Three Doctors Graduating in 1975

 

From left to right are Gary sweeten, Dick Towner and Gary Penfield, all getting our Ed. D. Degree the same day in 1975. We worked together under Dr. Bill Nester and we were each involved at College Hill Presbyterian Church.

EMI Anniversary Party

It has been almost thirty years exactly since we officially established Equipping Ministries International as a 501c3 separate from College Hill Presbyterian Church. We had developed the Teleios Center in 1976 and started training people at CHPC in relationships skills. It was not long before some people asked us to teach them how to reproduce our Teleios Ministry so we set up what was to become LIFE Seminars.

All of it came from my Doctoral work and Dissertation at the University of Cincinnati on the topic of the integration of Theology and Psychology and the development of a systematic program to equip the saints in healthy relationship skills.The photo above was taken of Gary Penfield, Dick Towner and me at graduation.

Materials had to be written, invitations sent, fees collected and teachers, organizers and supporters developed. I approached the Trustees of the church to get guidance about copyrights, materials ownership, finances, etc. Tim Johnson reported to me that the Trustees wanted us to set up our own 501c3. We did and it was the beginning of EMI.

In those thirty years EMI has taken the elements of the Teleios Ministry and spread it across the nation and around the world. many para-church groups have sprung up from that effort and EMI has developed ministries in some Seventy nations.

This weekend EMI will celebrate that anniversary and honor many of the founders and early leaders, including me. I left EMI in 1994.

Rearing Special Needs Kids

For several months we have been interviewing parents with special needs children about the stresses,strains and pressures of life. They are legion.

That is not surprising. As a father and grand father I know first hand how stressful it is to mom and dad to have the emotional, educational and spiritual responsibility to rear, clothe and feed any kid regardless of their special needs. When a child is born with a serious disability the stresses are multiplied many times over.

That is not surprising but this fact may be. Many of these parents are innovative, creative and resilient to the place where our research team calls them "Heroes!" They are heroic not because it is good thing to do but because they are the best experts their kids have.

Yes, there are fine Doctors, Psychologists, Educators and Physical Therapists but they are usually isolated from the children. Mom, Dad and Siblings as well as family members and friends must come up with practical solutions.

Want to know another secret??? The professionals do not know about the solutions or the problems families face. "Why?" you ask. They ask the parents and do not See the parents as important to the tasks performed by the pros.

We call our project, "It takes a whole village" because rearing a special needs child or caring for a special needs adult requires everybody to pitch in. When I taught school I had special needs kids in my classes. I ignorantly did not even think about the difficulty faced by Mom and Dad. Now I think about it a lot.


Jim Donovan, of Donovan Research, and the Director for our project says, "These families have arrived at solutions to many of the problems they face. However, they are often alone and the solutions have not been well distributed." Sweeten Life Systems is trying to not only discover problems and solutions but discover ways to broadcast those solutions to other families.

One more point. When parents face the fact that their child has special needs they often become increasingly interested in church, religion and spirituality. However, few churches are ready for such a challenge. This leaves the parents isolated and longing for a church that can minister to them.

Pray with us about our next steps in the project "It takes a whole village"(R).

See the web for more information. www.sweetenlife.com

HEALED AND WHOLE

One day I dug a little hole
And put my hurt inside
I thought that I could just forget
I'd put it there to hide.

But that little hurt began to grow
I covered it every day
I couldn't leave it and go on
It seemed the price I had to pay.

My joy was gone, my heart was sad
Pain was all I knew.
My wounded soul enveloped me
Loving seemed too hard to do.

One day, while standing by my hole
I cried to God above
And said, "If you are really there
They say, you're a God of Love!

And just like that -- he was right there
And just put his arms around me
He wiped my tears, his hurting child
There was no safer place to be.

I told him all about my hurt
I opened up my heart
He listened to each and every word
To every sordid part.

I dug down deep and got my hurt
I brushed the dirt away
And placed it in the Master's hand
And healing came that day.

He took the blackness of my soul
And set my spirit FREE!
Something beautiful began to grow
Where the hurt used to be.

And when I look at what has grown
Out of my tears and pain
I remember every day to give my hurts to him
And never bury them again.

By Carol Parrot

Healing Minds/Touching Hearts

I am enjoying the good things happening as we cooperate with Tri-County Assembly of God. Pastor Brad Rosenberg went to Cincinnati Christian with my kids and is now Senior Pastor of one of the most influential congregations in the Tri-State region.

Here is a video on YouTube of a neat program called TCA Hope Fair being held next week. Take a look at it.

