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So far Brian & Laurie has created 33 blog entries.

#6

This past summer, we had the opportunity to speak at several Joni and Friends Camps.  This camp was started by the ministry of Joni Eareckson Tada and is for families that are affected by disability. (We encourage you to check out these nationwide camps via this LINK).  We shared things that God has taught us and things we wish someone would have told us when we were first married.  Every camp has its own unique personality, but certain items always generated a lot of discussion.  Perhaps, one of our most controversial [...]

By |2018-10-03T20:53:49-05:00October 3rd, 2018|perspective, priorities, teamwork, Uncategorized|Comments Off on #6
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Letting Your Kids Grow Up.

When Mary was a little girl, she loved to watch Barney the Dinosaur.  We watched every episode and bought all of the Barney Movies.  As Mary got older, we stopped watching Barney.  We often wondered if we stopped watching because Mary lost interest or because we subconsciously decided she was too grown up for Barney. Truth be told, we struggle with seeing Mary as the 32-year-old young woman that she is. In many ways, we are still waiting for her to grow up, but she is grown up! She may [...]

By |2018-09-27T20:01:52-05:00September 27th, 2018|Uncategorized|3 Comments
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Hurricane Warning!

Our blog post is a little later than usual this week because for the past two days we, along with 1.5 million other people, have been evacuating the Carolina Coast ahead of Hurricane Florence.  During the past several days, we have been in a lot of traffic, waited in long gas lines and have watched entirely too much of the hurricane coverage on the Weather Channel! Although we certainly have prayed for God’s protection on the people and property in the Carolinas, we also heeded the warning signs and did [...]

By |2018-09-13T19:19:47-05:00September 13th, 2018|argue, conflict, General, warning sign|2 Comments
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Mission: Possible

Forgiveness; probably one of the most powerful, yet difficult obstacles in our lives.  We cannot underestimate how important forgiveness is to our faith walk, our relationships, and our overall health; truly a juggernaut in our lives with the potential to heal or destroy.  Too often we hold onto our resentment as if by not forgiving someone, we are getting even with them or returning a hurt. But being unwilling to forgive always ends up hurting the offended, not the offender.  Corrie ten Boom, who was a Nazi concentration camp survivor [...]

By |2018-08-30T06:47:47-05:00August 30th, 2018|forgiveness, General, perspective, Uncategorized|2 Comments
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You are on the same team!

Everywhere you look there is evidence that the Fall Sports season is soon upon us. High school students are waking up early for practice.  Parents are at the sporting goods store buying shin guards and shoulder pads and coaches of every level are giving interviews extolling the merits of TEAMWORK! “Teamwork” is essential to the success of any athletic team, but it is equally important to our marriages.  Sometimes in our marriages, it feels like we are working against each other; therefore, we believe that it is essential that you [...]

By |2018-08-09T13:59:39-05:00August 9th, 2018|General, teamwork|2 Comments
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Graham Advice

Recently, we had the opportunity to watch a tape of the funeral service of the Rev. Billy Graham.  One of the speakers at the service shared a bit of advice that Dr. Graham had shared with him.  Dr. Graham said that most people want to talk about themselves and as a pastor, he would be tempted to share his personal stories.  Dr. Graham told him to share Jesus with people that he met, what Jesus said and what Jesus did; not the pastor’s personal experience. This advice isn’t always the [...]

By |2018-08-02T08:38:44-05:00July 31st, 2018|bible, General|3 Comments
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God gives grace for the moment, but not for our imagination

When we started our ministry to couples raising a child with special needs, our desire was to share truths or helpful ideas that we wished someone had shared with us when we were new to parenting. A lot of the concepts are similar to advice given to couples that are raising children without a disability, but we think a few are unique to us raising a child with a disability. One principle that really helped us, was to try to discipline ourselves to focus on the “here and now.” Although [...]

By |2018-07-26T05:39:44-05:00July 25th, 2018|General|3 Comments
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Going for the … Bronze?

One Bible verse that has been helpful to me, especially when I feel as though I am being tested or under fire is Job 23:10, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold”. I know that to become gold, something/someone has to go through a lot of heat. But honestly, sometimes I have to admit I want to say, “Lord, I think I’ve been tested enough. Alright Already!!! I think I’m OK with bronze; you can stop testing me [...]

By |2018-07-19T20:21:09-05:00July 19th, 2018|General, Harder|2 Comments
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The Venn Diagram that changed our marriage.

When we were first married, a pastor told us to “Try to See our Differences as God’s provision for balance in our marriage.” Honesty, this statement sounded more like wishful thinking or a fantasy statement, than real advice. Perhaps you are responding the same way. We wish we would have tried harder to see how this is true, because after 33 years of marriage, appreciating this fact, more than any other truth, has had a profound impact on our lives. We can almost hear the reaction to this statement through [...]

By |2018-07-12T13:16:56-05:00July 12th, 2018|General|Comments Off on The Venn Diagram that changed our marriage.
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Flying in the Fog

Sometimes when you parent a child with a disability, it’s like flying an airplane in the fog.  There’s a lot of “angst” in not knowing exactly where you are heading or what your life will look like.  Although we’ve often said this, we didn’t realize until we talked with a pilot, just how similar they are!  We had dinner the other evening with a friend who is also a pilot and we were talking about flying when you can’t see where you are going.  We found what he said to [...]

By |2018-07-06T06:04:26-05:00July 3rd, 2018|Grief, Grieving|6 Comments
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