Christ is Enough by Hillsong

His Special Kids is going on sabbatical until September.  I pray that you find blessings in Jesus during the remaining summer month.

Of course, I leave Hillsong's latest video, Christ is Enough, below:




In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 7/28/2013

The Lamb is on the Throne

Life in this current world has become a little more than uncertain.  It is a struggle to keep the darkness out some days.

I don't know about you, but this summer has not been easy.  Life hit full force with the summer months, and between constant and frequent challenges, I am dragging my feet thinking about the upcoming school year. Thankfully, we still have a few weeks;-)

Some days, I really struggle to turn it over....to trust God with all that He has given us.  Yet, I pray daily, that the Lord will help me continue to seek His will.  Are you like that?  

Do you grip tightly to what you have, only to find that you are gripping so firmly, that you forgot He is on the throne?

Prayers that we will all find peace and rest in the remainder of this summer.

I think we already need another vacation!

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 7/24/2013

We Are...Overcomers in Christ on the Seas of Life

Photo of the Jesus Boat, Israel

I took my special needs son to a special needs swim class the other day, for the first time.  For some reason, it took us two weeks to get actually show up. But, we finally made it two days ago, and it blessed our socks off!

Why did it take so long?

Well, we had to overcome a lot of adversity to get there.  

The first week we were supposed to have lessons, but one crazy thing after another occurred.

I raced to leave, ran late, and then forgot the directions. On the way, my car's rearview mirror simply broke off.  So between the 9 million things going on, and my son's obsession with swim lessons (he talked nonstop), we missed the lesson altogether. 

Seriously, somewhere between the lack of sleep, chaos, and bizarre events, my brain simply shut down and I could not beat the clock. 

I have never done that before. Yet, I had to laugh.

The second week, the car had to go into the shop. 

By this time, I simply resigned myself to the fact that we were not going to make it...again.

A parent of a normal family might say, What are you doing even leaving the house?!  

As special needs parents, we know the reality...because WE HAVE TO!  And, I will point out, that we did finally make it to swim lessons, once the time was right.

Or, at least, that is how I viewed it.

As special needs parents, we juggle a lot

We strive to be invincible, overcoming great odds, no matter what they tell us, and act as our children's advocates.  We struggle with more responsibilities than the typical parent, and not little crises either, but the big whopper events, of course, and when we least expect it.  

So, obviously, reality gives way, and yes, the only way to walk on water, is if we have enough faith. Somedays I simply feel stunned at what just happened.

Life throws us all curves and unexpected twists, and we find ourselves trying to have faith and hope for the future.  

The alternative is that we could end up staying home all day, but I think the point here is that we have to try. I guess, but even when our physical and mental abilities fail us, God picks up the slack where He wants us to be. He does manage to keep us afloat.

Normal parents sometimes say things like, "I don't know how you do it!" Or, "You are a special mom to have a special needs kid."

What they missed is that most of us don't think of ourselves in this light at all.   

The difference comes in how we handle this.

This disability, illness, disease, genetic syndrome, or whatever, makes life challenging.  It is the obstacle that God chooses to conquer through us, and others, as He chooses.  We are merely His instruments to help our kids as much as we can.

It is as if the Lord is saying, here is your thorn, which I gave you, which will keep you humble before Me.  You will call out to me, and I will answer you, but I may not respond in the way that you expect.  I will bring victory out of your child's life and they will run free in heaven.  There is hope for the future of your family.

We are Joshua fighting the battle of Jericho.

We are Judith, the only one brave enough to bring down the enemy.

We are David fighting Goliath.

We are Nehemiah, attempting to rebuild the walls of health around our family.

We are Lot leaving Sodom and Gomorrah.

We are Joseph being sold into slavery, only to discover God's plan for our lives.

We can overcome.

With the help of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will overcome.  No, our lives may not fit into the perfect American church family, be cool, hip, or luxurious, as special needs parents.   

But, the good news is that we, as special needs parents, really have it easy because the pressure is off.  We are excused from wanting the perfect life, filled with emptiness, and we won't be ridiculed by others who do prioritize those things.  We will never really have the opportunity to become arrogant or too comfortable.

Instead, we received a life of:

depth,

deep peace,

miracles,

Holy Spirit,

purpose,

truth,

integrity,

AND LOVE.

We are in the Jesus Boat, and that is where we need to stay.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 7/21/2013

God is Light

Jesus took religion and made it whole.

We simply cannot be unequally yoked.  

We may take on the burden of the children of darkness, but ultimately, we cannot remain there.  We do not counterbalance the other.  At one point, we will have to either push darkness out using the Light and its power, or we simply have to walk away.  

It does not mean defeat.  It means that we are living in the Light and choose only to remain there.  

God is the Light that we all need.

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 7/17/2013

Jesus is the Light

About 5 years ago, a prayer group I run prayed for a little boy about a year old, with a genetic syndrome the same as my son's.  He caught a simple virus, which created a whole host of problems for him.  

He was declared brain dead and his parents planned for his funeral.  Yet, the Lord stirred up an army of Believers, who prayed over that little boy, and he came back to life.

