Take Heart

In part one of this three-part series, Amy, Sara, and Carrie share their experiences with therapy or counseling. They discuss how they began going to therapy, how each has personally benefited, what they’ve learned practically, and how it has helped them see themselves in a more compassionate and life-giving way. 

Ep. 118; March 7, 2023

Key Moments:
[2:12] Why & When To Begin Therapy
[7:54] Valued Benefits 
[8:10} Prioritizing Feelings
[10:17] Ignoring Depression

Resources:
The Allender Center
The Allender Center Podcast
Healing Care Ministries
Resilient: Chapter 8 (Reference to living in the shallows)

If you enjoyed the show:

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

The statistics are staggering. 90% of families with special needs feel ignored, unwelcomed, or devalued in churches. This is a huge number, and it shows how much work needs to be done to make churches more inclusive. The overall feeling of special needs families is that they want to feel wanted, accepted, and seen. Carrie, Amy, and Sara discuss the experiences of special needs families and how churches can change. Through church education, accommodations, and empathy, families could feel welcomed and cared for.

Ep. 117; February 28, 2023

Key Moments:
[4:37] Encouraging adoption, but unwilling to deal with traumatized kids
[7:16] Churches aren’t ADA-compliant, and it’s apparent to us 
[12:55] The parents and those who have disabilities are the experts; ask us!
[18:29] Kids with hidden disabilities and/or trauma need a point person and kindness, not judgment
[23:33] Advocate for their child inside the walls of their church
[38:47] Things the church has done well

Resources:
Episode 113: Interview with Amber Reynolds
Ep. 88: Interview with Barb Stanley
Wonderful Works Ministry
SOAR

If you enjoyed the show:

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

Today, Sara shares how you, as a special needs mom, can help your family and friends learn how to support you. She shares the hardships that special needs families face on a daily basis. She stresses the importance of listening and asking appropriate (not intrusive) questions to understand better what a special needs family is going through. She emphasizes encouraging the family rather than pitying them and shares examples from her life as an example of what NOT to do. She gives helpful ideas for making special needs children and moms feel wanted and included. This is a fabulous episode if you are a friend of a special needs mom who wants to do better but doesn’t know how. 

February 21, 2023; Ep. 116

Key Moments:
[1:02] Acknowledge that the special needs family life is hard
[2:27]  We don’t have the luxury of turning hardships off
[3:30] Do research on the child’s deficit so you can know more
[5:00] Be curious and ask questions but not intrusive ones
[7:26] Offer to spend time with the child, to get to know him
[9:03] Ask, “How can I help you?” not “Can I help you?”

Support the show

If you enjoyed the show:

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

No matter what stage of the journey a special needs mom is in, from the initial diagnosis to hospital stays to on-going medical/emotional support, it is important to remember that they need love and support. Carrie gives very practical ideas on how you can support a special needs mom through the stages of their child’s life.

February 14, 2023; Ep. 115

Key Moments:
[1:36] Practical ways to support a special needs mom
[2:31]  Fear that people are going to get tired of your neediness
[3:18]Initial diagnosis
[4:28]Child-growth chaos
[5:26] Hospital stays and lots of them
[9:34] Through the school years
[11:24]Check on the moms with teenagers

Resources

• How to Help When You Don’t Know What To Do by Tricia Lott Williford

If you enjoyed the show:

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

As a special needs mom, it can be difficult to feel understood and supported. Strangers don’t know us and our lives, and even those closest to us can miss the mark. This can be especially true when it comes to family members. We want them to understand our situation and be helpful, but their attempts to support us often make us feel more alone. Amy shares some great ideas and mindset shifts that will help us understand how to navigate these situations.

February 7, 2023; Ep. 114

Key Moments:

[2:53] A change in mindset
[5:07]  Starts with setting a boundary
[7:14] If you're a family member of a special needs family
[10:51]  Prayer of St. Francis

Resources

• Prayer of St. Francis

If you enjoyed the show:

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

Today, we have an interview with Amber Reynolds. Amber is married to her college sweetheart, Chris, and they live on a farm in northwest Illinois with three children. Their children came to them through foster care and adoption. Amber talks about the isolation of people not understanding trauma, ways to care for your mental health, the importance of her marriage, and letting go of how you come to God.

January 31, 2023; Ep. 113

Show Links:

• Amber Reynolds IG
• She Reads Truth

Show Takeaways: 

• [11:12] Amber encourages foster, adoptive, and special needs moms. 
• [13:57] Hear how Amber cares for her own mental health and her kids. 
• [17:09] Discover her wise perspective regarding marriage and parenting. 
• [22:19] The Lord will fill your cup

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

The messages we hear about perseverance can feel so cliche when in reality, it can be challenging to persist through hard times. On this episode of Take Heart, Sara, Carrie, and Amy discuss their stories and perspectives of perseverance with children with disabilities, how to find a balance to persevere longer and what they have learned about it along their motherhood journeys. This is an insightful and refreshing conversation about how to know when to persevere and when to put in helpful boundaries, among other practical and life-giving advice! 

Ep. 112; January 24, 2023

Show Takeaways: 

• [5:50] Consequences of not persevering?
• [13:53] When pushing through is a detriment to your health and the relationships around you. 
• [33:15] Listen in to explore where perseverance truly comes from.

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

There have probably been times you have persevered and were disappointed with the stress you felt, the way you responded, and its impact on those around you. What does it mean to persevere with grace? What could it look like to put yourself in a position to care for yourself and others, supported by a loving God, to handle your season gracefully? Listen to today’s episode with Sara, who reflects on gracious perseverance and how we can have more of it, especially as a mom with kids with disabilities. 

January 17, 2023; Ep. 111

Show Links:

• https://www.dictionary.com/browse/perseverance 

Show Takeaways: 

• [1:03] Discover the two parts of perseverance
• [4:29] Listen in to hear how God comes in as we persevere and His grace for us.
• [6:07] Learn what it means to evaluate your circumstances, making it possible to persevere with grace.

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

Did you know that the desire for a good, calm life has been built into us by God? Sometimes that desire seems easier to reach when we cope with temporary pleasures. What do we do when we are tired, traumatized, and feel like we're done with life? Listen to this episode of Take Heart as Carrie speaks to the small ways we persevere with Jesus instead of trying to fill that need ourselves and what the big picture looks like with God in the center. 

January 10, 2023; Ep. 110

Show Links:

• Resilient by John Eldredge
• Don’t Lose Heart by Steven Curtis Chapman
• Mercy Me’s Album Always Only Jesus
• Scripture mentioned: II Corinthians 4

Show Takeaways: 

• [3:41] What does it mean to persevere?
• [8:18] Learn about small choices you can make in your ‘unconverted places’ to give us perseverance when you need it most.
• [9:06] Speaking truth to our hearts daily.

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

How do you keep going when life is relentlessly hard? What can be done to persevere when the diets, exercise, and ‘better’ systems have not succeeded? Listen in as Amy shares some well-earned advice she has learned through her journey. Learn to change HOW you persevere through the ups and downs of parenting a child with disabilities or behavioral needs. 

January 3, 2023; Ep. #109

Show Links:

• Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer  
• J.R. Briggs
• Scripture mentioned: Psalm 13

Show Takeaways: 

• [3:40] Strategies for pressing forward and resetting ideals for home and family.
• [6:08] Discover what it means to ‘lengthen the pause’ and how it can give you the freedom you have been searching for!
• [8:51] The power of lament, and its connection to perseverance

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime