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

Hope

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The April Only God Could Plan

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The April Only God Could Plan

I had been pondering the High Priestly Prayer since our son was diagnosed with a chiari malformation. I realized that Jesus not only surrendered His physical body so that we might be saved, but He also offered up His glory, His spiritual being for us as well. He literally poured out everything He had, physically, emotionally and spiritually for His children. I shared with my wife how I prayed a similar prayer over our son, that I would surrender everything, every grace, blessing and favor given to me by God so that my son might be healed. It hit me that this is exactly what we celebrate at Easter, a miracle of sacrifice so profound that we can only scratch the surface of how deep it goes. Sunday was coming, and this year we would quite possibly have an Easter miracle just a few days early.

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My Son’s Autism Revealed Where I Had Really Placed My Faith

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My Son’s Autism Revealed Where I Had Really Placed My Faith

This idea of rewards and punishments isn’t the gospel—it’s the prosperity gospel. And as a special-needs parent, I have found myself especially vulnerable to its influence in my life. 

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Pushing Out Into Deep Water as Our Special Needs Kids Become Adults

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Pushing Out Into Deep Water as Our Special Needs Kids Become Adults

It’s always easier to stay with what is familiar than to venture out into deep water when we’re already tired, when we feel like we’ve been fishing all night to no avail. Pull in the nets and go home, get a good night’s sleep, and do the same-old same-old tomorrow. But Jesus commands us to throw the nets back in, right here, right now. This is always the turning point: the present moment. Jesus knows what’s out there, waiting for us: abundance, over-flowing abundance.

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The Lie of Perfect Timing

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The Lie of Perfect Timing

Perfect timing does not exist. Is there something that you know you should start, stop, change or do? Perhaps there is something big that God is urging you to tackle? Today, ask God to show you why you aren’t doing it.

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Special Needs Parenting: It Is Well With My Soul

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Special Needs Parenting: It Is Well With My Soul

There is always hope in Jesus. There is always peace to be found in Him. I pour out my soul to Him and find healing. Whatever the future brings, we don’t go into it or through it alone. We go together, with confidence in Christ who goes with us.