Wisdom Wednesday: Being Guided on the Wise Path through Life

 Dear Readers~

 Welcome to another “Wisdom Wednesday”; as I take a mental break for a few weeks and spend time reconnecting with family and friends after the pandemic, I have decided to pass the baton of “Wisdom Wednesday” to my dad for a couple of weeks. Though I will still have access to my computer and Facebook, I plan to limit my time on social media and spend more time reading.  I will be around and checking occasionally. Anyway, today’s “Wisdom Wednesday” focuses on the light to our path.

 

Without further ado, here’s my dad.

 

Being Guided on the Wise Path through Life

 

 

        Imagine, for a moment, just one of the concerns of this father of a disabled daughter. The bus driver dropped off Debbie at the bus stop, lowering the ramp to allow her to drive her wheelchair off the bus onto the sidewalk. It was only a block to her apartment, but she was very late, and it was getting dark and stormy. She had to rush, but that is very hard with a wheelchair guided by head controls. The more stressed or tense you get, the more difficult it is to guide the wheelchair with head motions. Finally, turning on her wheelchair headlights, she could see the sidewalk in the dark. She crossed the crosswalk safely and slowly crept along the sidewalk toward her apartment. Suddenly the approaching storm knocked out the streetlights, and the houses went dark. Her headlights allowed her to focus on the sidewalk in front of her to avoid cracks and holes, but she could not see the neighborhood - even to see as far as her destination and recognize her own apartment!  “Lord, please help me!” she prayed silently,  as she crept along in the dark. The windy storm front began rustling the trees. Just then, she saw a light up ahead! It was the flashlight of Julia, her friend in the apartment building, who called out, “Debbie, I’m coming; I’ll get you home!”

 

“Thank you, Lord, for sending Julia!”

 

        Like this imaginary story, we, too, walk or run through life with a relatively narrow view of the path ahead. Like distance runners in wilderness terrain at midnight, we run through life with a very dim flashlight. Moreover, life is a treacherous course that is littered with obstacles. We cannot see the destination and be assured we will arrive there safely. When we focus only on the things of this life alone, we ignore the larger view that God has provided to us in Scripture. God knows our path and destination; He alone can guide us safely.

The Psalmist understood the urgency of following God’s safe path, the need for God’s direction along that path, and the danger of evil paths (Psalm 119:32; 25; and 101-104,128, respectively).  How do we keep from destruction by the obstacles in the night that are outside of our view?

The Psalmist knew the answer: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). The Word of God provides the “lamp” right in front of our feet along the path to keep us from stumbling. It also provides the “light” that enables us to see the bigger picture and remain steady toward our destination. This is wisdom – fearing and allowing God to guide us on the path; Trust Him for He knows the way.

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.  There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. (Proverbs 23:17-19)

 

Music Monday: Lord Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary by Oasis Music

 Music Monday: Lord Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary by Oasis Music

by Debbie

 

During these past three weeks, we've covered a lot of ground when it comes to wisdom. Therefore, I will attempt to summarize these points before going into Music Monday; they are as follows :

1. Wisdom is more than gaining knowledge; instead, it is a sense of awe and reverence toward God.
2.    Wisdom requires trust and faith in His purposes; it requires all-out surrender (remember the example of Sarah & Abraham, Abraham, and Isaac)
3.    Wisdom requires us to remember worth in the Lord; He can take our weaknesses and turn them into masterpieces if only we'd allow it.

So on this "Music Monday," I'd like us to think of ourselves differently. Not only are we God's ambassadors to the world around us, but God Himself is living inside of us. Think about it. God doesn't live inside a church; instead, He CHOOSES to live inside His People. So shouldn't that change how we live daily? Now, this doesn't mean we will be perfect, mind you. We still live in a fallen world and face temptations, but we won't fall prey to them so easily through God's might.

Let this be my prayer today!

