Joni and Friends staff member Sarah Fuller returns to the podcast to share how, with three biological children of their own, she and her husband sensed God calling to also serve as foster parents. In conversation with Stephanie Daniels, Sarah tells how her whole family has taken part in loving and sheltering children in foster care, and welcomed a child with disabilities into their family permanently through adoption. Hear how God can use a faithful “yes” to weave his grace and redemption into stories of complexity and brokenness.

Get your copy of Joni Eareckson Tada’s powerful autobiography!

Hear more conversations about adoption and foster care:

• Creating a Peaceful Home: Parenting Wisdom from a Mother of Ten!: Do you know how to create lasting peace in your home? Laura Hernandez shares her story of raising ten children (biological and adopted), some living with hidden disabilities. Hear how Laura transformed from an overwhelmed do-it-all mom to a parent who leans on the Lord to create a peaceful, Christ-centered home.
• The Call to Care for Vulnerable Foster Children: Stacy DeWitt serves as the Executive Director of James Storehouse, a ministry dedicated to caring for foster children. Hear how James Storehouse is making a profound difference in the lives of foster children, and what you and your church can get involved with this critical mission.

KEY QUESTIONS:

• Do you trust God to lead you through—and even into—seasons of grief and suffering?
• Is there an area of uncertainty in your life that you can entrust to God today?

KEY SCRIPTURES:

• James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
• Psalm 68:6: “God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”

You make this podcast possible! Thank you for your support.

Find all podcast resources and message our team.

Follow Joni and Friends on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.

Joni and Friends team member Randy Schwartz joins Stephanie Daniels to share about coming to faith as an adult, being a special needs dad and devoted husband, and learning to trust God with all aspects of life. When his younger son was born with spina bifida, Randy and his wife turned to Jesus, relying on his grace day by day.

Listen to our Season 6 conversation with Dr. Benjamin Warf, a neurosurgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital, who has a passion for training the next generation of surgeons and improving access to quality care. Dr. Warf shares his story and encouragement for families—fathers in particular—who live with disability.

More resources:

Dig into God’s Word with Joni Eareckson Tada’s Bible reading plan!

Discover books to disciple the children in your life

Learn more about Joni and Friends Family Retreat

KEY QUESTIONS:

• How can you depend on God’s strength for today instead of your own?
• Where have you seen God at work in your story?

KEY SCRIPTURES:

• John 9:1–3: “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”
• John 13:35: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
• Lamentations 3:22–23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

You make this podcast possible! Thank you for your support.

Find all podcast resources and message our team.

Follow Joni and Friends on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.

Learn more about Mandy Meehan and her faith journey while seeking to heal from fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, and other chronic conditions.

KEY QUESTIONS:

• Do you entrust your physical, emotional, and spiritual weakness to God?
• Are you willing to talk about your struggles with a trusted person/people in your life?
• How can you rest in the Lord today, trusting in his biblical promises?

KEY SCRIPTURES:

• Second Corinthians 4:7–9: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
• Proverbs 16:9: “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”

You make this podcast possible! Thank you for your support.

Find all podcast resources and message our team.

Follow Joni and Friends on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.

Learn more about Mandy Meehan and her faith journey while seeking to heal from fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, and other chronic conditions.

Discover more inspiring stories of God’s faithfulness amid difficult chronic illnesses:

Living with Chronic Illness | Joni and Friends

When Skies Aren’t Blue: A Doctor’s Journey to Hope Amid Chronic Illness | Joni and Friends

KEY QUESTIONS:

• Where have you seen God’s gracious hand at work through hard times in your life?
• How can you serve someone today, even as you face your own limitations?
• Are you willing to ask for help? (Give it a try!)

KEY SCRIPTURES:

• Isaiah 40:29–31: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
• Roman 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

You make this podcast possible! Thank you for your support.

Find all podcast resources and message our team.

Follow Joni and Friends on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.

If you are struggling with cancer, grief, or chronic pain, the journey can be arduous and seem unending. During her most difficult seasons, most recently coping with cancer, Roberta has found peace in words from the Lord’s Prayer, “…Give us this day our daily bread.”

Today, as you or those close to you face hardships—especially lasting ones—spend time centering your heart by trusting God to provide the daily bread of his love and presence today. Acknowledge your need for God and remember his promise to work in all things (even pain) for his glory and your good.

As Roberta encourages, hold out your hands, palms open, and pray: “Give me this day my daily bread.”

Find encouragement through Joni’s Daily Devotional

MORE RESOURCES:

• Facing Trials with Joy: Cancer and Beyond
• Diagnosed with Breast Cancer: Life After Shock

KEY QUESTIONS:

• How has God worked in your life during a season of suffering?
• Knowing that God sees you and loves you, what struggle can you bring before him today, trusting him to work in it for your good and his glory?
• Who in your life needs someone to see them through God’s eyes? Take a moment to check on the person or people who come to mind.

KEY SCRIPTURES:

• Esther 4:14: “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
• Genesis 16:13: “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’”
• Matthew 6:11: “Give us today our daily bread.”

You make this podcast possible! Thank you for your support.

Find all podcast resources and message our team.

Follow Joni and Friends on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.

Roberta Dunn has been active in the disability community as an advocate and parent leader since the birth of her twins more than 30 years ago. Sharing insights and challenging misperceptions of disability, Roberta has spoken nationally, regionally, locally—and across the coffee table—with thousands of parents, professionals, and individuals experiencing disability.

Learn how to advocate for inclusion in your church and community!

KEY QUESTIONS:

• What’s one thing in your life that you “just can’t handle”? Ask God to meet you in this pain point and show you the way forward.
• Look around your church or neighborhood… who in your midst needs help or encouragement today?
• What is your mission (as a Christ-follower, daughter/son, parent, friend)? Write it down and lift it up in prayer.

KEY SCRIPTURES:

• James 1:2–4: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
• Proverbs 3:5–6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

You make this podcast possible! Thank you for your support.

Find all podcast resources and message our team.

Follow Joni and Friends on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, we provide Christ-centered care through Joni's House, Wheels for the World, Retreats and Getaways, and disability ministry training.

Find more encouragement on Joni Eareckson Tada's Sharing Hope podcast and her daily devotional.