ready to pull back the bow!  Use these 10 helpful tips to assist you in successfully working with the Deaf!  As you trust God and remember these tips, you will find yourself hitting the “bull’s- eye” and having victory in serving God with the Deaf.

Give your best to serving others.

Give your best to the Deaf.

Give your life to Jesus!

Watch our video, "Pigs or Pearls," on our YouTube channel!

Ezekiel 18

     I have found an awesome place to have my daily devotional and I am just loving it! I have set up camp on our balcony, and it’s really special. I hope that you have a special place where you find peace and are able to focus on God and the things He wants to teach you!! Today I read Ezekiel chapter eighteen. The main idea of the chapter is to get across the point that, “The soul who sins is the one who will die”. What it means is that you are responsible for your life and you will be judged for what you have done and not for the sins of your parents.. In today’s time we must know that each person will deal with the judgment of their own sins and not for the sins of others.

     Also that chapter in Ezekiel discusses how a wicked man who turns away from his sins and follows God and does what is just and right in the eyes of the Lord, will surely live and not die. Then it goes on to state how if a righteous man turns from the Lord and does detestable things as a wicked man does, he will surely die.  After that the Bible says, “None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered.” Wow, if that doesn’t make you stop in your tracks, I don’t know what would!

     This brought me back to really think about the fact that many people in this world are tricked into the mindset that their good would outweigh their bad. This is not the case, at all. Christ wants followers! He wants people who are going to do good things in the name of Lord and not stray from the path that he has called us to follow. To elaborate on that, I just think we should do our best so that Christ can get all the recognition that He deserves. Also something else that I think is very important to remember is that God forgives the wicked man, who repents, of his sins and he who changes his ways and follows the Lord is going to live. What good news, we have sinned and we are all wicked but we can become righteous through Christ!! Praise the Lord. This is just an excerpt from my devotional this morning. I hope it challenges you like it did me.

Jonah..

Today I flipped open my Bible, and stumbled across the book of Jonah. It’s a story that I am really familiar with and so I almost turned the page. But thankfully I didn’t because I read some stuff that caused me to really think. Most people know the story, but I’ll go ahead and review it if you don’t. Jonah was one of God’s prophets and He was told by God to go to Nineveh and preach against people because of their wickedness. Well even though Jonah was one of God’s prophets, he didn’t want to go and so he disobeyed God and jumped onto a ship that was going in the opposite direction. Well God caused this HUGE storm to hit the ship and Jonah asked to get thrown overboard so the storm would cease. When he hit the water he was swallowed by a large fish and then spit up on the shore and God again commanded him to go and he went. Jonah preached to the people to repent of their sins and they did and Jonah was not happy about it! He went outside of town and watched to see what would happen next. While he was waiting this vine grew and gave him shade against the fierce heat. The next day the vine died and Jonah was furious..  

God rebuked Jonah, because Jonah was more concerned about the life of the vine then he was about the lives of more than a hundred and twenty thousand people..

That got me to thinking… Are we ever more concerned with things that are not important like how we are going to get the hottest new gadget on the market, rather than being kind to the hurting people that are right in front of us?

I mean sometimes it is hard for us to go out of the way to be kind to people who we wouldn’t necessarily hand pick as a friend, but Christ went out of His way for us – even to the point of death! I was just considering this: would I like to be remembered like Jonah was for his disobedient and selfish desires. Would you want to be remembered for that?

I know there have been times where I didn’t feel like being kind to people because I have been more concerned about my life, but that needs to change. I mean it’s not something you can just say and it happens! It takes work and courage and I want to be remembered for serving God wholeheartedly not like Jonah is remembered. I pray that you open your eyes to the situations and people that might be right in front of you, because that is my prayer! God bless you.

Are you listening?

     God blesses me with these thoughts that just pop up, and help to teach me a lesson. For example this summer I went to Alaska with my family, and we visited a camp. One day I was having my personal quiet time with the Lord, and I had positioned myself where I could gaze at the lake. It was beautiful and everyone around me was absolutely silent. When I allowed myself to be still and silent I could hear things I didn't hear before. I could hear kids from across the lake laughing and playing together. I could hear the birds chirping together. It was such a peaceful moment and exciting to be able to hear things that I wasn't able to pay attention to before.

     When I was praying it was as if the situation was meant to be, because it helped me really understand that we as Christians need to make sure that we are listening for Christ. We get so caught up in doing what we think is important, that sometimes we don't stop and listen to the things that could be heard clearly if we would just listen. My point is God can show us awesome and beautiful things when we allow ourselves to be still and rely on Him.

