spirtualsanctuary

Salvation Story

2009-09-14T23:30:00Z

Date: 9/5/2009 10:45 AM Submitted By: Trish

Story: I received Christ on March 31, 2009 and was baptized on April 19, 2009 following the death of my Aunt Linda. Words cannot fully express the tremendous loss I've endured. My Aunt Linda was also my best friend and like a second mother. She was (is) a true inspiration to all who knew her. She contracted polio at age two, but she didn't let the struggles of polio stop her from succeeding in life. Through my devastating loss and grief, I realized my great need to welcome Christ into my life. Prior to my salvation, I had always believed in God and prayed often. But fully committing my life to Christ is by far the best decision I will ever make. I felt a tremendous weight lift from my shoulders at the very moment Christ entered my heart! I realize more than ever that despite my loss, I am never alone. Through attending church, I recently learned my need to make my personal relationship with Christ the top priority. I am devoting more and more time to Him daily through prayer and Bible reading. All of my trials and tribulations come in second to my time with Jesus and it's truly amazing how peaceful I feel. I am still very much grieving for my Aunt Linda, but I know she is now my Guardian Angel and no longer suffering. God Bless You and thank you for allowing me to share my story.

Call To Joy

2009-08-30T23:37:00Z

There is nothing better than continuing to grow in my walk with Christ. As a part of our Wednesday evening worship service, we have several small groups or Bible study classes. I am taking a class called "Call to Joy." The class is designed to help Christians experience the great satisfaction in knowing, learning, and serving our Lord Jesus Christ. I cannot emphasize enough how helpful this class is. I continue to learn so much from the reading and quiet time exercises.

I've learned how vitally important it is to make my time alone with God a top priority. Regardless of how stressful and hectic my life may be, everything comes in second to my personal relationship with Christ. Turning everything over to Him is much simpler now...My most peaceful time of day is the time I spend in prayer or Bible reading.

As I continue to grow in my Christian faith, my prayer is to lead other non-believers or lost individuals to Christ. We never know when it might be too late and it's the most important decision to make. Having abundant eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ is so awesome!

God Bless You!

Trish

Why am I a Baptist? That's a question I'm trying to answer for myself now..

2009-08-27T15:17:00Z

My entire life I have been in the Baptist church. At a young age I was saved and baptized. There was only about 2 years where I wasn't actively in a church but still considered myself a Baptist during that time. Throughout my life I have never really questioned anything I was told to believe. I just did because I was Baptist and if the church said it, it had to be true, right? So why look for my own answer as to "why" in the Bible?

I recently started dating a wonderful guy. He is a Seventh Day Adventist. Until I met him, I didn't know much about their faith. We have been talking a lot about our religions and comparing them, trying to learn more about their similarities and differences. There doesn't seem to be too many differences, but there are a few. As we talked about what our respective faiths believe about different subjects, he asked me "why" on mine.

Huh? Why? Well, because we are Baptist, that's why!

I soon realized I don't know near enough about my own faith. While he was able to give me scriptural reasons as to why his church believes certain things, I could only give the, "because my church told me to" reason. This didn't cause any arguments between us on who is right and who is wrong. What it did do, however, is motivate me to learn more. Neither of us is trying to convert the other, but what has ended up happening is we both have had a spiritual awakening, if you will. We stayed up late on the phone the other night discussing what happens after death, reading off scriptures to back up our beliefs.

What will come of all this? Well, to be honest I really don't know. We are just at the point of wanting to learn more, both about our individual faiths and each other's. I think it's great we can do it in a way where no one is offended or trying to change the other.

A crusty man becomes perfect mentor for boy dealing with amputation

2009-06-29T02:09:00Z

Grab a hanky!!!! This was just too wonderful a story not to share with you all. It is another amazing way Spirit has worked a miracle. Pictures and video on the link. http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article1013640.ece

Shelly

-----------------------------------------------

A crusty man becomes perfect mentor for boy dealing with amputation

By Jeff Klinkenberg, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Sunday, June 28, 2009

This story is about what happened on one remarkable day in St. Petersburg — Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008, to be exact. It's about a chance encounter between a couple of Dickensian characters, a crusty one-legged man who lives in the city, and a sad-eyed little boy from Orlando. ¶ The amazing coincidence of their meeting changed their lives. When the broken man met the broken boy, they began a journey to become whole again.

The crusty one-legged man is Bill Hansbury, though everybody calls him Boston Bill because his roots extend to Fenway Park. Pass the lobstah, please. Boston Bill is 71. He is a hard-nosed bachelor who enjoys swearing, adult stories and well-toned women. He ran in a dozen Boston Marathons in his younger days and in middle age became an even better cyclist. In the fall of 2007, a jog in the woods changed everything.

