No matter how long you've been a caregiver, you can probably think back to times when you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God gave you strength. Here in Isaiah 49:5, Isaiah says, my God has given me strength. (NLT) I've often wondered how people who do not know or trust in God walk through seasons like this. For me, God has been my constant confidant. A confidant is more than a good friend. It's someone you can trust with everything. And we know that God sees everything. He knows everything  - and still chooses to hang around. LOL.  Early on, I realized that I couldn't find strength in any other source. People tried to encourage me, and just as many walked away, unsure of how to help or what to do. There were a few who directly or indirectly acted like I had no faith or this wouldn't have happened.  I'll admit that at first I struggled a lot with questions like, Where is God, now? I really had trusted Him with my kids, and it looked like and felt like He...

Family caregivers often carry a quiet load: steady caregiving responsibilities, constant decisions, and the emotional stressors that come with loving someone who needs ongoing help. Caregiver stress challenges can show up as irritability, numbness, guilt, worry, or a shaky sense of faith when there’s no room left to breathe. When every day feels urgent, rest can start to feel selfish, and support can feel out of reach. Naming this pressure matters because the importance of stress management isn’t about doing more; it’s about staying well enough to keep showing up with patience, clarity, and hope. Understanding What’s Driving Your Caregiver Stress It helps to put a clear name to what’s weighing you down. Caregiver stress often comes from a few repeat sources: time getting squeezed, emotions running on empty, too little help, and the early signs of burnout. This matters because stress relief works better when it matches the real problem. If your strain is mostly scheduling and coor...

Get used to Isaiah 49, I feel like camping here for a while! LOL. Even though Isaiah mentions how God has made his words of judgment like a sharp sword, he also realizes the loving care of Father God. In yesterday's blog, Before Before ,  we talked about how God saw and called Isaiah while he was still in the womb. That's some serious forethought, huh?  In verse two, Isaiah says that God has hidden me in the shadow of His hand.  (NLT) As a prophet, Isaiah knows his call is to proclaim the words of God. Sometimes those are judgment calls, sometimes not so much. Ultimately, even when proclaiming impending judgment (Ninevah and Jonah), the call is for people to repent. God's ultimate desire is for us to return to Him.   This is what caught my attention in this chapter. God's talking to His people, heart-to-heart, and He is offering hope right in the middle of their struggles. (Boy, that sounds familiar, now!) It's easy to read the Old Testament and picture God as a har...

 The Old Testament sometimes gets a bad rap. Maybe it's because we don't always see the thread of grace that runs through it. I mean, some of those OT prophets can seem a bit harsh, asking people to repent and all. But even in the midst of what seems legalistic, if we look a little deeper, we'll find God's grace actively at work. Recently, I found myself in Isaiah 49. I have it all marked up, with several things specifically underlined and outlined in the chapter. I couldn't believe there was so much grace shining through these verses. If you have a minute, go read the whole chapter. We're going to walk through it for the next few days. In the first two verses, Isaiah acknowledges that God knew and called him from the womb. We can draw a parallel here to Psalm 139, where David talks about how God watched us form in the womb. Isaiah got that too! I love that Isaiah adds a more personal flair by saying, from within the womb, He called me by name.  What a great pic...

  Ever hear the phrase, gracefully broken? Yeah? That's not me. Oh, I can put on a front so no one knows or sees how shattered my heart and emotions are - but I'm not so graceful sometimes. As caregivers, we never know what is going to come at us any given day. And while I know that I have HIS all-sufficient grace  for each and every day, I don't always handle things in a super graceful way. One little hiccup, and I lose it. It can be anything! Literally! From spilled coffee (hey, that's serious!) to unwashed dishes waiting for their turn in the dishwasher. Little things from not being able to find the perfect temperature to bigger things like heart attacks can send my emotions off and leave me trying to reel them back in. I've laughed about struggling to open a trash bag. Hey, the struggle is real!  The frustrations often come from feelings of brokenness. My outbursts indicate that I am "not-so-gracefully" broken at times. But what I love about God is tha...

                         Ever have those times when you feel all puttered out ? For me, it can happen at any time with no warning at all. I can be rocking along, getting things done, and BAM! It seems like all of a sudden, my emotions are spent. I'm mentally drained, and I need a lifelong nap. It feels like I am living Psalm 62:3... So many enemies against one person! And all of them are trying to kill me! (My loose translation!) Overwhelm is real for caregivers. Sometimes, it feels like it's mid-afternoon before we can take a deep breath. Just caregiving can be overwhelming, but then there are the dishes, the laundry, meal prep, and daily household tasks that take an extra toll, besides taking care of another whole human being. And then if the caregiver works at another job, even if it's at home...it all stacks up. Until we are all puttered out. I'm glad for this description David gives us in Psalm 62. He had ph...