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The Scottish Knight Captain
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 Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 2:19 pm
What has Jesus done for you?
Do you have a testimony?
Since Jesus saved me, I stopped drinking, and I strive daily to be a better person and to always be helpful to my fellow man or woman.
I believe that people are more interested in how much you care, then how much you know. Then after they know you care, they will want to know what you know.
As for what God has done for me....
He has been with me through out my entire life.
I was born out of wedlock by an acholic mother who decided when I was three years old to drop kick me down 3 flights of stairs. Needless to say, I stayed there until she sobered up and had a neighbor call 911 to help.
At 3 months old to 27 months old, I wore a body cast because of broken rib cages and a broken hip/pelvic bone.
By the grace of God.. I was adopted by a very great family.
Fast forward to 16 years of age.
I was driving 3 of my friends and myself home from High School when I lost control of the vehicle on some freshly rained roads and swerved into a giant pine that was 6 foot round and hit it on the drivers door. Bent the car that I was driving into a horse shoe and the car went 12 feet up the tree and back down and 2 1/2 foot into the tree. In case your wondering.. The tree is alive and well to this day and is a reminder to me of God's grace, because when the car struck the tree on my drivers door; I was the only one who was injured. My 3 friends walked away with scratches and I had a 5 day coma which again by the grace of God.. I woke from and all is well.
Fast forward to the last 25 years of my life working in a public servant type of job.
I have a old plastic round medice bottle on my desk. In it contains some 78 flattened lead projectiles that use to be either .38 or .45 to 9mm bullets that have been fired upon me in L.O.D. that again by the grace of God.. My vest deflected these lead projectiles. I do also have in a smaller bottle 4 Full Metal Jacket C.O.P. killer rounds that should of had my name on them but by the grace of God they didnt pentitrate my vest.
Reflecting back on the last 6 years of my life.
I have had over 80% of my body busted up or mangled in L.O.D. that my nick name is either "IronMan" or "Robo-Cop" because Im still able to get around well with all the metal parts and screws and things holding me together.
I was diagnosed with diabetes type 2 in 2004 when I went into a 880 count blood sugur coma. By the grace of God I was able to beat that and no longer have to take medicine for it or have to check my blood levels but once a day now.
Also, in 2005, I suffered a triple heart attack one evening and even woke up on the E.R. table when they were putting a heart stent in me.
Again by the grace of God go I! My heart is back to being as healthy as a 16 year old according to my cardiologist.
In 2006, I almost bit the big one again when I had blood clots in my lungs that caused me to fall out and go down like the tree I am. By the grace of God go I. Per the pulmarnologist I went to afterwards and was screened and tested like a lab rat. The lungs I have are like that of a teenager and I am well.
Thats basically my testimony of what God and Jesus and the Holy Ghost, otherwise known as the Trinity or just plain "God" to most folks; Has done for me in my life.
So, When I say.. "By the grace of God go I", I really mean it. I have been at deaths door so many times in my life and not passed.
I don't know why? I really do not know what it is that God wants for me to do other than the great commission? All I do know is that until I have done whatever it is that He will qualify me to do in His name, I will remain here until He does call me home to be with Him in His kingdom.
Thank you for your time.
What has God, Jesus done for you? Care to share?
Aaron D.III
T.S.K.
(As John Bradford once said in the 16th century; "There, But by the grace of God,Go I!".)
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 5:09 pm
This is a personal testimony of mine, the first one I've ever recorded in detail but not the first I had experienced. It is the most recent event that had happened to me. Copied and pasted from my computer: 2/15/12 Here's an inspiration for you: I am still shocked by what happened today after high school. Every student has to write a chapel talk and present it on a specific date in the year, and I had been postponing it because I was reluctant to do it; therefore, I waited until the last minute. Today was really pressuring for me because all the teachers came up to me to nag me about my speech and that it had to be done NOW because my practice presentation is tomorrow. I threw back a few resistant complaints and cried twice out of frustration and stress. I had a pretty bad day today on February 15. When I got home, my mom was stern with me, telling me she had gotten a call from one of my teachers, and they had also noted I may have a sign of depression. I acted snappish and felt like a jerk. I trudged upstairs to wash my face (I have oily skin), and when I patted it dry with a towel, a thought came to me in a very quiet voice saying, You need to have a talk with God. You cannot hide this from Him, and you cannot get through your problems alone. Go talk to Him. Now, this was merely a suggestion that the Holy Spirit strongly recommended me to do in what appeared to be a thought of my own... but the words didn't belong to me. I could have turned down the suggestion if I had wished to, but I was feeling like crud and agreed that I needed to converse with God. So I began, wracking my brain for something to say and how to address God with my issue, "God, I'm sorry that I haven't been talking to you normally in a while. I've only been running to you when I needed help, and I feel like I haven't properly had a father/daughter talk for so long... I realize that I can't just think about myself when everything's fine and suddenly need your help when life goes wrong. Please forgive me. But Lord, I ask again for your help because I'm feeling depressed, and I don't know how I'll get my entire speech written. Lord, I really need you to give me the