WRITE FOR US!
We’re passionate about storytelling.
Are you a writer with a heart for storytelling? Do you see hope in the midst of challenging circumstances? Chronic Joy welcomes guest posts that wrestle with the difficult questions that those who are affected by chronic illness experience. Book publishers are still welcome to submit book excepts.
My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. (Psalm 45:1)
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Chronic Joy® is a resource ministry for all those affected by chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability built on a foundation of hope, purpose, worth, and joy in Jesus Christ. Story and community are as vital to us as air and water, for story is the life and breath of community.
It is how we connect and learn about who we are, why we’re here, and how we belong. Story preserves history and elicits laughter. It plunges us to the depths of ourselves and sets us soaring across the skies. Story is the tale of our lives — and it matters, for story is where hope begins.
Your story matters!
Chronic Joy® accepts submissions that focus on life with chronic illness, mental illness, and chronic pain:
- Chronic Illness
- Mental Illness
- Chronic Pain
- Faith
- Family
- Friendship
- Marriage
- Parenting
- Caregiving
- Creativity
- Serving
- Finances
- Education
- Employment
- Social Activities, Travel, Holidays
- And more
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES (BY INVITATION)
Chronic Joy® accepts submissions that focus on life with chronic illness, mental illness, and chronic pain.
- Posts should be approximately 500-1000 words in length based on one of our free printables.
- “What I learned (from the printable).”
- “How I interacted (with the information).”
- “How God met me (through the material).”
- Devotionals should be approximately 500 to 750 words in length. Click here for guidelines.
- Articles based on our website content should be approximately 750 in length. Click here for guidelines.
- Poetry should:
- include the "why" behind your poem (i.e., What prompted the poem?) in an introductory paragraph.
- consider including two or three questions after your poem to encourage others to write a poem for themselves or to reflect on the post.
- consider including a short prayer at the end.
- Please submit Word documents only, using the Open Sans font, size 11, if possible. Do not indent paragraphs.
- Documents should be grammatically correct, spell-checked, and in final, polished form.
- We recommend using Grammarly, a tool that helps you write with confidence, find the best words to express yourself and communicate your ideas easily.
- Please include your headshot (.jpg), a brief biography (not to exceed 85 words), and links to your blog, website, books, and/or social media as desired with your release form.
- Complete our short (but necessary) Release Form.
- When quoting Scripture, please include the reference and translation.
- Posts should be compassionate, understanding, and empathetic.
- Be honest as you wrestle with hard topics and difficult emotions. Posts don't need a happy ending but should always lean toward hope.
- Consider including three points to ponder (questions) to help readers digest your post.
- Strong nouns and verbs create more meaningful content. Limit the use of adjectives and adverbs as many will be removed.
- Click here to review our editorial guidelines.
- We reserve the right to edit accepted submissions.
- We do not accept book reviews but do accept excerpts from your published books.
- We do not accept submissions about specific medical treatments, medications, healthcare providers, clinics, hospitals, products, services, or apps.
- We do not accept submissions that discuss politics or other controversial issues which shift attention away from our focus on chronic illness, mental illness, chronic pain, and disability.
- As a publisher, we do not accept manuscript submissions or inquiries.
- We do not offer compensation.
- If accepted, we will notify you via email.
NEED A TOPIC IDEA? THESE QUESTIONS MIGHT HELP:
- In what ways have you experienced God’s grace in illness?
- What has been your most significant loss?
- What was your life like before illness? How are you different today?
- What is most challenging for you because of illness?
- How are your relationships (with spouse, parents, children, friends, coworkers) affected by illness?
- How have your expectations of yourself or others changed because of illness?
- How has your walk with God changed?
- How or where have you experienced hope?
- What is the most unexpected blessing of illness?
- Which of your character qualities have been refined through illness?
- What does courage look like to you?
- What does strength look like in illness?
- What is one thing you wish others understood about illness?
- If you could sum up illness in five words, what would they be? Why?
- How can you encourage others walking through illness?
- How do you handle pain and disappointment?
- How has God turned your weaknesses into strengths?
- How do you celebrate the little things, the small victories?
