1 Peter 2:9 New Living Translation Bible says, "But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." God wants creyentes (believers) to do good like He does good. God also wants creyentes to enjoy the best of this earthly life without idolizing things or people.
One good thing to have is citizenship. The Apostle Paul, a Jew who had Roman citizenship, wrote most of the New Testament. African Americans gained American citizenship via the 14th amendment to the US constitution. Rafael Damani Fowler and I are African Americans, and we value and enjoy our US citizenship.
We also pray that as our legislature is considering immigration reform that many others who are currently being denied US citizenship but value and desire to enjoy it will be granted US citizenship. Diversity in America is good for Americans and people globally. Diversity in America is a world witness as America is the world's leading nation.
Nick Vujicic is of Serbian heritage but born in Australia. Later in life he moved to the United States of America. Vujicic was born without arms and legs not because of a botched abortion but because of tetra-amelia syndrome. Ana Rosa Rodriguez was born without an arm because of a botched abortion. Vujicic, a husband, a father, an evangelist, a motivational speaker, head of the non-profit organization Life Without Limbs and author, writes in his book Limitless Devotions for a Ridiculously Good Life, "Researchers found that many who successfully deal with physical adversity actually grow in positive ways, including these:
* They realize they are stronger than they thought, and they tend to recover more quickly from future challenges.
* They discover who truly cares about them, and those relationships grow stronger.
* They put greater value on each day and on the good things in their lives.
* They become stronger spiritually."
Rafael Damani Fowler and I enjoy listening to CDs which were invented by the Japanese. Gospel singer Andrea Helms says in her song "Changed" on the CD Ultimate Gospel vol. 2 Women of Gospel Spirit Rising that she was not supposed to be born. She says about the time before she was born, "The doctors said that I would never walk that I would never talk that I would be nothing ... but I was born healthy." Doctors and other medical professionals know a lot, but they are not all-knowing like God. Doctors and others were not able to tell me that my son, Rafael, has autism, but it's okay. Rafael is glad to be alive instead of aborted.
Un dicho (a proverb) says, "No hay tiempo como el presente ("There is no time like the present.") Now is a good time to pass immigration reform not like the wicked US Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 but a law that welcomes people, doesn't burden them financially and treats them with equality.
Showing posts with label Autism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autism. Show all posts
Friday, June 21, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Autism And A Desire For A Variety Of Human Relationships
Rafael and I were recently shopping at Whole Foods grocery store. We love to sample products.
I was talking to Suzanne who was presenting samples of coffees roasted by developmentally disabled employees in Maryland, which is a state bordering Virginia where Rafael and I live. When I was talking too long with Suzanne according to Rafael, Rafael kissed and hugged me to indicate that we should move on.
This morning though Rafael did not want to move on from drinking the blend of Ethiopian and Indian coffee we purchased from Suzanne.
Rafael and I enjoy going out to a variety of public places. I think if I looked into it I would find African and Native American nomad blood in our heritage.
People with autism enjoy living fully even with social and communication challenges. Rafael has autism. Sometimes he has crying spells. He cannot explain why he cries. Some have tried to tell me that people with autism cry sometimes for no reason. I think just because we don't know the reason does not mean that a reason(s) do not exist.
The movie Ocean Heaven is about a single father who has liver cancer and his son who has autism. Dad, Mr. Wang played by actor Jet Li, can't figure out why his son would walk off to a McDonald's and lay his head on a statue of Ronald McDonald. Unknown to dad, his son, Dafu played by actor Wen Zhang, met a girl who is a traveling acrobat who dresses similar to Ronald McDonald for her job. During her stay in town, Dafu and Lingling become friends. When Lingling has to leave town because of her traveling acrobat job, the friends are separated. Dafu is laying his head on Ronald McDonald because he misses Lingling.
It doesn't take long for people to attach to other people. Rafael and I were inspired by a sermon on Sunday from Dr. Samuel R. Chand at Grace church in Dumfries, Virginia. Dr. Chand is from India and now lives in America. When one of his daughters named Rachel was pregnant, Rachel and her husband named the baby Jude. Dr. Chand was so excited about Jude that he talked to Jude and laid hands on Rachel's belly to pray for her and Jude.
When it was time for Jude to leave his womb home, Rachel went to the hospital. But Jude's heart stopped beating, and he died.
Jude hadn't even lived one year, but his grandfather, Dr. Chand, was attached to Jude. When Jude died, Dr. Chand cried a lot and not always tiny tears sometimes heaving tears.
In Genesis chapter 2 God said it is not good for man to be alone. This doesn't just mean that women and men will desire to get married, it also means that God created us with a desire to be in a variety of human relationships. People with autism and other people are not exempt from being made with a desire for a variety of human relationships.
God has also created us male and female. We are conceived in sexuality, and we desire sexuality from the beginning. From the time I could talk I had questions about sex, but adults didn't like to talk to me about sex.
God made sex. What God makes is good. God talks about sex in His Bible with love and respect. God is not tense or out of balance when discussing sex. Creyentes (believers) should imitate God.
What are some ways you have been surprised at the depth and breath of desire for human relationships? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
I was talking to Suzanne who was presenting samples of coffees roasted by developmentally disabled employees in Maryland, which is a state bordering Virginia where Rafael and I live. When I was talking too long with Suzanne according to Rafael, Rafael kissed and hugged me to indicate that we should move on.
This morning though Rafael did not want to move on from drinking the blend of Ethiopian and Indian coffee we purchased from Suzanne.
Rafael and I enjoy going out to a variety of public places. I think if I looked into it I would find African and Native American nomad blood in our heritage.
People with autism enjoy living fully even with social and communication challenges. Rafael has autism. Sometimes he has crying spells. He cannot explain why he cries. Some have tried to tell me that people with autism cry sometimes for no reason. I think just because we don't know the reason does not mean that a reason(s) do not exist.
The movie Ocean Heaven is about a single father who has liver cancer and his son who has autism. Dad, Mr. Wang played by actor Jet Li, can't figure out why his son would walk off to a McDonald's and lay his head on a statue of Ronald McDonald. Unknown to dad, his son, Dafu played by actor Wen Zhang, met a girl who is a traveling acrobat who dresses similar to Ronald McDonald for her job. During her stay in town, Dafu and Lingling become friends. When Lingling has to leave town because of her traveling acrobat job, the friends are separated. Dafu is laying his head on Ronald McDonald because he misses Lingling.
It doesn't take long for people to attach to other people. Rafael and I were inspired by a sermon on Sunday from Dr. Samuel R. Chand at Grace church in Dumfries, Virginia. Dr. Chand is from India and now lives in America. When one of his daughters named Rachel was pregnant, Rachel and her husband named the baby Jude. Dr. Chand was so excited about Jude that he talked to Jude and laid hands on Rachel's belly to pray for her and Jude.
When it was time for Jude to leave his womb home, Rachel went to the hospital. But Jude's heart stopped beating, and he died.
Jude hadn't even lived one year, but his grandfather, Dr. Chand, was attached to Jude. When Jude died, Dr. Chand cried a lot and not always tiny tears sometimes heaving tears.
In Genesis chapter 2 God said it is not good for man to be alone. This doesn't just mean that women and men will desire to get married, it also means that God created us with a desire to be in a variety of human relationships. People with autism and other people are not exempt from being made with a desire for a variety of human relationships.
God has also created us male and female. We are conceived in sexuality, and we desire sexuality from the beginning. From the time I could talk I had questions about sex, but adults didn't like to talk to me about sex.
God made sex. What God makes is good. God talks about sex in His Bible with love and respect. God is not tense or out of balance when discussing sex. Creyentes (believers) should imitate God.
What are some ways you have been surprised at the depth and breath of desire for human relationships? Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Are You Playing Your Part Right?
Sometimes we are quick to put limits on ourselves and others because we focus on what someone cannot do. When God writes to husbands and wives, He doesn't say if you have autism or some other different mind, marriage is off limits for you.
Little by little marriage and romantic relationships for people with autism are being embraced in the media. Yesterday I saw an advertisement for a new book on romantic relationships for people with autism. One of my favorite movies is My Name Is Khan, which features the romance of Rizvan who has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, and Mandira, who does not have autism.
