{"id":4575,"date":"2007-07-11T17:21:31","date_gmt":"2007-07-11T22:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=4575"},"modified":"2010-12-20T11:18:32","modified_gmt":"2010-12-20T16:18:32","slug":"5713","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/","title":{"rendered":"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASILLA, AK (July 11, 2007) \u2013 Dena Luchsinger\u2019s new bilingual, illustrated children\u2019s book, Sometimes Smart Is Good<\/em><\/a> (A Veces Es Bueno Ser Listo), was born of her love for children with disabilities. She wanted to let kids know that even children with disabilities – such as her son Andrew – are loved by God.
\n
\nLuchsinger worked extensively with handicapped children and their families while she was on the mission field. The book grew out of that experience, which almost never happened.<\/p>\n

Andrew was born with Down Syndrome in 1997 just weeks after Luchsinger and her husband, Tom, were approved by the Board of World Mission to be career missionaries to Mexico. \u201cWe thought we had the next 20 or so years of our lives pretty well figured out when Andrew was born in March,\u201d she observes.<\/p>\n

\"Book\"Shortly after Andrew\u2019s birth, the Luchsingers learned the challenging news, which threatened their plans. The couple thought that having a Down Syndrome child would disqualify them from the mission field. The couple did continue, however, traveling to Costa Rica for a year of language school. While living in Costa Rica, they became close friends with Paula and Agosto, a couple who had a severely handicapped daughter, Daniela.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgosto applauded Andrew\u2019s every minor achievement so wholeheartedly it touched my heart, especially as all the subtle advances Andrew made I\u2019m sure were all the more evident to him because Daniela had never made any progress at all,\u201d Luchsinger says. \u201cWe weren\u2019t even sure if she could see or hear. She simply did not respond to anything at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luchsinger adds, \u201cThe difficulties of raising a delayed child hadn\u2019t really hit me back then, but Paula\u2019s and Agosto\u2019s selfless and tender dedication to Daniela\u2019s 24-7 care amazed me.\u00a0 I pondered it over the next year and a half, even after we\u2019d left Costa Rica and moved on to our new home in Monterrey, Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together with missionaries John and Letha Kerl, the Luchsingers started The Foundation for Family Development, a nonprofit set up to serve families holistically, including spiritually. Luchsinger already had started a support group for families of children with Down Syndrome, which had grown to include some 30 families. Over 18 months at the foundation, she developed Project Down and its mission, \u201cBlessed to Bless Others.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the fall of 2000, with the help of several Mexican advisors and therapists, the foundation launched a number of programs including trans-disciplinary play-based assessments, a didactic toy and book lending library, and a 10-week parent course on play-based therapy. The final session of the course was an evangelistic sermon in which Luchsinger told parents that God gave them children with Down Syndrome to show that their kids were valuable and loved by God \u2013 contrary to what the rest of society may think.<\/p>\n

The text of Sometimes Smart Is Good<\/em><\/a> reflects those same ideas \u2013 and draws on an earlier friendship. A picture of a physically and mentally handicapped girl is accompanied by text that reads, “This is my friend Daniela. She reminds me that all people are important just because God made them. Sometimes smart is good. Loving other people just because God made them is always good.”<\/p>\n

Luchsinger wrote the book in 1999 while living in Monterrey. \u201cI was in the midst of figuring out Project Down at the time, and Paula and Agosto\u2019s family were still often in my thoughts and prayers,\u201d she says. \u201cIt just came to me that Daniela wasn\u2019t worthless, in spite of not being able to do literally anything. Psalm 46 says, \u2018Be still and know I am God.\u2019 Daniela is, if nothing else, still.\u00a0 It occurred to me that that\u2019s enough. In fact, it\u2019s prophetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired, Luchsinger wrote the book in only 20 minutes while waiting for a carpet-cleaning crew that was late. Luchsinger mailed the manuscript to six publishers and quickly received five rejection letters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was too busy to worry about it and figured it wasn\u2019t God\u2019s plan,\u201d Luchsinger says. Six months later, Judy Zylstra of Eerdmans called to say the company wanted to publish it.\u00a0 Only one word in the original text was ever edited, but Zylstra proposed a major change: The book should be bilingual, which excited Luchsinger.<\/p>\n