Story Matters
Story is the tale of our lives — and it matters. Chronic illness, mental illness, and chronic pain can be isolating and lonely, but sharing our stories can open a door, extend hope, and sometimes spark a life-giving, life-changing conversation with someone else along the way. We’d love to hear your story.
Poetry • MINISTRY OF VERSE
Poetry invites us to notice and explore our world. We might echo the symptoms, confusion, loss, grief, and uncertainty of chronic pain and illness. We could collect and delight in special moments and small victories. Perhaps we will discover God’s still small voice in brand new ways.
Allegory • UNLOCKING THE DEEPER STORY
Allegory is a beautiful, artistic form of storytelling. Explore your story's difficult, painful, or vulnerable parts from a safer distance and a different perspective.
Cindee Snider Re
Author, Designer, and Co-Founder of Chronic Joy®
Cindee is married to the man she loves most in this world, Mom to five adult kids plus a son- and daughter-in-love, and Lolli to an adorable grandbaby. She and four of her kids have Ehlers-Danlos and myriad co-existing conditions. While a life steeped in illness is not what she would have chosen, through it, she’s learning that the deeper the valley, the greater her capacity for joy.
Cindee is the author of Discovering Hope, Finding Purpose, Embracing Worth, and I Take You in Sickness and in Health.
Erin Burkhardt
Contributing Writer
Erin is a grateful follower of Jesus, navigating the different stages of life through the eyes of chronic illness. She has a passion for empowering others by encouraging them to trust God even in the most difficult circumstances. Erin and her husband (along with their two young boys) are purposeful and passionate in living out their faith and loving their neighbors. Her other passions include freelance writing, loom knitting, and fishing!
Barbara Coleman
Contributing Writer
Barbara lives in Maryland and was in ministry with her husband, Mike, for over 50 years. Now, she has time for gardening, painting, reading, and enjoying the Lord. Barbara has three grown sons and ten grandchildren. She says, "Anything that makes me need God is a blessing!" She is the author of The Wonderful Land of Affliction.
Shelly Esser
Shelly has been the editor of Just Between Us for more than 30 years. Additionally, she has been involved with leading and nurturing women since attending college. She and her husband have four adult daughters and two sons-in-law. They live in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
Karin Fendick
Contributing Writer
Karin is a handmaiden of the Lord, saved by grace, a worshiper, a poet, a broken heart, a lover of words, His work in progress on the Potter's wheel. She is hungry for truth and amazed by love. After five years in Africa, Karin and Rick (her beloved husband of almost twenty-five years), 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. She is the author of From Ashes to Glory (A Psalm a Day).
Adriana Hayes
Adriana is a freelance illustrator, professor, writer, and speaker who finds joy in helping others discover how God can bring “chronic hope” into their lives. She lives in Milwaukee, Wis., with her husband, Chris, and her three daughters. Photo courtesy of Robyn Vining Photography.
Bettie Gilbert
Contributing Writer
You can find Bettie blogging from her home in the far north suburbs of Chicago at bettiegsraseasons.com. She is walking forward with Jesus in the middle of her pain and weakness from multiple chronic illnesses. The beauty of nature and her family (including ten grandchildren) are Bettie's joys. She and her husband have been married for over 40 years and take great delight in their weekend coffee breaks together. Abiding in Him is a devotional memoir written by Bettie and her husband, Barry.
Laurie Glass
Staff Writer
Laurie has a Master's Degree in Christian Counseling and is the author of Coping with ME/CFS. Many of her poems and articles have been published in print and online. She won the Open Medicine Foundation poetry contest in 2019. Laurie loves to use her gift of writing to encourage others. Her book is available on Amazon.
Hailey Hudson
Contributing Writer
Joy Lenton
Contributing Writer
Joy is a grateful grace dweller, wife, mother, grandma to one beautiful boy, and an M.E and chronic illness sufferer for over 30 years. She’s a devotional writer for the Good Ground app, a contemplative poet sensing the sacred in the every day at poetryjoy.com, and a contributor to the Godspacelight blog. Joy is also the author of Sacred Noticing, Experiencing Lent, Soul Shots, Embracing Hope, and Seeking Solace.
