Dare Mighty Things

[Ms. Kathy]

Dare Mighty Things

from former student, Colleen

In the battle of life, it is not the critic who counts; nor the one who points out how the strong person stumbled, or where the doer of a deed could have done better.

The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually strive to do deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends oneself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he or she fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those timid spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.[/size][/b]

[Ms. Kathy]

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Daily Encounter ~ Tuesday, May 3, 2005
Know God: www.Got-God.net/know_god1.htm
www.ACTSweb.org Store: www.actscom.com/store
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By Richard (thingy) Innes. Published and (c)
by ACTS International www.actsweb.org
Today's Daily Encounter

1. Making Today Count

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love
him" (1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV).

I have read how, when William Montague d**e was a
child, he was blinded in an accident, but he never
allowed this handicap to deter him. He graduated with
high honors from an English university and, while a
student, fell in love with the daughter of a
high-ranking British naval office whom he was to
marry.

Before the wedding he had an eye operation in the
hopes that it would restore his eyesight. However, he
didn’t want the bandages removed from his eyes until
his wedding day when he stood before his bride to be.
If the surgery failed, he would remain blind for the
rest of his life. If successful, the person he wanted
to see first was to be his bride.

The wedding day arrived. The dignitaries and guests
waited in anticipation as the organ played the wedding
march and the bride, accompanied by her father and the
groom’s surgeon, slowly walked the aisle to the altar.
As William’s sweetheart stood before him, the surgeon
took a pair of scissors from his pocket and removed
the bandages.

The entire party and all the guests held their breath
for a brief moment until they heard the words of
William which echoed throughout the cathedral as he
said to his soon-to-be bride, "You're more beautiful
than I ever imagined!"1

In one sense this gives us a faint glimpse as to what
it will be like when we get to heaven and stand face
to face with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. When
we see him in all his majestic beauty--the God of all
creation--no words this side of heaven could ever
describe, nor any imagination ever perceive, what this
experience will be like. As a hymn we used to sing with
great enthusiasm in my childhood days expressed it,
"When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing
that will be. When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and
shout the victory!"

Just make sure that your name is written in God’s book
of life and that you, too, are on your way to heaven.
For help see No. 2 below, "How to know God and be sure
you’re a real Christian."

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, Thank you for your
wonderful promise that all who believe in your Son,
Jesus, and have accepted him as their personal Lord
and Savior and have had their sins forgiven have
Jesus’ promise that he is now in Heaven preparing a
place for us and is coming back to take us to be with
him and you for all eternity. ‘What a day of rejoicing
that will be.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my
prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen."

1. Adapted from Making Today Count for Eternity, by
Ken Crockett. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001,
pp. 101-102. Cited on www.sermons.com.

<))<><

[Ms. Kathy]

Blind ambition
Source Link: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6407185.stm
By Victoria Bone
BBC News


Microlights tend to be the play thing of weekend hobbyists, rather than a means for flying half way round the world. Try telling that to Miles Hilton-Barber, who is about to pilot his all the way Australia. What's more, he's blind.
He's already circumnavigated the world using 80 forms of transport, scaled Kilimanjaro, completed more than 40 skydives and run two of the world's toughest races - the Marathon des Sables across the Sahara and the Siberian Ice Marathon.

Miles Hilton-Barber is no ordinary 58-year-old father of three, which is why his plan to become the first blind aviator in history to fly half-way round the world, comes as no surprise to those who know him.

He will use a computer adapted with a speech synthesizer to give him the same information that a fully sighted pilot receives and his attempt will begin as soon as weather conditions allow.


BLINDNESS FACTS
Every five seconds someone in the world goes blind
About 37m people globally are blind
But 75% of all blindness is preventable

Although he will do the flying, Miles will be accompanied by his sighted friend Storm Smith during the 13,500 mile flight. By law a sighted co-pilot has to accompany him and take over the controls in rough landings and emergencies.

The microlight journey will be completed in stages, with the route following the classic London-Sydney 1919 Air Race, travelling across Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, via Pakistan, India and Burma to Malaysia and Indonesia down to Darwin, then to Sydney.

