by jphilo | Apr 26, 2016 | Top Ten Tuesday
What might Iowans reflect upon after a few days in the DC area speaking at a special needs ministry conference? Here’s what I’ve been thinking about the trip.
10. The bushes around the Pentagon have been trimmed with military precision. Imagine the standard military haircut. On a bush.
9. Savoring a really good cup of decaf coffee during an airplane delay makes everything better.
8. The overwhelming number of people of color in service positions at airports, hotels, and restaurants waiting on an equally overwhelming number of Caucasians is troubling.
7. Sometimes, Iowans have to travel all the way to DC to meet people who live only 45 minutes from them to learn that exciting special needs ministry events are being planned in our home state.
6. A dawn trip to the airport on a route that go past the softly lit Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Memorials is a wonderous experience. Much prettier than the opening credits for House of Cards.
5. When Midwesterners shake hands with people of Asian, Indian, and African descent during the “say hi to your neighbor” portion of Sunday worship, they realize they’re not in Kansas anymore.
4. Anyone who presents a workshop at a conference really should bow down and kiss the feet of the tech people who make sure equipment runs properly. But they won’t let you. Don’t ask how I know this.
3. Rule of thumb for speaking at special needs conferences: The speaker will cry at least once. Possibly more.
2. When co-presenting a workshop with Katie Wetherbee, it’s like being at a party.
1. Going out to supper with friends only seen once a year, after 36 intense hours at a special needs ministry conference, is an amazing blessing from God.
Have you ever been to DC? What do you remember? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | May 7, 2015 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- Katie Wetherbee, with whom I co-authored Every Child Welcome, is absolutely hilarious as her 5 Facts for Friday blog posts show. You can get a chuckle every Friday by becoming her friend on Facebook where she goes by Katie Livingston Wetherbee.
- You can die on Mars. Or you can live in South Dakota is the state’s new tourism slogan. Having lived in the remotest part of that great state for 7 years, I applaud the tourism board’s honesty. Still, they might want to tinker with the wording…or even the entire campaign concept…in the near future.
- As a third grader, I heard Chuck Mertes, a sixth grader working on a science project with my big sister, say that in millions of years the Earth would crash into the sun and burn up. That tidbit gave me nightmares for weeks. But apparently, my childhood fear has been quite literally laid to rest as I didn’t lose a minute’s sleep when NASA allowed a satellite to crash into Mercury last week. Sometimes, growing older is a good thing.
by jphilo | Mar 26, 2015 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- Encouragement: When you realize educators, writers, and special needs ministry directors, people you respect highly enough to ask them to endorse the book you co-authored with Katie Wetherbee, email to say they love Every Child Welcome.
- Most recent God wink: When you finish your talk with a strict five minute time limit; the talk you didn’t have time to prepare for because you’ve spent the past 2 weeks caring for family members with the flu, caring for your daughter who’s having early contractions, and finishing edits on a new book; and the person with the timer says your talk ran five minutes exactly.
- Lenten gratitude: When your brother-in-law introduces you to Kirkland’s dairy-free Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds with Sea Salt–of course, you eat a few to be polite, even though you gave up chocolate for Lent–and they are so delicious you are very, very grateful you gave up chocolate for Lent. Because if you hadn’t, you would drive straight to Costco, buy a bag, and eat way more than is good for you.
What God winks have you received lately? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Feb 9, 2015 | Book Updates
Do you remember a blog announcement way back in July of 2013 about Every Child Welcome, the book Katie Wetherbee and I were writing about special needs ministry? The one about Kregel Publications offering us a contract? Well, we are happy to announce that Kregel is releasing the book on April 27, 2015.
The Skinny on Every Child Welcome
So here’s the pre-publication skinny on what’s happening behind the scenes:
- Katie and I first met in 2010 at a special needs ministry conference in Des Moines, IA. Little did we know that first meeting would lead to co-authoring a book.
- The book has a new and improved subtitle…drum roll please…Every Child Welcome: A Ministry Handbook for Including Kids with Special Needs
- Even thought Katie and I just sent the final, final proofs to the editor this past Friday, February 6, 2015…
- …Every Child Welcome is already available for pre-order on Amazon
- Also, here’s a slightly blurry clip from Kregel’s spring catalog describing some of the book’s features in case the type in the pictures above is a little too small to see.
The rest of this post can be read at Gravel Road’s sister site, DifferentDream.com.
by jphilo | Feb 7, 2014 | Current Events
What to say about Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death? I couldn’t answer that question yesterday while writing the week’s Three Thoughts for Thursday. I didn’t know how to put into words my sadness over the loss of this brilliant actor and my anger about heroin and the destruction it causes. So I wrote about other, lighter things.
Thankfully, my friend and co-author Katie Wetherbee penned a post that beautifully articulates what so many are feeling in the wake of Hoffman’s death. Not only that, she shifts the focus from condemnation to compassion and from blame to blessing by revealing the truth of the matter as only she can.
Once you read her post, you’ll see how blessed I am to be writing a book about making every child welcome at church with her. You’ll see why I am certain that even when my focus sometimes shifts from tots to teaching tips and from students to strategies, Katie’s compassion and clear-eyed gaze will correct my course. Therefore, you’re invited to hop on over to Katie’s post, What Philip Seymour Hoffman Taught Me, and read her wise words. You’ll be glad you did.
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