Blog | Chet McDoniel

In-service Program – Inclusion: Out of the Box – In Shirley, AR

August 25, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as educator in-service, in-service program, inclusion program, school speaker

Last week, I was invited to give an inservice program in Shirley, AR to the Shirley ISD teachers and administrators about how they could have a truly happy, successful year. My dad was with me for this one, and we spoke on what school was like for me growing up and how much it meant for me to be included in the classroom…instead of being secluded due to my handicap.

In 1985, when I began Kindergarten in Bossier City, LA, the way of handling a child with a handicap was to send them to a “504 Location.” That meant that all the children with special needs (whether they be mental or physical) were sent via bus to a special location instead of being allowed to go to the school that served their respective neighborhoods. For me, this would have meant riding a bus across town instead of getting to go to school with my friends at the elementary school less than a quarter mile away.

Through many contacts and helpful, forward-thinking people, my parents were able to get me “mainstreamed” at the local elementary school. In fact, I was one of the first kids with special needs to be “mainstreamed” in Louisiana. Obviously, this decision had a huge impact on my self-confidence as I was able to play and learn right alongside those without disabilities.

In Shirley, AR, we presented the story of my life, and showed why inclusion of those with special needs is so important. We played a game where the teachers were challenged to include a group member who was experiencing a mental challenge and couldn’t participate like the rest of the group. For this in-service program, I wanted to help teach how these educators can open their eyes to making sure every child and parent feels accepted. We had a fantastic morning, and are still hearing from teachers in Shirley, AR, about how wonderful the in-service program was, and how much they are now looking forward to this new school year.

FUSE Foundation Retreat – A Whole Lotta Stories

August 6, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as disability awareness, Disability Speaker, fuse foundation

This past weekend, Joni and I drove up to Wichita, KS, as I had been invited to speak at the FUSE Foundation’s Retreat. The FUSE Foundation was established in 2008 to provide opportunities for social networking, recreation and education for young adults with neuromuscular disease. The “campers” had spent Friday and Saturday having a wonderful time getting to know each other, playing fun games, and I even found out about some midnight karaoke.

I was asked to come in for their final morning together on Sunday and tell them about my story. I realized as I was speaking that many of these young adults had been through more difficult times than I had, and that I could very well learn some lessons from them rather than the other way around. I told my story as I usually do, told them about the love of Jesus that goes so much deeper than the way we look, and then I opened the floor up to questions as I often do. Well, I was not prepared for what came next!

The group there had the funniest questions and stories to tell me that I had ever heard. Whether it be from friends trying to sneak one girl, who is in a wheelchair, past a security camera by simply having her wear a ski mask, (“Yeah, that’ll hide my wheelchair,” she said) or making up why we are handicapped when someone asks us a rude question (One guy there said he had gotten someone else to believe he had fallen off of the Empire State Building), these stories were hilarious. They had me laughing so hard, I almost couldn’t breathe.

I so enjoyed being with the FUSE Foundation group as I learned so much about being happy in the face of struggles. These young adults are the light of the world, and I thank them for their smiles last Sunday morning as I spoke. You all are awesome!!!

7 States, 6 Speaking Engagements, and A Whole Lotta Fun

July 16, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as children's hospital, inspirational speaking, medical speaker, speaking engagements, summer celebration, teenage conference

On June 26th, we set out on another marathon trip to speak six different times in a two week period. The first part of the trip was spent in Tennessee speaking to three different churches and twice on the Lipsomb University Lectureship called, “Summer Celebration.” Summer Celebration was tons of fun as we got to see many familiar faces, and I got to hear some great singing groups. The picture you see is of my daughter, Hannah, helping me great people after one of our presentations. We were having fun making faces at each other, and she is always the star of the show.

After our Tennessee engagements were done, we hit the road for Kansas City were I got to speak at the Teenage Conference hosted by Children’s Mercy Hospital of Kansas City. There, I spoke to many teens (and their families) who all had experienced life-changing medical events within the past year. These teens were by far my favorite crowd to speak to as they were not only attentive, but could very easily identify with the challenges that I’ve faced. In fact, I joked several times about “preaching to the choir” as some of them had dealt with more difficult situations than I have. Their questions were so insightful, and I came away so blessed to have been able to share my story with them.

Next up for us, a quick trip to downtown Fort Worth to speak for the Social Security Administration on overcoming challenges and choosing happiness. Then, it’s on to Wichita, KS to preach at a chapel service at a camp for young adults who have muscular distrophy.

I love my job!

Can You Spare a Minute?

June 16, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as 30 minute worship, worship, worship God

My family and I were driving down to San Antonio, TX last weekend when I saw a banner on a church building near Waco, TX that quickly got my attention. The banner read: “30 Minute Worship.” I went to the website listed on the banner (which I won’t display here as I do not wish to dignify them with a link) which confirmed my outrage. They proudly state:

This innovative service is for anybody who is tired of the way traditional church has been done, has limited time, or has to work Sundays. The high energy, focused package will creatively engage you to personally connect with God.

The site goes to explain that 8-10 minutes will be spent in worship, 12-15 minutes of lesson time, and 5 minutes of response.