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

What effect has Abortion had on your generation?

         Abortion has allowed us to ask ourselves, “What’s the big deal anyway?” Our society tends to say it’s just a simple surgery. Abortions take place because we tend to think of the situation as a condition, a complication, a bodily invasion, and an unwanted expectation that we can fix with a medical eradication. We simply call a child in the womb a fetus and don’t remember that we were in that situation at one point in time. At 10 weeks old in the womb, a babe has all the organs necessary for life.  Did you know that abortion is the most common surgery for women in the United States? It isn’t just a snip snap – a medical procedure that is harmless - it kills a life, the life of an unborn child.

This summer I visited a camp in Alaska and a woman came and spoke about her life and told us, crying, that she had aborted her twin daughters. Over 35 years later and she still faced the consequences and pain of having an abortion. At the point in time at which she had her abortion, she was so focused on the effects of having a child that she didn’t consider the lives that she was destroying. Permitting abortion has allowed people to think that they can discard their “mistakes” but in reality we will eventually have to face our mistakes and learn from them, or live a life of denial and unresolved guilt. Adoption is available to people who don’t want or feel they cannot handle the responsibility of raising a child.

Abortion installs a mindset in people that disregards human life, the life of a child. When we disregard one life, what stops us from disregarding life in general? You can see examples of humans doubting each other’s worth, in forms of lack of respect for the elderly, aging, or infirmed. Even if people believe their own lie that abortion is just a procedure eventually they will feel the pain of the unknown, of what could have been.

Allowing abortion has led us to become self-centered, because we are just focusing on getting rid of the “problem” and not allowing that “problem” to be considered a blessing. It must be conveyed that abortion is wrong because if two people have come together and a baby is formed, who are they to say that what has been created is not worthy to live?  There are many brilliant lives that never had the opportunity to share their story with us, because their flame was extinguished before they had a chance to illuminate the world.

Today’s youth have embraced the idea of abortion as a “solution” to their mistakes. The outcome is more sexual activity which in turn leads to lack of commitments and purity in dating or courting relationships.

Abortion is wrong and I’m appalled that we have allowed it this long; we need to put an end to this closed door form of a Holocaust!

Taking Out the Trash.

I just took out the trash. When I took out the trash it was dark, so originally I didn't want to drag the cans out to the street. Although I didn't feel like taking out the trash I did it anyway because I knew it was necessary. You need to take trash out of your house because it smells, also there nothing uplifting and exciting about old banana peels. Plus when you miss trash day and you will have two weeks’ worth of trash pilling up in your trash cans, it takes up space and on the next trash day you have to do extra work to take all the trash to the curb. Therefore it makes a lot of sense to take out the trash on time, because it helps the house stay clean. Also when your trash cans are empty and friends come to visit, it shows them that you took time to clean up for them and make your home special and fresh.

I know you might be thinking, what is Selah talking about!! NO, I have not gotten a job at the dump or picking up trash. I was just thinking about this in relation to Christ and how it can be used as a teaching point.

Each of us has our homes (bodies). We are commanded to take care of our bodies and be good stewards of what we have been given. I was considering this while dragging cans to the front yard... We need to clean ourselves and take out our trash daily, from a spiritual standpoint. As Christians we can't just let our sin and trash pile up and hit the point where we ignore it and just live in filth. We should be observant in what we are letting into our hearts and minds and making sure that we are cleaning out the sin (taking out the trash). It's such an important part of our lives, to ask for forgiveness from Christ and strive to follow His pure example. Often times when it comes to dealing with trash in reality I want to say to my mom, "I'll take out the trash later", Sometimes when I say I'll do it later I forget about it. Therefore I bring myself to consider, have I forgotten to take out my inward trash and sin. If I don't make sure that I am clean inside, then why is it important to take out the garbage for my parents?

One of my points is that we take the trash to the curb every week so we don't have an overflow. It's the same idea with our sin and baggage that we hold onto. We need to make sure that we aren't holding onto jealousy, anger, and hate. Those things can really burden us and make taking out the inward trash hard. We need to make sure that we are reviewing ourselves so that we can strive to be a clean and good example of Christ!

It's the same idea for when you have special guests staying at your home, you take out the trash! You want your home to be presentable for others. If you're a Christian, Christ dwells in you! We take out the trash for our parents. Why can't we take out the trash for Christ?

These were just my thoughts one dark Wednesday night while hauling some garbage cans. I hope this post has challenged you to clean your heart and take out your trash! God bless you!