His right foot was hot and swollen after the run. A doctor told him he had developed a virulent staph infection commonly called MRSA. Maybe it was related to his diabetes. Maybe not. But he had two choices. Die or have an amputation. When he awoke in the recovery room his right leg was gone, removed just below the knee. Bill swore like the old Army guy he once had been. An old friend had vanished, one that had carried him thousands of miles in countless races on foot and on a bike.

Boston Bill became the world's grumpiest patient. He hated the crutches, the walker, even the cane. He longed to get an artificial leg and learn how to walk on it, maybe even ride a bike again. Two days after he got out of the hospital, he showed up at North Shore Pool, the gathering spot for the city's elite cyclists, with a borrowed hand-cranked recumbent. He managed 20 miles.

Once he got his new leg, Bill became even more driven. He sat on his bed every night and banged the heel on the floor over and over to train the foot he didn't have to get used to sensations it couldn't feel. "Most people can't wait to get rid of phantom pain,'' says Mike Rieth, who built Bill's prosthesis at St. Petersburg Limb and Brace. "Bill embraced it." After a while Bill insisted he could feel a crack in the sidewalk under his artificial foot.

Impressed by Bill's motivation, Rieth sent him to talk to other people adjusting to their amputations. Boston Bill was the ultimate tough-love guy. One day, at a bicycle race, he noticed an elderly amputee watching from the crowd. Bill had counseled him in the hospital. The elderly man was sitting in a wheelchair, prosthetic leg nowhere in sight. "Where's your f------ leg?'' Bill asked him.

Uh. "Next time leave your good leg home, too,'' Bill remembers saying. "Look at your wife. You got her pushing your wheelchair around in this heat? When are you going to get off your a-- and take care of yourself?''

Another time, Bill visited the hospital to meet Tom Papaleo, 45, who had lost a leg after an infection. "Maybe I can help you,'' Bill said. "But if you think this is going to be a g-- d----- pity party, you're looking at the wrong guy.'' When Bill found out Papaleo's insurance didn't cover the cost of a prosthetic, he cajoled Reith into building one for him out of spare parts. "I consider Boston Bill an angel,'' Papaleo says. "But, you know, with rusty wings.''

• • •

Exit the grumpy angel. Enter the sad-eyed little boy. His name is Jake. He was born on May 11, 2000, to Jodi and Brett Bainter, who live on Lake Mary Jess, near Orlando. Brett is Florida regional director of the national wetlands conservation organization, Ducks Unlimited. Jodi works in marketing at Disney World.

Jodi was 31 at Jake's birth. He did his best to wear her out as he grew, worming across the floor to get his fingers into things. He was walking at 11 months, then running. He loved going outside with his dad to gawk at the lake. Brett, an outdoorsman, looked forward to introducing his child to hunting and fishing one day. Jake's favorite bedtime books were colorful nature guides intended for adults. He knew his fish and ducks like other little kids know their colors.

On April 9, 2004, Jake was a month shy of his fourth birthday. The Bainters are still learning to live with what happened that afternoon. Jake and other neighborhood toddlers were riding their training bikes on the big driveway at the Bainter house. Jodi was working and Brett was home. Their lot is so large Brett needs a riding mower to cut the grass. He mowed the front lawn first, then slipped behind the house. At that very instant, Jake leapt from his bike and sprinted after his daddy, too fast for the babysitter to grab him.

Brett shifted the mower into reverse to cut a patch he had missed. As he backed up, he felt a bump that wasn't supposed to be there. Turning, he saw his little boy's head protruding from under the mower. Brett stopped the engine, jumped from the mower and like Superman yanked the heavy machine off his child. He scooped up Jake and sprinted to the house next door, where his neighbor, a nurse, stanched the bleeding while waiting for the ambulance.

The small toes on Jake's right foot were gone. Half the big toe was severed. The outer half of Jake's leg, from the ankle to the thigh, had been sliced off by the whirling blade. The phone rang at Jodi's office. Brett. Crying. "It's not your fault,'' Jodi said. He blamed himself. Couldn't be consoled.

The hospital became Jake's new home, his life now full of pain, morphine, nausea, feeding tubes, catheters, bed sores and visits from weeping relatives. Surgery followed surgery, in Orlando and at All Children's in St. Petersburg. Consultation followed consultation in Florida and elsewhere. Brett was so depressed he sometimes wanted to stay in bed. Jodi kept up with the insurance companies, the paperwork and life outside the hospital.

One year. Two years. Jake was old enough to see the difference between him and other kids. Other children ran and jumped and skated and water skied. He watched from the sidelines like Tiny Tim. He cried, threw the occasional tantrum, sucked his thumb, begged his mom to sleep in his room.

Three years. He endured tissue and bone transplants, more pain and more morphine. He walked with difficulty, but couldn't run. Would he ever? Ride a bike? Sit with his dad in a marsh, in a blind, waiting for the pintail ducks to fly in low at dawn? In the wee hours, Jodi searched the Internet. What about an amputation? Would it be wrong to even consider it? Were they giving up too soon? She and Brett talked constantly about what they should do. They consulted doctors all over the country.

