Bible Reading for Dyslexics
- At March 30, 2016
- By Morgan Reid
- In Showing Up
0
The following is taken from a recent post on my facebook page, however, I’m excited to expound on what I find on Bible reading with Dyslexia as well as Dyslexia in general in the future. Wanted to get this up right away in case it might help someone : )
Piggy-backing on my Highly Sensitive Person FB post, I wanted to share this:
I’ve tried to be honest about how while I love certain passages and learning all I can, I don’t love reading the Bible on my own.
While talking to an awesome woman at the #momheartconference last month, I learned some great suggestions for reading the Bible when dyslexia is an issue*. How had I never thought to look into that?!
There’s a cool version in the UK of the Psalms and Mark, but I wanted to find an entire Bible that I could use. Google, Amazon, and two book stores later, I am so stinkin’ thrilled.
Seek Find is on Amazon and the reviews are so heart-warming. It’s for any reading or English language related difficulty. I like it for it’s:
•Easy language, but not as whimsical as the Message version (strings of abstract words disrupt focus for concrete thinkers);
•Slightly off-white pages (cream colored is better, fyi);
•Text on the other side of the page barely shows through.
I read this morning without a furrowed brow and tense shoulders; Without having to go over a sentence or paragraph multiple times for comprehension, before getting into contemplation. After Nate woke up, I read aloud from Ecclesiastes and only switched words/stumbled every column (if that) instead of every paragraph.
What-what?! Hello, hope. : )
*I didn’t realize this ‘was a real thing’ until I was 21 and Nate picked up on it and researched it for me – I thought I just sucked at reading so, for the most part, I didn’t like to. I got good grades and left it at that. I also believed the common myth that dyslexia was limited to switching or jumbling letters around.#natershoutout
Morgan (Loves To) Reid
Keep Writing, Documenting, Expressing.
- At January 09, 2016
- By Morgan Reid
- In Showing Up
- 0
I comment on a post by Jen Hatmaker on the refugee crisis with a caption to one of my Instagram pictures and the response was beautiful and encouraging. Comment after comment stating that I “so eloquently wrote” what was on their hearts, and even some where they wished we lived close by and could grab a cup of coffee together. (#Eeep!) It was shared multiple times and I received 7 or 8 friend requests.
Man, I was so encouraged that day. I hope to keep it as a reminder that the things on my heart are worth sharing, worth writing about, and worth starting a conversation over. Some days it’s lonely, and the response is silence, but that day in November – 623 people were helped and encouraged in some way by something that I had to get out.
And 623 people helped and encouraged me at the same time.
Read More»Embracing African
- At November 14, 2015
- By Morgan Reid
- In Showing Up
- 2
I wrote about how God was shifting my perspective and my heart in relation to embracing Africa and its culture. This post is about how He’s changing my perspective and heart in a personal way, allowing me to embrace myself.
* * *
I wasn’t sure how to start from ground zero and work my way up. But I did remember a talk given at the Mother Earth News Fair by Miles Olsen author of Unlearn, Rewild (how cool is that title?!).
Miles grew up a lot like me: eating sugar and watching T.V. But I didn’t know that when this rustic, long-haired man took stage. I especially didn’t suspect that when he was starting a fire using two pieces of wood and a small rope. Nope. Didn’t cross my mind.
As passionate as I am about learning about the Earth, how to garden, self-reliant skills, etc – I feel worlds away from competence in those areas. I’m left-brained and a recovering perfectionist — I loved the meaningfulness and the usefulness, but turning it into a reality for me seemed like an insurmountable challenge. What was I thinking? Thankfully, Miles’ talk allowed me to walk through similar emotions and doubts by way of his narrative. I was able to explore it, learn from it, and feel encouraged without having to join him on an isolated island outside of Alaska for 3 months right out of high school.
The major take away I got from his speech was his encouragement to not be overwhelmed by the big picture but instead to allow small mental shifts to take you there gradually, . . . eventually. That advice, from a guy like Miles (someone I could relate to, and yet is altogether different from me) has carried me through Autumn’s 1st few months, a cross-country move, and establishing a homestead now with Nate.
* * *
Small mental shifts. That’s how I’m undoing 25 years of *not* embracing myself.
Read More»Show Up
- At October 30, 2015
- By Morgan Reid
- In Showing Up
- 0
Showing up for the meaningful work I’m supposed to do.
What is that? I’m not sure.
Read More»Embracing Africa
- At October 30, 2015
- By Morgan Reid
- In Showing Up
- 0
In my last post I opened up about how an awful experience was turned into a experience with God — a gift.
The product of what I saw was an awakening desire to learn, grow, and embrace my African heritage. For the very 1st time.
I have a very hard time seeing African things or fashion as beautiful. I’ve struggled with this my whole life: as a child I always chose the white barbie, grew up in a nearly all white community, and would have preferred the flowy blonde hair and green eyes of Kate Hudson to my stiff short hair and brown skin.
Read More»Embracing WHAT?!
- At October 30, 2015
- By Morgan Reid
- In Showing Up
- 0
{Originally written 10.28.15 in my journal. Some editing happened today, too.}
Today was ROUGH. I broke Nate’s iPad for the 3RD(!) time in a year (in my defense, divided attention between it and Autumn was involved in every case) and a little later I saw something that just about gutted me on the inside.
While I’m omitting some details for privacy, here’s the rest after a lot of wrestling with God and whilst trying to keep a toddler loved and relatively happy:
So I cried and felt like I was in a tailspin for a good part of the afternoon. I even despaired – I’ve been doing so much “work” trying to reorient myself with Christ and then my reaction to this shows me that it might not be worth it anyway- Am I changing at all?
I begged Him to meet me. To break through this time. I know that my part was to expect Him to – which was so hard with how bleak I was feeling at the time. But I prayed “I believe – help my disbelief”.
Then I grabbed my MSG bible and read Psalms 147 (hard to do with a toddler around, I’m sayin’.) — nothing. Ok, let’s think of something else. What’s the ultimate problem here? My identity is deeply rooted in this. It’s supposed to be rooted in the “message of Christ” dwelling “richly” within me Col 3. So I headed to Col 3:1-17 and a first, it didn’t seem to helpful either. Almost more “work” for me to do. But as I kept on I felt the ice pick cracking at my heart. I want indifference towards this situation, but on my own, the only way to move away from wanting too much love from people, is to hate and embitter myself towards them instead. But like a volcano that’s lava was finally erupting, I could chose to let it flow and harden into something dark and dry, or I could allow God to guide the spillage away from my erupting volcano-heart and fill it with Himself instead.
I hate wordy stuff like that. I need practical, not abstract fluff. So let me clarify by adding: by this I mean, I felt God moving me towards the new identity He has for me.
My favorite term for Christians in the bible is “ a royal priesthood.” I’ve liked it since I was 13 years old and 1 Peter was my book to memorize in Bible Quizzing, but lately, I’ve secretly wished I could go to seminary someday – being a Royal Priesthood makes me feel like – it’s not so exclusive with who I am right now.
So I tried “contemplating” what that looks like for me.
I have struggled with contemplation my whole life but I’ve been trying to heal that part of my life and thinking since learning about its importance in our walk with Christ since becoming Anglican. Where I came up short, God made up my lack in leaps and bounds. The details are too personal to share in a post (at least at this time, maybe one day) but wow. Wow!
One thing I can share is this: Africa.
Or maybe better put, “African.”
It’s 5am and I’m feeling much better – but Autumn tends to wake for a feeding around this time so I’ll leave the rest for the next post.
Cheers!
Morgan (Loves To) Reid