Unknown Blessings

The book titled “The Gift of the Blessing” is good for people who don’t understand how blessings are important. The first chapter is very important because it discusses the first kind of blessing that we come across in our life. A parent’s blessing is very important to a child. Missing out on the approval of parents can be heartbreaking for a child, and may cause issues for the child as they enter and experience adulthood. This book also speaks about how we are in search of our blessing. You will not always receive the blessing you are expecting, but God’s blessing is beyond what you could ever expect.

In the first chapter of the Book it has two stories, stories about Brian and Nancy. Brian was raised by a father who had been a career Marine Officer.  His father was very strict and was not sympathetic or loving towards his son. The way that Brian’s father raised him, was hard for Brian because he was brought up without any form of tenderness. In the end, when his father was on his deathbed he cried out for his father to say the words that he had been longing to hear, “I love you, son.” He never heard those words, because his father had already passed on. Nancy’s mother had two daughters. She favored the Nancy’s sister, because she thought that Nancy’s sister was better looking. The way that Nancy felt left out over the years struck her at the core. She faced all kinds of issues because of the low self esteem her mother had installed into her. Both of these people missed out on their parents’ blessing and it wasn’t by their own merit that this took place. This chapter helps remind parents how you must install confidence and encouragement and love into a child at a young age and continue to love them for as long as they live.

People often wonder if a blessing is really important in today’s day and time. The answer to that is yes, blessings are important! A blessing can be the way somebody loves you, teaches you a lesson, or just encourages you. There are all different kinds of ways to go about blessing. Parents should bless their children. Husbands should bless their wives as wives should bless their husbands. Everyone should bless and be blessed.

A blessing is created by the combination of meaningful touch, spoken message of high value, a special future, and active commitment. Meaningful touch is described as kissing, hugging, or laying hands on a person. Meaningful touch is giving proof to the person that you are trying to bless them by reaching out and laying your hands upon them as an act of love. A spoken message of high value is encouraging someone with words. It’s letting them know that they do have value and they are precious! Many times in our day and culture we forget to tell others how much we admire, value, and love them. While in some cases, we speak so freely and slightly of love that when you tell someone you love them, they might not believe you. We must have a good balance of the words that we say to others. A blessing can only be fully known when you speak it. God spoke the earth into its form. He said let there be light and there was light. It’s the same kind of idea; we should speak blessings over each other and let the blessings form. The only thing that silence conveys to a child is confusion. Therefore parents should speak encouraging words and bless your children often, so they may know how you are blessing them.  When attaching high value it is best to give a visual to your child to show them how special they are in your eyes. When attaching a visual to the blessing it helps the child see what they are to become and how they must strive towards improving. When picturing a special future, we must know that we do not have the ability to predict someone’s future. We can establish knowledge into the child that helps them to make future goals for their life. The child must know that they gifts they have been given were a gift to them from God. Therefore, they should dedicate their lives to serving Him. The fifth part of a blessing is an active commitment. Parents need to trust in God to provide them with the ability to help their child confirm their blessing. A child cannot be successful without their parents helping them. That’s the same idea that fits with a blessing, as parents you must stand by your child and help them to attain their blessing.

This book really goes into depth discussing the five different parts of a blessing. Each part of the blessing has a whole chapter dedicated to explaining in depth the parts of blessings. Physical touch is very important. The book discusses one woman who had severe pain, but wasn’t allowed to have pain medication because it would put her at further risk. The nurses had to ignore her cries for pain medication and it really hurt her soul. In the end, the nurses gave her pain hugs instead of pain medication. Those pain hugs meant a great deal to her because it showed that someone cared about her and wanted to help her.  It’s the same idea for children and human beings in general; we need to love each other through affections as well as verbally.

People need to hear words of acceptance and encouragement. We need to make sure that we speak words of kindness paired along with physical touch, when giving someone a blessing. Parents in our culture have shied away from blessing their children. Some parents realize this later in life and at that point it is hard for the parent to express their feelings. “For example a father trying to let his son know how he feels about him right before he goes to college, but his son is too busy getting ready to listen. Or a mother trying to impart to her daughter words of wisdom about life in the bridal room, but a photographer shoos her out, so they can get the perfect shot. Spoken words of blessings should start in the delivery room and continue throughout life.” Often times our excuses for not blessing one another is that we simply don’t have enough time. We say things like I’ll tell them tomorrow how I feel about them, but in reality tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Words are not enough in a blessing. You need to put a commitment behind it, show the person how you will stand by them until they see their goals fulfilled. You need to show them that you are willing to sacrifice time and efforts to help them succeed. We need to take action to help the person ensure their blessing, because mere words of encouragement alone are not enough.