strength and motivation to finish my paper and to take away my depression. Amen." I was sobbing a bit (for the third time) because it's so emotional for me to pray to God. I often cry when talking to Him because I love Him... I came back downstairs and sat at the kitchen table with my mom. I felt so strangely at ease, and I had the strongest urge to give my mother a hug and a kiss. I told my mom of my prayer to God and how I suddenly felt calm afterwards. We both knew God had immediately and willingly taken away the horrible feeling in my heart. He had heard me. My mom and I began on my speech, going over brainstormed ideas written on a scrap sheet of paper, and I typed away on my iPad (with a separate keyboard that links to my iPad through wireless BlueTooth) with my mom helping me along. My dad finally came home from work, for we could see, sitting by the window, that his car pulled in the driveway. Supper was ready, and afterwards I returned to working on my speech. All of a sudden, the Pages document crashed, and I was unable to return back to my essay. I could open up any of my other Pages documents, but not the one that had crashed: the one with my speech. I started getting anxiety attacks, and my mom asked my dad to figure out the problem and recover the document (he's an engineer and a whiz on technology). My mind retrospected to earlier in the afternoon to the voice in my head that told me now was the time to speak with God and and to my prayer, trying to follow the voice's advice that I couldn't do this without Him, but I didn't have much luck calming myself down with those recent memories. I tried to assure myself that God was in control of everything that happened. And I had nothing to fear. But still...I was doubting. Then, with such love shining in her eyes, my mom gazed directly at me, took both of my hands into hers, and said, "Have you ever heard of faith?" I was astonished, and I could only stare at her, dumbfounded, as she looked at me with such intensity...full of love! "Mom, you read my mind," I could only answer. She smiled. "God will do anything for you if you will only have faith in Him. You need to trust in Him completely that everything will work out." Then we prayed together, still holding hands, for God to help my dad retrieve the document again. I still doubted that even if I put all my faith into God saving my speech document (which if it was never found again, I would burst into tears), the document would never be recovered, and all my hard work and effort would be lost. I was extremely worried and afraid something bad would happen. "But Mom, what if my paper's gone?" "It won't be," she assured me confidently. "Your dad will find it again, I promise you. Put your trust in God, and your paper will be found. There's no reason to be scared because He is in control and always there for you." I found myself holding hands tightly with her as if I was afraid that if I let my hands go, then God wouldn't recover my chapel talk document. It was a silly notion, but I felt rather safe and peaceful holding hands with her. I didn't want to let go. My mom casually suggested I write down any thoughts pertaining to the essay that could be added. I was hesitant and timidly explained to her I didn't want to write at the moment. She smiled as if she was amused and stated, "Are you afraid that God won't save your speech if we let our hands go?" I sighed. "Mom, you read my mind again." So, I cautiously unlaced our intertwined fingers, breathing an inner sigh of relief when I found I was still in a calm state of mind. A Bible verse came to mind, and I told my mother, "Jesus said that if I had faith as small as a mustard seed, I could say to this mountain, 'move' and it will be done. Nothing will be impossible for me if my faith in God is strong enough." (Matthew 17:20 Paraphrased) (An hour later) My dad traveled back downstairs with my iPad and some pages printed out. He told me my speech document had corrupted, but he was able to copy the manuscript and email it to me. The pages printed out were the manuscript, my speech with a few strange symbols added here and there. I deleted the weird text from the document and – ta da – my document was a new one with my speech in it! I was so excited and thankful to God for supporting me as much as He did. I couldn't thank Him enough for what He had done. I later told my mom that I believed the Holy Spirit spoke to me through her because of the overwhelming love pouring out of her, and she said she believed so, as well, because she felt the love of the Spirit (yeah, at that time my mom had been acting freaky like she was somebody else). I also concurred to my mom that the Spirit aided my dad in recovering my crashed speech. He had no idea how or why it crashed when all the other documents were perfectly fine. Definitely something bizarre happened! My mom and I came to the conclusion that God chose the right time for my document to crash on me. He allowed it to happen at the perfect time: after my dad had come home (to fix it for me later on). He let it crash on purpose, I believe, so that I could rely on Him and try to convince myself over and over: Everything will be fine! Everything goes according to God's plan! Trust in Him! He was helping me grow stronger in my faith as I had asked Him. This was where a Bible verse came to mind along with a mental image of Jesus standing on the waves and one of His disciples, Peter, coming toward Him before realizing he was walking on water and panicked. He cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus caught him so Peter wouldn't sink and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:22-31 Paraphrased) When those verses came to mind, I had asked God, "Lord I want to have faith in you. Please strengthen my faith!" In this case, God was doing exactly that. He caused my iPad to do a weird thing so my faith would grow even more. Yes, my faith has been strengthened even more, and after my confrontation with God, He remained active all throughout the evening, making His presence obviously known. I'm just in a state of shock and admiration for what a wonderful Father He is!!! My speech is finally done, for I have been working on it for 8 hours. I'm relieved that it's over with and so