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