Joni Eareckson Tada, founder and CEO of Joni and Friends, has received her second cancer diagnosis. The award-winning artist, speaker, and author is internationally known for her work as an advocate for people with disabilities.

The 69-year-old has dealt with serious health issues for the majority of her life, having quadriplegia for 51 years, chronic pain, and a past battle against stage 3 breast cancer. Tada underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy treatment in 2010 and was declared cancer-free five years later.

Last week, Tada underwent tests on a small nodule that had developed over the site of her mastectomy. The doctors found a small cancerous tumor within this nodule after biopsies. Tada’s husband, Ken, remained faithfully by her side during the tests.

“When I received the unexpected news of cancer from my oncological surgeon, I relaxed and smiled, knowing that my sovereign God loves me dearly and holds me tightly in His hands. What good is it if we only trust the Lord when we understand His ways? That only guarantees a life filled with doubts,” Tada stated.

On November 26th, Tada will undergo surgery to remove the cancer. She shared this with her Joni and Friends staff:

“I am inspired by the many valiant people with disabilities and their families whom we serve every day at Joni and Friends; they are people who constantly persevere…

A federal appeals court heard arguments this month on a Texas abortion law that outlaws a procedure in which a late-term unborn baby is torn apart, limb by limb, to prevent a live birth. The medical term for the procedure is “dilation and evacuation,” although it’s been dubbed “dismemberment abortion” by pro-life groups because it involves pulling out an arm, a leg, and so forth. 

It was described, in detail, in the movie Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer.

A lower court issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Texas law from going into effect. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Nov. 5.  

Heather Gebelin Hacker, assistant solicitor general for Texas, called the procedure “barbaric” and said abortionists could use other methods instead. 

“It’s illegal to kill an animal that way in Texas, we wouldn’t execute a murderer that way, and notably the abortion providers don’t tell women that that’s what the procedure entails,” Hacker told the judges, according to The Texas Tribune.

The suit was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood, two groups that are seeking to overturn the 2017 law.

“Just the idea the state thinks that’s what’s within its power is contrary to the whole idea that women have a right to autonomy, dignity,” said Janet Crepps, senior counsel…

A New Jersey man who lost a Civil War Bible that belonged to his great-great uncle has recovered the treasured artifact, although he’s still not sure who had it.

The man, Robert E. Burrows, had owned an 1854 pocket Bible that his ancestor, Archibald Todd, was given when reporting for duty as a member of the 13th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, NJ.com reported. Todd fought for the Union. 

The Bible was given to Burrows when he was seven but then stolen in 2015. 

But Burrows found it again — on eBay, of all places. Burrows, who shops on the site often, said it looked exactly like the one his great-great uncle owned. It even had the same Bible citations handwritten by his ancestor: Matthew 18 and Roman 12, NJ.com reported.

Not knowing what to do, Burrows called the local police, which directed him to the FBI. The FBI told him to “expect a package in the mail.”

“I said, ‘Yeah, okay.’”

Days later, it arrived. 

Burrows, 71, never discovered if anyone was arrested or charged in the case. NJ.com was unable to uncover that detail to the mystery, too. 

He carried the Bible with him to Vietnam — and he plans on keeping it safe the rest of his life. 

“I got something back,” he told NJ.com. “A piece of family history is back.”

Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com.

Photo courtesy: Nathan Wright/Unsplash

…

Christian pastor John Sanqiang Cao has been sentenced to Chinese prison.

“Pastor John has been unjustly targeted for his Christian faith and sentenced to seven years in prison,” ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow said.

Cao has been in prison for more than 20 months, according to CBN News.

In March 2017, Caro and a friend used a bamboo raft to cross from China into Myanmar. He had made the trip many times before to take supplies and food into the country. However, this time, security agents arrested him when he arrived in China, saying that he was taking Bibles into the country. 

“My father, being a Christian minister, he knew what he was getting himself into and he often took pride in the risk that he might one day become a martyr for his beliefs,” Cao’s son, Ben, told CBN News earlier this year.

Cao became a Christians in his 20s and attended seminary in New York. He is married and has two sons. His permanent home is him North Carolina.

He has worked in Central and Southern China for more than 20 years, helping to found Bible schools and providing humanitarian aid. According to the ACLJ, he helped build some 16 schools that serve about 2,000 students.

“Pastor John should not spend one more horrible day in that prison cell simply because of his faith and desire to help others,” a petition for his release says. “We are actively and aggressively urging the Chinese government to…

HGTV’s Fixer Upper star Joanna Gaines was reminded of the importance of childlike faith recently. 

The Christian mother of five took to Instagram on Sunday to share a precious family moment with her followers. Gaines posted a photo of her daughter Emmie’s vanity that was drawn on with purple marker and said, “Hi God what are you doing?” 

Joanna captioned the post saying, “Walked into Emmie’s bathroom this morning and my heart stopped for a second when I thought she had sharpied all over her vanity.”

She continued, “And then I took a moment and really read what she wrote and thought, ‘Well that isn’t the worst thing to be permanent’. Then I touched it and realized it was erasable.”

“I stared at her question and loved the thought of it and that that’s how she talks to God. May her faith always stay childlike and may I remember what she seems to already know. That God is the most relational and the most kind, and always near,” she added.

Nearly 1.5 million people left impressions on the photo, but more so, the photo left impressions on those who saw it. 

One user commented on the picture saying, “Thank you, Emmie, for the wonderful lesson to all of us. God is always at our shoulder waiting for us.”

Another wrote, “What a great message for us all in this day. You know she put a smile on God’s face.”

Gaines…