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FEBRUARY 10, 2026-GOD, ARE YOU REALLY CALLING ME? #10 FOCUS ON GOD, NOT YOUR CALL OR ITS BENEFITS

February 10, 2026

Judges 8:22-27 Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.”

But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you! However, I do have one request—that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaelites, all wore gold earrings.)

“Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels.

Gideon made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.

Idolatry! So easy to get into and so difficult to escape! When Gideon’s story begins, his father is the local priest for both Asherah and Baal, with the Asherah pole right next to the Baal altar. God has Gideon tear down both, build a new altar, and offer his father’s seven-year-old bull on the new altar as a burnt offering using the Asherah pole as fuel for the fire. Then Gideon wins a stunning victory when God causes the enemy armies to panic and attack one another. But what’s next?

When offered the chance to become a ruler, Gideon wisely refuses, saying, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The Lord will rule over you!” If Gideon were to stop there, everything would be fine. Gideon is pointing people to the Lord. But Gideon doesn’t stop there. The Israelites have captured a huge quantity of gold. Why not create an ephod, a sacred garment? But why? David Guzik in his Enduring Word Commentary has this to say about the ephod:

a. Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city: An ephod is a shirt-like garment worn by the priests of Israel (Exodus 28). This was obviously wrong, and it is not immediately apparent why Gideon did this. It is possible he did this to work against the prestige and influence of the tribe of Ephraim. At this time the tabernacle – the center of worship for Israel – was at Shiloh, in the territory of Ephraim. Gideon perhaps set up this rival place of worship to compete against the tribe that troubled him in the battle against Midian.

i. “While this was probably done out of a sense of the religious failure of the people, the effect produced was evil and resulted in deterioration of the character of Gideon himself.” (Morgan)

ii. “He did not set up an idol, but he made an ephod, an imitation of that wonderful vestment worn by the high priest. Perhaps he made it of solid gold, not to be worn, but to be looked at, simply to remind the people of the worship of God, and not to be itself worshipped. But ah, dear friends, you see here that, if we go half an inch beyond what God’s Word warrants we always get into mischief!” (Spurgeon)

b. And all Israel played the harlot with it there: The people of Israel enjoyed this idolatrous worship. The beautiful and expensive ephod became a snare to Gideon, his family, and all Israel.

i. Artistic beauty has a way of impressing us and giving a sense of awe, but it is not necessarily a godly impression or awe. Many times, it can distract our focus from the LORD. In contrast to this ephod, God commanded that His altars be made of unfinished stone (Exodus 20:25), so that no one’s attention was focused on the beauty of the stone carver’s work.

ii. Gideon was remarkably obedient and filled with faith in the extreme moment of battle. The routine of daily living seems to have been a greater test of his character. This is true for many, and the challenges of daily living are more difficult than those of the extreme moment.

iii. “Perhaps it is easier to honour God in some courageous action in the limelight of a time of national emergency than it is to honour Him consistently in the ordinary, everyday life, which requires a different kind of courage.” (Cundall)

Judges 8:29-35 Then Gideon son of Joash returned home. He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives. He also had a concubine in Shechem, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimelech. Gideon died when he was very old, and he was buried in the grave of his father, Joash, at Ophrah in the land of the clan of Abiezer. As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-berith their god. They forgot the Lord their God, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them. Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon), despite all the good he had done for Israel.

Although Gideon has claimed he will not rule, he immediately sets himself up as a ruler. Gideon’s new-gained wealth allows him to acquire a large harem, fathering seventy sons. And he does rule at least part of Israel for the rest of his life. Sadly, Gideon forgets the Lord who has brought him victory and prosperity. And as soon as Gideon dies, the Israelites return to Baal worship. (“Baal” is a general term meaning “Lord,” so there are many Baals, probably because demons are territorial and therefore take the name Baal ______, as in Baal-berith.

Recently, I was asked what I would do if I were to leave surgery, or even medicine altogether. While I am certain that if God calls me to do something else, I will do it, I love what I do and I love my patients and my interactions with them and their families. But we must always remember that it is God who calls us to do any work and that He can always change our assignments. Our work cannot become so important that we worship it rather than God. Idolatry is seductive and easy to slide into without noticing it.

After winning magnificent victories with God’s help, Gideon does well by pointing people to God but almost immediately stumbles. Never assume that you will not fail at the same place as someone else! We read this story and think, “Oh, I would never do that.” But anything can become an idol. The only safe practice is to remain focused on God, His Will and His Word. Anything else, anything less, and we are immediately in trouble, whether or not we realize it. And when our call becomes more important than anything else, we might make human sacrifices of our friends and family, leaving us isolated, frustrated, and lonely. Beware when you feel compelled to do something for the sake of your call! Is God compelling you, or has your devotion to what you are doing become the force that moves you?