Whenever giving a blessing we always want to link the blessing back to God. When you commit someone to the Lord it helps them realize that as much as we might care about them, God cares about them so much more! Whenever you introduce the Lord into your blessings it shows them that even though we can’t really control tomorrow, God can and we have opened their eyes to see how much more He wants to bless them.

Also we need to realize that blessings and discipline are cousins. If we really love someone we will not let him or her fall into sin or hurt themselves without trying to correct them in a loving manner.

Active listening is very important to a blessing. If we do not know what the person is interested in or anything about them in a deep manner then how can we expect to bless them properly? Active listening lets people know that we accept them and care about what they have to say. Just listening to somebody talk about their day can be a simple blessing of its own.

The blessing is not meant just for parents to bestow upon their children. A blessing is something that should be shared between siblings, close friends, people dating, married couples, and your church family.  Every blessing is different, but it is made up of the five same things: meaningful touch, spoken words, high value, picturing a special future, and an active commitment. This book has really encouraged and inspired me to bless others daily and in new creative ways. It has gone in depth and really strives to teach you how to bless others. A blessing isn’t just a onetime thing; it’s encouraging and providing small acts of love on a daily basis. Let’s bless people!

Where are you going? How are you "driving" there?

Okay today we are going to talk about two different ways to drive. I want you to answer these next two questions and decide which type of driver you lean towards being the most. When you get in the car, do you always know exactly where you are going? < OR > Sometimes do you decide that you just want to jump in the car and drive around?  There are postive and negatives to both types of drives. If you are always knowing where you are going and how you are going to get there, some people might think that they are missing out on adventure. While if you just jump into the car and drive around you might be seeing some great things here and there, but you might not be accomplishing something in the end.

I'm going to take these types of driving and try to look at them in a spiritual aspect. I think that the first way to drive would represent a Christian's life. A Christian knows where they are going (Heaven) and they know what are they doing (sharing Jesus). A Christian has a purpose in life and has a set out course, and we have the tools (the Bible) to drive down the right path. We have things to do, and we are focused on what is right ahead on the road. As a Christian your road might curve and twist, but in the end for Christians all the different roads end up at the same place.

For somebody who doesn't know Christ, everyday might seem like a drive that has no everlasting goal. People in general have short time goals, but nothing is ever set in stone. Things change and not everybody will end up at same place at the end of their road. Everyone will have accomplished different things because they had different goals, and they weren't united by a Savior.

My point is what type of drive are you taking? Are you just driving and making it to the end of the day? Or are you driving towards Christ, and the life He has for you! Be different, identify where you are today and make sure your destination is set in stone.

What will be Remembered?

"They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." - Carl Buechner

      I absolutely love this quote! This is so true, because I can remember the way people have made me feel (good or bad) a lot longer than I am able to remember the exact words that they spoke. As people we really need to consider this daily, because if you simply give a stranger a dirty look it could hurt their feelings. My grandma taught me to smile at someone, and that it could possibly make a difference in their day. I know that I feel really good after a stranger performs a random act of kindness towards me. God wants us to love others and when we love relatives, friends, and strangers what we did is something that could stick with them for the rest of their lives. I love to recall all the nice things that people have done for me, because it reminds me of how loved I am. This quote reminds me of a story in the bible. “The Feeding of the Five Thousand” is about how a little boy gave up his lunch, Jesus prayed over it, and the food multiplied to feed five thousand people. In the bible it doesn't say what the boy said, but it did mention his act of kindness. Although we don't know his name he will always be remembered for what he sacrificed. Without that act of service, we wouldn't have the story "The Feeding of the Five Thousand." See God will use your actions! Let God be your focus of life and maybe you will be remembered for your acts of love.

Family

I am so blessed to have the family that God gave me. I love my family so much and I have enjoyed facing the ups and downs of my life with these special people. Family is very important and many people in this day and age don't understand that. I know some people have hard family lives and this may be more difficult for you, but with Christ we can love all people who have done us wrong.

Some teens believe that being a teenager means becoming rebellious and violent, but that's not what needs to be expected of a child of the King. I want people to know that you can rely on your family (this applies to most families but not all, sadly) and you should because God knows you, completely and wholly. God placed your parents in your life for a reason, and if they're Christians they are there to encourage and lead you to Christ. Some kids have parents that aren't Christians but God still has put them in your life for a reason, maybe so that you (as a child) can minister and lead them to Christ by your example.