Late in 2007, she and Brett reached an uneasy decision and told Jake. The little guy was braver than they were. Sleepless night followed sleepless night. Brett walked the hallway like a ghost. On Feb. 19, 2008, the Bainters headed for a St. Petersburg hospital in their Tahoe. At his home in St. Petersburg, Boston Bill strapped on his prosthetic leg and climbed onto his bicycle.

• • •

He was on his daily morning ride with 60 cyclists when something strange happened. The cleats on his cycling shoes felt as if they had frozen into place. Cycling shoes clip to the pedals and are supposed to uncouple when a rider pivots his feet. But as Bill prepared to stop at a traffic light on Sixth Avenue S, they didn't come loose.

He braced for a fall and aired a few choice Boston Bill words. Two cyclists quickly flanked him like slices of bread to keep him upright. Others pried his shoes from the pedals. He sat on the curb and tried to figure out what had gone wrong. "This is the first time that's ever happened,'' Bill barked.

The other cyclists continued on their way, leaving the grumpy white-haired man with his bike, his shoes, his artificial leg and his fear of appearing helpless. Just then, a black Chevy Tahoe braked in front of him and the sad-looking man behind the wheel waved. Bill will never forget their conversation.

"Excuse me, sir.'' "Yes,'' Boston Bill said. "I notice you're a cyclist.''

"Yes." "And you're an amputee?'' "That's right.'' The young man climbed out of the station wagon. "I'm Brett Bainter," he said. "That's my wife, Jodi. We were wondering if you'd talk to our little boy. His name is Jake. We're on our way to All Children's Hospital. This afternoon they're going to amputate his leg.''

Boston Bill leaned his expensive Specialized racing bicycle against an oak and hugged the boy, whose right leg was bent at a crazy angle at the knee. "Jake,'' Bill said as they stood together. "You're going to be fine. Look at me. I'm 70! You're going to be running and biking soon. You've got your whole life ahead of you.''

He kissed the little boy, 7 going on 8, on the top of his head. Jake even managed a smile. Bill beamed as Jodi snapped a photo of the two of them together. The Bainters blinked back tears as they told Bill what had happened to Jake and the difficult decision they had made. "Listen,'' Boston Bill told them. "You're doing the right thing. Don't have second thoughts.'' Leaving Bill alone on the street, they headed for the hospital and Jake's amputation.

• • •

Men don't cry.

At least that's the way Bill grew up in a tough Irish-American family near Boston. He reads action novels featuring manly heroes. He likes Charles Bronson movies. After high school he joined the Army, and after his discharge got married, had kids, sold jewelry and cosmetics, ran a flea market, did whatever it took to put food on the table. In St. Petersburg, he even started a little business selling his own Boston Bill line of sunglasses.

He talked too much sometimes, bragged a little, accepted some blame for the end of his marriage. Even good friends thought he was irascible at times — heaven help the dawdling waitress who got on his bad side. Boston Bill was hardly Ebenezer Scrooge, but nobody was going to mistake him for the kindly John Jarndyce from Dickens' Bleak House either.

But on Feb. 19, 2008, something changed. At 8:40 a.m., near the traffic light on Third Street S, a new feeling washed over him. There was something about the Bainters that got to him. There was something about how he had met them — that chance encounter —that gave him chills.

What if the Bainters had left earlier that morning? Or even two minutes later? "They would have missed me. And — this is the big one — what if my cycling shoes had worked? More than likely I would have zipped around the corner and been long gone when those heartbroken people drove past.''

Bill climbed on his bike and went on with his ride. His pedals and shoes worked perfectly. They hadn't failed before that day and they haven't failed since.

• • •

They cut Jake's leg off that afternoon below the knee. They pumped him with painkillers. Boston Bill showed up the next day. Jodi took another photo of Jake and Bill together. Bill said he would stay in touch. And he did. Not every day. But he seemed to telephone when the Bainters needed him most. He called after they brought Jake home to Orlando from the hospital and the morphine wore off and the phantom pains began and Jake bolted upright in his bed and started bawling. The little boy couldn't always explain what he was going through, but Bill could, and after a talk the Bainters always felt better.

As months passed, Bill enjoyed hearing about Jake's progress. "Can he ride a bike yet? No? Well, maybe one day? He's running? You ought to join the Challenged Athletes Foundation. I'm a member. It'll be good for Jake. You know, they have races.'' The Bainters joined. Jake competed. He didn't run, but he walked a race.

"Jake has inspired me,'' Bill told Jodi over the phone. Bill bought himself a special running prosthesis and started jogging again. He dreamed of running the Boston Marathon. The cynical lapsed Catholic who prefers the bike saddle to the church pew now believed in miracles.

"There are all kinds, you know. It's not like one day you have cancer and the next day you don't. Sometimes there are smaller ones. You have to pay attention to your own life and recognize the miracle when it shows up.''

