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
Autism, Caregiving, Challenges, Special Needs Parenting
Mark Arnold
Halloween & Special Needs: How to Make it ...

While Halloween is a fun time of year for many children, it can be a really difficult time for some, including many children with additional/special needs. For them it can be a confusing, anxiety-inducing, or even utterly terrifying time. But it doesn’t have to be like that. If we stop for a moment to think about the things they might find hard and how to put things in place to help them, children with special needs can safely join in the fun, too. So what are some of the things about Halloween that children with additional needs can find hard?

Halloween & Special Needs: How to Make it Fun for Every Child

Marriage

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Everything Old is New Again

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Everything Old is New Again

One year after the pandemic began, there is still a great amount of fear and uncertainty involved in our daily lives. Reflecting on 2020, there were so many days and weeks that led me feel completely abandoned by God. So having ‘faith’ in God may seem like shallow words, when one is dealing with intense crisis and pain. But one thing that has helped me have faith is to reflect on those times when God showed up, even when I didn’t expect Him to. I had such an experience recently, where I found myself in a familiar place, having my faith tested very much as it has been in the past.

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Caring for Your Marriage as a Caregiver

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Caring for Your Marriage as a Caregiver

Caregivers are always on, and while that’s necessary, it’s also exhausting. And often our marriages suffer.

So today I want to offer a solution—setting a feeling-based goal for our marriages. Instead of the goals you may have set at the beginning of the year that were easy to track and see success or failure, this one is about changing the mood of your marriage.

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Now I Am One of You

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Now I Am One of You

Last November I had the pleasure of attending the one-man show of a friend, based on the life of Father Damien, who served the leper colony on Molokai, Hawaii. One week later, the day after Thanksgiving, the final words from the play took on new meaning for me, in a way I never saw coming.

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

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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.

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A “Dear Dad” Tribute, from the Grateful Mom of Your Child with Special Needs

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A “Dear Dad” Tribute, from the Grateful Mom of Your Child with Special Needs

It’s Father’s Day this weekend and I have a warning: I’m not going to be buying you a greeting card. I’m learning that my own words are important to you. I want my words to speak loudly to your soul—in positive ways that strengthen your spirit. A Father’s Day tribute from Lisa Jamieson.