The first Sunday of every month Irene Kendall, 50, of Mount Pleasant , Tenn. , preaches at the Original Church of God, a small church in a sleepy Southern town. Irene, a rousing, inspirational speaker, travels 80 miles from her home to receive treatment three days a week at the RCG-managed Vanderbilt Dialysis Clinic in Nashville .

Irene says God led her to the clinic where she receives dialysis, and continues to drive her positive attitude about living with end-stage renal disease.

I had so many plans for what I was doing with my life, she says. I was going to be a registered nurse when I became totally blind in 1991. One day, all of a sudden, I couldnt see a word.

Irene discovered she was suffering from renal disease and needed to start dialysis immediately. Prayer, she says, directed her to Nashville despite the fact there are closer clinics to her home.

Irene shows up for every treatment and takes care of herself as a way to recognize Gods many gifts to her. One of those gifts is her powerful singing voice. A member of her churchs choir, Irene regularly sings to the staff and physicians who attend to her.

Faith is also how she gathers the strength to remain committed to the diet her illness requires. In the past few months, Irene says she has managed to achieve the best potassium levels of her life and impressive results on her other levels.

Irene, who has three grown children, says she will continue to lean on God for strength, and she will never tire of spreading joy to those around her and offering inspiration.