• • •

In May, Bill drove to Orlando to see his young pal, Jake Bainter. First Jodi took Bill to Pine Castle Christian Academy, where Jake is a second grader and the only amputee in the elementary-through-high school. "How many of you have heard us talk about Boston Bill?'' Jodi asked, and every second-grader waved frantically. Bill used his special running prosthesis as the show-and-tell. Bill avoided swearing in front of the children and for a moment his rusty wings turned golden.

Then Bill went to Jake's house. Jake showed Bill his cool room. He showed Bill his guinea pig, Tweek, and his leopard gecko lizard, Lo. "We have our little boy back,'' Jodi said. "That artificial leg is hardly a blip in Jake's life.''

Brett's depression has lifted. He and Jake do a lot of fishing together in their backyard lake now. One day they'll go duck hunting. "I can catch all the bass I want, but today I'm going after gar,'' Jake said to Bill. "Sometimes I catch great big mudfish. They put a bend in your rod because they're big. You can ask my mom.''

Bill took Jake's word for it. Jake dressed in his play clothes and replaced the school shoe on his prosthesis with a rubber foot. He flew out of the house toward Lake Mary Jess with his leg click-clacking like train wheels on rusty track. "He has worn out his leg," Jodi said. Jake will receive a new one soon. Perhaps it will have a super-strong knee for running and jumping.

"Watch this!'' Jake wanted to show Bill how he fast he can run now. He was going to run across the yard to the palm tree by the fence, then to the oak, then back to Bill. Jake took off and ran very fast, his artificial leg click-clacking like the little engine that could.

"Way to go, Jake,'' Boston Bill said. "Way to go.''

New To Spiritual Sanctuary

2009-06-25T22:19:00Z

Hello,

I am new to the Spiritual Sanctuary group, but I've been a Disaboom member since March 2009. It's great to be among such a wonderful group and I look forward to participating. I am a new Christian saved on March 31, 2009 and baptized on April 19, 2009. These are two of the most important decisions and dates in my life. I cannot fully describe how it feels to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. The day I received Christ, I immediately felt a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.

I recently lost my Aunt Linda. She passed away in February 2009 of respiratory failure and pneumonia. She also had polio since age two. She passed away at sixty five years old. My aunt was everything to me; my best friend and second mother. Losing her meant losing a huge part of me. After she passed, I decided it was time to become more and more active in church. I love being involved in the children's ministry and nursery, participate in Wednesday evening small group classes (Bible study), and attend Sunday morning worship services. I enjoy getting involved in every aspect of our ministry. Our youth group is going on a mission trip to Cleavland TN next week and I've taken part in the many fund raising efforts to make that trip possible.

I was saved just prior to Easter and it could not have been a more appropriate time. My walk with Christ is a learning experience and even a struggle sometimes. Having a new spiritual family is very different for me. Pastor Phil and his wife Amy have been so welcoming and supportive as has the entire church body. I've always believed in God and prayed, but it was not until accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior that I was truly at peace with my Aunt Linda's death.

God Bless You,

Trish

Sanctuary Members: Add a Blog!

2009-06-10T01:37:00Z

Friends, just a reminder that this is a group, not my group (as co-moderator), and you are free to write and Post your Blogs at will, without my permission or push. Even if I am off-site for a bit, no reason in the world not to add your two cents on any topic you care to. It's so easy now: just go to "Manage My Groups" in "My Disaboom," and under our group, click on "add a blog entry." Of course, respect and all that stuff doesn't need to be re-said, but I hope that you will continue to share your thoughts and concerns in the time to come. God Bless. bonnie

ARGUING ABOUT PRAYER?

2009-06-05T17:34:00Z

Normal 0

In my previous blog on meditation and prayer I offered some theological thoughts about the historical and current similarities in the two activities, and how in most traditions, one form or another is considered under the same umbrella of communion with Peace, or a Higher Power, or God.

I removed this Post from a Thread, and turned it into a blog, because dispute arose on the thread as to whether just “anything” was prayer, and was it okay. This assurance, was offered by an individual who admitted they had never been able to really "meditate." While I don't really dispute this general concept, as there are those who maintain that even thinking about God is a prayer, I don't like the tone.Obviously, we can all think whatever we want on this subject; and as far as I am concerned, the more thought, the better.

However, I am writing now to say that I find this type of dialogue, although not under the auspices of the Sanctuary, to be in violation of the rules for writing about faith and religion on Disaboom.

The idea is to say, “I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT . . .” and not to diss someone else’s POV.

Admittedly, my writing is dense, formal, and not everyone’s cup of tea. It is the product of three years of intense theological study a Seminary in the US, Union Theological, associated with Columbia University. It is also the product of having been myself a certified physical yoga teacher for too many years to count, with students still active all over the US, as well as a mental yoga practitioner (and, by the way, they are not the same thing).

I don’t mind if someone doesn’t agree with me, or understand my incomprehensible thoughts—it’s hard to write about this stuff.