Five years passed, however, before Karen Jerome was found to illustrate the story. \u201cThe illustrations were all Karen,\u201d Luchsinger says. \u201cMy input was limited to just some suggestions about realistically portraying the disabled characters in the text. It amazed me how Karen captured my dreams for the illustrations, including multi-cultural characters and the animals that make it so tender.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luchsinger now lives in Wasilla, where Tom is pastor of Mat-Su Covenant Church. The book helped her re-connect with Daniela\u2019s parents, with whom she had lost contact for several years. \u201cWith the help of a friend in Costa Rica I was able to track them down, re-kindle our friendship, and forward them a copy of the book,\u201d Luchsinger says. \u201cThey were delighted with the memorial of their \u201clittle angel.\u201d\u00a0 Daniela died last year.\u00a0 She was 10.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: In a 2004 Covenant Companion article, Luchsinger reflected on how Andrew\u2019s disabilities have helped shape her spiritual life. See Lessons from an Unplugged Life<\/a>. To purchase the book, please visit the online Covenant Bookstore<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASILLA, AK (July 11, 2007) \u2013 Dena Luchsinger\u2019s new bilingual, illustrated children\u2019s book, Sometimes Smart Is Good (A Veces Es Bueno Ser Listo), was born of her love for children with disabilities. She wanted to let kids know that even children with disabilities – such as her son Andrew – are loved by God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASILLA, AK (July 11, 2007) \u2013 Dena Luchsinger\u2019s new bilingual, illustrated children\u2019s book, Sometimes Smart Is Good (A Veces Es Bueno Ser Listo), was born of her love for children with disabilities. She wanted to let kids know that even children with disabilities – such as her son Andrew – are loved by God.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-07-11T22:21:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2010-12-20T16:18:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/fR\/cz\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\/Book.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"headline\":\"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual\",\"datePublished\":\"2007-07-11T22:21:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-20T16:18:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":885,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.covchurch.org\\\/uploads\\\/fR\\\/cz\\\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\\\/Book.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/\",\"name\":\"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual - Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.covchurch.org\\\/uploads\\\/fR\\\/cz\\\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\\\/Book.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2007-07-11T22:21:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-20T16:18:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.covchurch.org\\\/uploads\\\/fR\\\/cz\\\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\\\/Book.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.covchurch.org\\\/uploads\\\/fR\\\/cz\\\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\\\/Book.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2007\\\/07\\\/11\\\/5713\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\",\"name\":\"Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"description\":\"Evangelical Covenant Church\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/author\\\/covwebster\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual - Covenant Newswire Archives","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual - Covenant Newswire Archives","og_description":"WASILLA, AK (July 11, 2007) \u2013 Dena Luchsinger\u2019s new bilingual, illustrated children\u2019s book, Sometimes Smart Is Good (A Veces Es Bueno Ser Listo), was born of her love for children with disabilities. She wanted to let kids know that even children with disabilities – such as her son Andrew – are loved by God.","og_url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/","og_site_name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","article_published_time":"2007-07-11T22:21:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2010-12-20T16:18:32+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/fR\/cz\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\/Book.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"headline":"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual","datePublished":"2007-07-11T22:21:31+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-20T16:18:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/"},"wordCount":885,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/fR\/cz\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\/Book.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/","name":"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual - Covenant Newswire Archives","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/fR\/cz\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\/Book.jpg","datePublished":"2007-07-11T22:21:31+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-20T16:18:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/fR\/cz\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\/Book.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/fR\/cz\/fRczlRZO-SLMfvASQ5I6og\/Book.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2007\/07\/11\/5713\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Book Emphasizes Worth of Each Individual"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/","name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","description":"Evangelical Covenant Church","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/author\/covwebster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4575"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4819,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4575\/revisions\/4819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}