Blog Posts to Inspire

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!

Discover stories of encouragement and hope. Gain new perspectives. Wrestle with hard questions. And learn to thrive in a life with chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability.

Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;I will proclaim your greatness. (Psalm 145:6)

INSPIRING BLOG POSTS

We all have questions, grief, discouragement, pain, feelings of discontent, and sorrow. Chronic illness just seems to magnify all the issues. There are no pat answers to all our questions. How do we find inspiration when we feel so alone? Could we encourage you to read our inspiring blog posts and webpages that wrestle with the difficult questions and share different perspectives?

Together in radical community, as we tell our own stories, we will find ways to encourage one another and build each other up. Even when we don’t have all the answers, we are encouraged when we see others who struggle as we do. It helps us know we are not alone. We really are sharing life and discovering hope.

ENCOURAGEMENT AMID ILLNESS AND PAIN

We have many contributing writers who share thoughtful and heartfelt articles. They are not afraid to write about their struggles or wrestle with difficult circumstances and questions. They explore ways to find joy and peace as well as ways to thrive in a life of chronic illness.

Some posts encourage us to explore the difficulties and to bring our lament to God. There are no quick fixes, and often, our circumstances change very little, but as we read through these stories, we are better able to face our struggles.

By sharing their stories, these writers show us how they work through difficulties. They show us despair but also hope, sorrow but also joy, courage, and endurance. Through their struggles, we might just find a way through ours that leads to peace. God is working in our lives even when we aren’t aware it’s happening.

INSPIRING BLOG POSTS • SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Chronic Joy® blog posts will inspire us to discover joy and peace even amid our suffering and struggles. As you scroll through our posts, you will find a wide variety of stories for those affected by chronic illness, mental illness, caregivers, teens, and parents. Find tools for anxiety, depression, poetry, prayer, #StepRepPray, and so much more – something for everyone.

There are articles to encourage you to reach out to others who are hurting. Some posts explain how to find joy in unexpected places. Many writers share how they found God’s comfort and love not despite illness but because of illness.

Because we have a wide variety of guest writers, there is something for everyone in our inspiring blog posts. So grab a cup of coffee or tea, find a comfortable place to rest, and take time to read through some of the heartfelt words of fellow travelers.

“Think of celebration as medicine to eradicate a case of the shoulds.” Laurie Glass

Adjust to the New Normal

It isn’t easy to accept and manage such changes, so be kind to yourself as you adjust and figure out ways to manage your new normal.

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“As we lean into the newness of nature, the color, moisture, and sheen of things, will You give us eyes to see the newness You are creating within us, too?” Diana Trautwein

Springtime Praise and Thanksgiving

We bring our praise to You, O God. To whom else shall we go? We are a people custom-made to praise You. So, we do! For rivers of water in dry places, for majestic mountains and mighty oceans, we praise You. We praise You for green, green, GREEN everywhere we look these spring days.

5 min read

“God has reached out to me through this time of pain, immobility, and dependence ... My current bout of illness has provided (rather, forced) the opportunity to step off the busy merry-go-round ... and be still: to sit in silence, listen to what is on my mind, and let God do some healing in me.” Sarah Smith

My True Healing

I am so thankful that through this time of pain and uncertainty, God has moved in my life, healing my soul so I can experience joy even though my physical circumstances have not changed.

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"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope. My soul waits for the Lord." Psalm 130:5-6a

Are You Desperate for Hope?

When I feel desperate, I forget that my greatest need is not different circumstances. My greatest need is God himself. He alone can give me peace in the storm, hope in his word.

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“Just like a broken bit of glass tossed into the ocean, refined by the waves, sand, and time, our chronic illnesses can wear away our sharp, broken edges and make us more beautiful if we journey with God through them.” Kara Plett

Metaphors Help Others Understand Your Illness

Have you ever struggled to explain how you’re feeling? What if we could use metaphors to help others understand how we are truly feeling?

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"This day, I made it almost half a minute longer than the day before. That might not sound like much, but to me, it’s huge, and I can’t deny where the power comes from." Karin Fendick

Pedal, Praise and Pray

As I pedal and praise, I blast worship music on my phone – and I pray from the first push on a pedal until I stop and stretch.

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"He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye." Deuteronomy 32:10

Streams in the Wasteland of a Living Grief

How do I hold this living grief? How do I drink this boiling sea of suffering? Father, gather these shards. Redeem the years the locusts have eaten. Scoop up these bits and pieces, and hold them in Your Hands until Your grace floods every crevice...

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