Hi and welcome to the International Disabilities Center. We are live and celebrating the National Sanctity of Human Life Day coming up this Sunday, January the 20th and I am so excited 'cause I can't think of anybody better to talk to the sanctity of life than my friend, Nick. God bless you, sir, for coming here today and talking live to our friends about something so precious to us both. Well, first of all, it's an honor to be here with you, Joni. Joni, I remember the days that we had our offices here at the International Disability Center and I want to say I don't think there's actually anyone more powerful in the tools of God's hand that He has in His toolbox here on earth than Joni Eareckson Tada to talk about the value of life and to really see that miracles happen in someone's life as we understand the value of God's plan for each and every one of us. 40 years, Joni, wow. Yeah. Joni and Friends 40th anniversary, absolutely incredible. I remember the early years of my childhood where my mum said, Hey listen, if God has a plan for Joni Eareckson Tada, God has a plan for you. And I know how much of an encouragement not only were you to me and my family but really to the world. We're talking about the nations. Well, you are so sweet to say that. And you mentioned that you housed your office here at the Joni and Friends International Disabilities Center when you first came to America and look at you. Look at how the Life Without Limbs Ministry has grown. And here we are at Joni and Friends celebrating 40 years. I cannot believe that. It's amazing. And Nick, this Sunday is just a reminder of how all life, no matter what the disability, no matter what the ability, all life is valued because we're made in the image of God. I love that. Abilities don't determine our value. Amen. What we can or cannot do. Just the fact that we're image bearers of God. We're God reflectors. We mirror this amazing God. We know that also in Psalm 139 that God, He made us in His likeness and image and He has more precious sorts of us than all the grains of sand in the world, that we're fearfully and wonderfully made. I love Psalm 139. Yeah. We know that whatever the enemy tried to use for bad, God can turn into good and beautiful things can come from broken pieces and you are a perfect example of when you don't get a miracle, God can still use you to be a miracle for someone else. Well. And I just want to say that has been an inspiring anchor for me. But Joni, just personally, I want to ask you today what maybe with some people who maybe are new to your ministry and in the context of January 20 today, what's your maybe personal struggles, maybe someone's watching today. Yup. And they have struggles about their own value. Yup. Can you please share about your struggles about maybe perhaps your values? Well yeah, I mean, you've got so many followers. People love you on Facebook. People come to your ministry events all around the world. You were born with your disability and I just can't imagine what your thoughts must have been when you were a little boy and I want to hear about that in a minute. But for me, I wasn't born with my disability. I took that reckless dive when I was 17 years old. Up until that point, I was athletic. And quadriplegic took a long long time to get used to. I mean, what, going from captain of the women's lacrosse team in high school to being in a wheelchair without use of my hands or legs. It was more than just a little depressing. I remember, Nick, the first time I got in a power wheelchair like ours, I wheeled outside the rehab center. This is my first day and I saw this high curb and I thought, you know, all I need to do is just push that go stick and it'd be all over. And I look back and I think, oh my goodness, thank God I never did that. But when somebody else had to do your toileting routines and has to wipe your nose and cut your food, you can so easily be convinced that hey, I don't have a quality of life. Life's not worth living. But Nick, now so many years later when I get up in the morning and I'm reminded once again of how much I need help. Again, people bathing me, dressing me, doing my toileting routines, I'll tell you what, immediately I have to remember in whose image I'm made. I'm made in the image of God. My body may be broken but oh my goodness, I am a God reflector. I mirror our amazing God who was pleased to make me in my image and that to me is awesome. Amen. I, for me, I always have a disagreement with Joni, actually. (Joni laughs) I do, I do, I do. No, he doesn't. We have an ongoing conversation (laughs) about how just how we admire my whole family, how God's shown His glory through you because I've, I didn't know anything different. You did. And the fact that God has helped you to see value through even the trauma and the fact that you were only 17. That is such a sensitive year of life and trying to figure out your identity and your purpose in your life and where is this loving God? What would you say if anybody asked