People-First Language

People-First Language - YouTube

Please watch the video before reading the rest of this post.

It is so important for people to realize how important this is. Speaking with people-first language is more than just being "correct". It is acknowledging that every person is important as a person before anything else. Whether or not a person has a disability does not change the fact that they are a person. People often talk to me about my brothers as if they are not there right in front of them. I always make a point to include them in the conversation we're having. They understand what people are saying, they know what is going on around them. They like being included, not being talked about in the third-person when they are right there. Yes, they may need a little help from some of us who know them better to communicate back, but they know exactly what is going on around them. They know when you are upset over something. They answer questions. They listen. They give advice. They can talk with special computers called a dynavox. They love sports and art. They love music and movies. They know when you are talking about them. So does everyone else, including people who have a disability or special need or handicap. I hope that this video helps more people understand how important it is to make sure you put the person first, not just in your language, but also when you get to know them. Someone might have a disability, but they can also be defined by other things like "Angel Baseball Fan" as well. Get to know the person and all the things that describe them, not just the disability, because NO ONE is just a disability.

CHOC Walk: Save the Princes and Princesses

Ever since I can remember, CHOC (Children's Hospital of Orange County) has been a part of my families life. I have so many memories of spending even months at a time at the hospital. My brothers and sisters have all experienced months like that also. And the beautiful thing about CHOC is they not only help people recover, but they also help with the emotional care of those in the hospitals AND their families, those who have recovered, and those who God has already called to be with Him. They also don't just take care of you at the hospital, but they also are there for their patients and the families of their patients after they have left the hospital.

I have a friend named Kelly Linskey. We went to High School together. She is actually one of the first friends I ever made in high school and she is an incredible woman! She is doing the CHOC walk to help raise money for CHOC hospital. An amazing woman, even from a young age, Kelly was diagnosed with leukemia when she was five years old. After being treated for two years at CHOC, she went into remission and has been in remission for 18 years now! PRAISE GOD!

Kelly told me:

I am so thankful for the life I've had and the future that is still ahead of me and I would not be so lucky if it weren't for CHOC. I think my dad said it best when he donated, "Hopefully we are helping another Dad save his Little Princess."

So this (walk) is for all the little prince and princesses and their families who are struggling physically, emotionally, financially. And of course for Children's Hospital of Orange County, they offer a place of refuge and safety when kids are going through something that very few their age understand. CHOC offers hope and fights every day to give kids a chance for tomorrow. 

Many thanks for any contributions made.

I know CHOC hospital is very close to my heart! So please help all those who have had CHOC as a part of their lives and help all those who will need CHOC's care in the future.

The CHOC Walk in the Park is on Sunday, October 16th at Disneyland!

Please help support her at www.chocwalk.net/kellylinskey !
Any amount would be an amazing contribution! Please contribute by Oct. 15th!!!
And just like the old African proverb says, "It takes a village to raise a child." I think it also takes a village to save a child!

Unpacking your Life

When you have to pack everything up and move, and then unpack everything again, it's a great time to start over. But, you don't have to pick up and move to do that. And although it is important to keep memories of past events... it's also important to clear out your life every once in a while. 

We are constantly being bombarded from ads to let us know that we are missing something in our life... and guess what! If we buy the product they are telling us about, life will be fabulous! But, are we really? 

We can't watch a television show, listen to the radio, even walk down the street, without being reminded of all the things that "we are missing out on." 

Sometimes it's better to get rid of things... If we keep grabbing at things all the time, where is it all going to go? Eventually we will be so caught up in the things around us, we will forget about the people around us. 

There's a song called More Beautiful You by Jonny Diaz. The chorus goes like this:

"There could never be a more beautiful youDon't buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump throughYou were made to fill a purpose that only you could doSo there could never be a more beautiful you"

When I heard this song, I thought it was a great reminder of who we are really called to be. We were made for a purpose... made to be beautiful. We don't need everything we see in the commercials to make ourselves better... We need to start from the inside. Being beautiful starts with what people see when they watch you. It could be a simple smile across the aisle at a grocery store to a long conversation with someone you haven't seen in a while. Stuff does not fulfill a person. People make things in our life worth having. 

