200 Pomogranites and an Audience of One

Seacoast church has many pastors. One of those pastors is Shawn Wood.

Shawn is younger than I am. A better singer than I am. Has a beautiful famiy which I hope to have one day. [His daughter Isabel or as I call her Isabelly Button is just too cute]. He's also a better speaker than I am [but, I am pretty good myself]. And now he's an author. Shawn makes me want to be sick, but he's also a nice guy. Have you ever met anyone that you wanted to dislike, but couldn't? Well that's Shawn.

Just kidding Shawn. Shawn's book is called 200 Pomogranites and an Audience of One. I've not read but the first few pages, but I can tell that it's going to be awesome. His theme is that there are too many people saying that we can do anything we set our minds to. Have you ever tried that? Think about it. If I could do anything I set my mind to, I'd:

Be taller than 5'5"
Have a girlfriend
Have a good job
Be an author
Be a super hero [Move over Batman, here comes Super Rog]
Be the world champion of public speaking

Well maybe some of that's achievlble but I'm not looking to take over the Justice League anytime soon, and I think that maybe Reese Witherspoon is seeing someone.

However, though we can't do "anything we set our minds to" there's still plenty we can do. The Bible says that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" Ps 139:14

That means that God made each of us to fit into a unique place in His world.

I write this for two reasons:
1. At 39 I am just getting this into my thick skull. For years I wished I had other talents. Be they musicial, or acting or even sports [and I do not like sports]. I thought that my talents, whatever they may be, weren't good enough. Over the past few years, I've come to learn that they are. I have a talent for public speaking. I have a talent for working with special needs kids. I used to work customer service and now I know that I have a talent for putting up with jerks, and stupid people.

I have a place in the kingdom.

2. The other reason I write this is because of Sarah Palin. For those that have been living with your head in the sand lately, she is John McCain's running mate for president of the US. I am a Republican, and McCain has not been my favorite choice, but that's another issue. I like Ms. Palin. You see, from what I understand, a few months ago, some pompus arse doctor told then Alaska Gov. Palin to abort her unborn child. Why? Because the baby had Down's Syndrome. i.e. Why she should bring a less than perfect baby into this world. That child can't contribute etc.

Well kids, that's what another man thought too. His name was Hitler. Can you say Holocost?

Everyone has a place in God's kingdom. My friends, the Kinney's have three kids, with another on the way. Their youngest--for now anyway--is Princess Coleman. She has Down's. She is a wonderful little girl. She is about 1 and a half now, and she'd learning to walk and just now making some mama and dada type sounds. I love this kid. I love all their kids, but Coleman has my heart in a way that other kids--other than my niece--don't.

What can we learn from a DS kid? Well, for one thing, they love like no else seems to be able to. My friend Maggie has a 10 year old named Grace. Grace truely lives that word. She loves everyone she meets. And she loves them without terms. She wants to include other kids when she plays, even if they can't play.

I grew up often hearing the "N" word. I hate that word. But, I also hate the "R" word. Retard. For some reason, the mentally retarded, or DS kids, or autistic kids or other disabled kids and adults are still seen as fair target.

Please take the follwing things from this:

1. Love without condition.
2. Do NOT use the disabled as a target for your insulsts. There is NO difference between "retard" and the "N" word.
3. You have a place in God's world. Don't say that you can't sing, or preach or play ball or fill in the blank with whatever you want to. Look at yourself, God has created you, knitted you to do something special. It may be as simple as inviting someone out to dinner, and making sure that they are included. It may be as simple as making sure that you smile at someone, or just have a kind word.

You are an artist in something because you are a work of art yourself.