What did God want Gideon to do once he had conquered the Midianites? The answers lie in the Mosaic laws, for God wanted Gideon to worship Him and to encourage others to do so. But Gideon had never fully committed his heart and mind to God, so as soon as the moment of divine inspiration had passed, Gideon immediately created a new idol.

You feel you have a divine call. Well and good. But be very certain that you continue to worship God and keep the eyes of your heart on Him, for you never know when He might change your direction. And remain humble when God gives you victory, realizing that it’s always his doing and not yours. Do these things and you will please God. Fail to do them and you will wind up like Gideon, reverting to idol worship.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to follow You, first, last, and always, remembering that calls are secondary to worshiping You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

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FEBRUARY 8 2026-GOD, ARE YOU REALLY CALLING ME? #8 WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN GOD SENDS AWAY MOST OF YOUR HELP?

February 8, 2026

Judges 7:1-8 Gideon Defeats the Midianites

So Jerub-baal (that is, Gideon) and his army got up early and went as far as the spring of Harod. The armies of Midian were camped north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight.

But the Lord told Gideon, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.” When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.” Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream.

The Lord told Gideon, “With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home.” So Gideon collected the provisions and rams’ horns of the other warriors and sent them home. But he kept the 300 men with him.

When Gideon surveys the Valley of Jezreel, the valley is full of enemy troops. Even the 32,000 men Gideon has seems like a small number by comparison. But God isn’t pleased, for if He gives victory to those 32,000 men, they will take all the credit. So God proposes a series of tests. First, God advises Gideon to tell the men, “Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain and go home.” You can practically hear the sighs of relief as 22,000 men immediately take to their heels, heading for home. But 10,000 men are left, and that’s still too many. Next, God orders Gideon to send the men to the spring and observe the manner in which they drink. 300 men scoop water in their hands and stand up to drink while watching for attack while the remaining 9700 kneel by the spring and scoop water. God knows that the 300 men who watch as they drink are seasoned warriors while the rest are careless and therefore liabilities in battle.

Now Gideon is really afraid! 300 men to defeat thousands of enemy soldiers with fancy weapons? How can this possibly work? Tomorrow we will see what a complete victory God gives Gideon, but today our focus is on the difference between our view of a situation and God’s. God has called Gideon. Gideon KNOWS God has called him. But Gideon is still looking at his own resources to save the situation; meanwhile, God is planning another miracle. Too many soldiers might convince the Israelites that they have gotten victory rather than realizing that God is simply using them as His tools. God wants to do something so audacious that NOBODY else can possibly get the credit for success.

This story resonates with me because we have lived it several times over. In February 1992 we came to a small village in northeastern Ghana to look at a clinic where a national church wanted us to work. There were eleven workers, no electricity, a poor water supply, no laboratory, no possibility of doing blood transfusions, and no operating room. I am a surgeon and an OR (Operating theatre) plus blood transfusions are necessary for surgery. But when we got out of the vehicle in the old mission house yard, the Holy Spirit descended like a big warm blanket wrapping around us, and suddenly we KNEW God wanted us to come to that uninviting place.

We returned in January 1993, and when we had been there a year, a small tribal war broke out. Suddenly, we became the only source of medical care for more than 100,000 people. I started the theatre and the laboratory, training several nurses and one physician’s assistant to group and cross match walk-in blood donors. We began doing hospital level work in a small health center building. That first year we performed 192 major operations, sterilizing everything in a large pressure cooker over a coal pot on the verandah. Eventually, God sent us a few more workers, raising our staff count to 22.  But it was God who worked through those 22 workers, for nobody else could take the credit.

Today that small clinic has become a district hospital serving more than 120,000 people and attracting patients from great distances. But God is the only One who can really take credit. The rest of us have just happened to be in the near vicinity.

Perhaps you feel like Gideon. God has set you a daunting task and has then removed much of your help. Don’t worry! Remember that if God calls you, God is responsible for the results, and God can work just as effectively through a few people as He can through many. Trust God and then expect great things!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to trust You no matter what, realizing that all success must come from You in the first place. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

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JANUARY 18, 2026 WE ALL NEED COMFORT, BUT HOW DO WE GET IT? #18 GOD CAN EVEN RECONCILE FIGHTING SIBLINGS

January 18, 2026

Genesis 25:1-10 Now Abraham married again. Keturah was his new wife, and she bore him several children: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, Shuah. Jokshan’s two sons were Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s sons were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.

Abraham deeded everything he owned to Isaac; however, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off into the east, away from Isaac.

Then Abraham died, at the ripe old age of 175, and his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Mach-pelah near Mamre, in the field Abraham had purchased from Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite, where Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was buried.

