Gospel > inclusive ministry

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Friends, I'll be blogging next week to share with you pieces of this past weekend's Accessibility Summit, especially for those of you who couldn't be there or who couldn't be in my session on recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers.

But first.

I've been challenged by God with a truth that we all ought to be mindful of. While it is a blessing to labor hard after the inclusion of all people of all abilities in this Christian community that we - and the Bible - calls the church, sometimes we can get so focused on the efforts that we forget why we're doing it.

Sometimes we exalt the idea of inclusive ministry so much that we begin to worship that idea rather than the God who placed it on our hearts.

Remember this, my friends. If our churches become places in which people of all abilities are included and in which everyone is knowledgeable about autism and in which no family is turned away because of disability and in which people can be real in admitting their struggles and in which our inclusion of our friends with disabilities doesn't end at age 12 (or 15 or 18), we have failed if the gospel isn't proclaimed.

 We are never called to worship the church, even though we love the description of it including all weak parts in 1 Corinthians 12. We are never called to worship people with disabilities, even though we love Jesus' words in John 9 describing the man's blindness as a way for "the works of God to be displayed." We are never called to worship the created thing, including our own created programs of ministry, no matter how effective they are.

Inclusive ministry is great, but we must be careful not to love it so much that it becomes an idol. Let's not be guilty of this:

...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator...
{Romans 1:25}
Treasure Christ, not special needs ministry. And then, as we treasure and esteem the gospel, we'll desire to bear fruit through ministry.

VIDEO: Nicole's testimony of Christ, whose gospel is sufficient for those of all abilities

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Some of you are here for the first time, and thank you for visiting! Please feel free to click around or email me at shannon@theworksofgoddisplayed.com if you'd like to learn more about how your church can include wonderful friends like Nicole and other families affected by disability.

I have the privilege of coordinating Access Ministry, the special needs ministry of Providence Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. I am thankful for my church, and I am thankful that Nicole and her parents are allowing me to introduce you to this sweet young friend of mine.

The video below says it all, but here are three extra points that aren't obvious in it:
  1. By the end, every person in the worship center was singing with Nicole. And many of us were wiping our eyes.
  2. This baptism was at a Sunday night service, and the video was shown in each of our Easter morning services. Many, many people witnessed the gospel of Christ proclaimed in word and song by Nicole.
  3. No one - not on the night of the baptism nor on Easter morning - emphasized or even mentioned Down syndrome. This was and is not the testimony of a girl with Down syndrome named Nicole. It's just Nicole's testimony of Christ, whose gospel is sufficient for those of all abilities. 
And now, meet Nicole:

paint colors for the new home...

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Two weeks ago, we had to joy of home inspections on both houses, and - thank God! - nothing deal-breaking came up. Fixes on both houses are almost complete, and the cost of the fixes required on the home we're selling were a whooping $32. Thankful!

While the inspector folks did their jobs at the new house, I did mine.

With paint swatches.

Curious? First, let me warn you that I am fickle, and these are all subject to change. And second, I think Sherwin Williams colors are pretty accurate on screen, but Valspar colors look vastly different on the computer than on the actual paint card and on the wall. That said...

Let's start outside, shall we?

Paint color: Sea Song by Valspar
Location: Exterior doors


Paint color: Alabaster by Sherwin Williams
Location: Exterior trim (and probably interior trim later)
(This is my go-to exterior trim white; it somehow manages to pull off "crisp" and "creamy" all at the same time.)


Paint color: Cast Iron by Sherwin Williams
Location: Shutters and siding on the back of the house


And now, on to the inside...

Paint color: Copen Blue by Sherwin Williams 
Location: Front room (living room and dining room)


Paint color: Twilight Purple by Valspar
Location: Built-in bookshelves in living room


Paint color: the Benjamin Moore light tan color that's already there
Location: Kitchen


Paint color: Apple Green by Valspar
Location: Laundry room/pantry (behind the open door on the left in the picture above)


Paint color: June Morn by Valspar (or possibly a lighter shade called Summer Cottage)
Location: Family room


Paint color: the Benjamin Moore green color that's already there
Location: Sunroom


Paint color: Watery by Sherwin Williams
Location: Master bedroom and Jocelyn's bathroom


Paint color: Dark Mulch by Valspar
Location: Master bathroom


Paint color: Sea Salt Blue by Valspar
Location: Hallway (entrance and to kids' bedrooms)


Paint color: Seaport by Valspar
(an old color, but they still have it in their system as long as you clarify that you want the Earth Elements color and not the Allen + Roth Sea Port that is a totally different shade)
Location: Upper half of Robbie's room (above the white trim and beadboard)


Paint color: Limoncello by Valspar
Location: Hall bathroom (i.e., Robbie's and Zoe's bathroom)


Paint color: Fairytale Pink by Valspar
Location: Jocelyn's room


Paint color: Everglade Glen by Valspar
Location: Zoe's room


 The plan is to paint as much as we can from May 7-13, and then to move everything from May 13-20. However, if we end up traveling to Taiwan as early as the end of May, then we might paint from May 7-11 and then move the bulk of everything May 12-13 so that we can be a wee bit settled in before we bring Zoe home. (If you're free to help paint, move, or watch kiddos during any of those time periods, we'd love your help! I posted yesterday about other practical helps we could use too.)

And let me offer that not much excites me as much as choosing paint colors, so if you hate that, call me when you need color picking help. I l-o-v-e it!

the house that wasn't

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When we were searching for our new house, I found one potential house on MLS that I thought could be a good fit. The main floor was a sizeable ranch that, although dated, looked like it would meet our needs well, and it had a basement with tons of potential for workshop and play space.

But.

It was, um, quirky. And some of the quirks were too much for us to handle, considering that our fixer-upper tolerance isn't high right now with everything else we'll have on our hands in the next couple years. So this will be a good house for someone... just not us.

The quirks were too much to keep to ourselves, though. Thus cometh this posteth.

For starters, the home had been left to three brothers in their parents' will. Evidently, those brothers like whiskey shots.


Naturally, it is important for every closet and cabinet to smell potpourri-y. And for every shelf to be lined with lace.


I had a bedroom door like this once upon a time. (I think I would replace the door before trying to sell my parents' house, though.)


What's that? You'd like to see a little more detail on that door? Sure, I can oblige.


In case you want to take up the train hobby that the old man had, the display space and cabinets in the basement are waiting for you! (And if you'd like to paint your own trains, one area of the basement has external ventilation so that the fumes won't get to you.)


And, of course, knick knacks could abound in the built-ins you'll find in every place you'd imagine. And many you wouldn't.




I would have loved to know the elderly couple who owned this place. I bet they could tell some stories!