Try to draw closer to your family, because they are the people that you have been blessed to be stuck with for the rest of your life! Your family will stick with you through thick and thin. My mom is seriously my best friend and we have an awesome relationship. There have been times in my life where we haven't understood each other or even gotten along but that was just part of the growing process. Your parents and siblings are going to make mistakes and hurt your feelings (just like you do theirs), but you have to know that you need to forgive them like Christ forgave us and died on Calvary. I hope this encourages you to draw closer to your family. May God bless you, and help you to draw closer to your family!

The Translation of the Dream I Had Last Night

     There was a race taking taking place. It was a pair race and the course was very long. There were 4 different groups running this long race. The groups started the race at different times, and they were let out slowest to fastest. The slowest group of runners were let out at the first shot. They started to run, run, and run some more. After the first mile they started to jog and when they hit the second mile they decided to sit down and rest for awhile. The second group dashed off when the second shot hit the air like an arrow piercing a target. They began to run hard but grew tired at the mile and a half point, so they decided to stop at the two mile point and play the game soccer with the other team that was ahead of them. The second team thought ,"Well these were the only people ahead of us and they stopped, so we might as well play a game with them because when we see the other team coming we will be able to outrun them." Team 1 and 2 began to play and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Team 3 were able to start the race at the sound of the third shot. They sprinted down the road and they soon found themselves feeling exhausted. They passed team 1 and 2 quite quickly because they had been sprinting but not soon after they passed the other two teams they sat down to take a break and play cards. They thought that since they had passed the other teams and that they were resting instead of playing they would be able to beat the fourth team when they saw them coming up the road. After awhile the fourth gun shot was heard and that let team number 4 know that it was their turn to start running. They started out with a good pace, something in between a sprint and a jog. They ran and did not stop, and soon they were able to pass the first and second team who were playing a soccer game. They were starting to feel the strain on their legs but they had both agreed beforehand that they would not give up no matter what obstacles they had to face. They began to come upon the third team, who was playing a game of cards. The third team started to run as fast as they could but they were no match for the fourth team, even though they had even rested. They fourth team was humble and did not scream taunts at the slower team, although they were starting to outrun them. The fourth team were the ones who ran strong and hard throughout the whole race and in the end they were the ones who won the race!

      The point of the story/dream is that you can be succesful in a race when you continue to run. God has given us the Bible as a tool to help us throughout life. When you trust in God and follow His footsteps and become fully dependable on Him, He will help you to finish the race. We all have our different ideas on what a race looks like in our lives. When we depend on ourselves we will want to give up and play a game instead of finishing the task at hand. The fourth team that won, did not win just because they were the fastest runners but because they relied on the promise they had made to each other to not stop. When we accept God into our lives, we promise Him that He can reign in us. When we make this promise to God we need to follow our word and allow Him to live in us. When you make a promise you need to keep it. When you trust in God you need to trust Him even when you can't see what is at the end of the road in your race. Allow God to help you run the race that is at hand.

Growing Up and Down

     As kids and teenagers, we always say, "I can't wait until I'm older." We focus on when we can change our age and people will look at us differently. We hope that this year, maybe just maybe we have gotten to the age that people won't hear our age and say, "You're that young!!" We want people to hear our ideas and our opinions and accept them. We want to feel like we belong and that people enjoy being around us. When we are a kid we think life will be so perfect when I'm older because I will be free and independent.

     When you become an adult, all you want is for someone to say that you look younger than you really are. In becoming an adult, you have gotten older (obviously) and been placed in multiple situations that you have to overcome. Adults dread becoming 70 or above because that is the age where your voice really starts to become lower. Your voice become lower because often times the younger generation thinks that older people don't know what they are talking about because they weren't even born in the current generation. Adults sometimes just want to go back to the times that they were kids because they feel that life was so simple and easy because they just got handed everything and there were no bills to pay.

     When you are a kid/teenager you can't fully comprehend what adult life is like because you haven't been able to experience it yet. Also when adults wish they could become younger they tend to push away all the memories of all the hard things they had to overcome or they make the trials they went through seem simple compared to the ones they are dealing with right now.

     The fact is we all need to understand that God wants us right where we are at the exact age that we are right now. God has made you a child to minister to your friends by playing with them and sharing and maybe you can show them Jesus' love through your acts of kindness. God has made you a teenager to be humble but yet bold. Be bold in your faith don't be ashamed of Jesus Christ. Examples speak louder than Words is my motto. Show your friends that you are a true follower of Christ by not becoming involved in sinful acts. Stand up against the crowd and people will notice you and want to know what makes you stand against the flow. Some people will mock you for going against what they are doing but others will admire you for standing up even when you are ridiculed.

