How Many Times?

One of my endless number of faults is reacting too quickly when I hear erroneous Bible accusations. A few years ago, one of my caregivers had read something about the book of Revelation, She said it was confusing and was certain I hadn't ever read it. While I agree it has several interpretations with various Scriptural support, I reminded her of my routine.

For many years, I have done a morning reading plan from Genesis through Revelation. For about 20 years, I also read 3-4 chapters of the Bible every night which also went cover to cover in a year or less. Therefore, I estimated I read Revelation twice per calendar year and possibly three times depending on my night reading schedule. That schedule had likely been going on for 15 years if not longer. The next question was why I read it so much.

The result of the conversation made me curious though, how many times do I read a full book of the Bible every year? I still do my morning reading routine, so that's an easy calculation of once for every book. Two years ago, I adjusted my night ritual after getting a John MacArthur (JM) study Bible. It has small print with bright white pages, so my eyes can't take it nightly. Therefore, I read it four nights a week and another study Bible the remaining three nights.

Reading all the Scripture and commentary in the JM Bible makes slow progress. However, I started in Genesis late in 2025 and I'm just now starting Isiah. It will take me more than a year to get through, but that's okay. In my other study Bible, I am skipping around some with having read Psalms-Song of Songs/Solomon before returning to the New Testament again. I also read two chapters in the New Testament every day for a month, but that can take a year to read one full book depending on the length.

At this point in 2026, with my various reading plans combined, I have read Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs three times. Isiah's 66 chapters will take quite a while at night, but I feel quite confident I will get through it before the end of the year. By the end of 2026, I'm guessing I will have read all the New Testament twice and likely another 5-6 of the Old Testament beyond what I said earlier.

With all this Bible reading, I don't consider myself an expert or even know where to find every reference. While my eyes are going over the text, my mind isn't always along the same course of study. It's a part of this quad life I enjoy and feel wrong the rare times I miss one of my studies. I'm thankful to live in a country where I can freely read the Bible and have easy access both digital and print format. I may change the routines again sometime, but for now, I plan to continue studying and teach when I can.

Another Loss, am I Now the Oldest?

Last weekend, the US, and other countries, celebrated the country's 250th birthday. While it was a time of celebration for some, it was a time of mourning for others. On July 3, while checking Facebook, I saw that my friend Brett Klusaw had passed away. He was 45 years old and had been a quadriplegic for 43 years.

Brett was one of two fellow quads I knew that had been injured longer than me. The other, Chuck Foss, died in 2024 also after 43 years of living the quad life. With Brett's passing, I no longer know anyone that has been injured longer than me. At 41 years post injury, I do not desire the title of longest living quadriplegic. It's an honor I genuinely hope somebody else holds and we just haven't met each other. Until then, I guess I presume the title whether I want to or not.

Other than being old quads, Brett and I didn't share a lot of similar interests. Nevertheless, he only lived a few hours away in Omaha, NE and I hoped to meet him in person. We tried last year, but it didn't work out due to scheduling. I last communicated with Brett in April and thought this may be the year to meet. However, he was having trouble with pressure sores (sounds familiar) and I didn't want to push anything if he was decreasing sitting time.

Most weeks, I email a friend who is a retired pastor, but had tremendous impact on my church and helped me to get my license to exhort. Even though I am decades younger, we both have the experience of losing friends around our own age. It's for different reasons, but similar feelings. My regret is that I never had a gospel conversation with Brett.

The few times we talked via Facebook messenger, it was generally discussing ideas on how to treat different challenges we were facing. His timeline mainly consisted of sports references or decorating for an upcoming holiday. It's good to see nothing posted bashing Christianity, like some I've seen, but nothing supportive either. While I know it's the Holy Spirit's role to act on someone's heart in conversion, but it has still been in my thoughts in the week since his death.

It is a reminder to never let an opportunity go by that you don't share the gospel with someone. Some ministries advocate friendship evangelism and getting to know the person for several months, or years, before getting into spiritual matters. However, none of us are guaranteed another day or even another minute in this life. Waiting doesn't always work or provide opportunity to share the good news of salvation.

For this coming week ahead, be sure to be mindful to share your faith, even with casual friends. Even though we all sin and are guilty before God, Jesus provided the way of salvation for all who repent and trust in Him alone, not our works. That is what I will try to be more active in doing as well as remembering our limited role.

Weekend of Freedom and Celebration

Yesterday, America celebrated 250 years of becoming an independent country. While no nation has truly been Christian, the US has come the closest.

The founding fathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. From the country's foundation, God was acknowledged and the reason for our rights. Later on the 1st Amendment guaranteed all citizens the right to practice their faith and not have government force a certain belief.

At the time, the Catholic church was dominant in Europe and held strong influence over nations and local jurisdictions. As the protestant movement crew, Catholic leaders made it so that anyone who didn't follow Catholicism could be arrested, and most were killed for their faith. In this environment, being able to worship freely was indeed a welcome idea.

