I get it. When you stop for a moment and say, “Take care of yourself, OK?” you’re telling me you care. And I’m so glad you stopped instead of walking by. But can I let you in on something? I’m trying to take care of myself, really I am. On days where my son’s health is decently stable I think I actually do. I exercise, cook meals, do laundry, pick up kids and even sneak in an extra long … [Read more...]
Picture This
When something heartbreaking happens in our life we may start to experience some shame. Especially if we thought we could have done something to prevent it from happening. Whether you are a new special needs parent or you’ve been on the journey a while shame always loves to come knocking. The enemy loves to build a wall of shame and put our pictures on it. Every time we see that wall, he wants to … [Read more...]
Protect Our Children, Lord
Do you have fears for your children? What do you worry about or think about daily? Is there something more on your mind that bothers you about the future of your child? *Mature material included in this blog I have a confessional. One of the things I think about the most and have the most thoughts about is protecting my son Charlie. I mean protecting Charlie from others who want to take … [Read more...]
What Fruit Do You Have?
What fruit do you have? That is what someone asked me once. I didn't know what they were talking about at first. I was thinking real life fruit that I eat? They laughed a little and said, "no the fruit of the spirit." I started to recite out loud Galations 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control … [Read more...]
I Will Never Forget
As last Friday came around (September 11), I kept seeing posts about "never forget," missing loved ones who left us that September day 14 years ago. It really made me think about not forgetting where we came from, my son and I. I will never forget when he couldn't talk at all at even age 3. He couldn't tell us his basic needs. He would take my hand and bring it to the thing he wanted. … [Read more...]
Victory in the Seeming Loss of Special Needs Advocacy
It was a verbal game of chess. Winner takes all. If my son won the argument, we would return home. If I won, we would get out of the car and walk into the church. When John added a new reason why he didn’t want to go inside, I was sure he’d made a fatal mistake. He said he felt “stood up,” as he attended church each week. I countered with a correction, “’Stood up’ means showing up and no one is … [Read more...]