Joni and Friends shares encouraging conversations about finding hope through your hardships, along with practical ways to include people with disabilities in your church and community.
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Season Six Finale: Saying Goodbye to Host Crystal Keating
Season 6 · Episode 32
Thursday, December 26, 2024 • Duration 39:56
Crystal Keating has been part of Joni and Friends for over ten years helping the ministry answer thousands of calls, letters, and messages about disability, sharing resources, and holding fast to hope in Jesus through life’s greatest hardships. Her prayer for the Ministry Podcast is that each conversation will help listeners and their loved ones “bear much fruit” (John 15:8) in acts of love throughout the disability community.
In what new ways can your church and community welcome, include, and love people with disabilities?
Times of transition can be difficult—how can you trust God and put your hope in him as you face a new beginning or a bittersweet ending?
What hope for the future has God placed on your heart?
KEY SCRIPTURES:
Philippians 1:3–6: “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
John 15:8: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Finding The Spirit of the Season: A Christmas Special with Joni Eareckson Tada
Season 6 · Episode 31
Thursday, December 19, 2024 • Duration 28:19
Do you find yourself feeling nostalgic, wistful, or drained going into Christmas? Perhaps frustrated, frantic, or lonely? Joni knows well that Christmas time doesn’t automatically induce joy, especially as you grapple with the challenges of disability, grief, or other hardships. This is why she invites you to think deeply about Christ’s coming, and his death on the cross, meditating on what this salvation message means to you personally. Because gratitude will prepare your heart to find joy and fulfillment in Christ’s coming, bringing light into the darkness, and joy that transcends the deepest of pain.
Who in your life could use a word of encouragement this season?
What (or whom) are you most grateful for today? Stop to give God thanks!
KEY SCRIPTURE:
Take time to read and meditate on the promises found in Isaiah 9:6–7:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
The Call to Care for Vulnerable Foster Children
Season 6 · Episode 22
Thursday, October 17, 2024 • Duration 29:49
Stacy DeWitt is the Executive Director of James Storehouse, a community-based non-profit established in 2012. She works daily with an outstanding volunteer team to meet emergency needs to help expedite cases and ease transitions for children and families. By offering essential support to foster children—including those with disabilities—James Storehouse helps to break multi-generational cycles of abuse, neglect, and poverty.
Stacy is bilingual and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts/ Spanish. She has done graduate work at California Lutheran University and Fuller Theological Seminary. Stacy has three children ranging in age from fourteen to twenty-four. She is also an adoptive mother and has had the great joy of being a foster mother as well. She considers it the highest honor to fight for justice and to be a strong voice for the voiceless and most vulnerable in her community.
Located in Newbury Park, California, James Storehouse partners with local public and private child welfare agencies. From cribs to college, James Storehouse supports children in foster care, youth aging-out of foster care, children who have been commercially sexually exploited, children “at-risk” of removal, and all their caregiving families. The organization has received commendations from Los Angeles County and Ventura County recognizing its service to the child-welfare community.
What are the most pressing needs facing foster children, especially those with disabilities?
How can we, as Christians, respond to the needs of vulnerable children?
What can the church do to support foster children with disabilities?
KEY SCRIPTURES:
Psalm 82:3–4: “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Designed to Heal – Dr. Cymbeline Culiat
Season 3 · Episode 31
Thursday, September 16, 2021 • Duration 25:14
“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, Repairing Relationships, and Restoring Community.
Listen as Dr. Culiat provides a fascinating look at how the restorative processes of our physical bodies provide a model for healing the painful wounds of broken relationships and divided communities, including wounds within the church. Discover practical ways to address the need for reconciliation, wholeness, and function in our relationships with God, with one another, and within our communities.
*Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Join us in answering the call in Luke 14:21-23... until his house is full!
Founded by author and international disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada, the ministry provides Christ-centered care that serves needs and transforms hearts through Joni's House, , and . Joni and Friends also equips individuals and churches with and provides higher education courses and through the . Find more encouragement through , , or by following us on , , and .
