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

PCM 11-18-2011 Suffering is a pain in the...

PCM 11-18-2011 Suffering is a pain in the...

The short version:

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."Revelation 21:4 MSG

The more detailed version:

Here is an article from my friend Steve of Tasmania. He lives with advanced multiple sclerosis.

I often grapple with the thorny question- Why is there still suffering when God is both benevolent and mighty?

I've learned much from this journey with MS and pretty much all of it reluctantly. I grudgingly acknowledge that the wisdom and insights I've learned whilst seated in this class-room of the University of Adversity I could not have acquired any other way. Yet it doesn't necessarily make anything better or somehow make it all worthwhile but does soften the blows somewhat to think that there's potentially some higher purpose or greater good in the midst of this suffering. I loathe this disease and all it's taken from me and my wife and family and with everything I have will stand resolute in the face of this insidious, malevolent unstoppable evil that has set upon me.

This is not the sojourn of my choosing but I am richer in my brokenness than if I'd taken a path of lesser sorrows.

Steve [of Tasmania]

Steve and all, my heart goes out to you and all of us who have been wrestling with that question. Most recently my bride Cathy has been in debilitating pain. She has really been suffering and it has taken it's toll on her.

I am not wavering from the fact that we are but temporary vessels, housing our spirits that will live on beyond the "current packaging". I just wish it was an easier transition.

The human spirit within us yearns for release someday and yet we will be patient until the appointed time. I offer the following Scriptures as a means of allowing the Bible to explain for itself through the Author.

Romans 8:22 MSG

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. [Ask any mother, birth pain is temporary and worth it.]

Revelation 21:4 MSG

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."

It WILL happen, all pain will be gone, it will probably not happen on our timetable, it will not always happen the way we want......BUT it will happen. Faith is believing what God says despite anything and everything our temporary eyes tell us!

I choose to live by faith because I realize my own 'wisdom' cannot and will not save me from anything, even from a common cold....

Living by faith, Bill Sullivan