What drives Mr Hilton-Barber - who lost his sight 25 years ago - is wanting to change people's preconceived ideas about being blind. It is also an appetite for challenges, which he says would be the same even if he wasn't blind. His disability has just added an extra facet to things.

Attitude

"One day I realised the problem wasn't my blindness, it was my attitude to my blindness," he says. "So many people have 20/20 vision, but they're blind because they don't see their potential. We can all do more than we think."

He's a trained pilot who has passed all his microlight tests and he's confident there won't be a problem.

"As a kid I joined the Rhodesian air force, but they kicked me out because they said my sight wasn't good enough. Now, 37 years later and blind as a bat, I have this wonderful opportunity," he says.


The aircraft he is using is a British-built 100 HP flexwing Pegasus Mainair GT 450, capable of cruising at 70 mph. He hopes to undertake up to two flights a day, completing the journey in under 55 days.
If the pair do it in less than 49 days, they will set a new record time for flying a microlight aircraft from Britain to Australia, for all-comers - not just people with disabilities.

The adventurer, from Duffield, Derbyshire, lost his sight to a genetic condition, retinitis pigmentosa. He is now on a mission to make preventable blindness a thing of the past and hopes his trip will raise £1m for the Seeing is Believing campaign, run by Standard Chartered Bank.

There are risks involved in any such record attempt but microlights are no more dangerous than any other form of flying, says Geoff Weighell, chief executive of the British Microlight Aircraft Association.

"It's no more dangerous, but it is more fun. It's like the difference between driving a saloon car and a motorbike. You really know you're flying."

Mr Hilton-Barber has pushed himself many times before but says this will be his most difficult challenge yet, especially as there will be no back-up on the ground.

"The challenge will be immense," he says.


To follow Miles's progress and or make a donation, go to www.seeingisbelieving.org.uk/microlightadventure






As a trainee pilot I will take this opportunity to correct you in that flying is NOT merely "a rich man's plaything". This is a misconception regularly pedalled by the media. Most pilots are merely ordinary people who happen to have an out-of-the-ordinary job/hobby. However, aside from this, this is a great thing, a round-the-world flight in a microlight is no mean feat, and it will be a great challenge to Mr. Hilton-Barber, I wish him the very best of luck in his adventure!
Paul Smith, Edinburgh





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Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6407185.stm

Published: 2007/03/05 13:11:15 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[Ms. Kathy]

Posted: 2/28/07
Bible Studies for Life Series for March 11

Jesus opens our eyes
Source Link: www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=6057&print=1
• John 9


By David Harp


First Baptist Church, Stanton


I’d like to introduce you to Helen. Helen is a radiant Christian and an overcomer. Helen is 87 years young. She has buried two husbands and one son.


Helen is a recovering alcoholic—more than 50 years of sobriety, one day at a time! Nearly 20 years ago, she faced a new, nearly insurmountable obstacle. Helen lost her sight. Surgeons and specialists all did their best, but this blindness could not be overcome.


Many of us reading these lines have heard a doctor say, “Learn to live with it.” How does one “learn to live with” blindness after seeing mountains and flowers and faces of children and grandchildren? Helen has overcome through her faith in God and with encouragement of her church family and her friends. She says she is one of the most blessed people in the world today.

For a printer-friendly version, click on the printer icon at bottom of page.

Some 15 years ago, she received a special, wonderful gift from an agency for the blind—a seeing-eye dog. Jackie, a black Labrador, is Helen’s constant companion, walking in the mall, going to AA meetings and always to Belmont Baptist Church in Pueblo, Colo. Jackie has her place under the pew, where she gets comfortable and often falls asleep and sometimes snores during worship.


Helen is my mom, and her testimony is that her blindness is only temporary. Mom often says, “One day very soon, I will be in the presence of my Lord, and I will see again, for all of eternity.” Some people might say Helen Harp has “spiritual sight” that many seeing people do not.


Our Bible study teaches the impact of a personal experience with Jesus. John’s Gospel is about the Son of Man who can transform us and bring light into a person’s life.


