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Cindy Dennis

Executive Director

Presence over presents

Presence over presents


Did you know according to one study done this year that 30% of Americans are still in debt from last year 2021 Christmas?



It’s much easier to get a present and charge it on your credit card then turning off your phone, putting it on silent and completely being involved in a moment.


Being involved takes a creativity, it creates communication, it means that you’re not multitasking and being completely focused in that moment.


And I would know, we’ve been owning businesses and full-time homeschooling since 2020.


We live on our phones and social media to get the leads in order to put food on the table.


It is a constant monster to wrestle daily-

Having the discipline of time, and knowing when to say no, and to put up boundaries

-In order to have a work-life balance


during this holiday season, even though it’s very tempting to always be on-the-clock as entrepreneurs -make sure you put your phone on “do not disturb” between certain hours so you can enjoy your family and make memories.


Wake up earlier to get your work done while the kids are still sleeping so that you can be completely focus when they’re up - it’s easy to have an idea for a business, and to be very excited about it, but it’s much harder to sustain your work and family relationship over a decade of business, and not let it completely consume your life.


Have a wonderful holiday season and remember to be present over just giving presents.


  • written by Christal Marshall


Hope outside the box


Hope outside the box



According to Greek mythology, there was a box of all the world’s darkness and torment given to a girl Pandora from the gods. She was curious to open it- even though she was warned not to.


Finally she did open it- releasing evil into the world- so the myth goes. But hope was left locked in the box for all time-


This story has been interwoven throughout movies, pop culture, writings and philosophy for thousands of years.


You can’t even turn on the TV without seeing darkness with no hope.


Friedrich Nietzsche comments: "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of men."


This is where our world is left if we believe that nothing is orchestrating the fabric of time- that there is no hope- a very dark world view indeed.


To parallel this story- the Ark of the Covenant- a golden box, was created to house the glory and presence of Yahweh- the creator of all things, in the Bible.


After the exile- we have 400 years of “silence” where no written words were recorded. Creation was holding its breath- waiting in the darkness for hope to come.


The Ark is missing or captured. All hope seems lost.


After 400 years-hope glimmers in a quiet birth of a child- born into poverty.


Yahweh show us hope in the person Jesus- now grown- who for 33 years walked out the perfect picture of hope on earth.


But then Hope was killed and buried in a tomb after leaders were jealous of Jesus’ influence-


Hope was buried- locked up tight in the darkest box of all- a stone cave with a Giant sealed stone.


Now darkness covered the earth. All hope was truly lost- or so it seemed.


3 days later- the never-ending Hope resurrected from its stone housing- exploding to all the corners of the earth- infilling its followers with light- so that they can bring hope to everyone forever.


The same power and hope that brought Jesus to life- lives in us. We become the new vessels of hope- opening daily our never-ending supply to those blinded in darkness.


I am so glad that Yahweh- the One True creator has given us forever hope.


I am so glad that Hope was not shut in His box- never to be opened.


Let us constantly be aware of our inner power to bring the love and light of the Father.


Romans 5:5 says:  “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN - PART 3“Inner Pockets”By Paula Golladay



I hope you have followed my Individuals with Disabilities (IWD) Elephant theme in the fabric woven

through parts 1 and 2. Now comes the time to ask the Elephant, “what is inside of the suitcase, even in

the innermost pockets?”


The first pocket is placed inside the top of the suitcase, the thoughts that we carry in the mind. This is

the largest pocket, where you will see carefully placed labels that have been accumulated over the

years. Some are given to us by others and a few we generate on our own, because of how we are

treated. These bear the scars of a church wanderer looking for identity.


Some of these labels might read:
“lost,” “unwanted,” “inconvenience,” “unworthy,” all of which sum up in the mind with the most pain ridden label - “abandoned by God.” These labels are heavy-laden and etched in the stone of our minds.
Why does this happen? I could write a book on the why factor, but in short, there is a palpable
awkwardness from non-IWD’s.

Yes, even Christian brothers and sisters simply do not know how to

engage, connect, or know the latest appropriate buzzword to use. So instead, they look away and avoid

the opportunity altogether. Hoping perhaps the person will go away and fade into the back of the

church, easing our awkwardness along with them.


The two side pockets, smaller in size and depth are the elephant’s deferred hopes and dreams, along

with their love of God and desires to know the bible. They feel deeply and believe strongly just as any

other elephant in the world. But perhaps that is overlooked as the inside of an elephant is neglected due

to the awkwardness the outer disability presents.


Well, good gosh you might now say to yourself, “see

IWD elephant you have it all!” In part this is true, yet, until my elephant can safely bring these heartfelt

items out of the suitcase, they are simply pent-up ideas and dormant emotions longing to be seen and

heard.



The last pocket is the little one under the bottom of the suitcase, the secret compartment. Here is the

true gift that my elephant carries, there is just one word written in big bold font - AWARENESS! The IWD

elephants has insight and perspective to the world that non-IWD’s cannot see. What would happen if we

began to allow what they see to shape our vision for an integrated and inspired church, vibrant with all

peoples? What could happen if we allowed their perspective to train our eyesight to see the world

anew? Let me once again state, no church can meet all needs for all IWD accommodations. Trust me if

your church does try to climb this “Mt. Sinai” it will fail again and again and again. Yet, there is hope

when we take awareness training and begin to practice what we preach. Here are a few steps to

consider:


YOU CAN TAKE ACTION

  • 1. Pray – for a heart posture that is willing to learn; for insight on how to grow, and for an opportunity to take a baby step of faith.

  • 2. Seek wise counsel – learn from those who live, eat, drink, and fully accept being part of the IWD community; no matter what part of the community they align with. Healthy engagement makes all the differences toward understanding.

  • 3. Read, read, and read some more – there are plenty of articles from reliable sources about how the church disenfranchises IWD Christians and ways to become aware of it. Follow up with additional

  • reading as to how to fully integrate IWD’s into the church body, heart, and soul!


4. Consider training opportunities – Sometimes fresh perspective is all you need. Go to where you

can learn how to be a church that engages IWD’s genuinely and practically.

Once these actions take hold in our daily lives, we then begin to see fully inclusive-integration of all

people created by God!



Closing verses:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring the good news to the

poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening

of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor, and the day of

vengeance our God to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion——Isaiah 61: 1-3a

(English Standard Version)

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