1 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:14,000 All right, our last session is parents as allies, not enemies. 2 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:15,680 So go ahead and turn there, if you will. 3 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,000 And I'm going to kind of go a little bit quicker with this one 4 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,240 because of the times I'm going to try to do a hard stop at 3:00 5 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:24,640 here so that we can make sure that we get you ready. 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,440 And obviously our church is not going to look like this 7 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:29,000 tomorrow, so we've got to get the building ready for tomorrow 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,480 as well. But there's a there's a 9 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:34,600 standoff, it says at the top of your lesson, there's a standoff 10 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:36,960 that can often take place in children's ministries, whether 11 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,320 dealing with special needs children or not. 12 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:41,960 So again, this is universal. This isn't just talking about 13 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,480 special needs children, but I would say this is certainly 14 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:47,080 heightened when dealing with special needs families. 15 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,160 Nobody knows the classroom as well as the teacher. 16 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,760 Nobody knows the classroom as well as the teacher. 17 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,960 I think that's in arguable the I would not go to Cassandra, I 18 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,240 would not go to Diane and say, let me tell you what your 19 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:02,240 classroom is like between 10:00 and noon. 20 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,120 And they'd say, well, listen, you're standing behind that 21 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,920 pulpit between 10:00 and noon with adults who aren't talking 22 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,840 back to you for the most part, so you probably don't know 23 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:14,680 what's going on. What do the teachers know? 24 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:16,560 They know the classroom schedule. 25 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,560 They know the subject matter being taught. 26 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:23,000 They know the classroom as a whole, meaning this. 27 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:27,240 They know how Johnny reacts to Susie, who reacts to Sally, who 28 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:29,760 reacts to Billy. They know how all of these 29 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:34,920 characters work together and the teacher has the experience that 30 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:37,800 the teacher brings to the table. So the parent does not 31 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,240 understand the experience of the teacher. 32 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:42,320 They don't know what conferences you've been to, the books you've 33 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:45,200 been reading, the study you've been doing, how many years you 34 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,640 have been teaching. They just do not know those 35 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,240 types of things. But also, on the other hand, 36 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:52,800 nobody knows the child as well as the parent. 37 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:55,160 Nobody knows the child as well as the parent. 38 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,200 We might think we know a child who is in our classroom, but 39 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,320 listen, you cannot know the child as well as the parent 40 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:03,280 knows the child. Like what? 41 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:08,000 Well, the child's abilities, the child's abilities, the child's 42 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:13,000 weaknesses, their child's past issues at church or in a 43 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,880 classroom and their behaviors. The child's abilities, their 44 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,760 child's weaknesses, their child's past issues at church or 45 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:22,800 in a classroom, and their behaviors. 46 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,920 So you've got basically, if you will, two different experts at 47 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:29,640 odds with one another. The one who is in the classroom, 48 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,240 nobody knows the classroom better than the teacher, the 49 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,200 parent, nobody knows the child better than the parent. 50 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,360 So there's going to be this natural tension that's there a 51 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:41,760 little bit. And this is one of the questions 52 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:44,160 we get the most often is one of the questions we just dealt with 53 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,200 a few moments ago. How do you deal with that 54 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,880 natural tension between the one who is actually running the 55 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,720 special needs ministry or helping the special needs mini 56 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,000 ministry and the parent who has their child in that ministry? 57 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,560 Well, this requires A delicate balance in dealing with special 58 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,320 needs parents. We quoted this in our split 59 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:07,720 session a little while ago. Matthew 1016 Be there for wise 60 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,920 as serpents and a harmless as doves. 61 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:14,320 Be therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 62 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,400 A special needs parent can be your best friend, but they can 63 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,200 also be difficult to work with, especially when they're being 64 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,240 unreasonable. Can I tell you what line I had 65 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,000 there first? Can I tell you what I really 66 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,920 wrote? And my wife said that it wasn't 67 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:31,520 smart for me to, to, to put it there. 68 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:34,920 And I, and she's right, but I'm going to say it anyway because I 69 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,480 could say it with context. She was hoping I keep moving. 70 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:40,880 A special needs parent can be your best friend, but they can 71 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,800 also be a nightmare. That's what I originally wrote. 72 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,120 Diane says you can't write that. I said, well, I can't write it, 73 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:49,600 but I could say it. All right, We're special needs 74 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:50,880 parents. We can say it. 75 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,080 All right, listen, I'm just saying, listen, you understand 76 00:03:55,080 --> 00:04:00,480 that there can be that tension that's so thick and so hard that 77 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,520 it's like this is a relationship that just is not working. 78 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:06,360 I'm not saying that person is a nightmare. 79 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,520 I'm just saying that that relationship can very well turn 80 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,480 into a nightmare, especially as we're going to see in a moment 81 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,279 if that special needs parent is being unreasonable. 82 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:19,240 Now, we need to be careful when we assess whether someone is 83 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:23,160 being unreasonable or not. But I will say this, just 84 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,200 because you're a special needs parent doesn't give you carte 85 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:30,840 blanche to be able to demand anything, to say anything or 86 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:34,720 listen listen to this. Or to think that you're above 87 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:39,560 critiques, criticisms, or someone else giving you advice 88 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:42,000 about your child if they give it in the right spirit. 89 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:47,160 And it becomes a nightmare scenario when you are the expert 90 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:49,360 on your own child. But as the expert on your own 91 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,240 child, you don't listen to any other voices because you are the 92 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:57,760 only one that has perspective. Again, I don't believe that God 93 00:04:57,760 --> 00:04:59,200 created the church to be that way. 94 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,960 We saw from First Corinthians chapter 12 that we all have 95 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:03,800 something to offer. We all have something to gain. 96 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:05,560 We're to bear you one another's burdens. 97 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,680 We're also see that we are to offer correction to one another 98 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,000 if it comes in the right spirit. And so we want to be careful. 99 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:13,760 See, that wasn't so bad. And was it the nightmare part? 100 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:16,240 That was good, wasn't it said we'll talk about that when we 101 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:17,040 get home. But anyway. 