![Parenting When Chronic Illness is a Member of the Family Parenting When Chronic Illness is a Member of the Family](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Parenting-Family.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Parenting • Posts Books & More
WHEN CHRONIC ILLNESS IS A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY
The keys to parenting when chronic illness is a member of the family are prayer; humor; flexibility; acknowledging loss, fear, and other uncomfortable emotions; embracing each member’s God-given worth; and loving one another deeply from the heart.
Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. (Psalm 127:3)
Blog Posts
Parents with Chronic Illness • A Love Letter to You
A letter to the parents with chronic illness - you are not a failure - your sickness has not lessened who you are, but has added to it.
If You Ever Need to Talk: Finding Comfort and Empathy
Parents of chronically ill kids are the best people. They’re the best at encouraging without offering advice, at listening without trying to one-up with their own story. And they’re the best at offering empathy that comes from having walked a similar road. I could learn from these parents.
What It’s Like to Be a Mother of a Chronically Ill Child
Being a mother of a chronically ill child means I am seeing a side of life that I barely knew existed. This is real. This isn't going away.
![Happy Bubbles Happy Bubbles](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NEW_Yellow_Bubbles.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Books We Love • Parenting
![The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/The-Blessing-Giving-the-Gift-of-Unconditional-Love-and-Acceptance.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance
Gary Smalley, John Trent & Kari Trent Stageberg
Children of every age long for the gift of “the blessing” — the unconditional love and approval that come from a healthy relationship with their parents. This life-changing gift is essential for instilling a deep sense of self-worth and unshakable emotional well-being. Offering solid, practical advice and a fresh perspective on making this gift a bigger part of our families.
![Henry Cloud and John Townsend](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Boundaries-with-Kids-How-Healthy-Choices-Grow-Healthy-Children.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children
Broken Brain, Fortified Faith: Lessons of Hope Through a Child’s Mental Illness
The terms mental illness and mental health are often used casually, but many don’t believe mental illness is relevant to their lives.
This is the story of one family’s journey through schizophrenia, navigating the uncharted waters of mental illness to find help for their daughter and support for their family. This memoir is an honest look at the stress, anger, education, and finally, hope experienced through the eyes of a mother.
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Comfort: Inspirations for Parents of Chronically Ill Children
Kathy Hardy
This sensitive, honest, and heartfelt devotional doesn’t pull any punches. It encounters all aspects of raising a chronically ill child and helps others understand the day-to-day struggles and joys. It is eight weeks of reality: the good, the bad, and the ugly. At the end of each week of devotions, you’ll find a short chapter of Kathy’s family’s continuing story of raising their eight children, three of whom have Cystic Fibrosis (CF).
![Chronic Kids Constant Hope](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/ch.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Chronic Kids, Constant Hope: Help and Encouragement for Parents of Children with Chronic Conditions
![Different Dream Parenting](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Different-Dream-Parenting-A-Practical-Guide-to-Raising-a-Child-with-Special-Needs.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Different Dream Parenting: A Practical Guide to Raising a Child with Special Needs
Jolene Philo
Parenting can be difficult and tiring, especially when you have a special needs child with medical, behavioral, or educational issues. Find guidance, encouragement spiritual wisdom, practical resources, and tools that can help you become an extraordinary advocate for your child. Discover how you can move beyond the challenges and experience the joy of being your child’s biggest and best supporter.
![A Chronicle of Grief: Finding Life After Traumatic Loss](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/I-Will-Carry-You.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy
Angie Smith
In 2008, Angie and her husband Todd (lead singer of the group Selah) learned through ultrasound that their fourth daughter had conditions making her “incompatible with life.” Advised to terminate the pregnancy, the Smiths chose instead to carry this child and allow room for a miracle. That miracle came the day they met Audrey Caroline and got the chance to love her for the precious two-and-a-half hours she lived on earth.
![Is Your Teen Stressed or Depressed?: A Practical and Inspirational Guide for Parents of Hurting Teenagers](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Is-Your-Teen-Stressed-or-Depressed-A-Practical-and-Inspirational-Guide-for-Parents-of-Hurting-Teenagers.jpeg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Is Your Teen Stressed or Depressed?: A Practical and Inspirational Guide for Parents of Hurting Teenagers
Dr. Arch Hart and Dr. Catherine Hart Weber
The teen years are complicated and challenging enough without the addition of contemporary society’s increased pressures. It’s no wonder many teens are overwhelmed. The result is a generation experiencing greater stress and feeling more depressed than any other. Discover practical suggestions, spiritual solutions, and encouragement in Is Your Teen Stressed or Depressed? This resource helps parents and teens face their feelings of fear, anger, and hurt.