     God has made you an adult because He has an awesome plan for you that could not have been accomplished if you were a child or even a teenager. God wants you adults to be ultimate examples for Christ. Children and teens pay attention to adults. They pay attention to what you wear, how you act, and how you love others. They watch adults all the time and once they find an adult they think is a good remodel for them, they begin studying their actions and place themselves in your shoes and try and consider what they would do in your situation. Teenagers and kids do not want to be you but they want to be like you if you're following Christ. If you are following Christ wholeheartedly there is no better remodel to follow than you. When life hits you hard don't throw in the towel, but be an example for your brothers and sisters in Christ. When you hit a point in your life where you are suffering, that's when you are handed a megaphone. You can either curse God with your megaphone and discourage people from doing the right thing or you can say I know I have troubles right now but through these troubles God is preparing me for something else. God has a plan for you! Trust Him and when you have your megaphone make sure you are speaking the right message!

The Parking Spot

     One day when we were in the McKinney area, mom and I decided that we would go get our favorite drink from Quick Trip. When we first pulled up, I looked over to the right and there was this HUGE truck shading us from the sun. We went in to get our black cherry smoothie drink (it is one of the best drinks ever), but that is beside the point. When I walked back to the car and went to sit down, I felt the heat beating down upon me. I looked over to the right and I noticed that there was a tiny car there. It looked like a bug in comparison to the huge truck that was in the same parking spot a couple of minutes ago.

     I know you’re probably thinking, “Okay, the car changed so what?” Well let’s try to relate this to our lives, friendship wise. We parked in our life parking spot, and the people on either side of us are our close “friends”. The fact is when you mature and get older your friends are going to change. Also some friends that you have may be good Christian influences and strengthen you in your faith. They might help protect and support you, just like the huge truck blocked me from the sun. Your Christian friend might have to move away and you become close to another person who is not a good influence on you, and they allow the sun to hit you with its full force. Whenever you allow people to be your friend make sure that if they are not a Christian that you are the one influencing them, and not allowing them to influence you.

     The point is God allows different kinds of people to be a part of our lives. We might have friends who are awesome and block the sun for us, and yet we need to understand that we might have to step up and be a good Christian role model and block the sun for someone else. Don’t be discouraged if friendships don’t work out or you draw apart from each other because that might be God saying, “I need you to focus on this person who needs a friend at this moment, someone who needs you to block the sun.”

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

     God will use you to be a witness, and He wants the best for you. Trust Him to give you the friends that you need to have at this moment.  

Matthew 6: 25-27 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

     Don’t worry about who your friends are or who they are going to be. God wants you to trust Him and don’t worry, because when you worry Satan is distracting you from the awesome plan that God has for you! Trust in God and He will provide for you!

 

Love Part 2

      In today's culture we say things like: "I love my new phone!" The term "love" has been stripped of its true meaning and purpose. Would you die for your phone? Love is not just an emotion, or a joy ride. Love is sacrifice. Love is work. Love is not simply gained. Love is serious. Love is important.
      God allowed his son Jesus to die for all of the sins that you and I have committed. That is the upmost example of love and sacrifice. Love is a lifestyle. My mother loves me and cares for me, but at times she hasn't always liked me. She doesn't just give up on me because I haven't been obedient or respectful, at times. She sticks through it, and loves me with the love of Jesus. If she followed the world's definition of love - she would have said," Well my child's being a brat so I don't want her anymore." She loves me the way Jesus loves the world. She sticks beside me through thick and thin, and I don't always deserve her love but she has never stopped loving me.
      Often in marriages, one of the partners gets upset with the other and begins to doubt how they had ever begun to love their spouse. In those relationships, often times the outcome is divorce. Divorce is not something that needs to be sugar coated and accepted in our culture. Divorce is terrible and it hurts everyone involved. Most people (not all people) involved in divorce don't see "love" as being a lifestyle. They see love as: someone making them happy, giving them things, or making them feel good about themselves. Love is so much more than that.
      Strive to love others with not the world's love but Jesus’ love!

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 - Talks about how we cannot fully serve God or be successful in life, if we don't have love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a - Talks about the awesome characteristics of love.

Look up these two verses and LOVE with Jesus’ love!! God bless you. God loves you and wants you to accept His awesome love!

Love - Part 1

Many people "fall in love" and start dating, get married, or simply have friends with benefits. Many people today throw around the phrase "I love you." I personally don't think that those words should be thrown around like grains of sand in the wind. You can never take back those words or the way you made that person feel, if you really don't love them in the long run. I believe that many people use the word love to be described as a term that describes their hormonal attraction towards the opposite sex.

