PCM-12-09-2012 How did they do it...this believe thing???

The Physically Challenged Ministry

PCM-12-09-2012 How did they do it...this believe thing???

Santa, cell phones, microwaves Heaven and God. I personally can not really see or explain HOW they all work. It is a little... OK a lot above my intelligence level to know all the engineering details involved. However I still use my cell phone and microwave because I have seen them function for me and for others. I believe in God and Heaven because I know life is way too short and the universe is way too big and complex for this to be all that there is to our existence

How is always the key question when it comes to your own personal belief. I believe there is a reason for everything, a balance, justice and purpose for all that we go through in life. I believe that we go on beyond our lives on earth and God will be there in ways we just cannot comprehend given our fragile containers [bodies].

The scriptures are full of examples of people living by faith, the details of your journey fit you, the details of those that have gone before us can serve as examples but remember that we are all individuals and no two journeys are identical.

The how is really the simplest part of it all, just believe. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. [Hebrews 11 last verse]

Hebrews 11:10 Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations - the City designed and built by God.

1 John 5:13 MSG The Message

My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God's Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion.

As we get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us remember the WHY, God's eternal love feeling deeply for each of us we are the WHO that goes with the HOW.

Now about the WHEN and WHERE.... that is where YOUR FAITH lets God fills in all the blanks, even the ones you cannot even imagine....YET....

As for Santa..... As my official title of “Grampy” to my three grandchildren... and on behalf of all us children in heart.... I believe there is a bit of him that lives with everyone who gives.

Just imagine, eternity is a really really really really, great, awesome and “believable”. Hold on to Him who hold you with his heart forever, your peace will overflow beyond your understanding and your peace will calm the storms.

Love, Joy and Peace this day and everyday forever.

Bill Sullivan, the Physically Challenged Ministry

http://www.irish-gifts-blessings.com/PCM-12-09-2012.html

PCM-11-20-2012 Pictures from home

Here is a snapshot of Heaven from someone who has been there. A moment in time when all things that are temporary are GONE. Let it lift the eyes of your heart to see, your ears to hear. Feel the true love God has for us.

Revelations 21: 1-4 I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea. 2 I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband. 3 I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's their God. 4 He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good - tears gone, crying gone, pain gone - all the first order of things gone."
...

Revelations 5:13 Then I heard every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea, join in, all voices in all places, singing: To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb! The blessing, the honor, the glory, the strength, For age after age after age.

As the words wash over you, let them replace the temporary weight your life is currently feeling.

Cathy, my Bride is recovering from yet another couple of kidney stones that had to be surgically removed, this being the third time I had to leave for work and felt guilty. I just got a part time job to help make ends meet. My second customer that night was the ER Dr. who diagnosed my wife earlier in the day at a hospital almost an hour away from where I work. No minor coincidence, just God's way of letting me know all is under control, in His capable hands.

Just remember that Romans 8 is a place of refuge in the storms. Like an "armored home" it will keep your heart and mind safe from the winds and waves this life blows your way.

We need each other. May God's love surround us all through each other.

Bill Sullivan The Physically Challenged Ministry

 

http://www.irish-gifts-blessings.com/PCM-11-20-2012.html

The Physically Challenged Ministry

PCM 10-30-2012 From the bottom of my heart I thank you

We always win when we trust God, regardless of the temporary appearance of momentary circumstances. For what today is considered a miracle will eventually fade from our minds when the next physical, emotional or spiritual challenge rears it's head our way. [remember Romans 8 and John 8]

The eternally important fact is we live forever spiritually despite the frailty of the human container. The spiritual component of each of us is what ultimately matters forever. Be forever, eternally grateful, faithful and thankful for God and His love. Live your days giving and receiving love with every fiber of your true inner you.

Psalm 86:12-17 From the bottom of my heart I thank you, dear Lord; I've never kept secret what you're up to. 13 You've always been great toward me - what love! You snatched me from the brink of disaster! 14 God, these bullies have reared their heads! A gang of thugs is after me - and they don't care a thing about you. 15 But you, O God, are both tender and kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and you never, never quit. 16 So look me in the eye and show kindness, give your servant the strength to go on, save your dear, dear child! 17 Make a show of how much you love me so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed, As you, God, gently and powerfully put me back on my feet.

Josh Sullivan is back at his house grateful in his heart for God. He shows it through his love as a father, husband, son and friend. I forever love my son.

