Tag: Nursing Home Ministry

Saturday Morning Confessions

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And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:2

Because I find it hard in a social forum like this to be transparent I rarely share my personal struggles. It relish safety as in the words of Paul Simon’s song, “I am a rock I am an island And a rock feels no pain.” But to pull the curtain back just a bit this morning I thought maybe someone else may benefit from my struggle this year to write.

About the beginning of 2017 I decided to write a full year of devotional readings. I confess that while it seemed a little daunting I figured that I could scoot through the work fairly easily. “After all” I told myself, “short devotional writing is what I have done for a long time.” While January – March did indeed fly by pretty rapidly I discovered some things about myself and about writing that I thought might be an encouragement to others.

Writing well is a lot of hard work! Not to mention leg cramps from hours at the key board and the frustration of trying to format material that insists on slipping out from under my control!

I am not really a professional writer in the way that a some in my family and a few of the readers of my blog are. I do have a degree in English but it feels like I just don’t get it, in a lot of ways and others seem to race ahead of me in accomplishing things I haven’t even thought of.

Everything of eternal worth must be learned first at the feet of Jesus. Filling pages with words, even words that people enjoy reading doesn’t accomplish anything if they don’t flow from the heart of God.

God loves me and is pleased with my best for Him even if it is not highly successful in the eyes of others. Twenty five years ago God asked me a question concerning my nursing home ministry, “Would you do it for one?” It felt like a light switched on in a dark room and I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a mirror.  Just what was the reason that God had sent me? Was it so people would praise me or think I was a pretty nice guy? Or did my heart join with the love of Jesus Christ for forgotten and abandoned people, one by one left alone wishing that someone could sit and spend a little time at their side?

So whether you are struggling to put words on a page, leading a small group or trying to get through to your kids, take a deep breath and sit down for a minute. Now relax, close your eyes if it helps and remember. One day Jesus Christ visited one single man by the pool of Bethesda. To this day no one knows his name but He was not forgotten by the master and neither are we. Few people may ever know your name but Jesus does. Now open your eyes, stand back up and get back in the fight! God loves what you do whatever the results when you do it all for Him; if only just for one

 

Youth Ministry at Nursing Home!

It was a little hard to get our teenagers together for an Easter program at the nursing home it was definitely worth it. After all between, school, part time jobs and just being teens they have a crazy schedule. If your church has or is considering a nursing home outreach I urge you to challenge your […]

via Our Easter Nursing Home Visit — Wouldyoudoitforone?

Would You Go For One? – Challenge Day 1

The difference between reading about nursing home ministry and committing to this short training course is the same as the difference between what Jesus did when He met the woman at the well and what the disciples did that day.

Nepal and India 126Jesus used  the opportunity to help just one person and he reached an entire village. The disciples went into the village without telling a single person about Jesus! When I was able to travel to Nepal a few years ago we had some days when we only did what the disciples did, we walked through the towns and met people just like the woman at the well, but we didn’t say a word. We were separated by language and culture from knowing how to even buy a single fruit from the vendors. But on special days we went into small villages and by the help of translators and local pastors we were privileged to share the message of the love of Jesus What unforgettable moments those were!

Nepal and India 139

Here is your challenge for week one. Meet one person who is a resident in a nursing home. If you already know someone (like a family member) and have visited on occasion, then dedicate this week to meeting someone new. After you have made your visit this week take some time and begin a journal on your efforts. Here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself.

  • Who else is visiting them and how often do they come?
  • How many people are in the facility where they are living?
  • Is their stay permanent or will they be going home?
  • What area did you have the biggest struggle with?
  • What did you like the best?
  • What ideas, plans or feelings changed as a result?
  • When will you visit next?

Would You Do It For One? Ministry- Launch in October

IMG_5023  I have often published news of our Nursing Home Ministry work on the Praise2worship blog but today God has put on my heart the plan to launch a separate blog site on WordPress devoted exclusively to Visitation / Nursing Home Ministry. I will be posting about twice a week with a variety of training material, personal stories and updates on our activities. It would be great for others who have an interest in this to interact with us on this blog-site. We would love to hear what others are doing and how you are encouraged in any way by the posts here. God bless our fellow workers in this often overlooked and underestimated outreach.

If you are considering Nursing Home Ministry or any other kind of work for God, this blog-site is for you!

Let’s begin our first post with another look at, “the Parable of the Good Samaritan”

Luke 10:30-35 NKJV Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’

The first person we meet is the man who fell among thieves. His story was a lot like that of the residents in any nursing home. The thieves that caught him by surprise go by various names, such as age, physical disability or disease. People fall into a system where they lose control of their finances, their health and their personal freedom.

Three different people came by the man that day. The first was a priest. He came from a good family, had chosen to dedicate himself to God’s work and was recognized as a leader in his community. But in spite of his opportunity to show God’s mercy, that day he failed. He passed by, saw the need but chose not to get involved. The second man was only a follower of the first, so he simply took the same path – the path of least resistance. Last in line came the Samaritan. This was the man from whom no one expected any help. But when the Samaritan passed by that place, he saw the need, rolled up his sleeves and got involved. He became a neighbor when he became a part of the injured man’s world…

This blog is designed not just to inspire you, but to challenge you to become a “roll up your sleeves” neighbor! Why? Because there are countless men and women left to die at the side of the road in every community. I did some research and discovered that within seven miles of the center of our small city live 2700 people in long-term nursing home care. From the street they look clean and well landscaped. The entrances are nicely decorated but what is lacking for the vast majority of the residents is someone, anyone who will come to visit, listen to them and call them by name. To be a nursing home ministry worker doesn’t require a special title, God is just looking for neighbors. Are you ready to be a neighbor?

Nursing Home Ministry

“The difference between reading the book and committing to this seven week course is the same as the contrast between what Jesus did when He met the woman at the well and what the disciples did that day. Jesus used the opportunity to help just one person and he reached an entire village. The disciples went into the village without telling a single person about Jesus!”

from Chapter One of the Workbook

This new edition comes with a seven week workshop that helps people wanting to go into the village of Nursing Home Ministry to have a road map to show the way.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U…