proud with what I've written! Too bad I wasn't able to do any of my other homework. Still, I knew that God had helped me even if it wasn't what I expected. When you ask God for help, He often aids you in ways you do not expect or do not like. Whatever the reason God chooses to do it that way, He must see very good results and that this, whatever it is, is the best way out of all the possible choices. "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13 KJV) Yeah, that's my story. On February 22nd when I was leaving art class early so I can get to chapel where I would meet Mary Heyward and Kaylie, two of my classmates who were also going to give speeches, I went into the restroom to wash my clay-covered hands. Before I did that, I prayed to the Lord to give me the strength to speak and to calm my anxiety. Butterflies were wildly dancing in my stomach, and I knew I couldn't do this without God. When I had said, "Amen," the bathroom door suddenly opened and a girl casually walked in. I immediately went to washing my hands and pretended nothing happened. "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." (Matthew 6:6 KJV) I had prayed in secret, and God rewarded me openly with my chapel talk presentation and with the compliments that soon followed for three days before the weekend and a little bit the week after. Countless people came up to me in shock, saying that my delivery was powerful and inspirational; one person had even admitted my speech made them shiver (because of the power). I couldn't do it like I did without a supernatural force such as God. I humbly refuse to take all the glory, because it was God who had delivered the speech, not me. So I'm giving all the credit to the Rightful Owner. He is faithful to me as I am faithful to Him, and I declare that without God I am nothing. I am nothing without God. "Lord, I could not ever thank you enough..." In case you were wondering about my chapel talk, I will post it below. I am deaf and have lived a life under some deep depression and struggles in making friends. I am right now slowly catching up in social skills, but I've been judged for my deafness by other people in school, especially in middle school. Thankfully, high school is so much better. There's been a lot of mean girls in my life who would yell at me and ask if I heard them or isolate me and not speak to me at all. Despite my appearance, I'm not a popular girl like you may think of me to be. I've never been popular, and I'm happy to be this way because I've chosen amazing friends (finally after being a loner for so long!), most of whom are Christians, and they don't care who I am or what handicaps I may possess. God gave me my friends as a gift of His love, and they are the nicest people I've ever met. Even through my emotional struggles in life, my hearing loss humbles me and brings me closer to God. "In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down—those who with a word make a man out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice." (Isaiah 29:18-21 NIV) "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope," (Romans 5:3-4 ESV) Chapel Talk (by me, Calen Wright): Life in the Mainstream (mouths) Did you hear me? I am hearing-impaired, and silence is what I hear much of the time. I wear hearing aids, but in the morning when I'm not wearing them, I hear nothing; just silence. At school, my teachers wear a microphone much like a necklace so their voices are amplified to my ears. But sometimes in class when the teacher is speaking through the microphone and someone says something to me at the same time, their voice is drowned out by the teacher's voice. I faintly hear them but can't distinguish what they're saying. In the hallways it is much the same: the sound of what seems to be a thousand voices coupled with laughter along with the sound of slamming locker doors overwhelm me and snuff out the voices of people I converse with. Social dilemmas in the cafeteria also occur because I am bombarded with a room full of people talking simultaneously, so I usually sit quietly during lunch because it is too difficult for me to hear a single voice. I was born with a hearing loss, but my parents weren't aware of it until I was two years old. All the other preschoolers were talking up a storm, but I was silent with no real language except for gibberish. The only way I could hear myself was if I yelled at the top of my lungs, earning me the reputation as the loudest child at Nanny's Nursery. To find out why I wasn't speaking, my parents took me to my pediatrician, who referred us to the University of Tennessee Speech and Hearing for a hearing test. I took the test, and the results made my mom cry. I was diagnosed with a moderately-severe-to-severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, which means that in both ears the hair cells in my cochlea are damaged. My mom was heartbroken, knowing that what was in my future was questionable. She didn't know if I would be able to accomplish what Hearing people could: if I could enjoy music, play sports, or be successful academically. When I was three and received my first pair of hearing aids, immediately my world came to life. I heard a jet plane soaring in the sky, I heard birds chirping in the trees, and the TV was not a boring piece of furniture anymore but one of entertainment because, before, I never paid attention to it. I could hear voices, and my silent world was overwhelmed with magical sound. My parents decided to send me to UT Speech and Hearing for speech therapy from age three to age nine so that I could learn how to listen and speak. I worked hard to master speech and was very successful. At age five, my parents decided I was ready to start kindergarten, so they went to the Knox County School System to see if I could be accepted. However, their school authorities thought I was unable to handle the challenge. They said, "Sorry, she's not ready to start kindergarten." They crossed their arms, leaned over the desk where my parents were sitting, and declared, "And even if she makes it through kindergarten, she will not make it through first grade. And music will never be in Calen's future. She won't be able to differentiate between the tones." My parents knew I was so much more capable