special needs Archives - Lauren Sparks

I wanted to make some changes here at the house. My husband? Not as much. But once I layed out my vision and assured him it would cost next to nothing, he got on board. Then we got to work. We began by rearranging some furniture and purging and organizing a couple of closets. Well, that just lit my fire. I decided next I needed to clean out my dresser drawers and my computer/work space and our filing cabinet and our linen closet. Three weeks later and we MAY have come to a reasonable stopping point. I say MAY because now I see some spots on walls and baseboards that need touch up paint and so on.

During these three weeks, I walked into several rooms and tried to think completely outside the box about the space. This took some imagination since we have lived in this house for 16 years now and many things sit in much the same place they did then. Over those years we have replaced furniture and freshened bedspreads and curtains, but I can’t honestly say we gave any thought to moving things around. And I have to tell you, some of the things we did 15 years ago, don’t make a whole lot of sense anymore. When our daughter with special needs was small, we made some very necessary decisions to keep some things under lock and key for her safety and our sanity. And while we still have to keep some of those considerations, by simply choosing to look at things differently we definitely streamlined and simplified our space.

In light of the John MacArthur/ Beth Moore kerfuffle that’s been in the media of late, I think it might be time to look at some other things, in addition to my closets, in a new light. I don’t want to go into the whole thing here because it wasn’t glorifying to God (and didn’t make Christ followers look too good either). You have google and can find videos and quotes and comments galore if you choose. My point is, when it comes to matters of our faith, the stakes are too high to just maintain the status quo. We can’t just continue to do things because that’s the way they have always been done. And we can’t continue to believe things just because that’s what we were taught.

We owe it to our own faith and our witness to the Creator to constantly hold up what we are taught and what we believe against the words in God’s Holy Bible. And as beneficial as good books and preaching can be, we can’t simply take the word of others as gold. We have to take the time to study for ourselves. Read the ancient scriptures and then read commentaries (here‘s one I love) and study notes and look up the words in their original language (blueletterbible.org is a great free tool to help with this). The older we grow in our faith, the more we should grow in assurance from study and prayer. Let’s test our faith. We will make it stronger, and maybe find out some things need to be rearranged.

And that lasso? I left it in my linen closet as a sweet reminder of my daughter’s horse themed 5th birthday party. Not EVERYTHING needs to change.

²Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 1 Peter 2:2 NLT

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With temps still over 90 degrees here in the beautiful Dallas, Texas area, it’s hard to believe that we are knocking on October’s door. But the calendar says it is so. We filled our September days with school, work, eye exams and dermatology appointments, church, and tending to loved ones with medical conditions. I got to attend open house at the high school for the first time. Walking my daughter’s schedule at this 3 story behemoth left this country girl breathless and overwhelmed. It sure dwarfs the two hallways that made up my 3A school. I guess that’s one way these kids put all that energy to good use. And once I finally found it, I helped decorate the girl’s locker room to commemorate the start of volleyball district play.

Allie’s team competed in a couple of tournaments which gave me a little PTSD from the club volleyball season. Our girls brought home gold from the second, but Allie brought home a concussion. This is our first foray as a family into head injuries of any kind. And even though it is slight, trainers and doctors take these things very seriously. She has to be symptom free for a week before she can be cleared to play, and so far she has experienced headache, nausea, dizziness and light and sound sensitivity. She is currently doing physical therapy specifically for concussions (which I still don’t completely understand what is – for the record). I had no idea this kind of PT existed, but apparently a combination of ocular exercises, balance work, cardio, and hand eye coordination drills can help the brain reorient more quickly.

On the 19th, a new Sparks was born. A little 5lb 13 oz sweet niece for Chuck and I named Dylan. Can’t wait to meet her in person. And I am adding new gray hairs every day because Allie has her first high school boyfriend. Jesus be near. She is also getting involved in Young Life – where Jesus IS near – and had fun at their annual Crud War. A massive outdoor food fight the likes of which her clothes and our car interior may never recover from.

Chuck and I went to the theater on a double date to see the Downton Abbey movie. After months and months of waiting, it did not disappoint. At home we watched the John Crist comedy special I Got Questions and Too Funny to Fail – a documentary about the rise and fall of The Dana Carvey Show. I always loved his characters. I read Giddy Up, Eunice: Because Women Need Each Other. I was ready for a light and funny snack and I love the podcast the author Sophie Hudson does with Melanie Shankle. I’ve also started reading, and discussing with a friend, Sharing Love Abundantly in Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities by Gary Chapman and Jolene Philo.

I finished the month by turning another year older. I am now officially closer to 50 than to 40. A moment to cry about that, please. But I got to celebrate with a girls’ weekend and then with my twin sister and PawPaw surrounded by family. I can’t think of a better place to be, and I’m so grateful. I’d love to hear what you did this month. What you read or what you watched. Drop me a comment below. And don’t forget, I love you, I thank you, and I hope October treats you well.