you, well, Joni, you're in a wheelchair. You've gone through so much. Why are you so happy? What do you say gives value to you? Yeah, well, ascribing value to life is directly related to what we think about God. I mean, what kind of worth or what kind of value we put on our life is definitely connected to who we think of the Lord. It's not connected to whether or not we can walk, whether or not you've got arms or whether or not my hands work. It's anchored in the fact and it's a fact that God made us and also our sense of value, again, what we think our worth is, what kind of price tag we would put on our lives. It's all directly connected with the price that was paid for us. I mean, you want to talk about your life value, you want to talk how much you're worth or what kind of price tag would be put on you, you gotta remember 1 Corinthians 6:20 which says, We were bought with a price. We were purchased with a price and what a price. Oh my goodness, the precious blood of the Son of God. You want to know how much you're worth, what your value is, think about God and secondly, think about what He paid for you. Amen. What He paid for you. And if we believe that it's beneath our human dignity to be weak or to be helpless or to go around life without arms or legs or hands that walk, if we think it's beneath our human dignity to have somebody wipe our backside or wipe our nose, then we are operating out of pride. Pure pride. There's no room for pride though when you stop and think that you're made in the image of God. When you really think about that, Nick, as I know we're challenging our friends who are watching to do, there's only humility. When you realize you're made in the image of God, there's only humility. Nick, I've got a good friend. Her name is Katherine Wolf. And she is a amazing young woman, young mother, a brain stem stroke survivor. She came to the IDC, our International Disabilities Center the other day and I had to video her on this very subject. Could we take a look real quick? Sure. Guys, can you put it up? Hi friends and on this Sanctity of Life Week, I am with my very good friend, Katherine Wolf. And you have never met a person who has such a zeal and a zest for life as she has. Over 10 years ago, Katherine suffered a massive stroke shortly after her first baby was born and she has so much to say about the preciousness of life. Katherine, I look at you now and when I consider that after your stroke, you were rushed to the hospital, a major 16 hour surgery, a long period of rehab. Surely you got discouraged. Right. What was it that got you through? What helped? Oh gosh, so many things but what stands out in my mind was deeper than all the lies I began to believe about God abandoning me, about this means some sort of horrific mistake that I'm a mistake, that I'm not made for this world anymore. Even deeper than all those lies was a truth that God doesn't make mistakes. Yes. That God's plan somehow included this. That God chose me for this and saw me worthy to steward and champion this unique situation for the rest of my life. And I had the opportunity to live well, to suffer well within these bodily constraints. And God really ignited and awakened in my mind this notion that I was really like chosen by Him is the only words I know how to talk about. Wow. It's selected by God Himself for something very special. And it transformed everything 'cause I no longer felt forgotten and abandoned, but like God handpicked me. He saw me fit for this and that was really exhilarating. Well Katherine, before your stroke, you were active, you were healthy, you were running, you were doing all kinds of stuff. And then after your stroke, it's like a whole different life. For sure. So for you, what does it mean? Oh gosh. Pro-life is about the unborn and the born. It's life in the womb and out of the womb because it's all worth championing 'cause God made it. It's so beautiful to think my life before I was born and after has tremendous plan and purpose. It didn't start one and end somewhere. I've been given this new chance at life that is in a wheelchair and that is weird. You get that. It's hard to do life in a wheelchair but it's an amazing life. I feel like our world lies to us and tells us that if it's not you perfectly running on the beach, then you can't enjoy it. You can though. You can enjoy it, you can enjoy life no matter how limited you are. Oh my goodness, yes. I mean, the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places, Psalms 16:6, 100% and for me that's life in a wheelchair and for you that's life in a wheelchair and do you see us crying about it? No. It's a great life. (laughs) Well Katherine, I know that the anomaly in your brain would have been something that perhaps what, 10, 12, 15 years from now doctors could have ascertained. Right. And maybe doctors could have said to your mother, Your unborn child here has this specific anomaly that will take her life. So why not spare yourself the struggle and just abort her now? Right. That's