Challenging, Inspiring, Life-Changing

Everyone experiences events in life that change the course of their life.  Of course giving my life to Christ, getting married, having children and grandchildren are at the top of that list.  We also have those events that shape our perspectives as well as the calling God will place on our lives.  Participating in civil rights marches, working for Lyman Coleman of Serendipity, spending the summer at a convent, and being involved in special needs ministry are a few of the experiences that have helped shape my perspective and journey in life.

Last January I felt God's prompting to take a course that would refine some of my perspectives.  I was a little nervous to take a college level class after so many years but I am so glad I did.  I took the course, Beyond Suffering:  A Christian View on Disability Ministry.  I was so impressed by it that I took their leadership training course as well so that I would be qualified to teach the course at some point.  

I have been thinking and praying through what 2017 should look like and I am anxious and excited to share this course with you.  I have absorbed the material but I want it to infiltrate my view of disability ministry and most importantly, the friends working through the challenges of disabilities.  There is no better way to do that than to teach the material to others.

"Beyond Suffering is a dynamic course in which a serious student can discover what God is doing in the midst of suffering around the world, as well as his ultimate redemption plan for us and for our world.  The four modules will give the student a well-rounded introduction to the various aspects of disability ministry.  Each module highlights a different facet of God's global purpose for welcoming people with disabilities into the church." -from Beyond Suffering by Joni Eareckson Tada and Steve Bundy

The modules included in the course are:

• An Overview of Disability Ministry
• The Theology of Suffering and Disability
• The Church and Disability Ministry
• An Introduction to Bioethics

Prayerfully consider joining me on Saturday, November 19 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am to hear  details about the course and the impact it will make on your view of disability ministry and most of all, people.  If you have questions or plan to attend, please contact me at theboggi@aim.com or by calling me at 512-673-0187.  I hope you will consider taking this journey with me if you are in the Austin area.  If you are out of the Austin area, please consider taking the course online.  You can go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/beyond-suffering/id609174961?mt=11or www.joniandfriends.org for more information about the course.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Deana Boggess

The Shelter of Hope

Yesterday was tough with one of those life experiences you never want to have.  This morning I went to check on a friend that was deeply hurt by that experience and it was evident that her anchor of hope was buried.

Over the years I have helped friends and loved ones walk through serious illnesses, many forms of cancer, the loss of a parent, the loss of a child, fatal car accidents, and end stage dementia.  Each of these ailments have their own brand of suffering.  An illness we don't often recognize, however, is the malady of hopelessness.

As I sat by my friend's side, she looked up at me and said, "I just don't know if it is worth it anymore."  There wasn't a pill, shot, or exercise I could hand her that could treat the ailment.  Fortunately, for all of us, there is a cure, however.

No matter what the ailment, loss or heartache is, Christ is our hope.  It is a hope that stays with us.  It  is an everlasting hope.  When we ask Christ to be our Savior, He joins the journey with us and gives us hope on a daily basis.

A wise friend once shared with me, "Every storm runs out of rain."  Sometimes you simply need to ride out the storm under the shelter of God's loving arms.  Eventually the rain will stop and God will place a rainbow as a reminder of His promises.

Psalm 25:5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalm 62:5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

2 Corinthians 1:7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Go Right Through The Middle

Like most of us, I wish there were more hours in a day.  I am sure that at times I come across rather "spacey" but usually I am thinking about a book I want to write.  One of the books in my head is, Go Right Through The Middle.  I have the outline written but the rest of it lies in my head.

Go Right Through The Middle is about our journey with aging parents.  Much like parenting, you aren't given any training or tools for the journey.  You just walk through it doing the best you can and you are continually shocked by the things you didn't know.  Along the way, you have flashbacks of how your parents handled it when they were going through it.

One of the most difficult balances to find is how much to do for another person.  As your parent ages there will be more things they cannot do, but if you take the responsibilities too soon it will age them even faster.  They may have a challenge, but you may be the one that disables them by always doing everything for them.

Over the years I have realized that everything I learn about a disability can be applied to all of us.  We all need to serve people and extend kindness to them but I often have to ask the question, "If I do this, am I helping them or hurting them?"  This question can also influence our own aging process.  If I hand off a task for someone else to do for me, I will most likely never return to doing the task on my own.  How will my independence be impacted by it?

Bill and I have been involved in the care of aging parents for the last fifteen years.  At times it has been heart-breaking.  At times it has been challenging.  Mostly, however, it has helped us prepare for my own aging.  Bill and I will soon be 55 and 57.  Hopefully, we have a lot of years left but we are doing everything we can to have our affairs in order, for our sakes as well as our children's.  It is like getting our homework done before we go out and play.  

For those of you over 50, here is the beginning of our "To Do List:"

Homework:

• Have a will prepared
• Have a living will prepared
• Make a retirement plan.  Minimize financial responsibilities as much as possible.
• Purge the house so there is not so much to take care of
• Write out your funeral plans
• Prepare a location for your will and other important documents and then tell your children/or loved one where it is
• Research and have a plan on how to keep your mind, body, and soul active and in good shape
• Write letters to your children and grandchildren, sharing your faith and encouraging them in theirs
• Make a list of things you want certain people to have
• Make sure you have a thriving relationship with God

Play:

• Prepare a bucket list
• Live out the bucket list
• Tell/show people how much you love them every day
• Share the hope you have in Christ with as many people as possible
• Have so much fun that people aren't afraid of aging.  They want to be enjoying life as much as you are!