than the authorities had claimed and decided to not let the public school system take responsibility for my education. So, my parents chose to send me to Webb. In the lower school, I wore my hair in a ponytail daily and was unconcerned about my appearance. However, when I reached middle school, my life took a sudden sharp turn. As if a card had been flipped over, I became deeply self-aware of my appearance and difference. In middle school, no one wants to be different. The only solution I knew for my difference was to attempt to hide it and pretend it wasn't there. Covering my hearing aids behind my hair wasn't a problem, but the microphone was a whole other story. My peers probably thought the microphone the teachers had to wear was cool, but in my mind it was detestable and served as a taunting reminder that I was "inferior." I have a secret, or at least that's what I like to think. I know many of you were aware that I have hearing loss, but to some of you this is a surprise. I always keep my hair down to conceal my hearing aids because I'm afraid of being judged. Another reason why I try to hide my "secret" is because I hope that people will see me for who I really am as a normal person and not care that I have an invisible disability. Even though the Knox County School authorities said I wouldn't make it through kindergarten and definitely not first grade, I did. I proved them wrong. Even with a disadvantage as minor as a hearing loss, I can do anything except hear. I have been able to live a normal life thanks to my favorite audiologist, Dr. Sally Baerman, for fitting me with my high-powered, digital hearing aids which help me thrive in the Hearing world. Thanks for current technology such as my CaptionCall phone, which allows me to read what the caller is saying along with closed-caption on my TV. Thanks to Mrs. Jean Helbig, who has been teaching me to play the piano these past 8 years, and I can differentiate between the tones. And for helping me to effectively communicate with my mom without hearing aids in the morning, thanks to Mrs. Gay Baker for teaching me ASL. To Mrs. Deb Hotchkiss, Ms. Alex Ardison, Mrs. Jane Webb, and all the high school teachers, thank you so much for supporting me through my Webb School experience, and to my mom and my dad for having such strong faith in me. Thank you and Announcements are next.
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:34 pm
Dramatica Angeliqua This is a personal testimony of mine, the first one I've ever recorded in detail but not the first I had experienced. It is the most recent event that had happened to me. Copied and pasted from my computer: 2/15/12 Here's an inspiration for you: I am still shocked by what happened today after high school. Every student has to write a chapel talk and present it on a specific date in the year, and I had been postponing it because I was reluctant to do it; therefore, I waited until the last minute. Today was really pressuring for me because all the teachers came up to me to nag me about my speech and that it had to be done NOW because my practice presentation is tomorrow. I threw back a few resistant complaints and cried twice out of frustration and stress. I had a pretty bad day today on February 15. When I got home, my mom was stern with me, telling me she had gotten a call from one of my teachers, and they had also noted I may have a sign of depression. I acted snappish and felt like a jerk. I trudged upstairs to wash my face (I have oily skin), and when I patted it dry with a towel, a thought came to me in a very quiet voice saying, You need to have a talk with God. You cannot hide this from Him, and you cannot get through your problems alone. Go talk to Him. Now, this was merely a suggestion that the Holy Spirit strongly recommended me to do in what appeared to be a thought of my own... but the words didn't belong to me. I could have turned down the suggestion if I had wished to, but I was feeling like crud and agreed that I needed to converse with God. So I began, wracking my brain for something to say and how to address God with my issue, "God, I'm sorry that I haven't been talking to you normally in a while. I've only been running to you when I needed help, and I feel like I haven't properly had a father/daughter talk for so long... I realize that I can't just think about myself when everything's fine and suddenly need your help when life goes wrong. Please forgive me. But Lord, I ask again for your help because I'm feeling depressed, and I don't know how I'll get my entire speech written. Lord, I really need you to give me the strength and motivation to finish my paper and to take away my depression. Amen." I was sobbing a bit (for the third time) because it's so emotional for me to pray to God. I often cry when talking to Him because I love Him... I came back downstairs and sat at the kitchen table with my mom. I felt so strangely at ease, and I had the strongest urge to give my mother a hug and a kiss. I told my mom of my prayer to God and how I suddenly felt calm afterwards. We both knew God had immediately and willingly taken away the horrible feeling in my heart. He had heard me. My mom and I began on my speech, going over brainstormed ideas written on a scrap sheet of paper, and I typed away on my iPad (with a separate keyboard that links to my iPad through wireless BlueTooth) with my mom helping me along. My dad finally came home from work, for we could see, sitting by the window, that his car pulled in the driveway. Supper was ready, and afterwards I returned to working on my speech. All of a sudden, the Pages document crashed, and I was unable to return back to my essay. I could open up any of my other Pages documents, but not the one that had crashed: the one with my speech. I started getting anxiety attacks, and my mom asked my dad to figure out the problem and recover the document (he's an engineer and a whiz on technology). My mind retrospected to earlier in the afternoon to the voice in my head that told me now was the time to speak with God and and to my prayer, trying to follow the voice's advice that I couldn't do this without Him, but I didn't have much luck calming myself down with those recent memories. I tried to assure myself that God was in control