Printables

Living with chronic illness, mental illness, and chronic pain can leave us exhausted, overwhelmed, and impatient, yet we are still called to be kind. Let these short prayers lead you back to God's heart of rich and generous loving-kindness.

With chronic illness, every day is an adventure!  It isn't a life we would have chosen, but it is one we're learning to walk through with courage, tenacity, humor, and grace. We are so much more than our illnesses!

Lean into these verses, write them in a journal, choose one or two to memorize, and then think about who else might need to read them. The Word of God is alive and powerful, bringing us comfort in a way that nothing else can.

In the middle of prolonged illness, it can seem like God doesn't see you. Weakness and stress can make it difficult to hold onto hope. However, God's strength never falters. Allow these scriptures to sink deep into your heart, igniting hope as He carries you.

Do you struggle to believe that your mental illness is real? Do you feel shame or wonder if others believe it's real? With God, mental illness has no stigma. Scripture is balm for our souls as it speaks directly to our hearts.

Invite a friend or family member to do an 18-Day Suffering & Joy discussion – or use the quotes as journaling prompts. On each day, read one quote. Talk about it. Think about it. Write about it. Pray.

Gatherings are times for reminiscing, laughter, and catching up. Yet sometimes, we carry past hurts, broken trust, and lingering disagreements with us. Asking intentional questions is a great way to invite conversation, grow empathy, facilitate trust, and strengthen relationships. Let’s lead with prayer, kindness, forgiveness, the hope of reconciliation, and the love of Jesus as we gather.

When we’re lonely, anxious, afraid, or overwhelmed, the most significant thing we can do is turn to the one who knows us and loves us completely – the God of all comfort.

Photography challenges are a fun, personal challenge, a commitment to pick up your camera, phone, tablet, or Go-Pro, and capture a photo every day for a month or a year.

Choose a quiet moment, open your journal, and begin with whatever thoughts are on your heart.

Of the 307 questions of Jesus recorded in the Bible, 52 are listed here - one for each week of the year.

Approach these questions slowly in any order you choose, one question and one conversation at a time over many months. This is an exploration and an opportunity to grow more deeply in love as you rediscover one another.

Poetry is an invitation to explore your story in a new way, to write about moments or emotions without specifically naming them, to play with the musicality of words and phrases, to choose words, punctuation, and line breaks carefully. There is no right or wrong way to read or write poetry, just an invitation to begin.

Allegory is a beautiful, artistic form of storytelling that offers us an opportunity to explore difficult, painful, or vulnerable parts of our stories from a safer distance and a fictional character’s perspective.

When we feel anxious, afraid, overwhelmed, or in pain, seeking wonder in God's incredible creation draws us into His Presence, shifting our focus from our circumstances to who God is and how very much He loves us.

As we open our hands in surrender, speaking honestly with God about where our axe head flew off, what feels like loss actually grafts us deeper into Jesus. Ask God to show you where you lost your edge.

Purpose is the reason something exists or was created. It is the reason we act or choose not to act and encompasses intentions and objectives.

Considering its great size and power, an elephant must exercise self-control and restraint to effectively navigate and thrive. Likewise, breath prayers help us navigate and thrive through the elephant-sized gift of our breath (and the One who is with us in every breath).

As spouses, how can we pray for one another? Where can we intentionally invest in one another? How can we creatively carve out a little one-on-one time? What could we do together to help us bond and share a little more of our lives with one another?

Remembering God's Faithfulness

God’s people built Ebenezers, touchstones of help, to anchor them in truth in the midst of frightening, painful, difficult, or challenging circumstances.

A bucket list is an invitation to dream with God. Ideas don’t have to be grand or extravagant. Sometimes the best adventures happen right in our own backyards. It’s also an opportunity to invite friends and loved ones to have rich conversations about their dreams.

Biblical hope is a settled, determined, and enduring confidence in who Jesus is and what He has promised. Our hope is in Christ alone. The mystery is Christ in us, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

Celebrate each small win, every tiny triumph, and every unexpected victory, even if today your milestone is just a pebble.

The Collect is an ancient form of prayer meant to guide and focus the pray-er. Known for brevity, a Collect begins by recognizing who God is, what He is like, and what He does then collecting our thoughts on something specific, such as suffering, hope, pain, or peace.

Pain, cultivated by the Spirit’s compassion, invites us to care deeply for one another, grow together, suffering with one another so that none of us is isolated or alone. Pain opens the door to the Spirit’s compassion in us.

Looking for a way to connect with, encourage, inspire, and love on others? Text them! Tips for Texting: Keep it short. Don’t expect a response. Write from your heart.

14 Ways to Make a Difficult Day Brighter • Grief is a journey requiring steady sips of hope, plates filled with God’s unbroken promises, the comfort of community, replenishing rest, and fresh air and sunshine.

Talking about the impact of chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability on our lives can be incredibly difficult. Sometimes, we are unsure what we think or how we feel, either for ourselves or for our friends or loved ones.