But to get SNARKY ABOUT PRAYER? COME ON! !

I will, tangentially, be offsite for a period for medical reasons, but I would like to leave behind a plea for us all to remember the Golden Rule, in all of our threads:

“DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU,” please dear Lord.

Namaste (a common Hindi greeting meaning “I honor the God in You.”} bonnie

Meditation and Prayer

2009-06-05T00:25:00Z

There has been a Thread recently on meditation, and various meditation techniques that people use. Great stuff, all of it. Justin started it, and it's called "How To Meditate." One of the Posters asked if prayer and meditation were the same thing. I published a fairly technical theological response, and then felt that it was out of place in the context of the conversation.

So, I have decided to just re-print that Post as a Blog, so that I can share some of my further thoughts on the similarities between the two, and so on, just as a matter of further thought. I had an earlier Post on the thread that recommended my own meditation group as one direction (www.sos.org; stands for Science of Spirituality), and another, The Healing Power of Loving Kindness, by Rulku Thondup, which is a guided Buddhist Meditation short book and 3 CD set available from Amazone ($16).

Anyway, my further thoughts on prayer and meditation are as follows: If I may, I would like to offer some additional information.

In the video of Justin's, the narrator speaks of STILING THE MIND OF THOUGHT, and then receiving divine energy. In every meditation practice that I have encountered, this is basically the same objective, by whatever name, and the methods vary. Becky's Contemplative Prayer is one of the strongest in use in Christianity, and she communes with God. In Debbie's awareness of being alive, her mind is empty of other worries, and she is "in the moment." In my practice, of Surat Shabd Yoga, we use a mantra to give the mind something to do, so that it doesn't let thoughts in, and lets the soul start the passage to the Universal Being, through various stages.

I am not saying that EVERYTHING is the same, but the similarities are strong. Many practices have disciplines that allow the mind to focus, so that the thoughts are stilled. Focus becomes the objective, also viewed as stillness or silence, or "sitting practice." Some of the exercises for various methods have ways to learn to rid the mind of those troublesome thoughts: looking at a leaf in a bowl of water for a minute, then five, then ten, as you go on through the days, eventually seeing every vein of the leaf.

Buddhists will look at a drawing of a Buddha, and focus on all its intricate detail, to divert the mind. Depak Chopra has written about the commonality of this spiritual awakening that is coming to our time, some of it from traditions from other eras, some of it developed by the individual.

I do not mean to diminish anyone's practice by clumping it in with the others, and saying, "your God is the same as something else," as to show that prayer can be viewed as meditation, and has been by many traditions. It is about clearing the mind of thought, worry, involvement in the material world, and eventual communion with Peace, or some call it/him/her God, or whom/whatever.

[There are, of course, other forms of prayer, using words, music, dance, etc. But this is in reference to contemplative prayer. There are also other methods of meditation that still the mind through, example, movement--the Sufis--and music--Gregorian Chants, etc.]

So, Namaste [A standard Hindi greeting, meaning "I bow to the God in You."] bonnie

REPORT: SPIRITUAL SANCTUARY DISCUSSION GROUPS

2009-05-24T09:17:00Z

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way." Charles Dickens.

REPORT--SPIRITUAL SANCTUARY DISCUSSION GROUPS:

This provides a report on the series of discussion groups sponsored by the Spiritual Sanctuary Group here at Disaboom. The concept was long in development; many spoke over time of having a chance to talk to each other about our various faiths, faith issues, faith as it relates to disability, etc.

The good news is that there is a great deal of faith, faith related excitement, a variety of interests, and we had some wonderful conversations. Topics included comparative religions, Christian history, Biblical history, gay marriage, pre-marital sex, faith as it relates to disability, suffering and God’s plan, who is God?, and the list could go on. With a slower effort, and specific topics and advanced planning, we could do a successful series again.

We are particularly interested in doing work on visualization for pain, as so many people on Disaboom are in pain. This will be announced in upcoming Forums and Blogs.

How did it all work out? We began with an initial meeting planned to meet and greet each other, and air those topics we would like to discuss in the future. We started with an invitation that had over 500 views, between the community and Spiritual Sanctuary Group Blog.

MANY said they were excited, and so we had our first meeting. It was supposed to be a meet and greet, with general topics aired for future meetings. Member PERFECTLY IMPERFECT co-hosted the meeting, and helped organize our plans. Her aid was invaluable. Also involved in planning were mcjane, Lynn and Mshores., and others. Thank you to them.

It was an exciting meeting, with many topics aired, but problems discovered as well. People did not arrive on time, and left at will, making conversation hard. Many treated it as if it were a normal “chat,” arriving half an hour into our discussion and interrupting as they entered by saying, “hi, how’s everyone?” This made it hard to talk. We also discovered that we had many, many different topics on our minds . . .

