“Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19
One command, one promise and a lifelong journey.
No one better lives out this journey than Joni Eareckson Tada. And this week, as she marked her 69th birthday, it’s a great time to pause and pray for her journey as she encourages so many and draws them closer to Christ!
Down Syndrome Awareness Month
As Joni noted in her October 12th blog,
Studies show that expectant parents are more likely to make life-giving choices when they have the support of their community and the example of other parents raising a child with Down syndrome.
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, so there’s no better time to share a few uplifting words with someone you know who cares for a child with Down syndrome.
World Medical Mission’s (WMM) 29th Annual Conference
Reflecting on her time at The Cove last week, Joni shares,
What a privilege to speak with these World Medical Mission workers who serve in hospitals in developing nations… Also setting up emergency hospitals in areas where there is ebola or other sorts of disaster. What am I sharing? To remember those with disabilities… Yes, triaging is a fact of life on the field, but I pleaded with them to remember the disabled or those forgotten by others.
Heaven: Your Real Home . . . From a Higher Perspective
Released just this month, an updated and expanded edition of Joni’s classic brings a new understanding of what heave is, along with new mysteries and hopes.
As Joni shares,
“Do you have questions about what eternity will look like? This life is not forever, nor is it the best life that will ever be. The fact is that believers are headed for heaven… And what we do here on earth has a direct bearing on how we will live there. Read more about this in my new book, Heaven: Your Real Home… From a Higher Perspective.”
Joni on her 69th Birthday
As shared on her Facebook birthday post, Joni wrote:
For so many years, honestly, I never thought I’d live to see today, my 69th birthday. God has been so gloriously good in bringing me through the twists and turns of my life. And now that I’m here, I think back to the hundreds of believers who prayed for me when I was newly injured. Like me, they asked God to heal my legs and arms. They prayed earnestly that I would be restored to full health. It’s clear, though, that God had a deeper healing in mind for me than just arms and legs that worked – Never would I have imagined that God would use me to help lead thousands of disabled people to Christ! So as I head into this year, join me in praying that God will keep me healthy to serve Him, alongside the Joni and Friends team, as we reach many more for Christ – what a birthday present that would be!
We aren’t all called to travel a journey exactly like the one Jesus called Peter on nor exactly the one Joni has so faithfully traveled. Though, what an encouragement Joni’s life testimony and her daily radio messages, “Joni and Friends” and “Diamonds in the Dust,” are to each of us to fulfill the one command, one promise and a lifelong journey He’s individually called us to!
