First the good news. I haven’t been hospitalized for almost 6 months! As many of you know, I was hospitalized every few weeks throughout last year. The doctors knew how to treat the blood infections temporarily, but within 2 to 4 weeks, the infections always returned. In October, the doctors decided to remove several kidney stones, and that was my last visit to the hospital in 2023. Thank you for your prayers! Onward and upward! Last week, my permanent aide told me she was getting new responsibilities and would no longer be working with me. As you can imagine, I was really upset. I’ve gone thr ..read more

I’m working on a project that is requiring me to go back through my old blog posts. I am amazed at how great my faith was, even just two years after my injury occurred. This post really helped me today. It is short and sweet but it drives home a good point, and one that I have forgotten over the years. The Apple of His Eye ..read more

So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty (Zec 4:6). I have heard this verse in song and seen it on T-shirts and it has always resulted in a “feel good” moment for me. This morning I had the opportunity to study it more in depth and it lit fire inside of me knowing I possess God’s power and the Holy Spirit. What an emboldened feeling! In this chapter, Governor Zerubbabel (Gov. Z from now on), was faced with the monumental task of rebuilding the temple that had been ..read more

Over the last two weeks I have felt completely useless. I experienced a wicked depression and did not bother to reach out to others and ask for help. I also spent very little time in the Bible and in prayer. Because my chronic low blood pressure caused me to feel dizzy and lethargic, it was difficult to sit up and use my laptop. The longer time I spent away from things that would normally nourish my faith, such as God’s word, prayer, and fellowship with others, the more I began to question if I could be a tool for God with the physical and mental challenges I face. But we all know you do not h ..read more

This blog post was inspired by chapter 2 of Ann Spangler’s book, Names of God (Spangler 2009). Have you ever felt that God doesn’t see you? That maybe he is not aware of how deeply you are hurting? You wonder why he is not healing your physical pain. You wonder why he is not restoring a difficult relationship in your life. I have felt those very things, on and off, since I started my Christian journey in 1989. I felt these emotions as an able-bodied person and then as a wheelchair-bound person for the last 10 years. I want to share the story of Hagar to give encouragement to all of us. Ge ..read more

After another hospitalization last week, I had to set my thoughts on things above and not allow the sickness in my body dictate my level of faith. I thought I would share some of the verses that are keeping me afloat. 2 Corinthians 10: 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Having been hospitalized so much lately ha ..read more

It seems like my hospitalizations are what inspire me to write my blog posts, and here is my latest episode! About a week ago, my wheelchair and I had a collision with my bed rail and it resulted in a lot of blood and a fractured tibia. After my knee cap swelled up to an extra-large size, we realized it was time for me to go to the hospital for x-rays. Even though I went to the hospital to check on my broken bone, we suspected I had some type of infection because while I was there, I became feverish, nauseated, and had fluctuating blood pressure. What should have been a quick x-ray and return ..read more

It has been a long time since I have posted. I have had so many people check in with me to make sure I am alive and well. I want to let you know that I am getting better slowly after some long hospitalizations that weaved in and out of my hectic class schedules and caused me to withdraw from a couple of classes. Although I cannot help it when I get these septic infections, it is terribly discouraging to feel like I have to “quit” whatever I’m involved in at the moment. My last hospitalization was the scariest of any I have experienced since I woke up in the ICU in 2013 after my neck was broken ..read more

Digging deep for gratitude. That sounds like a daunting task, especially if you’re in the midst of a dark time in your life. A loved one has just died. You’ve lost your job. Your spouse has been unfaithful. You’ve received a cancer diagnosis. A son or daughter is in the throes of addiction and you helplessly can do nothing but stand by and watch. Everything spins out of control and you ask yourself, where is God? I have faced these obstacles many times since fainting in my kitchen in 2013 and waking up paralyzed from the shoulders down. Although I glowed with confidence the first few weeks in ..read more

During my prayer time last night, I found myself shaking my fist at God in frustration. Thankfully He didn’t strike me with lightning because He is merciful and full of lovingkindness. Plus, it motivated me to write this blog. I am open to the idea that what I’m about to tell you was part of His plan for me. It’s possible He allowed me to go through the events I’m going to share to help me grow and become more holy. And to think it all started with the failure of permanent eyeliner. A few days ago I went to permanent makeup artist. Using tattooing techniques, she does things like add color to ..read more