Chronic illness can make serving in traditional or culturally familiar ways challenging – but not impossible. Discover creative new ways to love God and others right where you are, however you are able.

Depression can make it difficult to practice healthy self-care. Building an Action Plan gives you quick, doable steps each day.

Gratefulness is choosing to focus on God rather than our circumstances. Fixing our eyes on Jesus reminds us of His gracious, compassionate love and unending faithfulness.

God created us with a complex range of emotions which can be difficult to identify and explain. The Emotions Wheel is a tool designed to grow our emotional intelligence, thus strengthening our relationship with God as well as our compassion and empathy for others.

Color Your Own - Full Page

Discovering our God-given purpose begins with trust, with learning to be present with God in each moment — less about why we were created and what we are created to do than about who we are created to be.

May God shower His blessings on all mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, mothers-in-law, and mother-like figures. May He give grace and strength for all your days.

We’re so grateful for every prayer, kind act, helping hand and dollar donated so that together, we can serve in meaningful and intentional ways all over the world. Without you, we simply couldn’t do what we do.

Recognizing that Jesus suffers with us (that we are God’s beloved children who are also flawed by sin) is a first brave step towards self-compassion.

Healthy boundaries (an important part of self-care) create an understanding of what we have responsibility for and what is outside of our control. The healthier our boundaries are, the greater our capacity to offer empathy and love to others. We are responsible for what happens inside us and for the ways we act and relate to others.

Radical connection isn’t about who we click with or are comfortable with, it’s about forming deep relationships, investing in those Jesus lays on our hearts to connect with on this leg of the journey.

Eye-Spy • People Watching

Holy Attention draws us into fresh gratitude. When we pay close attention to creation we can experience the awe and wonder of God’s infinite creativity.

Sight & Scroll • Spot 1 • Feast

Begin by choosing something specific – a color, shape, sound, object, or even an idea – and look or listen for it throughout your day. When you find it, take a picture of it, or make note of it.

When we seek God’s calling for our lives, our journey begins with love, with who we are in Christ, and who we were created to be. 

Hymns are an often overlooked form of prayer. What are you struggling with today? Have you taken it to God in prayer? Hymns can help us express the deepest and greatest longings of our hearts.

Gratitude is a gift given to us by God. At its core, gratitude is about not taking anything for granted. Living a life of gratitude is about learning to draw near to God, being thankful for what we have, for who God is, and for who He created us to be.

God knows how overwhelming caregiving can be, how it can throw the whole balance of our lives inside out and upside down. As caregivers, we need a steady infusion of hope from God's word to do the work He has called us to do.

Joy is a perpetual gladness of the heart and a deep sense of gratitude in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in His creation, word, and works. Open your heart to these verses and quotes and discover that joy is a gift.

As you think about the kindness you have received and how that made you feel, pass it on to others. Using these creative ideas to inspire kindness will multiply kindness all around you.

Step in slowly. Sit with God. Allow yourself time and space to feel and experience your pain. When you’re ready, take up your pen and explore the precious and life-giving gift of lament.

Lectio Divina is the ancient practice of slowly, contemplatively reading the words of Scripture, an invitation to encounter God through His Word, to pay close attention, and to be fully present.

Marriage is a gift, a holy weaving of two imperfect people into one through a lifetime of difficult, beautiful, exasperating, and amazing mountain-top moments of God-ordained sanctification.

Don’t let the little moments, small blessings, or tiny triumphs slip by unnoticed or unacknowledged. Instead, pause. Give thanks. Join the chorus of creation and share your joy.

Make Your Life a Prayer supplies Scripture verses and quotes inviting you to step into God's compassionate and tender-hearted presence.

It isn't easy for us as Christians to admit when we’re not doing well mentally or emotionally, but metaphors can build a bridge facilitating greater understanding, empathy, and compassion. Craft your own mental illness metaphor.

Chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability can be challenging for us to explain and equally difficult for others to understand, but metaphors can help bridge that distance.

Reconciliation is the process of restoring broken relationships, of building something new from the tender soil of forgiveness.

We often think of movement as going on a hike, participating in sports, lifting weights, swimming laps, doing Pilates, performing yoga, or dancing. Movement is inherent in everything. By God’s breath we all have life and movement.

Pain, cultivated by the Spirit’s compassion, invites us to care deeply for one another, grow together, suffering with one another so that none of us is isolated or alone. Pain opens the door to the Spirit’s compassion in us.

Writing our own psalms is about learning to express our emotions in an unedited way, it’s about giving voice to our joy and our pain. Writing haiku teaches us focus on a single moment, awakening us to the wonder of creation all around us.

Prayer can move mountains, usher in miracles, and change us, opening our minds to the suffering others face and the circumstances they experience. As we pray, we grow in gratitude, humility, and hope.

Lord, thank You for the ministry of caregiving. Help me be flexible, kind, and intentional (especially when I'm weary) as I act as Your hands and feet. Amen.