As my silly sense of humor pops up, It would have been easier I suppose to say that Joshua is home, but I did not want to give the impression that he had yet arrived at the final destination we all anticipate. He is miraculously recovering from the latest bout with man and motorcycle vs tree. Hopefully he will NOW purchase a full sized helmet....

Bill Sullivan, The Physically Challenged Ministry

http://www.irish-gifts-blessings.com/PCM-10-30-2012.html

The Physically Challenged Ministry

 

PCM 10-21-2012 How do you explain God, illness, and death.

 

http://www.irish-gifts-blessings.com/PCM-10-21-2012.html

It has been a rough period of time recently. Funerals for Dorothy Killea and Lillian Kimball. Also the deaths of Betty Sullivan [sister of Carol Hare, our beach friend], a stepfather in law of another beach friend Pete. Mary Flowers a fellow ms sufferer lost her life at 56. Also the assisted suicide of an online multiple sclerosis friend Anne......

Personally I have to defer to God in how to approach all this because it is all too much to comprehend and process all on my own. I could rely on what I see, feel, touch and understand or I can believe what Jesus has said.….. Call me a simpleton if you must, I choose to rely on the one who created it all...It is the only logical way to explain all of what we do not know. [The more I learn, the more I learn I do not know]. To those humans who are all knowing...have fun explaining yourself to God WHEN you see him...

John 8:12 MSG Jesus once again addressed them: "I am the world's Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in."

John 8:15-16 MSG You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don't make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn't make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father.

John 8:50b–51 MSG God intends something gloriously grand here and is making the decisions that will bring it about. I say this with absolute confidence. If you practice what I'm telling you, you'll never have to look death in the face."

Much of my thinking was shaped by experiences and the views of those I grew up with. It is important for me to differentiate between others opinions and the reality of who EXACTLY God is to me as well as who I am to him.

I view God as perfect, good, loving, caring and a lot lot lot smarter than I am. I see him as all powerful, all knowing and eternal. I know enough to know that I am limited in knowledge, power and time spent in the current state of life as we know it.

I know enough to perceive and know that there is a lot beyond the less than 120 years we may get here on earth with the temporary, fragile bodies we dwell in.

I have seen people die and can attest that their bodies stop working as much as a flashlight does when the batteries are taken out. It is just the container, not the contents. As useless as a Dunkin Donuts cup without your favorite beverage in it. Not even worth the nickle that an empty soda can is....

You however, the very contents of your heart and soul are invaluable to God who created you.

Something to ponder as you go about your day to day life.

See you all someday!

Love in Christ, Bill Sullivan The Physically Challenged Ministry.

PCM 09-30-2012 That is so unfair...

Fresh off the real battle field where all this took place two days ago and will continue...sometime in the future.

It is a dire situation pitting the sharp, dark cold claws of despair against the fragile membranes of our minds, bodies and souls weakened by prolonged multiple hardships and illnesses.

As hope fades away and it seems the overwhelming, inevitable forces will shred our weakening remnants of faith and sanity.

It is so unfair....

Every situation we face seems worse than the one before and it always seems to me like the odds are stacked so much against the balances of justice and fairness.

What I almost always seem to forget is that God has been battling for us, the circumstances that are so beyond our control. I have to trust

Of course I should have remembered, time after time, hardship after hardship, He always wins, gets the last word and has never lost a battle.

The unfair advantage then shifts to us when we rely His words. Read the entire chapter when you need it. [they should have copies of Romans 8 everywhere like fire alarms...in case of crisis read this]

Romans 8:31 [NIV] What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31 [The Message version] So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose?

Talk about who should be fearful! In all of eternity God ALWAYS wins. No matter what it looks like to our uninformed eyes....GOD ALWAYS WINS.

I'll tell you today that we should not be in fear, just remember to remind me again when I face my moments of forgetfulness and tremble once again in fear. It will happen and I will need your help at that time. Let us bring a smile to God's heart as we encourage each other to and beyond the finish line.

It is always a daring rescue, keep Romans 8 handy ALWAYS.

If you think about it, it is so unfair that God wins every time < grin > ;~)

Bill Sullivan

The Physically Challenged Ministry

www.pc-min.com

http://www.irish-gifts-blessings.com/PCM-09-30-2012.html

PCM 9-23-2012 Why? The impossible question...





There are accidents, illnesses, crimes and injustices all over the world. I dare say that all of us are personally suffering through something totally unfair. Why is this happening? Why me, why now???