You can check out Oasis Worship's "Lord, Prepare Me to Be a Sanctuary" here: youtube.com/watch?v=pkGN50Jb2WI

Faithful Friday: The Angels of Concordia

 Welcome Back Readers

 Gearing up for another edition of "Faithful Friday", it occurred to me that I have allowed new readers to view my life from an academic standpoint as it relates to my writing. But I would be remiss to forget about those caring people, both young and old, who have made and continue to make it possible for me to live and work independently as I have in recent years. The fact of the matter is I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it weren’t for them. That being said, I decided to take a moment and reminisce with yet another guest post written by my father. This one chronicles my journey to live on campus with the help of agency-provided personal assistance and some special students on campus who had previous experience caring for people with special needs (and their degree was in special education). But even before that, Concordia University of Ann Arbor was so accommodating; they walked with me down the paths to see what needed to be changed for me to drive safely back to my dorm-even to the point of filling in the gravel where I might slip off. The committee went above and beyond that-switching up the dorms to have one that didn’t have a sunken in the living area; this was essential for me to participate in Devos every night...

 

Anyway, on to my dad's guest post…

The Angels of Concordia

Guest Thoughts by Debbie's Dad

 

The Bible clearly speaks of angels, the created beings that carry out missions for the LORD on earth. Few have seen angels, but many are recorded in Scripture. In both the Hebrew and Greek, the words that we translate as angels have the meaning messenger - a messenger from God.

 

Angels In the Old Testament

In Genesis 18 Abraham conversed with men (angels) that accompanied the LORD. At the peak of Israel's kingdom, the Psalms recorded the practical theology of trusting the Lord and described the angel of the LORD as a protector (34:7). Other Psalms described how angels are given charge to watch over us (91:11) even as they praise the Lord (103:20). 

As the nation of Israel divided, and finally, the prophets provided more insight into the work of angels. The prophets saw angels as "Seraphim" (Isaiah 6:2) and "cherubim" (Ezekiel 10:1-3). Daniel, while in captivity in Babylon, actually named two angels who came to help him: Gabriel and Michael (9:20-27 and 10:13, respectively).   Similarly, a man, identified as an angel, came to help Zechariah understand the visions he saw (cf. Zech. 1: 7-9).

 

The Angels and the Messiah

After a long period of silence from God, the people returned to a devastated and conquered the land. The most well-known messenger is the angel Gabriel who informed Mary that she would give birth to Israel's Messiah – "the king of Jacob's people forever" (Luke 1: 26-38).  It was an angel that announced Jesus' birth to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem (Luke 2:8-15), then angels warned Joseph to flee to Egypt and then return when Herod had died, and the danger had passed (Matt. 2:13-15 and 19-21). Angels ministered to Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry (Mark 1:13) and rolled away from the stone after his resurrection, remaining at the tomb to greet His followers (Matt. 28:1-2 and John 20:12). Jesus acknowledged the role of angels (e.g., Matt 22:30; 13:39; 25:31) as serving Him. Angles similarly ministered to the apostles in their ministry, opening prison doors (Acts 5 and 12), providing ministry guidance (Acts 8:26 and 10:1-7), and encouragement in perilous times (Acts 27:23-25).

 In all of these cases, the angels appeared as people, sent from God to give messages: to warn,  to explain, to encourage, and to protect.

My Angelic Encounter

 Back in the period 2003-2006, when Debbie attended Concordia University in Ann Arbor, I actually saw some angels at work: warning, explaining, encouraging and protecting!

 Before you declare me a heretic, let me explain. Debbie was accepted to Concordia in the fall semester of 2003 after 2 years of hard work at Washtenaw Community College. She was able to transfer 51 credits and began as a sophomore. On paper, all was well academically. But physically, it seemed a mission impossible for her to live on campus and succeed as a student. Being quadriplegic, she needed caregivers to get her up in the morning and then put her to bed at night; that could work. But how could she make it through the day? – For three years!  The Concordia staff was terrific, charting her path to classes and then walking with my wife and me across every path on campus to make sure they could be traversed by a wheelchair. Every ramp and every door threshold was checked.  Our toilet seat was tested on the David Dorm toilet.

 But the daytime routine was the killer- ominous, overwhelming, effectively impossible.  How could Debbie …

•  Be fed at breakfast, lunch, and dinner??
• Handle loading and unloading her backpack/travel to and from classes throughout the day?
• Open and close the pages of her books/take notes in classes to help her keep up?
• Study at night, turn pages in books/ practice foreign language, look at notecard, etc.?

Indeed it was not possible ... but when my wife, Debbie, and I explored the David Dorm where she might live, angels appeared.  Appearing as friendly college girls, they came alongside and asked us what we were doing. We explained, and like angels do, they warned us of things we had not thought about, explained how others could help Debbie through the day, and encouraged us that it would work.  And soon, they assembled an entire army of the most wonderful young women we could imagine. The army grew and grew, and they spent the next 3 years encouraging and protecting Debbie – enabling her to complete her degree. 

