Tag: #Lordhelp

UGHHH…..The Irony

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Oh the irony of life! God surely has a sense of humor and sometimes I don’t quite find it so amusing. Thus the title of this blog. Usually Sunday afternoon finds me working on the upcoming devotion for the homeless ministry. This Wednesday I am planning to teach on thankfulness. The thing is, it’s been a frustrating day. Whether it is the real struggle of miscommunication, trying in vain to see power points that I can’t see, not able to follow worship music in church…. Etc….. and here I am working on a devotion about thankfulness. Okay Lord! Help me be teachable so I can in turn teach others. The struggle is real!

Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful but it honestly takes a shift of perspective. I’m sitting here making notes for Wednesdays devotion and my iPad starts doing this odd “jiggle scroll movement” on its own, over and over. Mind you… it only does this on ZOOM and guess what? I’m typically zoomed in when I’m online so I can see. I’m actually laughing at the moment at the irony.

Let me share a short bit from my notes for Wednesday: I Thessalonians 5:18, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (NLT) In Philippians 4:6 the Apostle Paul links prayer and thanksgiving. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭(NLT‬‬)

Thankfulness starts in the heart and prayer is so important in addressing heart issues.  For example; When we take the focus off the problem and choose to thank God , our attitudes can shift for the better We can address whatever we are facing by praying about it and thanking God. If you know what I deal with day to day , all I can say is, Lord take the wheel! I’m done!” Miscommunication is frustrating. Technology issues are frustrating. My cochlear implant battery actually died while sitting here on the porch. I normally immediately change it but it’s kind of peaceful sitting here in utter silence.

I’ve been praying about the church situation. I love the church we’ve gone to for the last several years but right now circumstances have us trying to find one closer to home since my husband takes our son to work Sunday mornings. If you know me, I can get lost in true worship. I can often times recognize songs by the musical chords before the lyrics even start (thanks to my cochlear implant processor) But the non traditional churches we’ve visited are so loud, with heavy bass and drums, I am unable to follow. The lyrics were up on the screen today. We sat on the second row. I told Ron it is so weird the way I see (or don’t see). I see some of the letters but I can’t make out the words. (Optic nerves are too small so all the stimulus doesn’t get through). The music is so overly LOUD it distorts things to my hearing with my implant. (that’s most churches) Tears actually spilled over in my frustration today. (Just briefly. Sometimes you’ve got to let it out.) God knows. It’s just a weird season right now. BUT…. I’ve got to be thankful. God help me find the silver liner during this time.

So that is where I am today. Linking prayer and thanksgiving, making my requests known to God. He knows anyway. Thanking Him for this coming week, this coming devotion, thanking Him for working all these things out according to His Will and pleasure. As you prepare for Thanksgiving week, make time to reflect on God’s goodness and faithfulness. Take time to include others who may not be fortunate to have someone to share a meal with. There are many ways to reach out to others. When you bless others, God returns the blessing to you in some way.
Happy Thanksgiving week to you all!

Www.shannonkhinson.com

The “shape”of Love

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A small pocket cross, reminding me of Jesus’ love.

This has been one of those days/ weeks when I could write a couple of blogs on different topics or as troubled as I am by recent events, I could just be silent. I’m going to attempt a blend of these.

Today would have been my Dad’s 83 birthday. We sure do miss him but know he’s in the best place with Jesus. I miss his wisdom and insight and would have been seeking out his counsel over recent local and national events. (Excuse my run on sentence) Dad worked hard for our family but always took time for us and our activities. He’d come to our games/ activities then go back to work and stay until his work was done. Some of his long time employees truly loved him and Mom. They seemed like family. Most of all he was a man of faith. He loved Jesus and served the less fortunate at his church’s food pantry.

This morning my brother sent a little group text to me and Mom, sharing a picture video of memories with Dad. It brought a big smile to my face and he sent Dad’s signature emoji 😎 We sure do miss him and continue to live out his legacy of faith, family and service to others. I told them in this mornings group text that we should do something to celebrate him by looking out for others. He was always doing that. I knew him many times to bless someone without them ever knowing it was him. With an upcoming beach trip with girlfriends I got some snacks today I knew the others would like. That is something Dad would have done.

