Ever wish you could reach out to a friend in crisis, but you’re just not sure what to say? Most of us tend either to avoid the person or situation altogether or to rush in and say too much. The list below demonstrates some ways you can effectively support people in need. Notice how these […]
Category: Family Life/Caregivers
Three Tips for Sitting Securely in the Suck
It was colder than the arctic when I stepped out for an evening walk. I needed space to breathe. Life was anything but balanced; I felt disrupted and tired. Layered in clothes, I resembled an irritated woolly mammoth roaming the frozen tundra trying to figure out which way is north. I don’t do well with […]
Seven Serious Game Changers When Your Plans Are a Bust
The New Year’s ball barely landed before our plans were busted. On January 1, 2018, at 5:00 in the morning, I walked my pale and feverish husband right into the emergency room. The sun wasn’t even up. My thought was, If the sun isn’t awake, no one else should be either. No one has gotten […]
For a Fantastic New Year, Focus on These Four Choices
For the last few years, I’ve welcomed the New Year with arms so wide open I could have hugged an airplane! FINALLY . . . this last year is O-V-E-R! Bubbling over with excitement, I hang up the new calendar and yell . . . This Year Is Going to Be Fantastic! Ever had one of those new […]
Twelve Significant Suggestions for Special Needs Holiday Success
When the kids were little, they would mark up all the catalogs to make their Christmas wish lists. It seems like yesterday. I remember their giggles of anticipatory joy, crossing off each day on the calendar until Christmas day FINALLY arrived. Something about kids and Christmas . . . it’s almost magical. But those magical […]
Five Lifechanging, Unforgettable Gifts
I never thought a washing machine would be on my 3-year-old son’s Christmas gift list. Christmas came three weeks after my son was diagnosed with autism and global developmental disability—what used to be labeled as “mental retardation.” While he wasn’t yet talking, he made his wishes very clear. Every time—I kid you not—we went to […]
How to Turn That Frown Upside Down
A simple shift in thinking makes all the difference.
[guestpost] Let this article by my Dad, Chuck Swindoll, bless you this holiday season! [/guestpost] Too often, we pastors tend to wear our smiles upside-down. The burdens of ministry—especially during the busy holidays—often cause our joy to droop into deep-wrinkled frowns. In case you need a little help with this assignment, read through this psalm […]
Three Essentials That Will Revolutionize Your Holiday Season
Years ago, shortly after Thanksgiving, I learned my son had been horribly assaulted. Suddenly, all thoughts of a joyful holiday vanished. The last thing on my mind was giving thanks. Though the trees displayed the colors of autumn, my heart was the shade of deepest sorrow. I remember two specific things about the holidays that […]
Fearless Friendships: What You Must Remember
The offer was terrifying, but I couldn’t figure out why. My long-time friend told me years ago that I should meet her sister. Apparently, her sister and I have incredibly similar mannerisms and an outrageous sense of humor. On many occasions my friend has said she thinks her sister and I may have been separated […]
Living Joyfully with Sorrow
An Interview with Tim and Jamie Schultz
Few things test our faith more than when our loved ones suffer. We question God, we question our faith, we question what we believe. Life can turn upside down in a second. Few people understand this more than Tim and Jamie Schultz. Following God’s leading, Tim left a very financially secure position and entered full-time […]
Continue readingMore TagWhat to Remember When Your “Not-Best” Self Shows Up
I am not my best self in the morning. Sadly, this “not-best” version of myself must still carpool during morning rush hour traffic—a setup for the perfect storm. I lugged my “not-best” self into the car and noticed my son Jon’s anxiety was high. Anxiety is one of his most difficult challenges. He is rarely […]
Meaningful Memorials
[guestpost]Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom for the Way (Nashville: J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2001). Copyright © 2001 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.[/guestpost] The Lincoln Memorial. The Vietnam Memorial . . . Memorials are places provided for us to stand and be quiet, to reflect, […]