Printables

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 too. The Word of God is alive and powerful, able to bring 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. 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.

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.

Learn what it means to truly “love one another deeply from the heart.”

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.

Use the questions slowly, one question and one conversation at a time over many months in any order you choose. 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 the winds of anxiety begin to blow and the waves roll and the thunder comes, God invites us to lean a little deeper into Him. Each of these exercises is designed to help us breathe a little easier and lean into the arms of God.

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.

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.

Jesus is the enduring, timeless, and everlasting hope who came to seek, serve, call, forgive, rescue, redeem, and save.

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

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.

Photography challenges are a fun, hope-filled invitation, a commitment to pick up your camera to simply notice, and click.

Looking for creative ways to connect with others as you unpack the Chronic Joy studies? This FREE printable does just that and more!

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.

Chronic Joy® devotionals are an invitation to take one gentle step, to pray in a comforting and familiar or perhaps new-to-you way, or to cry out on behalf of one precious life today … maybe even yours.

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

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.

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.

He left the 99 to rescue me ... yesterday, today, and always. (Matthew 18:12 paraphrase) Our worth isn't based on who we are or what we can do, but on who God is. We are the work of His hands.

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 found in God's word to do the very work he has called us to do.

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 very imperfect people into one through a lifetime of difficult, beautiful, exasperating, and amazing mountain-top moments of God-ordained sanctification.

Living Brave begins with faith, with living authentically from the inside out. It’s messy and gritty, and reveals how much we really trust God.

Scripture verses and quotes inviting you to step into the compassionate and tender-hearted presence of God.

Sometimes what we experience because of chronic illness, mental illness, pain, or suffering can not only be difficult to explain but also (for those who don’t experience it) difficult to understand. Metaphor can be a useful tool.

Just as God breathed life into us (Genesis 2:7), He breathed it into His Word (2 Timothy 3:16). The ancient rhythm of breathing that began in the Garden of Eden is repeated at least a dozen times a minute every day of our lives.

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?

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?

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. Community is rooted in love, nourished in prayer, and strengthened in courageous vulnerability as we extend and receive love, kindness, and compassion.

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 to 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. Pray through these verses, asking God where to grow from here.

Everything you need to encourage, strengthen, inspire, and love on those who are nearest and dearest to you.

Click here to purchase your box.

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.

With your doctor’s guidance, and a little creativity, exercising with chronic illness is not just possible, but can be rewarding. Meet with God in movement — always at the pace of grace.

With your doctor’s guidance, and a little creativity, exercising with chronic illness is not just possible, but can be rewarding. Log your steps, reps, and prayers.

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

Invite a friend or family member to do a 16-Day Suffering & Joy discussion. Or use each quote as a journaling prompt. Each day, read the quote. Talk about it. Think about it. Write about it. Pray about it.

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

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

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.

Everything you need to encourage, strengthen, inspire, and love on those who are nearest and dearest to you.

Click here to purchase your box.

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