As any parent of a two year old can attest to... "WHY" is the dreaded question we all face because there is no end and no answer that satisfies....WHY???

"Why" is simply beyond our ability to comprehend. We just do not have the full picture. We do not have the knowledge of the future, past and present along with the intricate details of how things seen and unseen truly work and interact. We are unprepared, under informed as well as ill equipped to solve life's conundrums and fully answer even the simple question of why.

Of course this begs the question of why.....

We are here on earth for a really short period of time when compared to eternity. I am assuming if you have gotten this far into the article you are a believer in the eternal and logical enough to see that human life is brief when compared just to the recorded history we are aware of.

1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:12 MSG We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

Combine these with the following:Hebrews 11:1 MSG The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see.

Hebrews 11:1 NIV Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Romans 4:5 MSG But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it - you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked - well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift.

By choice, living a life of faith, we put our trust in our unseen God with the belief of His words of love and His ability and willingness to fulfill all He has said. This is how I have chosen to live my life. Which brings us right back to trusting-him-to-do-it faith. How we practice our faith comes down to belief and trust, not just a 'warm fuzzy' feeling when things are going our way but an implicit trust that He has our eternal best interest ultimately as His.





Trusting in God with my life, no matter what the circumstances, one day at a time with love for God our eternal Creator.

Bill Sullivan

PCM 08-26-2012 Mary "Flowers" Hudson

There are a few other articles that I have written on the death of a friend more eloquently and artfully but fewer have been written with a heavier heart, knowing so many within the ms community have been so touched by such a saint. I am thrilled for Mary but very sad for the rest of us. I know we will go on but our world is a bit colder and darker without the bright light of Mary Flowers illuminating our spaces, bringing smiles to our faces.

My mind is numb from the news that a friend of mine went to Heaven yesterday. Her name is Mary "Flowers" Hudson and like many of us had MS [multiple sclerosis]. She is an amazing person and is so loving, gentle and full of faith. She had a tremendous view on life and was always helping and concerned about others. On more that a few ocassions she would be praying for us and the 'daily catastrophies' we were facing. She died from all the complications that being sick comes with like medication side effects, fixing one thing and ruining another.





The truth is our bodies are rather temporary and living to be 100 is so special that if we get that far, they put your name and picture on TV inside a Smuckers jelly label. Geee whizz, I cannot wait for that day....





She died on the same day as Neil Armstrong, a 9 month old baby who was 'forgotten" in a locked car about an hour away from here, 39 died in China in a horrific bus accident, 39 others died in Venezuala in a refinery explosion and hundreds more were executed in Syria by their own government. Along with between 250,000 - 300,000 others world wide.... just in one day.





WHAT! 100 people die on average every minute of every day of every year.... Brain spinning numbers. It is a matter of mathmatics, how many people on earth, how may minutes we live on average and.....STOP for a second and try to wrap your mind around these numbers.

OK NOW how many of you think you would do a better job at being God???????





My faith tells me there is a God, who loves us and has a plan for us here on earth and beyond. He wrote a book about it, using quite a few of His followers. Of course I am talking about the Bible.

Doubts try to tell me differently.... I will ignore my doubts and focus on what I know to be true.





Revelation 21:3-5 New International Version (NIV)

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[a] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

To Mary, dance and sing to your hearts content, we will join in the chorous with you someday....

May our collective memories sustain us till that day somewhere beyond the clouds,

With love,

Bill Sullivan

http://www.irish-gifts-blessings.com/PCM-08-26-2012.html

The Physically Challenged Ministry

PCM 08-18-2012 Winning your struggle against an invisible [cowardly] illness.

I am talking to those who have invisible illnesses and to those who love someone being attacked.

The illnesses that are the most destructive are the ones that hide their faces from the outside world while they dig their teeth and claws deep within our bodies and minds causing agony to the very depths of our souls.... You know that by the experiences, understand it and have the scars carved in your heart.

The pain and destruction is invisible to others but is oh so severe and real to us.
The damage brought by these invisible cowards is devastating, draining our joy, hope and futures.

They lurk behind the skin level to deal wicked wounds to our faith in an attempt to get us to let go of our last hope, God.

They attack more lives that all the weapons of mass destruction could ever hope to.
They render us helpless, vulnerable and defenseless if we try to fight them off alone.