102 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,600 But no, I and again, I feel like I can say that because we're on 103 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:23,640 the inside being able to say that. 104 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,440 And I could see it myself if I'm not careful to be able to treat 105 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:29,400 other people like that. Well, you don't know my son. 106 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:30,560 You don't know what we're dealing with. 107 00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:32,280 You don't know what kind of stresses we have. 108 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:36,680 Well, OK, but that doesn't give me just the ability to blow 109 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,680 everyone off or blow up at everybody because I am a special 110 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:42,800 needs parent or we are special needs parents. 111 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:45,880 A special needs parent could be your best friend or read that 112 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:46,800 we're not going through that again. 113 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,280 Underneath that, perhaps are there unreasonable in their 114 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:53,960 request for accommodations? It could be unreasonable in 115 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:55,200 their request for accommodations. 116 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,360 Perhaps unreasonable in their request to look the other way 117 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,320 with bad behaviors. Remember we talked about the 118 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:05,880 parents who basically said to the pastor, listen, I know my 119 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:10,200 son is touching these women and these girls in inappropriate 120 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:14,400 ways, but really you need to lay off about that. 121 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:18,440 And the answer is you're being unreasonable in that expectation 122 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,160 to be able to say that because that is not something that we're 123 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:24,840 going to promote. We're not saying that he has any 124 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:27,280 kind of malice in his heart that he's doing those things. 125 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:31,880 We're not trying to say that he is attempting to do something in 126 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,400 violation of these women. But the fact remains, he is 127 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,560 violating the privacy of those women. 128 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,400 And it does need to be addressed. 129 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,720 And we want to address it biblically, lovingly and 130 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,280 caringly. And so yes, they can be 131 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:47,640 unreasonable. We can be unreasonable in that 132 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,360 way because I again, I want to put myself in that group that we 133 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:53,200 our special needs parents and the third one there perhaps 134 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,600 unreasonable in their expectations of you in the 135 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,240 classroom. They could be unreasonable in 136 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,360 their expectations of you in the classroom as well, what they're 137 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:05,480 looking for you to do. And again, to be clear, special 138 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:08,480 needs parents do not have the right to be unreasonable. 139 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:11,320 Special needs parents must also be team players. 140 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,160 And remember that the teacher has a great many students that 141 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,640 they must give an account for. A pastor must account for 142 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,440 everyone within the flock. A teacher must account for 143 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,760 everyone in the classroom. Now that includes your child, 144 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,040 but that also includes all the other children as well and how 145 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,120 they mix together. And so we must make sure that 146 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:33,720 we're thinking of everybody and a special needs parent. 147 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:35,720 And again, I don't know who's watching this or listening to 148 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:37,120 this later. So I'm not just talking to the 149 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,280 people in the room by any stretch of the imagination. 150 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:44,000 But we do not have the right a special needs parents to be able 151 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,600 to make lists of demands and tell the pastor, tell the 152 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:49,480 teacher this is the way that it is. 153 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,120 We are not above critique, criticism. 154 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,240 And again, but we shouldn't be able to be prodded and poked and 155 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:57,320 pushed along a little bit in the right way. 156 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,480 A JS very first developmental pre pediatrician. 157 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:04,840 I'm pretty sure she was in the military, maybe the German 158 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,800 military, I'm not sure, all things considered. 159 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:11,400 So sorry, I mean, I just lost some of you. 160 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:16,280 I'm not sure. But if we weren't ready for our 161 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,560 meetings when we got together, we would see her about every six 162 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,120 months. I mean, she would she would just 163 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:23,560 kind of really give it to us to the point where I felt like she 164 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:25,600 was being a little bit mean, a little bit rude. 165 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,200 Can I tell you she was just what we needed. 166 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,880 She was just what we needed for such a time as this. 167 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,400 Now, do I believe that maybe she had the best demeanor? 168 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,320 Maybe not. But I would tell you this, she 169 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,760 did what she did out of love and care. 170 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:43,960 And in fact, we we dedicated placed a dedication to her in 171 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,040 the back of our first book, sent it to her. 172 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,120 She was already retired. She sent us a beautiful letter 173 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:51,440 back thanking us because we needed Doctor Altman when we had 174 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:53,920 her. And so listen, just because 175 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:55,920 we're special needs parents doesn't mean that we shouldn't 176 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:57,760 listen. Well, you don't understand what 177 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:00,400 I they may not understand, but their understanding comes from a 178 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:02,240 different realm that you might need to hear. 179 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:08,600 So, but do keep this in mind, a special session of these parents 180 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,440 are so used to fighting with medical professionals, educators 181 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,000 and therapists that they might just fight you to as a reflex. 182 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,160 If I could tell you how long we talked to doctors and some of 183 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,080 you that have major health issues that cross several 184 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:21,840 different specialties, you understand this. 185 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:27,160 But AJ has all different types of therapists and doctors, his 186 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:30,200 team of people that he could see at any given time, somewhere 187 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:32,040 around 11:50, professionals long. 188 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:37,440 And when he was with the Tufts Floating hospital and it closed 189 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,400 down about 3 or 4 years ago, Tufts Hospital remains, but 190 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,240 their children's program was basically shrunk down to almost 191 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,680 nothing but just a few core doctors and everyone was just 192 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:49,760 about transferred to Boston Children's. 193 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:53,200 Well, we wanted AJ to stay with the doctors because we like the 194 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:55,760 doctors. Well, that means that he now up 195 00:09:55,760 --> 00:10:01,960 until recently had a doctor in Worcester at U Mass General and 196 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:05,840 he had a doctor at Hasbro that was in North Lincoln, RI. 197 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:09,000 He had a doctor in Boston at BMC. 198 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:11,360 And he has a doctor that he sees in Brockton, which is the 199 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:13,200 closest one, which is right around the corner. 200 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:16,520 And those are the specialists that he sees on a fairly regular 201 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:20,600 basis. And just trying to get the, the, 202 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:24,080 the paperwork moved around, that took about six months forever. 