Birthdays Can Be Fun!

My mom and I have been reflecting on birthdays...they really can be fun if you are with the right people!  And I was last night--with my family (minus JoyAnn) and friends.  And, of course, birthdays are great when your team gets a chance to go to the World Series.  Go Cardinals!  Baseball is a really nice diversion from the issues of life.  If you've never tried it, I suggest you do.  There's something peaceful about sitting in front of a TV, watching your favorite team beat the other guys.  Somehow it makes you forget there is a world out there!  I like that feeling...sometimes.  But of course, we all have to go back to the real world...eventually.  It is nice to escape for a few hours, however--to follow a little ball around a baseball diamond!  On to serious matters, though...  I don't know what will happen in the next chapter of my life, and if I'm really honest with you, I  hope it does not cost me any more pain.  But...let me end on this note.  As Corrie ten Boom once said, "You can trust your unknown future to an all-knowing God."  That's what I want to leave you with...He is in control.  No matter what happens in your little world...this week, this month, or this year...He IS in control.  And that's my birthday greeting for you today.

Here We Go...

Hello.  My name is Daniel.  In 1996, when I was 11 years old, I was severely brain injured during "routine" hernia surgery by the resident anesthesiologist who did not have her head in the game that morning.  But I will not look back; rather, I press forward to do and be all that God has created me to be--in spite of being unable to read, write, or do anything for myself.  My goal is to be a "Barnabas" in your life--to encourage you to keep pressing on, to "keep on keeping on" as my dear cheerleader Melsie used to say, to NEVER, EVER GIVE UP no matter what you are going through.  And so there you have it...the first day of my blog.  I'm not sure how often I will write at this point, but when I do, I hope to encourage you to live your life--whatever that means, wherever you are--by God's grace and for His glory because, in my humble opinion, that is the only way to live this life.  Thanks for reading...thanks for embarking on this journey with me.