God wants us to have good relationships. God made us the way we are on purpose. He designed our qualities to be developed instead of destroyed. Rizvan doesn't like touch. Rizvan and his mom find a way to negotiate hugs in a way that is mutually helpful. While Rizvan is not a Christian, finding a way to get along with people is. Romans 12:16 Amplified Bible says, "Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits."
Neither Rizvan's mom nor his wife try to takeover Rizvan and turn him into a duplicate of themselves. Sometimes in relationships the root source of conflict is trying to make people like us and doing what we want while failing to appreciate who they are and what they want. God made us different and with different desires.
Are our differences in line with the will of God? If not, we need to cooperate with God to correct our problems. If so, we are in position to be in harmony with and even help someone else.
Then we can ask are we willing to operate in the role God gave us to help others be what God called them to be? If we are and we do it, then playing our God-given role in romantic and other relationships removes a lot of conflict because we are building together instead of working against each other.
Little by little marriage and romantic relationships for people with autism are being embraced in the media. Yesterday I saw an advertisement for a new book on romantic relationships for people with autism. One of my favorite movies is My Name Is Khan, which features the romance of Rizvan who has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, and Mandira, who does not have autism.
God wants us to have good relationships. God made us the way we are on purpose. He designed our qualities to be developed instead of destroyed. Rizvan doesn't like touch. Rizvan and his mom find a way to negotiate hugs in a way that is mutually helpful. While Rizvan is not a Christian, finding a way to get along with people is. Romans 12:16 Amplified Bible says, "Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits."
Neither Rizvan's mom nor his wife try to takeover Rizvan and turn him into a duplicate of themselves. Sometimes in relationships the root source of conflict is trying to make people like us and doing what we want while failing to appreciate who they are and what they want. God made us different and with different desires.
Are our differences in line with the will of God? If not, we need to cooperate with God to correct our problems. If so, we are in position to be in harmony with and even help someone else.
Then we can ask are we willing to operate in the role God gave us to help others be what God called them to be? If we are and we do it, then playing our God-given role in romantic and other relationships removes a lot of conflict because we are building together instead of working against each other.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Single Sexuality
Sharon Jayson in her March 22, 2012, usatoday.com article, "Nearly 40% of women today have never been married" reports, "The data, out today from the National Center for Health Statistics, are based on 22,682 in-person interviews from 2006 to 2010 with men and women (not couples) ages 15 to 44. Among the 12,279 women studied, the percentage of never-marrieds rose to 38% from 33% in 1995.
The highest percentage of women who have never married was among blacks (55%), followed by U.S.-born Hispanics (49%), Asians (39%) and whites (34%)."
Most adults in America have had sex outside of marriage. Sex outside of marriage can feel pretty good, but after a while some wonder maybe marriage is better?
Most Americans have also probably heard, "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14 King James Version Bible).
Living beyond or beneath the Bible has negative consequences. We are harmed and even die physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually whenever we don't live in the ways of the Word. Moses was close to God. He spoke face-to-face with God. Moses lived in his right mind and in full use of his body right up until his death at 120. He would have lived longer, if he had not disobeyed God in striking the Rock.
Disobedience is deadly. Obedience to God opens opportunities for eminent, enjoyable living. Read my article, "Heart Disease, Depression and Christianity."
God talks about sex and sexuality in the Bible openly, clearly, directly, truthfully and lovingly. Many people globally are not experiencing God's best in sexuality and sex due to sexual sin. Read my article, "Sexual Dissatisfaction."
Leaving the sin of partner-sex outside of marriage is tough and may take a long time. For me it took a number of years and did not happen until I had a child while single. Sadly, like many others both non-Christian and Christian, I was having partner-sex outside of marriage.
Has anyone found the negative side of single parenting to be like being married without the benefits?
A Rosa Heyman Redbook "25 reasons why married sex is better" article says about married people, "By now, you've had a lot of sex together. Part of the fun of having such a long history is that you can talk about your favorite times and do your best to recreate the heat!"
All the arguments against premarital sex based on a desire to avoid HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and to use contraception didn't do much for me and many others. These things seem easily managable. God used relationship training to give me revelation on the destructive nature of sin and the true love of God.
Children have a positive influence on our relationship with God. Genesis 5:22 Amplified Bible says, "Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters."
Por favor me ayude. (Please help me.) What has God taught you about partner sex?
While we do a lot of things that God does not approve of, God still loves all people all the time.
God loves all kinds of singles: singles who have never been married, singles with children, divorced people, singles without children, singles living in various types of non-married-sexual relationships, singles who are victorious over the gay lifestyle, singles who are not victorious over the gay lifestyle. Are there other types of singles?
Many singles enjoy being single. Many singles would also like to be married.
What are your favorite love stories?
Marriage is for multiple types of people. In the movie, My Name Is Khan, Rizvan has Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of autism. He is rejected at school because his autism behavior is not understood or accepted, so his mom finds another way to educate him. When his mom dies, Rizvan moves from India to San Francisco, California, to live with his brother, Zakir. Zakir gets him a job as a salesman for Mehnaz Herbal Beauty Products. Through his job Rizvan meets Mandira. Eventually Rizvan and Mandira marry.
A lot of the tension in My Name Is Khan revolves around people's fear and ignorance of autism and differences in people. The tension in My Name Is Khan is like the mommy wars in American culture.
Sometimes in American culture we forget about loving people extravagantly and go to war over our misfortunes, challenges and differences. Whether we are mothers whose full-time work is to raise children like Pauletta Washington (wife of actor Denzel Washington) or mothers who are also employees, business owners, non-profit employees and non-profit owners like Naomi Zacharias of Wellspring International, Joyce Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries or Cookie Lee of Cookie Lee Jewelry, we all have God-given purpose and roles in life. And this is also true for women who are complete and successful as singles without children like the first African-American female U.S. secretary of state, Condolezza Rice, who is currently a CBS News contributor. Not every woman wants to say, "Sou casada". ("I am married.") Read my article, "Something Horrible Happened?"
We don't need a big name for God to care about us and call us into ministry. Ministry is for all people including divorced people. Being widowed or divorced does not have to mean we are done living.
Who are some non-famous people doing good singles and/or married ministry?
No state of being can separate us from the love of God. God chooses all kinds of people to love, and His love is eternal. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:38-39 Amplified Bible, "For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The highest percentage of women who have never married was among blacks (55%), followed by U.S.-born Hispanics (49%), Asians (39%) and whites (34%)."
Most adults in America have had sex outside of marriage. Sex outside of marriage can feel pretty good, but after a while some wonder maybe marriage is better?
Most Americans have also probably heard, "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14 King James Version Bible).
Living beyond or beneath the Bible has negative consequences. We are harmed and even die physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually whenever we don't live in the ways of the Word. Moses was close to God. He spoke face-to-face with God. Moses lived in his right mind and in full use of his body right up until his death at 120. He would have lived longer, if he had not disobeyed God in striking the Rock.
Disobedience is deadly. Obedience to God opens opportunities for eminent, enjoyable living. Read my article, "Heart Disease, Depression and Christianity."
God talks about sex and sexuality in the Bible openly, clearly, directly, truthfully and lovingly. Many people globally are not experiencing God's best in sexuality and sex due to sexual sin. Read my article, "Sexual Dissatisfaction."
Leaving the sin of partner-sex outside of marriage is tough and may take a long time. For me it took a number of years and did not happen until I had a child while single. Sadly, like many others both non-Christian and Christian, I was having partner-sex outside of marriage.
Has anyone found the negative side of single parenting to be like being married without the benefits?
A Rosa Heyman Redbook "25 reasons why married sex is better" article says about married people, "By now, you've had a lot of sex together. Part of the fun of having such a long history is that you can talk about your favorite times and do your best to recreate the heat!"
All the arguments against premarital sex based on a desire to avoid HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and to use contraception didn't do much for me and many others. These things seem easily managable. God used relationship training to give me revelation on the destructive nature of sin and the true love of God.
Children have a positive influence on our relationship with God. Genesis 5:22 Amplified Bible says, "Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God after the birth of Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters."
Por favor me ayude. (Please help me.) What has God taught you about partner sex?
While we do a lot of things that God does not approve of, God still loves all people all the time.