Our lesson in John 9 introduces us to a man born blind. There was not much good news for him. In most Bible dictionaries, blindness and blessing is one article, one short sentence apart. For a man born blind, a blessing must have seemed a lifetime away.


The blind in the first-century world often were reduced to a life of begging. One day, Jesus passed by, and everything changed for the man in John 9 who was born blind.


The biblical account immediately draws us in. The disciples debate the man’s cause of blindness. They ask, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (v. 2). Jesus quickly brushes away the debate, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned” (v. 3).


Then Jesus does the work we know him for best—he focuses not on debates or dialogues but on the individual with the need. However, John carefully states in this chapter that physical blindness is not the point here. There is a much deeper level that demands our attention—spiritual blindness.


The first section of our Bible study is John 9:8-10. Earlier in the passage, Jesus has given the man born blind his healing instructions. Jesus spit on the ground and made mud. Jesus applied the mud to the man’s eyes and told him to “go and wash in the pool at Siloam” (vv. 6-7).


The blind man obeys Jesus’ instructions and receives his sight. The neighbors always had seen him as a blind and begging man —but now he sees. They ask: “‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’ Some claimed that he was. Others said, ‘No he only looks like him.’ But he himself insisted, ‘I am the man’” (v. 8). This section closes with a question, “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked (v. 10).


The next section of the Bible study is the interrogation of the blind man’s parents in John 9:20-22.


The Pharisees were powerful people. They had authority to put people out of the synagogue. This might explain the fear of the parents of the blind man. This would mean a loss of social security and business opportunity. This would mean a loss of fellowship and community. This would mean humiliation.


Our next section of Bible study leads us to John 9:24-25, 30-33.


Throughout this passage, it must be pointed out a blind man sees with greater clarity while the most religious among them grow increasingly blind. The man has received healing, and it is his main focus in each conversation. It becomes more than his testimony; it becomes his life: “Once I was blind, now I see” (v. 25).


At this point, the former blind man cannot tell the religious leaders much about Jesus. They bombard him with their questions: “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” (v. 26). He responds: “I’ve already told you, and you did not listen. Do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” (v. 27).


His life has changed, and he knows Jesus is responsible for the change of his life. The Pharisees want no part of Jesus. How can he come from God, performing miracles on a day when folks worship?


In our final section of Bible study, we see a blind beggar becoming a worshipper (vv. 35-39). The seeing man now says, “‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshipped him” (v. 38).


Jesus opens the eyes of the blind. We don’t need more inspiration from self-help gurus. We need the transformation Jesus Christ alone can bring. He brings us the light. He brings us life. He offers and waits for our trust. Trust involves enlightenment, a growth in understanding and then commitment—an expression of personal belief.





Discussion questions


• What prevents us from seeing spiritually?


• What enables us to see spiritually?


• What keeps us from committing our life to Jesus?


• What helps us know that our faith in Christ is valid?



News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Baptist churches, in Texas, the BGCT, the nation and around the world.

[Ms. Kathy]

Blind ambition sees pilot Miles set record
Down safely... Miles Hilton-Barber has landed in Sydney.

When I went blind, they said you'd never fly, and thanks to people like Richard, we've flown halfway around the world.
Yuko Narushima
April 30, 2007 - 11:07AM
Source Link: Sydney Morning Herald www.smh.com.au/news/national/blind-ambition-sees-miles-set-record/2007/04/30/1177788013918.html#

Blind pilot Miles Hilton-Barber felt euphoric when he touched down at Sydney's Bankstown Airport just before 8am, becoming the first blind man to fly halfway around the world.

In doing so he hopes to raise $1.2 million for Seeing is Believing, which performs cataract surgery in developing countries.

"Since I was a kid, I wanted to be a pilot," the 58-year-old said when his safety pilot Richard Meredith-Hardy landed their microlight plane, Stephanie, named after Mrs Hilton-Barber.

"When I went blind, they said you'd never fly and, thanks to people like Richard, we've flown halfway around the world," he said, scruffing up his mate's hair. "I can hardly believe we've done it."