This is my body, Given up for you

I think that it's safe to say I can give away those size two jeans... that I could fit into a year ago.


In marriage, you are called to give your body to your spouse, but in motherhood, it brings on a whole new meaning!

Becoming a mom is such a fascinating, exciting, emotional time, and that's just at first thought. There are so many things that happen to you emotionally and physically in the first 9 months of becoming a mom! All of the hormones rushing through & having this little life that you will be in charge of shaping and taking care of and learning to be better for. It's unbelievable what you start thinking about once you find out your life is now revolving around this little person growing in you... and your body does not let you forget it either.


I had a very unique blessing this year, I was able to be in labor on Good Friday and actually give birth between 12pm-3pm. This is something that I thought would be neat.. to offer up the pain at the same time that Christ is on the cross. But considering I wasn't even due until the end of May, I never thought that my first born would be even close to Good Friday.

But sure enough, after many pregnancy complications, my doctor informed me that they needed to get the baby out as soon as possible. It was getting extremely dangerous and I needed to have the baby. So, on Holy Thursday, there I was in the hospital, being induced. And, sure enough, Good Friday, at 2:10pm... I was holding this precious little child in my arms. 


It brought a whole new meaning to when Jesus says "This is my body, which will be given for you" in Luke 22:19. 


Having my precious boy on Good Friday was definitely amazing because I feel that now I have more of a connection with what Jesus says to us. He loved us so much He gave up His body. As a mom, I gave up my body for my husband and my child. I have a whole new understanding of what those words mean. I use my body to take care of my child. I may not fit into the same jeans I did last year. I may not be losing the weight as quickly as I thought. But, I'm taking care of my child and giving up anything and everything to make sure that he is okay. Whether that means, giving up sleep to make sure he doesn't lose more weight so that he doesn't have to go back to the hospital. Revolving every schedule to make sure that he is going to be able to handle it and not be overwhelmed. Thinking about what is best for him and my little family, not what I want to do. And that's just the beginning of motherhood! 


What a blessing! Living your life for your husband and child! I could not have asked for a better career. It can be rough... and I'm sure there will be plenty more hard times in the future... especially as our little family gets older and grows... but there is nothing more fulfilling to be able to turn to your husband and your son and say "This is my body, and I'm willing to give up anything for you!"

Blessings

I recently heard a song called Blessings sung by Laura Story. Here are the lyrics:

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching(s) of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

This song describes what blessings truly are. Many people only want to see blessings as the "good" things to happen to us. The perfect job. The perfect house. The perfect car. Material things that make us happy. Now this isn't to say that when you find these things, they are bad. It's just that more often we put all of our focus on making ourselves happy through material things.

When we pray, we ask God for what we want. When we don't get those things we feel that God doesn't understand. It seems like everyone sees struggles are things to avoid. To steer away from. Everyone wants the fame, the money, all of those material things. But just take a look at those people who have all of those things... are they really happy? It seems like everyone who has these things are always going through something or another. There are whole tv channels about them: MTV, Entertainment Tonight, reality shows... people trying to get on TV - just to try to cause trouble to get on more TV shows. There are plenty of tabloids, magazine articles. Notice the headlines tend to be negative? Upsetting? People publicly getting mad at other people, just to bring more attention to themselves? Negative attention, it seems like negative attention sells. Pointless drama sells. So, that's what people cause.

So, why do we crave all of the material things so much? These are all fleeting. In the tabloids one day. gone the next.

What isn't fleeting? Blessings. Entering into the sacrament of Matrimony. Finding your calling in life. Enjoying a long conversation with friends. Having your family's support. But, also the ones we don't understand. The tears over the passing of a loved one. The long nights of taking care of sick child. Feeling left behind when your path takes a different route than your friends. Frustrations of not knowing what is coming next. Where you are supposed to be tomorrow.

All of these things help to shape us into the person we become. When we look back on our life, what will we miss more, the drink we didn't have, or rocking our new born baby to sleep? We will remember the people who were there for us through the bad times and the good times. The ones who never left our sides.

What makes your life worth living are the trials... the blessings. God's mercy in disguise.