God loves all kinds of singles: singles who have never been married, singles with children, divorced people, singles without children, singles living in various types of non-married-sexual relationships, singles who are victorious over the gay lifestyle, singles who are not victorious over the gay lifestyle. Are there other types of singles?
Many singles enjoy being single. Many singles would also like to be married.
What are your favorite love stories?
Marriage is for multiple types of people. In the movie, My Name Is Khan, Rizvan has Asperger's Syndrome, which is a form of autism. He is rejected at school because his autism behavior is not understood or accepted, so his mom finds another way to educate him. When his mom dies, Rizvan moves from India to San Francisco, California, to live with his brother, Zakir. Zakir gets him a job as a salesman for Mehnaz Herbal Beauty Products. Through his job Rizvan meets Mandira. Eventually Rizvan and Mandira marry.
A lot of the tension in My Name Is Khan revolves around people's fear and ignorance of autism and differences in people. The tension in My Name Is Khan is like the mommy wars in American culture.
Sometimes in American culture we forget about loving people extravagantly and go to war over our misfortunes, challenges and differences. Whether we are mothers whose full-time work is to raise children like Pauletta Washington (wife of actor Denzel Washington) or mothers who are also employees, business owners, non-profit employees and non-profit owners like Naomi Zacharias of Wellspring International, Joyce Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries or Cookie Lee of Cookie Lee Jewelry, we all have God-given purpose and roles in life. And this is also true for women who are complete and successful as singles without children like the first African-American female U.S. secretary of state, Condolezza Rice, who is currently a CBS News contributor. Not every woman wants to say, "Sou casada". ("I am married.") Read my article, "Something Horrible Happened?"
We don't need a big name for God to care about us and call us into ministry. Ministry is for all people including divorced people. Being widowed or divorced does not have to mean we are done living.
Who are some non-famous people doing good singles and/or married ministry?
No state of being can separate us from the love of God. God chooses all kinds of people to love, and His love is eternal. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:38-39 Amplified Bible, "For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Caliente! (Hot!)
People with different minds and disabilities have sexuality and sex.
"Being born without arms and legs was not God's way of punishing me. I know that now. I have come to realize that this "disability" would actually heighten my ability to serve His purpose as a speaker and evangelist," says Nick Vujicic, who was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs, in his book Unstoppable The Incredible Power of Faith in Action. Nick is married to Kanae Loida Vujicic-Miyahara. Yesterday, February 13, 2013, Kiyoshi James Vujicic was the first child born to Nick and Kanae.
Disability rights activist Ed Roberts is paralyzed from the neck down. When he was a young person beginning to express interest in sex, some told him to give up on his dreams. But Ed turned his dreams into reality and now has a son conceived through sexual intercourse.
David Ring also did not listen to those who told him he wouldn't get married, have kids or preach because he has cerebral palsy. Ring got married, has four children and has preached to more than 6,000 churches internationally.
Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey found people enjoy expanded physical prowess under the influence of sexual arousal. Kinsey discovered that a stutterer loses his stutter. A person with cerebral palsy gains greater control of their muscles.
Some do not have God-sized thinking when it comes to empowering those with different minds, the disabled and others to live their dreams. Margaret Sanger was the founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). As an activist in the birth control and population control movements she advocated for the reduction of births among blacks, other people of color, the disabled and those of limited financial means. Planned Parenthood today is the largest provider of abortions to blacks, other people of color, the disabled and those of limited financial means. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a July 2009 New York Times interview says, "Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then setup for Medicaid funding for abortion."
Let's shift the focus from eliminating people to eliminating poverty and other obstacles to victorious living. Read my article, "Faith, Fear and Japanese Americans."
Our thinking can be the biggest barrier to bold, bountiful living. Ask God to totally take over our thought processes, emotions and our total person. Small-mindedness is a slippery slope to stagnancy. Everyone is disabled to some extent; we all have some inabilities. Cry out to God for the disabled like the father did in response to Jesus recorded in Mark 9:23-24 New Living Translation Bible, and expect to receive miracles: "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!""
Christian, former U.S. four-term President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was disabled, and he fought to have the technology necessary to live the best possible life. Since he could not use his legs due to paralysis from polio, Roosevelt used hand controls to drive.
James Anderson DePreist was a black conductor of international renown, made more than 50 recordings, published two books and received numerous honors, including the National Medal of Arts given to to him by President George W. Bush in 2005. The National Medal of Arts is the highest honor for artistic excellence in the country. DePreist also had polio, used a motorized wheelchair and refused to let disability or blackness stop him from believing and achieving. DePreist died February 8, 2013, and lived as the husband of Ginette DePreist for 32 years. He had two daughters, Tracy and Jennifer, from his first marriage and two grandchildren. Being widowed or divorced does not have to mean we are done living.
As an American culture we think of people with different minds and disabilities as being either asexual, or the topic is taboo. Taboos can sometimes be a territory that Satan dominates. Strip Satan. What are some things we may not know about sex and sexuality in the different minds and disability community?
Fear is a contributor to wrong and limited thinking on sex and sexuality. For much of American history it was illegal for people of different races to be married. It wasn't until 1967, which just happens to be the year I was born, that interracial marriage in America was legal. Before it was legal Fred and Ann Jealous were a white and black couple. Benjamin Jealous, their son and a Rhodes scholar, is currently the president of the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the country, which just had a birthday on February 12.
Ignorance is also an issue in wrong and limited thinking on sex and sexuality. It wasn't that many years ago that my son, Rafael Damani Fowler, who has autism, and I were in an auto shop and a man expressed aversion to Rafael as if he could catch autism like a communicable disease. And yes, Rafael, has single sexuality that he celebrates within balanced, beautiful, Biblical boundaries. Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging border states to outlaw slavery, helped push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally freed all the slaves nationwide in December 1865, led the United States through the American Civil War preserving the Union and battled periods of depression, has some good advice: "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."
Instead of a holiday honoring multiple presidents on one day, what about a separate Federal holiday recognizing Lincoln whose birthday is February 12, 1809?
An abundant, enjoyable, full, overflowing life is for whosoever is willing to live in the ways of God. Disability does not have to stop someone from living a delightful, dynamic life. Read my article "Disability and a Dynamic Life." God welcomes all people to delightful, dynamic living. We can too. Christian, African American Marian Wright Edelman says, "When Jesus Christ asked little children to come to him, he didn't say only rich children, or White children, or children with two-parent families, or children who didn't have a mental or physical handicap. He said, "Let all children come unto me.""
If we are disabled or in a group some don't want too many if any of, God wants us all and gave us sexuality, sex and the right to life and reproduction for our joy and good.
While we may not want to have autism, depression, tetra-amelia syndrome, cerebral palsy, polio, paralysis or something else, God allowed it. On Orpah's OWN network Vujicic, who does not have arms or legs, said to everyone, "You are beautiful just the way you are." He also said, "You can be angry for what you don't have, or be thankful for what you do have." What a spicy, sex secret now revealed that when it's practiced is guaranteed to thwart body-image problems that create barriers in the bedroom and other areas of lovemaking. Read my article "Sexual Dissatisfaction."
God created sex and sexuality. What God creates is good, very good. Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, who is victorious over homosexuality, sings in his song, "I'm Walking," "I'm walking in authority, living life without apology. It's not wrong dear. I belong here. So you might as well get use to me." Christ confidence is another spicy sex secret now revealed.
"Being born without arms and legs was not God's way of punishing me. I know that now. I have come to realize that this "disability" would actually heighten my ability to serve His purpose as a speaker and evangelist," says Nick Vujicic, who was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs, in his book Unstoppable The Incredible Power of Faith in Action. Nick is married to Kanae Loida Vujicic-Miyahara. Yesterday, February 13, 2013, Kiyoshi James Vujicic was the first child born to Nick and Kanae.
Disability rights activist Ed Roberts is paralyzed from the neck down. When he was a young person beginning to express interest in sex, some told him to give up on his dreams. But Ed turned his dreams into reality and now has a son conceived through sexual intercourse.
David Ring also did not listen to those who told him he wouldn't get married, have kids or preach because he has cerebral palsy. Ring got married, has four children and has preached to more than 6,000 churches internationally.
Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey found people enjoy expanded physical prowess under the influence of sexual arousal. Kinsey discovered that a stutterer loses his stutter. A person with cerebral palsy gains greater control of their muscles.
Some do not have God-sized thinking when it comes to empowering those with different minds, the disabled and others to live their dreams. Margaret Sanger was the founder of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). As an activist in the birth control and population control movements she advocated for the reduction of births among blacks, other people of color, the disabled and those of limited financial means. Planned Parenthood today is the largest provider of abortions to blacks, other people of color, the disabled and those of limited financial means. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a July 2009 New York Times interview says, "Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then setup for Medicaid funding for abortion."
Let's shift the focus from eliminating people to eliminating poverty and other obstacles to victorious living. Read my article, "Faith, Fear and Japanese Americans."
Our thinking can be the biggest barrier to bold, bountiful living. Ask God to totally take over our thought processes, emotions and our total person. Small-mindedness is a slippery slope to stagnancy. Everyone is disabled to some extent; we all have some inabilities. Cry out to God for the disabled like the father did in response to Jesus recorded in Mark 9:23-24 New Living Translation Bible, and expect to receive miracles: "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes." The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!""
Christian, former U.S. four-term President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was disabled, and he fought to have the technology necessary to live the best possible life. Since he could not use his legs due to paralysis from polio, Roosevelt used hand controls to drive.
James Anderson DePreist was a black conductor of international renown, made more than 50 recordings, published two books and received numerous honors, including the National Medal of Arts given to to him by President George W. Bush in 2005. The National Medal of Arts is the highest honor for artistic excellence in the country. DePreist also had polio, used a motorized wheelchair and refused to let disability or blackness stop him from believing and achieving. DePreist died February 8, 2013, and lived as the husband of Ginette DePreist for 32 years. He had two daughters, Tracy and Jennifer, from his first marriage and two grandchildren. Being widowed or divorced does not have to mean we are done living.
As an American culture we think of people with different minds and disabilities as being either asexual, or the topic is taboo. Taboos can sometimes be a territory that Satan dominates. Strip Satan. What are some things we may not know about sex and sexuality in the different minds and disability community?
Fear is a contributor to wrong and limited thinking on sex and sexuality. For much of American history it was illegal for people of different races to be married. It wasn't until 1967, which just happens to be the year I was born, that interracial marriage in America was legal. Before it was legal Fred and Ann Jealous were a white and black couple. Benjamin Jealous, their son and a Rhodes scholar, is currently the president of the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the country, which just had a birthday on February 12.
Ignorance is also an issue in wrong and limited thinking on sex and sexuality. It wasn't that many years ago that my son, Rafael Damani Fowler, who has autism, and I were in an auto shop and a man expressed aversion to Rafael as if he could catch autism like a communicable disease. And yes, Rafael, has single sexuality that he celebrates within balanced, beautiful, Biblical boundaries. Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, encouraging border states to outlaw slavery, helped push through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which finally freed all the slaves nationwide in December 1865, led the United States through the American Civil War preserving the Union and battled periods of depression, has some good advice: "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."
Instead of a holiday honoring multiple presidents on one day, what about a separate Federal holiday recognizing Lincoln whose birthday is February 12, 1809?
An abundant, enjoyable, full, overflowing life is for whosoever is willing to live in the ways of God. Disability does not have to stop someone from living a delightful, dynamic life. Read my article "Disability and a Dynamic Life." God welcomes all people to delightful, dynamic living. We can too. Christian, African American Marian Wright Edelman says, "When Jesus Christ asked little children to come to him, he didn't say only rich children, or White children, or children with two-parent families, or children who didn't have a mental or physical handicap. He said, "Let all children come unto me.""
If we are disabled or in a group some don't want too many if any of, God wants us all and gave us sexuality, sex and the right to life and reproduction for our joy and good.
While we may not want to have autism, depression, tetra-amelia syndrome, cerebral palsy, polio, paralysis or something else, God allowed it. On Orpah's OWN network Vujicic, who does not have arms or legs, said to everyone, "You are beautiful just the way you are." He also said, "You can be angry for what you don't have, or be thankful for what you do have." What a spicy, sex secret now revealed that when it's practiced is guaranteed to thwart body-image problems that create barriers in the bedroom and other areas of lovemaking. Read my article "Sexual Dissatisfaction."
God created sex and sexuality. What God creates is good, very good. Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, who is victorious over homosexuality, sings in his song, "I'm Walking," "I'm walking in authority, living life without apology. It's not wrong dear. I belong here. So you might as well get use to me." Christ confidence is another spicy sex secret now revealed.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Withholding Sex
". . . When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea" -- 1 Samuel 1:19 New Living Translation Bible
God doesn't correct every bad behavior in our earthly life. When Elkanah was having sex with his wife, Hannah, he was also having sex with his wife, Peninnah. Elkanah was in adultery because he was having sex with two women instead of one. God doesn't even say a word about adultery to Elkanah, Hannah or Peninnah that's recorded in the Bible.
Why? While God shares a lot of His thinking with us, He doesn't always in this earthly life tell us why He chooses to do things in a certain way.
Could anything be worse than one's husband having regular sex with another woman or man? It seems logical for a wife to withhold sex in this situation, but what is logical to human beings is not always logical or morally correct according to God. Withholding sex without God inspiring both husband and wife to do so is sin.
While Peninnah torments Hannah for not conceiving children, the Bible does not record Hannah, Peninnah and Elkannah trying to stop or control each others sexuality. They leave that up to God.
Stop using sex as a bargaining piece to obtain something. If you are married, except for illness that makes sex impossible or for brief periods of abstaining from sex for spiritual reasons, having regular sex inside of marriage is nonnegotiable. God created sex for bonding between husband and wife. Genesis 2:24-25 Amplified Bible says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other's presence." Dr. Iris Delgado of Crowned with Purpose ministry has been married for more than 40 years, is a grandmother and says, "When I say, mother's be vigilant, I mean just that. . . . Do not enable your husband to be tempted by your negligence at home, especially if weeks and months go by and there's no sex life between you."
Following the Bible way of frequent sex between a husband and a wife is a part of a happy, healthy, holy marriage. Biblical sex is holy, high praise and worship of God. Sex also releases chemicals that cause ecstasy. Being in the presence of God is ecstasy. The Joy of the Lord is our stength. Studies show that men who have sex five times weekly reduce their chance of prostate cancer.
Is there a link between sexless marriage, shame and cancer? Proverbs 12:4 Amplified Bible says, "A virtuous and worthy wife [earnest and strong in character] is a crowning joy to her husband, but she who makes him ashamed is as rottenness in his bones." Proverbs 12:4 The Message says, "A hearty wife invigorates her husband, but a frigid woman is cancer in the bones."
Sex is sacred and secular. Secure and happy spouses give and receive 100 percent of oneself to the other one spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, sexually and financially. Since God lives inside of Christians when husband and wife are having sex, they are also sharing God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit with each other as they are through other, multiple ways and words daily.
God inside of us was meant to be shared. A lack of emotional nakedness or any other type of nakedness between spouses causes shame.
Sin and shame go together because God designed us to do good. When we do wrong we are designed to experience shame. One spouse may falsely believe that he or she is holy by withholding sex that the other spouse desires to give and receive. "You must come to see that it is possible for a man to be self-centered in his self-denial and self-righteous in his self-sacrifice. He may be generous in order to feed his ego and pious in order to feed his pride. Man has the tragic capacity to relegate a heightening virtue to a tragic vice. Without love benevolence becomes egotism, and martyrdom becomes spiritual pride," says Martin Luther King, Jr.
Because Biblical love and sex are united when husband and wife have sex neither should be doing things to make someone feel less than a human being. Ecstatic, enthusiatic, expressive, excellent lovemaking between husband and wife is a part of the enjoyable, abundant life Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead in three days to give us. Satan doesn't want us to have fun and fulfillment in sex because he wants us to do things that are fatal to happiness. Happiness is from God. Harm is from Satan.
A spouse who chooses to withhold sex without the consent of the other spouse is cooperating with Satan to bring destruction and death into his or her marriage.
