I almost could not believe my ears as I listened to the story. My own daughter sat there in disbelief as I continued to ask pointed questions about how she succeeded. Her story is similar to my own daughter’s story because they share birthparents. She is the older sister, and they lived in the same home until shortly after my daughter turned three. Like my daughter, she has struggled over the years with lying, stealing, cutting, and destroying property that was not hers. Her lying was worse than my daughter’s lying, because at 15 she began making terrible accusations about... more

When I awoke this morning, I didn’t think I would be able to write today. I awoke during the night when the power went out because of a storm and then went back to sleep. The power goes out frequently during our storms here in the Midwest, so, I didn’t think anything of it. We have a generator that will run most of our house and water our cattle at the flip of a switch. Super Dad awoke early and I told him the power was out, so he headed outside to turn on the generator. Then he came back and brought me to the window to look outside. He couldn’t turn the generator on... more

Check out the Children of Destiny website. This website, established by a couple who are also ordained Christian ministers, features inspiration and a prayer ministry for families who have children on the autistic spectrum. Jack and Rebecca Sytsema are parents to three boys, one with ASD, one with ADHD and one who is neurologically healthy so far.

The Sytsemas offer inspirational posts and have a radio show on Autism One radio entitled "Children of Destiny: Spiritual Strength and Hope for Families Struggling... more

One of my readers pointed out that men can be awesome primary caregivers. Yes, indeed! It gave me a chuckle to read that after I had just returned from a funeral over which our new (female) pastor presided. She, along with one of our former pastors, conducted the service, and she sang because her voice is definitely outstanding.

I was both amused and felt a bit uncomfortable as the elder pastor (who had not met our new pastor until yesterday) and others who spoke referred to her as a “pretty thing” and other comments that could be construed as very politically... more

“Wisdom from a life of sacrificing, accepting and overcoming.” The words struck me on this Christmas Eve as I read them from a fellow parent of adoptive children with trauma and other challenges. She is a fiercely awesome mom who meets the challenges of parenting her children. She has been reading about the L’Arche movement, established by Jean Vanier. She detailed in her email how this man began 30 years ago establishing communities of people with mental disabilities and mental illness, where people being called to serve God in this way would go live among these individuals, assisting them and building relationships with those whom it is most... more

I rarely take this space to talk about our spiritual life or how incredibly important our faith belief is. But today, I’ve just got to brag on our beloved Church Family. Super Dad and I joined the church we’re currently involved with nearly 13 years ago. This is by-far the longest I’ve ever attended any one church (except for my hometown church as a child). And, we truly think of the folks at our church as our Family.

When I had to take LuLu to the hospital a couple of weeks ago, Super Dad was traveling and told me to immediately call someone from our Church Family to go with us. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to do that.

Last night, LuLu eagerly awaited... more

“Why doesn’t it leave its mournful route and become the happy, bubbling stream it was when it burst spontaneously from the earth? It doesn’t, because it can’t. It has no power within itself to do other than it has always done. Once it has plunged down the steep banks into darkness, it cannot lift itself again to the bright, sunny land above. The means by which it could be lifted exists, the way is at hand, but the river does not understand how to make use of it.”

I’m rereading The Cherished Works of Billy Graham and I came across... more

We have a new pastor at our church. As part of the Methodist crowd, like Jenna, we are undergoing change. I haven’t spent that much face-to-face time with her (the first woman to senior pastor our church), but what time I have, I’ve really liked her.

Her sermon yesterday (the first of two parts) was based on Luke 8:26-38. I cite this because, even though this passage is unfamiliar to many, I’m betting that other Christian parents of disabled children (especially those... more

“It feels good to pay it forward,” said one mom of a special needs child turned advocate. She was helping other families by attending IEPs with them and training to be come a professional advocate.

The message was reinforced when I went to Sunday School and the lesson was on “goodness”…we’re studying the fruit of the Spirit, and this is the sixth quality. The teacher explained that goodness differentiates itself from kindness by taking action. Goodness is benevolent action (doing good for/to someone else). The teacher went on to describe... more

This may take the cake for a “You’ve Got to be Kidding me Story.” You may have heard about “spiritual healing.” I remember it being very popular in the 1970’s when my parents actually once drove three hours to see a spiritual healer. This is a new modern technological twist on that old idea. An eccentric licensed medical doctor from China named Sha... more