203 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,400 Oh, it's easy on the portal. You just click it and all that. 204 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:28,960 Well, listen, I don't know what your deal with the portal is, 205 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:30,880 but I know about this. Life was easier when they had 206 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:34,920 all my stuff in a Manila folder and the only thing you worried 207 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:36,680 about was a fire. You know what I'm saying? 208 00:10:36,680 --> 00:10:40,480 And now these portals, and now we have special needs child in 209 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:42,520 the Massachusetts. We don't have the right to 210 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:45,920 access to his files once he's thirteen years old. 211 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:50,880 All of that, all that goes back, all of that goes back to the 212 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:55,840 issues of young women or girls being pregnant and having 213 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,760 decisions about abortions and things that parents have no 214 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:02,240 right in the state to know about, which is wicked and 215 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,080 carnal. But we have to get special 216 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,360 permissions just to be able to have the information we need to 217 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:11,720 be able to have for him. It's incredible. 218 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,920 So you're fighting this all the time and then someone in church 219 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,200 comes up to you, maybe has a little bit of an attitude or you 220 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:18,880 just think they're having a little bit of attitude. 221 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:21,280 And your special needs parent, you're like, come on, let's go. 222 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:25,240 You know, let's go. You know, see, now you know why 223 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:29,400 we're nightmares, right? So no, but I'm just saying you 224 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,320 get used to it, you know, and it's not so. 225 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,440 So what I'm saying is even if you have a special needs parent, 226 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,960 you feel like being a little bit unreasonable, understand where 227 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,320 they're coming from. Just just understand the thought 228 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,040 process doesn't make it right, but understand it's almost like 229 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,960 a reflex. Romans 12/18 as much if it be 230 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:50,320 possible, as much as life in you live peaceably with all men. 231 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:53,760 And again, as much as life in you means both parties have to 232 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:55,120 want that. And sometimes the other party 233 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,320 doesn't want it, right? But as much as life in you, you 234 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:01,400 be a peace seeker. So what are some practical ways? 235 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,040 And we're going to talk about this for about the next 20 236 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:05,080 minutes. What are some practical ways you 237 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,040 can make an ally of a special needs parent? 238 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:09,720 Because people ask us all the time, how can I get them on my 239 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:11,000 side? How can we talk to them? 240 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,240 How can we make them understand? How can we make them see? 241 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,360 How can we make them know that we are on their side and that 242 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:18,200 we're not against them? Well, there's some very, I mean, 243 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,040 we're talking about nuts and bolts for a practical ways you 244 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,080 can do this. First of all, listen to them. 245 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:26,280 Just listen to them. Especially these parents have 246 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,200 people lecturing them, talking to them all the time. 247 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,200 And usually it's not always in a great context because AJ can't 248 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,000 tell us certain things. We have to have people tell us 249 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,280 what AJ is doing all the time. So everybody's reporting to us 250 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:41,800 all the time. AJ's teacher every day has to 251 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:44,680 send us an e-mail home, sometimes 2 emails, sometimes 3 252 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:47,600 emails about what's going on during the day, what's coming up 253 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:50,760 during the week, what happened the last few days because I 254 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,120 can't have DJ come home and say, hey, how was school good? 255 00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:58,120 And that's about it. And maybe I can get a little bit 256 00:12:58,120 --> 00:12:59,560 more. And funnily enough, he will give 257 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:02,000 you sometimes a little bit more, but when he's done, he'll say 258 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:03,920 that's about it, That's about it. 259 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:06,240 I'm all done here, I'm all done, that's about it. 260 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,760 And so we're constantly receiving reports all the time. 261 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:13,840 But you know, we don't always have someone to be able that 262 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,720 listens to be able to say, so you want to have a special needs 263 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,040 pair, just say, say you want to talk to them. 264 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,160 They're used to being lectured. They're used to being given bad 265 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:23,440 news. Those are those first two lines. 266 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,520 They're used to being lectured. They're used to being given bad 267 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:28,120 news. Talk to them and listen to their 268 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:32,120 heart, their stresses, their fears, and their insights. 269 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:35,960 Just talk to them. I will tell you one of the best 270 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,320 things you can do in counseling, and I don't find myself to be an 271 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,240 exceptionally strong counselor. My wife is a much better 272 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,040 counselor than I am, but I don't find myself to be an exceptional 273 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,960 strong counselor. But I will tell you this, the 274 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:51,000 best move that you can make in counseling is probably listening 275 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:55,920 75% and talking about 25%. That's probably the sweet spot 276 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:57,760 somewhere in there. And when you're a pastor, as a 277 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:02,360 counselor, you just want to talk 75% and listen 25% because 278 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,800 that's what we do all the time. We talk right? 279 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:06,400 And we talk and we talk and we talk. 280 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:08,840 You know, if you just listen more, you get it right? 281 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,400 But listening, the old saying is true. 282 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,800 God gave us 2 ears and one mouth to remind us we probably should 283 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:19,160 listen twice as much as we talk. When dealing with a special 284 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,920 needs parent, just be willing to talk to go get a coffee with 285 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,160 them and say, I know you're struggling right now. 286 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:27,720 Do you want to talk about it? You know, maybe they don't want 287 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:32,360 to, but you still open the door. You still were, were showing 288 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:34,040 that you cared. And a lot of these 289 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,800 relationships, special needs families, typically they will 290 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,240 take time. Typically it'll take a while for 291 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:42,560 them to trust you. Typically it'll take a time for 292 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:44,880 for them to realize you have their best interests at heart. 293 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:47,560 Some people they're just all in right away. 294 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,320 Like I mentioned the gentleman that just came a couple weeks 295 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,120 ago with a special needs child that Dave 2 invited to to 296 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:55,440 church. I'm going to start calling you 297 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:56,720 guys. That's like thing one and thing 298 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,120 two. It's like Dave one, Dave 2, Dave 299 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:03,080 3, Dave 4, Dave 5, Dave the 5th, you know, it's just, I don't 300 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,640 know. But the, the, they came right 301 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:08,160 away. Joe was all in. 302 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:09,800 Like, I've been looking for this, I've been looking for 303 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:11,560 this. I'll drive, I'll drive 45 304 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:13,000 minutes if I have to. I've been looking for this. 305 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:15,640 A lot of times people are a little bit more standoffish. 306 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:17,560 So just talk, make an appointment. 