Today it's your birthday!

My daughter may disown me after this, but I wanted to blog about her on the day of her birth--22 years after the fact.
Danielle Louise was actually born on her due date, at a godly hour after only 8 hours of labor. Her birth did interrupt the last episode ever of M.A.S.H., but overall, she was quite considerate.
God's hand has been on her from her earliest days. She was in a terrible car accident when she was five months old. It killed her older brother, Jonah, and severely injured her dad and me. She and her sister, Lindsay, were in the back seat, strapped into car seats and were not even scratched. Even though we learned later that Danielle's car seat had split down the middle!
When we took her in for her six month infant exam (her dad and I still in wheelchairs), the doctor told us that her head circumference had grown beyond normal bounds. He suspected either a brain tumor or hydrocephalus (water on the brain). The latter was confirmed after a battery of tests, and Danielle's head continued to enlarge as fluid built up in the ventricles of her brain. The doctors told us they might be able to put in a shunt when she turned a year.
Having just buried our son, we cried out to God for mercy. After several months of anxiety over her condition, the elders of our church decided to come anoint Danielle with oil and pray for her healing. We felt the Spirit's presence in a tangible way, and the next time we took her to the doctor's, the scans showed her head had stopped growing and the fluid was draining off. After six week, she was declared cured! God had mercy on us and showed His favor toward Danielle.
She always had a special way about her, a leaning toward the things of God. When she was around 18 months, a friend of mine commented that the hand of God was obviously upon Danielle. That comment has been often repeated!
When she was 8, we took the girls to visit my dad, who was dying of cancer in the hospital in Kansas.My kids had never met my father, and I video-taped the event because I knew they'd never see him again. Before we left, Danielle asked, "Can we pray for you, Grandpa?"
"Sure, why the hell not?" he replied.
We all laid hands on him and prayed for his healing. Several weeks later I got a call from him declaring my my girls were the best prayers in the world. Dad's tumor had completely disappeared and the doctors could find no trace of cancer in his body. 14 years later, he's still alive and kicking!
I could go on and on, but will sum it all up by saying that Danielle has ushered in the presence of God wherever she's gone. In all the little podunk churches we've pastored, in the highschool she attended, during the outreach with YWAM, in her current ministry with the refugees--she has shone like a star in the universe, holding fast to the Word of Life.
I'm so proud of you Yellie! I see Jesus in you.
May this year be the most blessed yet!
(and don't worry, I'll delete this tomorrow :)