of everything that happened. And I had nothing to fear. But still...I was doubting. Then, with such love shining in her eyes, my mom gazed directly at me, took both of my hands into hers, and said, "Have you ever heard of faith?" I was astonished, and I could only stare at her, dumbfounded, as she looked at me with such intensity...full of love! "Mom, you read my mind," I could only answer. She smiled. "God will do anything for you if you will only have faith in Him. You need to trust in Him completely that everything will work out." Then we prayed together, still holding hands, for God to help my dad retrieve the document again. I still doubted that even if I put all my faith into God saving my speech document (which if it was never found again, I would burst into tears), the document would never be recovered, and all my hard work and effort would be lost. I was extremely worried and afraid something bad would happen. "But Mom, what if my paper's gone?" "It won't be," she assured me confidently. "Your dad will find it again, I promise you. Put your trust in God, and your paper will be found. There's no reason to be scared because He is in control and always there for you." I found myself holding hands tightly with her as if I was afraid that if I let my hands go, then God wouldn't recover my chapel talk document. It was a silly notion, but I felt rather safe and peaceful holding hands with her. I didn't want to let go. My mom casually suggested I write down any thoughts pertaining to the essay that could be added. I was hesitant and timidly explained to her I didn't want to write at the moment. She smiled as if she was amused and stated, "Are you afraid that God won't save your speech if we let our hands go?" I sighed. "Mom, you read my mind again." So, I cautiously unlaced our intertwined fingers, breathing an inner sigh of relief when I found I was still in a calm state of mind. A Bible verse came to mind, and I told my mother, "Jesus said that if I had faith as small as a mustard seed, I could say to this mountain, 'move' and it will be done. Nothing will be impossible for me if my faith in God is strong enough." (Matthew 17:20 Paraphrased) (An hour later) My dad traveled back downstairs with my iPad and some pages printed out. He told me my speech document had corrupted, but he was able to copy the manuscript and email it to me. The pages printed out were the manuscript, my speech with a few strange symbols added here and there. I deleted the weird text from the document and – ta da – my document was a new one with my speech in it! I was so excited and thankful to God for supporting me as much as He did. I couldn't thank Him enough for what He had done. I later told my mom that I believed the Holy Spirit spoke to me through her because of the overwhelming love pouring out of her, and she said she believed so, as well, because she felt the love of the Spirit (yeah, at that time my mom had been acting freaky like she was somebody else). I also concurred to my mom that the Spirit aided my dad in recovering my crashed speech. He had no idea how or why it crashed when all the other documents were perfectly fine. Definitely something bizarre happened! My mom and I came to the conclusion that God chose the right time for my document to crash on me. He allowed it to happen at the perfect time: after my dad had come home (to fix it for me later on). He let it crash on purpose, I believe, so that I could rely on Him and try to convince myself over and over: Everything will be fine! Everything goes according to God's plan! Trust in Him! He was helping me grow stronger in my faith as I had asked Him. This was where a Bible verse came to mind along with a mental image of Jesus standing on the waves and one of His disciples, Peter, coming toward Him before realizing he was walking on water and panicked. He cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus caught him so Peter wouldn't sink and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:22-31 Paraphrased) When those verses came to mind, I had asked God, "Lord I want to have faith in you. Please strengthen my faith!" In this case, God was doing exactly that. He caused my iPad to do a weird thing so my faith would grow even more. Yes, my faith has been strengthened even more, and after my confrontation with God, He remained active all throughout the evening, making His presence obviously known. I'm just in a state of shock and admiration for what a wonderful Father He is!!! My speech is finally done, for I have been working on it for 8 hours. I'm relieved that it's over with and so proud with what I've written! Too bad I wasn't able to do any of my other homework. Still, I knew that God had helped me even if it wasn't what I expected. When you ask God for help, He often aids you in ways you do not expect or do not like. Whatever the reason God chooses to do it that way, He must see very good results and that this, whatever it is, is the best way out of all the possible choices. "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13 KJV) Yeah, that's my story. On February 22nd when I was leaving art class early so I can get to chapel where I would meet Mary Heyward and Kaylie, two of my classmates who were also going to give speeches, I went into the restroom to wash my clay-covered hands. Before I did that, I prayed to the Lord to give me the strength to speak and to calm my anxiety. Butterflies were wildly dancing in my stomach, and I knew I couldn't do this without God. When I had said, "Amen," the bathroom door suddenly opened and a girl casually walked in. I immediately went to washing my hands and pretended nothing happened. "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." (Matthew 6:6 KJV) I had prayed in secret, and God rewarded me openly with my chapel talk presentation and with the compliments that soon followed for three days before the weekend and a little bit the week after. Countless people came up to me in shock, saying that my delivery was powerful and inspirational; one person had even admitted my speech made them shiver (because of the power). I couldn't do it like I did without a supernatural force such as God. I humbly refuse to take all the glory, because it was God who had delivered the