The One Gift Every Child Needs

Have you ever wondered what could be the greatest gift you could ever give to your child?  Maybe you’ve asked the question a different way – using different words. Or, maybe you made a statement about what you ‘want’ for your child in his/her life. Maybe you’ve wondered what you can ‘do’ for your child […]

4 Ideas For Teaching Prayer To Kids With Special Needs

When it comes to teaching children with special needs about prayer, I get excited, because it’s one way of helping them to develop and enjoy a fulfilling relationship with God. I think kids need to understand the simplicity of prayer.  To be honest, I think that’s a lesson that even adults need to learn.  Prayer […]

Take The Next Step: Scripture Memory

Psalm 119:11 – “Your Word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. NASB” This one verse is probably the single most often-utilized verse people turn to when they think about why they should memorize Scripture. This verse gets to the heart of Scripture memory, but how does this apply […]

Parenting Is Ministry

Parenting a child with special needs requires that you wear many hats:  nurse, chauffeur, advocate, cook, teacher, housekeeper, accountant, IEP expert, dietician, plumber, home decorator, pest exterminator, coach, and diplomat to name a few (and that’s just mothers’!).  I’ll bet that you could list a few more that I’ve missed.  But let me challenge you […]

Take The Next Step: Complaint Button

This idea requires very little preparation, making it easy for you to teach your child an important lesson about “joy” even when circumstances are difficult, boring, or challenging. For this idea you’ll need a buzzer.  One of those really cool “That Was Easy” buzzers from Staples would be perfect!  However, any type of noise-maker will […]

Finding Joy In Difficult Circumstances

Kenneth Dodge tells about an 8-year-old boy named Frank. Frank had a date with his father to go fishing one Saturday. They were going to fish the whole day. On Friday night he had everything laid out. He was ready to go. But on Saturday morning he awoke to discover that it was raining cats […]

Take The Next Step: Joy In Obedience

This month our virture is Joy (“Finding a way to be happy in all circumstances because God loves me”).  Joy can often be found in our obedience to the Lord in the midst of our circumstances.  Here’s something practical that you can do to help your child understand the meaning of joy. Throughout this month, […]

Take The Next Step: Random Acts Of Kindness

As parents of children with special needs we’re often busy helping our child to learn daily life-skills such as communicating, social interactions, and self-help.  If we’re not careful the busyness of life  distracts us from looking for opportunities to teach our child God honoring character traits.  So here’s one easy idea that you can implement […]

He Uses You Every Day

A few months ago I had lunch with a friend.  The waitress guided us to a booth by a window.  John collapsed onto the bench seat.  Outside, the skies were turning dark.  Clouds threatened to bring a mid-day rain. John leads a Life Group in our church.  He’s a deacon and someone who’s also actively involved […]

Take The Next Step: Kindness Video

Jesus told the story of The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  One of the reasons Jesus taught this parable was in order to get people to think for themselves, there but for the grace of God, go I.  The point is that kindness and compassion come from the heart, and it is the heart where the seat of God […]