Encouragement: The Desires Of a Young Heart

Okay,

So my last post made it pretty obvious to me (as I'm sure it do to you) that I had a fabulous cruise with my friend. Although at times it left me tired and frustrated, I wouldn't have changed a thing. I met some amazing people on the Carnival Pride. Soon, it was back to reality though. I was once again reminded how much energy it took me to get through everyday. The training, having the patience to deal with my personal assistant. This was- and always will be - a part of my life. While surfing the web today, I decided to check on the recent updates of one of my role models, Joni Erickson Tada. Boy, am I glad I did.

Joni may be best known for her motivational speaking and radio shows. But, she should be recognized for her use of other people's stories to show the reality of the the glory of God. That's the main goal of her television program Joni And Friends. In one past episode, she features in the life of Renee Bondi- a woman paralyzed by accident after falling from her bed. Despite all this, she married her fiancé and had a son by natural childbirth. Doctors even told her she may never be able to sing again, but here she sits singing the praises of God everyday. Like me, she has the desires of every woman- to be married and with child someday. Like me, she asks God for the patience to deal with complete strangers everyday.

Hear her story story in her own words at:http://www.joniandfriendstv.org/

It's under Yours for A Song

Carnival Pride Experience: My Third Cruise

Okay,

As you may remember, I said this summer was going to be full of adventure. So far it's turning out to be so much more than I imagined possible. Recently, I returned home from a wonderful cruise to the Bahamas; this one was my third cruise. What made this one so unique, you may ask? Well, for one this was going to be my first cruise without my parents - I invited a college friend, Bethann Bennett instead. This allowed us with a very unique opportunity. Not only could we spend some quality "girl" time together; but my parents were given the chance to go on a vacation by themselves, which they haven't been able to do in a long time.

So it was settled... We would travel the Bahamas on the wonderful cruise ship Carnival Pride and they would travel to Alaska. Looking back, I can't believe the irony of it all. Bethann (“BA”) arrived in Virginia on Wednesday, July 1 to ensure that last-minute preparations went smoothly. We spent the next day shopping for last-minute supplies as well as looking at bridesmaids dresses for Bethann's November wedding.

On Friday, July 3rd, we traveled to the Port in Baltimore to catch the Carnival cruise ship “Carnival Pride”, which we lovingly called "a floating hotel" for the next few days. Being a former cruiser, I was amazed at the improvements the ship had made .Pride was much more accessible than all the others - I could actually turn my wheelchair around in the bathroom! After settling in, we did a little shopping on board and enjoyed The Carnival's opening show, which included songs with the word "fun" in them. This show is unique to Carnival because they are known as The Fun Ships. As we exited the Chesapeake Bay, you could see blasts of color in the distance. What a wonderful way to start the best vacation of our lives! The dinner was great, and we had the melting chocolate cake . We went to see the opening show in the evening; it was GREAT as always.

Saturday the Fourth of July was another day of calm seas and beautiful weather. I went shopping and got gifts for my nieces, Elizabeth and Rebekah! We enjoyed the day sunbathing on the deck and relaxing. The PRIDE is THE PLACE to be with a wheelchair. Our cabin was amazing, much more accessible than the cabins on my earlier cruises. We began getting to know the nice staff and shipmates. Tonight we listened to some karaoke and I actually got BA to go up to sing -- the only catch was I had to sing with her (I hope you dance - LeAnn Womack). And the lovely Donna from London was the karaoke hostess. It was also formal night and we got some nice pictures taken, including a picture of us with the American Flag for the Fourth!

Sunday July 5th was our 2nd day at sea, and we got to know more people and had a relaxing day at sea. Each day we would email my parents in Alaska and they would tell us about their adventures, and we would tell them about our adventures on the ship – the wonderful Internet.

Monday July 6th we landed at the Port of Canaveral for our shore excursion – but it did not go as smoothly as planned. We had to get up way early to leave at 9:30 am, and that was hard because we stayed on deck Sunday evening until 11:30 doing the Congo line. Then, the excursion company did not have a handicap accessible bus when we got ashore! So they quickly called aup another bus and we made it to the excursion – a canal boat trip, but a little late. We got back to the ship and set sail for Nassau Bahamas!!!!! I sang Karaoke on Monday night again. I think it is in my blood now. I even got an encore performance on Lido desk singing with my IPod! Go figure...not sure how that happened!

Tuesday July 7th – We went ashore (in spite of too many people blocking the stairways) and since I realized this was the trip of the lifetime, I had a HUGE shopping day in Nassau!!!! I got some great deals and tips from Luigi (the Cruise ship’s professional shopping counselor). We shopped at Del Sol for changing color shirts, then on to Diamond International, where I bought some wonderful jewelry. We came back aboard and went to the pool; it was neat. We were both really, really tired; so we relaxed watching a movie in our room and eating pizza.

Wednesday July 8th – was ANOTHER busy day. We went ashore at Freeport. Unfortunately we we're able to access the Caribbean beaches. But we could go shopping and shop I did! I bought a few more things, and ran out of cash. I am trying to make the best of my last days here. But I have to say that THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

Thursday, July 9th – was our last day sea and it is was much more windy and choppy than usual. We spent the day relaxing and catching some sun. We have taken a lot of photos. Including some wonderful sunsets! This has been a vacation of a lifetime for both of us !

Friday, July 10th we arrived back at the Port of Baltimore and my dad met us and took us back to our home. BA and I unpacked our souvenirs and BA began a scrapbook while I place pictures on my FaceBook page.

