Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast

“I don’t understand why all these hard things keep happening, and sometimes I wonder why God doesn’t just fix it. But I have to trust that he is doing something bigger… and one day we’ll see it.” When Vaneetha Risner’s infant son died due to a doctor’s error, she felt devoid of purpose and feeling. Hadn’t she suffered enough? Multiple childhood hospitalizations due to polio, years of being bullied...

It’s not that she’s not grieving, it’s that she’s put her hope in someone that won’t disappoint. Something greater is happening in her grief. On our last episode of the podcast , Bekah Bowman shared about finding beauty and goodness in the middle of unthinkable loss. As a coach's wife and mother to two young boys, Titus and Ely, Bekah served as a children's pastor and teacher until Batten disease...

How do you stay grounded when your life path takes an unexpected turn? Is it possible to hold pain in one hand and joy in the other? This week on the podcast, Bekah Bowman is sharing her journey of finding beauty and goodness amid unthinkable loss and grief. Bekah is a coach's wife and mother to two boys, Titus and Ely. She served as a children's pastor and teacher until Batten disease came knocki...

More than one billion people live with disability worldwide, and COVID-19 has only aggravated their struggles. Hunger, unemployment, and lack of medical care have left many people in need of hope. This week on the podcast, we’re kicking off season 3 with a special conversation between Crystal Keating and Founder of Joni and Friends, Joni Eareckson Tada. Listen as they discuss the staggering needs...

We’re so excited to kick off season 3 of the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast! Over this past year, we’ve all faced unexpected changes, many leading to uncertainty about health, employment, and caregiving. And throughout the pandemic, Joni and Friends has heard from many struggling with loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Aren’t we all in need of real hope?  This season on the podcast, Crystal K...

“ Around the world, one of the biggest challenges people living with disabilities are facing is access to services…they’re being left behind.” While the global impact of COVID-19 has distressed communities around the world, people living with disability have been hit the hardest. Shutdowns have impacted workforces, transportation systems, and supply chains creating serious consequences, especially...

“COVID-19 has not stopped us from sharing the love of Jesus.” During the pandemic, Joni and Friends has been hard at work finding creative ways to serve families living with disability. In Louisiana where multiple hurricanes have pounded the state, our team has been able to support people who have faced critical challenges, even beyond the restrictions of COVID-19. Today on the podcast, Leslie Doz...

“Lament is simply pouring out your anxieties and pain to God…in the expectation that God hears you and He is willing to do something about it.” 2020 has been a year of heightened heartache. Unpredictable circumstances, isolation, and extreme loss have left many people wondering how to process their grief through the lens of Scripture, and in relationship to God’s goodness and sovereignty.   This w...

"What God gives us in suffering is more than he takes away." Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. In and out of the hospital for ten years, she faced bullying after each hospital stay. When she became a Christian, Vaneetha thought things would get easier, and for a time they did: carefree college days, a dream job in Boston, and an M...

“God is sovereign and still good. Even when I think we are in some sort of holding pattern, He always makes a way through.” At just 18 years old, Mireille Blanchard developed a severe blood clotting disorder that was unknowingly triggered by her acne medication. When ER doctors discovered more than 36 blood clots lighting up the scan of her lungs, Mireille wasn’t sure if she would live to see the...

“Troubled times causes great anxiety in our hearts... It reveals our weakness and false hopes. It can lead us to desperation, but it can also turn us toward God and teach us where to find real food for our souls.” Has the isolation and anxiety of the past few months caused you to become COVID-weary? As we approach winter, many people are battling lethargy, malaise, and depression. During this prol...

“Be honest with your emotions. Ask for help. A diagnosis is a detour, a change in the map. It’s not the end of the map. It’s a new journey to a different destination.” How do you cope when you are faced with an unexpected diagnosis or a sudden life-altering disability? What do friends and family members need to understand about how their loved ones might be feeling as they learn to live with a new...

"When you’re not sure what to offer, your very presence can be a gift." People of all abilities need community, a place to fully belong and share our gifts with others. But loneliness, especially exaggerated by the isolation of COVID-19, is one of the difficult realities faced by many adults with disabilities. Today on the podcast, Crystal is talking with author and educator Jenny Hill. Born with...

