Hope for the Caregiver

While in Ghana with our prosthetic limb outreach, Standing With Hope, Gracie and I visited a church in the port city of Tema. Following the service, I met a tall, impressive man wearing a flowing white traditional costume with gold trim. With a thick English/Ghanian accent, I heard him introduce himself as “…de King,’ Amos.” Never meeting a king, I felt a bit tongue-tied and stammered, “Sir, I apologize – I don’t know how to properly address you.” With a huge smile, he offered in his deep...

Sometimes, we're faced with such difficult circumstances - and it's hard to know how to respond. A woman asked Gracie and me what to do when her son chose to be transgendered - and was angry with her for keeping pictures of him as a boy in her home. I discuss a couple of these in my recent broadcast (9/17/2022)

My friend Susanne White joined the program to discuss her new book: Self-Care for Caregivers. From Susanne's site www.caregiverwarrior.com "As one Caregiver Warrior to another, I offer advice, helpful tips, and strategies based on the experience, strength, and hope I found while surviving my own caregiving journey. It has become my mission to share my stories and the things I learned about being an empowered caregiver. To help spread the word and offer guidance to other caregivers, I have...

Tom and Amanda Dwyer called the program to discuss their new documentary about a caregiving family titled "UNSEEN." https://www.facebook.com/caregiverdoc https://www.instagram.com/caregiverdoc/ About the “Unseen” Documentary www.caregiverdoc.com The film follows Jess and Ryan Ronne, a blended family with 8 children, including Lucas, who has profound disabilities requiring total care. Their situation has gotten more and more challenging as Lucas gets older and stronger. With limited...

Fly the Plane. Work the Problem Several pilots I know express a standard command often given to less experienced pilots. "Fly the plane, work the problem." The context involves pilots who fixate on a problem like a storm, console light, or other issues. Riveting one's eyes on a single point to the exclusion of the bigger picture can quickly result in disastrous outcomes – especially when piloting an aircraft. The crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 on December 29, 1972, caused 101...

Dr. Betsy McCaughey chairs the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths - and she joined the program to share their work and ways for patients (and their caregivers) to reduce their risk of contracting infections while in the hospital, assisted care, rehab, or other institutional care facilities. With Gracie's medical history spanning nearly 40 years and containing more than 80 operations, we've lost track of how many days she (and I) spent in hospitals. But we can count the infections Gracie...

You ever struggle to hold your tongue while answering questions at the doctor's office? Gracie's been treated by more than 100 physicians - and we've had our share of exasperating and hilarious moments. In this episode from the broadcast, I share one that fits both categories! Then I follow it up with the 3 P's to use when dealing with physicians. For more, visit www.hopeforthecaregiver.com

If caregivers mapped out a decision tree for our daily lives, it would look like a forest. Each day we’re faced with numerous choices – and most seem filled with unpleasant outcomes. Sometimes the decisions before us have a paralyzing effect, and we don’t know what to do next. In those moments, we serve ourselves well to choose the next right thing as our action step. The big problems become more approachable when our heads and hearts calm down. For that to happen, our decisions...

I met Jon and Cindi Hampshire more than 40 years ago at Columbia Bible College (Now Columbia International University). https://www.ciu.edu/ The Hampshires work for Wycliffe Bible Translators and have served the Democratic Republic of Congo for 30+ years. They didn't know it, but I based much of my outreach to caregivers on their model at Wycliffe Bible Translators. I invited them to the program to share their life, work, and journey of trusting God - even when they lost everything when...

From Asia to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and beyond, the global persecution of Christians becomes more ominous with every passing year. Author Lela Gilbert called the program to discuss her new book, Heroic Faith Hope Amid Global Persecution. The book’s true stories of courage, persistence, and faithfulness offer inspiration and hope. Heroic Faith also provides insights into the ideologies behind hostility and persecution, what steps the US government might take to assist, and how...

