Peace be with you, my sisters and brothers in Jesus Christ!

Twelve years and one day ago the world was smaller. We did not have Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media site, besides blogs. We had television and radio. Cell phones, not smart phones, were growing in popularity. I remember getting my first Nokia six months earlier, though I barely carried it, unless my step-dad put it in my purse.

The next day started like any other day. I woke up to “From a Distance” by Bette Midler – the world was at peace. I ran through my to do list as I got ready for school – fall poem, history essay, grab clean gym clothes, and college application essay. I took the bus to school, grabbed my books out of my locker, and went to class. I was a senior in high school and had creative writing first period. I started working on my fall poem before the first ball.

Everything else about the day fell out of routine; the day has become a blur to me, besides drifting from one classroom to another classroom between bells. By the end of the day, I had seen the horrid images a hundred times, despite the principal’s request for teachers to not show the news on their televisions. I got home before my brother who was a sixth grader and my mom who cleaned the church. We rushed to eat dinner to attend the impromptu church service where we assembled quietly hoping to see God’s light.

The world grew bigger that day; we learned about al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Talk about war in Afghanistan and Iraq was on our minds by the weekend.

In the last twelve years, we have feared Muslins because of al-Qaeda Terrorists who in the name of Prophet Muhammed planned the attacked. We forget that only a small group of Muslins planned the horrid events. Rebecca Kolowe, an ELCA diaconal minister, was serving as an ELCA missionary in Cameroon and experienced September 11, 2001 differently than most of us. Read her account on David Hansen’s blog. She recalls individuals who were Muslin coming up to her and saying they were sorry and they had no part in planning the attack. Some of them even said Prophet Muhammed would never condone the horrid acts on Americans. I wonder if individuals who are American Muslins came forward in the days after 9/11 and made the same statements publicly, if we as Americans would view them differently. Of course, we would have had to been open to hearing those statement. The world may have looked differently today.

I have grown up in the last twelve years. I graduated from Mukwonago High in the top ten percent, UW-Whitewater with a BA from the Business College in Marketing, and Luther Seminary with a MA in New Testament. I have been married and divorced. I have Facebook and Twitter accounts where I keep in touch with friends and family around the world, and my iPhone and iPad Mini have permanent homes in my pockets on my electric wheelchair. The American arm forces have caught Osama bin Liden and other key al-Qaeda figurers, though the war in Iraq is still going on and now we face war in Syria.

As most Americans, the anniversary of 9/11 always causes me to pause and reflect. Every September 11^th I am still a senior in high school watching the news for the millionth time as if it will change. The world continues to get bigger with each passing year as new evils rise up in the darkness.

As Christians, we are called to shine God’s light into the world of darkness. Some days his light seems difficult, even impossible, to see. However, God’s light continues to shine brightly the world for us to see and share (Psalm 27:1 and Luke 2:32).

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for being the light of the world. Help us to listen to those individuals who are different than us and find peaceful ways be loving neighbors. Lead us to share your light, peace, grace, and love in the world of darkness. Guide us to walk humbly as Christ has taught us. Thank you for your light to protect us in the darkness. Amen.

Book Review:

The Bible, Disability, and the Church: a New Vision of the People of God by Amos Yong

Before I jump right into my first book review, you have to understand who I am as a person and as a Biblical scholar. I am a person with a disability who is the token Christian among my friends with disabilities. When I say “token Christian,” I mean I was the one who always went to church with her family growing up. I was the one who was supposed to know why God allowed us to have disabilities. As a scholar, I look for way to answer those kinds of questions and to expand the definition of healing in order to create a more welcoming atmosphere for individuals with disabilities in the church.

So it seems fitting that my first book review would be Amos Yong’s book, The Bible, Disability, and the Church: a New Vision of the People of God. Yong’s brother suffers from Down syndrome. His parents are pastors. He writes from the point of view of a man who watched his parents question why God gave them an imperfect son. These kinds question often hunt parents of children with disabilities and individuals with disabilities.