Since the journey began in London on March 5, the pair have covered 21,000 kilometres, 21 countries, and endured extreme weather.

"Sometimes, being blind is an advantage," Mr Hilton-Barber said.

The adventurers were coated in ice when they soared through sub-zero temperatures 30,000 feet over the Lebanese mountains.

Between Penang and Kuala Lumpur, they were forced to drop to a couple of hundred feet when they were caught in a monsoon.

"We've flown through tropical storms so heavy that I thought Richard was flying through a waterfall," he said.

Though he couldn't see the lightning flashes or cliffs Mr Meredith-Hardy was dodging, Mr Hilton-Barber peaked his other senses to survive the flight.

Through a headset, he listened to the flight information he requested at the flick of a button on a switchbox strapped to his thigh. The switchbox was connected to a computer that could pick up information such as location and altitude. He navigated by typing planned flight co-ordinates into a wireless keyboard.

"This is a very sensual aircraft," he said. "I can smell what's growing in the fields below. As we fly into places like Karachi, I can smell what's been cooked in the factories.

"It's a very physical way to fly, very primitive."

His colleague described the experience as "flying a motorbike in the sky".

"It's real flying, you know," he said. "It's the difference between a car and a motorbike. If it rains, you get wet."

Mr Hilton-Barber was inspired by his blind brother, who sailed solo from South Africa to Australia eight years ago.

"That's what made me realise the problem in my life wasn't my blindness, it was my attitude to my blindness.

"The only thing holding me back was five inches, the distance between my ears," he said. "Attitude is what determines altitude."

The positive attitude pushed him on to conquer Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest mountain and propelled him on his ascent of Mont Blanc, Europe's highest.

He also set the Malaysian Grand Prix record for a blind driver and wants to be the first blind man to break the sound barrier in a jet aircraft.

But today, his main aim is to down "a good English tea".

[Ms. Kathy]

At 03:58 PM 8/15/2007, you wrote:

I enjoyed reading your "Doing Grass" story. Do you mind if I share it with some friends? Especially the girls I teach and some fellow teachers of students with visual impairments. Oh, and I need some shrubs trimmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana if you should make house calls! LOL!!

---

Dear Kathy,
Thank you. I would be deeply honored to have my doing grass story shared with your class or friends. Please check the Seeing With Sound web site or the mailing list archives. We have had several other people on this list post their wonderful vOICe experiences.
. .!
Ok I will do it! A house call just for you. I would be happy to barber your bushes with my over grown scissors! snip snip! Think they will reach from Buffalo to Baton Rouge?( LOL) Now what a soundscape that would make.
Take care,
Pat
s.

---

Here goes! This story is from a user of the vOICe device. To read more about vOICe go to www.seeingwithsound.com

Dear List,

August ,2007

It's an Early Saturday morning a baking 87 degrees and threatening to grow hotter. With a press of the switch the Panasonic quietly ticks then chimes into windows. Soft spoken words left, right are swiftly exchanged for the rippling design of a reclining chair's fabric.

AS the door opens the flat Tinging window Blades swing forward creating a lively zinging sound. The grey push mower's handle frames a road scene beyond as I maneuver it across a large wooden porch. Four dark coarsely matted steps down and I finally can drop this heavy metal beast.

Ten years I have lived within my home on the West side of Buffalo. Ten years I have spent under hot summer suns cautiously cutting this rough scraggly grass.

Blackish lined cracks embeded within the concrete catch my attention as I propel the mower forward. They remind me of a child's crude chalk drawing. .

The mower real spins and clatters as I begin trimming the largest area. In the past I have needed to keep one foot on the side walk, the other on grass in an attempt to clip evenly and straight. I do not need this shuffling of foot today as I can see the curly green blades are darker than the whitish pitted concrete.

The flat curb stone bordering the outermost reach of the wildest
grass looks as a railroad track. I can not resist, just like a kid as I run one large rubber wheel along it's path. At the side of the porch stands a square metal gas meter. The l shape Bending pipe protruding from the ground must have it's debris carefully cleared by hand. The bared hard clay remaining behind looks clotted and lumpy with grayish stones scattered about.

