I Hear Your Hand - Deaf Poem

I HEAR YOUR HAND

Hey there, friend, you've got a hand
Help me see what you said to me
Don't hide your hand
My ears are closed I cannot hear
But we can share the world, don't fear
Just lend a hand

Lend a hand, and I can show you
How to sing words in the air
You can share my world of silence
There's so much I want to share
I'm reaching out to you
There's so much we can do

Before I knew I walked with you
Until the day you turned away
See what I say
The world that you are hearing now
Is the same world that I see
Reach out your hand
I hear your hand

Lend a hand and I can show you
How to sing words in the air
You can share my world of silence
There's so much I want to share
I'm reaching out to you
There's so much we can do

You call me Deaf but I can see
Birds singing, breezes in the trees and children laugh
My world is lonely without you
Just look at me and smile and clasp my hand in yours

Lend a hand and I can show you
How to sing words in the air
You can share my world of silence
There's so much I want to share
I'm reaching out to you
God can make dreams come true.

- unknown

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A friend sent me this poem. I do not know who wrote it. If anyone knows, please do leave a comment or contact me via email as I want to give this author the credit they deserve. What a lovely poem/song!

Psalms 16:8

What is your favorite Bible verse? We were talking about that yesterday in church. Of course the first one that was mentioned was John 3:16. That would probably be the most famous verse in the Bible and most people are able to recite that... but do they know what it mean?

I have several favorite verses and they change as I become familiar with new ones while I read my Bible. Right now one of my top five favorites is from the Old Testament... Psalms 16:8.

"I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved"

To me that says... no matter what is happening around me during my life here on earth, I shall stand firm in my beliefs and the Lord shall always be before me and be my focus. He is what I keep my eyes on and what is most important to me.

What is YOUR favorite verse?

I've Learned

I received this in email today and I think its worth sharing as i found myself nodding over and over again in agreement. I hope you enjoy it as well.

They're written by Andy Rooney, a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words.


Enjoy.......

I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.

I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings i n the world.

I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned. .. That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with .

I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned .... That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned .... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned.... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned .... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned... That life is tough, but I'm Tougher.

I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.

I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned.... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

A sad situation

Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle - Plato

I received that quote today and it made me think of a recent situation I am aware of that greatly saddens everyone who hears about it.

Over the weekend there was a tragic accident in this area. An 18 yr old who was drunk ran a stop sign and rammed into a pick up truck that held a young couple expecting their first baby. The couple had to be removed from their truck with the jaws of life. The 18 year old fled the scene but was later caught and treated for his own injuries.

The driver of the truck had several injuries and lost all his teeth but it was the passenger who suffered the most. She was 8 month pregnant. She suffered several broken bones, collapsed lungs, liver damage and I'm not sure what all else but worse of all... she lost the baby.

It was a baby boy who already had a name. They were having a baby shower for the mother that afternoon. The mother did wake up for a short time at the hospital before she was taken into surgery and immediately asked about her baby. As she requested, she was allowed to hold the dead baby for a short time with her family around her. They took footprints of the infant.

She is now in an induced coma so her body can heal itself. I can't imagine the grief this family must feel and the anger towards the 18 year old that caused this accident. No one involved in this situation will ever be the same again.

Lots of prayers are needed for both the 18 yr old and his family and also the grieving couple and their family. There has to be forgiveness involved so healing can happen. That will take a lot of time and a lot of prayer.

Lord, we don't understand why things like this happen but we know you are in control. We ask for you to touch all those who are hurting deeply. They need your peace that only you can give. Be with the young couple as they heal both physically and emotionally and spiritually as well. Be with the 18 yr old boy as his life will also never be the same. May this be a turning point for this boy and although its hard to see it now, may something good come from this situation. We trust you as you see the bigger picture and lean on your everlasting arms during these difficult times. We look forward to our time in heaven where pain and tears are no more and we will see this baby boy alive. May the parents have a relationship with you so they also will experience that and have that promise of reunion again. If they are not yet saved Lord, lead a person to them who will open that door and plant those seeds. Blessings we ask and seek. In your precious name, Amen

Almost at the Fork in the Road

What have I been up to? Well... its almost the time of transition for me. Soon I will be cutting loose from the church I am currently a member of and joining another church that my husband serves at as the Deaf Pastor.

I gave 6 weeks notice 4 weeks ago. The closer it gets to my "final" day, the more I'm looking forward to it. It had not been an easy decision but things have happened recently that give me the feeling and peace that I know I made the right decision.

The Lord has a new "job" for me as a Pastor's wife. I'm honored and hope I can meet the expectations of such a role.

This afternoon is the final business meeting I will be taking notes for at the deaf church. I have no idea who will be replacing me as their secretary but I know the Lord will provide for their needs. I DO want that church to continue strong with or without me.

This past Saturday I also "cut loose" from my role as secretary for MiBCD. This was necessary because I would no longer be a member of a SBC church. I will miss this group. They honored me at their fellowship and that was sweet.

I want to end with a quote... something to think about...I love my life now. I love what I do for a career and I love serving the Lord.

When you spend your life doing what you love to do, you are nourishing your Soul. It matters not what you do, only that you love whatever you happen to do.
- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Birthday Boy!

I need to improve. I need to do better! I need to challenge myself to do more blogging!