Before I begin, please hear me say that I do believe this COULD help those who work on Sundays. But for the statement, “tired of the way traditional church has been done,” I am outraged.

WHAT???????

You mean to tell me that you think anyone can have a personally engaging worship time in 30 minutes? Have we lost all ability to spend actual time with God? Here I was thinking how crazy it is when people complain about worship going a few minutes longer than an hour. Are we so busy that we give God the “leftovers” of our time? It is as if we are approaching God saying, “Listen, I don’t know if you are aware of this, but I’m pretty busy down here so I don’t have much time to worship you. How about I squeeze you in on Sunday mornings…will 30 minutes do the trick? Will I have worshipped you enough in 30 minutes to last for the week? Cause, God, you don’t know how busy I am.”

The Hebrews in the Old Testament would have known the answer to these questions. They were commanded to bring the “first-fruits” of their labor as an offering to God. I contend that God deserves the “first-fruits” or ‘first and best cut” of my money, my work, and my TIME. Our weekly worship time should not be a time to squeeze God into our week, but rather a time to relish in the presence of God in the gathering of his people to worship. God deserves our very best, and let’s also acknowledge please that worship is not about us.

Sure, worship uplifts us and draws us closer to God, but God is the object of our worship. Our worship is for Him and to Him, and I refuse to short-change God by limiting my time or my spirit in worship.

30 Minute Worship, eh? I’m sure glad that God doesn’t have anything on His schedule that prevents Him from hearing us when we cry out. I’m glad Jesus didn’t have a prior commitment that would have prevented him dying for my sins. God deserves the best we can give…and I commit to not allowing this world and its busy nature to ruin what I can give to my God.

(I was going to apologize for the rant…but some things in life deserve it!)

Speaking to the Healers at Arlington Memorial Hospital

May 22, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as arlington memorial hospital, choose a happy life, corporate speaker, staff meeting speaker

I just wanted to drop a quick line of “Thanks” to the surgical staff at Arlington Memorial Hospital in Arlington, TX. I spoke to them last week at their quarterly staff meeting about choosing to live a happy life. I actually got to speak to two different groups, one at 6:30AM and one at 1:30PM. I have to say that I was surprised to see the 6:30AM group so awake, alive, and attentive. Both groups were a blast, and I thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to tell you my story.

Here’s a comment from the Director of Surgical Staff:
He was absolutely fabulous! The staff was touched and inspired by his story and his message. -Lori D.

What A Day This Has Been

May 14, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as airline troubles, attitude, fenton right to life, pro life speaker, Pro-Life Speaking

Two weeks ago, my dad and I were headed to Fenton, MI to speak at the Fenton Right-to-Life Annual Banquet. The morning started out just fine, however very early as we made our trek to the DFW airport around 4:30AM. American Airlines loaded us onto the plane along with everyone else who was going to Chicago (where our connection was waiting to take us on in to Flint, which is very close to Fenton).

Then, the problems began…

Right around our scheduled departure time, the pilot came on the intercom announcing a problem with the plane, and that we needed to get off this plane in order to get on a different one (hopefully, one that was working!). We quickly realized that our connection would not work as it was only a one-hour window originally, and this delay would make it impossible. American Airlines gate agents were extremely helpful, however, the next flight to Flint from Chicago would not get us to the banquet on time. They re-routed us to Detroit, however, our bags had to stay on the original schedule. That meant that our clothes, sales products, and some materials we use in the presentation wouldn’t arrive in Flint until just after 6PM. The banquet started at 6:30PM.

We decided that all was not lost. We arrived in Detroit and Enterprise was happy to transfer our rental. We drove into Flint to find a Men’s Warehouse where we could buy new clothes and have them tailored on the spot. You see, I can’t just go out and buy a new shirt because of the sleeves. The tailor at the Flint Men’s Warehouse did a great “emergency” job. We called the director of the Right-to-Life group, and she was very gracious and even happy that we were in town. She said as long as we were there that evening, she would be pleased.

Well, our bags arrived while we were at the banquet and my cousin who lives nearby was able to grab them at the airport and rush them over to us. The table of sales materials was set up while we were speaking, and the DVD and CD we needed for the presentation arrived with only a minute or two to spare.

All in all, the evening was a complete success. And, not only that, but our day was not ruined by all of the travel issues. Keeping a positive outlook on the day allowed us to not worry, and to be ready to deliver our message that evening.

Remember, only you can ruin your own day!

The Hills of Tennessee

April 28, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as church speaker, david lipscomb campus school, disability awareness, friendship christian school, high school speaker, middle school speaker

We just returned from a fantastic tour of several spots in Tennessee and Arkansas. The trip started on Wednesday, the 15th, at the Concord Road Church of Christ in Brentwood, TN where a cousin and her family attend. My dad and I presented “All He Needs For Heaven” and we enjoyed having worship led by my cousin’s son. I love being with family.

On Thursday, I spoke to the David Lipscomb Campus School with my “I’m Not Broken” presentation. I had a blast with the students there as they were extremely attentive and had lots of great (and sometimes hilarious) questions for me. There were over 700 students in attendance, and I’ve never seen such a respectful audience. Usually, I kind find a few people talking or playing with cell phones, etc…not in this group of kids! They were awesome! They allowed Jesus to shine through their wonderful attitudes.

