Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast

Claire Walker was a varsity basketball player making plans for college when health challenges radically altered her life. After a routine oral surgery, a strep throat virus entered her bloodstream and began wreaking havoc in her nervous system. Claire began to faint almost daily whether standing, sitting, or walking, and suddenly had to exchange her active lifestyle for the safety of a wheelchair....

“The deepest transformations in our lives actually happen from some of our deepest woundings…good healing happens in community.” What can the body’s healing process show us about repairing relational wounds? This week on the podcast Crystal is joined by Dr. Cymbeline T. Culiat, a scientist, entrepreneur, and co-author of the new book Designed to Heal: What the Body Shows Us about Healing Wounds, R...

"When everything around me was changing, I knew that God wasn’t going to change. Without that truth, I don’t know where I would be today.” Jenny Smith was a typical teenager—a gymnast who loved makeup, played in a band, and was active in her church youth group. But at 16 years old, she sustained a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the chest down. Now relying on others for her most ba...

On our last episode of the podcast , Vicki Zoradi shared the miraculous story of how God carried her through a life-threatening battle with severe septic shock. Although medical professionals gave her virtually no chance to live, God had a different plan.  But despite beating the odds, inadequate blood supply to her extremities caused Vicki to lose both of her hands and feet. Now, fitted with pros...

On her 60th birthday, shortly after receiving a Teacher of the Year award, Vicki Zoradi was diagnosed with an innocuous kidney stone. When the kidney stone became lodged between her bladder and kidney, she was rushed back to the hospital 36 hours later in severe septic shock. Medical professionals gave Vicki virtually no chance to live, but God had a different plan. Despite miraculously beating th...

“Songs are our portable theology… There’s something about the way music gets into our hearts and minds that's different than all other mediums of communication." We all experience darkness. Perhaps darkness has come for you in the form of a painful loss, a chronic illness, deep loneliness, or perpetual anxiety. Because we are all human, we understand what it means to battle with darkness.  This we...

“The bigger our vision of Jesus and the more confidence we have in who he is, the more our circumstances pale in comparison.”  Is it possible to be content in any situation? When faced with circumstances outside your control, it can be easy to feel lost and hopeless. But you are part of a bigger story, and you have a purpose. Blind since age three, singer-songwriter Ginny Owens has a unique approa...

"What does the church bring to the table? We specialize in love and human kindness, manifested in Christ-like friendships." Previously on the podcast, Dr. John Swinton shared how stigma affects those struggling with their mental health . During this insightful conversation, he shared practical ways to love our neighbors well.  This week, Dr. Swinton is returning to expand on how the body of Christ...

“First recognize the person before you for who they are in Christ, not because of what they are going through… When a diagnosis is all you see, that’s when problems begin.” How do stigma and the language we use affect those struggling with mental health? This week on the podcast, Dr. John Swinton is joining Crystal to discuss faith, mental health, and how to love our neighbors well.  Listen as he...

This week on the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast, find encouragement from three couples you'll recognize from previous episodes of the show. Discover the importance of good communication, respect, and gratitude in a marriage, especially when a disability is involved. Mike and Tracey Motoda: When Tracey met Mike nearly 2 decades ago, she told him, "I use a wheelchair to get around, but I don't le...

“My pain does overtake me. But even when it does, God is still there.” In 2017, Heather Hart felt like she was on top of the world. She was leading a women’s Bible study at her church and fulfilling her passion for writing. She was loving Jesus and living life to the fullest! Then one summer day, a migraine changed her life. Over the past four years, through numerous hospital visits, tests, and me...

“I can’t get through each day without Jesus. If I can’t do anything else because my head hurts too bad, it doesn’t hurt so bad that I can’t cling to him.” Over the past 4 years, Heather Hart has enjoyed only one day without a migraine. As an active mother of 5, her life turned upside down in 2017 when her head began to hurt, and she was hospitalized with meningitis. But when her meningitis cleared...