Today, the so called separation of church and state is taken to extremes. When prayer is allowed at public schools, or the Ten Commandments posted, it is strongly protested. At the same time, humanism is freely taught by saying evolution is the reason everything exists and God has no place in science.

This morning, I preached along a patriotic line using Romans 13:1-7. All leaders, whether good or bad, have been appointed by God. When they make rules that don't go against God's commands, then we are to obey them as commanded. The example I used was obeying the speed limit. Just as telling one lie makes you a liar, or one murder a murderer, so one mile-per-hour over breaks the law. Even if police won't pick you up unless you're much faster, it still breaks the command.

Unfortunately, as America becomes more secular and turns away from her roots and Christianity, not all laws and regulations are biblical. I recently heard of a 5th grade boy who was required to read a book to a Kindergartner about being trans. This went against the boy's belief as a Christian and he protested on reading it. Unfortunately, it is now up to courts deciding the student's freedom of speech.

I am thankful for the 250 years God has blessed this country. I continue to pray that leaders will truly come to Him and live as God commands. Many today twist Scripture to their own desires and not what it actually means.

Have a great remaining time of celebration and may we look to God's law as our basis for government and living. 

Progress Made in Answers

Sometimes, I have to wait long periods for insurance approvals and then see what treatment I will be allowed to use. This week was not one of those times and progress was made on getting questions answered, but not sure on full solutions.

Tuesday was the first visit of the week. Jeff, a technician for my diaphragm pacemaker, flew in to Des Moines and arrived in my bedroom at noon, just as planned. I reiterated what I had experienced and he was soon off to work on my DPS patch.

While Jeff works on the wires, the system doesn't work and I have to breath on my own. I had anticipated a lengthy time of breathing exercise, but just two three-minute periods was all he needed. The old silicon that had become like glue was removed, wires inspected, and new silicon added for protection. He said it usually happens when the patch gets wet. I couldn't think of a time it had, but noted to be more aware of it.

The repair maybe took 10 minutes total. I have seen Jeff a couple times in my 15+ years of using the DPS and we always got along well. After another 30 minutes of getting caught up, he headed back to the airport to catch his flight home. I don't know how his company does these maintenance visits so easily, but I'm very appreciative of them.

Thursday evening, I emailed my wheelchair tech to see if I could get scheduled for a pressure mapping of my chair. After a few messages Friday morning, he was in my room that afternoon with the needed equipment. My day caregiver had called off sick, but thankfully dad was available to move me around.

First, he noticed my chair's seat cushion was low on air, even though it had been pumped up a few weeks ago. Submerging the cushion in my parent's bathtub confirmed no air leaks, so it was dried off and further inflated. After I was sat in my chair, the cushion was partially deflated to its optimal thickness. Testing with the mapping system showed everything looking good.

Unlike last November, I also asked to test my bed while sitting. It took a few tries to get the system properly placed, but it did reveal increased pressure in the area I'm having trouble. The colors didn't look bad to me, but he recommended sitting in bed for 30 minutes at a time, 45 at the most. My usual schedule is 1-1.5 hours of sitting and then flat for the same period. That already makes it difficult to get work done, cutting time down further will be very hard to do. I could possibly do more while in my chair, but my computer and everything else isn't setup for it.

As of this writing, I haven't changed my schedule much, but have shortened upright time a little. I'm scheduled to preach the next two weeks and will have end/beginning of the month items to do for web work. As I always say, living the quad life has challenges. No matter what, I will rely on God's guidance and strength to get through.

What's a Schedule?

In Proverbs, we read that man makes many plans, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. This week has been one of change and adjustment.

Tuesday, Sara, my day-time caregiver, thought the new skin area was looking worse. Therefore, I called my dermatologist to see if I could get in any earlier than my late July appointment. A few hours later, I had an appointment for Thursday that someone had cancelled. This was good news, but required rescheduling my hair cut. That is actually a challenging task, but was done.

My doctor wasn't too concerned and said it currently looks superficial. However, he doubled a steroid I've been taking to encourage protein absorption. He also ordered a new treatment to the area, but insurance is now debating if they will cover it or not. I'm thankful to be making more effort in this area, but that's not the only problem.

Every few weeks, my caregivers change a patch on the right side of my chest that connects to my diaphragm pacemaker. In the first few years I had it, I had trouble with wires getting damaged and not working. The solution at that time was to put some silicone gel to restore connection. That worked, but other improvements made this need obsolete and everything has been working well for at least a decade.

For about a month, when changing the patch, one of my caregivers said the silicone was getting sticky and adhering to the dressing over it. I consulted with my other caregivers and an expert nurse on the system, and they weren't concerned. Early this week, I had a different nurse change the patch, and he had the same issue, but maybe a little worse. Wednesday morning, I emailed a different technician on the DPS than I did previously to check his thoughts. He now has flight plans and should arrive Tuesday to work on my patch. What one person thought was fine, another says it needs immediate repair.