On Friday, I got to speak at Friendship Christian School (FCS) in Lebanon, TN. At FCS that day, they held “Commanders in Action” day. (Their mascot is the commander.) For many years, now, the school has held a day when students with disabilities from all over the county can come and enjoy a festival. Each FCS student is paired with a student who has a disability, and they spend the day getting to know each other and playing games. I told the students how proud of them I was, and I believe they were truly accomplishing Jesus’s mission of showing love to everyone. They were a fantastic group, and I believe the beauty of Jesus could be seen in them and in their actions.

On Sunday, my dad and I again delivered our message to both the Otter Creek Church of Christ and the Hermitage Church of Christ. Both churches have plenty of family members to catch up with, and the praise and worship at both churches made it a fantastic day.

After a couple days of rest, we continued on to Bentonville, Arkansas. On Wednesday the 22nd, I spoke at the corporate offices of Wal-Mart. My assigned topic was disability awareness, and I got to tell them about my experiences in life and in the job force. I believe there many things that corporate America can learn to help make people who have disabilities feel wonderful. The executives at Wal-Mart told me that they learned a lot, and it also helped that I had them laughing through most of the presentation.

That night I got to speak at the Decatur Assembly of God Church in Decatur, Arkansas. They could not have been more receptive to the message, and they were one of the most welcoming crowds I’ve ever had the privilege of speaking before. This was my first sermon to deliver by myself, as my dad had already flown home. I had a blast!

While it was exhausting, and Hannah, Joni and I all wound up with colds, the trip was absolutely thrilling. God has opened so many doors, and we continue to be blown away at His generosity. I’ll leave you with a video shot at David Lipscomb campus school that tells a funny story of a time in junior high when a bully decided to pick a fight with me.

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Sing, Sing, Sing

March 31, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as acappella, Alameda Church of Christ, Bentonville Church of Christ, church speaker, free indeed, grace harbor church, singing, tulsa soul winning workshop

This past week was an absolute blast! I am still on Cloud 9, and doubt I’ll be coming down any time soon. Wednesday night, my dad and I gave our “All He Needs for Heaven” presentation to the Alameda Church of Christ in Norman, OK. My good friends the Tugmans were there, and the evening was a great kick-off to our Oklahoma-Arkansas Mini Tour.

Thursday night, I got to sing with the Memorial Road Church of Christ Praise Team at the Tulsa Soul Winning Workshop. Now, I love to sing, but what an experience…singing for thousands. The song we sang that night is called “Heal Me” and it focuses on asking God for spiritual healing. Our dry spirits can really drag us down, and I firmly believe in praying for renewal. Here is the video from that night:

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The Workshop was a blast, and we even got 6-8″ of snow. That was crazy!

After the Tulsa Workshop, we drove on over to Rogers, Arkansas, where we gave our presentation to two churches, Grace Harbor Church and Bentonville Church of Christ. While both times were wonderful, Sunday morning was a special treat for me as we spoke where several long-time friends attend. Several of these friends are members of a singing group called “Free Indeed.” I’ve known them for years, now, and love to sing with them. All my friends from “Free Indeed” were able to come that morning, and together, we sang “Call on Jesus” which is an amazing song acknowledging that true strength comes from Jesus. Here is the video from that song:

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So, as you can tell, I had the time of my life this weekend getting to praise God in so many different places. We have a couple weeks off, now, and then we gear up again for a trip to Tennessee. Maybe I’ll come down from Cloud 9 by then…nah!

And So It Begins…

March 24, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as All He Needs For Heaven, church, church speaker, prestoncrest church of christ

This week begins the first of several busy weeks with multiple speaking opportunities, and we are very thankful for all of those who are bringing us in to share our story. My dad and I got to speak at the Prestoncrest Church of Christ in Dallas this past Sunday night, and we had a blast. We saw many people who we knew from times past, and met many new faces. I think my favorite part of getting to speak is getting the chance to meet so many people after we finish. To hear of others’ struggles and triumphs is very encouraging.

I would usually post a picture of us speaking, but this one was way too cute to pass up. This is my daughter, Hannah, who just turned one year old. She was having tons of fun during sound check being up on the big stage with us!

Dragons Everywhere!

March 17, 2009March 2, 2023 By Chet McDoniel Tagged as attitude, choose happiness, middle school speaker, Schools, smile, student speaker

Last Thursday and Friday, I was given the opportunity to speak to 7th graders from Dawson Middle School and Carroll Middle Schoool (both schools have a dragon for their mascot) in Southlake, TX. The students were very respectful and asked lots of great questions, but more importantly, they were very receptive to the message of living happier lives by choosing happy, positive attitudes.

They have been challenged (as I do at every school) to smile for an entire day on the Monday they return from Spring Break. I call it “The Smile Experiment” and students who smile are changing their schools all over this country. Here is a great picture of some special students at one of the schools:

I encourage you to watch this clip to see how you can “use what you have instead of complaining about what you don’t have” which is one of the lessons I gave to the students:

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