What Does it Mean to Have the Favor of God?

We don't live in a perfect world.

Kids with cancer.

Kids with disabilities.

Kids die from sickness, disease, hunger, and disability.

Kids with mental illness.

I was thinking about some people's ideas of God's favor.

What would they think about kids like this...our kids?  How would they "judge" parents like us?

According to their definition of God's favor, we don't have it, and we never will...So, I'm thinking they are wrong.  We have received the grace of God and His favor, and they are working overtime for something in the law of works.

Favor is relative, really.

So what is all this talk about the Kingdom Life?

You know, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done."

Many people strive for this today, and actually do accomplish a very prosperous and fulfilled life in Jesus Christ.  But few actually admit how many struggles they have in their personal life.

So, what does that mean when it comes to our children? Are they left out?  Are we left out?  I mean, we can see complete transformational healing, but how often does it happen? Can it happen for us today?  Can our children gain complete healing, to the point of losing their genetic disabilities?  

When we accept the cost of the life of Jesus and receive His Holy Spirit, then we have His favor.  You see, if you learn to read the Word, and listen to the Spirit, then you will have God's favor. He determines how much favor you receive.

What is the Biblical definition of favor?

In the Hebrew Bible, favor generally translates,

graciousness, subjectively, kindness and favor, or objectively, beauty, pleasant, precious, or well-favored.

In Greek, the definition of favor extends into a divine influence upon the heart.

So, really, favor has nothing to do with having a perfect life...

The Accuser says we will never be good enough because we have a special needs life, and that bad things are from God as some sort of punishment, even as Believers in Jesus Christ.

Yet, the Bible tells us we will have favor when we receive and serve Christ.  If we are following the Holy Spirit, He will show us where we need to yield, helping us to better help others and overcome trials in our life.

Beauty comes from ashes in the Kingdom of God.

Really, bad things are going to happen in this world, because NONE of us can create a perfect life.

God does create special needs for His purposes.  He alone holds the answers to that one.  Life is frail and fragile.  Our children cannot defend themselves.

God ordains healing and blesses us with the gifts of rebirth and eternal life.

You will find His favor if you ask Him for it. You will still go through trials, but the Lord will help you through them.

Ask for His favor.

Claim it.

Know it in faith.


In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 4/29/2014

Who is the Source of Healing? God, That's Who

In our developed countries, we take Jesus for granted, you know?  We scream justice in our political system, and yet, we forget to cry out to God for justice.  There is gross discrimination against the innocent in this country.  It affects us daily.

*Special needs children who cannot receive medical care because of a botched Medicaid system and an increase in the price of medical insurance.

*People who will be penalized yet unable to afford medical care and yet unable to receive government assistance.

*People are fired from their jobs just for holding to Christian values.

*The attempts to squelch the name of God from courthouses and government offices.

*Claiming political correctness to attack Christians who try to control their own businesses.

*Attempts to make decisions for parents regarding medical healthcare for their children.

This is our landscape in the world, but a great place for God to show up.


Yet, Holy Spirit is our guide and our companion.

Suffering is going to happen in this world.  We have special needs children, and some syndromes or diagnoses are difficult.  It is a truth we face every day as parents.

We must first find ourselves on our knees before a God who knows and delivers all.

Second, we must delve into His Word, and lay down our selfish devices and sins.

Third, we must use the weapons of spiritual warfare to ward off the attacks of the evil one.

We can take revenge, but I fear it will not help us much.

It is better to advocate with the help of the Holy Spirit.


God, the Father is the source of all power.

Even when the devil slips in unnoticed, and a crisis ensues, we can trust in God's plan both for His children, and individually, in our own families.

Yes, the picture-perfect Bible picture does not reflect a special needs household, but that does not mean that we are condemned to a life of martyrdom.  JESUS CAME TO SET THE POSSESSED, SICK, AND DISABLED PEOPLE FREE.

Their lives may have become better because they were healed either of sin, or disease that was God's plan for their life, but it did not give them the statistically perfect new life.  You know, the life without special needs?   But, what it did give was

HOPE.

God's justice is His plan for our lives, despite our own and others' human frailties.  He will help us and our children to overcome the world, no matter how weak we are.

Wherever you are today, and no matter how fractured your life appears to be, what God wants is for you and your family to become who and what He created you to be.  God did not put any of us in a box.  God did not clone our special needs children.

