WRITING

Thanks so much to all of you who have followed along, given and participated in our BLEMISH IS BEAUTY blog series.  We kind of rolled the dice on this one, and we feel like it was a huge success as well as something we can improve on in the future.  Here are some highlights and references for you. Thanks so much to our talented contributors who advocated with the gift of words on behalf of these children and encouraged over 3,000 visitors to the site to spend time reflecting on a topic too often neglected- the plight of special needs…

I chose you for a reason. Those words echoed in my heart as I sat perched on the edge of my bed; defeated. Worn down. Doubtful. No matter how much I see how God provides OVER AND OVER, no matter how hard I pray, no matter how much I read my Bible – doubt creeps in. I hate it. I’m not saying this for sympathy. I am saying this because sometimes we are afraid to admit to others our faults, and our sins. Even when it is Biblical that we do as such. So here is my sin, confessed to…

I went to kindergarten with my daughter Remy today. Again. I’ve attended school so much this year, my husband calls me Billy Madison. The only exception is that I am the character who is one nanosecond away from painting my face with glue like Miss Lippy. (Related: I’ve formulated a reasonable salary for kindergarten teachers based on observation and empirical research, and I believe a practical wage is ten million dollars a week. Obviously a little low, but we’re in a recession.) We brought our daughter home from Ethiopia at the end of July, and we brought our son home…

“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,…

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…

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…

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…