If you do the math, by the time Sarah dies, Abraham is already 137 years old; however, God blesses him so that he is able to marry again, a lady named Keturah, and father six more sons. After deeding everything to Isaac, Abraham makes generous gifts to these men and sends them eastward so they won’t be tempted to compete with Isaac.

When Abraham dies at age 175, Ishmael is at least 88 and Isaac is 75. Setting any old differences aside, the two men come together to bury Abraham in the cave of Mach-pelah where Sarah is buried. Isaac is the son of promise, inheriting Abraham’s spiritual legacy and much of his wealth. In the past, Abraham has prayed over Ishmael, and God has promised to make Ishmael great. (Genesis 17:20 “I shall cause him to multiply and become a great nation.” And God repeats this promise to Hagar in Genesis 21:18) God does grant Ishmael twelve sons, each of whom becomes the chief of his own tribe. But the most important thing about these few verses is that Abraham’s boys cooperate on his funeral. As carefully as the Bible scribes have been to record every small detail, if Ishmael and Isaac had fought over their father’s funeral, that fight would have been recorded down to the last syllable.

Think about it: Ishmael is the first-born, and under the customs of many tribes, Ishmael should inherit, no matter whether his mother is a concubine or a wife. But God has decreed that Isaac, the son of promise, must inherit from Abraham. In modern parlance, Isaac is the “chosen child.” And Ishmael is a difficult character, far more comfortable hunting in the wilderness than remaining in tents. God blesses Ishmael according to Ishmael’s nature, just as He blesses Isaac.

There are some families where siblings get along well, and then there are other families where sibling rivalries can be vicious. One set of twins spent decades distancing themselves from each other because each thought the other was their father’s favorite. In fact, their father was a good man; however, he had been raised by older siblings when his mother died, and he had never learned how to express affection. When one twin was doing something outstanding, the father would praise that twin to the other. “Look at your brother! Isn’t that great?” Blessedly, God brought timely reconciliation, but years of fellowship were lost because of that wrong belief. And there are parents who truly favor one child over all the others, frequently with disastrous results.

Some families have done well until a parent dies, and it’s time for the estate to be settled. Siblings fighting over stuff may refuse to speak to one another for years. But it’s hard to say “I’m sorry” to a grave. Promising to reconcile “tomorrow” is worthless, for that tomorrow may never come.  

How does God want us to relate to our siblings? How can He bring comfort? Ephesians 4 has a lot to say about getting along with difficult people. Ephesians 4:2-3 tells us, “Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Try always to be led along together by the Holy Spirit and so be at peace with one another.” Most of us want to give ourselves a “free pass” to behave badly, stating all kinds of excuses; meanwhile, we rush to judge others severely. When I was a child, my parents used to warn me that when I pointed one finger at someone else, I had three fingers and a thumb pointing back at me, indicating that I was just as at fault as the person whom I was criticizing.

Ephesians 4:26-27 warns us, “If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the devil.”

It’s true that “unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” Ephesians 4:31-32 advises, “Stop being mean, bad-tempered, and angry. Quarreling, harsh words, and dislike of others should have no place in your lives. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.”

But what if someone has really hurt you badly, so badly you can scarcely even think about that person? The father of the famous Christian author and teacher, C.S. Lewis, was a selfish and difficult man, insensitive to the needs of both his sons. Once Lewis became a Christian, he had to continue to forgive his father as an act of will, until one day he realized that he had succeeded. Incidentally, this process of forgiveness took years.

Notice something else: Forgiving someone who has hurt you, even loving them, does not mean you have to trust them if they have proven themselves untrustworthy. Unless God specifically orders you to make yourself vulnerable, you are not obligated to expose yourself to further abuse. But there are exceptions. Saint Paul was stoned in Lystra; however, God preserved him, and he later returned to the city to teach new converts. God used Paul to demonstrate His mighty power to the unbelievers at Lystra.

As we consider the miracle of Ishmael and Isaac cooperating to perform their father’s funeral, we should examine ourselves. Have we been harboring grudges against anyone, particularly against any of our siblings? If God brings anyone to mind, ask God to help you and then forgive! Why carry a load of anger around so it can eat into your soul? And there is this about forgiveness: the more you forgive others, the easier it becomes. Remember that God forgives us when we confess our sins. If the Judge of the whole earth can forgive that readily, how can we lesser beings continue to hold grudges?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, many of us are walking wounded, hemorrhaging spiritually from hurts inflicted by family and acquaintances. We confess that we are sinners and that we cannot free ourselves from our own sins, let alone forgive others. Please, Lord, forgive us our sins and grant us the courage and the grace to forgive all those who have hurt us, whether intentionally or unintentionally. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

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DECEMBER 27, 2025 WE ARE ALL FERAL CATS PART 2

December 27, 2025

This morning, I can hear our new kitten crying pitifully as he sits in his litter box in his cage. Gabriel, our kitten, has been drinking the water and eating the food we have given him, but he longs for his mother. We long to comfort Gabriel, to nestle him in our arms, but he still fears us. Were we to try to cuddle him right now, one of us might wind up in the Emergency Room with stitches!