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." –Revelation 21:4 This week on the podcast, we are wrapping up our 3-episode Q&A series with Jenny Hill. Living with cerebral palsy, Jenny has shared about how to navigate painful situations and where to find hope in the midst of loneliness . Today, Jenn...

“There is a difference between isolation and loneliness. Isolation is when you are physically separated from everybody else, but loneliness can be most felt sometimes when you are with other people.”  As we continue our Q&A series on the podcast, Jenny Hill who lives with cerebral palsy is returning to answer questions about coping with loneliness and finding your hope in Christ. We all understand...

“Looking at another person can be a very hurtful experience or a very welcoming, affirming experience. We have a choice of what role we want to play in that.” During our third season of the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast, we’ve invited listeners to send in your questions about disability-related topics and etiquette. Today we are kicking off a special 3-part Q&A series with Jenny Hill who joine...

“It’s about being a light for the next person, realizing that my troubles will bless somebody one day.” Robert was an active college student when an unknown virus caused a bilateral stroke that left him suddenly paralyzed and unable to speak. Previously on the podcast,  Robert and Nelly Kapen shared their powerful story of God’s provision through quadriplegia, recovery, and marriage. But as naviga...

Robert Kapen was an athletic college student studying Parks and Rec and working part-time at an outdoor Young Life camp when his life turned upside down. In the summer of 2011, a mystery virus caused a bilateral stroke that left him suddenly paralyzed and unable to speak. With his mind fully functioning but no ability to move or communicate verbally, Robert felt trapped in his own body. Over the n...

Like most young women, Stephanie Magness wanted to be like everyone else; she wanted to fit in with her classmates and have fun at school. But when she learned in 7th grade that she had scoliosis, she was taken on an unexpected decade-long journey of misdiagnosis. At age 22 genetic testing confirmed that Stephanie’s symptoms were caused by Friedrich’s ataxia (FA), a rare neurodegenerative disease...

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." – 2 Corinthians 3:17 Today marks the 70th annual National Day of Prayer. As people across the country set aside time to intercede for our nation, Joni and Friends is leading this special time of prayer under the theme “Lord Pour Out Your Love, Life, and Liberty.” On this episode of the podcast, we invite you to pr...

"It might not be physical, but God has healing for you. Press into that healing journey and see what it looks like for you. Then surrender the results to God.” On our last episode of the podcast, Tera Bradham DeNeui shared about how her swimming trajectory dramatically shifted after she suffered an undiagnosed shoulder injury. Instead of training to reach the Olympics, Tera walked through seven ch...

"God completely changed my life through pain. I ended up finding true freedom which is not being bound by the world’s circumstances… God doesn’t waste pain, but we have to give it to him." This week on the podcast Crystal is talking with inspiring speaker and author Tera Bradham DeNeui. As one of the fastest 12-year-old swimmers in the country, Tera had her sights set on competing in the Olympics....

“Dystonia is like being imprisoned in a body with a mind of its own… but I wouldn’t trade the hardest times for the deep relationship I have gained with the Lord.”  This week Crystal is talking with Abigail Brown, a young woman who lives with joy in Christ as she faces the challenges and limitations of dystonia. As a 3-year-old, Abigail contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever which was misdiagnose...

“It’s been my hope and my desire for Max to be a mighty man of God... and that’s exactly what God has done." How do family dynamics shift when a child with autism becomes an adult? For special needs parents, worry about your child’s future can begin at any age. What will happen when my child ages out of the school system? How will they transition to adult services, college, or work? This week on t...

April is Autism Awareness Month and we’re celebrating with a special podcast conversation featuring author and speaker Emily Colson.  Emily and her 30-year-old son Max who lives with autism are on a heart-filled mission for you! Like many families living with disability, their world shifted in an instant when the pandemic shut down all systems of support. But as they faced a new normal during a ch...

How can the church best walk alongside someone living with a chronic illness? Jennifer Ji-Hye Ko is a writer and poet who has remained tenacious amid her various physical and mental illnesses. She joined Crystal on season 2 of the podcast to talk about the healing process of lament , and is returning to share about her relationship with the church as she lives with chronic conditions. The needs of...