I Am From

I am from Jim and Georgia, Walter and Bernice, Woody and Georgia,

From the vastness of Texas to the Rockies of Colorado and back to the hill country of Austin,

From locusts and humidity to fresh mountain streams to bluebonnets in the spring.

I am from oatmeal, bacon grease, Spam, and inexpensive casseroles.

I am from spirituality, politics, and love,

From intense activists struggling to do what’s right.

I am from “If you can’t say anything nice about someone, don’t say anything at all” to “I Have a Dream.”

I am from farmers, asphalt operators, secretaries, preachers, florists, and civil activists.

I am from The Sound of Music and White Christmas,

From Kick Ball, Hide and Seek, and singing on the front porch,

From David Cassidy, Michael Jackson, James Taylor and Carol King.

I am from legalism to grace, 

From knowing of God to knowing Him.

My life is unfolding against a cast of women staying at home nurturing their children and women loving their children by working to improve the world.

I am from men supporting their families and helping until the chores are done at night.

I am from takes me to where I am.

Deana Boggess

11/29/17

Blog Post: Do You Wonder?

If you haven't already done so, I highly encourage you to join The Irresistible Church on the Joni and Friends website.  They have great blog posts on a variety of topics, as well as great resources.  If you are a pastor, volunteer, parent or are involved in disability ministry/education, you will be encouraged.

Below you will find the blog post Do You Wonder? by Deana Boggess.

http://irresistiblechurch.org/wonder/

We Need Each Other

Maybe you have noticed a theme in the last several blog posts, we need each other!  I love surrounding myself with people that spur me on in ministry, challenge me, and educate me on people and cultures I am unfamiliar with and simply put, help me grow in wisdom.  If I could give the next generation anything, it would be to give them the desire for knowledge and wisdom from people farther down the road.  It is truly a gift.

I have shared about the women and men in Colorado that have encouraged me in ministry.  While I was in Denver, I was also able to spend some time with new friends and acquaintances at our Grace Without Margins training.  I loved the diversity of the group in terms of perspective.  I met with a pastor, a parent, church ministry volunteers, private school teachers, and public school teachers.  The time together was encouraging for me and I hoped it started a new journey for the participants.  We have had the opportunity to speak in Denver five times now.  I hope it is the start of something beautiful...a community of people wanting to welcome and include children and adults with disabilities in their communities.  

We are looking forward to our next visit to Denver.  We will be presenting on Aging Parents and Loss and the acquired disabilities of aging.  As with parenting and ministry, the more education and tools we have, the more prepared we will be.  We look forward to walking through this topic in the spring.

Simple Faith, Simple Discipleship

A couple of days ago, I shared about the amazing women of Colorado that have helped shape my faith from forty years ago until now.  They have spurred me on in my faith by simply walking the road with me.  There are two men in Colorado that I was able to visit with last week.  They have impacted my life and faith as well, my youth pastor and my brother.

It is kind of interesting to look back forty years and be flooded with memories of your youth and then jump ahead forty years and start new ones.  I met Jim Stuart when I was 13 years old.  I had recently moved from Texas to Colorado and wasn't happy about the change.  I was painfully shy and I am embarrassed to say that the first time I entered youth group, I hid under the table.  At home I had all of the confidence I needed, but out in the world, I just wanted to hide.  Then Jim Stuart walked into my life.

Jim was all of 26 years old.  I didn't think of him as old exactly but he was definitely an adult with a wife, a mortgage, and would soon be a father.  Jim, along with his wife, brought life to this God I knew of but didn't know yet.  

I was always impressed by Jim's knowledge of scripture and theology.  I have always respected him for that, but it was the simplicity of his faith that greatly influenced my spiritual walk.  

I remember going on backpacking and whitewater rafting trips.  Jim would break out his guitar and beloved Bible and share about what a relationship with Christ looks like.  I knew there was a complexity to scripture but Jim also showed me the simplicity of walking through the woods with a guitar and a Bible and how they were just as meaningful.  Over the years when life became challenging and my faith was tested, I thought about those powerful encounters with God on a mountaintop and would seek them out again in my life.  Jim showed me that if I looked for God, I would surely find Him.

During those impressionable years I also learned what to look for in a husband.  I loved how Jim loved his wife and how he treated her.  His example, and the example of my dad, helped me look for that same type of husband and I am grateful to say I found him.

It is hard to put into words what Jim has meant to me.  He is a brother I look up to and a friend I can rely on, but most of all, he is an example of Christ to me.

The other Colorado man I have known and respected for 56 years now, is my brother.  Mark and I are very close in age, only 14 months apart.  One of the attributes I admire the most about Mark is his servant heart.  

When I arrived in Denver, Mark picked me up at the airport with two bottles of water in the front seat.  He knows I have a tendency to get altitude sick in Colorado and wanted to try to head it off before my trip even started.  Mark knew I was anxious about driving on ice so the morning I was to give a presentation on my trip, Mark got up at 6:00 am to warm the car and scrape any ice off the windshield.  That is just the kind of person he is.

Just as Jim showed me the simplicity of faith, Mark has demonstrated the simplicity of being a disciple.  To follow Christ is to live a life of service and humility.  Over the years Mark has graciously served a variety of people in need of a new start or second chance.  On a regular basis I have gone to Mark to ask him the best way to extend grace to someone that is struggling.  I am grateful for Mark's example of what Christ calls us to do, love and serve.

