Christmas is a time for sharing with family and friends. It is a time to show our gratitude by sharing our blessings with others. For those who know Jesus Christ as Savior, it is a time to remember the “Reason for the Season,” and the gift that God gave. The Christmas Story comes alive! As we gather together, we reflect upon the importance of the meaning of that day so long ago.
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 – (KJV)
Skylar, an eight year old boy who was born blind, had a life long desire: he simply longed to read the Word of God!
Last December, Skylar and other visually impaired individuals were guests at a local Lions Club Meeting. There were informed of the various programs and services available to them. Skylar was particularly interested when the presentation was made for Audio Bibles for the Blind.
Skylar got really excited when he heard that Audio Bibles were available for people just like him! Skylar exclaimed, “That’s what I want for Christmas!”
His family, pleased that their son wanted to read the Word of God, inquired as to how they might get a free Children’s Audio Bible. Knowing the time was short, we assured them that Skylar’s gift would be on its way the next day.
What a joy it was for us when we heard it did arrive in time for Christmas!
A child with a Christmas wish is not unusual. When a child’s wish is for their own Audio Bible, it reminds us of why we celebrate this joyous season, and makes the work we do worthwhile.
For boys and girls like Skylar, Christmas will come alive, because you cared enough to give. On their behalf, we thank you, and wish you a blessed Christmas Season.
Luke 2:1-14 (King James Version)
1. And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5. To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
“I prayed to die.”
Peggy shared with us recently that when her husband told her he had only married her because he felt sorry she was blind, the world around her crumbled. Born premature as a twin, Peggy was blinded when the oxygen in the incubator dried out her eyes. Her sister didn’t survive. Peggy had been a fighter since birth, but now she didn’t want to fight anymore.
Peggy’s crumbled marriage wasn’t her only struggle. She had accepted Christ into her life when she was 17 years old, but she had never found a Christian community where she felt she belonged. No matter how hard Peggy tried, it seemed like people couldn’t get past the fact that she was blind. They couldn’t see her for who she was.
It was in that moment of total despair that Peggy says she heard the Lord speak to her heart. “If I don’t heal your eyes, will you serve me? If I don’t restore your marriage, will you serve me?” Peggy answered, “Yes.”
Today, Peggy is nearing 60 years of age, and she’s been happily married to her husband, Robert, for 26 years. And every day since their wedding, Peggy prayed that Robert would join her in her walk with the Lord.
Still struggling to find a Christian community where she belonged, Peggy called us one day. We listened to her story and prayed with her. Because of the generous support of friends and partners like you, we were able to send Peggy an Audio Bible.
The healing words of scripture were now instantly available to her. And what was even more wonderful for Peggy was that when she listened to God’s Spoken Word, Robert joined her.For the first time in their marriage, they were hearing the Bible together.
Not long after they received the Audio Bible, Robert started going to church with Peggy. They finally found a community where they belonged. And they found it together. Recently, Robert and Peggy were both baptized in their church. Peggy couldn’t be happier.
That’s what happens when friends like you support our life-changing ministry at Audio Bibles for the Blind. Hearts are opened, lives are changed, and people are seen and loved for who they really are. It’s hard to believe a few recordings could do all this, but time and again, we hear stories just like Peggy’s.
In their new church home, Peggy and Robert have been able to minister to countless people who also feel pushed away and rejected by the world around them. Peggy wraps these fragile men and women in the love of Christ and acknowledges their beauty as sons and daughters of God. And it started with an Audio Bible.
Peggy no longer sees her blindness as something God is using to test her. Instead, she sees that she has a tremendous gift to offer others. Peggy doesn’t get caught up in disfigurements, skin color, or even fashion sense. She sees straight into people’s hearts, and she loves them for who they are.
When you send your support to Audio Bibles For The Blind, lives are changed. As homes are opened to healing words of scripture, hearts are transformed.