One of the many names of Jesus is “Immanuel” or “Emmanuel,” meaning “God with us.” But why should God order that his Son be called by such a name? God wants all people to know that He is not sitting someplace far away but that He is as close as their heartbeats. But there’s a problem: Just as we struggle to communicate with little Gabriel the kitten, God keeps sending His Word by various means to communicate with people, many of whom aren’t listening or are deafened by the noise of the world around them.

All we want to do is to comfort Gabriel, to make him feel secure, and to demonstrate the depth of our love for him; yet, we struggle to reassure him. If one of us were able to speak “cat” or even to become a cat with the knowledge we have, it would be much easier to comfort Gabriel. We celebrate Christmas because at Christmas, God accomplished what we cannot: He sent Jesus to be born as a baby to a poor family from an obscure village so that He could demonstrate His love and concern through Jesus. Jesus was also born so that he could love, minister, and die as a blood sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, conquering death, hell, and the grave.

Each time little Gabriel mews pitifully, our hearts break, and we beg God again to help us find some way to comfort him. Now if God is a loving Father, with a great heart of love deeper than anything we can possibly imagine, won’t He have compassion on His suffering children just as we have compassion for our kitten? When we cry, God hears us, even though help doesn’t always come in the form we desire. Again, Isaiah 55:9 reminds us that God’s ways are higher than ours.

On the night before Jesus was crucified, he was struggling to impart everything he possibly could to his disciples while he was still with them. John recorded those conversations. In John 14:7-11, Jesus was trying to reassure his friends.

7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”

8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”

If Jesus had been a cat speaking to other cats, he would have told them that he was sent by the Creator of all cats to demonstrate that Creator’s love.

Do we think we occupy the place of God with our kitten? Far from it! We are flawed human beings whose race mostly lost the ability to communicate with the animals when sin entered the world. Throughout the world, there are those individuals blessed in their abilities to communicate with animals. But we firmly believe that God can comfort our kitten and we are begging Him to do so. We are begging for Immanuel to comfort little Gabriel, to be “God with Gabriel.”

Please notice something: we should always worship the Creator, not the creature. Someone grieving the loss of their sixteen-year-old cat mentioned on Facebook that they intended to create an altar to the cat. As a shrine to remember the cat, that might be all right; however, to worship a dead cat would be quite wrong, no matter how precious the memories might be.

So once more, we find ourselves resembling feral cats. We want to trust God, but we have bitter memories, and we aren’t really sure if this “Immanuel” business, this “God with us” stuff is real or not. But the good thing about Jesus is that his followers recorded Jesus’ teachings in four different Gospels, each with its own approach, giving us the information we need about Jesus and his Heavenly Father.

If you are new to the Bible, begin by reading the Gospel of John in a format that speaks to you. Personally, I like the New King James version because it preserves the language of the King James without archaic terms. But other versions such as The Message or The Living Bible are equally good. The important thing is to learn about Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. Let’s pray.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are all feral cats. We have been hurt and we don’t trust anybody. Lord, please speak to the hearts of all those reading these words, make Yourself so real to them that they KNOW You are Immanuel, God with them. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.  

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WE ARE ALL FERAL CATS! DECEMBER 26, 2025

December 26, 2025

We have mourned for two months, ever since losing our beloved kitty Mr. Cat. As conscientious and loving cat owners, we have mercilessly beat ourselves up-should we have gotten medical attention earlier? Did he die because we somehow neglected him, even though we thought we were doing everything correctly? It’s no exaggeration to say that the two of us have been reduced to tears on a daily basis.

Christmas morning, one of our friends came holding a small sack. When we asked him what was in the sack, he said, “A cat.” And there was a two-month-old male kitten, grey with dark stripes. We immediately named the cat Gabriel because he came bringing good news at Christmas.

Poor little Gabriel is still in shock. Just a day ago, he was running freely around our friend’s compound. Now we have confined him to a large cage, albeit with food, water, a litter box, and a box he can use as a den to hide in. For now, we are using the cage while we try for him to get used to us. Eventually, we hope he will have the run of the house, as well as the outdoors. We are offering him our fingers and hands to sniff, but we are not forcing ourselves on him.

