[Faith-talk] being healed from blindness

Wed Dec 18 20:57:12 UTC 2013

That's awesome. Juely, are you in sch
----- Original Message ----- 
ool? RJFrom: "Julie McGinnity" <kaybaycar at gmail.com>
To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion" 
<faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 3:53 PM
Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness


>I have had mostly good experiences in the churches I have attended.
> But I did have a negative experience at a college ministry group.  I
> was prayed over for healing, even though I tried to explain that I
> didn't want it.  If it is God's will, that's one thing, but I haven't
> heard of any magical surgeries or been told by an angel that I would
> receive sight.  Sorry for the slight sarcasm.  I am happy the way I am
> and have even thanked God for it.  I wouldn't be who I am if I could
> see.  Because of my blindness, I have met some wonderful people
> through the NFB and other groups, have been blessed to work with a
> fabulous guide dog, and have been able to help other people with
> disabilities in so many ways.  I truly believe that God has led me to
> these things.  I do believe that healings can occur, but I don't pray
> for one for myself or others unless they are truly sick or ask for it.
>
> I tried to explain this to them, and they didn't understand.  They
> truly believed it was God's will that I would be healed one day, and
> they actually thought that I was just being stubbern in saying I
> didn't want sight.
>
> I love that God can turn something like blindness, that everyone
> thinks is a tragedy, into such a life adventure.  Yes, blindness has
> some pretty obnoxious components.  Anyone have trouble finding rides
> to churches?  But the community the NFB offers and the other things we
> experience that most people don't even dream of.  Most people don't
> even know what Braille looks like aside from random dots on a page.
>
> Ok, yes, I am radically positive, and believe me, I have faced
> discrimination and set backs due to blindness.  But those things can
> allow me to help others and have been an important part of God's plan
> for me.
>
> Praise God for knowing better than we do what we can handle and what
> kind of people we can be!
>
> On 12/18/13, Poppa Bear <heavens4real at gmail.com> wrote:
>> One thing I don't think many people understand is that in almost every
>> church you have so few people carrying so many of the responsibilities.
>> Everyone else can tend to think that eather somebody else will be there 
>> to
>> pat people on the back, visit the sick, or work in the nursery or ten
>> different other things, that is why our Pastor is very dillagent to make 
>> the
>>
>> needs for different mynistries known weekly at the services as well as by
>> weekly email updates. Right now at our Church behind the sceens we are
>> talking about the need to build a whole other structure on the property 
>> to
>> house sand and special sanders and snow plows for the winter. The only 
>> local
>>
>> company who made sand available on the weekends is no longer doing so, 
>> and
>> with our congragation consisting of so many elderly and us living in 
>> Alaska,
>>
>> we can not afford to have an icey acre parking lot and have just one 
>> elderly
>>
>> person fall and break a hip, it could be a matter of life or death, but 
>> this
>>
>> is all behind the sceens and will take permits, a couple hundred 
>> thousands
>> and it has placed a certain amount of stress on people who are also 
>> wearing
>>
>> ten different other hats and this is just to keep the parking lot safe. 
>> This
>>
>> is a drop in the bucket of the daily issues and duties that have to be 
>> taken
>>
>> care of at the church. The point is that many people think the Church is 
>> the
>>
>> love boat and they don't need to be one of the people who help man the 
>> deck,
>>
>> they think that it is just a warm building full of smiling faces that 
>> they
>> can find happyness and companionship in.
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "sheila" <sleigland at bresnan.net>
>> To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion"
>> <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2013 8:10 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness
>>
>>
>>> sounds like you attend an awesome church. It sounds like you keep 
>>> involved
>>>
>>> and your right people won't automatically come to you we have to be
>>> willing to reach out.
>>> On 12/18/2013 8:28 AM, Maureen Pranghofer wrote:
>>>> Your church sounds lots like ours.  It's a large church, about 5000
>>>> members and they say right off the bat "If you want to get connected,
>>>> become involved, people won't come to you."  Consequently I have 
>>>> written
>>>>
>>>> music for the church, was on worship team for years, have contributed 
>>>> and
>>>>
>>>> been in Bible studies, am the scheduler for a ministry doing home 
>>>> repair
>>>>
>>>> to widows and abused women and disabled folks, am a hospital and 
>>>> nursing
>>>>
>>>> home visitor and in a prayer group.  My husband is taking his 7th trip 
>>>> to
>>>>
>>>> Haiti where the church built a home for disabled children.  Even though
>>>> he is in a wheelchair and born with no arms they let him do this.  So 
>>>> we
>>>>
>>>> enjoy giving. The church had done lots of ome mantainance things for 
>>>> us,
>>>>
