Here are just SOME of our picks of items that are on sale this Black Friday, 2024!
Scroll below to view categories and individual product links from our online store, Amazon Storefront, and more!

And our book, Life With Micah is now 20% off on Amazon! Click here to purchase!

Happy shopping!!

Love,
Ability Tree

The Secret to Contentment

The words of a mentor of mine have stuck with me for two decades…”be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”

Why do we care so much about what other people think of us? To the point that we change the way we behave to become someone who we think others want us to be…but who we were not created to be.

For the past 12 years we have had the privilege of leading the Ability Camp in eastern Pennsylvania. The Ability Camp is an amazing week where campers 18 and up with physical and intellectual disabilities connect with God, discover their gifts, enjoy summer camp activities, and build relationships with others.

Watch a recap video from this year's camp!

In my opinion, there is no better place on earth to learn to be content than at the Ability Camp! Why? Because the campers who attend camp each year teach everyone on the grounds the meaning of being yourself.

The apostle Paul says in Philippians 4 that he learned to be content, and the secret is to rely on God’s strength and not ours.

Over the past 12 years, I’ve witnessed our adults rely on God; growing in their faith, wholeheartedly seeking God, and humbly discovering the purpose they were created for.

So, along with 21 years of being a parent of a child with disability, I also have my Masters in Disability Studies with an emphasis in disability ministry. I mention this not to brag but because while studying I learned about the history of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Originally, Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), in 1975 “to support states and localities in protecting the rights of, meeting the individual needs of, and improving the results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families.” The law’s name changed to IDEA in 1990.

I find it hard to believe that prior to EHA, the vast majority of children, like my son Micah, were denied access to education and opportunities to learn. “In 1970, U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities, and many states had laws excluding certain students, including children who were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed, or had an intellectual disability.”

Since enacting EHA in 1975, major changes have been made to meet national goals for developing and implementing effective programs and services for early intervention, special education, and related services. Before EHA, the U.S. excluded nearly 1.8 million children with disabilities from public schools. The latest stats from 2018-19 school year show that more than 7.5 million children with disabilities are receiving special education and related services designed to meet their individual needs.

We’ve made some serious progress in the schools since 1975. Now it’s time for the church to make some major changes to include individuals with disabilities and their families. After all, shouldn’t the church be the most accessible place on the planet? We would love to help you implement change.

Making Jesus accessible,

Joe Butler

Recently, a friend shared a story about one of her friends who has a child with autism. The family was told by the pastor of a church that they had nothing there for them. In essence, he was saying, you’re not welcome here because we are not prepared for you.

Really?! The church has nothing for a family with a child with disability? What about Jesus? What about community? Jesus himself said, “let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

Shouldn’t the church be the most inclusive place on the planet? When it is not, the church is sending the following message to families living with disability: you are not welcome here if you or your child has a need that requires more than what we already provide.

Sadly, this isn’t an isolated incident.  It’s a story I’ve heard a hundred times or more over the last decade and it breaks my heart. Pastors and churches with the message ‘we don’t have anything for you’ are forgetting that these are individuals and families that need relationship with God and a place of belonging. This may be the one chance they have to encounter Jesus and spend eternity with Him.

Including individuals and families with needs isn’t rocket science, it’s intentional. It starts with welcoming them and getting to know them and sharing the love of Jesus with them. Isn’t that why the church exists, to share Jesus with people in the world who need him?

Choosing to be non-inclusive means choosing to overlook or ignore 17%* of the community with the Good News of Jesus Christ. I don’t think any pastor or church would say that is okay with them.

If you need assistance in learning best practices for including individuals and families impacted by disability in the life of your church, let us help you. As the church, we must do better, we must be prepared.

Making Jesus accessible,
Joe Butler
*(CDC stats)

Hey there!

Glad you found us online. Before I tell you what Ability Tree (AT) is all about let me share a little more about us and why we founded AT in the first place.
 
We’re a family of five. A mom, dad and three kiddos. We all have needs, but our son Micah has an official diagnosis (cerebral palsy, ASD, and epilepsy, if you're wondering) and he’s the reason the organization exists.

Here’s a little more of our story…

I vividly remember receiving the news of my son’s diagnosis from the neurologist some 20 years ago and it was not encouraging or hopeful.

Hearing the experts say that my son had “abnormalities in his brain”, that they didn’t know if he’d ever walk, talk in complete sentences, or one day be independent, was a hard pill to swallow.

Doctors aren’t in the business of handing out hope, they give out answers and honestly, when it comes to individuals with disabilities like my son, these are educated guesses at best.

It’s been quite a journey and the first few years were the most challenging. Micah has developed well beyond what we expected in those early years. He walked at the age of four and he’s been talking in sentences for a decade and a half!

Micah has blessed our entire family. He will always need someone to care for him and the benefits that come from being his dad far outweigh the personal costs of that care.

May I say something to all the parents of children with needs out there? Your child is a gift from God! Though you may not see it now, just keep going, loving them and getting to know them and one day you’ll see them as God does, made in His image.

Psalm 127 says children are a reward or gift from the Lord. We couldn’t agree more!

Before founding AT, Jen and I worked day jobs and served in our local church until we sensed a call from God to full-time ministry. After going back to school to get my Bible degree, we pastored for about five years. It was during those five years that individuals and families affected by disability looked to us for support and encouragement.

Walking through seasons of darkness, we watched as eventually, a dim light became ever brighter. More and more we intentionally engaged with those around us, and soon a community developed that could relate to our journey as a family.

During this time, my wife sensed God calling us to a new mission, one that came alongside families impacted by disability and connected them to community and Ability Tree was planted.
Since its founding in 2010, the AT family has grown to include thousands of families across the U.S., with five community locations and dozens of church partners.

We’ve developed a relational model of ministry to come alongside families like ours in the community. Additionally, we’ve created a variety of tools, resources, and opportunities for the local church to readily engage the disability community.

May I say something to the pastors and churches listening? Being prepared to welcome and include people with disability is no longer an option, it is an essential ministry for every church in every community. Families lives and souls are at stake.

We’re here to help you and your church make Jesus accessible!

Joe Butler