For example, say a wife is angry and hurt by the behavior of her husband and chooses to withhold sex until the husband meets her demands to stop, start and/or modify certain behaviors, and her husband does not agree to stop, start and/or modify certain behaviors. Her husband could respond by masterbating excessively and become addicted to excessive masterbation and even pornography. Pornography is a $57 billion-a-year, global industry worth more than major league football, baseball and basketball combined. Pornography continuously seeks out new customers. If pornography doesn't gain a foothold in his life, the husband may respond to his spouse who refuses to have sex as a form of punishment with some other bad behavior like excessive involvement in employment, church, friendships or something else. Even good things can be bad when they are out of balance or out of timing.
It is difficult but not impossible to choose Jesus' narrow way in conflicts. Sometimes someone says or does something that seems wrong, but it is not. My son, Rafael Damani Fowler, has autism. When he uses the toilet to defecate, he squats on the toilet. I never stopped him or insisted that he use the toilet the Western way of sitting on it to defecate because I am so happy that he uses the toilet. A lack of toilet use exists among some persons with autism. I always thought that he did this because he was intellectually disabled. However, his toilet technique is not an intellectual disability but an intellectual ability. The natural and instinctive way to use the toilet is to squat! Africa, Asia and many places use squat toilets. By squatting the capacity of our abodmens are reduced making it easier to expel poop. Rafael has a flat stomach and often horse-sized bowel movements.
Presume competence with all people to help with trying to understand another person's perspective and to resolve conflicts. Someone else's perspective may actually be better than ours, and if not, the other person, will feel comfortable with us and more open to change because we are treating him or her as intelligent and worth respecting and loving. Aim to please people in a godly way; one result is that they may want to please you. Humilated people or people hurt in some other way are more likely to be a hinderance to and even hurt back the person who hurt them.
When having conflict because one feels evil is being done against him or her, the proper response is Romans 12:21 New Living Translation Bible which says, "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."
If someone is doing bad, we are not to do bad also. Come up higher and keep on doing increasing goodness. Your goodness in the midst of someone's badness is a witness for Christ. Jesus Christ says in John 13:34-35 New Living Translation Bible, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
Goodness is also a witness to our spouses and other people.
Sexless, married couples prove to the world that they are servants of Satan or at the very least strongly under his influence.
Instead of expressing frustration about not getting "my way" through engaging in fights, arguments, punitive behavior, calling people bad names, belittling comments, degrading actions, etc., when someone believes something false, present the Truth. Then let go and let God reveal the Truth. We can't change people. That's God's job.
It takes 30 days to form a new habit. So if will probably take 30 days or longer to see the works of the Truth in a life particularly if a long history of bad behavior exists. "Honesty impels me to admit that such a stand will require willingness to suffer and sacrifice. So don't despair if you are condemned and persecuted for righteousness' sake. Whenever you take a stand for truth and justice, you are liable to scorn," says Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nevertheless, the beauty of love and sex will shine.
Sexuality is a foretaste of God in heaven.
God doesn't correct every bad behavior in our earthly life. When Elkanah was having sex with his wife, Hannah, he was also having sex with his wife, Peninnah. Elkanah was in adultery because he was having sex with two women instead of one. God doesn't even say a word about adultery to Elkanah, Hannah or Peninnah that's recorded in the Bible.
Why? While God shares a lot of His thinking with us, He doesn't always in this earthly life tell us why He chooses to do things in a certain way.
Could anything be worse than one's husband having regular sex with another woman or man? It seems logical for a wife to withhold sex in this situation, but what is logical to human beings is not always logical or morally correct according to God. Withholding sex without God inspiring both husband and wife to do so is sin.
While Peninnah torments Hannah for not conceiving children, the Bible does not record Hannah, Peninnah and Elkannah trying to stop or control each others sexuality. They leave that up to God.
Stop using sex as a bargaining piece to obtain something. If you are married, except for illness that makes sex impossible or for brief periods of abstaining from sex for spiritual reasons, having regular sex inside of marriage is nonnegotiable. God created sex for bonding between husband and wife. Genesis 2:24-25 Amplified Bible says, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other's presence." Dr. Iris Delgado of Crowned with Purpose ministry has been married for more than 40 years, is a grandmother and says, "When I say, mother's be vigilant, I mean just that. . . . Do not enable your husband to be tempted by your negligence at home, especially if weeks and months go by and there's no sex life between you."
Following the Bible way of frequent sex between a husband and a wife is a part of a happy, healthy, holy marriage. Biblical sex is holy, high praise and worship of God. Sex also releases chemicals that cause ecstasy. Being in the presence of God is ecstasy. The Joy of the Lord is our stength. Studies show that men who have sex five times weekly reduce their chance of prostate cancer.
Is there a link between sexless marriage, shame and cancer? Proverbs 12:4 Amplified Bible says, "A virtuous and worthy wife [earnest and strong in character] is a crowning joy to her husband, but she who makes him ashamed is as rottenness in his bones." Proverbs 12:4 The Message says, "A hearty wife invigorates her husband, but a frigid woman is cancer in the bones."
Sex is sacred and secular. Secure and happy spouses give and receive 100 percent of oneself to the other one spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, sexually and financially. Since God lives inside of Christians when husband and wife are having sex, they are also sharing God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit with each other as they are through other, multiple ways and words daily.
God inside of us was meant to be shared. A lack of emotional nakedness or any other type of nakedness between spouses causes shame.
Sin and shame go together because God designed us to do good. When we do wrong we are designed to experience shame. One spouse may falsely believe that he or she is holy by withholding sex that the other spouse desires to give and receive. "You must come to see that it is possible for a man to be self-centered in his self-denial and self-righteous in his self-sacrifice. He may be generous in order to feed his ego and pious in order to feed his pride. Man has the tragic capacity to relegate a heightening virtue to a tragic vice. Without love benevolence becomes egotism, and martyrdom becomes spiritual pride," says Martin Luther King, Jr.
Because Biblical love and sex are united when husband and wife have sex neither should be doing things to make someone feel less than a human being. Ecstatic, enthusiatic, expressive, excellent lovemaking between husband and wife is a part of the enjoyable, abundant life Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead in three days to give us. Satan doesn't want us to have fun and fulfillment in sex because he wants us to do things that are fatal to happiness. Happiness is from God. Harm is from Satan.
A spouse who chooses to withhold sex without the consent of the other spouse is cooperating with Satan to bring destruction and death into his or her marriage.
For example, say a wife is angry and hurt by the behavior of her husband and chooses to withhold sex until the husband meets her demands to stop, start and/or modify certain behaviors, and her husband does not agree to stop, start and/or modify certain behaviors. Her husband could respond by masterbating excessively and become addicted to excessive masterbation and even pornography. Pornography is a $57 billion-a-year, global industry worth more than major league football, baseball and basketball combined. Pornography continuously seeks out new customers. If pornography doesn't gain a foothold in his life, the husband may respond to his spouse who refuses to have sex as a form of punishment with some other bad behavior like excessive involvement in employment, church, friendships or something else. Even good things can be bad when they are out of balance or out of timing.
It is difficult but not impossible to choose Jesus' narrow way in conflicts. Sometimes someone says or does something that seems wrong, but it is not. My son, Rafael Damani Fowler, has autism. When he uses the toilet to defecate, he squats on the toilet. I never stopped him or insisted that he use the toilet the Western way of sitting on it to defecate because I am so happy that he uses the toilet. A lack of toilet use exists among some persons with autism. I always thought that he did this because he was intellectually disabled. However, his toilet technique is not an intellectual disability but an intellectual ability. The natural and instinctive way to use the toilet is to squat! Africa, Asia and many places use squat toilets. By squatting the capacity of our abodmens are reduced making it easier to expel poop. Rafael has a flat stomach and often horse-sized bowel movements.
Presume competence with all people to help with trying to understand another person's perspective and to resolve conflicts. Someone else's perspective may actually be better than ours, and if not, the other person, will feel comfortable with us and more open to change because we are treating him or her as intelligent and worth respecting and loving. Aim to please people in a godly way; one result is that they may want to please you. Humilated people or people hurt in some other way are more likely to be a hinderance to and even hurt back the person who hurt them.
