nursing homes

Learning to Be a Friend

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17 NKJV

Most of you who follow this blog, know that I have been involved with nursing home ministry for many years. But I will bet that almost no one realizes that it all began with a visit to my friend Darryl, over thirty years ago. Now, I wasn’t really a very good friend for a long time. In fact, if it were not for the persistent and loving prodding of Darryl’s wife, I am not sure I would have finally come. You see, Darryl had suffered a stroke and went to live in a nursing home, that I passed every day on the way to work. My excuses were, I was tired, I was dirty and I didn’t know what they expected me to do. Yup, those are pretty lame excuses and neither God, nor Beverly was taking “No!” for an answer! If God is calling you to do anything, you better believe he is a lot more persistent than you are. As in the old Cosby rendition of Noah and the ark, God sometimes comes to us with the question, “How long can you tread water?” When I finally gave in and surrendered to what God had in mind, I made the amazing discovery, that it is a lot easier (And sometimes even fun!) to do what God asks, than making excuses. No disrespect to Sinatra, but I learned by doing things my way for too long, that God’s way, was way better! I hope you will enjoy my little story and that it will encourage you, to trust Jesus to teach you how to serve by becoming a true friend. After all, Jesus really is the friend who loves at all times!

Behind the Scenes at Nursing home

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments

Some folks probably wonder what in the world we do, week after week at the nursing home. Normally I try sharing a video of our singing, but this week I decided to give you a behind the scenes tour of our meeting. It is touching, informative, uplifting and yes, we even talk a little football! So pull up a chair, get yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee and join us on this exclusive peek at what joy God gives us as we spend precious moments together, lifting up the name of Jesus. Below the video is this week’s newsletter, which we distribute for free at about 12 homes in Florida, New York and Ohio. If you would be interested to receive these or to share them in your community, I would be delighted to connect with you and give you more information. Have a blessed weekend everyone!

2024_02_10_sunshine-weekly-newsletter-1Download

Let Us Have a Little Talk

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Just a Little Talk with Jesus” is part of a series that we record live at the nursing homes that we visit. “Why do we make these videos?” some of you ask. That is a great question! After all The Gaither Vocal Band harmonizes better and Alan Jackson plays way better, as well as an endless array of gospel quartets. But these videos are made to encourage you to reach out and share the joy of worship in the challenging surroundings where our brothers and sisters live at the nursing home. Sometimes nurses walk in front of the camera, you can hear the clatter of plates in the kitchen and one of our dear sisters is making sounds because she cannot communicate, but she listens and enjoys the music. Yet, despite all the issues, people gather every week, the staff makes a great effort to bring as many as possible in for our meetings and people are reminded that Jesus has not forgotten them. Yes, I pray that you will be blessed by our songs, but I also pray that you might answer the call of God to share the hope we have in Jesus in nursing homes in your own community.

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25:40 KJV

For those interested in learning more about Nursing Home Ministry, “Walking With Lambs” is our most complete resource and tells the personal stories of many of the friends I have made over thirty years serving in long term care facilities as well as in home visitation ministry. I have included a number of photos of my precious friends, to help you put faces and smiles, with the concept of Nursing Home Outreach.