Karin is a handmaiden of the Lord; saved by grace; a worshiper; a poet; a broken heart; a lover of words; hungry for truth; amazed by love; on the Potter's wheel His work in progress. After five years in Africa, Karin and her beloved husband of twenty years, Rick, are back in rural Canada where chronic pain drives her to the feet of Jesus. She is powered by prayer, love, and many cups of strong coffee. Author of From Ashes to Glory (A Psalm a Day).

Hailey is a full-time freelance writer who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. At 21 years old, Hailey has been chronically ill for several years and has been diagnosed with several conditions that have primarily neurological manifestations - she deals with chronic pain, fatigue, GI issues, and other symptoms on a daily basis. Hailey is passionate about doing ministry and advocacy work in the area of chronic illness and is currently writing a book on how the American church can better support its chronically ill members. As her health allows, she loves to read, dance in shows at her local theatre, and write letters to her many pen pals. She is learning day by day how to dwell with the Lord. Check out Hailey's blog.

Dee is a faith-filled servant of God, with two beautiful teenage daughters who are the loves of her life. She struggles with paranoid schizophrenia and depression, and following a life-altering experienced, dedicated her life to serving God. After working as an accountant for many years, Dee now volunteers at a local nursing home, for Everybody Wins Iowa, and Chronic Joy®. She is also an assistant teacher in the Rite of Christian Initiation as Adults at her church. In her free time, Dee enjoys reading the Bible, historical fiction, and romance novels, walking, and sharing her heart on Facebook.

Katie is a wife, mother, and homemaker. Chronic and mental illness impact her daily life as she has suffered from chronic migraines with aura and anxiety since she was a child. She is also a mother to a child with sensory issues and anxiety. Through all that, she finds joy and purpose in studying God’s Word, spending time with and caring for her family, baking and cooking whatever she can, spending time in God’s beautiful creation, and trying new crafts and hobbies. Pinterest has been the place she goes to for inspiration, Biblical encouragement, and fun family ideas.

Sam lives at the crossroads of creativity and curiosity, loves a puzzling challenge, and prefers the journey to the destination.

Sam is diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, dysautonomia, a very genetic mutation, and additional challenging illnesses.

Find him at instagram.com/thechronicphenix.

Sean Keller is a creative entrepreneur passionate about empowering people through vulnerable storytelling. His drive to share raw, truthful content flows from wrestling through his own health journey since age 12. That struggle serves as his foundation for connecting authentically to Jesus, people and his craft.

Sandra is a wife of over 48 years, adoptive mom to two, and “nama” to four (almost five.) She has worked in multiple nursing specialties, including family practice, OB/GYN, operating room, and public health. She writes from her home in South Florida where she lives on the edge of the Everglades. She loves to hike and photograph wildlife, and sometimes even kayaks with alligators. She is addicted to books, Häagen-Dazs® Coffee Almond Crunch ice cream bars, and jasmine tea. Sandra posts photos on Instagram, writes sporadically on her blog, and is a contributing writer and social media team manager for Tweetspeak Poetry. Her daughter is diagnosed with Crohn’s and RA.

Natalie is a writer, speaker, and reluctant hiker who’s discovered that finding her way in the woods helps her navigate the landscape of life by faith.  She weaves tales from the trail with biblical truths and practical tools to encourage and equip others. A lifelong Iowan with a longstanding fear of cows, she’s survived a snowmobile-windshield-to-nostril standoff with a half-ton bison, a trip into the backcountry with recreationally-unstable fishing guide, and a trek across a clifftop pursued by a bear. Her favorite adventure, though, is doing life with her husband and children, including two daughters with chronic illnesses. She shares about these experiences to inspire others to travel their own terrain by faith.

Jan and her husband divide their time between Sterling, Alaska and Sedona, Arizona, where she is a choir director at the Methodist Church, ministering through music, even in retirement.

Jan's love of words fills the spaces in between being a wife, mom, grandmother, and retired music educator. Equipped through years of experience teaching, conducting, and accompanying, Jan's goal is to raise awareness of music-making as avocation, delight, recreation, meditation, and calling.

Music is an avenue of personal and corporate expression, meditation, and worship - a way of opening God's creation to exploration, examination, understanding, wonder, and praise to the Creator, which is fulfillment of man's purpose to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

Barry, who works full-time designing catalog pages, has also been a Children’s Pastor, Curriculum Developer, and Dramatic Presenter. Most days you'll find him working from home, and after work-hours, caring for his wife, Bettie, on her journey with chronic illness. Barry and Bettie live in a small town in Southeast Wisconsin. They take great joy in their weekend coffee breaks together, and are still going strong after more than 40 years together.

You can find Bettie blogging from her home in a small town in southeast Wisconsin - at bettiegraseasons.com, walking forward with Jesus, in the middle of her own pain and weaknesses from multiple chronic illnesses. The beauty of nature is a joy that calls to Bettie, as do her family and nine young grandchildren. She and her husband have been married for over 40 years and take great joy in their weekend coffee breaks together. In addition, Bettie is the Chronic Joy Prayer Pond coordinator.

Mike retired from a 37-year career as CPA for Briggs & Stratton Corporation, where he developed the tax department, worked as assistant treasurer, chaired the company retirement plan committees and managed the plan investments. In addition, Mike is an ordained elder and has managed church finances at several churches. In 2006, he was on a team that assisted an inner city non-profit academy in developing its finance and strategy plans. Mike has been married to his wife Mary for 52 years. They have four adult children and six grandchildren, and have fostered more than 20 pre-adoption infants for Milwaukee County, before adopting their daughter Samantha, who has been on a ventilator for more than twenty-five years. Mike’s wife Mary has a chronic autoimmune disease. Daily, he experiences the role of caregiver, supporting and advocating for both his wife and daughter.

Julie is a mother, wife, ordained minister, and a founding board member. She and her husband have three adult children. Julie became personally aware of chronic pain when her daughter began experiencing constant and excruciating back pain, resulting in surgery. Yet the pain continued and other unexplained issues began – nausea, stomach pain, and inability to keep food down. During her senior year in high school, her daughter became gravely ill with gastroparesis and spent much of her senior year in and out of the hospital. The quest for relief and solutions, the ongoing struggle of chronic illness, and the anxiety that accompanies both has drawn Julie to seek to know and speak of God’s presence in and through the reality of chronic pain – both for the one experiencing it and for those who love them.