Caregiving, Challenges, Down Syndrome, Special Needs Parenting
Evana Sandusky
For When You Don’t Feel Thankful

My daughter arrived in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the middle of the night on the eve of Thanksgiving. A tough respiratory virus attacked her lungs, and she needed a substantial amount of oxygen support. And now, this unexpected illness meant Thanksgiving was going to be completely different than we had all planned.

For When You Don’t Feel Thankful
Challenges, Hope, Scripture, Special Needs Parenting
Kara Dedert
When Thankfulness Seems Impossible

Are you scrounging for thankfulness this holiday season? Holidays can be a challenge for those walking through hard days. Perhaps you feel like you've been handed the short-end of the stick; your child is struggling, you’re exhausted and it seems like everybody else has life with a bit more gravy. It’s easy to focus on our circumstances, take stock of what we have and where we are and end up feeling completely void of thankfulness. Is there a cure for this? 

When Thankfulness Seems Impossible
Autism, Caregiving, Challenges, Hope, Special Needs Parenting, Spiritual Growth
Sunita Theiss
Discovering What God Already Knew About Me, ...

I first suspected I had ADHD as a teenager, but finding the right professional to take me seriously was much harder than I expected. Previous attempts only ended in frustration and tears.

Discovering What God Already Knew About Me, Through My Children’s Diagnosis
Caregiving, Challenges, Living Life Daily
Jolene Philo
Enjoying the Holidays with a Food Allergy

Enjoying the holidays with a food allergy sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? After all, eating together is an integral component of the holiday season. I looked forward to making our traditional holiday foods until I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy in 2012. What was to enjoy about the holidays when the foods associated with it were off limits to me?

Enjoying the Holidays with a Food Allergy
Caregiving, Challenges, Grief, Hope, Special Needs Parenting
John Fela (Felageller)
A New Home

It was a short, ten-minute drive from the hotel to the residential facility. I maintained composure while I navigated the busy public roads, and then residential streets. I had a whole range of emotions racing through my body, mind and spirit as we pulled into the campus. This was not just a pleasure drive or a routine errand, this was a significant milestone in the life of my son and our family.

A New Home

testimony

, , , ,

Overwhelmed By Hope?

, , , ,
Overwhelmed By Hope?

I've been a special needs mom for 21 years now, so I need you to hear what I’m about to say with the trust that those years have earned me. For us believers, “overwhelmed by hope” should be much more common than “overwhelmed by fear.”

, , , ,

Ten Scriptural Weapons to Defeat the Anxiety from COVID-19

, , , ,
Ten Scriptural Weapons to Defeat the Anxiety from COVID-19

We are living in an unprecedented time of history. COVID-19 is a silent, insidious enemy that lurks around every corner. How do we, as parents of children with disabilities, not only face but confront the fear all around us? Here are ten scriptural weapons we can use to defeat the enemy. We can, and must, teach at least some of them to our children, who are dealing with their own heightened anxiety.

, , , , , , , ,

When You Find Yourself Asking God “Why?”

, , , , , , , ,
When You Find Yourself Asking God “Why?”

After months of pleading these questions and God not giving me an answer, I experienced a crisis of faith that scared me. Was God a good God? Was God even real? If He was, surely He'd be answering my questions and my prayers, right? One day while journaling my struggles, sorrows, complaints and whys, I felt strongly that God was telling me I was asking the wrong question.