Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

Purple Out

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My 12-year-old daughter Allie was asked by her creative writing teacher to imagine that she could plan a week of dress-up days at school (a la red ribbon week) to bring awareness to any cause.  She wrote about Epilepsy Awareness for her sister.  The following is exerted from her school blog:
If I was able to choose a dress up week in honor of/to raise awareness to, I would choose Epilepsy awareness. I think that this issue needs social attention because, not many people know about it and there is still no cure or any “miracle medicine”  that can cure seizures or that can control all types. Epilepsy is an incurable neurological condition in which the patients of it suffer symptoms such as, seizures of many kinds and severe developmental delays. Epilepsy needs support, and I think an awareness week would be a great idea.

Here are the awareness days that I would choose:

Monday: Purple Out.
The color of epilepsy and/or epilepsy awareness is purple, so it makes sense to start off the week by showing your awareness by wearing all purple clothes.

Tuesday: Kick Epilepsy out of town.
Wear your best western wear and boots to help kick epilepsy out of town. Another idea that I had for this day was to set up a kick boxing bag in the cafeteria and having students pay a dollar to kick it, all proceeds from this will go to the epilepsy research fund.

Wednesday: Catch some zzz’s
Patients diagnosed with epilepsy often have a very difficult time sleeping or very interrupted sleep patterns, due to the seizures they may have. The day “catch some zzz’s” would be a day where all of the kids come to school in PJ’s.

Thursday: Smile/yellow day
Epilepsy can often be seen as a negative experience that is not pleasant and can often make the patients family and friends sad and feel down. Yellow is a positive color so everyone will be wearing yellow to spread positivity as well as making it important to be smiling throughout the day.

Friday: Claws out against Epilepsy
 Predatory animals, such as the tiger, often severely hurt or kill the prey that they are chasing. So we would have a day to dress as a tiger or in stripes to go “claws out against epilepsy.”

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November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month, and I couldn’t think of better words than hers talk about it.  I will add a few facts that you may not know.  1 in 20 children are affected by epilepsy, which is a spectrum of neurological disorders with over 40 types and syndromes.  For 30% of people living with epilepsy, there is no adequate treatment to control seizures.  My daughter Shelby fits into this category.  There are more people with epilepsy than cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and parkinson’s disease combined.  And last, every hour 5 people die of epilepsy related causes.  The mortality rate for Dravet syndrome alone (my daughter’s condition) is up to 20%.  (Info taken from the Epilepsy Foundation and Dravet Syndrome Foundation.)

I want to wrap this up with one question:  If you saw someone having a seizure, would you know what to do?  If you aren’t sure, click here for the Epilepsy Foundation’s official guidelines for seizure first aid.  Epilepsy awareness saves lives.  





Need (A Five Minute Friday Link-Up)

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Photo credit – Jason Walton

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:19

This may be one of the most quoted – and misused – promises of God in scripture.  I mean, what is being said here?  Is this prosperity gospel?  If I am a Christian, will I be healthy, wealthy and wise?  That’s what some people believe.  Some preach it from their pulpit.  But that doesn’t always match up with what I see around me. 

In my middle class America, I am aware with how out of touch I am with actual “need”.  A dictionary definition of the verb “need” reads, “require (something) because it is essential or very important.”  Well, according to this, I “need” a nice iphone.  I make calls and texts, send emails, maintain my calendar, do math calculations, take photos, keep my shopping list, check the weather, keep up with friends and even read my Bible on it!  I also “need” a roomy vehicle, because it’s a good distance from my nice neighborhood to all the places I need to go.  According to the dictionary definition, my teenaged daughter “needs” the popular clothing brands and the latest, greatest make-up palette.  Those things are important to us. 

It’s pretty easy to start viewing things we are accustomed to as necessary for functioning.  (A big cup of coffee in the morning, anyone?)  The truth is that, for most anyone who reads this, your basic needs – according to Maslow’s Hierarchy – of water, food and sleep are met.  The majority of everything else qualifies as “want”.  Nonessential.

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Is this His promise to give me the things I want?  Hardly.  This verse is a conditional statement.  IF you delight yourself in the Lord, THEN he will give you the desires of your heart.  It’s not conditional in that God will only give you good things if you find your delight in Him.  God is sovereign and in His wisdom will only give you what is best for you and what will further His kingdom work – regardless of what you do.  The statement is conditional in that you (and I) will desire what He chooses to give us if we are continually finding our joy in Him and not in other people or things. 

Praise God, who knows and takes care of exactly what we need. 

We Shall Overcome (Five Minute Friday Link-Up)

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This post is a part of the Five Minute Friday Link-Up

“We Shall Overcome” was a gospel song, become protest, become battle cry of the Civil Rights Movement in our country.  According to the song lyrics, being an overcomer meant victory, walking hand in hand, not being afraid, being set free by the truth, living in peace, and the Lord seeing us through.  Although we like to think our society has made great strides, many are still waiting to overcome.  From those who continue to experience systemic racism to the global poor and the millions of slaves around the world (more than at any other time in history), peace and victory seem like a distant notion they will never attain.

So I continue to pray for these on this broken, messed up planet and hold tight to this promise:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33 NIV

Photo courtesy of Beckieee Davies

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