Emily J. Maurits
Contributing Writer
After working for several years in public health, Emily is studying theology. She believes we are all called to love suffering people because it is what Jesus did. She is passionate about equipping and encouraging others to do just that and founded calledtowatch.com for the family and friends of those with chronic illness. As well as uncovering God's presence in the chaos of life, she enjoys reading, running, and writing. Check out her memoir Two Sisters & a Brain Tumour.
Elyse Simon
Contributing Writer
Elyse has a fondness for the outdoors. After a simple slip on the ice left her with chronic pain syndrome, she began to see how God does work all things for good. Armed with Biblical truth and her TENS unit, Elyse uses her experiences to encourage young adults with the message that they can thrive in the face of difficult circumstances.
Kara Plett
Staff Writer
Kara and her husband Conrad live in Calgary, Canada, where she was a teacher for 28 years. She loves the Word of God and encourages others through her devotional writing. Kara felt led to write a book of devotionals (Searching for Sea Glass) when her journey with chronic illnesses pressed her into God’s arms of love more deeply. She prays that her journey and refinement will encourage you in your walk with God.
Pamela Piquette
Executive Director and Co-Founder of Chronic Joy®
Pamela, a leader and a visionary following God's call to inspire those affected by chronic illness, mental illness, and chronic pain, believes that every precious life impacted by illness is both vital and purposed.
Pamela is a wife of more than 35 years, the mom of three married children, and a grandma of six. She is diagnosed with chronic migraines and other chronic conditions. She enjoys baking sourdough bread and chocolate chip cookies, drinking hot tea, being outdoors, and reading (almost always more than one book at a time).
Dr. Terry Powell
Terry is a Faculty Emeritus and an adjunct professor in Church Ministries at Columbia International University. He and his wife, Dolly, have been married for 50 years and share two sons, a daughter-in-law, and a grandson. Terry writes about faith and depression at Penetrating the Darkness.
Vaneetha Risner
Vaneetha writes and speaks about meeting God in suffering. She is the author of The Scars That Have Shaped Me, Walking Through Fire, Desperate for Hope (a Bible study), and Watching for the Morning: 90 Devotionals When Hope Is Hard to Find (coming soon). You can find her writing at Desiring God and Vaneetha.com. Vaneetha lives in North Carolina with her husband, Joel. She has two daughters, Katie and Kristi.
Diana R.G. Trautwein
Contributing Writer
Diana is a follower of Jesus, wife to Richard since 1965, mom to three adult children, blessed MIL to their three spouses, Nana to 8 grandkids ranging in age from 13-32, and GMIL to one amazing young woman (who just passed her doctoral dissertation in mathematics - hooray!). She has been a stay-at-home mom, a small business owner, a mid-life seminary student and TA, and a pastor for over 20 years. Diana is also a certified spiritual director and a Chronic Joy® Contributing Writer & Creative. Connect with her at DianaTrautwein.com.
Gayl Wright
Content Coordinator
A grandmother but young at heart, Gayl enjoys exploring creativity through writing, poetry, nature photography, art, crocheting, and piano. She loves coffee, tea, chocolate, and jeans. Gayl has been married to Steve for nearly 50 years, with 7 children and 14 grands (some have chronic illnesses, and one son is now with Jesus). Always learning and writing from her heart about life, her desire is to know God better, glorify Him, and encourage others. She is the author of Journey into Light.
Megan Willome
Contributing Writer
Megan is the author of Love and other Mysteries (Wipf and Stock), a new poetry collection. She's also written The Joy of Poetry, a memoir, and Rainbow Crow, a picture book of form poems. Her day is incomplete without poetry, tea, and a walk in the dark. Read her work at meganwillome.substack.com.
Lee Ann Zanon
Staff Writer
Lee Ann is passionate about spreading the truth of Scripture. For decades, she served in various women’s ministry roles (including teaching at Corban University for ten years) until chronic pain dramatically changed her life. Her background as a Bible teacher, retreat speaker, worship leader, editor, and writer has prepared her perfectly for her current focus on writing and providing one-on-one encouragement. Lee Ann and her husband Mike live in Salem, Oregon. They have two married daughters and four grandchildren. She is the author of Honest Hope.