307 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:22,840 We'll look at this in a moment. I mean so much about church 308 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:23,880 growth. And so, and I'm not talking 309 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,800 about church growth and numbers, but church growth in general is 310 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,560 about visitation, is about being in people's homes. 311 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,160 If you're a teacher, and I will say this, if you are a, a 312 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,800 teacher, you need to be in your students homes at least once or 313 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:38,720 twice a year to be able to talk to them. 314 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,280 You see, you'll be able to learn a lot by going in someone's 315 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:43,200 home. You'll be able to learn a lot by 316 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,400 seeing a lot about the life. And I don't know what your 317 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:48,520 church visitation program is. It's not my business. 318 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,240 Some people do it weekly, some people do it monthly, some just 319 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,680 do it more regularly. That's between you and the Lord. 320 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,800 But I will say this, if you want to be able to see real growth in 321 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,840 a ministry, just be in people's homes and talk to him to visit 322 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:01,040 with him. What do I say? 323 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:03,520 We're just saying, Hey, I, I try to visit all my students homes 324 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:05,640 once a year. Can I, can I come over and see 325 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:07,280 you? And I will tell you, you'll see 326 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,640 growth, not even necessary numbers, but just in the fact 327 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,040 that you're willing to go that sometimes they don't want that. 328 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:14,280 They may not like that. But maybe you could say, well, 329 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,480 maybe could we meet at Duncan? Maybe we can meet at at our 330 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:18,800 house. Those are things that you can 331 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:20,200 do. I would suggest if you're going 332 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,560 to have a good conversation with someone, don't go to Duncan. 333 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,240 I've made this mistake several times in my ministry and somehow 334 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:28,840 I keep making the same mistake because it's just so accessible. 335 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:31,680 But it's, if you go in the afternoon, it's probably fine. 336 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:33,440 But in the morning, there's so many people going in and out. 337 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,960 There's buzzers and beeps and boops and bops and all these 338 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:38,480 different things. And I was talking with a man who 339 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,400 had a very difficult problem and he also had a speech impediment, 340 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:43,840 an older man. And we were at Duncan and I felt 341 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:45,920 like I was just doing this most of the time, like Lord fill in 342 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:48,800 the gaps because I can't hear half of what he's saying. 343 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:52,760 And so, so be aware even with that, but just listen to them. 344 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,120 And again, it's, it's one of the many reasons why you should be 345 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:57,640 visiting the homes of your students. 346 00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,040 It's one of the many reasons you should be visiting the homes of 347 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:02,840 your students. It's been hard for us to have 348 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,160 people in our home the last few years because of my wife's 349 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:06,480 health. It's been difficult because 350 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:08,480 sometimes we can make plans and we don't know how she'll be 351 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:09,960 feeling. And so it's hard. 352 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,960 But I've just kind of on my own, just if I can go visit somebody 353 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,200 or we can go different places. And sometimes we have been able 354 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,119 on holidays and different things to be able to do things or 355 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:20,920 people know that we invite them. And if we have to say no, that 356 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:23,400 that's OK too. We just do what we can, but I'll 357 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:27,560 tell, I tell you, you can't really forge good relationships 358 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,920 with the people in your church in just a small amount of time 359 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,480 that you have unless you can work on the outside and 360 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:35,360 especially if it's someone that comes on Sunday morning. 361 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:38,360 You got one hour a week and you probably are talking to them for 362 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,920 a total of a minute and a half. Just had that same couple I was 363 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,360 talking about with that child a little bit ago. 364 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:46,720 They just been coming on Sunday mornings for a while. 365 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:48,000 They made a decision a few weeks ago. 366 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,520 We need to be coming on Wednesday night too. 367 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:50,560 Been working with them for a while. 368 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:51,680 We need to be coming on Wednesday night. 369 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:53,880 And he told me this on Wednesday night. 370 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:55,880 He said I feel like my church loves me again. 371 00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,080 But then he said this. He said, but it really wasn't 372 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:04,320 them, it was me because I wasn't around as much as he should be. 373 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:05,960 You know, they were here on Sunday mornings. 374 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,480 So when people are in that place, you compensate by trying 375 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:12,960 to get where they are and being where they are and pray that 376 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,400 over time they get back to where they need to be like this family 377 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:16,600 is. So listen to them. 378 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:19,120 Next, ask them the best ways to connect with their child. 379 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:21,600 Ask them the best ways to connect your child. 380 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,440 You know, you could try to figure out how to connect with 381 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,360 AJ on your own. And in fact, if you try, praise 382 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:30,200 the Lord, that's a blessing for us to watch that. 383 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:32,160 But you know, you could also, especially in a teaching 384 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,240 situation, talk to the parents. The parents will know what works 385 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:38,720 and what doesn't with a caveat, and we'll talk about that in a 386 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,240 moment. Allow them to share the ways 387 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:45,000 that their child will learn best and incorporate those into your 388 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,240 classroom. Allow them to share the ways 389 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,960 that their child learns best and incorporate those items into 390 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:52,960 your classroom. There's some things that you 391 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:56,440 could do in your classroom with AJ that would work very well. 392 00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:57,840 There's some other things that might not. 393 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:00,200 You know, if you mentioned cats, you're probably going on a 394 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,160 tangent for a while. And so we got to be careful 395 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,200 about that. And so a parent would know that. 396 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:08,320 Learn what senses you can incorporate and which one should 397 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,600 be avoided. So Diane talked at length about 398 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,360 adapting the environment. Well, you might want to talk 399 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,040 with a parent ahead of time about sensory issues. 400 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:20,280 Maybe you notice that child in church is putting his hand over 401 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:23,040 his ears. Can you get can you get 402 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,200 earphones? Can you buy fidget spinners or 403 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,560 any type of fidget toys? Again, you can look at those on 404 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,120 Amazon. For 20 bucks, you can get a 405 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:33,720 bucket of probably 50 of them and all kinds of different 406 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:35,040 kinds. And it's funny because adults 407 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:37,960 like use them too when we hand them around, then they stop 408 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:39,840 listening to me and they're just like, you know, it's out. 409 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:43,520 Like that's it's not to help you ignore me. 410 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:45,720 It's to help you focus on me. That's that's how you know 411 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:47,720 whether you need them or not. If you're just doing it and 412 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:49,360 you're ignoring what's going on, you don't need it. 413 00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:51,160 All right? If you're doing it, it helps you 414 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:52,680 focus. Like, OK, you needed that. 415 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,040 Remember when every gas station at fidget spinners like 6 or 416 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:56,960 seven years ago, they're like, Hey, these are great. 