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

Scripture

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Post Tenebras Lux Series Finale: Is He Worthy?

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Post Tenebras Lux Series Finale: Is He Worthy?

I began writing this series, Post Tenebras Lux, for the purpose of offering the only thing I have to give those who are weary, grieving, and hopeless, including myself: hope. I have learned that when someone is processing through grief and trials, it is good to let them say whatever it is they need to say without offering immediate answers. This song feels very much like a therapeutic biblical counseling session, where the celebrant is asking the congregation questions of how they feel and what they desire.

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Trusting God through the Anxiety of Special Needs Parenting

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Trusting God through the Anxiety of Special Needs Parenting

Guest blogger Sarah Lango shares honestly about her anxiety and fear in parenting her daughter with special needs. She writes, “As I wrestled with God on how to handle this anxiety I found myself face to face with some basic Biblical truth. I didn’t trust God with my child.” Do you relate? Read more of their story in today’s post.

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Scriptures for Overcoming 15 Lies, Fears, and Doubts

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Scriptures for Overcoming 15 Lies, Fears, and Doubts

When we go through dark, lonely times it’s easy for our thinking to get cloudy, to forget the things we know, and to get confused. It’s easy to start believing lies instead of truth. During my doubting, fighting-daily-for-faith years, I started a list of thoughts I struggled with and Bible verses that I could go to in order to combat those lies or struggles. Here is my list; maybe you’ll find some of these helpful.

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An Invitation to Those Who Have Stopped Praying

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An Invitation to Those Who Have Stopped Praying

In the last decade, since my son’s autism diagnosis, my prayer life has changed. After so many nights of asking for sleep and not getting it, after praying for help and not getting it, I find myself only asking for safe requests. I don’t want to demand what He isn’t willing to give. I don’t want to be disappointed. My prayers have gotten so safe, I wonder if they are even worth praying. Then God led me to a passage that reminded me He cares what’s truly on my heart and mind.