It's been a whirlwind month of chaos, some fun, some emotionally draining, but regardless, it's nearly Thanksgiving and a time to step back and say "Thank you," not only to the Lord but to the loving people who have cared for me. Your many prayers have been so very appreciated:

(1) For my son who had not eaten since June following a choking incident - praise God, he took his first bites this week, two popcorn kernels and 4 nibbles on a French fry. "Small potatos" to some, but to a mom who hasn't been able to get a single morsel even near his mouth, including his stash of Halloween candy, it's truly miraculous.

(2) My home was safe from the 2007 wildfires that ripped through our neighborhood, destroying about 2200 homes in the San Diego county area. One of them lost by was a local doctor who has always carried hopekeepers Magazine in here waiting room. She has rheumatoid arthritis and has done everything in her power to keep working despite her degenerative illness. Please pray for her and she is flaring badly under the circumstances. My son's school in Poway, had 400 students lose their homes and 20 staff members. We are keeping them all in prayer and trying to find ways to help.

(3) We exhibited and I spoke and the Joni and Friends Pasadena Disability Summit conference and it was the right place to be following the week of being evacuated. I will share more below.

And here is some WONDERFUL Thanksgiving news... this was just in the news Wednesday morning:

"The scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep says he will no longer practice the controversial stem cell research technique that was used to create her and will instead pursue a more ethically accepted and breakthrough adult stem cell method that doesn’t result in the destruction of embryos." (Source)

Researchers at UW-Madison announced Tuesday that this finding could change everything. Researchers say this discovery may be able to take the controversy out of their work. UW-Madison researchers teamed up with Japanese scientists and say they've found a way to create stem cells without destroying human embryonic cells. (Source) At a recent event Joni Eareckson Tada also shared that scientists were stating that using embroytic stem cells was becoming "too expensive" with and with too many variables. So if for no other reason, even money may help us advance adult stem cell research!

For the many of us who may someday benefit from stem cell research, but who didn't want to have to make an unethical choice to do so, this is fabulous news! Thank you, friends, for allowing me to share my personal burdens with you and for your loving kindness in response.

Lisa Copen
Rest Ministries Founder/Director

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And help Rest Ministries out by doing so!

"Ebates" is one of the best web sites around and I've saved over $100 in just the last year from my purchases here. Basically, if you see if the store you are shopping at is listed (and chances are it is because they have hundreds! Walmart, Target, Old Navy, JC Penny, Borders, etc. - the good ones!) ebates will tell you how much you will get back (usually 3-8%) and then it will take you to the web site.

And here's the REALLY COOL NEWS… Through December 31st, 2007, if you just GO THERE and sign up and make one purchase by December 31, 2007. . .Both of us will earn $10 right off the bat! Usually it's just $5 each so this is their holiday bonus.

Yep, you AND Rest Ministries will get $10 each.

So, if HALF of us just sign up and make one purchase by December 31st that would pay for the complete printing of our hopekeepers Magazine which is due to go to the printers in the next couple of weeks (and prevent me from charging it all--which makes a huge difference!)

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If you followed my blog you know we zipped home from being evacuated for the fires, praised God our house was still standing and loaded up the second car with ministry items and headed to Pasadena for the Joni and Friends Through the Roof Conference, aka Disability Ministry Summit. You can see the brochure here.

Interested in the run down?
Here's a description of our week!

After being in a hotel for four days, evacuated due to the fires, we dropped off the cat at the kitty hotel, packed up the car again and my husband, son and I arrived late Thursday night to Pasadena. We stopped at Kinkos since my banners never arrived from FedEx due to fires, ran to buy milk, got Josh to bed and then I worked on my presentation. The next morning, we jumped up, got breakfast as McDonald's, went back to Kinkos (they messed them up, so I said I'd be back in another hour to get them.), went to Staples to copy handouts, went to the grocery store to buy cookies to give away, and back to the hotel by 10 a.m. where my mom was waiting. She flew in from Oregon that morning to help me! Yay, I really needed a big hug from mom after that week!

We chatted for 10 minutes, grabbed dressy clothes and did one last count of the boxes missing. Five of the eight still hadn't made it due to the fires. A bit heartbroken, I said, "Oh well, God will have arrive whatever He thinks should be there." We found the church ("Paz Naz") and started unloading for our two 8-foot tables. Joel went back for the boxes at the hotel and called, "Guess what? The other 5 just arrived!"

Our 2007 exhibit, the left side was books and hopekeepers info
The right side "fun stuff" and info about the Hope Endures podcast

We set up fast, but were sweating in our work clothes as the people started to arrive. We met some amazing people and at last slipped back behind the curtains to change into dressy clothes. After the event ended for the day, Joel and I went to a special dinner for speakers and I was able to reconnect with some past friends and Joel loved "seeing this world…" Usually I'd traveled alone at these events. Mom got Josh to bed and we came back to the hotel. I put on sweats, grabbed my notes and went downstairs to go over my presentation in my head. Thanks, Hilton, for the free home-baked cookie (so long diet!)

