Joni Eareckson Tada’s Pearls of Great Price Devotional is deep and profound ….

…. and here is today’s entry dated January 28 ….

An inspiring example…..

“For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.”
Romans 14:7

No man is an island.  We are all connected.  Our lives are always influencing others, whether for good or for bad.  When people who face lesser conflicts — like a bruised ankle or sow bugs on the shower — observe someone who is gracefully handling greater conflicts, it speaks volumes.  Liz Hupp knew a godly saint like that in her church.  And Liz wrote:

I saw the woman in the chair, she was in church again today.
Someone said they’ve sold their house; they’re going to move away.
No! I cried, they cannot go; they cannot move away.
I didn’t get to know her; there’s something I need to say:
Please tell me your secret; I want to sit at your feet,
I need to know how you handle the pain that is your daily meat.
How do you keep on smiling when each day your health grows worse?
How do you keep depending on God when you’re living with a curse?
Every time I see her, her smile comes from deep within.
I know her fellowship with God isn’t scarred by the chair she’s in.
She admits her health is failing; she knows she’s fading away.
How can she remain so calm when I’d be running away?
My friend, can you tell me how you can trust the Lord?
How can you stay so gentle and sweet when He seems to wield a sword?
You are to me a promise that even in the midst of pain
God is near and faithful if I will turn to Him again.

Who are your role models of inspiration?  Who are the godly examples of perseverance?  Who do you think of when you need an example of the sufficiency of Christ in hardship?  Pray for that person — or persons — whom the Lord has placed around you.  These Christian men and women struggle with doubts and discouragement too.

Irene drove herself to and from dialysis today, afterward, feeling extremely fatigued

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“We like 5” was an email message that my good friend Ken Churchill sent to me in response to the good news of Irene’s improved kidney function.  Ken and Shirley delivered a “FIVE” balloon to celebrate the amazing development!!!!  It is prominently displayed in our living room.

Irene’s sisters Jane and Carmen (below) stayed with Irene while I attended several days of Azusa Pacific University Board of Trustee meetings in Santa Barbara.  You can tell from the “attitude” photo below that they’re very depressed about the notion ….

I had the privilege of meeting Joni Eareckson Tada today.  The summer after graduation Joni broke her neck (fractured the fifth cervical) at the age of 17 in a July 1967 diving accident in the murky waters of Chesapeake Bay, which left her a quadriplegic. She was in the hospital for months. During this time, and unable to use her hands after the accident, she learned how to paint by holding a brush in her mouth. She also learned how to move her arms a little using her back muscles, which, with special equipment in the car, allowed her to learn how to drive.

Joni is an amazing woman who is familiar with a lifetime of suffering and one to whom God has said “NO” to physical healing She gave a stirring message today related to how when God says “NO” to one thing, he says “YES” to something else.  She used the following powerful text ….

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Philippians 3:10-11

You can read more about Joni at http://www.joniandfriends.org/.

You can see the autographed copy of her book below …. she used a pen in her mouth to sign her name.  I gave her a copy of Irene’s Journey of Faith.

We like 5 also …. and are now adopting “5 to 15+” as our new motto, with 15 representing the opportunity to cease from further dialysis treatment.

Five is an answer to prayer …. both yours

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AMAZING DEVELOPMENT….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Irene was in dialysis this morning and was told by the medical team that her creatinine clearance test results were in.  Creatinine clearance is the removal of creatinine from the body and measures kidney function.

Here’s the good news:  Hovering in the .01 range for the last several months, the level reported today is in excess of 5.0…!!!!!!!  The nursing team was amazed.  When they called Dr. Kumar, the kidney doctor, he was amazed.  This is obviously a very positive development and indicates that the kidneys may be waking up!!!!  A value of 15 would represent no further need of dialysis…we’re obviously rejoicing!!!!!!!

As the hymn goes, “Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from Heaven above”.  We don’t know what the future holds but we know that He holds the future and we praise His Name.

We know there’s much more to learn in the days ahead, but, at least for this moment, we’re doing “spiritual cartwheels” over this amazing development!!!

Thanks for caring,
Dave

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