Their brochure states, “They are all around us; sometimes vocal but often silent. We walk with them, sit with them, maybe even live with them. Occasionally – we are one of them. People in pain.”

It is November 5 & 6, 2010, (Fri 6:30-9:00 pm; Sat 9 am-4:30 pm) at WESTERN SEMINARY, Portland, OR in the Johnson Chapel.

Keynote speakers include Rick McKinley, the founder and pastor of Imago Dei Community and Bev Hislop, Associate Professor of Pastoral Care to Women and Exec. Director of the Women’s Center for Ministry at Western Seminary. Bev is also the author of the book, Shepherding Women in Pain: Real Women, Real Issues and What You Need to Know to Truly Help. (Note: Bev Hislop has a beautiful web site of resources you may want to check out!)

We’d like to thank Bev too! Bev says, “[Rest Ministries] is the first [resource] listed at the end of Chapter 9 “Physical Disabilities, Chronic Pain and the Aging Process” by Ev Waldon in my book Shepherding Women in Pain: Real Women, Real Issues and What You Need to Know to Truly Help. Ev Waldon will be teaching the Breakout Session at this conference. Most of the speakers are contributing authors to this book.”

We are thrilled to see this topic being covered at the conference and thankful for Bev including Rest Ministries in her book too! They have said that Ev will also be happy to have some Rest Ministries brochures there. We are very grateful for their inclusion of Rest Ministries as a resource for those in pain.

More information is at their web site, Western Seminary, including the additional topics that will be covered, registration information and how to receive credits for attending.

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For more information on Daily Devotionals for the Deaf visit their web site.

I have had my share of complaining about MRIs and how difficult they are for someone with rheumatoid arthritis or other chronic pain. Getting positioned on those–well–what I call “two by fours” — to go into the tube is not easy and quite uncomfortable. But today I read Joni’s post and had quite a new perspective.

Bless you for praying for me yesterday as I underwent an MRI — it’s not easy getting me and my bulky wheelchair into one of those diagnostic trailer-trucks in the hospital parking lot, but we did it (and I didn’t experience a minute of claustrophobia)! The tests went well, but please pray for the two MRI technicians to whom we gave Joni books — as we drove home, we kept praying for all the many people we’re meeting on this new mission field. It was a long day, but an encouraging one.

You can read more encouraging like this from her each day at her blog Joni’s Corner on the Joni and Friend’s web site.

She is also on Facebook, under Joni and Friends on Facebook! I know that she has received an overwhelming amount of mail via the post office, but she is reading the comments on her Facebook page rather quickly, so feel free to offer her your love and support and prayers here too.

The Christian Examiner article “Joni Eareckson Tada gets ‘positive prognosis’ after surgery” quoted her as saying, “I’ve often said that our afflictions come from the hand of our all-wise and sovereign God, who loves us and wants what is best for us,” Tada said several days prior to the surgery. “So, although cancer is something new, I am content to receive from God whatever He deems fit for me. Yes, it’s alarming, but rest assured that Ken [her husband] and I are utterly convinced that God is going to use this to stretch our faith, brighten our hope and strengthen our witness to others.”

I know she is an inspiration to many of us, and I realize her blog shares all the ways God is using her as well as the cancer. But. . . friends. . . you and I know that even when we see God at work, and even when we know He has a purpose, there are those dark moments of the night when we shed our tears. She is human and needs our loving prayers around her too.

Lisa

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Soles4Souls, the international shoe charity (www.giveshoes.org), and Lemons to Aid, a movement encouraging kids to give to others by getting involved in creative ways, have joined forces to bring shoes to people in need with the launch of a new program designed specifically for children called the Lemon Drop.

The idea for Lemons to Aid began following the Haitian earthquake in January 2010, when the children of founder Melissa Plaskoff asked for permission to set up a lemonade stand in their neighborhood. Plaskoff agreed, on the condition that all of their proceeds be donated toward Haitian relief efforts. We can empower our children to make our world a better place through hands-on experiences, Plaskoff stated. What better way to begin serving than by setting up a lemonade stand? Even the youngest of children can learn how to help others, make a difference in our world, and discover how fun service and charitable giving can be.