So we delayed, and tried to take all the different topics people were interested in, and set up a schedule that would meet general needs. Also, some people wanted specific topics, and others wanted general discussions in a ‘Sanctuary’ where we could support each other and discuss our faith issues and questions. So we tried to divide the two, and set one set on Mondays, and the other set on Tuesdays. People's schedules were a nightmare, and we just could not find common days for common subjects, which was why we tried a "Bible Thread."

This division not work at all. The group that wanted to discuss specific topics still had problems with what they regarded as a specific topic. “Suffering,” eg. means different things for different people. Some people wanted to rely on the Bible, others didn’t, and when I tried to establish the basis for each person’s authority for their faith as a groundwork for further discussion, it took a long time to communicate this concept.

We did lose participants, and complaints included my failure to moderate, my moderation as too heavy handed, the conversation as “too intellectual,” the conversation as “not spiritual” enough, the conversation as not on topic, the conversation as too topic oriented. Everyone had a different perspective. Also, folks did not seem to realize that I was not a staff member of Disaboom, and was doing this as a faith service, doing my best, and did not have a great deal of experience leading this sort of effort.

Meanwhile, about 10 people had self identified as being in spiritual crisis, and I was serving as “spiritual director” for them on an individual, once a week basis. I continue to provide this service for some, and can be contacted by PM.

The final problem we had was that THE DISABOOM CHAT ROOM DID NOT WORK WELL! ! People would have difficulty getting in, get bumped out, repeatedly, and not be able to get back in. Makes conversation difficult. One participant, One member was bumped as many as 15 times during a discussion. I myself was often bumped out. Some people were never able to get in at all.

I am very frustrated that no one Disaboom let us know that there were problems with the system before we continued on with our efforts. We popped the first one out as a surprise, but the others could have been adjusted. We understood that the problems with the server were being fixed, but each week, more people would get alienated.

I have tried to give an honest, complete report so that members would know what happened with all of those notices, and so on. Those who participated until the end wanted to continue on a weekly basis, but I felt that we needed a break, partly for my own health issues and also to refine the concept and determine who was interested in a format participants could agree on.

Thank you for all who sent good wishes, who participated but found it was not to their particular faith issue, and those who found meaning and interest in our effort. For a first Discussion Effort and then Series on Disaboom, in the new chat rooms, I think we did pretty well. I am proud of us, and offer a prayer of thanksgiving that we were called to try to join together in this way, and put down some groundwork for future efforts. Thank you too, God, for any help you enabled us to provide for those seeking spiritual work.

The really good news is how many in our community have faith, perhaps are struggling with that faith, but are members of the general faith community. I believe they are drawing the Heavenly Spirit to the site, to those of us in need, and to those of who are trying to provide a service for those who would like to share in this effort. bonnie

Hey! ! Sanctuary Has Chats Again!

2009-04-09T23:33:00Z

You may have thought we disappeared, but the fact is that 30-50 people responded with various subjects, times and issues for us to consider in planning our discussions. (People come and leave, and are active and inactive, so the number is a little fudgy). But putting the times and topics together would take a logarithm beyond our abilities.

SO, we are planning a variety of formats now, and we will see what comes of it. It is still an exciting idea for many, so I hope those who are interested are pleased.

1) Focused topics. The topics suggested are condusive to personal experiences with spirituality and how disabilities impact our faiths. We plan for these chats to become "sanctuaries" for those who are experiencing a crisis of faith for whatever reason, or questions of belief, or are deeply interested in exploring their belief system. This will be a small group, and attendance will eventually be limited.

MONDAYS, 8:00 PM EST, DISABOOM FAITH AND RELIGION CHAT ROOM. STARTING MONDAY, APRIL 13

2) Bible Stuff. We are going to experiment with a different format here, because scheduling is just impossible. We are going to host a variety of threads, (and invite you to add your own), including Bible Trivia, Favorite Bible Passages, Most Inspiring Passages, Weirdest Passages, etc. Join in as you like, for those of you who enjoy Jewish and Christian sacred scriptures.

3) Various Timely Discussions. These will be announced as scheduled. For example, we are still planning to provide, if there is interest, some workshop/s on visualization and meditation, as well as other similar techniques, for pain relief.

If you would like to attend the MONDAY, APRIL 13th Chat, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE REGISTERED AND HAVE YOUR PASSWORD, AND TRIED YOUR PASSWORD TO MAKE SURE IT WORKS.

We know this has taken awhile, for those of you who were waiting, but the response has been so varied, it has taken awhile to sort things out. ENJOY!

Changing the Face of Christianity: It's Time for a Revolution!

2009-03-13T14:40:00Z

It's time to change the way people view Christians. People hear "religion" or "Christianity" and they are automatically turned off to us. They immediately put up a wall and want nothing to do with us. Why is this? Maybe because so many Christians have lived their lives in such a way that they have tarnished the meaning of being a Christian. I'm not judging people, for that is God's job. However, let's be real here. Overall, Chrisitanity has become about being almost militant in how we try to bring people into our religion. It's a "turn or burn" attitude that is typically portrayed. If one doesn't fit into our "box" of what a Christian should be, they are shunned. An unwed and pregnant teenage girl is not the average view of what a Christian is. Neither is a homeless alcoholic. Or a young man covered in tattoos and piercings with a mohawk. Imagine what would happen if we totally changed how we approached people. What if instead of shoving our faith and religion into their faces, we simply showed them what it's like to be a Christian by how we live. What if you never had to tell someone that you were a Christian, but rather they knew by your actions.

Instead of ignoring that pregnant teen when she walks into the church, talk to her. Invite her to lunch and see if she needs anything for the baby. Maybe you have an old stroller you can donate. Rather than walking past that bum on the corner, you give him a blanket. Or buy him a meal. Perhaps that young man who looks so "sinful" with his tattoos and piercings who comes to your church was brought up in the church. If you took the time to know him, you may find out he loves God with all of his heart. If you took the time to look at his tattoos, you would see a cross or an angel somewhere.

Jesus said, "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me". Why aren't we, as Christians, living that? Instead of going out and yelling our faith to people and screaming the gospel, we need to be living it. Showing those who have never had any experience with church or religion or relationship with God before what it means to be a man or woman of God.

More than that, we need to be showing those who have had a bad experience with a church or religion what it means to be a person of faith. I think those who have had a bad experience with Christianity are harder to bring into the church than those who have never entered one in their life. Those are the people we need to be showing the love of Jesus to.

However, none of us are perfect. As Christians, we know this. However, so often the world holds us to such high standards that they expect us to be perfect. And so when we stumble and fall, we are put down for falling short as Christians. So as hard as we try to show people how to live as a Christian, we are going to fail just like anyone else. We are going to sin. This is something we must help those around us who aren't Christians understand. We need to help them understand that everyone-even the most devout Christian-will fail. But the beauty of being a Christian even in our sin, is that we know we can ask and be granted forgiveness. So many non-Christians aren't knowledgable about being forgiven by God. Instead of preaching hellfire and brimstone if they don't change their ways, maybe we need to try preaching about the forgiveness of God when they do change their ways.

I believe people need to understand the consequences of their actions. And while we shouldn't sugar coat the faith, we can present things in such a way that we aren't scaring them out of our churches or in some cases, into them. I believe in heaven and hell and I believe that people coming into the faith need to be taught that. However, getting in their face and screaming red faced about hell or trying to bribe them into the church by talking about the beauty of heaven isn't the way to do it. There needs to be a balance that is preached on the two. It needs to be done in such a way that people aren't coming to our churches and becoming Christians because they are afraid of burning in hell. They need to want and truly desire to spend eternity in heaven, not because they think it's their "get out of hell free" card.

We need to start a revolution to change the face of Christianity. Love one another, show them how God wants us to live not tell them. We need to be trying to be true examples of the faith and not hypocrites. Instead of being "Bible thumpers", we should be a walking gospel of the Bible. This doesn't mean we should abandon our faith and what we believe by living in the world when we accept those who don't fit in the "box" of Christianity. It means we need to be open to the idea that not everyone "looks" how we expect them to. Not everyone has lived how a lifelong church goer has. And that's okay, as long as they truly want to change their life around and live for God.

NEW MARCH SPIRITUAL SANCTUARY GROUP DISCUSSION SCHEDULE ! !

2009-03-07T00:06:00Z

THE NEW SPIRITUAL SANCTUARY DISCUSSION SCHEDULE:

We know people would like to keep this going, and move right along. So we're starting an exciting series for the rest of March after taking this coming week to get everyone registered and computer acceptable, as well as time to arrange schedules (Tuesday was a problem for some). After three weeks of discussions, we will all jointly evaluate.

We're trying to take people's feelings into account, and having both free wheeling faith/Bible open conversations, where the topic can change every few minutes, and also having some on-point discussions, as requested, to see if that formula meets other people's needs, per more than one request.

OPEN FAITH/BIBLE DISCUSSION MEETINGS:

Weekly attendance not mandatory. All are welcome. Come if you feel like chatting about various topics on your mind. In our first lively session, we covered everything from historical Christianity to Karma to prayer to pre-marital sex to Bible Trivia (briefly), among other topics.

WEEKLY: TUESDAYS, beginning MARCH 17

TIME: 8:00 PM EST

DISABOOM 'FAITH AND RELIGION' ROOM

TOPICAL DISCUSSION SESSIONS:

MONDAY, MARCH 16

8:00 EST

DISABOOM ‘FAITH AND RELIGION’ ROOM

1) The Role of God in the Universe and Human Affairs. Issues regarding God's role in our lives and our disabilities; how can a loving God allow suffering; does God have a plan and how could it include suffering if there is a plan; is Karma the same thing; etc., could all be included. This seemed to be a topic that kept coming up in our first discussion.

