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News, Stories, Inspiration
Encouragement for National Stroke Awareness Month
May is National Stroke Awareness Month, and for the last couple weeks, I’ve been thinking of my good friend Katherine Wolf. As a young mother with a successful modeling career, a stroke wasn’t at all on her horizon. Yet, at the age of 26, a catastrophic brainstem stroke nearly took her life. Many people thought…
The Least Qualified Volunteer
“Why did you place me here God? Maybe this isn’t for me….” These were some of the thoughts that filled my head as I sat at my desk, just three months after being hired at Joni and Friends. I loved my coworkers and the Joni and Friends culture, but something was missing… I came into Joni and Friends with…
Don’t Miss This Slice of Heaven
Many weeks of the year, families impacted by disability can struggle with isolation and acceptance, they can feel worn down by routine appointments and the daily needs of life with a disability. But each summer, there is a place for families with special needs to be rejuvenated and refreshed in God’s Word… in an accessible…
No Stranger to Suffering
I first experienced Elisabeth Elliot’s writing in 1965 when I was in high school and read her book Through the Gates of Splendor. I had no idea that after graduation, during the recovery from my diving accident, I would experience those same dark valleys about which she wrote. When I finally met Elisabeth nearly a decade into my quadriplegia, I could hardly believe I was sharing the same space…
Joslinda’s Hope
Joslinda was born without any disability, but four years ago, she had an accident that affected her knees and walking, and ever since then, she experiences pain in her legs. Her father, Joslin, brought her to our wheelchair distribution in Haiti with the hopes of getting a wheelchair for his daughter. “I love my wheelchair. Thank you very much for my wheelchair that you gave…
Love Is…
Love isn’t just a feeling we get when we’re around those who hold a special place in our hearts. No, love is a verb and our actions are the tools that display its characteristics. Love makes your highs more worthwhile and sustains you through even the lowest of lows. Take a moment to think of someone in your life who exemplifies a 1…
A Mother’s Day Longing
My mom, Lindy Eareckson, may be long-gone to heaven, but not a Mother’s Day rolls around that I don’t think about her and the ways she made our house a home. As a child, I would come home from school and be welcomed by the warm aroma of Mother fixing dinner. I’d put my book-bag…
To Strive or Not to Strive
“I thank God for the mountains and I thank him for the valleys, I thank Him for the storms he brought me through, for if I never had a problem, I wouldn’t know that He could solve them, I’d never know what faith in God could do.” These are lyrics from an old hymn, “Through…
A Bit of Art Appreciation
As an artist, I’ve long been inspired by Vincent Van Gogh and his unique style with color. Van Gogh became popular after the Impressionist era, and was greatly influenced by artists like Monet. I’ve always been fascinated with the way he uses color to express movement and emotion – in fact, he inspired this painting…
The Importance of Community
No one is an island. We all need community. And for a family impacted by disability, having a community of support to share encouragement and help meet real needs can change everything. On today’s Mother’s Day episode of the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast, Crystal talks with Cynthia Berry, a woman who has faced a…
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