kind of a practical real situation, isn't it? Isn't that so scary? It is. Oh my, I wouldn't be here. Like I would not be around because of what likely would have been told to my mother. That's crazy. So what would you say to mothers who perhaps are told by their doctor, You're carrying a child with some sort of chromosomal defect or some sort of anomaly in the brain, what would you say? Oh my goodness. Well, that is such a big question and super complicated but I have to say, you gotta look at my story and say they're not always right. It's the practice of medicine. It's not the law. It's, they're practicing on this and they're awesome. I love doctors. I love medical opinions but they're not God. Let's be honest and aren't we glad, hello? I'm here. So they're not always right. Well, Katherine, you and your husband are absolutely amazing. You went ahead and had a second child, even in your fragile state. So given the celebration of life that we're talking about this week, what brought you and Jay to the place where you would, you would decide that having a second child is worth the risk? It's worth the risk. What would you say to people who are wondering whether or not they should move ahead with conceiving a child even if it means a big risk? Well, for one, I was medically approved by doctors that I could likely have a healthy pregnancy and of course no one knows the outcomes and I have a very fragile body but it wasn't like I like booked the doctors that were like, I'm gonna do what I want to. No no no, I'd been given medical approval. However, the Lord has given us so much in our lives and we actually have come to the place where we feel our children and our child at that point were better off because of the suffering of their parents than if it were not this way. So it was a really paradigm shifting to realize this new baby was gonna be brought into a world that would be hard and complicated for sure but what would supersede that is the deep treasure that he has from walking through life with a severely disabled mother and a life that wouldn't be typical. That's a profound gift that people who are adults with special needs get to give their children. The parents get to pass on to their children a very unique up close picture of suffering and redemption and that is a gift beyond anything parents could speak. I could tell my child a million times there's hope but when he gets to see his daddy get his mommy out of the bathtub every day for his whole life, he learns it differently. And that's the beauty of life lessons I think in general that we get to give each other. And yes, we can learn it the other way. I'm not saying it's the only way but goodness, it's a good way. I'm thankful. That's a great way. I'm thankful too and I think you friends have learned from my friend Katherine that to be pro-life goes far beyond just the womb. Pro-life means understanding the sacredness of life on every level at every age, no matter how medically fragile you are, life is worth living, right? Absolutely. Amen. Whoa, thank you guys for doing that. I tell you what now, there is a woman, I mean with hands down, slam dunk, off the chart, over the top hope. She has such hope. I mean, she's such a great, wouldn't you agree, a great example of the preciousness, the value of life? Suffering a brain stem stroke when what her little boy, her little baby was only a couple months old. That is hope. Absolutely. And what I love about Joni and your ministry and all these people is we understand that God is a God of hope. Yes. That not only does He take our broken pieces and do something beautiful but I know that you have full room in your heart to believe as well for a miracle. When someone comes up to Joni and says, Joni, can I pray for a miracle for you? I always say yes. She says yes. How cool is that? I've got hope. 'Cause she knows that whatever she needs, God's gonna supply it. Exactly. That if God wants to give her arms and legs that work, awesome, she knows I have a pair of shoes in my closet in case God gives me arms and legs. (Joni laughs) But at the same time, we are full in our soul. Our soul is restored. Yes. Our spirit is now filled with the Holy Spirit. Our mind is renewed. Yup. And our bodies are just our bodies. Absolutely. What we are embodied with is way more than the physical sense and that's where you get your hope from, right, Joni? Oh absolutely. I'm so glad you said that because sure I'd like to be healed. Yeah, you'd like to have legs. That'd be very cool. That'd be a lot of fun. That'd be awesome. But we are so satisfied in the hope that we have first that's anchored and rock solid right here to give us sheer contentment. I mean utterly overflowing contentment. The kind of contentment and hope that comes from, what is it, Romans 15:13, May the God of hope give you all joy and peace. Here's the kicker. As you trust in Him so that you might overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And Nick, this is the kind of hope that we share at Joni and Friends. You mentioned, I can't believe it, it's our 40th anniversary here at Joni and Friends. Hey guys looking at right now, post a congratulatory comment. I would love so much to read your comments so please do that. And I love sharing the same message of hope at Joni and Friends, whether it's for the, I don't know, Nick, you've been to our family retreats. The young mother of a child with Downs Syndrome who's distraught, receiving maybe a tough diagnosis that her daughter has to go through big surgery. Or maybe it's a child back in Peru or Thailand or Romania who's stuck in a back bedroom and is in need of a wheelchair. I remember when I was in El Salvador and you travel all over the world. I mean, you see this all the time. You travel more than me. No, okay, we're not gonna argue about that. See, see? No no no. (laughs) We argue, yeah. I was in El Salvador once, Nick, and we got into this storefront. It's a snack shop but it was on a dirty street. The snack shop storefront was a little run down but we just wanted to get a quick snack so there we are behind the counter and I'm hearing this (imitates crying), this crying in the background on the other side of the wall and so I asked the proprietor, Who is that? And the woman said, That's my daughter. And she welcomed us to come into the back bedroom and meet her 19 year old daughter. I think her name was Katherine, lying there in a bed in which she had been in for a decade. And people who are, who buy into the quote, quality of life ethic might look at Katherine and say, She should die. That woman, you're better off dead than disabled. But no, we, Nick, we got our Wheels for the World team on it, provided her a wheelchair, got her sittin' up. She wheeled out into the front of that storefront a couple of days later when our team members arrived with that chair and she is now with her mom, serving, encouraging, smiling at people who walk through that front door. I tell you what, I think that that is a fine example that you're not better off dead than disabled. And there's so much in this country right now, Nick, where that premise is growing. You're better off dead than disabled. I mean, look at the physician-assisted suicide legislation that's on the rise. There are 27 states, friends listening, right now there are 27 states in America which are entertaining physician-assisted suicide bills in their state assemblies right now. You know what? Click on your Google and just Google your state and Death with Dignity and you find out if there's a bill before your state assembly and you get involved and you say no to your state senator and representative that you don't want that because life is worth living. And you, Nick, you might see that all the time when you travel the world. I mean, you no doubt see people who are destitute, who are, I remember seeing a photo once of someone carrying up onto the stage when you were speaking a little boy with no arms and no legs. And the love and the worth and the human dignity that you ascribed him was incredible. Quickly for our friends, you mentioned that some viewers might not know my story. I can't imagine any of our viewers not knowing your story but would you quickly share it? I definitely had my questions of wondering what could God ever do with a man without arms and legs and having no idea that He could still use you as His ambassadors to stand in front of the gates of hell and redirect traffic. Wow. Wherein I was one of the stats where I've actually done a lot of schools in the school system here in America and then worldwide to find out actually that 40% of the reason for attempted teen suicide is because of bullying. We've done that in unanimous surveys across 290 schools. I've been able to address their state legislatures of Utah and Hawaii on this. And for me, that bullying brought me to an attempted suicide at age 10. Whoa. And I am so thankful by the grace of God that I'm still here and the one thought that held me through was me thinking, well, what's that gonna leave in the hearts of my mum and dad? And I didn't want that to be what they would be carrying from that day on. Wow. And beautiful things came when I read John chapter 9, a man was born blind. No one knew why he was born that way. And what changed my life and gave me the faith to believe that God had a plan for me was that before Jesus healed the blind man, Jesus didn't say, Hey Buddy, My name's JC. I'm the Healer. I'm gonna give you a facial and when we're done, you're gonna see. (Joni laughs) He didn't tell him the plan. And all these years, I wanted to know the plan. What's Your plan? What's Your plan? What's Your plan? But if He told us His plan, then why would we need faith? And that's the journey where we need our soul, our spirit, our mind restored to really believe that these earthly bodies are just a vapor and before we know it we're gonna be up there. Yeah. And there's only one thing that I'm looking forward to, apart from seeing Jesus face to face is to see you