![The Life We Never Expected](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-Life-We-Never-Expected-Hopeful-Reflections-on-the-Challenges-of-Parenting-Children-with-Special-Needs.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
The Life We Never Expected: Hopeful Reflections on the Challenges of Parenting Children with Special Needs
Andrew Wilson, et al.
Sometimes life throws you a curveball. Andrew and Rachel Wilson know what it means to live a life they never expected. As the parents of two children with special needs, their story mingles deep pain with deep joy in unexpected places. With raw honesty, they share about the challenges they face on a daily basis, what it means to weep, worship, wait, and hope in the Lord. This book will help you cling to Jesus and fight for joy when faced with a life you never expected.
![The Power of a Praying Parent](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-Power-of-a-Praying-Parent.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
The Power of a Praying Parent
Stormie Omartian
Why Leave Your Child’s Life to Chance When You Can Give It to God? Stormie and her husband spent 20 years raising their children…and more than 40 years praying for them. Now, in 32 short, easy-to-read chapters, she shares how you can pray through each stage of your child’s life, from early childhood to adulthood. Learn how to put your child’s life in God’s loving hands.
To Light Their Way: A Collection of Prayers and Liturgies for Parents
Kayla Craig
Prayers to guide your journey of raising kids in a complicated world. In an age of distraction and overwhelm, finding the words to meaningfully pray for our children―and for our journey as parents―can feel impossible. Filled with more than 100 modern liturgies, this book guides you into an intentional conversation with God for your children and the world they live in.
![When Your Children Hurt](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/51AdgqYrkcL.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
When Your Children Hurt
Charles F. Stanley
There are no easy answers to life’s problems. This is especially true when a loved one is hurting, like when families face the challenges of a child with long-term illness, the effects of abuse, or other issues such as drugs or immorality. It’s during those times when feelings of hopelessness can quickly become despair. Dr. Stanley reminds us, “God has an answer for our deepest need, but we must seek His help.”
When Anxiety Roars: Partnering with Your Child to Tame Worry and Anxiety
Jean Holthaus
Discover practical steps for children and parents to take together to tame anxiety. Integrating faith with best practices to reduce anxiety, it also teaches coping skills that will help children live more confidently today and into the future.
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![Happy Bubbles Happy Bubbles](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NEW_Yellow_Bubbles.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
![Happy Bubbles Happy Bubbles](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NEW_Yellow_Bubbles.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
![Happy Bubbles Happy Bubbles](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NEW_Yellow_Bubbles.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
![Happy Bubbles Happy Bubbles](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NEW_Yellow_Bubbles.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
EVEN MORE
VIDEO
Trying to describe being the parent of a child with a disability or chronic illness can be very challenging. This short video offers a beautiful and creative explanation.
“The loss of that dream [a well child] is a very significant loss, but if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.”
WEBSITES
When Kristin Wall’s son, Ethan, was bedridden for twenty-three days, he missed a lot more than school and the regional basketball championships. Over the course of his illness not one friend or teammate reached out to him, and as Kristin observed, that had a devastating impact on her son’s mental state. “I watched him go into depression,” she said. “These boys are boys I’ve fed and treated like sons for years… and not a single text came through.”
“Because of everything my family went through with my son and what our small town had faced, I felt led to create a movement called #only7seconds.” The goal of the movement was simple: spread kindness through thoughtfulness. “Take seven seconds out of your day to send a text telling someone that you are thinking of them.” To Kristin, this simple thought meant everything. “You never know if that text could be the one thing giving them an inkling that life is worth living.”
![Happy Bubbles Happy Bubbles](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NEW_Yellow_Bubbles.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
![Happy Bubbles Happy Bubbles](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NEW_Yellow_Bubbles.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
![Happy Bubbles Happy Bubbles](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NEW_Yellow_Bubbles.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
![Happy Bubbles Happy Bubbles](https://b1504755.smushcdn.com/1504755/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NEW_Yellow_Bubbles.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)