Divorce is common in today's culture because we have allowed it to become acceptable. Many people allow their physical attraction towards each other take the front seat in a relationship, and this could be one of the main reasons why abortion is quite popular and accepted in this day and age. When you don't understand what love means, you allow the world to implant you with its interpretation of love. The world says that you can have as many boyfriends as you have time for and or care to have in your lifetime.

We can't fully understand what LOVE means because we can't see the whole picture! God understands what love means, because He sent His son to die for us!! He created love. He is love! We can learn more about love and how to love others with the love of God by reading the Bible. The Bible is full of true stories of love and if you want to understand what love was created for and how beautiful it was destined to be, you need to study the Bible diligently. Discover what real love looks like and embrace God’s love first, because He loved you first!

God

What are words that remind you of God?  What words come to mind to me are: awesome, wonderful, breathtaking, indescribable, and the list continues.

Some people say that God is a god of anger. That’s true to a certain extent, because He does become angry about sin.

Others say that He is a God of love. That’s true as well, because He loved humans so much that He sent His one and only son to die for our sins. God loves us but he hates sin.

Some people say that He is a jealous God and that’s true in some ways. I believe God has a right to be jealous. Look at it this way: He made us, He sent His son to save us, and He loves us far more that we could ever imagine!

Try to understand God better and when your relationship with God strengthens you will be able to understand His wonderful characteristics better! God bless you!

Act like Jesus

My mother and I went to Ozark Christian College for the Preaching and Teaching Convention. We had arrived early to set up our booth for Expressions of Emmanuel. Once we arrived at Ozark Christian College, we began to unload our display. I was carrying two really heavy boxes, and I was struggling to carry them.

There was this college guy who was working out on the nearby basketball court. As soon as he saw me struggling under the weight of the heavy boxes; he stopped and asked me if he could take those for me. As soon as I said yes, he stopped what he was doing and ran to me and took the heavy boxes out of my arms.

           What shocked me was the look of gladness he had on his face. He was not just a guy who was required to help others, but he was someone who truly desired to do so. Afterwards I thought about how kind he was, and I told my other college friend what this young man had done for me. I was so impressed.

             His act of kindness stuck with me.  I was probably so amazed because it does not seem that there are many gentlemen left in this world. I find that there aren’t many truly gracious men today, although it saddens me to say so.

I thought about how this young man reminded me of Jesus. I began to ponder this and considered the heavy boxes that I was carrying to be an example of my sin. I was struggling under the heavy load and Jesus stops and asks me if He can take that burden of sin from me. When I say yes, it's as if I accepted Him into my heart and allowed Him to cleanse me of my sins. When I accepted His offer, He simply whisks my burden away from me. When you accept Jesus into your heart you become excited and want to tell others about what He has done for you because you are so thankful! It's just like what I did when I told my friend about what this young man did for me.

            The moral of this story is to SERVE others and you might just remind them of Jesus.

Who tells us, we're Beautiful?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That is a famous quote that comes from Margaret Hungerford. I’ve said this multiple times, but I think that now I’m beginning to understand it’s in meaning in a different way.

Often in today’s culture we look at the media to tell us how our bodies should be shaped, how our hair should be fixed, and how we should act or talk.

Well, this quote always said to me, “Don’t look at yourself negatively or you’ll never be satisfied when you look in to the mirror. You’re going to be beautiful in certain people’s eyes but yet what matters most is your opinion of yourself.”

When I put more focus on who the beholders should be in my life; I automatically think, “Look to those or are important to you and see what they say is special and beautiful about you.”

In the quote above, beauty does not have to be limited to our appearance. For example some people have beautiful singing voices, according to some people. Although the same person might have an awful singing voice in another person’s opinion. Every person (beholder) has a different opinion or outlook on life. Therefore, we might rely on our friends to give their opinion occasionally – we shouldn’t rely on them fully because they are people and they make mistakes.

God, on the other hand doesn’t make mistakes. God is our creator, but yet at the same time our beholder. It is up to you whether you let Him have that special position in your eyes. When we allow God to become our beholder we become more confident and joyful about ourselves. God made you, and He knows every little detail about you. He even knows how many hairs you have on your head. He loves you and He wants you to trust Him, by calling whatever you do to serve Him beautiful. By letting God become our beholder, we don’t have to rely on humans to determine our worth and beauty.

Anything you do to glorify our Heavenly Father will be beautiful in His eyes! So sing praises to Him even if you think your voice is horrible or even if people say you sing bad. God made you! It’s that simple and He loves the way you sing and look.