Yong introduced me to important terms in the first chapter of the book: normate and ableism. Normate is the standard society lives by based on the needs and abilities of people without disabilities. The normate bias subjects people with disabilities to an unfair standard, not recognizing that their lifestyle is different than that of a normate. Ableism names the discrimination of the normate bias. Yong makes the point to make a distinction between the normate bias and ableism. The normate bias is the unconscious views of society regarding people with disabilities, while “…ableism names the discriminatory attitudes, negative stereotypes, and sociopolitical and economic structures and institutions that function to exclude people with disabilities from full participation in society” (Yong 11).  Fortunately, people with disabilities have come a long ways with the Americans with Disabilities Acts of 1970 and 1990 and the Disabilities Education Act.

In the next three chapters Yong carefully analyzes Biblical stories where there is a character with blemishes. I will choose one story from each chapter to show how Yong builds his argument. In chapter two, Yong rereads the story of Jacob, Israel, and the limp (Genesis 32:24-32) with the lens of disabilities. Jacob wrestles with the Lord in the form of a man for a whole night and comes out with only a limp. Yong argues that Jacob’s disability does not make him weaker but gives him the status of an equal with the human/divine man. Furthermore, Jacob is blessed by the man for struggling with humans and with God and having prevailed (Genesis 32:28). This frees the normate bias of the story of Jacob and gives him redemption.

In chapter three, Yong does a rereading of the story of Pentecost where “each one heard them speaking in the native language of each” (Acts 2:6) and “in our own languages we hear them speaking of God’s deeds of power” (Acts 2:11) (71). Yong argues that first God creates ways for the mute and those who stutter to communicate (Exodus 4:10-12). Second, God inspires people to listen and hear what the other person is saying. Third, God uses our other senses to communicate, such as touching, feeling, and perceiving. This would expand society’s ways of thinking of how individuals communicate with each other.

In chapter four, Yong does a rereading of First Corinthians 13. Yong argues Paul describes an inclusive theology of disabilities. When Paul talks about the “weaker” body parts, Yong urges his readers to see how Paul is describing how the “stronger” protects the “weaker” and how both groups need the other one to function as a whole. Therefore, Yong argues that Paul is addressing the unnecessary stereotypes that society has about the “weaker” by using phrases such as “that seem to be weaker” or “that we think less honorable” (1 Corinthians 12:22-23). Furthermore, Paul sees the “weaker” as the “stronger” with his explanation of the “varieties of gifts but same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11-13). God gives everyone – people with and without disabilities – gifts to further his mission of the good news.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Yong’s retelling of the Biblical stories through the lens of disability hermeneutics. The disabled community finally has a book to engage congregations in the discussion of what it means to be an inclusive community. Yong provides discussion questions for small groups in order to help them find ways to include people with disabilities in worship and other activities, even before they walk through the door. A lot of churches do not think about these issues until someone with a disability shows up. But an unprepared church can actually be a barrier that keeps a disabled person from joining their community.

I do disagree with Yong on one matter. He says that we will not get new bodies in heaven. Although I do like Yong’s thought process that God accepts us as we are in our current state, I argue that we saw Jesus before he went to heaven (so his disciples could recognize him by his piercings) and that we get new bodies in heaven because the Devil and imperfections will not be there. Truth be told, I pray heaven takes away the disadvantages of this world and creates the perfect world God planned for us all along. Yet any argument on heaven is speculation, because we simply do not know.

Yong does an excellent job of articulating the disability hermeneutic and challenges churches to be inclusive communities. Hopefully churches take the time to read and discuss this book.

Recommended for: church small groups and parents of children with disabilities (physical and psychosocial)

Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (highly recommended)

Please remember to welcome home the Vietnam veterans who never got a proper welcoming home party. No matter how you feel about the Vietnam War or any war for that matter, put aside your opinions and welcome your soldiers home. Your support will help the soldiers transition back into life at home. Our welcoming home each and every soldiers helps in their battle in PSTD and depression.

Last month I attended the second annual IMAlive conference. I learned it is more important to welcome home soldiers, especially Vietnam veterans (yes, even 30+ years later), than thanking soldiers for their service. Any soldier who returns from theater needs to be welcomed home and shown support for doing their job – to keep us free. When the Vietnam soldiers came home, the country as a whole was busy protesting the war that we forgot to welcome them home. So the next time you meet a soldier/veteran welcome him/her home. You may just see a tear and get a hug.

Happy Memorial Day! God bless this great country: The Land of the Free!

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If you are interested in becoming an online crisis volunteer or donating to support this organization, please go to www.IMAlive.org for more information.