When having conflict because one feels evil is being done against him or her, the proper response is Romans 12:21 New Living Translation Bible which says, "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."
If someone is doing bad, we are not to do bad also. Come up higher and keep on doing increasing goodness. Your goodness in the midst of someone's badness is a witness for Christ. Jesus Christ says in John 13:34-35 New Living Translation Bible, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
Goodness is also a witness to our spouses and other people.
Sexless, married couples prove to the world that they are servants of Satan or at the very least strongly under his influence.
Instead of expressing frustration about not getting "my way" through engaging in fights, arguments, punitive behavior, calling people bad names, belittling comments, degrading actions, etc., when someone believes something false, present the Truth. Then let go and let God reveal the Truth. We can't change people. That's God's job.
It takes 30 days to form a new habit. So if will probably take 30 days or longer to see the works of the Truth in a life particularly if a long history of bad behavior exists. "Honesty impels me to admit that such a stand will require willingness to suffer and sacrifice. So don't despair if you are condemned and persecuted for righteousness' sake. Whenever you take a stand for truth and justice, you are liable to scorn," says Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nevertheless, the beauty of love and sex will shine.
Sexuality is a foretaste of God in heaven.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Sick and Strong
The prophet Elisha, who had a double portion of the prophet's Elijah's anointing, became sick as recorded in 2 Kings 13. Earlier in his life Elisha had laid on a dead boy, and God used Elisha to return life to the boy. But this time Elisha couldn't lay hands on himself and be healed of his sickness. Why? Autism, cerebral palsy, diabetes, clinical depression and other disabilities and sicknesses are a part of the will of God. God heals us from some disabilities and sicknesses, but not all of them because God loves us.
Joni Eareckson Tada is paralyzed from the neck down, married and in full-time Christian ministry. She and Steve Estes write in their book When God Weeps: Why Our Suffering Matters to the Almighty, "God uses affliction like a hammer and chisel, chipping and cutting to reveal his image in you. . . . God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in times of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character. It is a beautiful image!"
Elisha is a beautiful image. Elisha lived consistently in a golden state of mind, in the mind of the Messiah which is the mind of God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. Even when be became sick Elisha was strong; He didn't hide himself and give up his ministry just because he had a big problem. Elisha didn't segregate himself into a special, separate ministry for the sick and disabled that was rarely included, involved and integrated with the larger society. Elisha interacted with all kinds of people. Elisha used his time wisely to know and to do what God asked him to; he was not shaken and swayed by popular opinion. Elisha prophesied to Jehoash king of Israel a victory over the Syrians. Instead of self-hatred, self-pity, shame and guilt about his sickness Elisha trusted in His God. Sickness did not spoil his relationships with God, himself or other people.
Elisha was so close and committed to God that even after he died of his sickness 2 Kings 13:21 says, "As a man was being buried [on an open bier], such a band was seen coming; and the man was cast into Elisha’s grave. And when the man being let down touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet."
Instead of focusing on our imperfections and inadequacies focus on the will of God and His ability to make a way at all times. Seek to leave a legacy beyond this life. Elisha did. Ephesians 5:17 Amplified Bible says, "Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is." No time is a good time to wonder around aimlessly a bit blank regarding God's will for you.
Los creyentes son el ojo derecho de Dios (Believers are the right eye (the apple) of God's eye). Since God thinks the highest of us, loves us passionately and fills us with His wonderful love, we have what it takes to allow the love of God to pour out profusely perfecting us into people able to please God. Christian rapper Lecrae sings in his song "Don't Waste Your Life," "Magnify the Father." We cannot magnify the Father unless the Father lives in us. If you have the Father, you have the Son and Spirit. Like the Spirit lived in Joshua (Numbers 27:18), He also lived in Elisha empowering Elisha to magnify the Father right though sickness and death. Instead of wasting his life, Elisha has an eternal witness for God, and you can too.
What are some ways to avoid wasting your life living outside the will of God irregardless of the disabilities and abilities you possesses?
Joni Eareckson Tada is paralyzed from the neck down, married and in full-time Christian ministry. She and Steve Estes write in their book When God Weeps: Why Our Suffering Matters to the Almighty, "God uses affliction like a hammer and chisel, chipping and cutting to reveal his image in you. . . . God uses suffering to purge sin from our lives, strengthen our commitment to him, force us to depend on grace, bind us together with other believers, produce discernment, foster sensitivity, discipline our minds, spend our time wisely, stretch our hope, cause us to know Christ better, make us long for truth, lead us to repentance of sin, teach us to give thanks in times of sorrow, increase faith, and strengthen character. It is a beautiful image!"
Elisha is a beautiful image. Elisha lived consistently in a golden state of mind, in the mind of the Messiah which is the mind of God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. Even when be became sick Elisha was strong; He didn't hide himself and give up his ministry just because he had a big problem. Elisha didn't segregate himself into a special, separate ministry for the sick and disabled that was rarely included, involved and integrated with the larger society. Elisha interacted with all kinds of people. Elisha used his time wisely to know and to do what God asked him to; he was not shaken and swayed by popular opinion. Elisha prophesied to Jehoash king of Israel a victory over the Syrians. Instead of self-hatred, self-pity, shame and guilt about his sickness Elisha trusted in His God. Sickness did not spoil his relationships with God, himself or other people.
Elisha was so close and committed to God that even after he died of his sickness 2 Kings 13:21 says, "As a man was being buried [on an open bier], such a band was seen coming; and the man was cast into Elisha’s grave. And when the man being let down touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet."
Instead of focusing on our imperfections and inadequacies focus on the will of God and His ability to make a way at all times. Seek to leave a legacy beyond this life. Elisha did. Ephesians 5:17 Amplified Bible says, "Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is." No time is a good time to wonder around aimlessly a bit blank regarding God's will for you.
Los creyentes son el ojo derecho de Dios (Believers are the right eye (the apple) of God's eye). Since God thinks the highest of us, loves us passionately and fills us with His wonderful love, we have what it takes to allow the love of God to pour out profusely perfecting us into people able to please God. Christian rapper Lecrae sings in his song "Don't Waste Your Life," "Magnify the Father." We cannot magnify the Father unless the Father lives in us. If you have the Father, you have the Son and Spirit. Like the Spirit lived in Joshua (Numbers 27:18), He also lived in Elisha empowering Elisha to magnify the Father right though sickness and death. Instead of wasting his life, Elisha has an eternal witness for God, and you can too.
What are some ways to avoid wasting your life living outside the will of God irregardless of the disabilities and abilities you possesses?
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Got Problems? No Worries Mate.
Sunday I was looking at a photo in the August 2012 edition of Enjoying Everyday Life, the magazine of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Joyce is reading a leather-bound Bible while sitting on a wooden chair on a wooden deck without guard rails above tranquil waters with a forest in the distance. Yellow/white sunlight hovers over the waters and everything else reminding me of Genesis 1:1-3 Amplified Bible: "In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light."
Light reveals things. God describes Himself as light. John 1:4 Amplified Bible says, "In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men."
One of the things God wants to reveal is that God's best plan for us is loving, eternal, family relationships with God and people. John 1:12-13 Amplified Bible says, "But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]"
There was never a time when God didn't choose to be in relationship with each believer. Imagine the goodness if we always choose a relationship with God and each believer God connects us to.
God put Rafael and me together. Rafael is a believer who has autism. I am a believer who does not have autism. Rafael and I love each other. In loving each other we are celebrating God, people with autism and other different minds and abilities and people of multiple other characteristics.
God made Rafael with autism on purpose. Proverbs 16:33 Amplified Bible says, "The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord [even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him]."
God made Nick Vujicic and Daniel Martinez without arms and legs. Nick and Daniel are not biologically related, but they are part of the family of believers; and God created them and had them meet for a purpose.
One day Nick was set to give a speech at Knott Avenue Christian Church in Anaheim, California. Up until the time Nick was a young adult he had not met a person like himself without arms and legs. Meeting Daniel was inspirational confirming for Nick that there are others like him and giving him the privilege to guide someone younger, Daniel was a toddler at the time they met, over the obstacles of not having arms and legs through a faith that with God there are no limits.