The next morning we were back at the church by 8 a.m. and (ready?) to go. Josh, my 4-year-old son had a blast giving out freebies to everyone and made friends with a little boy in a wheelchair who showed him how his chair had headlights. My little guy's compassion was evident as he'd quietly ask people, "Why are you in a wheelchair?" One woman said, "I fell off a horse, honey." And he patted her hand and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry." Despite the fact that etiquette says, don't ask people "Why are you in a wheelchair?" I found that people were glad to explain it to a sweet little boy-it's the nosy people at the grocery store that they don't want to explain it to!

Claudette Palatsky, author of Think it Not Strange came and helped us out and I couldn't have done it without her. After years of emails it was a joy to meet her and she jumped right in helping me out!

I spoke and tried my best to stay focused, despite pure exhaustion, a lot of information and Josh insisting on sitting in the front row (he was supposed to out on the playground!) The video will be available soon. Then I went next door and led a 90-minute networking session. A huge blessing… but hard to stand that long back to back. I was ready to drop.

But. . .time to pack up! We had to be out in 2 hours. We started packing quickly and Joel made one trip to FedEx 10 boxes then came back for the rest. There was not an inch of space left over on top or inside the Escape.

Josh was asleep. We were all starving. We went through and In-and-Out Burger and ate in the car and limped back to the room. The next morning we packed up and checked out. Mom caught a shuttle back to LAX and we drove back to La Jolla to pick up my car. We'd left all are heirlooms in it far enough away from home in case the fires started back up again while we were gone. We finally got home and then unpacked the Escape (unloading boxes back into cupboards, etc.) because in 2 days 10 more boxes would arrive.

It was an amazing experience. The people I spoke with brought chills and tears to my eyes. The strength despite the circumstances. And eleven-year-old boy in a wheelchair who spoke like he was thirty shared his vision on how churches could be more disability friendly. Vulnerability ran high, and it only happened because people felt it was a safe place to let the "real them" show. I wished I could have attended the workshops but I did order them on CD so will have them available to listen to soon. If you're interested, you can order them too. Just call Joni and Friends at (800) 523-5777.

PS: If you're interested to see what Samaritan's Purse, the ministry of Franklin Graham is doing in Poway and Rancho Bernardo to help fire victims, click here. There is a wonderful video. The people definately need prayers! "This is the first time that Samaritan’s Purse has dispatched all four of its tractor-trailer units at once. Each trailer is fully stocked with tools and supplies, and is designed to function as a base for emergency operations, enabling our teams to serve several communities at once."

Special Thanks To. . .

• Lisa was recently interviewed by a writer for "Health" magazine on an article about chronic illness and what to say/not say to those in pain due out next year.
  
  
• This month Lisa will begin to be a monthly guest blogger for Sarah M. Whitman, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, Drexel University College of Medicine at http://www.howtocopewithpain.org/blog/
  
  
• Starting in January, Lisa willl be an "expert columnist" for those with chronic illness at the web site http://www.fabulously40.com. The site will soon be re-launched with a new design.
  
  
• Wow! Our Invisible Illness Week website was recently mentioned in the State Bar of Michigan's November 2007 newsletter, for the Committee on Justice Initiatives and Equal Access Initiative Disabilities Project. The newsletter topic is "'But You Look So Good!' and 7 Other Things NOT to Say to a Person With a Non-Visible Disability" by Robyn Heller Gerbush.

--- All of these are secular markets so it's a blessing to be asked and have my "slant" on my writing/opinions that can include my faith. I love being able to part of Joni and Friends and other Christian organizations, but there is nothing like evangelism, right? ~Lisa

---

Our podcast REALLY is coming soon! The fire evacuations set me back a bit, but we'll have them starting in January 2008!

Diane Carter at CDIANE8@aol.com is looking for an opinion from someone who has used it. She says, "I have tried many alternative care things and someone [I trust] has recommended the Chi Machine at www.chimachine4u.com. It's about $500 so would be a considerable investment.

• Looking for some Christmas articles with Godly cheer? Check out Christian Women Today's holiday picks. Be sure to read Stressed Spelled Backwards for some encouragement.

Send a soldier a Bible! Just give them your name and address (you can be removed at any time.) But once you do this, International Bible Society will donate one Bible to a soldier through the U.S. military chaplains. What better way to take some action and it just takes seconds! See www.sendgodsword.com

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  You are reading a page of hopenotes, the online supplement to hopekeepers Magazine.
  See the home page of hopenotes or Rest Ministries web site. Copyright 2007, Lisa Copen