Please, send in your most generous support today so we can continue ministering to men and women like Peggy. Help us give God’s Spoken Word to those whose hearts are longing for healing words of love and encouragement.
We can’t make Peggy’s blindness go away, but we can help her and countless others like her to see themselves as God’s precious children, accepted and dearly loved as His own.
This is the miracle of the Audio Bible. And you make it happen every time you give to this ministry. Thank you!
When the Twin Towers in New York City were destroyed by terrorists 10 years ago this month, Tim was there. He helped drag survivors––and casualties––from the rubble. When Katrina hit New Orleans and devastated the city, Tim wasn’t far behind. He helped bring relief to the hurricane victims and gave freely of himself in service. Tim felt so strongly called to serve others that he pursued a Doctorate of Divinity and was on his way to becoming an ordained pastor. Then, disaster struck Tim’s own life.
One night Tim was asked to take two colleagues home from work. Before he knew what happened, he was dragged away from his car, severely beaten, and left for dead by two thugs who stole his car. Tim’s head had been kicked repeatedly––so badly in fact that it pushed his eyes back into his cranium. He was blinded from the beating.
Tim’s life changed that night. He had lived his life to bring peace to the hurting, and now a terrible act of violence had taken everything away from him. But what Tim missed most about his life “before” was his ability to read.
You see, Tim read the Bible faithfully, delving into Scripture while he prepared for a life of ministry as a pastor. After that terrible night, Tim could no longer read the Bible. He asked everyone he knew, but nobody knew how to help him––until one day a social worker sent him to Audio Bibles For The Blind.
“It’s a miracle. I can hear the Bible, and I can understand it clearly,” Tim says. “This is the most beautiful thing in my life.”
Friends like you made this happen! When you offer your most generous support, you give something beautiful to people like Tim.
Losing your sight to an act of violence is an especially heavy weight for people like Tim to carry with them. Each and every day, as Tim struggles to get through ordinary tasks such as tying his shoes, making breakfast, or even getting to and from work, he is reminded of all that was taken from him in one terrifying instant.
The Audio Bible doesn’t give a normal life back to Tim or others like him. But it does help ease the pain.
“When you can hear the Bible and clearly… That takes a lot of burden off your soul,” Tim says. “And I don’t think people realize that until they have to go through something like this.”
Every day I receive one letter after another, each telling a story of loss and pain. I wish I could help lift the burdens of each one of these people, but I can’t––at least not without your help.
You see, we get more requests for help than what we can fulfill on our own. I can’t stand the thought of turning away a single person who is seeking comfort from God’s Spoken Word, and I believe you can’t either.
When you offer your most generous support, you help answer the calls for help from good people like Tim. You lift a burden off their souls and soothe the pain of their loss. You can’t give back someone’s vision, but when you give an Audio Bible, you restore something even greater––you offer a lifeline of God’s healing Word, a balm for the hurting soul.
Thank you for your generous and faithful support. Tim and I are so very grateful.
Click here to give online, or call us at 941.748.3031
“Several of my clients report that they are really enjoying being able to read the Bible again. And, you know, this is a way for me to unobtrusively bring up spiritual matters to my clients!” -Marilee in VA
Note from the editor:
In May, many of you read our Story of the Month titled “We Remember”. As we began to prepare for that story, we came across many great possibilities and were able to speak with many who served this great country.
I want to share with you some of those stories that didn’t make it into the final version we mailed out.
Over the years, Audio Bibles for the Blind has been blessed to be able to give back to those who have sacrificed much for this country. Having the Bible in a usable format has meant so much to veterans like James, who, as a Marine, served two tours of duty in Korea and in Vietnam as well as a tour in Germany. He retired from the military as a Lieutenant Colonel after twenty-seven years of service. His widow shared with us,
“His [James] Audio Bible was a true blessing. He was able to listen until the very last and this was so, wonderful for him.”