Beautiful in its simplicity, this ancient prayer of reflection helps refocus our hearts and minds. How often do we come to the end of a day and wonder where the time went or regret the way we handled a situation?

Anxiety can make it difficult to find the words to pray. Use these short prayers to guide your thoughts until you are able to find your own. May you find encouragement, comfort , and peace.

God doesn't promise to heal mental illness, but He does promise to be with us in it. Through prayer, God meets us in our suffering. Use these short prayers as often as you need words to cry out to Jesus.

Sometimes, when our prayers seem to go unanswered, the most honest thing we can say is, “Lord, give me the courage to surrender my suffering to You one more time.”

These short prayers can strengthen, encourage, and inspire you to step into the comforting presence of God, where you are fully known, infinitely cared about, and deeply loved.

What is your favorite Psalm? Why? When did you choose it? What was happening in your life at the time? Have you ever considered writing your own psalm?

God’s peace is altogether different from the peace of the world because God’s peace is not a gift; it’s a person: God’s own Son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace. God’s peace is abundant, unspeakable, generous, plentiful, extravagant, lavish, expansive, affectionate, and never-ending.

Parenting is hard work and parenting children with chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, or disability adds unique and sometimes difficult challenges. But what we do every day matters, for it is eternally significant.

Practicing physical self-care is showing your body simple kindness, generously giving it what it needs, and doing things that help you live well. Connection with others is rooted in love, nourished through prayer, and strengthened by brave vulnerability.

Exercise your brain, keep your mind sharp, redirect your thoughts, and focus on what is positive and true with these ideas. Emotional self-care helps us identify what we’re feeling and how to express it in healthy ways.

Spend a little time getting to know God better— who He is, what He’s like, how He feels about us, and how He acts toward His creation. Sabbath rest helps us discover the peace only found trusting in God's presence.

Service in a Box is everything you need to encourage, strengthen, inspire, and love on those who are nearest and dearest to you. Check out a variety of options in our store. Or start with just one. Print out any of our printable guides and tuck them in an envelope with a note of encouragement and brighten a day

Serving made simple with a variety of Service in a Box options available in our store.

Celebration is an essential expression of the character of God, a reflection of our Creator God in His creation. Give thanks. Make merry. Rejoice. Worship.

This downloadable PDF provides helpful tips for organizing your small group and defining group roles.

Grief is no stranger to those affected by chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability. It is both a universally-shared human experience and uniquely individual.

With your doctor’s guidance and a little creativity, exercising with chronic illness is not only possible but can also be rewarding.

The stewardship of courage begins with a deep faith in God, is accessed by prayer, and is lived out in patient waiting and hopeful trust.

When our roots are grafted to God’s, we are linked to believers around the world and across time. Do you feel disconnected today? Reach out and share the love of Jesus. It’ll strengthen your faith and renew your spirit.

Creatively Express Your Story

We can feel isolated and powerless when living with chronic illness, but what if your story begins to bridge the gaps?  What if your story offers a glimmer of hope to someone standing at the edge of hopelessness?

Where we’ve been fractured, we can offer empathy and compassion. Where we’ve been wounded, we can speak of hope. And where we have been ground into dust, God’s light shines bright.

How has God gifted you? Where do you feel His gentle nudge to love one another? Do you feel the Spirit's tug to get involved? A grace gift is a beautiful Holy Spirit-inspired act of ministry that works harmoniously with the gifts given to the Body of Christ.

If you feel overwhelmed and need encouragement, these verses will give you courage and confidence. Why not meditate on them throughout your day and share them with your friends?

Joy is discovered in big events and in small, seemingly insignificant moments, in both mountain-top experiences, and smaller expressions we can easily overlook, like a kind word or a helping hand. 

Wonder Walks are an invitation to savor God’s holy fingerprint in every atom of creation, to engage our senses and cultivate curiosity, to listen for His still small voice, and to delight in His extraordinary creativity.

Wonder nourishes our souls, inviting us to feast on the inexplicable mystery of the Holy, witnessing God's fingerprint in every atom of creation.

Ask your spouse which of these phrases is meaningful to him/her or if there are other phrases he/she would like to hear. Both you and your spouse could highlight phrases on either side to help you remember what is powerful to your spouse.

We believe in salvation by grace, a free gift from God, given to all who believe in His Son Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord and Savior.

Chronic Joy's mission field is tremendous - more than half the world’s population - yet our ministry focus is always one precious life at a time.

We offer a wide variety of programs to meet the needs of all those affected by chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability. 

At its core, friend-raising is all about relationship and it begins with story – our why - why we give, serve, pray, and invest in the mission and ministry of Chronic Joy.

Service in a Box is everything you need to encourage, strengthen, inspire, and love on those who are nearest and dearest to you. Check out a variety of options in our store. Or start with just one. Print out any of our printable guides and tuck them in an envelope with a note of encouragement and brighten a day

Serving made simple with a variety of Service in a Box options available in our store.

This practical guide walks you through the first steps toward building a chronic illness small group.