Things I had planned to do this week didn't happen and what I hadn't expected to do did happen. Late Tuesday morning, I spoke to a class of Occupational Therapy Assistants. One of their questions was if I could work a full-time job. I answered that I did a couple full-time temp jobs after college, but that was 23 years ago. At this point in the quad life, especially with my caregiver schedule, it would not be a possibility. It seems like I spend an increasing amount of time just trying to maintain my health. 

With all these unexpected twists, I'm especially thankful for my dad. He continues to make sure I have a working vehicle I can use and works at least full-time so I can keep medical insurance. As my physical needs change, I also become more dependent on his care when I don't have caregivers.

God has blessed me with great parents that do so much for me. I never know how long we will be able to continue, but am thankful for all the years so far and look forward to another week to come. 

Mounting Pressure or Something Else?

After preaching last week Sunday, I looked forward to a week at home where I could get caught up on work and prepare to preach again today. Monday, I did my regular routine of checking my skin for any problems. Both times, my front side looked fine as far as I could see. I don't often mess with flipping to my side and setup mirrors to see my posterior and often rely on my caregiver's eyes.

Tuesday morning, Sara my caregiver was doing my morning leg stretches and saw a bandage that normally doesn't exist. Further investigating discovered a new open area under my upper right leg that my night nurse must have seen.

It wasn't long ago that I saw my dermatologist about the sore on my left leg that I have had for years. He was elated at how good it looked and to keep up the good work. Since I saw him in late April, I haven't changed any of my routine and did not expect a new area to open.

Therefore, I made sure to bike all three times I could this week. Sara noticed my chair's seat cushion was a little spongy, so she pumped more air into it. I also slightly decreased my evening upright time in favor of laying flat more. Sara said it was looking better on Friday than it did Tuesday, but still existed.

With 41 years of living the quad life, this type of development isn't new. Even with that, it's still frustrating when it happens.

Logging in to write this week's entry, I was reminded of the treatment I had on the same leg just a little over a week ago. I haven't had trouble with treatment before, but the last time was three years ago. It's possible the combination of a few factors caused the issue, but I won't know.

Other than today's preaching, I only have one outing scheduled this week. I'll wait and see if I have to drastically limit activities or if the current changes help make progress.

Even with decreasing my time upright, I was thankful to be able to either complete or make progress on a few web projects. One morning, just before leaving my room to bike, I got a call from one of my clients that they were having email trouble. Of course I prefer everything to stay working, but the occasional need for help is somewhat fun. I get to research and find solutions then see if it fixes the problem. This time, one minor setting change fixed everything and they were back to normal operations again.

In some respects, when things are going well, we may forget to look to God and give thanks for all we have. When a problem, like a new sore, arises, then we call on God more quickly and seek His help in everything. You never know what a week may bring, but I can be certain that nothing is out of God's control. 

Retirement

For most adults, one eve they look forward to is retirement. While working at a job for decades, many people put money away for this milestone and look forward to the freedom it offers. Some professions allow for early retirement in their mid 50's, but not many.

After more than five decades of working various jobs, my mother was finally able to officially retire. It has taken a lot of planning and preparation, but I'm thankful she could reach this achievement. I wish my dad could do the same, but I still need medical insurance from his employer. Various ideas have been proposed, but nothing has come as a perfect solution.

While I'm thankful to see my parents slow down, it's also a hard dose of reality. One of the activities retirees do is help with grandchildren. It may be baby sitting younger kids, attending sporting events, or whatever the family does for fun. Grand children are a regular topic at church and with friends, but it is a blessing my parents, nor I, have been given.

With all the funding fumbles this year, we also have to be careful how my parent's activities may affect my benefits. Most people don't know, or care, about Iowa laws. If/when my mother takes retirement, it changes my government benefits as well and could eliminate some of my caregiver funding.

Unfortunately, living the quad life ends up discovering things that few people know exist. It is also rare that a child injured as young as I was still needs care over 40 years later. More of us are living longer and are realizing problems with the funding systems, but no easy solutions are available. 

This week, I have been following a friend's situation and potential new rules in Ohio. Alex is a fellow high-injury level quadriplegic and is 21 years post injury. His mom, Beth, is basically his only caregiver and as a result, can't have a regular job outside the home. Ohio proposed cutting off payment for family caregivers, such as parents or close relatives taking care of a person's needs. This would stop Beth's only form of income and leave them with absolutely nowhere to go. Thankfully, it appears that this ruling may be scrapped, but it still has potential.

These are times where we must remember God is in control. I don't know what the future holds for my parents, or multitudes of families in Ohio. However, God has said He knows our needs and to bring everything to Him in prayer. It can be hard to be patient and not grow anxious, but God has demonstrated many times that He is in control.

 This morning, I preached at a small church in eastern Iowa. A few days ago, they contacted me that next week was also in need of help and nobody else is available. Therefore, I'm scheduled to preach two weeks in a row. God has put me in a place where I can currently do this, so I am happy to help. It means another busy week of sermon prep, but I'm getting used to it. I will see what else comes my way as June marches on.