My back yard is shaped like a small square. It is enclosed on two sides by a flat board picketed privacy fence. The side of the garage and the back of the house complete the other points of the enclosure.

I can easily detect the corners where fence Joins garage and house. It is harder to mow in the back yard as a very old tree has several of it's roots poking threw the ground. They look like large black streaks randomly sneaking from hidden cover. Grass bens then spills behind the real as I attack along
the farthest fence line. Soon the spittings are in my shoes as I maneuver to and fro using the patterns from garage, house or fence. No banging of blade or wheel into tree root. No ramming of the metal head against fence post for I can see each as I approach.

When I am finally threw I look around with a deep feeling of satisfaction and pride. The half grown jungle has become a flat greenish plain with it's dark wooden snakes clearly revealed. I feel hot, tired, and ready to call it a day. Pushing my trusty mower before me I headed for the path home. after closing
the screen door on my gardening adventure, I suddenly realize I had not thought of the gear still humming on my back. The vOICE had been running softly all day in the background of my mind while I, without conscious thought ,simply and naturally did the grass.

Take Care,
Pat

[Ms. Kathy]

God Makes a Difference
“There is one recipe for permanent change and about a million for temporary change…”
by Al Friesen
Source Link: www.christianity.ca/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=5613&srcid=1520

A scientist came to me the year he retired. He claimed to be an atheist, but he was in trouble because his son Stewart was going blind. He had lost most of his peripheral eyesight, and the doctor said his tunnel vision would also be gone and everything would be totally black by age thirty. His wife had become a Christian six year earlier, and he was angry with her. But now that the doctors had given up on Stewart, he said to her, "What will we do? It has been over two years, and Stewart will be blind!"


She asked him if he was willing to try anything, and he agreed that he would do anything for his son. She told him, “Go see Al Friesen.” He responded, “I will not go see him.” But, behind her back he called me, but didn’t really know what to ask. I told him he wanted change in his family, and he said, “Yes, that is what I want!”

I asked him whether he wanted permanent change or temporary change. He responded, “What kind of question is that? Of course I want permanent change. Everyone does!”

“There is one recipe for permanent change and about a million for temporary change," I told him.

"As a scientist I would like the one recipe, please," he answered. I suggested to him that he was not firing on all five cylinders—emotionally, socially, mentally, physically and spiritually.

"Spiritually?" he asked. "I am an atheist." I told him that atheism is actually a religion!

"Let's imagine," I said, "you and I are on an escalator going down. Just in front of us is a woman on crutches. Because I hate crutches, I kick them out from under her and she goes tumbling down the stairs, taking others with her. What would you do?"

He said, "I would attack you and leave you in a puddle of blood!"

"Exactly," I answered. "You have been kicking the crutches from your wife's spiritual body for six years. If I would use your measure, I would rip off your ears, break your nose, carve up your tongue and poke out your eyes!" He just looked at me for a moment and then, with tears, in his eyes, asked me to lead him to Jesus.

His next question was, "Now, what do I do?" I gave him a Bible and told him to go home, wrap his arms around his sweetheart and ask for forgiveness for kicking the crutches from under her. "Then tell her, Since God's number one purpose for us is to honour Him and Jesus teaches us to present our needs to Him, let's combine the two and pray. Tell the Lord to use Stewart's blindness to honour His name in a huge way and to make your family strong enough for whatever that means."

Three days later Stewart had his three-month check-up. It took a long time, but eventually the specialist came out and said, "Sir, sorry for the long wait, but my technology people have made some mistakes the past three times your son was here. His eyesight is better today than it was a year ago, and that is not how this kind of blindness works." This new Christian scientist offered a humble explanation of how he had given his life to Jesus and that he suspected that the Master Physician had played into this.

I could tell you story after story of how I use the Scriptures from LifeLight Ministries. The ones I use most are How to Find God and The Living Lifelight. I really appreciate the description at the beginning of the New Testament of how a person can begin walking with God and how to use the Bible as a help in this new walk.

Originally published in The LifeLight, February 2008.