Bluestem Project

"I would rather have cerebral palsy and know Jesus, than have legs that worked and spend my life running away from him." Diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, Paul has persevered through progressive disability, overcome countless surgeries, and remains enduring chronic fatigue and pain. His life is marred by challenges and limitations. Paul's burdens are great and God has met him in his...

Medical hardships can leave us feeling crushed on every side. No matter where you turn, you're up against it all. Hard to catch your breath at the onslaught of challenges. What's more, maybe you're misunderstood and even wrongly accused while you endure relentless suffering. When it seems everywhere you turn is an uphill battle, you are not alone. In what looks to the world like the weakest, most...

No one deserved to suffer less, yet no one has suffered more. The scene is familiar. Despite familiarity, the scene is jarring. Jesus brutally mocked, mistreated, and ridiculed so that we wouldn't have to be. Jesus endured an unjust penalty so we can escape a just penalty. He was not helpless, it was with incredible strength and great restraint that Jesus willfully surrendered his life to these ev...

Every human heart has the same themes/fears deeply rooted that echo in our veins. We seek justice and compassion. When those things go awry, there is outcry. Jesus, the God man, perfect in every way stood before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, and experienced the most severe wrongful conviction case known to mankind. Jesus endured the greatest injustice the world has ever known. Jesus suffered...

Jesus persevered throughout relentless suffering from each generation of authority in his lifetime. Hate for Jesus was passed on from father to son, and within marriages, as though it was a badge of honor to disregard and oppose Jesus. He faced constant opposition yet faithfully and fearlessly remained steadfast, even while enemies bonded over their hate for him. Jesus endured so that we might hav...

From the very beginning of Jesus' life, those in high positions of authority felt threatened by him. Jesus, infant baby Jesus, born as the light of the world, had a target on his back and Herod attempted to extinguish this light while he was yet a small candle flicker before he had burst into glorious blaze. God the Father protects His beloved son through extravagant means (power over dreams, mira...

"Just because they carry it well, doesn't mean its' not heavy." To walk the medical journey is nothing short of hard and heavy. It is an upheaval to life physically, emotionally, and mentally. Despite how well someone appears to walk the medically challenging or special needs road the Lord has laid out of them, it is unbearable alone. As families in the throws of medical hardship and special needs...

There are countless times along the journey in medical hardship and special needs that can feel like we are sprinting a marathon. How are we to endure as the journey wages on? Might we find our hope in Christ alone. May his life, of one who endured much, be cause for our own endurance. He alone endows our suffering with transcendent meaning and purpose. Let us fix our eyes on His reward (looking t...

Misunderstood. Misperceived. Mislabeled. How painful it is to fall into these camps. Jesus knows, too. Jesus had a very specific mission and the rejection in it. He came to seek, serve, and save the very people that ridiculed him and misbelieved. Might we find our hope in Christ alone. May his life, of one who endured much, be cause for our own endurance. He alone endows our suffering with transce...

Rest is one of the most neglected concepts to live out. It can seem elusive, unnecessary, or even impossible to find rest. So how can we look to God to provide this rest? Can He truly provide physical, spiritual, emotional rest for our weary souls? Join the conversation as Brandon takes us from Old Testament to New Testament to hear how God takes care of His people by graciously and generously pro...

After the tragic loss of his son, Troy shares vulnerably and honestly about the reality of grief being a life-long process stating "we grieve deeply because we love deeply." Listen in to be encouraged as Troy takes us on a journey to see God's sweet sovereign hand in details even before his shocking loss and how he responded to a very piercing question, "Am I going to allow this pain to make me be...

Like a marathon, or even an ultra marathon, training can make things more bearable. The preparing for and certainly the aftermath of the loss of a child is a marathon. You may never be ready but possibly better prepared. A significant aspect to consider, is that God himself had a son die so he knows. He understands in His sovereignty but also experientially as a father, what it is to lose a child....