speech, not me. So I'm giving all the credit to the Rightful Owner. He is faithful to me as I am faithful to Him, and I declare that without God I am nothing. I am nothing without God. "Lord, I could not ever thank you enough..." In case you were wondering about my chapel talk, I will post it below. I am deaf and have lived a life under some deep depression and struggles in making friends. I am right now slowly catching up in social skills, but I've been judged for my deafness by other people in school, especially in middle school. Thankfully, high school is so much better. There's been a lot of mean girls in my life who would yell at me and ask if I heard them or isolate me and not speak to me at all. Despite my appearance, I'm not a popular girl like you may think of me to be. I've never been popular, and I'm happy to be this way because I've chosen amazing friends (finally after being a loner for so long!), most of whom are Christians, and they don't care who I am or what handicaps I may possess. God gave me my friends as a gift of His love, and they are the nicest people I've ever met. Even through my emotional struggles in life, my hearing loss humbles me and brings me closer to God. "In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down—those who with a word make a man out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice." (Isaiah 29:18-21 NIV) "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope," (Romans 5:3-4 ESV) Chapel Talk (by me, Calen Wright): Life in the Mainstream (mouths) Did you hear me? I am hearing-impaired, and silence is what I hear much of the time. I wear hearing aids, but in the morning when I'm not wearing them, I hear nothing; just silence. At school, my teachers wear a microphone much like a necklace so their voices are amplified to my ears. But sometimes in class when the teacher is speaking through the microphone and someone says something to me at the same time, their voice is drowned out by the teacher's voice. I faintly hear them but can't distinguish what they're saying. In the hallways it is much the same: the sound of what seems to be a thousand voices coupled with laughter along with the sound of slamming locker doors overwhelm me and snuff out the voices of people I converse with. Social dilemmas in the cafeteria also occur because I am bombarded with a room full of people talking simultaneously, so I usually sit quietly during lunch because it is too difficult for me to hear a single voice. I was born with a hearing loss, but my parents weren't aware of it until I was two years old. All the other preschoolers were talking up a storm, but I was silent with no real language except for gibberish. The only way I could hear myself was if I yelled at the top of my lungs, earning me the reputation as the loudest child at Nanny's Nursery. To find out why I wasn't speaking, my parents took me to my pediatrician, who referred us to the University of Tennessee Speech and Hearing for a hearing test. I took the test, and the results made my mom cry. I was diagnosed with a moderately-severe-to-severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, which means that in both ears the hair cells in my cochlea are damaged. My mom was heartbroken, knowing that what was in my future was questionable. She didn't know if I would be able to accomplish what Hearing people could: if I could enjoy music, play sports, or be successful academically. When I was three and received my first pair of hearing aids, immediately my world came to life. I heard a jet plane soaring in the sky, I heard birds chirping in the trees, and the TV was not a boring piece of furniture anymore but one of entertainment because, before, I never paid attention to it. I could hear voices, and my silent world was overwhelmed with magical sound. My parents decided to send me to UT Speech and Hearing for speech therapy from age three to age nine so that I could learn how to listen and speak. I worked hard to master speech and was very successful. At age five, my parents decided I was ready to start kindergarten, so they went to the Knox County School System to see if I could be accepted. However, their school authorities thought I was unable to handle the challenge. They said, "Sorry, she's not ready to start kindergarten." They crossed their arms, leaned over the desk where my parents were sitting, and declared, "And even if she makes it through kindergarten, she will not make it through first grade. And music will never be in Calen's future. She won't be able to differentiate between the tones." My parents knew I was so much more capable than the authorities had claimed and decided to not let the public school system take responsibility for my education. So, my parents chose to send me to Webb. In the lower school, I wore my hair in a ponytail daily and was unconcerned about my appearance. However, when I reached middle school, my life took a sudden sharp turn. As if a card had been flipped over, I became deeply self-aware of my appearance and difference. In middle school, no one wants to be different. The only solution I knew for my difference was to attempt to hide it and pretend it wasn't there. Covering my hearing aids behind my hair wasn't a problem, but the microphone was a whole other story. My peers probably thought the microphone the teachers had to wear was cool, but in my mind it was detestable and served as a taunting reminder that I was "inferior." I have a secret, or at least that's what I like to think. I know many of you were aware that I have hearing loss, but to some of you this is a surprise. I always keep my hair down to conceal my hearing aids because I'm afraid of being judged. Another reason why I try to hide my "secret" is because I hope that people will see me for who I really am as a normal person and not care that I have an invisible disability. Even though the Knox County School authorities said I wouldn't make it through kindergarten and definitely not first grade, I did. I proved them wrong. Even with a disadvantage as minor as a hearing loss, I can do anything except hear. I have been able to live a normal life thanks to my favorite audiologist, Dr. Sally Baerman, for fitting me with my high-powered, digital hearing aids which help me thrive in the