He would have liked the devotion I taught last night for the homeless and less fortunate friends we have. Last night I shared on biblical love and how much God loves us all. I asked my husband if I could buy some pocket sized crosses to give out and he agreed. I shared the following verses. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ ‭(ESV‬‬) Following this, I shared two verses from 1 John 4 at the end of verse 16, “God is love, and all who live in love, live in God, and God lives in them.” And also verse 19, “We love because God first loved us” (NLT) This sets the stage for understanding that God’s very nature is love. He doesn’t just show love, He IS love. He loved us first. The end of the devotion was sharing 1 Corinthians 13 on biblical love. It is so different than worldly love. Lord help us to demonstrate Your love to the world. After I finished, I told the people about the crosses we had brought for them. I carried one in my pocket many years ago. Now I have a cross necklace I wear. I explained I knew some days can be tough. You can reach in your pocket, feel the cross and remember God’s love for us. He sent His only son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. (John 3:16).

It was a somber time because we heard Charlie Kirk had been assassinated. However being a little short on volunteers, we all worked together to love and serve the people who were there. It’s about being the “hands and feet of Jesus”. I love being a part of this.

We were exhausted when we got home but we wanted to know what had happened to Charlie Kirk. We were shocked and saddened at what we discovered. He was only 31 years old. A loving husband and father and champion for Faith Family and Freedom. What has baffled me the most besides the tragedy itself is the comments and rash remarks made. Even more perplexing is people making it about racism. The world is truly evil and troubling. This is not politics as usual people! This is spiritual warfare! “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭(NKJV‬‬) We are really living in evil times.

There was also the stabbing of the Ukrainian refugee on the light rail train in Charlotte. Totally unprovoked. She was a beautiful young lady who had fled war torn Ukraine but was murdered in cold blood in Charlotte NC. She didn’t get a second chance in life, but her killer got 14 chances and released from jail again. SICK world. Our justice system is such a failure. When people have dogs that are known to attack those dogs are put down. Meanwhile multiple time offenders are released back on the streets to do it again or worse. This is outrageous!

Bottom line, we are in a time where evil runs widespread. We have to stay Prayed up and constantly aware. Do you know Jesus? These days, you never know when it might be your last and like the young lady who was stabbed, you might not get a second chance. Praise God for His love, grace and mercy. He is always ready to wrap you in His loving arms when we surrender to Him and confess our sins. There is no time like the present to ask Jesus into your heart to be your Lord and Savior. Let Him turn your life around for His glory, honor and praise.

Lord helps us shine for you in this dark evil world. Shine brightly Jesus for the whole world to see. 🙏🏼 Be blessed, and better yet, Be a Blessing.

Www.shannonkhinson.com

My first Zoom meeting

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I accidentally took this screenshot while my iPad was under my video magnifier. The lower right square was supposed to be my face but it’s the machine 😂😂


I just had my first “Zoom” meeting experience. Let me just say, that was interesting! The Advanced Bionics Cochlear Implant Consumer Specialist (CICS) in the Southeast region invited me to attend the nation wide zoom training for mentors. I certainly have my doubts about this. Yes, I would love to share my story! Yes, I love to positively encourage others and share tips. I’ve had my CI for 16 years but I also am legally blind. My success rate has been all over the scale during the last 16 years.

Yesterday I had another mapping with my Audiologist. She turned my levels up and made a few adjustments so I could understand better when I left her office. She encouraged me to try the mentor training. She said there are all levels of success, so I gave it a try today.

The zoom meeting was closed captioned but it was so small I had to zoom in on my iPad to follow along. When I zoomed in on the iPad I could no longer see the speakers. I finally decided to use my video magnifier for people with low vision. This machine makes things large. Once the iPad was on the video magnifier the group could no longer see my face but rather saw the magnifying machine. When the main group broke into regional groups the captioning disappeared but I saw a familiar face. With the captioning no longer working I decided to just zoom in on faces. Oh the things I try when faced with a new challenge. Zooming in large in a zoom meeting! How ironic!

One big take away from this experience, for a good zoom experience, either hearing(even with cochlear implant technology) or sight is so helpful. If you are like me and limited in both categories you will need a big dose of patience and a determination to try anyway. One thing I bring to the table of mentoring is the mentality to never ever give up. Where there is a will, there is a way. I will try again if I’m sent another invitation to the next meeting in September.

The picture below sits on a table in our family room. It’s a reminder to me and anyone else who sees it to believe in yourself. Everyone brings a unique set of abilities to the table. We all fall short in some areas but God’s power is made perfect in our weaknesses. That’s one huge reason to be thankful.

My website is currently down as I wait for the release of my files. I’m hoping to combine my website and blog together. In the meantime if you’d like to check out my autobiography “Rooted by the Water” you can find it on Amazon in hard over, soft cover and e book formats. Thank you for journeying with me. Please subscribe to my blog and share it with others. Blessing to you all.