REMEMBER: What is invisible to others is visible to God.
REMEMBER: What is misunderstood by others is understood by God.
REMEMBER: God is and will continue to fight on your behalf, trust in Him!
REMEMBER: You also have the word s from the mouth of God Himself!

This is where I go to hide, get refreshed, strengthened and resolved. These are the words that arm me with the power of God to conquer and remind myself and all who hear that God wins the war for my and your soul and there is no way for us to fail.

Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[personally I start in verse 1 of Romans 8 and read through to the end.] I feel like I can run through a brick wall after I read this!!!

I just learned about National Invisible illness awareness week September 10-16-2012 It is sponsored by http://restministries.com/ and is just around the corner. They are great people who are working tirelessly to accomplish the same goals of the physically challenged ministry, encouraging and teaching God's message of love and hope.

Let's get behind their efforts because we know what it is like to battle theses invisible hideous cowards who hide because they know they will not win!

Together we win!
Bill Sullivan

http://www.irish-gifts-blessings.com/PCM-08-18-2012.html

PCM 08-05-2012 A race YOU CAN actually win!

Why do you love watching the Olympics? What is it about watching another human push themselves relentlessly past the temporary obstacles?



Why is it we admire the dedicated, obsessive training, sacrifice and effort that would otherwise be considered abnormal, eccentric and even harmful if applied to other areas of our lives like cleaning, cooking, babysitting,



It is actually quite complex yet simple, we love the moment of victory and we feel the joy they feel as we imagine what it would be like if... it... were us... It is part of how we are designed, how we were created and how we are moved and motivated.



As a side note my pet peeve, It is the reason we pay our professional athletes well while nursing home attendants scrape by at near poverty levels. I am sure we would all prefer to pay those who we entrust the weakest people to be cared for... but still I sit glued to the TV....hoping for someone to win something that I will forget about in a few days.... and does not really matter in the overall scheme of life and death.



When we realize the limitations our often broken temporary bodies, we see there are precious few if any races we would even dream to qualify for....EXCEPT this one
Going deeper:
There is a race that REALLY MATTERS we are all in that YOU CAN and will actually win! Take a look at the following words that God spoke to you... Listen to what God is whispering to your heart, absorb it all the way to your mind and secure it as a treasure you look at time and time again to refresh your spirit.



We are all cheering for YOU as you live your life in the anonymity of every day life. Like Jean Hooper who through multiple surgeries after a pickup truck nearly killed her in a crosswalk while she was skateboarding reading to the patients at the nursing home! As you go out day by day compassionately loving others, knowing your gentle touch and your voice is backed by the hosts of Heaven.

Hebrews 12:1 NIV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Hebrews 12:1-4 (The Message) 1 Do you see what this means - all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running - and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Isaiah 40:31 NIV

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Running alongside of you on this journey with, through and by His power.

Bill Sullivan

The Physically Challenged Ministry

PCM 07-26-2012  Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits

You are needed, wanted and important! especially those of who have experienced life changing illnesses, traumas or hardships. Your experience is unique to you and while each of us faces our own challenges, weakness and trouble, together with God we are and will remain eternally undefeated.

We all need each other to make it through this journey we are on. We as a people of God are incomplete without each other, we are intertwined and connected through Him and the ways He works through us.

1 Corinthians 12:7 [The Message version] Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!

1 Corinthians 12:14 [The Message version] I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together.

You are important and so is everyone else! What our part of the body is, we are and what function we have is not really 100 percent up to us. Remembering we are part of something bigger than us helps us to stay focused on what we are given to do. You can only do what is in front of you and we cannot lament what we were doing in the past.

The reality is our physical and emotional capabilities change as diseases progress and as we age. Life changes, roles change, skills change. In my family my role has constantly changed. I went from working to disabled and Cathy my wife went from housewife to worker. As our health needs have changed and Cathy's health has digressed I have had to change to more of a helper role.

Writing has become a passion for me, kind of ironic I did not like the literature and English classes as a student. Grammar was boring and not as exciting as all the science classes I enjoyed. The biggest laugh is that I created a company that specializes in fancy writing when the facts are I flunked penmanship in the third grade. With spellchecker even a poor speller like me can seem half intelligible...sorta...lol

The point is we have to find our role and opportunities given our current ever changing circumstances. Turn lemons into lemonade and fight the urge to give up and feel useless. You are all very much on my heart as our time is limited.

