Joni’s Posts
When I was a teenager, there wasn’t any national campaign around to raise awareness for physical therapy. And yet, when I packed my bags for college, I wanted to become a physical therapist. Helping injured people regain health and mobility sounded like an enriching and rewarding career, the kind I’d enjoy. I never got that…
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Seventy years ago today, I was born to John and Lindy Eareckson who, incidentally, were anticipating a boy (after having three girls). They were so sure of this, they already had named me Johnny after my daddy. They happily changed the spelling to Joni when I arrived on October 15, 1949! Decades later when I…
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This past weekend I told a friend how excited I am about turning 70, and she gave me an odd look. “Joni,” she said. “It’s not like 70 is the new 40; I mean, 70 is getting up there!” But like I told her, that’s exactly what fuels my excitement. And you know it’s really…
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“God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts.” 1 PETER 4:10 Every morning when I wheel up the ramp at our Joni and Friends International Disability Center (IDC), I bypass my office and head for the volunteer area. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are when Irma and Christian (her…
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When breast cancer came knocking at my door, I’m so relieved that my friends helped answer it. Actually, I shouldn’t say that breast cancer knocked, or even tapped on my door – it bulldozed right through it and turned my life topsy-turvy. I underwent surgery, rehab, radiation sessions every day for seven weeks, a stash…
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Nowadays, I don’t often write forewords to books, but I couldn’t’ resist penning the frontispiece for Robert and Nancy Wolgemuth’s new book, You Can Trust God to Write Your Story. As the Author of your life, God desires to write a wonderful story in your life. Some pages will be filled with great joy; others,…
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Glorify God whatever the suffering. Back in 2013, Jay Erwin became paralyzed when a tree he was sawing crashed down on him, severing his spinal cord. As a marathon runner, many of his dreams ended right there and then. At the same time, Jay remembered a promise he had made to glorify God ‘whatever the…
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Last night, my husband ambled in from the living room with his iPad, wanting to show me “a precious video,” as he put it. I watched a clip of America’s Got Talent as Kodi Lee, a blind young man with significant autism sat at the piano – millions watched as he commanded the keyboard, giving…
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September is Pain Awareness Month, and when I remember this Facebook message I recently received, I can’t think of a better time to be more “aware” of how debilitating pain can be. “Joni… I am in pain constantly and cannot even sit in a wheelchair. All I can do is lie on my bed 24…
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“Sitting on the edge of the field, I could feel the thunder of hooves…” Last weekend, a friend surprised me with tickets to a polo match up in Santa Barbara. Now, as much time as I’ve spent with horses, training and show jumping them, I’ve never been to a polo match. So I donned my…
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