running up there with me (Joni laughs) and all the other people that have been inspired and saved and believing in Jesus through the ministry of Joni and Friends and seeing that long line of people saying, Thank you for helping me believe that this place called heaven was real. Oh my goodness, wow. Well, I look forward to heaven too and I love what you said earlier about standing in front of the gates of hell and redirecting traffic. When I travel, I like to think that I'm issuing party invitations whenever I give the gospel of Jesus because like I said earlier, friends, there's so little value now being placed on human life. It's just a part of our current culture. Also as I said earlier, so many people now think that you're better dead than elderly or disabled or a newborn, an infant with multiple handicapping conditions. But disabilities are a fact of life and some have severe disabilities. Some have not so severe. I mean, I wonder what people think about us? What do you think they think about us? Do they think we have severe disabilities? I don't know. I don't know either. I don't know but you know what? I am who I am and I don't think it's real severe. I mean, I'm making it in life. And only way we can just accept our limitations whether they are great or small is to recognize that we are created equal, it's that we're all born into original sin. That's the only way we're created equal, excuse me. We're only created equal in that we're born into original sin. Apart from that, there's so many inequalities. Some people are born with significant birth defects. Others are born healthy. And like you said, Nick, it's not gonna change until heaven. That's right, Joni and I can't wait to go home. Yahoo! But until then, I am so inspired to ask you to tell everyone watching right now about the new book that you have coming out here. Are you allowed to do promotionals on this Facebook Live? Yes, we are. Really? Yes, we can do whatever God leads us and this is about people having faith to believe that heaven is real and that heaven, your home. Heaven: Your Real Home. Your Real Home. I wrote that book back in 1994 or 5, I think it was, but what, it's been 25 years since then and I've learned so much more, Nick. Like, yeah, I'm excited about going to heaven but oh my goodness, when I think about the fact that when you walk on, walk, not with your nubby little foot and your hips but when you actually walk with a glorified body because our body, as it says in, I think it's in Philippians, will be transformed, our lowly body will be transformed to be like His glorious body. Jesus had legs. You're gonna have legs. Jesus had hands that worked. I'm gonna have hands that work. And it just makes me so excited to think that those who quote, seem only seem to have a low life quality, which I actually don't, in heaven, the image of God's gonna shine through each of us and those who seemed to have low quality of life on earth they're gonna experience the fullness, oh my goodness, the fullness of joy forever. Glorified bodies like His body. No more disabilities. But I'm gonna say something real quick about no more disabilities 'cause I mentioned this in my rewrite of Heaven: Your Real Home. Okay, I'm gonna try to get through this without getting choked up. I used to say, Ah, when I get to heaven, I'm gonna kick this wheelchair into hell. (Nick laughs) I did, I still do once in a while. I love it. No, I don't love it anymore. I used to. Oh my gosh. But I'm thinking, wait a minute. Wow. Wait a minute. This is the tool that God used. You said tool earlier. Wow. This is the tool God used to shape me and change me and make me more like Him. It's my companion. It's a dark scary companion at times but it's my companion. I mean, it's been His choicest way of transforming my life to be like Jesus. So I know my wheelchair won't be in heaven literally but somehow some way, I'm gonna wear maybe a badge, a sash, something that indicates that the courage you might see in me, guess what, it came from my disability. It came from the years of dealing with the tough, those tough tough limitations. And I don't know, maybe some of you watching are, you have disabilities. Maybe your daughter has Downs Syndrome, I don't know, and you think, oh what good could ever come of this? Heaven is gonna show the good that will have come from your daughter's disability, from your wheelchair, whatever. God's gonna show it. And since we're doing a promotional, our friends watching and you can read more about this in my brand new book, Heaven: Your Real Home. Just go to the Joni and Friends website and find a copy of it there. I'm so excited about it, so. Awesome, praise God. Yeah. We should spend a little time praying. We should. Praying for elderly people. What, the medical fragile. Newborns with disabilities. The unborn, I bet there's some women who are watching right now who are carrying a child maybe with a difficult diagnosis. Maybe there are others who are medically fragile whose lives are very much