Hope Heals Board Retreat
I have the great honor of serving on the Board of Hope Heals. What a gift to spend 36 hours with these fellow Board members as well as members of…
World Down Syndrome Day 2024
Happy World Down Syndrome Day! Our daughter Penny is 18, and we join thousands of other people around the globe who want to raise awareness about Down syndrome today. First,…
S7 E 12 | Reimagining Church Leadership and Disability with Andrew Draper
Apple YouTube Spotify More! Why does it matter that most churches don’t welcome people with disabilities in leadership? If a church excludes people with disabilities, is it really a church?…
Why Our Down Syndrome Clinic Appointment Is Worth It
Once a year, Penny and I travel to see a specialist and his team at the Down syndrome clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital. Every year, I wonder whether it will…
Christianity Today: God Teaches Me Through My Daughter with Down Syndrome
Adults with intellectual disabilities can have robust spiritual lives. Are we learning from them? Every Sunday afternoon, my daughter and I join a Zoom call with her friend and her…
Homecoming and Belonging
As a mother of a child with a disability, school events can be rough. I’m talking about everything from dances to sports to eating lunch in the cafeteria. I don’t…
Hope Moments: Living Out the Way of Jesus
I want to tell you about every moment from Hope Heals camp. But even with all my words and stories, and even with Ashley Monogue’s gorgeous photography (montage below), and…
Photo by Ashley Monogue
Hope Heals: Everyone Lifted Up
In typical American life, some people win and others lose. Some people get the award and others get no recognition. Some people are considered better than others. It’s not that…
Camp PALS and Belonging
Penny sent me a text on her first night of Camp PALS: “With my favorite girl at my favorite place.” The next day, the text read, “Best year ever.” Penny…
Inclusion vs the Real World
I’ve had to learn not to sacrifice our daughter on the altar of my ideology. When Penny was a toddler, I read an article about a teenager with Down syndrome…