"Marriage is hard, but it's not too difficult for God to make it work."  Even the best marriages require intentional effort to thrive. So, what happens when a relationship is complicated by dwarfism, discord, and discrimination? Last week, Angela Muir Van Etten talked with Crystal about her passion for raising awareness and advocating for people with dwarfism and disability. Today, Angela is back...

"When something is happening that shouldn't be, you look around and think, 'Who’s going to do something?' It's then you realize, 'God’s given me the skills to do this.'" Do you feel compelled to take action when you encounter ignorance and inequity? For Angela Muir Van Etten, she has made it her lifelong mission to raise awareness and advocate for people with dwarfism and disability. Standing at t...

Thank you for listening to this special message from Joni Eareckson Tada.   We know this season of isolation has not been easy for families impacted by disability. The pandemic has challenged us to find new ways to serve families like yours. So now, want to hear from you!   We have created a brief survey so that we can better understand how to serve you and other families dealing with the same rea...

“Suffering can feel like a darkness that blinds us to God’s presence. In the dark, you can stand next to someone and not even know they are there. Suffering can do that to us spiritually. Although God is always close by, we can feel alone.” What do you do when you beg God to help you and it seems like nothing changes? You ask for relief, but circumstances remain overwhelming. You plead for reasons...

It’s amazing how heavy the weight of emptiness can feel, and how much room something that isn’t even there can take up in our souls. Whether due to loneliness, disappointment, loss, or even a search for purpose, emptiness can seem like our greatest problem. But that’s not how God sees it! When God looks into the empty places of our lives, he sees his greatest opportunity. This week on the podcast,...

“If you want to understand how to be more inclusive, get to know someone with disabilities. Get out of your comfort zone.” Last week on the podcast, Joshua Fast shared about raising Malakai , his 6-year old son who was born prematurely and diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy and cerebral palsy. But for Joshua and his wife Nicole, it was during Malakai’s 4-month hospital stay that they saw their chur...

When Joshua and Nicole Fast became pregnant with their son Malakai, they were thrilled to be growing their family. But when Malakai was born prematurely and diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy and cerebral palsy, they struggled to understand what life would look like for their son and their family.  “What are we going to do?”  Today on the podcast, Crystal is talking with Joshua about the joy that M...

“You may think, ‘I’m ok. I’m going to sit here and watch the news over and over again,” but it’s affecting your entire body… When our spirit dips into God’s Word, it redirects the mind and the body; there is calmness, goodness, peace, and even health.” Did you know that fear can impact your whole body? What you think and what you speak can actually alter your body physiologically. So, what are the...

“Perseverance is so key. It means staying the course, not deviating, holding fast…and especially remaining patient. Patience over time leads to perseverance. And perseverance leads to character.” When it comes to character-building, wouldn’t we all love to have a quick fix? But that’s not the way God works. It is a slow process. Through a series of small victories in suffering, our perseverance is...

“We have the hope of heaven, something bigger… so we don’t grieve and sit in fear. We refocus our hearts on God and what he has promised us.” August is Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Awareness Month! Today on the podcast Crystal is talking with her good friend, Tracey Motoda, about SMA and how this rare genetic disease impacts Tracey’s everyday life.  During these past few months of uncertainty, Jo...

“You may feel alone, like you shouldn’t talk about what is going on, but the worst thing you can do it isolate yourself… When you’re honest and vulnerable, it’s incredible how many places it will take you.” Previously on the podcast, Kimberli West talked about her unexpected battle with invisible chronic illness. She shared how she’s seen God’s hand at work in her hardship. As a young woman with a...

“I used to say to God, ‘Why me? Why did this happen to me?’ as most people do, but now I have changed that to ‘Why did he choose this for my life to live out his purpose? Why am I special?’” Kimberli West was young and always on the go until unexpected illness upended her life. After ignoring her subtle symptoms, Kimberli's wake-up call came when she found herself passed out in the emergency room....