“The question, therefore, is not ‘How can we make community?’ but, ‘How can we develop and nurture giving hearts?'” Henri J.M. Nouwen
NURTURING GIVING HEARTS
Vital Programs for YOU!
God has guided Chronic Joy through another exciting year! What a privilege it is to share a snapshot of the vital programs we offer and to extend a warm and welcoming invitation to you – because you are the reason we do what we do – to serve in, with, and through our growing community.
CREATED FOR COMMUNITY
One of the first things Jesus did in his public ministry was gather a community (the disciples) around him. And when He left His followers after the resurrection, He left them with the presence of the Spirit and the gift of companionship.
Let those words sink deep – the gift of companionship. Made in God’s image, we were created for community, filled with His Spirit, and given the gift of companionship.
Timothy Keller wrote, “Community grows naturally out of shared experience, and the more intense the experience, the more intense the community.” Chronic illness, chronic pain, mental illness, caregiving, parenting, anxiety, grief, and chronic loss are powerful shared experiences among the community of Chronic Joy, giving us a common language, and often, common needs.
Henri Nouwen points out that community further “grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another. Community is the fruit of our capacity to make the interests of others more important than our own. The question, therefore, is not ‘How can we make community?’ but, ‘How can we develop and nurture giving hearts?’”
NURTURING GIVING HEARTS THROUGH PRAYER
Prayer is the heartbeat of Chronic Joy and one of the most important ways we can serve one another. As we pray, a deeply intimate act, our hearts are drawn together in and through Jesus, which kindles our longing to serve. While we may no longer be able to serve in traditional or culturally familiar ways, together we can discover creative new ways to love and serve right where we are, however we are able.
Your longing for community, your desire to serve, the needs we’ve both experienced and learned about from you, all held in fervent prayer, grew into the foundations of our Vital Programs.
The door is open, Friends, the table is set, and you are warmly invited! We look forward to the banquet and to the beautiful growth of community in the seasons ahead.
Our Programs
We offer a wide variety of programs to meet the needs of all those affected by chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability.
GET INVOLVED
Use Your Grace Gifts!
How has God gifted you? Where do you feel His gentle nudge to love one another? His Spirit’s tug to get involved? We are always #BetterTogether. Use your grace gifts! Get involved in Chronic Joy today.
You Get Mail!
Sign up to receive free, professionally designed and printed, old-school, #PenToPaper snail mail throughout the year. When you include your birthdate, we’ll send a special mailing to celebrate you! Safe & Secure. Sign-Ups for: Adults, Teens & YA, Children & Tweens.
Chronic Joy® Access
Opening Doors. Removing Barriers. Accessibility is an invitation to broaden our perspectives, choosing the simple kindness of including one another, opening doors, and removing barriers.
Serve
Our hearts are wired to serve, because we were created for community. 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.
#STEPREPPRAY
#StepRepPray is an invitation to meet with God in movement – always at the pace of grace. With each step or every rep, seek God’s guidance, worship and praise Him, thank Him for the gift of movement, and lift your heart in prayer for others.
PASS IT ON → KINDNESS
Making the Journey Easier for All of Us
PASS IT ON! is an invitation to pass on the love and kindness of God – making the journey easier for all of us. Write hope-filled #PenToPaper notes. Share encouraging books, blogs, and websites. Knit prayer shawls. Welcome others into the Chronic Joy community.
SELF-CARE
Kindness Multiplied
When we are kind and generous with ourselves, we can pour kindness and love overflowing into others. Take time and take care of you, because you are God’s beloved.
Creative Sparks
BE BRAVE. BE CURIOUS. CREATE! Though few of us would call ourselves creative, that amazing grace-gift is woven straight into our DNA. As we engage with God, He ignites our curiosity, waking us to wonder and the joy of possibility.
Radical Community
Radical community is rooted in love, nourished in prayer, and strengthened in courageous vulnerability as we listen, engage, forgive, learn, grow, serve, and extend compassion to all.
Let's Pray
Prayer is a precious invitation to be with Jesus.
Slow down. Breathe deep and draw near to God, experiencing His presence in abundant, exceptional, and wildly generous ways.
Gift of Hope
Hope is possible. Sometimes we just need to know that someone cares, that our stories matter, that hope is possible – even in a life with chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability, even through sustained loss, even in the midst of debilitating pain.
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