Will we be able to tame Gabriel so that he will become a purring cuddly kitty? Who knows? Cats are always individuals, and you must respect their personalities. Forcing a cat only injures everyone. But when we picked Gabriel out of the sack, I picked him by the scruff of his neck and set him on my chest, where he promptly curled up without biting or scratching. I am hoping for good things in the future.

When it comes to loving God, we are all like feral cats. We want our freedom, and we aren’t interested in being tamed. We have no idea that God’s nature is love and that He only wants good things for us. Even when God provides everything for us, we are still like poor little Gabriel; we fear that this Great Being may harm us. But there is good news for all of us.

Romans 8:18-23 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only that, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body.”

There is one difference between Gabriel the kitty and us: As humans we have a sin problem. When sin entered the world, God was forced to subject the entire creation to futility because of the sins of mankind. Gabriel is part of the creation that waits for redemption. Gabriel does not need a Savior, but we humans do.

Jesus has promised that one day, he will return, not as a baby but as a conquering king. On that great day, all creation will be released from the consequences of human sin.

Isaiah 11:6-9 tells us, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.”

In that day, none of us will act out of fear, for in that day, there will be no more feral cats. God’s love will unite us all in His Creation as He intended it from the beginning of time, for the knowledge of God and the peace of God will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.

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ARCHIBALD THE ANKLE UPDATE NOVEMBER 26, 2025 CRUTCHES!!!

November 26, 2025

One of the many lessons Archibald the Ankle is teaching me is the value of various kinds of crutches. Several years ago, we helped Taala Ruth, a young girl with terrible orthopedic problems. Eventually, Taala reached the point that she can walk without crutches, even though she has undergone a Girdlestone procedure, removing the ball of her left thigh bone because of infection, and has a fused right knee due to infection, injury, and malnutrition at a critical time. It was only a few months ago that Taala gave back her elbow crutches, the same crutches I am now using.

For those needing crutches, elbow crutches are far superior to those with cross pieces that fit in the armpit. The danger of armpit crutches is that if one leans on the crosspiece, one can easily put too much pressure on the nerves, damaging them permanently and making it impossible to use the hand and forearm. A trick with these crutches is for them to be short enough that there is at least 2-3 inches between the armpit and the top of the crutch. All the patient’s weight should go on the hand grips and not on the top cross pieces. The advantage of armpit crutches is that they are simple and easily manufactured, making them the predominant type of crutch in rural Africa.

Elbow crutches depend on pressure on the hand grips with the elbow supports keeping the upper arm stable. But not all elbow crutches are created equal. When we looked for crutches for Taala Ruth, we got the best ones we could; however, they have mobile clips that fit around the upper arm. Threading one’s arm through these clips can be difficult, and removing the crutches when entering a vehicle or sitting down can also be difficult. There are more expensive kinds of elbow crutches that have a rigid support molded and attached to the crutch. Such crutches are easier to handle because they are less tricky when the user wants to put them aside.

Remember that my condition is not permanent. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S. and I am deeply grateful for many things:

  1. I am grateful that my injury was minor and that I should heal within a few weeks without operation.
  2. I am grateful that the pain is reducing daily. The pitfall is that I might forget and put more weight on my injured leg than I should.
  3. I am grateful that my injury demonstrated the fact that obstructing a public path with a log might lead to disastrous injuries. Had a local motorcycle rider hit that log, he could have flown off his bike, landing on his head and snapping his neck, dying instantly. I do, however, agree that our local motorcycle riders and motoking drivers constitute a public menace. Controlling these people is a big problem.
  4. I am grateful that we had crutches at the house and that we were able to secure a wheelchair.
  5. I am grateful that I am able to maneuver around our home.
  6. I am grateful that I am able to rest. Until my injury, I had not taken annual leave.
  7. I am grateful that I am learning to handle videos and to convert Power Point presentations into videos for upload onto Youtube.
  8. I am grateful for the loving care my husband and our friends give me daily.
  9. I thank God that because of my injury, I will be able to celebrate Thanksgiving without worrying that I might be called to an emergency at the hospital. I cannot tell the numbers of holiday celebrations that have been forfeited or postponed because of my work. I have also been able to attend two weddings without interruption due to my injury.
  10. I thank God that He continues to care for us and to provide. Despite my injury, we are still helping support patients and their families with medicines, blood, and feeding.
  11. Most of all, I thank God for sending His Son Jesus Christ to live as a sinless man, to die for all of our sins, and to defeat death, hell, and the grave! Because He lives, we live also.

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NOVEMBER 17, 2025-In Memoriam: Russell Lowell Bjorling December 1, 1950-November 17, 2021

November 18, 2025

My brother Rus, his wife Carol, and his daughters, Elizabeth and Amanda

“I am a bear of little brain.” Winnie the Poo

The date should have meant more to me. All day, I kept wondering what was special about November 17th? Oh my heart! Four years ago in August 2021, we returned to America because my brother-in-law Tink was dying from complications of Agent Orange. God brought us back just in time, for we spent only two days with Tink before finding him dead in his house. But we didn’t realize that one of my brothers was also struggling with health problems.