417 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:00,280 It's like they're actually a tool for for people, you know, 418 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:02,560 be like walking around crutches, Like, isn't this cool, man? 419 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:04,360 I got a crutch. It's like, do you need one? 420 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:07,000 No, but it's cool, man. It's, you know, it's like. 421 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:10,240 I don't think that's what it's for, just for anyone to just 422 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:11,960 grab it. But OK, I mean, that's cool. 423 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:16,400 Don't reinvent the wheel. Utilize any resources the 424 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:18,040 parents may have. You know what would be really 425 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,520 interesting to find out in a conversation with a parent? 426 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,680 That they use a PEC system and they have things that they want 427 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:26,680 to give you. Wait, you mean I don't have to 428 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:29,240 make all those things up? You may not because they might 429 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,440 have everything already. They might have the things that 430 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:33,840 you need, but you don't know that if you don't have a 431 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:36,600 conversation with them, but also understand this, remember that 432 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:39,520 that caveat, be prepared. The parents may not have all the 433 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:41,840 answers, especially the diagnosis is new. 434 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:44,720 In that case, be ready with some suggestions to try. 435 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,840 You might be. This is where it could get a 436 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:49,200 little tricky. You might think that you're 437 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,600 throwing a lifeline to a parent, but you could be throwing them 438 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,520 an anchor because they might be really new at this and like I, I 439 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:57,160 don't know, I don't know what to do. 440 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,480 So already have some suggestions ready. 441 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:04,360 Perhaps if that's the case, or if they don't know exactly what 442 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:06,080 to do, just let them know something like this. 443 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,240 It's what I do when people ask me a question about the Bible 444 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:10,880 that I don't know. The answer is I don't know that 445 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,120 I know the answer to that right now, but I'll find out for you. 446 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,240 You know, what do I do for a child that's dyslexic that just 447 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,400 comes in, I don't know, but I'm going to find out for you. 448 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:19,600 I'm going to work on that for you. 449 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:22,440 You know what happens and we feel like we have to have all 450 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,120 the answers right away. Listen, and that's because of 451 00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:28,200 the society. I mean, even now with AI, people 452 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:30,280 get answers about anything within 10 seconds. 453 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,200 Like we thought search engines were quick. 454 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:37,040 I mean, search engines are slow compared to what AI is. 455 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:38,600 So everybody wants an answer right away. 456 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:41,080 But it may just be, hey, I don't know how to help your child. 457 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:43,520 It doesn't sound like you know what we should do right now, but 458 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:44,880 we're going to work on this together. 459 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,120 Again, parents understand and appreciate the heart of that. 460 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:50,120 OK, got to move faster. Got to move faster. 461 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:52,640 Allow them to see your child and classroom. 462 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:54,960 They shouldn't see their child. All right? 463 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:57,560 They already see their child. Allow them to see your church or 464 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:02,280 classroom on an off day. On an off day, if you have a 465 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,560 child, parents are a little bit hesitant about your junior 466 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:06,680 church. They're a little bit hesitant 467 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:08,480 about the space. Just say, you know, pastor will 468 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:11,000 probably let us come in on a Saturday and be able to look 469 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,640 around the church, be able to see what's going on in the 470 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:15,280 church. Perhaps you would notice some 471 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,880 things. Listen, even a child with 472 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,200 sensory issues, a smell could be something that could be really 473 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,400 hard. We smell a smell that we don't 474 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:25,920 like and we just ignore it. Maybe we're a little bit 475 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,600 annoyed. To a child with sensory 476 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:32,160 processing disorder, it could literally be painful to us. 477 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:36,840 That sounds wild, doesn't it? That, But again, when, when the 478 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,840 neurological system has wires crossed, if we could put it that 479 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,360 way, all of a sudden something that shouldn't be painful is 480 00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:43,760 painful. Sometimes for them, something 481 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:45,720 that should be painful is not so painful. 482 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:49,120 And so maybe it's going in an off day saying, hey, let's look 483 00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:50,840 around. Why don't you explore the space? 484 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,840 Why don't you ask any questions before the kids come around? 485 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,560 Maybe we can even show you some of the things that we do and you 486 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,760 can give suggestions, see if there's any problematic sensory 487 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,360 issues in the classroom that can be avoided or at least be 488 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:03,880 minimized. Again, you can't change the 489 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,680 color of the paint on the wall. That's not necessarily the case. 490 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,160 But you could find out that maybe you don't need all of the 491 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,760 memory verses on poster board around the room hung up from the 492 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:15,920 last six months because it's too distracting. 493 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:18,760 Our previous teacher was wonderful in so many ways, but 494 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,800 after every memory verse, she just left them on the board. 495 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:25,640 And so we almost wallpapered the wall just of poster boards with 496 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:27,600 memory verses. It was distracting to me 497 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,000 walking. It's like there's scripture 498 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,120 everywhere. And not that having scripture 499 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:32,880 everywhere is bad, but it's like, where do I focus? 500 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:35,680 What do I look at? And imagine a sensory processing 501 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:37,520 disorder. That could be something easy to 502 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,120 change. All right, next, create an IEP 503 00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:43,600 for their child. Now, if you're not familiar with 504 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,080 the term IEP, it is an Individualized Education Program 505 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:50,440 used by the schools for special needs children and IEP. 506 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:55,360 I'm sorry, Plan. Yeah. 507 00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:57,480 So it's plan. OK, we got that on down there 508 00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:58,080 wrong. That's right. 509 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,640 So an individualized education plan, you can put program. 510 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,960 It's P2, but it's just, it's not see nightmare, remember? 511 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:09,640 So the nightmare is I got that wrong. 