The Lemon Drop will provide children of all ages with a fun and original way to make a difference. It will combine the original Lemons to Aid stand with a Soles4Souls shoe drop, with proceeds and all collected shoes benefiting Soles4Souls. Children who sign up for a Lemon Drop will be provided with materials to collect new and gently worn shoes in their neighborhoods and local communities, and proceeds from the lemonade sales will be used to supply those shoes to people in need all across the world, or to benefit specific people in need, such as the victims of the Chilean and Haitian Earthquakes.

Children are the future of this country, and our hope for a better tomorrow, said Wayne Elsey, Founder and CEO of Soles4Souls, and we are proud to be partnering with Lemons to Aid in providing America s children with a way to give back. It is our hope that through this simple program, children will begin to learn how capable they are of making a difference, and how important it is to get involved. The shoes and donations collected by children at Lemon Drops across the country will give people worldwide reason to look forward to a brighter tomorrow. For more information on how to get involved, visit www.giveshoes.org.

***

About Soles4Souls
Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. We distribute these shoes, free of charge, to people in need around the world. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 8 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently distributing one pair every 9 seconds). The shoes have been distributed in 125 countries, including Haiti, Kenya, Nepal and the United States. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages.

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Joni and Friends International Disability Ministry now has an increasing number of opportunities for those looking for educational experiences or credit. I remember being at a Joni and Friends leadership conference and Joni joked around basically saying, “None of us here really know what we are doing, right? I mean really, who of us was ‘trained’ for disability ministry?” And the truth was, even if one had wished to be trained for disability ministry, there were few, if any, opportunities.

Now Joni and Friends has set up a variety of resources for those looking to be professionally trained in disability ministry so that one can feel better prepared and equipped. We have all been told and have experienced the fact that God will equip you if you are ‘called’ by Him to do a certain kind of ministry. And some of us feel like we’ve received a little bit too much education first-hand in the area of disability ministry! Although we should not allow the fact that we do not have any kind of formal training to prevent us from following God’s calling, how many of us would like to be around others who have similar passions, and see what they have experienced in their journey, and also learn from them? I know I would!

Although we understand that many of you cannot hop on a plane and go take a 32-hour week-long class, please rejoice with us that something like this is possible and please keep the program in your prayers (because it’s just the kind of area that will surely experience some spiritual warfare.)

Joni and Friends has developed the Christian Institute on Disability (download the entire Christian Institute on Disability brochure here!) which offers classes with “reputable educational institutions” where students can take course work for undergraduate or graduate credit.

Some of their other programs include the following and more information on any of these can be found at their web site st Joni and Friends Christian Institute on Disability

• Certificate Program
• Web-Based Education
• Training Conferences and Summits
• Curriculum Development

You may also note that July 13 – July 17, 2010 is a course, “Beyond Suffering (Christian Perspectives on Disability Ministry”.

This program is 32 hours and is a certificate program, meaning that you can get educational credits for it. It will provide the student with an understanding of the general aspects of ministry for those who live with disabilities. This is a class that will take place in Agoura Hills, CA.

The class, called “Beyond Suffering” is made up of four parts. These consist of:

1. An Overview of Disability
2. Theology of Disability
3. Church and Disability
4. Introduction to Bioethics

There will be lectures, discussions, video training, and hands-on experience which will teach evangelism, how to welcome one of the disability into a church, and how to empower those who are impacted by disabilities.

Don Piper Ministries is holding it’s first ever “Hope Summit,” May 21-22, 2010 at First Baptist Church Pasadena, Texas.

Many have asked if there would ever be an event held where they could come, bring family and friends, and hear Don’s messages of hope and healing in person. Don & Eva Piper, Nash 3, Anita Onarecker Wood, Pray Guillory and Nicole Flenniken! You’ll receive tremendous encouragement for eternity and for this present life.

Register or find additional information at the web site.