Prayers for moving forward after yesterday’s parenting fails

It’s so beautiful to know that, regardless of yesterday, you are still with me this morning and I am with you. You are mine and there is no act, mistake, or sin that I can do to change that. I am firmly and permanently in your heart, in your love in your protection, because of…

Abundant Grace for the Impulsive Brain

A Facebook post tells me that the speed of an incoming brain impulse is 250 mph. Yeah, I think. Probably more when angry. Just try stopping one of those in my child with Autism and ADHD. Lack of emotional regulation combined with lack of impulse control can get really ugly. If you’ve ever snapped at…

Grace in its Element – When Autism Showed Up at the Lord’s Supper

I confess I don’t hear the communion service very well tonight. But snippets of prayer stand out and grateful tears touch my cheeks. That the Holy Spirit is always with us – that’s you and me, too, Gideon. That I am firmly, completely, and wonderfully saved. And Gideon, too. God wants autistic people in His family, too.

Hosanna in the Diagnosis – Trusting God as we step into the world of special needs

When we received Noah’s diagnosis, a chromosomal deletion, a genetic mutation, a lifelong condition with many nuances and unknowns, it was difficult to see beyond our circumstances. It hurt. We ached for our boy, we mourned normality for him and for ourselves. In him, we officially stepped across the threshold into the world of special…

Spoons and the Autism Spectrum – Seeing (and enjoying!) the Bigger Picture of Special Needs Parenting

I had the brilliant idea to teach my boys the game Spoons. I love Spoons! It’s easy, fast-paced, easy to reset and start again. Perfect for wiggly boys, right? I explain the rules. Pick a card from the right, pass to the left. Keep only 7 cards in your hand at a time. You need…

An Autism Baptism – Evidence of a Limitless God

In all the areas of Gideon’s autism that we navigate, through all our failures and victories, and despite all the ways that we as humans don’t understand each other, God still got through to Gideon. Let my son be a reminder to us all that God is not limited by a social communication disorder, just like he is not limited by a cognitive disability or a mental health condition.

Hold steady

“I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8 As we say goodbye to the old year and take our first steps into the new, let’s not forget the arts of remembering and reflecting. Look back. Check your calendar, Facebook memories, or…

Project site

“As each part does its work.” Why is that the hard part? One of the things that often stops me from sharing my story through writing is the thought that I have nothing inspired or original to say. My story is similar to many others, why does anyone want to hear what I have to…

Pathways and rivers – Trusting God through the wilderness of a new diagnosis

September 2016. I answered a phone call from my son’s specialist while walking into work. I heard the words, “chromosomal syndrome” and “22q11.2 deletion,” and it felt like my world literally shook. I literally had to sit down in an empty waiting room of the hospital where I worked at the time. Over the next…