 

A few of "Angels" of Concordia with Debbie in 2006

 

Being an Angel to Others

 

Sure I know these young women were not the heavenly being like the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles saw, but they sure behaved as if they were sent by the LORD. They played the role of angels, providing us the message that what seemed impossible was made possible by their sacrifice of time and energy to be Debbie's hands and feet.  To me, they will always be angelic. And they set a wonderful example for me to follow. They glorified God by their Christ-like lives …

 

Encourage the people who are afraid. Help those who are weak. Be patient with every person. 1 Thessalonians 5:14b (ICB)

Debbie earned her BA degree in January 2007, enabled by that platoon of wonderful young women in David Dorm and across campus. Many of them still keep in touch with Debbie online, pray for her, and encourage her from afar, as angels always do.   May the Lord send to each of us someone to whom we may serve as an angel, just like that.

wisdom Wednesday the transformative power of Christ

 Welcome back, everyone~

If you’ve been following us the last few days, we’ve been discussing wisdom. The first week, we discovered how wisdom requires a healthy and reverent fear of the Lord. Last week, we looked at an example of wisdom and action- Abraham and Sarah. Although they stumbled on the way, Abraham was willing to follow the Lord’s command and sacrifice his one and only son Isaac. Once the Lord saw he was willing, he provided another sacrifice. This week, we look at our worth in Christ. Please check it out

Music Monday: Blessings by Laura Story

 Music Monday: Blessings by Laura Story

By Debbie

I hope everybody had a good weekend - spending it with loved ones and celebrating Father’s Day. I realize this day may be difficult for some of you who lost their fathers or didn’t have that great of a childhood. I’m sorry for that, but I want you to know you do have a Father in Heaven who loves you. After all, He created you; He wants to have a personal relationship with you.

Christians today have a tendency to think that once we commit ourselves to Jesus, our lives will turn out fine. Take for example the testimony of Laura Story and her husband Martin. Growing up, Laura had dreams of becoming a Christian music artist and a ministry leader. But all her dreams were put on hold when her husband was unexpectedly diagnosed with a thyroid tumor. What Laura thought was going to be a smooth recovery turned into months of rehabilitation and long-term memory problems for her husband.

During all of this, she managed to keep all of her questions to herself while working as a worship leader at her church; she struggled to reconcile God’s plan for her life versus her own plan.

In the end, Laura surrendered her plans to the Lord and she ended up reaching more people with her song “Blessings” then she would have had she not gone through such a difficulty.

We think we know what’s best for ourselves, but that’s not always the case. So God in his infinite wisdom uses the trials of this life to strengthen our faith and dependence on him. It is during these times when God proves Himself faithful…

Now that doesn’t mean things will turn out as expected. Look back at Laura’s story if you want more proof. Had she remained closed off to the idea of songwriting during her time of questioning, her lyrics might not have been as authentic-not reaching as wide an audience. Instead, she remained open to God’s leading and reached millions; she allowed her story to become a prime example of Romans 8: 28 in action:

'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ' -Romans 8:28

 So whatever you may be experiencing today, remember if you are a Christian, God is not finished with you yet. He’s just using the trials of this life to refine your faith, deepen your reliance on him and remind you as lovely as this earth is-it’s not your home!

To listen to Laura Story’s song “Blessings” please go here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEWIyqywX0Q&t=80s

Happy Father's Day, dad!

Dear readers,

With Father’s Day coming up, I thought I’d do something a little different on this “Faithful Friday.” For those of you who have been readers of my blog for a long time, you know I am extremely proud of my family. Because of them, I am who I am today; they each help me grow in unique and different ways. You may have guessed that I’ve gotten the knack for writing from my dad, and you’d be right. As a matter of fact, he’s the one that initially brought up the idea for writing this blog; I wasn’t so sure I’d have anything worthwhile to say.. And look at me now over 600 posts later and 51 visible readers (that I know about!)