He is the source of our power and the author of our lives.

But, He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  2 Corinthians 12:9

In His grip~Kim

Originally published 4/23/2014

Up From the Grave He Arose: Joy in the Morning

Springtime comes with a price. First, there is the death of the old season, and a sleeping.  But, in sleep comes the energy to grow.

This year spring brings:

A blood moon.

Violent storms.

Earthquakes.

Riots and rebellions.

Violence.

Yet, there is still beauty.

Sunshine and rain.

Flowers in bloom.

Green grass.

Trees in bud.

Baby birds and animals.

LOVE!

This spring brings change. 

Springtime is a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.

In His death,

On the eve of Passover,

There was injustice.

There was abuse.

There was an earthquake.

A solar eclipse.

The Temple curtain tore in two.

Hopelessness filled the hearts of Believers.

Yet, after 3 days, He rose again.

There was a new hope.

A moved stone.

Angels with a message.

There was understanding.

There was eternal life.

There was joy.

There was peace.

We still have that today.

No matter what darkness we experience, no matter what evil lurks around the corner, we have the answer, and we will overcome.

There will always be joy in the morning, no matter what, if we trust in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.  John 3:16

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 4/20/2014

The Glue of Jesus Saves Us at Easter

Jesus.

The glue that holds us all together.

He reaches to the Father for us.

He lays down His life for us, over and over again.

He bridges the gap between life and death, sin and grace.

He heals the sick.

He heals our special children.

He glues us together to the world, even though they may shut us out for being special.

He is the glue that binds the Body.

He is...

Wonderful Counselor

The Servant Branch

Prince of Peace

Light of the World

Lamb of God

Holy One

Day Spring

Savior

Yeshua

Maschiach

The Christ.

We would have no salvation, no peace, and no everlasting joy without Him.  He is the glue that keeps the special needs in the Body of Christ.

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 4/18/2014

Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life

Jesus said,

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father, except through me. John 14:6

We may find many ways to come to the cross, but there is only one way to the Father.  We must come face to face with Jesus, and accept Him as the ONLY bridge to the Father.

We always ask this when we look around our Easter or Christmas Sunday services. Many pastors preach the message of salvation on special Sundays. But, the truth is, that many people who show up are already saved.

In fact, they may need to hear the message:

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)  

Jesus came to save us and help us, not beat us into oblivion with unnecessary guilt.

Some may not attend church because of their job, or because they harbor bad feelings toward church members in general. Or, if they have special needs children, or aging people, who may be unable to attend at all.  

For those who still don't know Jesus and who live stuck in a lifestyle that is against the receiving of God's grace, well, then they do need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.  

NO ONE can come to Father God, except through the belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, born of a virgin, lived, was crucified, and resurrected from the dead.  

It does not matter how we end up at the cross, but what we do when we get there.

Praying for the church to become more accommodating towards the believers it holds.

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 4/16/2014

Filmmaker debuts video to help family find a cure for 4-year-old with rare disorder

Filmmaker debuts video to help a family find a cure for a 4-year-old with a rare disorder: Three weeks ago, a Canadian filmmaker met 4-year-old Eliza O'Neil.

This little girl, Eliza, could lose her life before her teen years if her parents cannot raise the money by June to give her treatment. It is a treatment to cure her.  It is a treatment to keep her from dying a slow death, losing her speech, her mobility, and dying by the time she is a teenager.  They are raising money for her treatment.

She looks completely normal now.  She is beautiful and happy.  Yet, unknown to her, death looms around the corner.

Sometimes, life just isn't fair.

Sometimes we find out there are complete injustices in this world that only God can help us with.  Why would God, the Creator, the Almighty, allow such a thing?

All I can say is look at the people of God throughout history.

Their lives were not textbook.  They did not have the princess dream.  But, in the end, things worked out.   A man born blind was healed by Jesus, for the glory of God (John 9:1-3).  

A young girl was raised from the dead by Jesus.  Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus, after having been dead for several days.  Many others during the time of Jesus were born sick, lame, and epileptic, only to be healed.

Why can we not have that kind of Biblical healing now?

It does happen sometimes and in rare cases.  We hear more and more of people, adults and children, dying and going to heaven, only to come back.  They are those who were touched by God in a real and tangible way, sent back to bring Light and truth.