Recently, he fell ill again, but this time he crossed over to Jesus forever yesterday morning, when his family removed him from the ventilator.  I don't know the circumstances of why they made this choice, but some of us prayed for a miracle.  

Apparently, crossing over to Christ was the Lord's answer for this little boy.

God is the Author of Life.

I keep running across these fantastic video stories about special needs children being healed.  I have witnessed my own son's healing of many different illnesses.  God wants us all to live...doesn't He?  I mean, what about the little boy above?

The answer lies in the fact that the Lord's purposes extend beyond our human perspective.  We want life, and He does too.  The problem arrives when we limit our view of life to this world, and not the one beyond. We in the western world, in particular, struggle with this.  

Frequently, we look overseas in undeveloped countries, and say, well, that is not my life, and we think little of it.

Yet, God calls us to live in both this world and the world to come, not conforming to its standards.

I wonder if this is the season for healing.    

I wonder if we need to just expect God to show up.  Expect Him to create a miracle.

I could be discouraged about the above little boy's death.  But, I'm not, for some reason.  I see the Lord's purpose and plan here, even though I find it sad that he died.  As special needs parents, we can even become fearful for our own children's lives; I certainly have many times.  Living and dying are part of Special Needs Land, only our children tend to die prematurely.

Have faith that He will heal.

I know for some, this seems counter-intuitive.  I had one doctor tell me when my special needs son was young, not to worry about his testes, because "He has Prader-Willi after all!"  The problem with that attitude as a physician is that really, you (doctor) must give our children the best chance to live the life God called them to be.  

t isn't always about the perfect medical care, but it is also about treating our children's symptoms, and their bodies with respect.  The Lord preserved one of my son's testes despite that man's attitude.

But don't expect the Lord to show up in the conventional way.  Don't expect Him to show up only because of you, or someone else's human ingenuity.  He might show up in someone's worldly skills and abilities, but typically, they won't even realize it.  

We need to have the kind of faith that the apostles walked, in the Bible, but we need to stop boxing God into our ideas of healing.  We need to expect the Lord to heal our children in His way, miraculously, or otherwise.

The outright, medically unexplainable can occur, despite expert medical research and diagnosis.  The miraculous can happen despite mistakes made, poor diet, or a lack of finances. We need to have that kind of faith in the Western World.

We need to practice extreme faith in Jesus Christ.  

When we have no other alternatives or recourse, God will show up.  How He heals is completely up to Him, but He will arrive, and yes, it will be right on time.  There will be no mistakes and no misunderstandings.  Truth and Light will shine from within us.

I leave you with this video about Lacey Rose, born a special needs child, and miraculously healed by God. I pray that it inspires you to find healing in Christ for your child.


The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:5

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 7/14/2013

In The Word Wednesday: Plans For Your Welfare

God has great plans for you and your family.

Maybe He hasn't healed your child of the big and wonderful.  Perhaps he has blessed your child with good surgeries, strong improvements in development, or generally good health.  

Does that mean you have less faith than normal families?  Does that mean that God has cursed and abandoned you and your family?

NO! 

God has plans to bless you and not curse you!

Sometimes God gives us miracles and sometimes He gives us improvements.  Sometimes He blesses us with good health and improvement through food, and other times, He outright delivers unabashedly.

He knit all of us in our mother's womb.

He created all of us for His purposes.

This includes the siblings of your special needs child.  

We don't always talk about this, because really we are probably in the middle of so much with our special needs child, that we slip in our parenting of them in between much.  Yet, really, even though our children don't always see it, God meant it to bless them as well, not curse them.

Honestly, it gives them an edge in Christ, if they will receive it.  They must face their own bitter feelings about this life that is different from their peers, particularly in the adolescent years.  All children must learn to rebel against the world's ways, and siblings of special needs children, even more so.

No, they cannot make it go away.  Yes, they may leave our house and the special needs life, but they will have to come back to it eventually.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

Each part of the Body of Christ has a unique purpose, with Jesus Christ as the head.

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 7/10/2013

God is Able to Give us Hope

For some, the Fourth of July is a joyous event, for others it is bittersweet.

As moms and dads of special needs children, it can become different.  

Too many fireworks overstimulate sensitive ears, too much bad food on the table overwhelms food drives, and celebrations in the form of noise and activity may still be a challenge.

Yet, we have CAN hope for the future.

I don't know about you, but somedays I wake up, and I have been wakened by my special needs son three and four times.  He spends his day cycling in and out of tantrums, or I set the alarm on the kitchen stove to remember the daily round of medications and treatments day and night.  

I spend too much time driving to appointments and I feel lost.  I think, How much longer can we live this way? 

Some days I am crazy tired, frustrated, and angry at God for giving me this life, and I begin to wish for a new one.  I know that I am going to wake up tomorrow, and even possibly 10 years from now, and I will still be taking care of my special needs child.

Yet,

God is able.

He is able to turn things around.  No, He may not fix our lives into the place where we want it.  But, yes, He will give us peace during the storm, carry us, and bring a resolution, or maybe even a miracle.

He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides.

He is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals.

He is Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our banner.

Hillsong always says it well:





In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 7/3/2013