{"id":2536,"date":"2012-02-21T01:58:50","date_gmt":"2012-02-21T06:58:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2536"},"modified":"2012-02-20T21:07:45","modified_gmt":"2012-02-21T02:07:45","slug":"the-saturday-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/the-saturday-adventure.html","title":{"rendered":"The Saturday adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>On Saturday, several people who have not attended Special Gathering for almost a year came back. \u00a0I could tell from the expressions on their faces and from the look in their eyes that they completely enjoyed their time with us. \u00a0My questions when they left was \u201cWill they come back?\u201d<\/p>\n

Scout is a man with a brain injury and severe short-term memory. \u00a0He is enthused about the way we allow him to take a leadership position. \u00a0Recently, he was moved from his group home to an independent apartment. \u00a0However, he can only come when a staff person from his former group home decides to pick him up from his apartment. \u00a0Because of his short-term-memory disability, he cannot keep track of the day of the week. \u00a0Even though he loves the worship experience and his time at Special Gathering, each week is a new experience for him. \u00a0Therefore, he doesn’t remember from one Saturday to the next what has happened.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that Scout is growing in the Lord. \u00a0Yet, keeping him focused is a concern for him and for Special Gathering staff.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Babs is a high functioning, middle-aged woman who also lives in her own apartment. \u00a0She lives with a young woman who feels that Special Gathering is too structured and \u201creligious\u201d for her. \u00a0Her housemate influences her. \u00a0Babs is normally a sad person. \u00a0I haven\u2019t seen her smile in almost a year. \u00a0On Saturday , she was smiling the entire time she was at the chapel program. \u00a0While she didn\u2019t want to enjoy her time with us, it was as though she had come home and her face showed it.<\/p>\n

At times, people within the mentally challenged community struggle with the same issues that folks without a disability struggle. \u00a0For Scott, it is remembering and trying to fit Special Gathering into his schedule. \u00a0Babs struggles to sort through her emotions regarding her relationship with the Lord.<\/p>\n

Our struggle is helping the men and women who are face these issue to remember that their peace and joy comes from worshiping and loving the Lord. \u00a0The longer I minister to folks with intellectual disabilities, the more I realize how close their needs and desires are to each of us. \u00a0What are some of the things that you stuggle to overcome in your relationship with the Lord? \u00a0What have you found that works to keep your relationship vibrant?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, several people who have not attended Special Gathering for almost a year came back. \u00a0I could tell from the expressions on their faces and from the look in their eyes that they completely enjoyed their time with us. \u00a0My questions when they left was \u201cWill they come back?\u201d Scout is a man with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,16,8,41],"tags":[690,21,688,7,699,715,701,689,6,700],"class_list":["post-2536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Saturday adventure - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/the-saturday-adventure.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Saturday adventure - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Saturday, several people who have not attended Special Gathering for almost a year came back. \u00a0I could tell from the expressions on their faces and from the look in their eyes that they completely enjoyed their time with us. \u00a0My questions when they left was \u201cWill they come back?\u201d Scout is a man with…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/the-saturday-adventure.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-21T06:58:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-02-21T02:07:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/02\/first-church-of-god-vero-beach.jpg?w=210&h=210\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Saturday adventure - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/the-saturday-adventure.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Saturday adventure - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"On Saturday, several people who have not attended Special Gathering for almost a year came back. \u00a0I could tell from the expressions on their faces and from the look in their eyes that they completely enjoyed their time with us. \u00a0My questions when they left was \u201cWill they come back?\u201d Scout is a man with…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/02\/the-saturday-adventure.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-02-21T06:58:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-02-21T02:07:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/02\/first-church-of-god-vero-beach.jpg?w=210&h=210"}],"author":"Linda G. 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