My brother Rus loved Jesus, his family, and animals and farming. Rus was brilliant, a born comedian with impeccable timing, and a passion for learning, whether it was scientific facts or Bible studies. Rus was also a teacher, and one of his students shocked an Israeli guide when she began pointing out landmarks while on a trip to Israel. “Where did you learn all this?” the guide asked. “Oh, my Bible study teacher taught me,” was the answer.

There have been two times in my life when I have noticed small things about a loved one’s health that later turned out to contribute to their deaths. When my parents visited me in the fall of 1979, I noticed my mother had developed “paper money skin,” typical for someone on steroids. Although I attributed it to aging, I was more correct than I realized, for even then Mom was developing small cell lung cancer that made its own steroids. The immune suppression from that cancer allowed the development of fungal brain abscesses that eventually killed Mom several months later.

When we stayed with Rus and his wife Carol, we went for a walk in a nearby park, and I noticed that Rus was behaving like someone with chronic lung disease. Little did I realize that Russ’s lungs had suffered major damage after years of exposure to hog dust and ammonia fumes from poorly ventilated hog confinement setups. (Years before that, one doctor looked at Rus’s chest x-ray and said, “Well, if you’ll give up smoking, your lungs might improve.” Rus looked at the doctor aghast and replied, “But I’ve never smoked in my life.”)

We’ll never know how Rus was exposed to COVID, but in early November 2021, Rus came down with COVID pneumonia. That was a time when controversies raged over proper treatment as well as vaccination, and horror stories about bad side effects of vaccination were beginning to appear. Would it have helped had Rus been vaccinated? Who knows? One of our friends at church had a 43-year-old son who was a computer programmer…until a COVID vaccination damaged his brain so severely that he could no longer do his work. The big problem for Rus was the previous lung damage. Adding COVID to chronic lung disease proved more than Rus’s body could handle.

By the time we learned of Rus’s illness, we were already in Texas, preparing to leave America November 10th for Ghana. Our dilemma was real, for Christmas was approaching, and at Christmastime, our mission hospital in Saboba was-and remains-one of the few facilities at which patients could get operations in our area. We discussed the situation with Rus and his family and prayed fervently. Finally, we chose to return to Saboba, realizing that we might have seen Rus for the last time on earth.  

Rus died with his wife and daughters around him on November 17, 2021. At Rus’s funeral they played “I’ll be Waiting on the Far Side Banks of Jordan.” Here are the lyrics:
“Far Side Banks Of Jordan”

I believe my steps are growing wearier each day
Still I’ve got a journey on my mind
Lures of this old world have ceased to make me want to stay
and my one regret is leaving you behind

If it proves to be his will that I’m the first to go
And somehow I’ve a feeling it will be
When it comes time to travel likewise don’t feel lost
For I will be the first one that you’ll see

And I’ll be waiting on the far side banks of Jordan
I’ll be waiting drawing pictures in the sand
And when I see you coming I will rise up with a shout!
And come running through the shallow waters reaching for your hand

Through this life we’ve laboured hard to earn our meager fare
It’s brought us trembling hands and failing eyes
I’ll just rest here on this shore and turn my eyes away
And then you’ll come then we’ll see paradise.

And I’ll be waiting on the far side banks of Jordan
I’ll be waiting drawing pictures in the sand
And when I see you coming I will rise up with a shout!
And come running through the shallow waters reaching for your hand

For now, Rus is waiting on the far side banks of Jordan. But we do not mourn as those who have no hope, for we KNOW our Redeemer lives and that one day, we will all be together in heaven. So Rus, keep waiting. God still has things for us to do here, but one day, we will cross that Jordan and we will be together with Jesus for eternity.


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BURYING BILLY GENE PROCTOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2025

September 29, 2025

They’re burying one of our closest friends today, and we can’t be there. This is the part of missionary life that few people speak about, but it’s one of the toughest. Financial limitations? No problem! Both my husband and I grew up in families where money was a bit scarce. Devoting time to caring for others? Giving up luxury vacations to pay for blood, medicine, and food for patients? Sure, those are challenges, but anybody in any kind of ministry faces similar problems. There are many things we have sacrificed gladly for the sake of God’s calling on our lives. But once in a while, special events come along and remind us that our friends and loved ones are back in America and we are not. Funerals of close friends serve as one of those reminders.