512 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:15,720 But the idea is, is this in the public school system, a child, 513 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,640 let's say like AJ, who would not be able to go through and do the 514 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:22,960 classes that everyone else would be able to do the same way the 515 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:26,280 law requires them to put together a program of what he is 516 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,720 able to do. So it holds the school 517 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,000 accountable, holds the teachers accountable, also gives us 518 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,120 reasonable expectations of what he's able to do and reasonable 519 00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,720 expectations for assessment. Now, the IEP, as it's done in 520 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:41,040 the school is somewhere between 20 and 30 pages long and it 521 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,840 takes us over 2 1/2 hours to be able to go through it. 522 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,120 Nightmare. That is a nightmare. 523 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:48,400 Let me tell you, you've probably dealt with that before. 524 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:53,600 It is, it's needed, but it is so tedious and so hard to be able 525 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:55,800 to go through. I am not suggesting you do that. 526 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:59,920 What I am saying is to have a plan, just put together a plan. 527 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,080 You don't need to have it all. Everyone sign the document like 528 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:04,920 it's a Founding fathers document. 529 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:07,440 You know, you don't need to do anything like that, but just put 530 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,520 something in writing. Even if you don't necessarily 531 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:11,560 prepare, prepare it and present it to the parent. 532 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,560 But just so you know what is necessary, what adaptations are 533 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:19,800 needed or what kind of inclusion that you're looking for. 534 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,360 Maybe you want to write down with this child, we want to be 535 00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:28,120 upstairs for the next two months for 5 minutes and then two 536 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:30,680 months after that, we're going to do this in two months. 537 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:37,720 Anything that is not planned is not necessarily anything that's 538 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,000 not planned in this way is more of a dream than anything else. 539 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,800 You know, it's just a real goal is here's the plan, here's what 540 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:46,160 we're going to do here's in two months. 541 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:47,840 And if it doesn't work in two months, it's OK. 542 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:50,040 It's not a big deal, but at least that's what you're moving. 543 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:52,400 And by the way, also gives you something to pray for about two, 544 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,040 which we'll look at in a moment. Now, this does not need to be 545 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:57,200 complicated. It could include items like a 546 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:00,520 visual schedule, the use of store manipulatives, or breaks 547 00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,320 outside the typical classroom routine. 548 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:04,960 Breaks outside the typical classroom routine would be 549 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:11,440 adapting the, the, the, what was that last one, the conditions. 550 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,040 Thank you. I, I knew, I knew it was #3 on 551 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:15,200 that list, but I couldn't remember it. 552 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:21,040 It's adapting the conditions. AJ for a while was able to in a 553 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,800 classroom setting, say I need a break and was able to leave with 554 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:26,160 somebody when he said I need a break. 555 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:27,760 Now we got to the point where he didn't need a break. 556 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,240 He just wanted to leave. And that's always said, oh, you 557 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:32,760 don't need that anymore. But for a while that was 558 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:34,880 necessary and that was helpful to keep him in. 559 00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,680 Those are the kind of things that you can have in a plan and 560 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,120 make it a collaborative, collaborative effort as best you 561 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:42,320 can. You are not like Moses with the 562 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:46,520 10 commandments coming down from the mount and you are not the 563 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,640 the educator that is coming down and presenting this to the 564 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:51,200 parent. Just working on this together. 565 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:53,720 Again, you're wanting to be an ally, so you're working on this 566 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:54,720 together. All right? 567 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:57,160 Regularly talk to them about what you're doing in the 568 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,320 classroom. Regularly talk to them about 569 00:27:00,320 --> 00:27:01,560 what you're doing in the classroom. 570 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,800 Their child may not be able to talk to them about what's going 571 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:09,360 on in the classroom, so make regular reports to mom and dad. 572 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:11,680 So why do you do it? Because AJ is not going to tell 573 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,600 me what's going on in class. Now, you and I both know the 574 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,680 dreaded handout, especially if you got them from the quarterly 575 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,920 leaflets that come from whatever curriculum you might use. 576 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:24,880 That really those are just used to give something for people to 577 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:27,840 pick up and throw away later on. Because I find those leaflets 578 00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:29,840 all over the church. It seems like that's the way 579 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:31,960 that it is. So a lot of us have a negative 580 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,360 opinion of handouts, but handouts are good for special 581 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:37,760 needs children because it gives something for mom and dad to 582 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:40,320 latch on when they get home and review with them. 583 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,120 OK, now I know if if Diane was not the teacher in the 584 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:45,160 classroom. Now I know what they covered 585 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:47,920 that day because even though I wasn't in the classroom. 586 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,280 And again, he can't tell me how the classroom is going. 587 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,440 So it's nice to hear from a teacher once in a while how 588 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,000 things are going. Would able send something home 589 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,120 so that the parents can reinforce what you've been 590 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:00,760 teaching in the classroom? Again, you're only with them for 591 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,720 two hours, maybe a maybe one hour a week. 592 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:07,080 You need the parents to reinforce what you're teaching. 593 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:08,760 So make it easier for the parents. 594 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,960 And by the way, don't just talk about problems, talk about 595 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,320 successes. This is not about special needs, 596 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:17,040 but I can tell you this is the case. 597 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,920 We have a woman that comes to our church and I remember 598 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:24,840 probably about two years ago or so, I got, I went to her after 599 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:28,040 church and I just said, I said, Hey, I need to tell you. 600 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:29,200 I need to talk to you about something. 601 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:33,800 And the look of panic on her face when I said I need to talk 602 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:35,760 to you about something. I don't know what her church 603 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:37,000 background. I know what her church 604 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,560 background is, but I don't know, it was obvious that maybe 605 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:41,960 there's been times in the past when the pastor came up to her 606 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:43,600 and said, I need to talk to you about something. 607 00:28:43,600 --> 00:28:45,960 It was always negative because she looked at me immediately 608 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:48,400 like it was fight or flight. Do you know what I mean? 609 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:50,160 Like I got to, I don't know what's about to happen. 610 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:55,680 So what I I said listen, I just want to tell you you're always 611 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,800 so pleasant when I preach and you smile and you nod your head. 612 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:00,560 I just want to say thank you. I don't know what you thought I 613 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,760 was going to say. I just wanted to say thank you 614 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:04,640 because it blesses. It blessed my heart. 