Every caregiver - and I do mean EVERY caregiver will struggle with what I call the "3 I's." We lose our independence, we become isolated, and we lose our identity. During my ten years on the air, I've discussed these things often - and felt a refresher for myself was in order. I go into further detail in my book Hope for the Caregiver. www.hopeforthecaregiver.com/books Please share this episode with as many as possible ...all too many caregivers struggle in isolation, and this episode...

Before the famous altercation with Goliath, when David expressed anger at the blasphemous giant, one of his embarrassed older brothers camped at the battle scene furiously derided him. But King Saul heard about David, and astonishingly, the king allowed the teenager to fight Goliath. Saul even put his tunic and armor on him. Saul was a tall man, but David wasn't, and the king's armor didn't fit. Struggling to function in the ill-fitting battle garb, David removed it and faced Goliath his way...

My longtime friend, Lynn Vander Woude Aho joined me from across the world in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga. She regularly listens to the program there and uses information from this program to help caregivers in Tonga. As she shares her heart and passion for ministry and missions, I am confident you will be touched and inspired by Lynn's story

Known around the country as "The Christian Car Guy," Robbie Dilmore called the show and shared his caregiving experiences with his mother-in-law. As he and his wife continue to grow closer through this process, he credits their common adversary: His alcoholic and abusive mother-in-law. Sharing how they cope and even thrive, Robbie then donned his "Christian Car Guy" hat to give great tips on increasing fuel efficiency. Even when gas - hopefully- returns to sane prices, these tips apply all...

In trauma, the clock is the adversary, but in caregiving, it's the calendar. While emergencies demand an immediate response, quick actions for caregivers often result in several battles on multiple fronts. Nothing stretches a caregiver too thin like rushing to a crisis- while already embroiled in one. "Oh, yes, my friend, you would have fought very bravely and died very quickly." - Don Diego to Alejandro in The Mask of Zorro. In the long journey of caregiving, caregivers benefit from...

This question is often asked of me. Many think because they are a parent, then they're a caregiver. Nurses, CNAs, and other medical personnel - are family caregivers, right? In this opening monologue from August 6, 2022, we discuss this issue. First and foremost, family caregivers don't receive a paycheck. Then, there are other significant differences. www.hopeforthecaregiver.com

A frustration point for many family caregivers lies in unmet expectations, hopes, and dreams. We often visualize what could be – but choices beyond our control are roadblocks. Ashamedly, I admit to trying to force solutions on more than one occasion – only to frustrate myself, my wife, and who knows how many others. Letting go of those hopes and expectations, however, can be painful. Over the last few years, I’ve tried a different approach. In my mind, I envision a rather large box that I...

Drawing upon nearly 50 years as a teaching pastor and 25+ years as a caregiver, Rob Morgan brings a wealth of understanding and experience to today's challenging issues. Following the death of his wife, Rob candidly shares his thoughts and experiences while anchoring himself and others in the Scripture. Teaching on the book of Revelation, Rob recently authored THE 50 FINAL EVENTS IN WORLD HISTORY. In this new book, Rob shares how he draws encouragement from this book that confuses and even...

In the 1985 Western Silverado, Sheriff John Langston (played by British actor John Cleese) obligingly led a posse after two brothers following the breakout of one from the town jail. While chasing the men (whose crimes were questionable), the posse rounded a bend to unexpected gunfire from one of the brothers' companions. As his deputy urged them to push on by yelling, "… they're almost out of our jurisdiction," a bullet clipped the sheriff's hat and sent it flying. Turning his horse...

From our July 16, 2022 program. Have you ever had someone say something strange, insensitive, or even weird to you - and a flood of responses immediately filled your mind? Sometimes, we save ourselves from unnecessary drama when we "bite our tongues and learn to like the taste of blood!" But it can torque our brain to do so ...doesn't it? Who knows, though - we may get a funny story out of it that brings laughter years later.