Today as our friends gather at Getwell Church in Southaven, MS, we will be fortunate if we are able to watch the proceedings as they are streamed. But watching something doesn’t make up for being there and hugging people, sharing stories of the loved one, and yes-crying a bit with the family. While those attending the funeral will be treated to a gallery of photos and a video depicting Billy’s long life of 84 years and those whom he blessed during that time, all we will have is memories.

Jesus’ disciple Simon Peter was one of those guys who was forever asking the tough questions. I guess having spent years hauling fish out of the Sea of Galilee and battling those sudden storms left Peter with no patience for temporizing. When Peter had a question, he simply spat it out. And this particular day, Peter was worried.

Matthew tells the story in Matthew 19:16-29A rich young ruler approaches Jesus, asking what he has to do to gain eternal life. Jesus tells him to follow the Ten Commandments. When the man claims that he’s already doing that, Jesus advises him, “If you want to give it all you’ve got,” Jesus replied, “go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.” The young man gulps hard and leaves dejected because he is very rich and very attached to his belongings. (But wait-there are some traditions that claim this young ruler was Mark, who later wrote one of the Gospels and who traveled with Paul and Barnabas.)

Peter and the other disciples have left their homes and their jobs to follow Jesus. Peter, his brother Andrew, and his friends James and John have walked away from thriving and businesses at Capernaum. All four have left their boats and their relatives to follow Jesus and are faithfully continuing to do so.

Matthew 19:27 Then Peter chimed in, “We left everything and followed you. What do we get out of it?”

28-30 Jesus replied, “Yes, you have followed me. In the re-creation of the world, when the Son of Man will rule gloriously, you who have followed me will also rule, starting with the twelve tribes of Israel. And not only you, but anyone who sacrifices home, family, fields—whatever—because of me will get it all back a hundred times over, not to mention the considerable bonus of eternal life. This is the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”

Now Peter is asking Jesus what he and the others will get out of the deal. Has this sacrifice all been for nothing? Not only have the disciples given up being with their families but they have also sacrificed sharing special celebrations-birthdays, feast days, weddings, and funerals. Led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus has crisscrossed the land, leaving the disciples wondering where they will go next. Jesus assures Peter that his followers will receive houses and lands and families, both in this life and in the next. But in the meantime, the disciples find themselves isolated from their families by the call on their lives.

We met Billy Proctor shortly after arriving in Memphis, TN, in late June 1983. I was the new pediatric surgery resident at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital. Billy and his wife Carla were members at Faith United Methodist Church, a charismatic congregation just over the line in Southaven, MS. Eventually, we joined Faith and became fast friends with Billy and Carla. If you look at photos of Billy during that time, you see a middle-aged guy with a grin that just won’t quit, a grin that draws you in to whatever he has going on. Billy had that grin for his entire life, and I’m sure that the day Billy graduated into heaven, when Jesus reached out his hand to Billy to pull him out of a failing body, Billy grinned more widely than he ever had before.

It’s impossible for me to enumerate all the different ways Billy and Carla have helped us over the years. The Proctors have sheltered us, advised us, encouraged us, and handled our stateside mail for us. Billy has handled our finances, helping invest our Social Security and whatever other monies have come in that have not been used for ministry expenses. Billy has also shared travel tips with us, tips on local restaurants, and some of his other passions.

We have watched the Proctors’ children reach adulthood, marry, and become parents and develop careers of their own. We have rejoiced over births and grieved over untimely deaths. We have cheered for all kinds of successes and admired photos. Our lives and those of the Proctor family have become interwoven.

I am completing this about an hour before the funeral will begin. We can only pray that our internet connection will remain stable, allowing us to watch, even if it’s at a distance of several thousand miles.

The next time you ask a missionary based overseas for their challenges, remember there are many things about which we might be hesitant to share. We don’t want to come off as whiners. But we can only rejoice that some day we will all be in heaven together. As the old Gospel song says, “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory!”

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IN MEMORIAM BILLY GENE PROCTOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 PART 3 COMMON SENSE IS NOT COMMON! AND NEITHER IS KINDNESS! BILLY HAD AN ENDLESS SUPPLY OF BOTH!

September 25, 2025

I’ve said it before, but one of the things we appreciated most about Billy Proctor was his endless fund of common sense. These days, we keep realizing that common sense is anything but common; in other words, getting good advice that actually works is a major challenge.

In a previous generation, those in the military rejoiced when they encountered recruits who were farm kids, for these people had not only learned how to work diligently but they also were used to coming up with practical solutions on the fly. Billy P. was that kind of a guy-someone who could analyze details, identify fundamental problems, and devise practical workable solutions. We can’t count the number of times we would call Billy, posing problems, and Billy would always come up with solutions. If Billy couldn’t come up with solutions himself, he would seek out advice or ask leading questions that would aid us in finding solutions.

