Beyond Suffering Online Courses

Joni and Friends: Christian Institute on Disability Have you ever suffered physically, emotionally or spiritually and wondered why? Do you have family members or friends with disabilities and struggle to know what to say or how to act around them? 

People with disabilities are considered one of the world's largest under-represented groups and the church is largely unprepared for the burgeoning disabled population. One of the primary goals of the Beyond Suffering Course is to address this issue by preparing leaders in ministry, education, medicine and science to become involved in this life-changing ministry. 

Beyond Suffering is now being offered online in three formats through the Christian Institute on Disability: 

1. A 16 Week Certificate Course (starting September 4, 2012), 

2. An Independent Study Program, and 

3. A 5 Day Training Seminar for students who have completed the Certificate Course and seek to become Certified Leaders of Beyond Suffering. 

Register today and become a beacon of hope for the disability community!

What does it mean to carry your cross?

Joni & Friends: I have looked at my wheelchair as my cross to bear, but is it? What exactly isthe cross I am to take up daily? What about you? Is your cross your arthritis, a dead end job? Is your cross to bear an unhappy marriage, or recurring headaches? Are these the things the Lord had in mind when He told us to take up our cross daily and follow Him?

Well, I think the answer to that question can be found in the cross of Christ, because when He took up His cross, He was taking on the sins of the world; He was bearing our transgressions; He was willing to be nailed to the cross and die for our sins. And friend, that right there helps shape our view on what it should mean to take up our cross daily. It basically means to die to the sins that Jesus died for on His cross. In other words, my cross to bear is not my wheelchair, it’s my rotten attitude about my wheelchair; it’s the fear and the anxiety, the anger I sometimes have when everything about my disability seems to go wrong at once. It’s the occasional doubts I have about God being in control. These are the things I must die to, because these are the sins Christ died for. So when I take up my cross daily, I purpose to be like Jesus. I want to die to sin and live for God.

Joy on God's terms

Joni and Friends: Jesus is joy spilling over onto earth. The Savior is “joy-incarnate” splashing over heaven’s walls. Jesus swims in elation, and … He is driven to share that joy with us. I mean, He’s driven. Why? Jesus explains in John 15:11, “so that My joy may be in you.” Wow! Jesus has a goal and it’s to make His joy complete and mature in you. He wants you to be happy, to be glad, to be full of His joy. I mean, isn’t that great?!

Can it be? Could God really be that generous? Is He really heaven-bent on seeing us full of joy? Yes, He is, but there is a small catch. God only shares His joy on his terms, and those terms call for you and me to, in some measure, suffer as His beloved Son did while on earth. We may not understand His reasons, but we are insane to fight Him on this. He is in ecstasy beyond words. And it is worth anything to be his friend. . . . We can’t have the crown if we do not first bear the cross.

And that is why I'm so happy. If the reasons for my cross weren’t clear; if I didn’t understand God's goal for my sufferings; if I saw no purpose in the heartaches or hardships, then I would have every reason to be sad, but God has told me in His Word that there is a goal; there are reasons; there is a purpose. Because when I endure suffering without complaining, then and only then does God pour out His joy. The joy of the Lord…[is] a joy like nothing earth has to offer. God's joy is rock-solid and down deep, it’s constant and never fluctuating, it is powerful and strong enough to sustain me through anything. It doesn’t depend on circumstances, but my joy is “in the Lord” as scripture says time and again.

Latest edition of Life Matters features LIFT

Is AIDS a death sentence or a life opportunity? Find out how Kyle and Heather Farran are meeting the challenge in the most AIDS-ridden spot on the planet. Life Matters

The Cross You Daily Bear

by Joni Eareckson Tada

“All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering” (II Thessalonians 1:5).

When it comes to the cross you daily bear, join me in agreeing that God's judgment is right. The cross you shoulder is not one inch too large nor one ounce too heavy, for the Lord especially hand-tailored it so that Christ's kingdom might be advanced through you. That alone is the highest of honors. EPM, page 5

To Those Who Are Hurting and Confused

What is more universal to human experience than suffering? And what is more important than the perspective we bring to it? Eternal Perspectives, page 1

Love makes suffering bearable

Colin Harte, director of the U.K. anti-euthanasia group ALERT, addressed the question of suffering head-on at the 2nd International Symposium on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. "Once suicide is considered a legitimate option . . . words of hope lose their power - because death itself is seen as a means of liberation, the means of satisfaction. Death is regarded as the source of hope." If assisted suicide is legal, it makes the caregiver's job nearly impossible. "I would [be] regarded as being cruel . . . to encourage [a hopeless, suffering person] to live. Once you have a law allowing the so-called 'compassionate choice' to die, if you want to emphasize another option which is going to involve suffering, you are suddenly becoming the person who is not compassionate, who is inflicting suffering. We live in a ... world today where those who give up the fight are called tenacious, and those who abandon their use of free will by killing themselves somehow achieve an independence. It's madness!" said Harte. "We should be able to say plainly: it's mad. It's absurd." LifeSiteNews

“Obsessional” Fear of Suffering Ushering in Euthanasia Culture

Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith warns that a culture that seeks to escape suffering and inconvenience at all costs will end by eliminating not only pain, but by ending the lives of those suffering or whose condition burden their families. Noting that we live in a time of medical advances where people don't have to die in agony, yet people push for euthanasia. Why? Because health has become the greatest good. "If we're going to defeat euthanasia and assisted suicide, we're going to have to recognize that for a lot of people, the principle of right and wrong don't matter anymore," said Smith. "What matters is making sure there isn't suffering. And that can lead to some very bad and dark places." LifeSiteNews