615 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:08,520 You can just see her just like exhale, like, oh, that's what it 616 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:11,440 was special need parents. If they see you coming up to 617 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,360 them after church, the teacher, you what are they thinking? 618 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:19,280 Uh oh, yeah, it's so you already said it before I said uh oh, oh, 619 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,840 spaghetti OS right, you know, and it's like, no, it would be 620 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:24,480 great. Say, hey, I need to talk to you. 621 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:27,800 What? I wish you know, Billy had a 622 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:31,280 great day today. Oh, really? 623 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:33,720 He had a great day. And just immediately that means 624 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:35,600 a lot to special needs parents. You want to talk about getting 625 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:37,760 someone on your side? That would be a wonderful thing. 626 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:40,440 Got to move quickly. Make a point to focus on their 627 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,000 other children. Make a point to focus on their 628 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:44,400 other children. Again, if you want to make 629 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,040 special needs parents, your allies, remember likely that 630 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:50,280 special needs child has other siblings. 631 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:53,800 I'll tell you, there's a there's a young man at a church that we 632 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,280 have ministered to in the past. He's about 7 years old. 633 00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:01,440 He has prune belly syndrome. He has a host of other physical 634 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:03,400 needs. He's going to need a new liver, 635 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,240 kidney, liver. He's gonna need a new. 636 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:11,000 He's gonna need a new organ. She's not watching, but she is 637 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,600 watching. Hey, Julie. 638 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:19,120 But so I would tell you that he's got the he's seven years 639 00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:21,240 old. He's got these little glasses 640 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,000 that are just so cute and he's just he just want to, you know, 641 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,360 I don't, I don't know what that is, but you know, I just he's so 642 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:32,840 cute, but he also has siblings and it's so easy to say, Oh, 643 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:34,840 Paul, man, I love you Paul, you're so great. 644 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:39,320 And the siblings like, you know, and you know, you have to be 645 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:42,000 careful not to just get so focused on that one child you're 646 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,520 working with, you're helping, could be cute, maybe they're not 647 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:47,440 cute, whatever it is, but you're so focused on them. 648 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:50,120 Work on the other children as well. 649 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,160 I'll tell you, we've been so blessed at liberty that the 650 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,280 people who've cared for Bethany and Kaylee and Peyton, we know 651 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:58,560 they love AJ, but they love all of our kids and that means so 652 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,040 much to us. So focus. 653 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:04,440 Many special needs families have siblings that often get lost in 654 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:06,720 the shuffle. Be sure to love on all of the 655 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,120 siblings and not just to lavish attention on the special needs 656 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:13,440 child. Next, find ways that their child 657 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,320 can shine when the children have activities or perform in front 658 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:18,600 of the church. Diane already talked about this. 659 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:21,360 Think about inclusion when you're having a class outing or 660 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:23,520 activity. You may not always do this, but 661 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:26,800 we try quarterly to have a children's activity where we go 662 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,360 outside after a Sunday morning. It could be something in the 663 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:31,760 church or we just have a video afternoon or video. 664 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,600 We show a video and have some pizza or something like that. 665 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:37,720 Just make sure that everyone is able to be a part. 666 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,240 Think about inclusion when your class will be doing something in 667 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:42,320 a church service, singing, reciting verses. 668 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:46,560 A JS class, that teacher that had all of those verses all over 669 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,520 the room. She also wanted the children to 670 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:52,600 remember the books of the Bible. AJ was not going to remember the 671 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:55,480 books of the Bible, but they came out in front of the church 672 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:58,600 and AJ said with the class, the 1st 5. 673 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:02,400 And I would tell you she got teary eyed. 674 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:05,760 She was just as excited about AJ saying the five as she was about 675 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:08,600 the rest saying the 66. You know what that meant to us. 676 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:10,280 My goodness that she thought about. 677 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:12,240 We didn't we didn't coach her up on that. 678 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,760 She just said, AJ, you can't memorize 66, but I bet you can 679 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:18,480 say 5. You know, Leviticus little bit 680 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,760 hard Deuteronomy, you know, but he got them done. 681 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:22,240 You know what a blessing that was. 682 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,040 Rejoice at the rejoice at the victories. 683 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,240 No matter how small. Parents want to know you're 684 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:30,440 invested in helping teach their child. 685 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:33,760 Remind them about progress that has been made over a longer 686 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,440 period of time. When we went to that that 687 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:38,920 restaurant, the four of us and talked to that couple. 688 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:42,360 And it was a long time that we talked and we worked and there 689 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:43,960 were ups and downs and ups and downs. 690 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:47,240 But do you know, I look on Wednesday nights and I see that 691 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,240 young lady sitting about right about there when the the rows 692 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:54,480 are out and she's sitting there just listening and she's growing 693 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:58,040 in the Lord. And now she's about 8-9. 694 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:00,080 Yeah. And, and I just see what 695 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:01,560 happened. And sometimes I just have to 696 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:05,880 remind dad specifically said look, look at what God's done in 697 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:07,680 her life. You know, just just remember 698 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,440 you, you you didn't even think you could sit in church four 699 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:12,360 years ago and look at what God's done. 700 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:14,600 And obviously he's used you all as well. 701 00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:17,000 You know, you make it clear to the parents he's used you. 702 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:20,160 But give God the glory for that. Don't get discouraged. 703 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:21,960 You know, parents need to hear that. 704 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:23,920 And then pray for them regularly. 705 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,120 Galatians 6 to bear you one another's burdens and so fulfill 706 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:30,360 the law of Christ. Here's what I want to leave you 707 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:33,440 with today. For the next 24 seconds, I have 708 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:35,800 to speak to you. Maybe we'll fudge after three 709 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:39,920 just a little bit, but not much. We can talk about all of these 710 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:43,440 things and you know what? What's a tip you can give me 711 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:44,600 with this? What's a tool you can give me 712 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:46,200 there? These are all good. 713 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:47,800 I mean, that's why we're doing it. 714 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:51,160 But I will tell you this. None of them replace prayer. 