at risk. I know you see people like this all the time, right? I do, I do. And I'm so inspired by one of my friends, Gary Phelps, whose parents said, Nick has no arms and legs and he's like, Yup, Nick has no arms, no legs. But that's okay. Well, why is that okay? He's happy. Well, what does that mean, Gary? Well, I just guess that it doesn't matter whether you have arms and legs or not. (laughs) What wisdom. Amazing wisdom. Unbelievable. And so I've been inspired by many people with different challenges and I'm just so thankful, Joni, as we travel around the world, hearing of the testimonies of the people's lives that God has touched and transformed forever through the ministry of Joni and Friends over the 40 years of ministry. God bless you, Joni and Friends and God bless everyone who continues to pray and support the ministry. Oh, you're so kind to say that. People need to know that after our Facebook Live thing here, they've gotta go to the Joni and Friends website. Yeah, see all we've got going. Lots of fun things celebrating 40 years at our ministry. So check out our website. And also check out Life Without Limbs because look, here we are, two of us and Katherine Wolf. Who would think that God would choose us to bring forth and be heralds, messengers of life-changing good news? But He has and He does. That just seems to be the way that God does things. He enjoys using the weak, the vulnerable, those with limitations. So as Sanctity of Life Sunday comes up, celebrate life, would you? Celebrate it big time. Look, get involved, stay activated. There are nursing homes probably right in your community that where there's so many elderly people languishing, thinking whether or not life is worth living. Well, draw a chair up by their bedside. Read a book of poems to them or some scriptures. Bring a lunch. Just do anything to connect with people. Do you know somebody on your cul-de-sac, a family with a special needs child? Well, they might be overwhelmed. They might be feeling, I can't do this anymore. Learn that kid's routine. Learn to stay with them, quote babysit him, perhaps, so that Mom and Dad can get a break. There are all kinds of ways you can get involved. Come and serve at a Joni and Friends Family Retreat or if you got mechanical skills, come and serve on a Wheels for the World team. Intern at Nick, do you take interns at your office? Just go to Joni and Friends. (laughs) Okay, go to joniandfriends.org and celebrate life. Would you please post us a couple of comments about how you are celebrating life? I know Nick and I would love to read them and share them and let us know what you thought of our time together. And so do you mind, Nick, I'm gonna ask you and I'll follow you up. Would you pray for the elderly, newborns with disabilities, mothers who are contemplating whether or not to abort their child who might be born like you? Yes, absolutely. First of all, I just want to say God bless you in the ministry of Joni and Friends and know that it doesn't matter about what we have. It's all about knowing that Jesus lives in us and God's got a plan, amen? Amen. Father God, we come before You and we thank You so much for the elderly, Father, those who are newly born with disabilities or even struggling in depression through their disability, wondering what their purpose is. They're parents of those who have physical or mental challenges. Father, we thank You as well for any mothers who've been told by their doctors that their child is gonna be born into this world with physical disabilities or challenges. Father, we thank you that You would embrace them all with Your love, with Your grace and strength and mercy. We thank You, Lord, that You ruthlessly perfect those who You royally elect. Amen. And Father, we thank You for Joni Eareckson Tada and Joni and Friends Ministry of 40 years and going strong. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay, I gotta give you a hug. Yeah. Okay, how we gonna do this? We love you. Uh oh, okay, push me up. Get me up. Oh, there you go. I got you up. You got me. Did I get ya? Well, you know what, we celebrate the weakness, don't we? (both laugh) And celebrate the weakness and all the life and power that could be demonstrated through us. Thank you for doing this with us today in observation of this Sunday's Sanctity of Life Sunday on January the 20th. Man, just remember Jesus is the Prince of Life. So friends, you celebrate weakness as well and the life that God can give you in it and through it. Thank you so much for joining us on this special observation of Sanctity of Life Sunday coming up January the 20th. And friend, whatever your weakness, celebrate Jesus, the Prince of Life. He's got the words of life. He's the way, the truth and the life. He's the resurrection and the life. Tell us how much you love life at joniandfriends.org. Post a comment before you go away and close down and we just thank you for joining us today on this special time of celebrating life. God bless you. Amen. Bye bye. Bye bye.