International Euthanasia Symposium Stresses Triumph of Love over Suffering

Alison Davis of No Less Human, who suffers from spina bifida, hydrocephalus, and multiple other disabilities, said, "When the pain is bad, what I need is not to be told I'm burdensome and it's my choice whether I want to live or die, and that perhaps I would be better off dead. What I need is to be surrounded by people who tell me, yes, my life does have value, and I'm not burdensome. . . . They can't take the pain away, but sometimes it's not the pain that hurts the most, it's the fear of being abandoned." Her assistant and the director of the anti-euthanasia group ALERT, Colin Harte, criticized the euthanasia movement for being rooted in a deep fear of both experiencing and witnessing suffering, and said the "secret of love" is often revealed by suffering. "By walking with those of suffering, the effect on us can be profound. It's wrong to see suffering . . . as the complete absence of joy or meaning." LifeSiteNews

Editor: Actually, love is only revealed by suffering, and so is faith.

Discovering Purpose in Suffering

Sometimes finding God’s purpose in the midst of adversity requires us to make major personal changes over a period of time. At other times, our God-given purpose may be right in front of us. To discover it, we simply need to open our hearts to God’s leading and lift our eyes to opportunities we could easily overlook. FotF's TroubledWith.com

The 10 Best and Worst Things to Say to Someone in Grief

Keep in mind - context, timing, and the person is making the comment are everything! Communicating With Those Who Grieve

Stages of Grief

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines “grief” as a “deep and poignant distress caused by or as if by bereavement.“ In a simpler form, it could be defined as reaction to a significant loss. Naturally, such descriptions do little justice to the depth of the emotion, the all-encompassing pain it gives, and the far-reaching long-term effects on a person’s life it wreaks. At times it appears that grief is all there is within an affected life, yet this outlook rarely lasts a life-time. To those on the outside of this emotion, however, it appears that there is no change within the bereaved individual, and some secretly harbor a resentment, wishing the bereaved would finally “get over it” and move on with life. This first set of lessons will acquaint us with the face of grieve itself, its natural progression, and also factors that impede healing, such as the pain of experiencing a holiday for the first time without the loved one. Stages of Grief

Types of Grief and Loss

Take a quick look and three types of grief: anticipatory grief, sudden loss, and complicated grief. Source 1 and Source 2, and three additional types of grief: uncomplicated, dysfunctional, and disenfranchised. Pages 310-312

Twelve Ways to Help the Bereaved (From Child Loss)

• Be there
• Tolerate silences
• Listen in an accepting and non-judgmental way
• Avoid the use of clichés such as "Think of all the good times", "You can always have another child", etc.
• Encouraging them to talk about the deceased
• Be practical in your support by offering care for living children through funeral planning/arrangements, etc., or providing meals
• Mention the deceased child’s name
• Accept that tears are normal and healthy
• Avoid filling in conversations with a lot of outside news.
• Remember that grief may take many years to work through
• Acknowledge birthdays, death dates, anniversaries, etc.
• Accept that you cannot make them feel better

Adapted from: The Centre for Grief Education, McCulloch House, Monash Medical Centre, 246 Clayton Road, CLAYTON VIC 3168 Australia

Tears and Laughter

Crying and laughing are beneficial to us in a variety of ways and are important coping tools for us on our grief journey. Both are necessary for us to achieve balance in our healing process. Tears and Laughter

Helping Yourself Heal When Your Child Dies

Healing Through Child Death

Uncommon Loss: Mothers Who Grieve the Death of a Child

Every story of losing a child is unique and painful, and every mother grieves in her own way. Is it harder to lose a child suddenly or to lose her after a long illness? Is it more difficult to lose a baby and mourn the life that never really started, or to lose an older child or adult and mourn what was? There are no answers to these questions. But there are many common threads in the experience of losing a child, say bereaved mothers and bereavement experts. Mothers Grieving the Death of a Child

DEVOTIONALS: The Blessing of Tough Times

The superior gift of adversity results in ETERNAL prosperity and abundance which is a far greater, yes infinitely greater value than material possessions. Does that mean we should go looking for trials and tribulations? Hardly. Just be alive for any length of time and don't worry, they will find you. So rather than spending our time lamenting the existence of adversity, I would submit to you that a more profitable use of time would be to discover what God says about it, how we should respond to it, and what, if any, are the blessings to be gained by enduring it. Tough Times, Part 1 Continuing Series: Tough Times, Parts 2-10

Patient Died of Starvation in NHS Hospital

Martin Ryan, 43, was left unable to swallow after suffering a stroke but a "total breakdown in communication" meant he was never fitted with a feeding tube. Doctors thought that nurses were feeding him through a tube in his nose, an internal inquiry by the hospital found. But by the time they discovered this was not happening, he was too weak for an operation to insert a tube into his stomach. Mr. Ryan, who had Down's syndrome, died in agony five days later. Downs Patient Dies of Starvation in NHS Hospital Also: Horrific Pattern of Neglect of Patients with Disabilities

Frail Elderly Vulnerable to Abuse

Police said one was beaten and tormented, another was duct-taped and kidnapped, and that a third wandered off alone and died in the cold after getting stuck outside. Each of the women in these recent incidents was older than 85, placing them among the region's fastest-growing population segment -- and, experts said, among its most vulnerable. Elder Abuse