 

Anyway, I decided to look back at the archived blogs and give one a fresh new take. This one looks at my disability from a father’s perspective. In it, he shares the different perspectives he has on my life and what God has taught him through them. They are as follows:

 

1.   Looking at The Past: Gratefulness

2.   His Perspective Today: Inspiration

3.   Looking at The Future: Faith

 

Without further ado, here’s his guest post:

 

Debbie has asked me to write an article for her blog, and I chose to write about my perspective of her life as my daughter, a wonderful and disabled young woman. I must first admit that I am understandably proud of her accomplishments, including her faithful publication of the blog “Rollin into the Future”. Let’s consider the three perspectives that I have of Debbie’s life.

 

Looking At the Past: Gratefulness

Debbie was born prematurely and was in the hospital for many weeks before she could come home, and then her development was very slow for the first year. At about one year, the doctor informed us that he could confidently diagnose her with cerebral palsy. Debbie’s mom and I were shaken – because we both knew people with CP. Soon we got her into therapy and then into a United Cerebral Palsy school (at age 2) and prayed for the Lord to help her achieve her best. We had no idea what capabilities she would develop, but soon it became evident that she was quadriplegic; she had limited use of her left hand and virtually no use of her legs. She progressed well, and the Lord gave her a good mind and heart – and she loved school. By ninth grade, she began using speech recognition software (she is an early pioneer of the use of this technology) and graduated from high school in the National Honor Society. She proceeded to Community College and earned her Associates degree in 4 years, and then went to Concordia University (and lived in the dorm!) and within 3 more years, earned her Bachelor degree. As I look back on the first 10 years of her life, I never would have imagined she would come so far! Her mom and I are truly grateful!

 

My Perspective Today: Inspiration

 Today, I am blessed to have a daughter that is a wonderful young woman who is an accomplished college graduate, a writer, and the most enduring person that I know. I am very proud of her – but I would rather call my pride “inspiration.” because she encourages me. I see her deal with personal adversity and frustration every single day – and confront it with patience, grace, and faith. Most people do not have any idea about the challenges of daily life faced by the disabled – I get to see it up close. Debbie’s posts to her blog are major efforts even with her voice recognition software –a simple “copy and paste” is a major effort. And yet she plugs on without complaint – and with a glow of purpose in her smile. She believes that she is encouraging someone out there as she adds word upon word, paragraph on paragraph, and blog post upon blog posting. And I believe she is encouraging people out there – even as she encourages me right here. Debbie is my daughter, my friend, and often my date as we go to the movies and out to eat together. What a blessing to have such a sharp young woman to talk with, to discuss issues of faith, and to laugh with while watching “Judge Judy.”

 

Looking to the Future: Faith

 It is not a secret. The greatest concern of any parent of a disabled child is the apprehension about care for their child when the parent dies. This is my greatest concern; it is a test of my faith in the Lord. I can try to set aside a trust fund, try to help her find faithful friends she will have through life, and help her find a place, a career, and goals for life, but I know that there will come a time when I will not be there for her. And so I trust the Lord, who has cared for us so far, and I make reasonable plans for her. We all look toward the future in faith, but I guess I do in a special way. So, how do I sum up my perspective of life as the father of a disabled young woman? I live with fond memories in gratefulness, inspired as I see her live with difficulty and grace, and I live in faith as I trust the Lord for her future.

Wisdom Wednesday: Faith In Action-The Story of Abraham and Sarah

Dear Readers;

 

It just occurred to me that I have not been posting the lifestream of Wisdom Wednesday on here, I'm so sorry. But there's still time to follow along. Last week, we talked about what wisdom truly meant. This week, we will see faith in action in the life of Abraham and Sarah. You can check out my video here:

Music Monday: How You Live (Turn Up The Music) by Point Of Grace

 

Music Monday: How You Live (Turn Up The Music) by Point Of Grace

by Debbie

 

Another weekend has come and gone, and it's time to get back to work. I know what you're thinking, "But Debbie, I can't do it anymore. No one notices me where I work,"

But I can guarantee you somewhere in your realm of influence; you are seen. People say that actions speak louder than words, and it's true. As I said before, as Christians, we serve as God's ambassadors of Truth and Love to the world around us.

So today, even if you think no one is watching. God is. How you live says a lot about you as a person and what you value

The song I've chosen for today's "Music Monday" is all about appreciating every day we have on this earth; it reminds us of the importance of never taking for granted the loved ones in our lives. Because sadly, no one is promised tomorrow.