Encouragement: Patrick Henry part three

Hello Again~

In reality, this will be my fourth post about Patrick Henry and his book. But my third installment using his book as my topic of "Encouragement". For those of you that have been following, Patrick Henry has explored why we should be grateful in whatever circumstance we are in, do what we can to change what we can, and their definition of "coping". In the next chapters, we will continue to learn about his take on pursuing your passion no matter what it takes.

Patrick Henry has never felt left out when it comes to playing sports like his brothers. He understands that everyone has their talents and should use them. For him, music is his passion. "Music is my key to life. The more I play, the richer my life becomes," Patrick says. Playing music allows him to interact with a world he hasn't seen, as well as transcend the limits of his disability.

A talent developed purely by accident..

As a young father, John Henry remembers the struggle he often had dealing with his firstborn son on his own. It wasn't until his father playing music on the piano that the baby would quiet down. Looking back, he realizes that his own love for music was more than just a way to put himself in the spotlight, but prepared him for this special role with his son. "Preparation to help me raise a special child, a child who would be limited in many ways, except when it came to music.".

Miraculously, at a young age, Patrick Henry was able to find notes simply by hearing them. "After a while, I think dad gave up trying to figure it all out and just accepted that God had given me a wonderful gift," he says. At two years old, he was able to play simple melodies and harmonies along with his father on violin

"This was our our baseball pitch and catch, a father and son enjoying each other. We would never play football, go golfing, or do any of the other sports I have longed for. But that was okay because God had another plan- a bigger and better version of anything I could have imagined," . John Henry says

I Am Potential: The Family's Views On Coping With the Difficulties In Life

Welcome back~

As I gear up for my vacation, I am trying to catch up with my posts for the week. I kept putting off posting because I didn't have anything newsworthy to mention for Monday and I hoped something would become available for my disability Google alerts. But it hasn't happened yet and I am running out of time. As a result, I am posting two discussions on Patrick Henry' book, I Am Potential. The first, continuing his book review with a primary focus on what it means to cope with a situation. According to Webster.com, coping as defined as "to deal with and attempt to overcome difficulties". But as I have learned from the Hughes family, coping is not necessarily overcoming the problem as much as it is "working through" it.

Or in Patrick Henry's words, "I have learned that when situations are challenging, you have to rise up and keep going, or there'll get you down ." He believes that many of the people he has met feels stuck where they are. These feelings sometimes stem from a fear of failure or getting out of one's comfort zone. "If you give in to that fear, you might never know how good things could be or the problem might get even worse if you choose to ignore it."

Like many parents, John Hughes and family never really can say they've got it all under control. After all, when you figure out the solution to something, another problem usually rears its ugly head. "So just when you think you've got the big challenges under control, something else props up to prevent your complete sigh of relief.. all of these things make coping anything but easy. But you have to always to moving ahead with the belief everything won't get better without you doing everything possible to make it so..."

In these circumstances, the Hughes family was never alone- even when they thought they were. John Henry reminds us, "God is there, waiting for an invitation to intercede. It may not come when you think it should or in the form you have requested, but exactly what is needed always arrives at exactly the right time."

Discrimination still exists, but it all stems from not understanding a person's disability

Hey Guys~


Okay, so I realize I am a week behind. But I have kind of developed different priorities this week. After visiting my friend and participating in her last musical recital, I continue to be amazed at how much things change- no matter how much we don't want too! But that's a part of life, I guess; learning to accept those changes and adapt to them. To be honest, that's the lesson I struggle with most in my current circumstances. I'm seeing my friends go out into the world and succeed and then I look at myself. My success is minuscule, compared to theirs. I just wish I was doing more. But then I am reminded my success is on a different standard as the world's . As a result, my dad has encouraged me to continue writing my book. It has been going well, but I am beginning to wonder whether my purpose has changed

Anyway, that's where my head is at right now. After I finish these updates, for this week and the next, I am planning to take a break for a while as I will be unavailable. I don't know how feasible it will be to update for the next three weeks.

Now, on to today's post, I actually came across this article thanks to one of my readers. At times, articles like these remind me that we are not living in a perfect world. As much as we would like to say that people with disabilities are not discriminated against, that's not always true. This article proves that. In summary, the article tells the story of a young boy who is acting out in the classroom. In response, the teacher along with his classmates "voted" him out of the classroom as a discipline. It was later discovered that the boy had autism. The teacher was later suspended, but most recently, she was reinstated.

Here is the full article:


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-student-voted-out-bn061109,0,6421556.story%20say%20no

The web isn't just for people in wheelchairs anymore!

Hey Guys~

As I have tried to point out, the web isn't just for able bodied people anymore. Over the years, technology has made it possible for people from all walks of life and disabilities to share their stories with others. Whether it is because of software that enlarges a page's font or simply reads the content to the participant, technology continues to amaze us. But in order for everyone to enjoy cyberspace, there are a few things to remain aware of:

1.) Perceivable- content must be clear to everyone

2. Operable- your website must be easy to navigate and find your way around, accessible by all types of software or platforms

Understandable- your information must be easy to understand by all ages

Robust- software must be current and interface with the newest of technologies

For more details about website accessibility, see the following page and click "Web Accessibility"

http://www.doitmyselfblog.com/

Where have I been?- a personal note

Okay,

So I realize it has been over a week since my last blog post. Surprisingly, I find my summer becoming a lot more hectic than most. During the past week, I have interviewed and trained a new personal assistant, had my last occupational therapy appointment and gotten little sleep. The therapist wanted me to be able to wear my hands splints at night or a majority of the time . In the midst of all this, my family and I finally hit a wall - we can't do it all. As a result, I kind of slowed down and lost my motivation. But then again, I'm only human. Now I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. Thanks for staying with me!

Best wishes,

Debbie