Grasp

Not long after we came to the realization that Allison was blind I had a very long and good conversation with my next door neighbor about the situation. Jill and I have always seemed to be blessed with great neighbors. The Brown's were no exception. As Jack and I were talking one morning he said something that really struck and stuck with me! He said "what a blessing it will be to have the privilege of describing the world to your children, in large part they will see the world through your eyes". In reality this is true for all parents but for us it seems even more so. The responsibility of such a task was a little overwhelming to handle at the time. As years have passed I have thought about this over and over and asked myself, "How am I doing at describing the world to my children?" Some days I think I'm doing pretty well and then other days I think I am failing miserably! Where I usually fail is in describing the small and seemingly insignificant details. Like the fact that apples can be red and not just green. That when we say a person's eye is blue it doesn't mean the whole thing. If you want to understand what I am talking about there is a great write up done by a dad who has a much better grasp on describing details than I do for his blind daughter. The article is called "Dad, Where's the plunger?"


I just want to encourage all parents to remember the small stuff. So many times we assume our children are picking up on things we are trying to teach them or want them to know but yet we haven't verbalized it in detail to them. So many times I see Christian parents who have good expectations for their children but yet they have never stated those expectations to them. Somehow, they thought that their children would just magically pick them up along the way! I want to encourage you to help them grasp the specifics of what it means to live a Christ like life. Sometimes we are so focussed on the big picture, the end result, the goals, that we forget to talk about the little things! We go from A-Z and forget that there are important letters in between. Someone once told me "It's not the height of the mountain that will keep you from getting to the top, it's the little pebble in your shoe". My dad always used to tell me "Jon, if you take care of the little things the big things will take care of themselves". Make sure they aren't just seeing the big picture on the box but that they are grasping all the pieces that bring it together!

Thunder Dog

I really don't like that I do it but I do. There is no excuse! The truth is that I am guilty of giving in to a temptation that all parents face. It seems that I am guilty of being over-protective. Well, when you have two blind children one might justify the fact that they are so or even just plain deny it based on necessity of circumstances. NO, the truth is that I am over-protective. Over-protective is even, really, just a nice way of saying "controlling parent full of worry and anxiety, scared to death something might happen to their kid". Ok, now that that is off my chest let me tell you about a wonderful book.

The story of Michael Hingson and his guide dog Roselle and how they escaped from the 78th floor of the WTC on 9/11 is absolutely remarkable! You can check out an ad for the book called "Thunder Dog" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nRU4Rh2rBM
It is because of Michael's story that I decided to encourage my son and daughter to try riding a bike! Matthew absolutely loved it! Yes, a 5 year old blind boy learning to ride a bike.

I am so proud of my son and the courage that it takes to try. Don't gasp and think that I am throwing caution to the wind, I am not. I just refuse to be that person that limits my son from doing all that he can do or atleast trying. I am not going to disable him by my fear! He will get hurt and he will fall but I will be there (if at all possible) to help him back up. Thank you Michael Hingson!



"...Safety is from the Lord" Psalm 4:8
"...When I fall, I shall arise" Micah 7:8

Welcome to Holland!

This story has been a blessing to many people including myself. Just the other night I had a dream that my son and I were out at a park and I was passing a football to him and he was catching it and having a great time. Some things are difficult but this story is VERY encouraging!


I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......


When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Emily Perl Kingsley 1987

Matthew Chases Daddy

Matthew is blind and usually doesn't run very many places because he is afraid he will run into things and be injured. However, when he chases Daddy he knows it's safe! What if God's children learned this lesson? We walk (run) by faith and not by sight :-)

click below and check out the video

Matthew Chasing Daddy

10 Things I Have Learned From Raising Blind Kids

10 Things (among many others) I have learned from raising blind kids!

1. If there is candy in the house they will find it just as fast as any sighted kid (or faster)!
2. The cat isn't the only one who gets into the Christmas tree.
3. Facial expressions are natural not learned in most cases. (including sticking out their tongue)
4. It doesn't take sight to have a fascination with flushing strange objects down the toilet.
5. Many things in life are impossible to describe.
6. It is NOT ok to touch some things because they are blind and they want to know what it is.
7. Fear is far more disabling than being blind.
8. Two year olds know alot more than anyone thinks (our kids started talking in full sentences at 15 months).
9. Dogs aren't the only ones who can recognize people by their smell.
10. They still want to drive :-0

Your Eyes Will Adjust

Had a Seriously Ridiculous Awesome week at The Bogg Teen Camp. I heard a cool little story from David Vance about how he and his wife went to a very expensive restaurant for a Candle Light dinner. The music played and the food was great but as he looked across the table he wanted to see more clearly his wife's face. He motioned to the waiter and said "Could you please bring the lights up a little more" The waiter said "Don't worry sir your eyes will adjust".

As the World becomes more sinful we must be aware as Christians that it is natural for people to adjust to the darkness. I am not talking about adjusting as a missionary would to a foreign culture. I am talking about allowing sin into our lives and becoming Ok with it. It is easy to adjust to traditionalism and rituals in our religion rather than persuing a relationship with Christ the Light of the World. It is easy to adjust to the status quo of religion and an outward show. It is easy to adjust to duality. There is an outward show and we appear to be keeping sin out of the church but our lives are entrenched in the ungodly away from the assembly. Soon we are in a rut, soon we are pleasing ourselves, soon we are going through the motions soon we have forgotten that Christ desires mercy and not sacrifice. Soon we are not being a light to the World and we are Isaiah 58...read it when you have a chance. I would suggest that you use a version other than KJV so you can really understand what its saying!

P.S. Thanks for that scripture reading Josh King :-)

Give Me Your Eyes

Lyrics for Dove Awards
Song of the Year 2009
Brandon Heath
"Give Me Your Eyes"


Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?

Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
YeahYeahyeahyeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of workHe's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?


I've Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glanceS
o give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along