I know my last two blog posts have had a different focus.  I usually share topics concerning disability ministry, but my purpose in sharing the stories of the women and men of Colorado that spur me on is to communicate that ministry has numerous people in it's history that have helped pave the way.  The ripple effect of people spurring others on is immeasurable, never knowing where it began or where it ends.  Think of the people that have invested in you.  What have they taught you?  How have they impacted your spiritual journey?  Think about the investment you are making in others.  What will they remember?  How will you impact their perspective on God and ministry?

Women Encouraging Women

I had so many great experiences during my five days in Denver last week.  I had to dedicate one blog post to the amazing Denver women that I treasure.  Women need each other and I am so grateful for the women God has blessed me with over the years.

For a moment it felt unspiritual to take a picture of Sally while she was reading scripture to me, yet there is nothing holier than having your spiritual mentor start your time together with scripture and prayer.  I feel privileged and blessed to have a woman in my life that invests in me and sharpens me in my faith.  My hope is to be this woman to someone else.  Sally was instrumental in starting my walk with the Lord forty years ago and is now partnering with me in supporting children affected by disability.

Last week I was also blessed to have time with another great lady.  Ann and I met about 30 years ago in a LaMaze class.  We delivered our firstborn children across the hall from one another.  Three years later we encouraged each other over the phone as we delivered our second children on the same day.  Unfortunately we haven't lived in the same state for the last 28 years, but God has kept our hearts close.  We have walked through some tough times together, but we always know we are just a phone call away.

I met Joanie when I was a teenager.  She loved and supported me as a teenager and young woman.  She also encouraged me as a young wife and mother.  I never realized the inspiration she would eventually give me as a teacher.  I loved her creativity and commitment to children and the development of a love for learning.  She has been one of my mom's best friends for years, but I claim her as one of my best friends as well.

God also gave me a special time with a sister-in-law that I am grateful to have as another spiritual friend in my life.  I always think of my time with Theresa as visiting a spa.  I always feel refreshed, cared for, and renewed after seeing her.     She chose her life calling of counseling well.  Anyone that has some time with her has truly been given a gift!

I am grateful for the time I had with men that have impacted my faith over the years, but I had to mention these amazing women.  Thank you for spurring me on, ladies!

Love With Actions

Last week I have the opportunity and blessing to spend the day with one of my spiritual mentors, Sally Stuart, and one of my new brothers in Christ and ministry, Gilbert Kubwimana.  Gilbert is visiting a variety of people and churches in the United States to learn more about special needs ministry and share his vision for Love With Actions.

Sally started our time together in prayer and by sharing Psalm 146 and she was a great interpreter for both cultures.

Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord.[a]
Praise the Lord, my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8     the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The Lord reigns forever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.

Gilbert resides in Rwanda and felt called to start the non-profit, Love With Actions, as a result of learning about families affected by disabilities.  He not only was moved with compassion, but quickly responded with actions.  I was very moved by Gilbert's story and his commitment to make a difference.  The stories, photographs, and videos he shared have been very inspirational.  I encourage you to go to his website and learn about his ministry.

Love With Actions
@lovewithactions.org

I enjoyed sharing my heart with Gilbert and everything Bill and I have learned over the last twenty years.  It is definitely true that God doesn't call the equipped but he equips the called.  It has been such a walk of faith.  We are grateful for the people that have walked alongside us.

The Prayground

I love TEXAS!  My family and friends are there and I feel at home.  Yet, as soon as I got off the plane in Denver yesterday, and saw the beautiful foothills to the Rockies, I knew my heart was truly home.  Everywhere I looked I was reminded of a different memory.  I recalled driving up and down the hills of Arapahoe Road as a teenager, back when there was nothing on it.  It took me home to drive by where I worked for so many years and the invaluable lessons I learned from Lyman and Margaret Coleman.

Roads, houses, and landmarks took me "home" but then I went a step further and walked into my spiritual home, St. James Presbyterian Church.  Jim and Sally Stuart initiated a beautiful journey for me with the Lord and Les Avery, the Sr. Pastor when I was there, and hundreds of other people invested in me.  I grew up there, both in age and grace.

There are many things I loved about St. James growing up.  The worship center was formed in a circle and communicated such a great sense of community and family.  And every Sunday, they allowed a certain amount of time for sharing prayer requests, concerns, and praises.  The congregants cultivated an acceptance of wherever you are on your journey, we are here for you.

When I walked into the worship center yesterday I was struck by something new that had been added.    To one side of the room there were a couple of children's tables and chairs, coloring books and colors, and a few toys.  I can't stop thinking about it because there were powerful messages behind that simple display.  It communicated acceptance of where children are on their journey.  They have difficulty sitting still for a long period of time, yet they are like sponges when it comes to taking in what they are surrounded by like worship music, prayer, community, and scriptural truths.

The "Prayground" also communicates that perfection is not the goal.  I have seen a wave of the attempt for perfection in worship.  I agree that we should give our best to the Lord, but there is not a person in the church that is perfect.  When everything about a service is orchestrated to perfection, it can make the imperfect person feel like they don't belong.

I continually go back to the image of Christ on a hillside with children gathered around Him.  Nothing was orchestrated.  Nothing was perfect.  A child with a disability would be welcomed and loved as all children should be.

Thank you, St. James, for the reminder that we are all a work in progress in need of grace and acceptance of where we are on the journey.  When I walked into your church home yesterday, the beautiful cross I grew up with instantly took me home to those beautiful years of growth and grace.

* I want to give a special thanks to Pastor Dr. Wayne Darbonne, Pastor Jim Stuart and Erika Roberg for welcoming me back into the St. James family after 40+ years have passed.