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

Mental Health

, , , ,

Three Strategies for Caregiving in a Culture of Outrage

, , , ,
Three Strategies for Caregiving in a Culture of Outrage

Caregiving in a culture of outrage isn’t easy for me or for the parents I desire to encourage. These three strategies help me keep from being sucked into the swamp, and I hope they do the same for you.

, , ,

Mommy Can’t Right Now: An Open Letter to My Touch-Dependent Child

, , ,
Mommy Can’t Right Now: An Open Letter to My Touch-Dependent Child

Joanna French writes an open letter to her youngest child, whose love language is very different than hers, and also causes her emotional distress.

, , , , ,

Happy New Year? Never Give Up Trying!

, , , , ,
Happy New Year? Never Give Up Trying!

Happy New Year! Now there is a phrase filled with all sorts of questions, opportunities and possibilities this time around! Will it be happy? How can we tell? Mark Arnold shares some things that inspire his hope for 2021, including some wisdom from Winston Churchill.

, , , , , , ,

How to Know if You Need a Marriage Mentor or Marriage Counselor

, , , , , , ,
How to Know if You Need a Marriage Mentor or Marriage Counselor

Some marriages have moments of disappointment, some have challenges that are discouraging, and some might even be in dangerous and dysfunctional situations that can be devastating. whether you have a loved one with special needs or not, all marriages may show tire marks on the road that give us cause to stop and see what is needed to make the relationship better. Here are lists to help determine if you need marriage mentoring or counseling, and what each can accomplish.

, , , , ,

Four Signs That I'm On The Struggle Bus

, , , , ,
Four Signs That I'm On The Struggle Bus

I am no stranger to struggles as someone raising a child with special and medical needs. It is easy for me to downplay the degree to which I am mentally struggling. But I now see that when I claim to be fine when reality suggests otherwise, that’s an unhealthy denial. Here are four signs that my struggles are not “fine,” and some things that have been helpful for me, when I acknowledge these symptoms.