Hearing world. Thanks for current technology such as my CaptionCall phone, which allows me to read what the caller is saying along with closed-caption on my TV. Thanks to Mrs. Jean Helbig, who has been teaching me to play the piano these past 8 years, and I can differentiate between the tones. And for helping me to effectively communicate with my mom without hearing aids in the morning, thanks to Mrs. Gay Baker for teaching me ASL. To Mrs. Deb Hotchkiss, Ms. Alex Ardison, Mrs. Jane Webb, and all the high school teachers, thank you so much for supporting me through my Webb School experience, and to my mom and my dad for having such strong faith in me. Thank you and Announcements are next. Hi! Your testimony is an inspiration to me and I am sure to all those who will read it. You have truly been blessed by God and your life and testimony is awesome to me. Before I started modeling full time. I use to work at a newspaper during the day and was a part time piano teacher at the St. Augustine Florida School for the visual and hearing impaired. I use to teach students who were much like yourself. That is why your story and testimony touched my heart so much because I know what a person who has a hearing impairment has to go through in order to play a piano. Again, I think that you are just awesome and that God has done and will continue to do many great things in your life for His will and glorification. I know that it is by God's grace that you are where you are today. But I just wanted to tell you what a blessing it is and was to read your testimony and I just wanted to let you know that you rock as a young Christian and as a person in general. May the Lord continue to use you and your life as a beacon unto others so that they may also see the light of His love and mercy through you daily. Christian Hugs, ~Lyn W.~ P.S. Thank you for being a beacon of light for the Lord in this dark and disparaged world.
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Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 5:57 pm
† I have many things that He has done for me, not only my entire life, but within this last year. I don't even know where to begin. I won't share my life story, but I do feel the need to share something. Our God is a God of healing. A few weeks ago, the doctor gave me some bad news. My kidneys were failing. The test results weren't good. There was talk of dialysis. But he wanted to do some more tests before we went that drastic. In the meantime, my friends and I prayed, my name was put on a church prayer list, and I "walked in prayer" through 3 more rounds of testing. Each test I got the news that my kidneys were improving. After this last test he told me that dialysis was no longer a necessary option, that he fully expects my kidneys to recover! I know that it was all due to Him, our ultimate Physician. I thank Him and praise Him every day, and know that no matter what comes my way I can rely on Him to see me through. †
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The Scottish Knight Captain
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:19 pm
Stinker-BeIIe † I have many things that He has done for me, not only my entire life, but within this last year. I don't even know where to begin. I won't share my life story, but I do feel the need to share something. Our God is a God of healing. A few weeks ago, the doctor gave me some bad news. My kidneys were failing. The test results weren't good. There was talk of dialysis. But he wanted to do some more tests before we went that drastic. In the meantime, my friends and I prayed, my name was put on a church prayer list, and I "walked in prayer" through 3 more rounds of testing. Each test I got the news that my kidneys were improving. After this last test he told me that dialysis was no longer a necessary option, that he fully expects my kidneys to recover! I know that it was all due to Him, our ultimate Physician. I thank Him and praise Him every day, and know that no matter what comes my way I can rely on Him to see me through. † Isn't God good? All the time isn't He! Amen for the healing! T.S.K.
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 9:15 pm
This isn't my testimony, but I thought it would go nicely in the thread.
I recently went to Canada and got married to my Canadian fiance. I am completely convinced that God is moving me up there for a reason and here is why:
Josh(my now hubby) had bought me a plane ticket to Seattle WA and then a bus ticket to cross the border( it's cheaper that way). So I flew into Seattle and waited for my bus. It came and I got on, showed the driver my confirmation number and he said I wasn't on the list! I was freaking out inside. I texted my mom to pray for me to be able to get on the bus. After the driver got everyone else on the bus, he made a call. Coming up to me he said that my ticket was for the next day but since there was going to be room they changed it to today. I was so thankful. I got on and sat down.
A few hours later we stopped a little before the border, the bus driver told us to get out out passports. I did, and upon looking at my passport, my heart began to beat fast with worry once again. It was expired! I again texted my mother to pray for me to pass the border. We went inside and I handed my passport to the guy at the desk, hoping he wouldn't notice. He turned to me and said " Do you know your passport is expired?" I lied and said no. He took a minute longer and then said he normally didn't do it, but that he would let me cross. I was filled with relief. I got the rest of the way to Josh's grandparents house alright.
Now we were going to get married to start the paper work for me to move to Canada before our actual big ceremony. So that I wouldn't have to wait as long after I moved up there. Josh had called and they told him the documents that he needed to bring, which included our birth certificates. Josh had lost his. I told him that was fine, but that I didn't want to give up the option just yet and that we would go to their office and ask them in person if there was any way we could do it without that. The next day we did, the told us we didn't actually need the paper work with us as long as we knew the information that was on it. I thanked God.