MONDAY, MARCH 23

8:00 EST

DISABOOM ‘FAITH AND RELIGION’ CHAT ROOM

2) The 23rd Psalm. Included would be a short intro presentation on the history/context of the Psalms, and we could then look at the Psalm, line by line, or as a whole, as it may have meaning and inspiration in our lives, or raise questions about our faith on a daily basis, or whatever issues the group would like to raise.

MONDAY, MARCH 30

8:00 PM EST

DISABOOM ‘FAITH AND RELIGION’CHAT ROOM

3) PAIN REDUCTION THROUGH VISUALIZATION AND MEDITATION: A seminar on learning how to use simple meditation, relaxation and visualization techniques to help reduce pain or the perception of pain. Teaching the brain to produce alpha waves, among other techniques, those produced by monks and gurus, can help some with their pain issues. This session was announced in our first bulletins, but we did not emphasize the content. It could be very helpful to some Boomers.

SO COME JOIN US, FOR ANY OR ALL OF THE SESSIONS!

GOD?

2009-02-27T22:06:00Z

Normal 0

For those who believe in a God, is your conception a He or a She, or a Universal Spirit)?

Do you think about heaven, karma, reincarnation, and what happens next?

Do you blame the “God” of your faith for your disability?

Do you believe every word of the Bible?

Do you have trouble praying when you feel low?

Do you ever pray from “the heart,” without words from the mind?

Does prayer uplift you when nothing else works?

Is “God” part of your everyday life, or something you don’t really think about?

Are you interested in comparative religions—Christianity, Jewish Studies, Islamic Studies, Buddhism (Zen, Tibetan, etc.), Shinto, various African Religions, Native American traditions, and so on?

Do you wish your faith congregation, if you have one, should be more accessible, physically and socially?

Do you believe your faith implies a “mission,” and what sort of mission might that be?

Do you want FAITH to play a bigger part in your life?

WOULD YOU LIKE A PLACE TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE THINGS IN A CIVIL WAY, CALMLY, WITH PEACFUL UNDERSTANDING THAT WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT? AND SUPPORT FOR EACH OTHER?

THESE ARE ALL QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT BE DISCUSSED IN FUTURE SMALL GROUP SESSIONS OF THE SPIRITUAL SANCTUARY GROUP. THE FIRST SESSION IS TO BE HOSTED THIS COMING WEEK. WE PLAN TO MEET EACH OTHER, DISCOVER EACH OTHER’S INTERESTS, SHARE WHAT WE WANT (AND NOT SHARE WHAT WE DON’T WANT), PLAN FUTURE LARGE AND SMALL GROUP MEETINS, AND HAVE A CONGENIAL TIME.

HOSTEDBY:

Member: PerfectlyImperfect

And

Moderator: bonniethesurvivor

Date: March 2

Time: 8:00 pm EST (We are trying to accommodate East and West Coast members; if this time is not good for you let us know and we will consider rescheduling if it is a problem for enough people, having a second session, or alternating times for future sessions).

Place: Disaboom Chat Room “Faith and Religion”

OUR FIRST MEETING ! ! ! COME ALL!

2009-02-26T20:07:00Z

Invitation! ! !

The Spiritual Sanctuary Group’s

Moderator: bonniethesurvivor

and

Member: PerfectlyImperfect

Invite you to the FIRST group meeting and general discussion for people who are interested in matters of faith. We plan to “meet and greet,” introducing our site names, and sharing our faith background if we so desire. [It is not required that you share your own religious point of view right away, if you do not so desire . . .]

Quite a few folks at Disaboom have expressed interest in finding a way to interact with others of faith, with various goals in mind. Some are interested in how faith strengthens their ability to deal with disability, others are interested in how their disability has brought them to faith. Some are interested in talking about comparative religions, and others are interested in making new “faith friends,” to build a PM network. We also might want a Bible sub-group. The thought is that many are interested in a dialogue of sorts regarding faith issues, in the context of disability, and their lives in general as people, regardless of whether they are disabled or not. The only requirement is a respect for each other’s beliefs, and a civil discourse.

Discussion: Tuesday, March 3

Location: Disaboom Chat Room, “Faith and Disability”

Time: 8 p.m. (We are trying to accommodate both East and West Coast members)

*If you have a big problem with this time, and enough people do, we will schedule a second meeting, or re-schedule this one.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! ! !

SILENT SERMON by elizabethrodriguez (re-posted for The Spiritual Sanctuary Group)

2009-02-04T20:06:00Z

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the preacher decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening, The preacher found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his preachers visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The preacher made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around burning logs. After some minutes, the preacher took the fire thongs, carefully picked up a brightly burining ember and place it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent.

The host watched all the quiet cotemplation. As one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The peacher glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave . He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead, ember andplaced it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the preacher reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, " Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the firey sermon. I shall be back in church next sunday. We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little.Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.

by elizabethrodriguez