>>>> put up our Christmas tree, has youth come once a month to help with
>>>> whatever we have need of doing, provided me a reader, and as been
>>>> involved in our lives in so many ways but it's because the church is 
>>>> not
>>>>
>>>> the organization, leadership or building it's the people.  We do
>>>> exposatory preaching working our way through Bible books week after 
>>>> week
>>>>
>>>> just a few verses at a time.  Took the congregation 5 years to study
>>>> Matthew.  Maybe there is a relationship between ow the church is in the
>>>> Word and the way people are treated, don't know just wondering.  I
>>>> apologize for this being so long.
>>>> Maureen
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message----- From: Poppa Bear
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 10:13 PM
>>>> To: Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion
>>>> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness
>>>>
>>>> This is all diffirent for me and sounds a little odd because in my case 
>>>> I
>>>>
>>>> am
>>>> usually the care taker for those around me, I invite those who have 
>>>> less
>>>> over for dinner, xmas, and Thanksgiving. We end up being a small refuge
>>>> for
>>>> quite a few families and have a couple give and take open door
>>>> relationships
>>>> with members of my Church. I have a gentlemen  who is faithful as a
>>>> grandfather clock to call me every friday to see if I want to go to the
>>>> mens
>>>> breakfast and pick me up bright and early every time. Another lady 
>>>> picks
>>>>
>>>> up
>>>> my girls every morning to take them to the Christian school. The thing
>>>> is
>>>> that our Pastor really drives home the point of living out active
>>>> Christian
>>>> lives that consist of faithful Christian service that leads to great
>>>> oppertunities to love and bless others and as people start to listen to
>>>> his
>>>> preaching from the word they find that the truth that "it is better to
>>>> give
>>>> then to receive" is a faithful and tru promis. Never the less I am sure
>>>> that
>>>> there are plenty of broken and lonely hearts in my Church just dying 
>>>> for
>>>>
>>>> a
>>>> closer relationship with somebody in the body.
>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "RJ Sandefur"
>>>> <joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com>
>>>> To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion"
>>>> <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 5:10 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Unforchantely, that is all to comon place. RJ
>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul" <oilofgladness47 at gmail.com>
>>>>> To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion"
>>>>> <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 9:02 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> I've an answer to this problem about the church pitying us because of
>>>>>> our blindness, and I read this statement many years ago in a book 
>>>>>> about
>>>>>>
>>>>>> blind welfare from the RNIB.  The main reason, as I and the author of
>>>>>> the book see it, is that there is yet no practical substitution to 
>>>>>> the
>>>>>>
>>>>>> human eye. For some deaf and hard of hearing people there is the
>>>>>> cochlear implant and for people who have lost limbs or arms there are
>>>>>> artificial ones which, although naturally not like the originals in
>>>>>> their totality, nevertheless work to some extent.  Unfortunately even
>>>>>> in my church, even though they don't pity me, no one will invite me
>>>>>> over to their place for a meal and some good conversation.  This
>>>>>> happened after our Thanksgiving Day service, and I pray it won't 
>>>>>> happen
>>>>>>
>>>>>> after Christmas Day services either.  Hope that was an adequate
>>>>>> explanation.  Paul
>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "RJ Sandefur"
>>>>>> <joltingjacksandefur at gmail.com>
>>>>>> To: "Faith-talk,for the discussion of faith and religion"
>>>>>> <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2013 7:53 PM
>>>>>> Subject: [Faith-talk] being healed from blindness
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Dear list, First, as someone wi!th a doctorate in theology, I must 
>>>>>>> say
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I've not seen anywhere in scripture Christ refur to blindness as
>>>>>>> something to be looked upon as evil, and yet, the church tens to 
>>>>>>> pity
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> us. I've not seen this in my own church thank the Lord, but I know
>>>>>>> some of you have. God allowed to be blind, and I don't need some
>>>>>>> faulse teacher to tell me to claim my healing, just so they can bum
>>>>>>> money off me
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>> for
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>>>>>>> Faith-talk:
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>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
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>>
>>
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>
>
> -- 
> Julie McG
> National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
> Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
> Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
> and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
> life."
> John 3:16
>
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