Long term care

Getting Ready for Christmas in 21

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And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. Luke 1:26-27 KJV

“What in the world are these guys thinking?” I have often said, when I turn the corner in a store and see people stocking Christmas merchandise right after Labor Day. While it might seem silly to me; the dollars cents that those stores rake in over the holidays show that their Christmas preplanning works and today’s verse tells us that God is into early planning too. Remember that, He sent first angels, then shepherds and finally wise men, to tell people that something amazing was happening in Bethlehem. Why shouldn’t we, who do ministry in nursing homes do some early planning as well? Though Christmas is still seven weeks away it is time to begin planning and putting together a special event for the seniors in those communities that we visit. I began weekly visits into long term care facilities thirty years ago and a lot of things have changed, especially since Covid. Sadly, one thing has remained constant – most seniors will be alone for Christmas. With the old statistic of 75% of residents not receiving a visit over the entire year, made worse by the pandemic, it is more urgent than ever that we prepare as far in advance to make this Christmas different. Let’s mobilize all our forces to share the love and hope that Jesus came to bring to as many as possible!

“Where do I start?” you might ask, and for each of us the answer may be slightly different. Over the next week I will be sharing a variety of practical ideas that we have used over the years and I would love to hear from you any of yours. Please share because what you have learned could be a blessing to others who see the need and wonder how they can make a difference in their city.  Today I have included a video showing what our small prayer group has done this year. We are just a group of 12 people who share an urgency to do what we can, with what we have, to reach our community for Jesus Christ this Christmas. I really would love to hear from you if you are doing outreach into long term care communities (Including prisons) as to what has worked for you and what you have planned for this year. Stay tuned tomorrow as I launch into a nuts and bolts “How to” session on program prep. God bless and have a wonderful day!

Thursday Morning Sunshine

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As I mentioned last week three of us in nursing home ministry have been producing a weekly devotional which we call The Sunshine Newsletter. Our writers are Pastor Janice Burnett, who is a chaplain and oversees the outreach into several nursing homes in Western New York as well as my friend Rob Keller who is a professional graphic designer as well as a writer of devotionals. Our free publication goes into about 9 different long term care facilities in Florida and New York. Each Thursday I will be posting a revised version of the Newsletter for my readers. We purposely are not copyrighting the material so as to make it freely available to as many people as possible. If you know anyone in the long term care community including, staff members, family, residents or volunteers, please feel free to either contact me for future issues of you may copy and share our weekly issues. Though our writing is tailored to those whose world is regulated by long term care, you may be surprised how the content touches you. After all, the unexpected invades each of our lives more often than we like and lets us know that we are far less in control of our world than we may believe!

Through a Father’s Eyes by Rob Keller

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 ESV

As a father and as an artist, I was thrilled when my son said, “I want to learn how to draw.” Immediately, I took him to an art supply store where I bought him a sketch pad, drawing pencils, an eraser, and a book that teaches basic drawing skills. After completing the first exercise, he was very disappointed with the results and never picked up a drawing pencil again. When we talked about it, he told me how much he still wanted to learn how to draw, but didn’t. Digging a little deeper, I discovered that anything less than a masterpiece was unacceptable to him. I tried to help him understand that it would take time and a lot of practice to develop his skills. Despite all my efforts to encourage him, that sketchbook just sat on the shelf gathering dust. It still makes me sad to think about my son’s short-lived art career. It’s not his lack of drawing skill that upsets me, it’s the fact that he was so hard on himself. He wouldn’t give himself room to let loose, have fun, experiment, and grow. Because I was His Dad, when I looked at those first few sketches, they were beautiful to me. I just wish he could have seen them that way!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Have you ever earnestly committed yourselves to grow in some area of your walk with God? If you are like me, you were frustrated and disappointed by your inability to consistently get it right. Our heavenly Father sees our struggles. He is pleased with our desire to be more like Jesus, but he wants us to remember that it is a lifelong process. He is graciously working in our lives, and delighted to watch our slow steady transformation. We may only notice our failures, but He is sitting right by our side, gently guiding us to become the men and women he destined us to be. Don’t give up! because God has never given up on you. Some days you just need to see things through our Father’s eyes.

Jesus Cares About You! By Pastor Janice Burnett

A wedding took place at Cana in Galilee…This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed…He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. John 2:1,11 NIV

Photo by Min An on Pexels.com

What is your favorite thing about a wedding? Is it the bride walking down the aisle or the cute flower girl or maybe even the little boy who is the ring bearer? Maybe you are a Hallmark channel fan and just love the romantic story of the couple, or a lover of parties and simply enjoy the reception with delicious food and drink with everyone. What isn’t there to love about wedding? Jesus did and He even went to one with His disciples and His mom. It seemed that Jesus hadn’t planned to reveal that He was the Son of God or performing a miracle – but when the wine ran out His mother came and asked for help. Who doesn’t want to do a favor for their mom? But Jesus did this not only because of His mother but because He cared about all the people at the wedding. If you read the whole chapter, you would see that to show His care, He turned water into wine! He cared about the bride, the groom, the parents of the bridal couple – the hosts of the wedding – the servants serving the wine and every one of the guests! He loved them so much that He blessed them with delicious wine to drink at this wedding when it ran out – He cared enough to fix their problem and what He gave was the best wine of all!

When Jesus is in your life, He cares about you to give you the very best. Here is my story…I knew it was time to sell my house and move closer to where I now live. I listed my house and it sold in one day (and this was long before the current housing boom) – and I hadn’t even started looking for a new place. Long story short, God had saved the PERFECT place in the PERFECT location for me – it had been empty and for sale for three months! Jesus cares about what we care about. What are some things that are important to you? Bring them to Jesus – He cares about people and He cares about you!

Singing With Seniors – reprise

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We had a wonderful time Thursday morning singing. This is my special memory care group ( though some do remember my name). We talk about grandchildren, talk about old times, laugh and sing a lot. It is amazing how close we are and how much they are just like everyone else in many ways. No one sings with more joy even in church!

If you have opportunities to serve in memory care in your community don’t miss out on the blessings both for them and for you. It is a happy day as we now pack our bags to leave for a visit with our grandchildren this Saturday. But I will also be sad to miss my memory care choir till next month. Have a blessed day all!