But, can we increase it?  YES, WE CAN!

We must have faith.

No matter what the enemy throws our way, we must hold up the shield of faith, believing that God wants what is best for us.  It may not be the happy fairy tale life, of no problems, but it can be a life of God's victory over the enemy's attacks.

In heaven, there will be no sorrow.  On earth, we may have sorrow, but we can walk in the Kingdom of God, with the helmet of salvation, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, laying down our burdens and using faith as our shield, and the Word of God as our sword of the Spirit.  We may not experience heaven on earth, but we can find rest in the will of God, through spiritual warfare.

Can you be the hands and feet of Jesus?

Please pray for this little girl's healing, and even donate money for her treatment.  He laid his life down for our healing.   Perhaps today is the day that you will have faith for someone else's child, and she will be healed. They have only two months left to raise the necessary funding for her treatment.  

Can you help?  What does Jesus need from you?

Stand firm, therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.  As shoes for your feet put on the gospel of peace.  With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  Ephesians 6:14-17

In His grip~Kim

Originally published 4/7/2014

Are Autistic Children Bratty?

From the normal point of view, our special needs children just get their way.

People smirk at you.

Some chastise your child for being non-compliant.

A few even remark that you need to get better control of your child.

They even wonder if you are abusing your child because they act this way...

In their outside, normal world, your child is bratty to them.

And, in all honesty, people like this know little to nothing about what autism really is. They see it as a behavior "disorder" not the genetic condition that it really is. 

Further, their ideas of parental control of autism simply do not fit the reality of what we parents face every day. 

Bad parenting is not the cause of autism.

For those people who still think they can control it, autism is a genetic condition and frequently mixed with food allergies.

God created these and all children the way that they are.  He knit them in the womb.

Sure, we can change our autistic children's diet, medicate them, or even use applied behavior analysis, but in the end,

You cannot take the special out of special needs.

God made it that way.  Why?  We can only ask the Creator.

Will God heal them?

Yes, of course.

But in

His Way

and in

His Time.

Autistic kids grow and change as they get older, but it simply does not happen in the normal way. It won't happen overnight, nor because we get more strict in our discipline of them.  

Cling to the hope that Jesus knows the way.

Are autistic children bratty?  Certainly not.  

Did the Lord bring us challenges with these children?  Well, yes. Challenges that He called us to shoulder, yoked with Him and His love.

This remains a challenging life, but not insurmountable.

April is National Autism Awareness month, won't you join in and share the love?

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 4/3/2014

Who Can Make a Rainbow? God Can!

Special needs can be lonely.

The typical world doesn't always realize this.  Some of them attempt to include our children, and even us, but always the truth of life in Special Needs Land overwhelms a matter.  We may even venture from the house with high hopes of normalcy, only to realize the error of our ways, and return to the safety of our walls.

When the reality of our family's isolation hit me as a mom, and the need for my son to interact on some level, I began to search out pen pals for him.  My special needs son obsessively set to work each week, collecting cards, placing stickers in them, writing his name, and then sending them.  

He has grown in this practice, making cards for many others, and receiving them in return.

What amazes me is the ability of the hearts of two boys to cross the continent, never having laid eyes on each other, to discern what the other likes.  They send each other cards, and sometimes, toys, or other trinkets.  

is a "place" where special needs need not be lonely, and they learn their purpose in life simply by learning how to love others in their own special way.

It is the same with any special needs get-together or convention.

It starts with God first.

I am struck over and over again, that we all have to find our purpose in life because God did create us specifically for a purpose.  EVEN OUR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN HAVE A PURPOSE, CREATED BY GOD.  

Each of us can make a rainbow of love, being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Love can appear in the sharing of toys.

Love comes with bear hugs.

Love comes in a happy smile.

Blessings come in words from a pure heart.

Your special needs child has a purpose too!

What the world considers imperfections, Jesus makes an opportunity to shine through.  The rainbows we all make in the name of Jesus will bring love down from heaven to shine down on those who need it.

Has your child found his or her purpose in Christ?

What makes them shine?

What bridges the love of Jesus to those who know them, or don't know them?

How can they serve others?

There is a place in the Kingdom of God for our special children too.

In His grip~Kim

Originally published on 4/2/2014