Billy was also incredibly kind. Billy’s mama had raised him right, so he was a true Southern gentleman who would be polite under all circumstances, even when someone was trying to insult him. Even when Billy found himself engaged in an argument, he remained calm and courteous. Billy was also genuinely kind to all those around him. Repeatedly, we would learn that Billy had quietly helped someone or that Miss Carla and he were volunteering in an outreach to those in inner city Memphis or in some other helping ministry. The Proctors were faithful supporters of the efforts of Getwell Church to aid the community. It was also common to find the Proctors carrying food to shut-ins, offering rides to those needing transport to church or doctors’ appointments, etc.

As a faithful member of Getwell Church, Billy also helped represent us to the church at large and to several Sunday School classes. We can only pray that God will raise up someone to continue to spread our story at Getwell.

Billy was a faithful friend. Until the last few years of Billy’s life, he got together weekly with a group of men to eat lunch at a local restaurant. There were also the men who attended early morning Bible studies and prayer groups, a passion Billy shared with my husband Bob whenever we were staying with the Proctors.

Billy was a CPA’s CPA, someone so passionate about figures and reports being complete that he couldn’t stand to do shoddy work. This passion for correctness was evident in every task Billy tackled. Billy generously applied his talents to helping us manage our finances, multiplying donated monies to fund a host of projects at our mission hospital. Had we adequately compensated Billy for his work, he would have been a millionaire.

We continue to pray for Billy’s family and friends even as we grieve our own loss. The Navajo Indians have a saying that someone is a “valuable man,” meaning that individual’s contributions to society are immeasurable. By anybody’s standards, Billy Gene Proctor was a valuable man. Our loss is heaven’s gain. Rest well, friend, we’ll see you at the feet of Jesus.

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IN MEMORIAM BILLY GENE PROCTOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 PART 2 PRECIOUS MEMORIES

September 23, 2025
  1. Precious mem’ries, unseen angels,
    Sent from somewhere to my soul;
    How they linger, ever near me,
    And the sacred past unfold.
    1. Refrain:
      Precious mem’ries, how they linger,
      How they ever flood my soul;
      In the stillness of the midnight,
      Precious, sacred scenes unfold.
  2. Precious father, loving mother,
    Fly across the lonely years;
    And old home scenes of my childhood,
    In fond memory appear.
  3. As I travel on life’s pathway,
    Know not what the years may hold;
    As I ponder, hope grows fonder,
    Precious mem’ries flood my soul.

As the movie “Driving Miss Daisy” ends, the theme music continues to play, and scenes from Hoke and Miss Daisy’s relationship flash across the screen. That’s how I feel remembering Billy Proctor. The sweet pictures just keep coming. The music in the background is country Gospel with fiddles, banjoes, and guitars.

Billy loved to travel. After spending three years working in Mexico at the beginning of his career and traveling throughout the United States for Terminix, Billy was a travel specialist who had more practical tips than the average web site. Billy could tell you the best times to travel, when to catch the red-eye specials, when to use your frequent flier miles, and when to hold on to them. Back when travel agents were still available, we used Billy’s friend Harriet on many occasions. In his work, Billy also traveled extensively through the South and was an expert on the best local restaurants. We fondly remember one place near Morgan City, Louisiana, housed in an old airplane hanger that had outstanding Cajun food.

Eventually Billy became the head of the IRS Division of Terminix and it was a tremendous shock when he went in to work one morning at the age of 63, only to face a horrible choice: move to Chicago with his division or take early retirement with a retirement bonus. Billy chose to remain in Olive Branch, preferring to practice as a CPA with a select clientele. While that choice was difficult, it gave Billy the freedom to cherish children and grandchildren and to travel more extensively. Meanwhile, Carla continued to work as a social worker facilitating adoptions for several more years, creating many happy families.

Billy, and Carla became globe trotters. Israel, Scotland with the Edinburgh Tattoo, leaf tours in the fall-Billy and Carla did it all. It was no surprise when I learned that Billy and Carla were two of the few wedding guests who made it to a destination wedding in the Florida Keys, for that was typical for the Proctors.

Billy was a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. Living close to Getwell Church allowed Billy the chance to attend men’s breakfasts and Bible studies as well as small group meetings with Miss Carla. For many years, Billy was involved in the financial affairs of the churches he attended-first at Faith United Methodist and later at Getwell.

One of Billy’s most endearing characteristics was his enormous fund of common sense. As a Mississippi farm boy, Billy never “got beyond his raising” but always remembered the practicalities of situations. We frequently used Billy as a sounding board for a variety of decisions and always found his advice to be sound and helpful.

As the days go on, there will be more visions. For now, we can label these glimpses as more precious memories.

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