“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…” Revelation 7:9  Meet Da Wen and His Family  Twenty-eight-year-old Da Wen lives in Chicago with his mom Li Ping, and his dad Rin Xin. Da Wen has cerebral palsy, and loves connecting with others and serving as an advocate for and within the disability community.  Through the Pui Tak Center, a Chinese Christian community center housed in a landmark building in Chicago, Da Wen’s family—like others ..read more

“When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.” 2 Chronicles 9:1 (KJV) Our questions haven’t changed much since the queen of Sheba’s time. Or have they? I recall reading an article not long ago that listed a few questions. I can’t remember the author, but here are a few queries the queen may have missed… Why do people show great interest in ..read more

“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14 Remember yesterday I told you about my friend Mike Yuen, who donated his kidney to his brother, Geoff? As I write this, two years have passed since the surgery. And the news is not good. It’s been the typical transplant rejection, coupled with complications from diabetes. Geoff is aware that he is dying. And it’s hard. It’s hard for Mike too. He was asked, “Would you give your kidney again, knowing now the outcome?” His answer gripped me: “I would do it again without hesitation because I’m grat ..read more

I’m the father of three sons on the autism spectrum. They range in age from 25-30, and two are nonverbal. My sons are loving, funny and smart in their own way. It just takes a little time to see that.   But when most people see my sons sitting in a room, they often walk around them instead of walking to them, like they’re lamps.  Despite the progress that has been made toward recognizing autism spectrum disorder and the wide array of symptoms and behaviors covered under that umbrella term, individuals on the spectrum experience isolation and loneliness at rates four times grea ..read more

“On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it.” 1 Corinthians 12:22-24 Some time ago I forced myself to watch The Operation on the Learning Channel. They show real operations, with real blood and real sutures. I made myself watch because they were showing ..read more

“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” Proverbs 12:15 Who would be dumb enough to take a shortcut through a narrow train tunnel? Well, I was, and I did it more than once. As a kid, when I rode my horse as far as Marriottsville, I would have to take the trail up and around a small mountain—or I could ride my horse through the tunnel. Shortcuts. Our Scripture for today tells us about such craziness. And I lived it out. It seemed right to me to look for a shortcut, and I failed to listen to the advice of the big yellow sign at the head of the tunnel. Although ..read more

“Samuel replied: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.’” 1 Samuel 15:22 Elisabeth Elliot tells the story of a little girl who, instead of doing her chores, decided she should spend that hour practicing on the piano. She sat proudly plunking away “Jesus Loves Me.” Her mother called from the other room, reminding the child of her duties, but the girl continued to fill the house with the melody of praise. Was her piano playing rewarded? Not at all. Songs ..read more

“’In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Ephesians 4:26 My friend Robert exploded at God the other day when Joshua, his little boy with multiple disabilities, suffered yet another seizure. “God, I don’t get it,” Robert protested. “How can you allow Joshua to have a seizure that causes him to fall and bang his head?” Strong words. We’re usually scared to talk to God that way. Too often we choose the polite route, bottling up our unspeakable feelings toward God. But all we’ve done is shove the problem to the back burner. Anger at least keeps the prob ..read more

“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” Psalm 63:8 (KJV) You follow Christ, but do you follow hard after him? Another translation, The Living Bible, says, “My soul follows close behind you.” The soul that follows hard on the heels of God is childlike. I know that from experience. My parents were hikers who took us often on backpacking trips. As the youngest, I learned that if I didn’t keep up, if I didn’t stick on the heels of my older sisters, I’d get lost in the woods (or so I thought). We need to be the sort of followers who are constantly bumping into God’s bac ..read more

The Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast kicks off its sixth season with none other than Joni Eareckson Tada! Over the decades that Joni has lived with quadriplegia and chronic pain—not to mention two bouts with cancer and many other difficult health complications—Joni has witnessed the power of God’s grace working in and through her suffering.  Joni joins podcast host Crystal Keating for this first episode to introduce a new voice, Stephanie Daniels, who will be sharing the microphone with Crystal this season to bring you inspirational content, including our new “Heart of the Found ..read more