A Birthday in the Family

Our oldest son, Kyle celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday. We know he was looking forward to that milestone for awhile now. I sent him a 21 email salute! hee hee. He is a good kid and we are proud of him. He is now in his 4th year (of a 5 yr program) at WMU - Western Michigan University. He goes to school full time and he works full time as well as a manager at McDonalds. So we know he is keeping himself busy! This is one of my favorite photos of him as a toddler. I guess he is around 2 or 3 in this photo. That little boy is now 6'4"! Happy Birthday Kyle. We love you!

Catching UP

Is it possible summer is over? Almost over? Really over? We can definitely feel the weather changing here in Michigan. My daughter was just telling me this morning she needs a fall jacket as its cool waiting for the bus at 7:20am. We did go to Goodwill yesterday - first time I've been there in a LONG time! I didn't find anything for myself but she got a tshirt type dress and 2 pairs of jeans. She had gotten 2 tops at JCPenney Monday night so she is now set as far as school clothes goes. I know she still needs shoes and yes... a fall jacket.

I had a very busy summer. I know I haven't been blogging much so I thought I would take the take to "catch up" and do a brief summary about my summer.

Let's see... back in June, my husband and I took a spur of the moment trip to Rome, Italy for 3 days. That was cool. We mainly saw two things - the Colisseum and the Vatican/Sistine Ceiling. It was a lovely trip and made for a memorable 26th wedding anniversary for us.

I went camping twice this summer. I'm not a camper as I consider it too much work for such a short time... you basiscally have to pack your house - unpack and set it up - live there 1 or 2 days - unpack it again and take it home! Its not my thing and I NEVER sleep well outside. But anyways... being a good spoirt, I did join the Deaf Cafe team on a weekend camping trip. The company and the food was the best part. We won't talk about the fact that it rained a LOT!

The second time I went camping was to Bambi Lake in Roscommon, MI. This time we camped INSIDE and slept on bunk beds. This occassion was for the MiBCD (Michigan Baptist Convention of the Deaf) Deaf Camp. I've been the secretary for this group for many many years but this is my final year of serving. Our speaker was Ricky Milford from AL and our theme was EKG: God's Heartbeat. It was a great weekend and very emotional too.

My daughter and I flew to Tucson, AZ for 5 days in August to visit my good friend Grace and her family. Grace and I were roommates for 3 years at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. She graduated a year ahead of me as a photography major. As life happens, she never really did anything related to photography and just recently passed her boards to become an RN! She will be a WONDERFUL nurse. She has that gentle, caring personality that nurses need to have. There we rode their horses (they have 8), we swam in their pool, we went antique shopping and ate! We always enjoy our visits there.

Also in August I met my 5 other sisters and our mom in Delaware for our first sister/mom weekend together. That was different and we will try to do this every year. We walked along the Atlantic Ocean and swam in the condo pool and played games and talked and talked. It was a challenge for me to do so much lip reading. It helped that Linda - my oldest and also deaf - is a better lip reader than I am and sorta became my interpreter!

While I was home, I spent a lot of time reorganizing my ESR (eBay Storage Room). I put in shelves along all the walls and most of the books are now neatly shelved. Everyday I go in there and randomly pick books to list the next day on eBay. Its a good system. Business is going very well. I am very blessed.

And that is my summer in a nutshell. I didn't spend a lot of time outside but I did thoroughly enjoy the warm weather. It was not a very hot summer for this area in Michigan. I don't think we hit 100 degrees this summer. It was just perfect. We never turned on our central air once.

Will try to keep up with blogging now that the kids are back in school again and I'm getting into a routine myself.

I Need You in ASL

This summer during Deaf Camp our speaker, Ricky Milford, who is from AL showed me some music videos he had that were done in ASL. HOW COOL IS THAT!

Here is one of them. This is a song that often runs through my head during the day as I'm doing my work. No matter what I'm doing, I NEED JESUS!

We will show this during this Saturday's Deaf Cafe program as an invitation song. I hope it touches many people's hearts.

ENJOY!

Try Just one more time

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.

The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

- Thomas A. Edison

Everyday I get an inspriational email from Cynthia Kersey's Unstoppable Enterprises. You can go to her site and sign up for her free insight of the day email. The above quote came in today's email stash.

So many times I think too many of us just give up. We decide its too hard and not worth our effort. I have a person in my mind as I write this. I have to constantly encourage her to "get off her feet" and get moving. Think of other people and less about herself. Stay busy. She falls into depressions easily and its a mountain and valley road of ups and downs. Right now she seems to be in a valley and has "quit" everything. She has pulled herself into a shell and put a sign outside that more or less says, "Out of Service".

I once read somewhere that many of us walk around wearing signs that say "Out of Service for the Lord". Well... think about that.. if you are not serving the Lord, who ARE you serving? You would be serving Satan and the world and yourself. That is something I try hard not to do. I have NO desire to give Satan a moment of my attention. However, I'm not perfect so obviously sometimes Satan does get my attention as he whispers lies into my thoughts and I fail and do sin but I try to immediately get up, dust myself off and as the quote above says...."try one more time".

I know I will be successful. If God be for us, who can be against us? from Romans 8:13. We know Satan will never stop trying to pull us over to his side but we know God is the one who is going to win in the end!