Can you ever be "ready" to endure the loss of a loved one? We would suggest not, but there are ways we can be better prepared. When we look to certain passages of scripture, such as the whole of Job's story, we can see that the authors of scripture are not far removed from this kind of heartache from loss. Job 1:21 says "...the Lord gave and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord." How can th...

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why doesn't God stop or end evil and suffering right now? When we wrestle with these questions we are forced to wrestle with truly believing God for who He is. He is all loving. He is all powerful. He is omniscient. Join in on the philosophical argument to sift through some of these challenging questions many of us find our minds wandering to at some point...

How you and I choose to live, how we react to situations reveals what we believe at the deepest level. Not much else in life surfaces what we believe at the deepest level than hardship. Hardship can be a crucible that often surfaces the "where is God when bad things happen?" on a personal level. Wrestling with this question can either deepen one's faith in the Lord or pull us away if we are misgui...

In this emotional and pain-filled story of grief and tragedy from the unexpected loss of a child we hear about a peace that surpasses all understanding. The Junglings' story is one filled with decisions no parent ever imagines having to make, a rollercoaster of emotions that reveal themselves in times of loss, and a sure and steady hope that only makes sense in Christ. Listen in to hear how they h...

"Gather" A simple word that carries much weight. A word so esteemed it's everywhere in home decor and is especially desired when holidays are here. A deep, God-given longing to come together with loved ones to celebrate and feast. So what happens when you aren't able to be together? How should we handle the disappointment that holidays can't be what we long for them to be? Where do we look when ho...

Individuals and families caring for individuals with special needs feel the depths of loneliness to a high degree. Covid culture has surfaced this reality for even more people, exposing and exaggerating how no one is a stranger to loneliness. Jesus was no stranger to loneliness, either. He experienced and endured the deepest level of loneliness SO THAT you and I might not have to. Join the convers...

As a Division 1 college athlete, Hunter Pinke was riding high on what the world raves as "having it all." But a skiing accident causes this D1 tight-end to suffer a severe spinal cord injury resulting in severe paralysis which ultimately leaves him wondering "why me" to "why NOT me?" Hunter's story is a story of great loss and an even greater hope. His mountaintop miracle is one that is sure to en...

Emotions are deep and unknown, they can even be complete chaos. It can be challenging and weighty to "enter in" with those enduring heavy burdens. Yet we must get over ourselves and enter in. We must put ourselves second. But we also caution against over empathizing. How do we find the balance and what does the Bible say?

Grieving and suffering people are fragile. Even with our best intensions we have all stuck our foot in our mouths. We've said stupid things or we've been on the receiving end of stupid things said to us. So we're going there. We are jumping into the awkward for the sake of suffering people. Join us as we navigate the ditches we can all err on either side of the road of someone journeying through m...

A hospital bill for thousands of dollars. A second opinion that confirms a bleak prognosis. A sudden and drastic change to life as you know it from an accident. A surgery that didn't go as planned. A loss of a loved one. How can gratitude be possible when the weight of the world seems to be crushing you? Hear from our guest, Chaplain Bruce Nelson, as he shares how grief can be a catalyst for grati...

What happens after death? How can we be certain? Why does out view of what happens after death matter? Christianity says we are eternal beings with the vast majority of our eternal life being spent beyond our time on earth as we know it. What we believe about this Jesus is crucial and makes all the difference for what we can anticipate for life after death.

Joy is knowing, trusting, and delighting in God. It is deep and can be sustained beyond circumstances, but how? Scripture is chalk full of passages on joy as a command and a work of His Spirit within his children. So how does this really work itself out when life feels impossible?

God is at work in all things. We live under an illusion of control, when really we control so little. God's glory and goodness is what all things point to, whether we choose to acknowledge that truth or not. In all things, our circumstances are opportunities to demonstrate His worthiness to the world. We are wired for meaning and purpose, so what is the meaning and purpose behind medical hardship...