Norman was drafted into the Army and served in both World War II and Korea before returning home to his wife whom, he has now been married to for fifty-six years. Norman is 70% paralyzed and has macular degeneration but continues to thank the Lord for the life he has been able to lead and for the blessing his Audio Bible has been to him. Norman told us,
“When I first learned of my vision trouble, I was so worried as I am such an avid reader. I should not have been.”
Aaron Pratt served in the army in Georgia with one tour of duty in South Korea. In the late 1990’s he found out that he was losing his vision due to glaucoma and would soon need the services available at his local VA hospital. The rehabilitation program was a transformation in his life. Mr. Pratt stated,
“God will put you in a place, he will designate a time and a place but only if you pay attention. I was so depressed when I arrived at the unit, but I grew stronger every day, stronger in the Lord.”
Mr. Pratt tells us that the Audio Bible he received from Audio Bibles for the Blind makes it so easy to cover chapter and verses so quickly.
Dolores O’Bryant has special memories of her military experiences as she met her husband in Fort Knox, Kentucky. They both served in the military there.
“The Lord has always been with us as we raised our children, one of whom just retired from military service also in Fort Knox, Kentucky.” Dolores also tells us “I listen to my audio tapes every day!”
“If you want to see your son alive, you better get here.”
The words every parent prays they never hear became a reality for one mother. Her son, Josh, was comatose and barely clinging to life.
One night, when a party got out of hand, Josh fell from his friend’s balcony and hit the concrete 25 feet below. He should have died that night. At least, that’s what the doctors and nurses said.
Josh spent more than 3 months in a coma on life support. Time and again, the doctors tried to convince his mother to “pull the plug.” Josh was completely unresponsive, they said. There was no hope.
As Josh’s mother agonized over what to do, she heard, deep in her heart, the promises of scripture:
“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed” (Romans 4:18, NIV).
“So, too, am I giving you hope,” was the whisper in her heart.
What happened next was the first in a series of miracles the Lord would use to save Josh. As a faithful friend to Audio Bibles for the Blind, you are a part of Josh’s miracle.
In the final hours before Josh would have to be removed from life support, the unthinkable happened: he opened his eyes. Hope against hope, Josh was alive. But surviving was only the beginning. He would need to learn to live again.
After the fall and the coma, Josh’s body had shut down completely. He’d suffered multiple strokes and heart attacks. His brain and body were severely damaged. From his ABC’s to taking his first steps, Josh would have to relearn everything.
When Josh was finally stable enough to go home with his mother, reality––and despair––set in. Yes, he was alive, he thought, but barely.
Josh’s left wrist was broken, his right arm was curled up from strokes, he was in a wheelchair, and his left eye had been removed.
“I was moping,” Josh said. “I said, ‘I’m nothing. I can do nothing. I can’t even feed myself. I can’t bathe myself. I’m nothing.”
But once again, Josh’s mother had faith beyond imagination. “First and foremost you’re God’s child. You’ve been redeemed by the blood,” she told Josh.” Secondly, you’re my son, you’re a brother, you’re an uncle, you’re a friend. Why don’t you just be the best that you can be?”
From that moment on, that’s exactly what Josh has done.
Before long, Josh contacted us at Audio Bibles for the Blind and requested a copy of God’s Spoken Word. The accident had taken away his left eye and most of his vision in his right eye. Holding a book was nearly impossible after the multiple strokes. And still, Josh longed to delve into scriptures and learn to be the best that he could be.
“It’s so much easier now,” Josh said of having his very own Audio Bible. “I’m so grateful.”
God miraculously saved Josh’s life after the tragic accident at his friend’s party. But the real miracle is how God restored life to Josh’s heart and soul. Through God’s Spoken Word, Josh has found “hope against hope.”
You are a part of that hope.
When you contribute to Audio Bibles For The Blind, you restore life to the hearts and souls of the blind and print handicapped. You give hope to those who have surrendered to despair.
