Marriage, Relationships, and Family

Thousands of families quietly and lovingly care for children with special needs. Though the days are often long and hard, many find joy in their calling and would not trade their calling for anything. Kara Dedert and her family reflect this joy in the ordinary and extraordinary moments of caring for their son and brother, Calvin. In her introduction to her blog, Kara writes, “You’ll find me writing about the good, gritty, gracy parts of faith, family and home. I’m married to Darryl and we have five kids. One of our sons has severe disabilities from Zika. It’s broken our hearts and also filled us with hope – I write about that, too.

In this transparent interview,  Jim and Karen share the highs and the lows of their international adoption journey, from how they began their adoption adventure, to the challenge of finding the new normal for their family. Listeners will get a glimpse into the reality of adoption and how it draws you closer to Jesus. 

For over twenty plus years Sue and her husband have parented three sons, one of whom was born with Down Syndrome and a brain injury. Joseph will never care for himself in any way. He is totally dependent on his parents for his well being.  In this conversation, you will hear the story of a mother who is filled with the hope and leans into her Lord for wisdom and strength.

In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Simonetta Carr shares the story of her beloved son, Jonathan, and her experience of caring for him as he struggled with schizophrenia. Simonetta doesn’t sugarcoat the enormous challenges and emotions that were non-stop. She talks about how she fervently prayed for Jonathan, the fears she had to confront, and how the church came alongside Jonathan and her in this battle. You may not have a loved one with schizophrenia but Simonetta and Jonathan’s story will give you insight into the enormous battle facing families with such a diagnosis.

Corie Weathers shares her own marriage struggles as a the wife of a military chaplain in this conversation. She describes intimate, sacred moments where her understanding of how she realized that when she said goodbye to her husband when he was deployed to Afghanistan, she was actually saying goodbye to life as she knew it. Corie doesn’t leave listeners without hope or a path forward.

Marriage can be difficult, but adding a child with special needs adds a new level of challenges. In this wide-ranging conversation, Steve Demme shares his passion for helping to strengthen marriages, and in particular, wants to offer help and hope to fathers.  Even more specifically, to fathers of children with special needs. 

Bryan and his wife say the diagnosis of severe autism for their son Matthew confronted them with the reality that the future they had planned would never come. In this conversation, Bryan touches on how he and his wife went into survival mode, how he initially thought they could “fix” his son, the spiritual struggles they experienced, and the impact their son Matthew had on their other children and their marriage. 

Paul and Jill Miller welcomed their sixth child, daughter Kim, into their home in 1982. It became apparent at a young age that Kim was behind in her developmental milestones. Kim was diagnosed as having autism, a disorder that was just beginning to be recognized by doctors. Kim’s diagnosis not only created enormous stress on their family, but also isolated Jill as she learned how to parent their precious child. In this remarkable conversation Paul and Jill take us back to those early days and how Kim’s life has taught them life-changing spiritual truths and led them to fall deeper in love with Jesus.

In this one hour long interview two sets of parents share how they learned their children had a form of autism. The vulnerability of these families will help equip other parents as they navigate the foreign land of autism. They discuss how having an autistic child affected their marriage, other siblings and much more.

Nearly aborted, graciously adopted and later abandoned, Lori Sealy has traveled the road of atheism and lived a life of autism. Lori was diagnosed with Autism as an adult and not long after that diagnosis learned her son had autism as well. In this interview, parents of a young man who has autism ask Lori the questions burning in the hearts of other parents with high functioning children that struggle every day with the "thorn of autism."

Her oldest son’s battle with drug addiction ended when drug induced hypothermia took his life. Several years later, her youngest son made a decision that would forever change his life and resulted in imprisonment. How does a mother not just survive but find hope and joy when a tsunami of grief repeatedly slams her deeper into an abyss of sorrow?

Julie Sanford is a Recovery Mentor for wives of alcoholics. She is a wife and mom of three who found herself in a situation she never wanted to be in as the wife of an alcoholic. After several years of living in chaos, feeling alone, and unseen, she is now using her journey to help other wives of alcoholics navigate their husband’s addiction. She came to realize that it was not only her husband that needed recovery, but she also needed support. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Julie shares not only her story but hope and encouragement for those in a similar, broken place. Julie offers programs and coaching that equip women with the tools and strength needed to navigate their husband’s addiction without losing themselves in the process.