Focus your energy on asking God to illuminate the opportunities given you and work with all you heart to do your part. Take all the pain and hurt you feel and turn it into a force for God there is someone who needs to hear what you have to say.

I have a burning desire to get encouragement to as many people as possible. With the internet, social media and devices to access all that is out there we need to spread hope to those around us.

Hoping to brighten your day so you can brighten someone elses when you are up to it.

Oh and by the way if you are the one being ministered to just remember your job at the time is to be there for that someone so they can fulfill what God has asked of them, you will get your turn to give to others when you are comfortable with being comforted.

Bill Sullivan
The Physically Challenged Ministry

PCM 07-20-2012 Moving the heart of God through prayer

The Physically Challenged Ministry [PCM] Hi everybody I have had ms since 1986 and started the PCM in my church in 1989 to help ALL of us who have physical, emotional or spiritual challenges.

I write to help others as I am helped by God. This is my passion, mission and joy.

Many times we are asked to remember someone in prayer who is going through a particularly hard time. So we say a prayer, ask God for help and think about the situation with compassionate giving hearts. Heaven is moved as our hearts are forever changed as we take our eyes off our own problems to focus on another with a request to the creator of the universe.

It is these moments that we flesh out our faith, fulfill our purpose and bring a sense of community and love to each other. For it is when we are asking our God to comfort, help and assist another of his children that God is pleased. It is in the selflessness of compassion that we are refreshed. It is within the quiet cries of our hearts that lives are changed.

Sometimes the answer is what we desire and sometimes the answer is different than we anticipate. The reasoning, circumstances, and causes are often hidden, obscured by our lack of knowledge and understanding. Of course this is normal, we only live so many years and after all our brains are quite finite in what they can comprehend and create. If you were to create a universe, you too get to call the shots.

There are some things that are certain, first and foremost God hears us and he understands even the groaning of our souls that come from the depth of our hearts. The most important thing here is to “know he is God.” God is God......we are not...... I realize that is not exactly “news” to you but I say it as a reminder to myself when I do not understand the answer.

The second is to remember, “know he is GOOD” knowing that evil cannot come from God is of utmost importance. God always is working for the good of those who love him. How he works is up to him, not us.

Here is something to ponder, consider, roll around in your mind....

Troubleshoot the source of trouble. If sickness were from God, why did Jesus relieve so much of it??? We need to see the source of ALL suffering as the enemy of God. Place the blame at the right place and keep from putting it on God

Update on a little girl we as a ministry have prayed for a few years ago.

Just heard from Silly Jilly's mom. Just a quick background for those not familiar. Jilly is a little girl abandoned by her mom and adopted by another mom who had lost her baby a year earlier. Jilly has severe heart problems and has been close to death too often for anyone, never mind a little child.

She is doing great but still limited until they can operate on her heart again.

In love with God, Bill Sullivan

PCM 04-09-2010 The Big picture - get your mind ready

PCM 04-09-2010 “The Big picture” get your mind ready....


Everyone Jesus healed died.......eventually [otherwise they would
be almost 2000 years old].


Think about it...........while they were healed of their physical
illnesses at the moment, eventually... they physically perished.
These bodies we were given have [hidden, thank God!] expiration dates
just like the gallon of milk you bought the other day. As a side
note, please take good care of the “milk,” do not waste what you
have been given..... you will never think about “got milk”
quite the same way...


Looking at the Big picture means looking at things from God's
point of view. The difficulty is we are stuck in our minds with what
is right in front of us. Try to see things from an eternal point of
view, change your perspective to try and see ALL of eternity in the
picture.



Of course if you are angry at God this will be hard to do. Try
putting your anger aside, reason with yourself that there are some
things in this life you are not going to understand [I still cannot
wrap my mind fully around all this wireless stuff and GPS but I still
use it even though my brain is too tiny ], just give Him the benefit
of the doubt on this one. It's worth the try! What do you have to
lose? There is so much here to gain!


In Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not
worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
http://biblestudy.crosswalk.com/


Or as the Message version puts it



That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the
present hard times and the coming good times.





OK now that you have tried to see things from a different point of
view, let's try looking at each other with that same point of view,
try looking at other people from God's point of view, with compassion
and love. I have started a study of the four Gospels, re-examining
all the instances where Jesus came into
contact with PC people. What I discovered is that even though Jesus
knew the healings were temporary, He also felt compassion for those
around Him. [He still does feel compassion for you]


Love & peace,Bill Sullivan