A Prayer of St. Francis
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.”* Charles stood wide-eyed in the High School bathroom, watching as Don crunched knuckles against the jaw-bone of a thug. Charles wore his blue ribbon from the Special Olympics, understood little of the thug’s mockery. Don understood, though. We were all just kids and Don was reactionary—a visionary, really. Charles was vindicated that day and a message was sent to the rest of our school—human dignity is worth fighting for. “Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith.” Lichinga was a lanky twelve,…
International Project Page
99 Balloons is excited to launch our International Project Page where we will highlight and connect you with various needs for great works abroad. 100% of all donations on our International Projects Page will go straight into projects benefiting children with special needs! Our first project will help the kids living at the Miriam Center in Haiti, a ministry we featured on Blemish is Beauty last week. Please visit our International Project Page to find more information on how to give towards this current need. Also, please help us by spreading the word and letting others know how they can…
side notes:
photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography Thanks to everyone who has stopped by during BLEMISH IS BEAUTY. Thanks to you, I feel that we have been able to shed light on something often kept in the dark- the plight of special needs children internationally. Come back this week as we’ve decided to try and help out the Miriam Center and a current need they have…please help us spread the word and help these children. I wanted to take just a second to give some update on us and our journey. We will be leaving for Ukraine on October 8th! As many…
Becoming visible
What do you do in a country that sees those with limitations as an obstacle to survival? What do you do when a culture sees through the eyes of a belief system that deems those with disabilities less than human? What happens when a percentage of your population, due to physical or mental limitations, isn’t seen at all –– is invisible? The answer is simple –– make them visible. Open eyes to their presence; their needs; their value and show the world just how BIG our God is. Open any dictionary and you’ll find a myriad of definitions for the…
a post from a friend
My friend, Amber Haines, jotted down some insightful thoughts on her own blog about blemish is beauty. Having just had her fourth son, I am not sure how she did it, but I am sure glad she found a way. She’ll be adding her voice here soon, but this can serve as a backdrop to her coming post. on the meaning of beauty
intro:: matt chambers & mike rusch
read posts below… [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTtxH_6WFEo[/youtube]
She failed them.
She failed them. She is a child who wasn’t what her parents or the doctors expected. Unfortunately, now she’s here and she needs to be put somewhere that doesn’t require anyone to be reminded of her failure. Her life is just too much to cope with. Had her failure been know before she was born, her parents would have chosen to stop her from entering the world. She was born different than the rest of us, and someone else can deal with the mess. Someone else can give it a name. Maybe “Failure” is sufficient. She is just one child…
An unlikely anchor
My wife, Jordana, had been in labor six hours and it was time for her to push. Typically, you’d expect this scene to be set in a sterile hospital room filled with beeping monitors, doctors, nurses, interns, the nervous daddy and whichever family members won the “live birth viewing lottery”. Our story is a little different. Time: 4:39am. Location: our bedroom. Before you utter any OMG’s, please know we planned it this way. Well…most of it. Our first two children had also been born at home, and we really like using a midwife and welcoming our kids into the world…and…
Blemish is Beauty
Blemish is Beauty. Take just a second to reflect on those three words. Odds are, you do not believe them. Words packed with paradox, theological underpinnings and philosophical implications. Ones that have been refused by the majority of folks whom have walked this earth. But I know them to be true. I have lived them. I have held a boy whose diagnosis the world deemed a nightmare, but I was allowed to look deeper. And I am not speaking in grandiose fashion that expands a moment once it has passed- for I have failed many a time, trying to accurately…
lately
blemish is beauty:: Wednesday, this blog will be taken over as we launch an 8-week series entitled “Blemish is Beauty“. By “we”, I mean 99 Balloons and a host of contributors that I admire. The content will be focused on the plight of special needs children internationally- something that is very near Gin and I’s heart. I’ll kick it off with an opening post on Wednesday, and there will be content from various contributors up every Thursday during the series- as well as sporadic posts throughout. Our real hope for the series is three-fold: awareness, connection and the ability…
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.”* Charles stood wide-eyed in the High School bathroom, watching as Don crunched knuckles against the jaw-bone of a thug. Charles wore his blue ribbon from the Special Olympics, understood little of the thug’s mockery. Don understood, though. We were…
99 Balloons is excited to launch our International Project Page where we will highlight and connect you with various needs for great works abroad. 100% of all donations on our International Projects Page will go straight into projects benefiting children with special needs! Our first project will help the kids living at the Miriam Center…
photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography Thanks to everyone who has stopped by during BLEMISH IS BEAUTY. Thanks to you, I feel that we have been able to shed light on something often kept in the dark- the plight of special needs children internationally. Come back this week as we’ve decided to try and help out…
What do you do in a country that sees those with limitations as an obstacle to survival? What do you do when a culture sees through the eyes of a belief system that deems those with disabilities less than human? What happens when a percentage of your population, due to physical or mental limitations, isn’t…
My friend, Amber Haines, jotted down some insightful thoughts on her own blog about blemish is beauty. Having just had her fourth son, I am not sure how she did it, but I am sure glad she found a way. She’ll be adding her voice here soon, but this can serve as a backdrop to…
read posts below… [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTtxH_6WFEo[/youtube]
She failed them. She is a child who wasn’t what her parents or the doctors expected. Unfortunately, now she’s here and she needs to be put somewhere that doesn’t require anyone to be reminded of her failure. Her life is just too much to cope with. Had her failure been know before she was born,…
My wife, Jordana, had been in labor six hours and it was time for her to push. Typically, you’d expect this scene to be set in a sterile hospital room filled with beeping monitors, doctors, nurses, interns, the nervous daddy and whichever family members won the “live birth viewing lottery”. Our story is a little…
Blemish is Beauty. Take just a second to reflect on those three words. Odds are, you do not believe them. Words packed with paradox, theological underpinnings and philosophical implications. Ones that have been refused by the majority of folks whom have walked this earth. But I know them to be true. I have lived them. …
blemish is beauty:: Wednesday, this blog will be taken over as we launch an 8-week series entitled “Blemish is Beauty“. By “we”, I mean 99 Balloons and a host of contributors that I admire. The content will be focused on the plight of special needs children internationally- something that is very near Gin and I’s…