So let's live today as if it was our very last-wear that pretty dress, kiss your children good night

Point Of Grace's "How you Live (Turn Up The Music)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjFyvzUk-cg

 

 

Five Lessons Learned from Chronic Illness: Alisha’s Story

Five Lessons Learned from Chronic Illness: Alisha’s Story 

by Debbie 

 Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference virtually from home. This conference taught lessons on everything- from how to take an idea and run with it to new marketing ideas for the published author. During this time, I also connected with other writers through zoom, and we shared how God led us to be writers; these stories not only inspired me to keep writing but I felt led to share them here with you

Alisha’s Diagnosis

 Growing up, Alisha Scroggins dreamed big just like any other little girls. She wanted to get married and someday serve as a missionary to those in Africa. Scroggins believed in Jesus and thought she had her whole life to look forward to. At 23, she was working as a middle school teacher in the daytime, but also served as a supervisor for a Christian residential school in Grundy Virginia. But after just 2 1/2 years of working there, Scroggins began exhibiting strange symptoms and unusual food allergies. In fact, she even developed hives after eating Chick-Fil-A.

“One freak reaction turned into more and more,” said Scroggins.

It was then that she decided to consult a doctor and was diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation-meaning she was virtually allergic to everything. This limited her diet to only eggs and carrots. Unfazed by the diagnosis, she didn’t take it seriously at first; despite being extremely weak and fatigued, Scoggins did whatever she could to keep her jobs.

“Honestly, I blew it off as being no big deal. Although as it took over more and more of my world and caused me to lose my job by the summer of 2019, I was devastated and definitely felt completely alone,”

Her “New Normal”

From that point on, her lifestyle changed drastically; no longer was she consumed by her outdoor hobbies, instead she remained vigilant about her health doing whatever she could to stay alive. Over the course of the next year, her symptoms began to intensify, seven to several other diagnoses and the decision to insert a feeding tube. Instead of simplifying matters, it only complicated things for Scroggins. These complications included think everything from two blood clots, a pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis several bouts of sepsis as well as other infections. Despite these setbacks, she never gave up hope that God had something bigger in mind for her.

The Near-Death Experience that Changed Everything

As her condition worsened and she found herself hospitalized over 100 times, Scroggins refused to give up and feel sorry for herself. Instead, she discovered solace in her writing; there she was able to make sense of her emotions and everything she experienced.

 “It really became a way for me to express all that was going on in my head and heart when I got sick and was in bed/resting so much.” Scroggins said.

She began to take her writing more seriously one day in April 2020. During her stay at the hospital, she coded due to a of her central line. In those few minutes, she had no pulse; however, she felt God speaking to her.

“I remember very clearly God telling me ‘I am not done with you yet’ as I took a big deep breath and came back to life in my body. It was from that experience that ‘Mess 2 Masterpiece’ and really my vulnerability with everything I was going through birthed.”

Five Lessons Learned from Chronic Illness

From then on, she has remained dedicated to her mission – teaching others to search for Jesus in even the darkest of circumstances. She hopes that her story will encourage others not to take a single day in life for granted-because tomorrow is not promised for anyone. Although her experience with chronic illness has been a painful one, she has learned some invaluable lessons:

1. Never judge someone else. Always extend grace. So many people are fighting battles we know nothing about
2.   There is such power in prayer. I could give example after example of how I’ve seen God move in the big and little… He is so personal and intimate.
3. God’s purposes and plans may not be in the timing nor look like we expect. He doesn’t require that we understand but just that our hearts are open to Him.
4. It’s okay to have emotion and even express that emotion to God. He isn’t scared of us or even our strongest emotions and it produces this beautiful rawness.  
5. Our purpose and significance isn’t found in a job or relationship, making a certain amount of money or being able to fit in a specific size. Even in bed, God can use us when we surrender all and make the mission of our lives glorifying Him. I’ve come to realize that if one person comes to know Jesus because of me/my circumstance then it was all worth it.
   

I think Scroggins puts it best when she says, “Even amidst suffering and struggles, we can have genuine joy in Jesus in knowing He is with us so we are never alone. We also know this world is not our home.”

 

This brave young woman is still defying the odds that the doctors put on her living this long. For more information on her ministry, please feel free to visit her website at:

 

 

https://alishascroggins.com/?fbclid=IwAR3ZxaJriqysj9IH6TZMLNwaeSm3yIMJltDh-azwa5vl3hISs2gwR8Pqu_I