By letting other people put you down by telling you in any way or form that you aren’t beautiful or can’t accomplish beautiful things, you hurt God. God made you and you are beautiful, but when you let people convince you that you aren’t – it’s wrong because HE MADE YOU and you are made in HIS IMAGE. God wants you to trust Him. Trust Him to know that and you are beautiful and whatever you do to further His Kingdom is beautiful, as well.

Let your Father, tell you that you’re beautiful. Do you let others decide your beauty or do you let God tell you how beautiful, you really are? No one can tell you you’re beautiful the way God can. God bless you and embrace your beauty.

Valentine's Day

Valentine, Valentine, you are MINE!

Will you be my sweetheart? My girlfriend?

My Love?

Will you pledge with me to my Father above?

Will you stay with me in the hours so long?

Will you choose to be beside me steadfast and strong?

Will you be patient with me when I am obviously wrong?

Will you squeeze my hand when all the tears are gone?

And I can’t cry anymore?

Will you hold me close when the torrents of pain soar?

Will you love me when I’m a parrot, just a bore?

Will you always welcome me home, and open up the door?

Will you love me even when I snore?

When I forget a chore?

Will you love when like a tyrannical lion I roar?

Will you love me whether I am rich or poor?

Will you always love me, and will you be the one I adore?

Yes! I will love and adore you to my very core!

Your heart with mine together we will soar!

Valentine, Valentine, you are MINE!

Will you be my sweetheart? My love? My boyfriend?

Yes! Surely! Affirmative! You better believe it! That’s the truth! Period! Absolutely!

The End!

Vonda Hamilton wrote this poem for her husband on Valentines Day.

Love, that seems to be what Valentines is all about on the surface. Love, flowers, mushy cards, and romantic dinners are what people say that Valentines Day is all about. Some people say that this is a day to do something special to show your lover, significant other, boyfriend/girlfriend, or spouse how much you love them.
This poem that my mother wrote to her husband is sweet, sincere, and touching. When she wrote these words down she poured out her heart. She is basically saying I love you and I want you to love and be with me forever.
I've heard numerous friends complain about how they don't like this special holiday. It makes some people sad that don't have a certain someone. In certain cases, it makes some people wish for things that they are not meant to have at this point.
For instance we all want to be loved, and so it hurts if you don’t feel loved on this special day.  
There is someone who wants to be with you on Valentines Day and every other day.  He’s the one who made us and gave us the ability to love. God is the one who loved us first, by giving His one and only son to die on the cross for our sins. God wanted us to be able to spend an eternity with Him in Heaven.
So maybe if you didn't have a good day yesterday, and you felt sad because you didn't get a card or some flowers, look around you. Look at nature in all its beauty. Go outside and let the wind blow your hair. Sit in the grass and just thank God that He made such a special place for all of us. He made the earth just for YOU! 
Embrace His love everyday, because He has given us a gift far better than any stuffed animal. Always remember that you are loved everyday by your Maker!

Life

      

      The meaning of life has so many different meanings for each and every person... I think about it like this, non Christians are just living their life to please themselves and try to look good... I mean it's not that I don't like to look good, because I do! It's just that our life can't revolve around, making ourselves look good. As Christians we need to make sure that we're glorifying God all the time. We should not try to make ourselves look awesome, but allow God to be lifted up. Every time we do something that gains praise we need to point up to God and give Him the glory - because that's where the glory belongs.

       Think about it God made us (we obviously didn't make ourselves) and He loved us so much that He gave his one and only son to save us from our sins. All of the people on the earth do not even compare to His son Jesus, but yet He gave up His son to pay the ultimate price for a sin He didn't even commit. That is the largest example of true love that I have ever heard of, to think that He would do that for us.

       What life means to me is living to our full potential, by doing what God has planned for each and every one of our lives. Don't back down if God has shown you something He wanted you to do. It might be difficult but still do it, because Jesus didn't say I don't want to this, so I’ll just let everyone on earth die because they're the ones who sinned. Um, no we are so blessed that he didn't choose to do that.

       God put us on this earth for a purpose; He didn't just stick you on the earth and say, “go play”. No, He has a divine plan for each and every one of our lives, everyday we need to pray, “Oh God please show me your will”. I challenge you to consider what you're revolving your life around, and if it's the right thing to put your focus on - great. If not think about what is most important in your life and see if that's what it should be...

        I struggle with keeping God as my priority at times, so I know how hard it is to get caught up in life’s busy schedule. Above all make sure that your priority is God. I also challenge you to pray for God to give you guidance and ask Him to show you His will for your life... God bless you

        Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths."