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A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith

The other day I received the key to a local church where The Special Gathering main office is located.  Because the sanctuary has been recently remodeled, new keys had to be made.  The key was labeled “The sacristy.”  I thought the person who labeled the key had misspelled the word sanctuary. Later, I looked up…

Working with people with special needs, I’ve discovered that your IQ doesn’t determine your honesty quotient.  Yes, they are the most wonderful people I’ve ever had the privilege with which to work.  However, cheating is as systematic in a special needs population as people with normal IQ’s. Dan Ariely, a psychology and behavioral economics professor…

Banking on line for many people is not only convenient but it can also be necessary.  Before on-line access, when there were two of us on our checking account, I would have given my right arm to know what checks and debit expenses my husband withdrew.  Our budget was pretty set; but he was a…

As a young woman, Mercy came to me asking if she could become a deacon.  She was about 22 years old.  At The Special Gathering, which was a ministry within the mentally challenged community, our deacon board comes from the membership.  I told her that she must wait until she was older.  Every couple of…

While in Hawaii, my daughter and I rode the bus a good bit.  Waiting at the bus stops or traveling to our destination, I had time to look around the beautiful island of Oahu.  These were pleasant breaks in our day.  We often talked about the morning or the coming day.  During other intervals, we…

Shellie is a good friend who was also a volunteer with Special Gathering for many years.  She taught a Bible class and helped to transport members.  Shellie influenced three of her college-aged children to become involved with Special Gathering which is a ministry to people who are intellectually disabled.  Each school break, during their college…

My learning philosophy with pretty much every project is that I endeavor is to learn as much as I need so I can do the job and leave the other stuff to people who compose, fix and invent things.  That is especially true with the computer.  As examples, I don’t have to have all the music memorized to lead…

Last week we started learning new music at The Special Gathering Vero and Melbourne choirs.   I am the director of three of the six choirs at Special Gathering, a ministry within the intellectual disability community.  Our choirs sing in local churches and during our chapel services.  Our purpose in traveling to other congregations is to educate the…

When I was a child, I thought we were rich.  In reality, we were not.  Yet, I seem to have always had an exalted idea of my lifestyle.  There are a few things that I gage weath by: 1.  Do I have enough money to go out to eat at least once a week?  It…

It is inevitable that conflict will come when two people live, work, play or worship together.  An extremely quoteable pastor from years past, Jack Green, once said, “If two people live together, there will be conflict, unless one of the two people is dead.” I’ve always assumed that if there is a conflict between two people at…
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