Each and every day, we have more and more stories pouring in, stories just like Josh’s where young men and women suffer a tragic accident and have their whole world shattered. We need your help to meet their needs, and to mend their broken hearts with promises of God’s Spoken Word.
From the heartfelt cries of the Psalms to the eternal hope of the Gospel, every single Audio Bible holds the salve to soothe the deepest wounds.
Josh did lose everything the night he fell. But today, he is God’s beloved child, sealed as Christ’s own because you ministered to him through the gift of an Audio Bible.
You can do it again when you give today.
Thank you for your faithful giving, but most of all, thank you for the “hope against hope” that you make possible through your valuable support.
P.S. Please share this ministry with family, friends or even your local church. We cannot imagine having to turn away hundreds each week who need God’s Word, but we are reaching a critical time at Audio Bibles for the Blind. Please keep this ministry in your prayers during these tough economic times.
Download PDF: June 2011 Story of the Month
Behind those three simple words, comes a decade of fearless sacrifice from our nation’s soldiers. The final battle with Osama bin Laden lasted just minutes, but it took 10 years of dedication from the brave men and women serving in our military to achieve the most significant victory to date in the ongoing War on Terror.
Leaving behind their families and risking their personal safety, our soldiers have served our country fearlessly as they searched for the man responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people.
As I write to you today, emotions are still raw across the country as we each process in our own way what has happened.
Beyond politics, religion, or any other divide, there is one feeling that does not waver throughout this country, one emotion that unites us all: gratitude for our brave men and women in uniform.
This Memorial Day, as we celebrate our recent victory in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, we honor all those who, throughout the past, have sacrificed so much––even their lives––to protect the freedoms we hold dear.
Many have returned home with disabilities so severe that they aren’t even able to exercise one of the very freedoms for which they have given everything: opening a Bible and freely reading the Word of God. That’s why during this special time I can think of no gift more precious to a wounded soldier or a blinded veteran than the Spoken Word of God.
One of our partners working in a veteran’s hospital told us, “Your Audio Bibles provide one of the brightest beams of light for soldiers who arrive to us for long rehab stays and for those who have lost their vision or those who have lost two or three limbs.”
That’s where you come in. Your most generous gift helps provide Audio Bibles to wounded soldiers or blinded veterans who can no longer hold a book and read on their own. Your support is a profound, life-changing way of saying “Thank You” to those who have fought and bled for our freedom and safety.
This Memorial Day, I invite you to honor and memorialize our soldiers who have so courageously fought to preserve our freedom. We can never repay the debt we owe the brave men and women in our military, but the gift of peace and joy found in God’s Spoken Word is a poignant way to show our gratitude.
While not every veteran bears physical injuries from battle each carries a scar from the violence and trauma of war. For veterans like Aaron, the Audio Bible helps heal these hidden wounds.
“I was so depressed when I arrived at the unit, but I grew stronger every day, stronger in the Lord,” Aaron says. “Through Him, I kept reaching for better things, kept trying to become a better person, and people started noticing the change.”
For other veterans, the Audio Bible is a constant companion as they age, helping to bring peace to a troubled heart.
“I have no doubt of my place with the Lord and where I will spend eternity,” Norman, a veteran of two wars, said referring to the encouragement provided by his Audio Bible. “When I first learned of my vision trouble I was so worried as I am such an avid reader. I should not have been. I thank you for the Audio Bible. Life is good.”
I invite you to join us in honoring the sacrifices of our nation’s soldiers. Join us in giving an Audio Bible to a veteran who can no longer read the healing words of hope and joy found in the Scriptures. Your gift touches the hearts of those who have given everything for people like us that we might enjoy peace and security in this great nation.
Thank you for taking a moment to honor our veterans. Thank you for sharing the greatest gift, the message of God’s eternal love.
May you and your family be blessed this Memorial Day and always. And may you know the truest peace of all––that of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you would like to honor or memorialize someone special to you, you may give online at www.AudioBiblesForTheBlind.org/honor.
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