If you are in crisis and need to chat with someone, go to www.IMAlive.org and click the green Chat Now button to chat with a highly trained online crisis intervention volunteer

If you or someone you know is currently in danger, please dial 911 immediately. It could save a life.

God the Healer and IMAlive are not officially connected in anyway.

Did you know 17 veterans commit suicide every day in the United States? This is just one of the many frightening statistics I learned at the First Annual IMAlive.org Training Conference in Washington DC in September.

So why don’t these veterans seek the professional help the military has to offer? Well, the answer is quite simple: no soldier wants to be viewed as weak or not capable of his/her job by other soldiers. IMAlive.org seeks to help soldiers avoid the barriers that keep them from making an office appointment with a psychologist; instead, the organization offers  soldiers and other individuals a safe environment through an online chat with one of the volunteers.

IMAlive.org is online crisis center powered by the Kristin Brooks Hopeline Network where individuals considering suicide or dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder can go to chat with someone who is trained in Online Counseling and Suicide Intervention. Reese and Elena Butler are the co-founders of IMAlive.org and are dedicated to helping individuals make a plan in order to get through their crisis.

On my way home from the conference, I had an experience only God could have foreseen. My electric wheelchair allowed me to get through security with ease, even skipping in line. As a reward for myself, I got an Aunt Annie’s pretzel and a Coke.

I found my gate and got a tag for my wheelchair. Then I went to find a table close by where I could enjoy my snack. Two soldiers (a man and a woman) were enjoying a drink at the nearby bar , but when the bar got crowded, the soldiers asked to sit at my table. I gladly agreed, although there were plenty of empty tables. Another female soldier arrived and went to get coffee with the male soldier.

The female soldier who stayed at the table with me and her beer introduced herself and asked me what I did in DC. I told her about the conference, what I learned about veterans, and the website. She said she was the leader of her team and worried about her younger teammates. I asked her if she stressed the importance of taking care of one’s mental health, and she said yes, but she fights the stigma of asking for help with both her female and male teammates. I gave her my business card so that she could email me for more information on IMAlive.org.

Then she opened up to me by explaining how she personally knew someone in the recent helicopter crash, which still brought tears to her eyes. She fought to get her composure back before her teammates came back. I simply held her hand for literally a few seconds and said I would pray for her, which she appreciated.

When her teammates returned, the three of them went to their gate. Although I gave her my business card so I could get her more information, I never heard from her. I do keep her and her team in my prayers nevertheless.

IMAlive.org has important work to do to end all suicides. I am praying about going through the Online Counseling and Suicide Intervention training in the near future. In fact, I am heading back to Washington DC for a second conference for IMAlive this coming weekend to learn more on how to help individuals with thoughts of suicide. Due to my own struggle with depression, I am not sure if it is the best opportunity for me. However, I do believe in the mission of IMAlive and want to learn about the warning signs of suicide tendencies and where to direct individuals who battle with suicide thoughts. Being broken takes all forms, and we are all broken in some way. It is important to recognize the brokenness and to help each other in the healing process.

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If you are interested in becoming an online crisis volunteer or donating to support this organization, please go to www.IMAlive.org for more information.

If you are in crisis and need to chat with someone, go to www.IMAlive.org and click the green Chat Now button to chat with a highly trained online crisis intervention volunteer.

If you or someone you know is currently in danger, please dial 911 immediately. It could save a life.

God the Healer and IMAlive are not officially connected in anyway.

My friend, Sama, asked me to comment on the coffee cup issue. Many of you know I do most things a little backwards. If I can do something, even if it looks a little weird, I will still do it to show the society I can be independent and do stuff. I was at the airport with my suitcase (it has 4 wheels and is easy to drag) on Sunday, and an older gentlemen shared his amazement with me. I am just like anyone else with goals and dreams. And I <3 to travel.

I do ask for help. Every week almost I go to McDonald’s during my Wal-Mart run and ask for help to get my Coke in my water bottle. We all need help, like Judith and Sunaura point out. We should not be ashamed to ask for help.

I do agree with Judith that it is a little rebellish to go out, be independent, and ask for help in any man-dan daily activity. However, that should not stop us as individuals with disabilities. If anything, I would encourage Judith to go out for coffee and carry it herself to a table. The only way we as a society will overcome differences is if we start expressing and owning our differences.

What are your thoughts?