disability ministry weekly round-up {2-20-12}

Amazing Gifts: Stories of Faith, Disability, and Inclusion This article begins, "Churches, synagogues, mosques and temples are places where people with disabilities might not expect to feel excluded, isolated or patronized, but that has often been the norm," but the rest of it tells the stories of faith communities that are outside of that norm - most notably First Reformed Church of New Brunswick, New Jersey.

A Life Worth Living or a Choice? Should the lives of people with disabilities be considered sacred or optional?

Book Report: Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart I haven't read this book yet, but I trust my friend Katie's opinion. (Katie, does he ever address the flaw I see in the title, though? Because sometimes when my heart is heavy, singing songs is exactly what it needs. And I could point to several verses that explain why that works too.)

7 Lessons from the Community of Disability So thankful for Greg Lucas, his faithfulness in pointing to an ever-faithful God, and his words and God's wisdom in this post.

Divorce & Special Needs and Divorce and The Child with Special Needs: Both of these articles caught my eye. When our disability ministry started, 25% of the parents were divorced; now that percentage is smaller, but it has been helpful for me and my husband - as we co-led Access - to understand the complexities of families affected by both disability and divorce.

Best Special Needs Vacation Spots Read this list, and consider how you can borrow practices of these vacation spots to be a more welcoming church for these families.

Same Lake, Different Boat In this post on Church4EveryChild, Steph Hubach answers questions about the book and teaching DVD with the same title. I haven't watched the DVD yet (though I have it and am looking forward to viewing it once adoption paperwork dies down!), but her book is the best disability ministry resource in print.

Just the Way I Am - still $5 but not for long John Knight highlights an amazing book that is clearanced at Desiring God right now as they clear out their warehouse of print resources. We bought enough copies to give one to each of our parents as an encouraging resource.

Helping Asperger's Kids to Sit Through Service The practical tips in this post go beyond the title (thankfully!), because the aim - for any child - is more than just being present at church.

Any other links you think our community should see from the past week? Please leave a comment with the link and how it is helpful (even if it's a post of your own!).