Go to TCA's home page to read about a seven week series I will be doing there on Wednesday nights starting in October. We will teach Christians how to "Take every thought captive to the mind of Christ" and put an end to their fears, anxieties, depression and anger. Sign up and attend all the classes you can.

Time With God

I wish I could attend but I am deeply involved in a thirty year reunion party that weekend. "What am I talking about," you ask? One of the famous and fabulous female weekend getaways with God hosted by Judy Haag and her merry band of God Searchers!

Here is the announcement:

What one women says about being at a "A Time of Refreshment" retreat.

There is something very special coming up on Saturday, October 3rd which I think you may want to look into if you have not signed up. I can tell you that when I have participated in
"A Time of Refreshment Retreat" that I have experienced some of the most significant intimacy with our Lord in my life. How can I describe it? Being in God's presence in His beautiful Creation. Slowing down, sitting still and experiencing His love for me personally. Worshipping Him. A day spa for my spirit. None of those phrases can capture it, I suggest you just try it yourself.

There is a time for everything...
But only 10 days left to Register NOW for the
Fall Time of Refreshment Retreat for Women!

You may send us an e-mail to reserve your time and place to be with God at the retreat!

Judy Haag
Spiritual Encouragers of Cincinnati
5091 South Ridge Drive
Cincinnati OH, 45224
513-853-2995
timeofrefreshment@gmail.com

Adoption Heroes

My friend Carole Adlard has just been recognized as an "Angel" to many babies in need of a family. Here is her heroic story.

For Immediate Release September 27, 2009


Contact: Congresswoman Jean Schmidt Honors Carole Adlard as an Angel in Adoption™
To Be Recognized at National Event in Washington, DC


Cincinnati, Ohio: September 27, 2009 Congresswoman Jean Schmidt has selected Carole Adlard as a 2009 Angel in AdoptionTM for her outstanding advocacy of adoption issues. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which orchestrates the Angels in Adoption™ program, will honor Carole Adlard along with more than 190 Angels, at an awards ceremony and gala event in Washington, DC, September 30, 2009.

Carole Adlard is being honored for conducting twenty three years of adoption education. “I felt the adoption process was lacking,” explains Carole Adlard, “ In order to improve the practice of adoption, I formed an adoption educational agency called Adoption Option..” Adoption Option has become a catalyst for a broad array of adoption activities in Southwestern Ohio including, an infant adoption video based curriculum that is used by schools, agencies and pregnancy testing centers throughout the U.S; an adoption mentoring program for unwed pregnant teenagers; adoption mediation program for birth and adoptive parents; a professional adoption education program which educates medical and mental health professionals on how to provide faction adoption information in a non directive ways; an adoption media initiative that conveys accurate adoption information to make communities more adoption literate and adoption friendly. Mrs. Adlard has spoken on adoption in national conferences including National Neonatal, National Infant Adoption, National Right to Life and The Common Ground Network for Life and Choice.

The Angels in Adoption™ program is CCAI’s signature public awareness campaign and provides an opportunity for all members of the U.S. Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of foster children and orphans in the United States and abroad.


“The Angels in Adoption program is unlike any other program in the Nation’s Capitol. Because of it, over 1400 “Angels’ have come to share with Washington their adoption experience and left with a renewed excitement of all that adoption makes possible,” said Congresswoman Jean Schmidt.“I learned one simple lesson from my time on the hill, knowledge is power. Angels in Adoption is meant to give Members of Congress the knowledge they need to use the power they have toward making the dream of a family a reality for every child.”


In addition to the more than 190 local angels from around the country, several National Angels will also be recognized at the ceremony and gala for their dedication and commitment nationally and internationally to child welfare on a grand scale. Former “National Angels” include First Lady Laura Bush, Patti LaBelle, Jane Seymour, Muhammad Ali, the late Dave Thomas, Steven Curtis Chapman, Bruce Willis, Alonzo Mourning, and Marcus Samuelsson.

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) is a 501(c)3 nonpartisan organization dedicated to raising awareness about the tens of thousands of orphans and foster children in the United States and the millions of orphans around the world in need of permanent, safe, and loving homes through adoption. CCAI’s goal is the elimination of the barriers that hinder these children from realizing their basic right of a family.

CCAI was created in 2001 by the active co-chairs of the bicameral, bipartisan Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA) to more effectively raise Congressional and public awareness about the issue of adoption.

The Angels in Adoption™ program was established in 1999 as a Congressional press conference to honor outstanding individuals. Since then, the program has developed into a yearlong public awareness campaign culminating in an extraordinary awards Gala and celebration in Washington, D.C.