A Caregiver’s Christmas Carol
I love how melodies, lyrics and rhythms — especially at Christmas — refresh our minds and hearts on Jesus. Songs let me soak in the treasure of Jesus is in the midst of all the bustle.
While we’ve had the instruments busy at our house recently, God gave personal encouragement. Today’s post shares a blessing for caregivers.
Charlotte Carries a Picture of Thanksgiving
Family caregivers need safe places to take disappointments, raw emotions, and sorrow. Yet, true to the promise of God’s Word, it also strengthens us and our families to celebrate each other and God’s faithfulness.
During this Thanksgiviung season, we are appreciating the benefits of frequent and intentional reflection on reasons we are thankful to God — particularly as it relates to disability and caregiving.
Today, we’re sharing a story from Charlotte Peterson. She and her husband Anthony have been active in the WRIM community since 2021. Anthony currently serves on the Walk Right In Ministries Board of Directors. This family learning to fully live — that in celebrating what they DO have, God is healing and even strengthening them through a very hard season too.
Joy Takes a Road Trip!
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we have a heartwarming gratitude story to share from one our “regulars” at Real Talk Connect on Tuesday afternoons. Friends affectionately know Barb Schneider by her nickname, “Joy.” She knows neurodiversity in her family and is an experienced mom of three adult men. Early in September, Joy took her enthusiasm and hope on the road.
“I love to travel and meet new people,” Joy wrote. “Our family took many trips until my husband died nearly six years ago. Determined to ‘get back on the horse,’ I reserved time after Labor Day this year to visit family, old haunts, and friends of Walk Right In Ministries in Kansas City.”
She started in Minneapolis and headed down I-35, detouring from Des Moines to Omaha for a visit with her youngest son. In Kansas City Joy attended an event hosted by SOAR Special Needs, met WRIM’s Board Chair “Doc” Hunsley (founder and president of SOAR), and spent time with her friend Genevieve’s family in their home at U.S Army Post Ft. Leavenworth. Genevieve and her husband Derek have three young sons and share Joy’s experience of parenting sons with special needs.
“At the hotel and all the way home, I thanked God for this wonderful road trip and new friends. My momma’s heart was so blessed.”
You can read about Joy’s journey and connections on the WRIM blog.
For When We Wonder “Why?”
Why did this happen?
This is a natural and common question when we are trying to find meaning in difficulties or wanting to understand why God allows us or a loved one to suffer in pain.
We might have to wait until heaven to hear specific answers to our “Why?” questions. But, in the meantime, children of God can rest on deeply reassuring facts.
In today’s post, we’re looking at several biblical facts starting with Jesus’ response to the looming question of “WHY?”
Your Longings Matter to God
What is something your heart longs for that seems unseen or trivial to God?
Let me encourage you that it all matters to Him, because YOU matter to Him. Yes, it’s true. God will sometimes ask you to pause or set something down that you’re holding too tightly. But God also delights in seeing you energized for the kinds of things He wove you for.
In today’s blog, see what scripture has to say about God’s intimate appreciation for the cries of your heart.
Assessing Spiritual Engagement Opportunities for Families with Disabilities
In today’s post you’ll find inspiration and tools that help families living with disabilities explore and identify opportunties for more satisfying involvement and belonging in their churches.
In particular, the contextualized SWOT tool offers a wonderful format for exploratory discussion as caregiving parents and family, as well as with your church. We’re offering examples across the age spectrum and a blank worksheet for your own use.
Our prayers are with you! Please reach out if there are additional ways we can help.
He is RISEN, indeed!
Caregivers Learn to Value Slower Living
The caregiving lifestyle teaches us the necessity and value of slowing down. So, I recently posed this question to the WRIM community:
What is one of your favorite slow-living activities, and what do you enjoy most about it?
I think you’ll find some great ideas from other caregivers in today’s post!
Fruits of Living With Intention
Our theme for 2024 is growing together in faith and love.
WRIM’s ministry team caught this vision in December as we considered our mission and prayed about God’s focus for this caregiving community in 2024.
In today’s post, Lisa is sharing how unexpectedly and quickly this theme got launched and became visible within the WRIM community of caregivers.
We hope you’ll jump over to the blog for the full article. See how living with intention and choosing to do it in community is growing us in faith and love while allowing us to see the fingerprints of God in disability and caregiving.
Start the New Year Remembering These Things
At Walk Right In Ministries, we are thankful for caregivers! And we stand on God’s promises with you. (In fact, we are CLINGING to them.)
Let’s start the year together clinging to these nine points of encouragement coming straight from the heart of God.
Service Without Fanfare
Today is our final installment in a series of Christmas season reflections on Jesus’ earthly family. We pray the series has brought encouragement and direction for caregiving families.
This week we’re pausing to look closely at the life and experience of Joseph. He lived his whole life knowing things about Jesus nobody else would ever know. As the dad of an atypical child, might he have felt lonely?
I know my husband has frequently felt loneliness since Carly was born. We both have. Even when we have been surrounded by people who love us, we still experience isolation.
Few people at work, at church, in social circles, and even in extended family will understand the complexity of my husband’s life.
Joseph faithfully served and protected his family without fanfare. This is true of so many fathers in our generation raising children with disabilities. It is most certainly true of my dear husband, Larry.
I hope you will take a couple of minutes to read the full blog today. And I ask you to consider sharing it too, along with your own word of encouragement, to a special needs dad you know who needs to feel seen and recognized for his vital role in his complex family. Whether you are one of those dads, or you know one, may God give your words and gestures a life-giving power — particularly as we head into the holidays.
Merry Merry Christmas, friends and readers!