715 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:55,200 James 15. I've worn it out in the word of 716 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,640 God. I'm glad that he gives to all 717 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:02,880 men liberally, because if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of 718 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,720 God again. If we want to be a tool and a 719 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,280 resource to help to you, but there's no one that will be a 720 00:34:08,280 --> 00:34:12,480 greater tool and resource to you than your Heavenly Father, go to 721 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:14,800 him first. Pray for that child. 722 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:18,239 Pray for insight about that child who knows the child better 723 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:21,639 than the parents. Start there. 724 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:23,239 Start there. I'm not saying these other 725 00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:25,400 resources aren't good. That's why we're here. 726 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:27,440 That's why we were here the last several hours. 727 00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:30,120 But I would say this, none of this is at the exclusion of 728 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:31,639 prayer. Prayer is first. 729 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:34,840 Pray for that child. It's hard to really have angst 730 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:38,199 against a child you're praying for every day just like this. 731 00:34:38,199 --> 00:34:39,520 We pray for our enemies. Why? 732 00:34:39,639 --> 00:34:41,679 Because it's really hard to have hatred in your heart for someone 733 00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:44,040 that you pray for every day. That's why. 734 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:46,560 One of the many reasons God wants us to do so, to make sure 735 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:48,880 we are who we need to be. So how? 736 00:34:49,199 --> 00:34:51,120 Well, how am I supposed to go forward with our special needs 737 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:52,239 ministry? We'll pray about it. 738 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:54,199 Well, Pastor, I don't think we can have a special needs 739 00:34:54,199 --> 00:34:56,040 ministry, but we have these special needs children we're 740 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:57,920 supposed to minister to pray about it. 741 00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:01,840 I don't know what angle I can get to be able to really reach 742 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:03,040 their heart, to reach their mind. 743 00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:05,720 Pray about it. Pray regularly. 744 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:07,920 I'll tell you this, when you pray for that child every day, 745 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:11,160 it's a lot easier to interact with that parent because you 746 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,800 have had that child so much on your heart, so much in your 747 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:15,520 life. Last story and I'm done. 748 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:19,760 We were told we could we could share this story just a few a 749 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:23,520 few a little a few moments ago. But, and I will tell you the 750 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:26,680 quick version of it, but a few years ago, our very first fit 751 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:29,640 conference when I got to meet Eddie and Eddie was everywhere 752 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:34,320 here in the building. And I was so proud just getting 753 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:37,600 to meet your family that you that you came and that you came 754 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:39,440 for the time that you did. They couldn't stay the whole 755 00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:43,200 time, but they came anyway and then came again the next year. 756 00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:47,440 And I know there's a lot of people, including Dunbar, going 757 00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:50,800 down and praying with him every Sunday and then knowing there's 758 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:54,080 others wonderful people in the church that that want that love 759 00:35:54,080 --> 00:36:00,560 Eddie and love him so very much. I will tell you one of the best 760 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:04,640 moments I've had that we've had in special needs ministry was 761 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,000 when Miss Ellen emailed us probably about six months ago or 762 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,920 so, somewhere around there. And she told us the story of how 763 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,200 Eddie came to know Jesus Christ as his Savior. 764 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:17,600 If, if you would ask me that first time, we were talking 765 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:19,560 about a lot about trains. Was it a lot about trains that 766 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:22,480 day? Cats, trains, you know, whatever 767 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:25,520 it is, it's just, you know, if you'd ask me, hey, is this kid 768 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:27,960 going to be able to understand and comprehend the gospel and 769 00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:30,720 call upon Christ as Savior? My answer would have been no. 770 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:34,240 But there was a reason like the old preacher says, God's God and 771 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:38,240 you ain't, you know why? I'm not God and I don't know. 772 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:40,800 But there was some people that just faithfully kept plugging 773 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:42,760 away. There's a Mama and a dad. 774 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:44,840 There were some faithful children's workers. 775 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:48,240 There was a pastor who just kept plugging away and plugging away 776 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,680 and plugging away. And before you know it, what 777 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:53,800 happened? Well, he's a brother in Christ 778 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:56,240 now. That's pretty awesome. 779 00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:58,680 You know, what if we just pulled up the carpet on this whole 780 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:01,280 special needs thing and said, well, I don't think we're going 781 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:03,160 to do this anymore. We'll leave the mantle for 782 00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:06,400 someone else to do it. I'd say we were pretty fulfilled 783 00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:08,720 just by getting that testimony right there. 784 00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:11,360 Now I pray there's a whole lot more testimonies just like him, 785 00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:14,360 but this is what God has in store for you. 786 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:18,360 If you just pray and you be faithful and you do the hard 787 00:37:18,360 --> 00:37:22,960 thing again, The, the, the, the what she referenced before is 788 00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:25,360 true. The easy thing is to do nothing 789 00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:27,720 with these children, but every day it gets harder. 790 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:32,120 The hard thing is to address it right away, but then every day 791 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:35,000 gets a little bit easier. Before, if you don't do nothing 792 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:37,480 in a few years, it's going to be unmanageable. 793 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:41,080 You don't know what to do. If you address it now, in a few 794 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:44,680 years, you're going to look back and say, look what God has done. 795 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:47,360 And so that's what we encourage you with here today. 796 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:49,680 Our heavenly Father, we do thank you for this time. 797 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:51,680 I thank you for these dear people taking time out of their 798 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:53,400 day. I thank you for the people who 799 00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:58,000 are watching online that we have the technological capability to 800 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,840 do this. Lord, it's, it's incredible. 801 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:04,920 We thank you that there are people watching literally on two 802 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:07,560 different continents being helped today. 803 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:09,080 We, we give you the glory for that. 804 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,840 But Lord, I, I know that each person came here with a heavy 805 00:38:11,840 --> 00:38:14,080 heart. They came here with a purpose. 806 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:17,800 We pray that we've been a help today that we can continue to be 807 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:20,360 a help in the future that our resources can be as well. 808 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:24,560 But I pray for more eddies Lord, that will accept Christ as their 809 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:28,040 savior and Lord, even if they're these young people are in a 810 00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:29,760 place where they never are able to. 811 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,960 We hear the gospel that they're just safe with you below the age 812 00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:37,200 of accountability for their unique situation. 813 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:39,400 Lord, help us just keep preaching Christ to them. 814 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:43,160 Lord help us to keep teaching them about you and so fulfill 815 00:38:43,160 --> 00:38:45,320 the Great Commission. Lord, give safe travel to 816 00:38:45,320 --> 00:38:47,480 everyone as they head home. And Lord, I pray that they'd all 817 00:38:47,480 --> 00:38:51,400 have wonderful services tomorrow as we ask humbly for here at 818 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:53,800 Liberty as well. And we ask it in Jesus name, 819 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:54,720 Amen.