Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers Of Team MissionAccess! Hey I believe our Awesome Lord can hardly wait to share a little secret with you His FAB Fam of Peeps Like Us Dealing with Disabilities worldwide.
Philippians 4:11-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Oh Precious Peeps! I pray that you grab hold of this simple yet truly transformational truth! If you can Learn To Be Content with what Our Awesome Lord allows you are FREE to devote your ALL to becoming more like Him both now and in the future.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access! Our focus this season is Prayer! I shall allow Bob Sorge’s excellent new book: “Reset – 20 Ways To A Consistent Prayer Life” to boldly lead us into a deeper relationship with our Awesome Lord by helping us create a powerful new habit to pray more consistently in the future.
I confess, Peeps: I have always struggled with the Apostle Paul’s urging to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NASB). How exactly am I supposed to fulfill this lofty goal? Thankfully Bob in his delightfully winsome way has given me hope of making progress of biblical proportions at long last.
Bob offers invaluable suggestions on how to build a stronger prayer life that I’ve exercised my freedom in Christ to outline in 3 steps to get you started:
#1 MAKE A 20/20 COMMITMENT! Commit to spending 20 minutes for 20 days to jump start your New & Improved prayer life.
#2 SET A TIME & PLACE Make an appointment! Select a set time & location that will allow you to build your relationship without distractions.
#3 TAKE NOTES! WRITE IT DOWN Keep records! I recommend an app called Mobile Knee in Google Play to capture your thoughts & prayers.
You CAN do this Peeps! After just 20 days I find that I actually look forward to my prayer time now and miss it when my schedule changes.
So my prayer for you — wherever you are in your walk with Christ – is simply to Reset! Revive. & Renew in 2020 & beyond.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of TEAM MissionAccess! Meet Leonard Knight, creator of Salvation Mountain. Located in the California Desert, Leonard literally with his bare hands, adobe clay and straw built a monument to his Core Beliefs: #1 Repent And Be Saved, and #2 God Is Love.
Leonard so perfectly embodies the spirit penned by the Apostle Paul:
1 Corinthians 1:27 NASB says 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.” Rather than delve into the commentaries let’s just take a closer look at these mind-boggling stats about Leonard:
-During his lifetime he was the most-visited man on earth with 500,000+ visitors (sans slick advertising or PR campaigns)
-Salvation Mountain was featured on album covers by Third Day and others
-In fact Salvation Mountain is now a protected national monument like Mount Rushmore!
So Peeps let our most powerful prayer be simply this: Lord allow me the honor to be a Fool for Your Glory Indeed!
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access!
This Fall marks 15 years since I began my first semester at Dallas Theological Seminary. Taking quite literally a Leap Of Faith out of my “If It’s To Be It’s Up To Me” Comfort Zone, I embarked on my pursuit of a Master’s Degree in Christian Education (MACE). Amidst the chaos I took great comfort in the daily requirement to attend Chapel.
But of the countless Chapels I would attend over the next four years this one in particular I shall never forget:
I share it with you now precious Peeps in the sincere hope that these timeless truths bring you a renewed sense of Peace & Purpose as we continue to press forward together for His Glory.
Greetings Fam & Friends of TEAM MissionAccess! WOW ‘twas Fab indeed to celebrate our church Bartimaeus Baptist Temple’s 60 Year Diamond Jubilee Homecoming 2018! We truly honor all the faithful men and women whose decades of selfless service & sacrifice allow us to eagerly press forwards towards 60 more years…and beyond.
Speaking of which…
As we enter boldly into the future I want us to be able to see what an incredible opportunity we have to see others as well as ourselves as God sees us regardless of our challenges.
So let’s begin with our Focus Scripture:
” I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (PHIL 4:133 NASB)
OK so let’s talk context: this simple verse is the powerful “punchline” of one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible (IMHO of course). Paul takes us gently from anxiety in verse 8 to Authority in just five verses! How? DWELL! Turn OFF the News & Turn ON The Good News of Jesus Christ! Amen & AMEN!
OK Peeps! Repeat after me: Pray. Petition. Praise! & Repeat.
In 1952 the late great Ethel Waters first recorded her iconic hymn “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” Based on Matthew 10: 29-31, this classic has since been covered extensively by both Christian and secular artists from Mahalia Jackson to Whitney Houston.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (MT 10: 29-31 NASB)
So I did a little digging and am delighted to share my “Disability Connection” Discovery about this song here from Wikipedia:
“Civilla Martin, who wrote the lyrics, said about her inspiration to write the song based on the scriptures:
Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, NY. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair.
Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s reply was simple: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” was the outcome of that experience.”1
What an awesome testimony of how Our Awesome Lord can use People & Families Affected by Disability to expand His Legacy Of Love for ALL People Worldwide!
So take heart, Peeps! His Eye Is On The Sparrow & I KNOW He Watches *WE*! 🙂
Greetings Fam & Friends of Team MissionAccess! Come let’s fly in the face of good ol’ tried ‘n true marketing wisdom that we should “underpromise & overdeliver” with Rick Berrera’s book entitled simply “Overpromise and Overdeliver.
Suffice to say that as we conclude our Summer Sanctification VBS that in fact OVERPROMISES & UNDERDELIVERY just about perfectly describes our Summer Renovation Project to help make our bathroom more accessible! However, by far the more important Renovation is the one that our Awesome Lord is doing in us. Amen?
Our scripture verse is: Colossians 3:23 (NASB) “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”
Verses on working abound in the Bible but this one is perhaps my favorite because it answers my (2) Most Vexing Life Questions: #1 WHAT are you doing? & #2 WHY are you doing it?
Notice it says *WHATEVER*: THIS HAS *HUGE* IMPLICATIONS! So many of us struggle with disabilities & simply cannot physically or mentally do what we used to do. Gee I can’t seem to do things I did just a year or even just months ago!
BUT THAT’S NO EXCUSE! Working for God is an Honor which we ALL need to do to the best of our abilities regardless of our circumstances.
So let’s make a minor adjustment to make this verse even more powerful:
“Whatever *I* do, *I* will work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”
Greetings & Blessings Fam & Friends of #TeamMissionAccess!
Now anyone who has been around church or raised in church is all too familiar with “VBS” (i.e. code word for Vacation Bible School). Suffice to say Our Awesome Lord is allowing me to experience the Joy of My Own Personal VBS that can only be described as Extreme Summer Sanctification.
First let’s look at our Scripture Focus found in 2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB:
9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
Languishing in prison, the Apostle Paul penned some of the most mind-blowing truths about Grace that all but elude our instant-feedback society today. Rather than a rant about his “thorn in the flesh” Paul calmly soothes our troubled souls with his God-breathed peace about the sufficiency of Grace that comforts like none other.
Speaking of languishing…
What began on April Fool’s Day (my first clue) as what I perceived to be a no-brainer bath remodel to make our shower accessible has morphed into anything but. Being highly hygiene-motivated after a showerless season, I pounced at the first opportunity to clean up with an experience that frankly hearkened back to Nazi death camp accommodations. Yet still hanging on to hope, I text our vanishing contractor on Monday as to his ETA? To which he replies: *Thursday*?!!
He nonchalantly adds: ‘Is everything OK?
Of all the initial responses swirling about in my seething skull (including spray-painting “Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here” on the bathroom door ala Dante’s Inferno), I respond simply; “IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.” Yeah verily for that response God gets ALL the glory! Perhaps there is hope for me–for us–yet!
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access. With a heavy heart we wave a final Farewell to Our Beloved Pastor David Ross Whitmore, Senior Pastor at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple (www.bbtemple.org) who went Home to be with Our Lord last week.
Truly Pastor David was Compassion Incarnate for so many People & Families affected by disability for so many years here in Dallas! Speaking of Legacy, he selflessly picked up the heavy Cross of Caring from his parents Don & Anna Ruth Whitmore who founded the church in 1958. My Beloved husband Larry Thacker Jr. and I are truly blessed to serve there since 2008 when we discovered this hidden gem celebrating their Diamond Jubilee this year.
Oh how Pastor David Loved his Lord! & His Family! & Our Church. Yeah verily though no words suffice we simply say:
Well Done Thou Good & Faithful Servant! Godspeed To Your Richly-Deserved Reward.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access! This month we honor the Life & Legacy of former First (& Second!) Lady Barbara Bush who went Home to be with Our Lord earlier this year.
Rarely do we have the joy to witness someone who so graciously embodied The Wife of Noble Character found in Proverbs 31:10-31!
Yeah verily was Barbara Bush that & so much more for our generation! And in Washington DC no less!
Enjoy my podcast to celebrate her Good & Godly legacy.
Well Done Thou Good & Faithful Servant! Godspeed To Your Richly-Deserved Reward.
Greetings & Blessings Faithful Followers of Team Mission Access!