The next day we called over 6 numbers for officiants, we finally got one and we were so lucky. She was so sincere and even held a little ceremony for us (instead of us just signing papers). She knew every word, it was as if she were having a conversation with us. It was perfect.
As we were walking down the streets to the bus at the end of my trip, Josh and I saw a few churches, and I couldn't help but wonder which one we would be going to.
And the funny thing is, that my bus was late, meaning I got the the airport late and I ended up missing my plane and having to catch another the next day. I've been thinking to myself that it was God saying he didn't want me to leave.
I've been telling every one about how God has worked to get Josh and I together. I know there is a reason for me marrying him and moving to Canada and I can't wait to find out what it is!
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:16 pm
What hasn't God and Christ Jesus done for me lately...
I will have too say this;
A lot of people claim "There by the grace of God go I!", or say something when something bad happens to them like "Well, God just loves me is all!"
Well to be honest. I am in that group of people who has to say "But by the grace of God go I.", because not more than twenty minutes ago I was in my kitchen filling up a smaller bottle that is used for bleach for every day uses like to put in soapy dish water to help clean the dishes, or to put in a buket of hot water to mop with or to even clean the greese or mud or whatever off my hands from time to time.
Well there I was filling the smaller bottle with the larger bottle when the smaller bottle became full and right before I could put the larger bottle down and cap it or the smaller down and cap it... It happened.
The smaller full bottle of bleach slipped right through my hand and life went into slow motion for a second or two.
I saw the bottle slip. I saw the full bottle hit the bottom of the stainless steel sink and saw half of the bleach contents come up out of the bottle and fly upward into the air.
Now I did feel a drop or two hit the top of my head and a drop or two hit my right eyebrow, and after things went back into real life speed and I grabbed the smaller bottle and set both it and the larger one down and capped them, I could not find any of the bleach that spilled out of the smaller bottle and it was now half empty.
I did however wash my hair and face well with a lot of cold water, and I did find just a very few spots on my Sunday shirt I wore to church.
But after washing my hair and my face and changing clothes, I went back into my kitchen, and guess what????
There was no bleach spill to be found anywhere? No in the floor, not on the dishes in the clean cupboard to dry, not spilled on the rug in front of the twin sinks, NO WHERE.... Okay?! Gone.. Like it did'nt happen.
Right now instead of me typing this into the guild, I should be on my kitchen floor vomitting and screaming in pain from being blinded and burned badly by the industrial strength bleach I use.
So when I tell you from here that Jesus loves me and that Jesus loves you and that Jesus saves and for you to fully trust and lean on Him for all things great and small, or say something like "By the grace of God go I", You can truely believe it.
It is only by the grace of God am I here and not blinded or in major pain and able to share with you this testimony.
May God continue to pour out His bounty of blessings upon you and yours always!
Your brother in Christ and P.A.L.,
The Hawk-David D.
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:06 pm
I'm only too happy to share my two cents about what our gracious Lord has given me. (This is a bit of a life story! You're forewarned. xp )
When I was very young I was sickly and had a pituitary disorder where I did not grow any taller than a four-year-old child by the age of eight. My mother, grandmother, and great grandmother had all been ballerinas, and it was my mother's dream that I would become one as well, but I was very, very frail for a long time. Miraculously, with so much prayer and love in my life, when I turned ten years of age, I went for my bi-annual checkup and was told that what had been a very debilitating genetic disorder was suddenly clearing up as if it were nothing more than the common cold. I was going to start growing normally. I remember my mother falling on her knees and thanking the Lord, because what had originally been her dream had also become mine, and now I would be able to pursue it if I could garner strength.
I grew very well for the next two years and excelled at my desired art, and my mother (a single mother; my father had died when I was three) became very ill, and could no longer leave the house. Life seemed to fall apart then, but we still had a sort of calm in our lives, knowing that even if worse came to worst, she would have a place at Jesus's side. My mother, truly an earthly angel according to everyone she ever knew, passed away with pancreatic cancer just before I turned thirteen. I was then passed over to the custody of my aunt, and while she was not religious, she allowed me to continue with home study. For a long time I thought that was the way it would be, that I didn't need church, but in recent years, life has been taking its turns down dimmer paths, and I'm looking for His guidance again. I always know He walks beside me, but the company of kindred spirits is always an additional comfort.
I hope to learn very much from this guild, about everyone and about myself. Bless all of you, and may we all become fast friends!
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The Scottish Knight Captain
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 5:58 pm
Most recently the good Lord has let me help celebrate my parents 59th wedding anniversary.
That in itself is a testimony to 'What God can do!'
They are both in excellent health, still very much in love with one another, and boldly walking together into their 60th year of being married to each other.
Isn't God great and wonderful!
Just thought that I would share that with my 'Well' guild family and maybe it will inspire you as it did me that the Lord can do anything, even keep a couple together loving each other as long as my parents have.
May the Lord continue to bless you and your's in all things done in His name.
Your brother in Christ,
T.S.K.
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