Some say I am unrealistic in seeking marriage for Rafael because he has autism. Growing up Nick wondered how he was going to have a job that would pay enough to financially support a family. Nick wondered how he was going to have girlfriends and eventually a wife without arms to hug them.
So many mysteries that can become worries. Do you have autism, no arms or legs or some other challenges? "I ain't goin' worry about things I can't control . . . . Hold up. Why? God's got it," sings African-American Gospel singer James Moss on his CD V 4 ...The Other Side track "God's Got It." For believers God is able and willing to work out our lives for good even when we can't see how.
Growing up Nick couldn't see that he would be a motivational speaker, run a nonprofit group called Life Without Limbs and marry, but God not only knew it all along, God also had a plan for Nick to get there. God's got a plan for all of us. Chase God, and He'll reveal the plan.
Clues to God's plan are everywhere. Rafael is very spiritual. He enjoys music, meditation and intimate relationships. Women love spirituality and intimate relationships. Ninety-four percent of women in a 2002 Gallup poll reported that a spouse should be a soul mate first and foremost.
Soul mates start out as friends. The Bible talks about sex as a husband and wife knowing each other. While God did not design for singles to engage in sex, God did design for both singles and married couples to have same-sex and opposite sex friendships. Begin and improve your friendships by joining Rafael's and my relationship group. To join contact us at email address michefrancesjackson@gmail.com.
Light reveals things. God describes Himself as light. John 1:4 Amplified Bible says, "In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men."
One of the things God wants to reveal is that God's best plan for us is loving, eternal, family relationships with God and people. John 1:12-13 Amplified Bible says, "But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]"
There was never a time when God didn't choose to be in relationship with each believer. Imagine the goodness if we always choose a relationship with God and each believer God connects us to.
God put Rafael and me together. Rafael is a believer who has autism. I am a believer who does not have autism. Rafael and I love each other. In loving each other we are celebrating God, people with autism and other different minds and abilities and people of multiple other characteristics.
God made Rafael with autism on purpose. Proverbs 16:33 Amplified Bible says, "The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord [even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him]."
God made Nick Vujicic and Daniel Martinez without arms and legs. Nick and Daniel are not biologically related, but they are part of the family of believers; and God created them and had them meet for a purpose.
One day Nick was set to give a speech at Knott Avenue Christian Church in Anaheim, California. Up until the time Nick was a young adult he had not met a person like himself without arms and legs. Meeting Daniel was inspirational confirming for Nick that there are others like him and giving him the privilege to guide someone younger, Daniel was a toddler at the time they met, over the obstacles of not having arms and legs through a faith that with God there are no limits.
Some say I am unrealistic in seeking marriage for Rafael because he has autism. Growing up Nick wondered how he was going to have a job that would pay enough to financially support a family. Nick wondered how he was going to have girlfriends and eventually a wife without arms to hug them.
So many mysteries that can become worries. Do you have autism, no arms or legs or some other challenges? "I ain't goin' worry about things I can't control . . . . Hold up. Why? God's got it," sings African-American Gospel singer James Moss on his CD V 4 ...The Other Side track "God's Got It." For believers God is able and willing to work out our lives for good even when we can't see how.
Growing up Nick couldn't see that he would be a motivational speaker, run a nonprofit group called Life Without Limbs and marry, but God not only knew it all along, God also had a plan for Nick to get there. God's got a plan for all of us. Chase God, and He'll reveal the plan.
Clues to God's plan are everywhere. Rafael is very spiritual. He enjoys music, meditation and intimate relationships. Women love spirituality and intimate relationships. Ninety-four percent of women in a 2002 Gallup poll reported that a spouse should be a soul mate first and foremost.
Soul mates start out as friends. The Bible talks about sex as a husband and wife knowing each other. While God did not design for singles to engage in sex, God did design for both singles and married couples to have same-sex and opposite sex friendships. Begin and improve your friendships by joining Rafael's and my relationship group. To join contact us at email address michefrancesjackson@gmail.com.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Individuality Please
God sent me some inspiration Saturday while I was sitting amidst my balcony garden. Researchers from the University of Munich Germany found that looking at green for as brief as two seconds stimulates creativity. "God delights in concealing things; scientists delight in discovering things" (Proverbs 25:2 the Message Bible).
I have had people lie to me and say that my son, Rafael, was born with autism because I and Rafael's father had sex outside of marriage, and Rafael was conceived from one of these sexual encounters. While having partner sex outside of marriage is a sin that I have asked for and received God's forgiveness and no longer practice, it is a sin that is not connected to autism. John 9:1-3 Amplified Bible says, "As He passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth. His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered, It was not that this man or his parents sinned, but he was born blind in order that the workings of God should be manifested (displayed and illustrated) in him." God is working through Rafael and me to bring healing to others regarding a dehumanizing view and treatment of persons with autism and other different minds and abilities. This type of mindset tries to erase the individuality of persons with autism and other different minds and abilities through steering them into certain custodial and administrative careers. Custodial and administrative careers are good careers if they are a person's calling. However if a person is singing jazz notes by spontaneous expression of an internal gift from God, why not educate and develop in as many ways as possible the singing ability, so that this person may bless society through a musical career?
The First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald, was born to unmarried, African American parents. First her father died. Then several years later when Fitzgerald was still a youth her mother died. Fitzgerald ended up in a New York orphanage. Instead of encouraging her singing gift, governmental employees forced Fitzgerald to take up "marketable skills" like typing and stenography.
Ohiyesa (Dakota for "Wins Often"), who took the name "Charles Alexander Eastman" when he received Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord in the 1800s, is a husband, father of six children, physician, writer, speaker, advocate for Native American rights, among other things, who described American culture as "a system of life based on trade." Things haven't changed much with today's "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" mentality.
American culture is high on the drug of conformity. Our culture compels people to pursue certain "marketable careers" irregardless of an individual's gifting from God.
Not everyone gets hooked on the drug of conformity. "Trabajare no por mi mismo, pero para otros" ("I shall not work for myself, but for others,") is a maxim of Reverend Patrick Fernandez Flores, the first Mexican American and the second U.S. Latino priest appointed a bishop in the Roman Catholic church.
Christians are not called to conformity, but to use their gifts and all of themselves to love God and to share the love of God on the inside with themselves and other people. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2 New Living Translation Bible, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Paul goes on to say in Romans 12:6 New Living Translation Bible, "In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. . ." Live always incredible and improving empowered by God's love while cultivating and sharing your gifts. Read my 6/14/2012 article "Connecting Relationships and Faith."
Come off the drug of conformity and receive an ever evolving relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. God is for us. Chase and receive Him continually. Former drug addict current Pastor Wess Morgan sings on his CD Look At Me Now track "You May Not Know Me" about God's drastic change in his life, "You may not know me the way I am. You used to know me back when I was dangerous, reckless so frivolous."
Once America looses the dangerous, reckless so frivolous drug of conformity perhaps we will see persons with autism and other different minds and abilities in mass in all kinds of private and public places fully participating in society using the gifts God gave them to bless society.
Join Rafael and my relationship group to participate in the transformation process by contacting email address michefrancesjackson@gmail.com. We also welcome on-line comments.
I have had people lie to me and say that my son, Rafael, was born with autism because I and Rafael's father had sex outside of marriage, and Rafael was conceived from one of these sexual encounters. While having partner sex outside of marriage is a sin that I have asked for and received God's forgiveness and no longer practice, it is a sin that is not connected to autism. John 9:1-3 Amplified Bible says, "As He passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth. His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered, It was not that this man or his parents sinned, but he was born blind in order that the workings of God should be manifested (displayed and illustrated) in him." God is working through Rafael and me to bring healing to others regarding a dehumanizing view and treatment of persons with autism and other different minds and abilities. This type of mindset tries to erase the individuality of persons with autism and other different minds and abilities through steering them into certain custodial and administrative careers. Custodial and administrative careers are good careers if they are a person's calling. However if a person is singing jazz notes by spontaneous expression of an internal gift from God, why not educate and develop in as many ways as possible the singing ability, so that this person may bless society through a musical career?
The First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald, was born to unmarried, African American parents. First her father died. Then several years later when Fitzgerald was still a youth her mother died. Fitzgerald ended up in a New York orphanage. Instead of encouraging her singing gift, governmental employees forced Fitzgerald to take up "marketable skills" like typing and stenography.
