Caregiving, Challenges, Living Life Daily, Love, Special Needs Parenting
Cindi Ferrini
Counting the Cost

How many of us counted the cost (both emotionally and financially) of what it would take to raise a child and/or care for an aging parent? Many are doing both…Because we love our child, we don’t often consider the cost because we simply do what is needed and want the best for them.

Counting the Cost
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

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What makes me cry as a caregiver?

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What makes me cry as a caregiver?

What makes me cry as a caregiver is a list that keeps getting longer. Think of it as a reverse bucket list. But really, what makes me cry as a caregiver can be boiled down to two interconnected truths.

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Sustaining Faith in Your Journey as a Special Needs Parent

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Sustaining Faith in Your Journey as a Special Needs Parent

Do you ever think your everyday spiritual life shows little progress in growing spiritually? In our spiritual lives, we’d love to have the fast progression that everyone notices. Realistically, our learning is slow but hopefully steady!

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The Day Before and The Day After Life Changing News

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The Day Before and The Day After Life Changing News

News of my daughter can be especially hard for me as I have poured my heart and soul into taking care of her. Yet, God should be my ultimate pursuit. If I chase after him when things are falling apart, everything else should fall into place.

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4 Ways to Calm Your Mind When You Know Too Much

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4 Ways to Calm Your Mind When You Know Too Much

God has used what I have learned about and experienced with special needs and disabilities to great good. He's empowered me to write books to encourage and equip parents, provide special needs ministry training, facilitate support groups, and more. But sometimes that same knowledge and experience results in thought patterns that lead to excessive and obsessive worry that steals my joy.

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Empowering Kids with Disabilities, Part Five: Fun!

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Empowering Kids with Disabilities, Part Five: Fun!

Empowering kids with disabilities isn’t always a serious business.  Sometimes we get caught up in the challenges of raising a child with disabilities, and we ignore the joy. In this blog post, Jolene ends her five-part series on empowering kids with disabilities.