Ohiyesa (Dakota for "Wins Often"), who took the name "Charles Alexander Eastman" when he received Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord in the 1800s, is a husband, father of six children, physician, writer, speaker, advocate for Native American rights, among other things, who described American culture as "a system of life based on trade." Things haven't changed much with today's "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" mentality.
American culture is high on the drug of conformity. Our culture compels people to pursue certain "marketable careers" irregardless of an individual's gifting from God.
Not everyone gets hooked on the drug of conformity. "Trabajare no por mi mismo, pero para otros" ("I shall not work for myself, but for others,") is a maxim of Reverend Patrick Fernandez Flores, the first Mexican American and the second U.S. Latino priest appointed a bishop in the Roman Catholic church.
Christians are not called to conformity, but to use their gifts and all of themselves to love God and to share the love of God on the inside with themselves and other people. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2 New Living Translation Bible, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Paul goes on to say in Romans 12:6 New Living Translation Bible, "In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. . ." Live always incredible and improving empowered by God's love while cultivating and sharing your gifts. Read my 6/14/2012 article "Connecting Relationships and Faith."
Come off the drug of conformity and receive an ever evolving relationship with God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ and God the Holy Ghost. God is for us. Chase and receive Him continually. Former drug addict current Pastor Wess Morgan sings on his CD Look At Me Now track "You May Not Know Me" about God's drastic change in his life, "You may not know me the way I am. You used to know me back when I was dangerous, reckless so frivolous."
Once America looses the dangerous, reckless so frivolous drug of conformity perhaps we will see persons with autism and other different minds and abilities in mass in all kinds of private and public places fully participating in society using the gifts God gave them to bless society.
Join Rafael and my relationship group to participate in the transformation process by contacting email address michefrancesjackson@gmail.com. We also welcome on-line comments.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Food, Love and Marriage
Last Thursday Rafael and I enjoyed walking and listening to live jazz music being played by a military band in a shopping mall. Thus inspired I recalled eating at an African-American restaurant in Washington, D.C., on July 4th, and I tried to count the number of African-American restaurants in Prince William County, Virginia, where Rafael and I live, that have waiters and waitresses, outstanding food and remarkable decor. I couldn't recall and count even one such restaurant.
I know where to buy our favorite fajitas with fine decor and wait staff but no jambalaya with other outstanding African-American food and remarkable decor. If you have eaten out and enjoyed fine African-American food in Prince William County, Virginia, please leave an on-line comment sharing the experience.
Many lovers enjoy sharing delicious food. I pray that Rafael, my son who has autism, enjoys dating and eventually marrying a Christian woman who shares his delight in eating out, personal relationships and beautiful, balanced, Biblical sexuality and sex among other good, enjoyable, beautiful things. Rafael savors saturating his fingers with food. He likes to feel it, smell it and taste it. Food and fingers fascinate him. He revels in having his finger tips kissed and kissing the hands of some people.
God created both single and married people with a desire for marital sex and other relationships. The first man had a relationship with God and the animals, but this was not enough. Genesis 2:18 New Living Translation Bible says about God creating the first woman for the first man, "Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”"
Mohandas Gandhi said, "To say that some men are untouchables is a heinous sin." Yet some would like to treat persons with autism and other different minds like untouchables denying them access to restaurants, marriage and the best possible life.
God wants the best possible life for everyone. God created us and preserves our life from fertilization through birth, youth, old age and beyond death for people who are African, European, Asian, Hispanic, male, female, working all different kinds of assignments at all different kinds of hours and with different minds and abilities and with multiple mixtures of these characteristics. God created us to have a good relationship with Him and to be in relationships with people who are just right for us.
Good relationships are compatible with good business. An untapped, massive market exists in welcoming persons with autism and other different minds into restaurants, marriage and other good, enjoyable, beautiful things. Please share an on-line comment about your best eating-out experiences and moments in marriage.
I know where to buy our favorite fajitas with fine decor and wait staff but no jambalaya with other outstanding African-American food and remarkable decor. If you have eaten out and enjoyed fine African-American food in Prince William County, Virginia, please leave an on-line comment sharing the experience.
Many lovers enjoy sharing delicious food. I pray that Rafael, my son who has autism, enjoys dating and eventually marrying a Christian woman who shares his delight in eating out, personal relationships and beautiful, balanced, Biblical sexuality and sex among other good, enjoyable, beautiful things. Rafael savors saturating his fingers with food. He likes to feel it, smell it and taste it. Food and fingers fascinate him. He revels in having his finger tips kissed and kissing the hands of some people.
God created both single and married people with a desire for marital sex and other relationships. The first man had a relationship with God and the animals, but this was not enough. Genesis 2:18 New Living Translation Bible says about God creating the first woman for the first man, "Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”"
Mohandas Gandhi said, "To say that some men are untouchables is a heinous sin." Yet some would like to treat persons with autism and other different minds like untouchables denying them access to restaurants, marriage and the best possible life.
God wants the best possible life for everyone. God created us and preserves our life from fertilization through birth, youth, old age and beyond death for people who are African, European, Asian, Hispanic, male, female, working all different kinds of assignments at all different kinds of hours and with different minds and abilities and with multiple mixtures of these characteristics. God created us to have a good relationship with Him and to be in relationships with people who are just right for us.
Good relationships are compatible with good business. An untapped, massive market exists in welcoming persons with autism and other different minds into restaurants, marriage and other good, enjoyable, beautiful things. Please share an on-line comment about your best eating-out experiences and moments in marriage.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
A Good, Enjoyable, Beautiful Life
Autism and other different minds are not fully understood. Experience provides some learning and sharing. Yet different minds are not integrated into our society.
Saturday Rafael and I ate fish tacos and drank sweet, mint, green tea in a restaurant. I didn't see anyone who has autism like Rafael does. I rarely see people with autism in restaurants.
Rafael and I enjoy eating out. Eating out can be part of a good, enjoyable, beautiful life. Jesus Christ is for joy. Satan is for sadness. John 10:10 Amplified Bible says, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
On Tuesday it was confirmed for me that at times powerful people prey on the perceived weak. Why not instead pursue every positive way possible to give different minds a good, enjoyable, beautiful life?
"Jesus answered, Is it not written in your Law, I said, You are gods?" (John 10:34 Amplified Bible). Believers are gods. Gods have power to seek and seize good.
Good includes an enjoyable, beautiful life from fertilization through birth, youth, old age and beyond death for people who are African, European, Asian, Hispanic, male, female, working all different kinds of assignments at all different kinds of hours and with different minds and abilities. John C. Maxwell writes in his book How Successful People Think Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life, "Good thinkers, especially those who are also good leaders, understand the power of shared thinking. They know that when they value the thoughts and ideas of others, they receive the compounding results of shared thinking and accomplish more than they ever could on their own." Please leave an on-line comment sharing your thinking about liking this article and/or ways to fully integrate different minds into society.
Saturday Rafael and I ate fish tacos and drank sweet, mint, green tea in a restaurant. I didn't see anyone who has autism like Rafael does. I rarely see people with autism in restaurants.
Rafael and I enjoy eating out. Eating out can be part of a good, enjoyable, beautiful life. Jesus Christ is for joy. Satan is for sadness. John 10:10 Amplified Bible says, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
On Tuesday it was confirmed for me that at times powerful people prey on the perceived weak. Why not instead pursue every positive way possible to give different minds a good, enjoyable, beautiful life?
"Jesus answered, Is it not written in your Law, I said, You are gods?" (John 10:34 Amplified Bible). Believers are gods. Gods have power to seek and seize good.
Good includes an enjoyable, beautiful life from fertilization through birth, youth, old age and beyond death for people who are African, European, Asian, Hispanic, male, female, working all different kinds of assignments at all different kinds of hours and with different minds and abilities. John C. Maxwell writes in his book How Successful People Think Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life, "Good thinkers, especially those who are also good leaders, understand the power of shared thinking. They know that when they value the thoughts and ideas of others, they receive the compounding results of shared thinking and accomplish more than they ever could on their own." Please leave an on-line comment sharing your thinking about liking this article and/or ways to fully integrate different minds into society.
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