How a Wheelchair Has Taken Me Places I Never Dared to Imagine – Jenny Smith
Season 3 · Episode 30
Thursday, September 9, 2021 • Duration 27:00
"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 basic needs, privacy and independence seemed like things of the past. But Jenny refused to give up, and over time she discovered that a wheelchair could take her places she’d never dared to imagine. This week on the podcast, listen as Jenny shares how you can live the impossible, even when life doesn’t go as planned.
*Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Join us in answering the call in Luke 14:21-23... until his house is full!
Founded by author and international disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada, the ministry provides Christ-centered care that serves needs and transforms hearts through Joni's House, , and . Joni and Friends also equips individuals and churches with and provides higher education courses and through the . Find more encouragement through , , or by following us on , , and .
Fueled by Faith – Vicki Zoradi
Season 3 · Episode 29
Thursday, September 2, 2021 • Duration 21:00
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 prosthetic arms and legs, she is returning to share about God’s enduring love through loss and grief.
*Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Join us in answering the call in Luke 14:21-23... until his house is full!
Founded by author and international disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada, the ministry provides Christ-centered care that serves needs and transforms hearts through Joni's House, , and . Joni and Friends also equips individuals and churches with and provides higher education courses and through the . Find more encouragement through , , or by following us on , , and
Tested by Fire – Vicki Zoradi
Season 3 · Episode 28
Thursday, August 26, 2021 • Duration 25:28
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 the odds and surviving 35 days in the Intensive Care Unit, inadequate blood supply to her extremities caused her to lose both of her hands and feet.
Now, fitted with prosthetic arms and legs, Vicki is joining Crystal on the podcast for a two-part conversation about her miraculous story of loss and hope.
*Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Join us in answering the call in Luke 14:21-23... until his house is full!
Founded by author and international disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada, the ministry provides Christ-centered care that serves needs and transforms hearts through , , and . Joni and Friends also equips individuals and churches with and provides higher education courses and through the . Find more encouragement through , , or by following us on , , and
Singing in the Dark – Ginny Owens
Season 3 · Episode 27
Thursday, August 19, 2021 • Duration 16:51
“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 week on the podcast, singer-songwriter and author Ginny Owens who has been blind since the age of three is back to shine light on finding hope through life's dark and challenging circumstances. Listen as she offers practical ways to cultivate rest in a busy world and tells of the spiritual power and perspective she’s found in the songs of scripture.
Learn powerful ways of drawing closer to God through music and prayer in Ginny's new book, Singing in the Dark, and accompanying EP, Sing Hope in the Darkness. Order your copy.
*Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. in Luke 14:21-23... until his house is full!
Pursuing Contentment – Ginny Owens
Season 3 · Episode 26
Thursday, August 12, 2021 • Duration 20:25
“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 approach to music and writing that have a way of helping us see more clearly and find hope in suffering. This week on the podcast, she is sharing about pursuing contentment as you live by faith and not by sight. After facing several harrowing struggles in her own life, Ginny discovered a deep contentment that changed her perspective on her challenges. Because although you don’t always get to choose your circumstances, you do get to choose the story your life tells.
“It is in the darkness that we learn who we are, and most importantly, we learn who God is.”
Learn powerful ways of drawing closer to God through music and prayer in Ginny's new book, Singing in the Dark, and accompanying EP, Sing Hope in the Darkness. Order your copy.
*Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Join us in answering the call in Luke 14:21-23... until his house is full!
Founded by author and international disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada, the ministry provides Christ-centered care that serves needs and transforms hearts through , , and . Joni and Friends also equips individuals and churches with and provides higher education courses and through the . Find more encouragement through , , or by following us on , , and
Mental Health Challenges and Belonging in the Body of Christ – Dr. John Swinton
Season 3 · Episode 25
Thursday, August 5, 2021 • Duration 21:24
"What does the church bring to the table? We specialize in love and human kindness, manifested in Christ-like friendships."
This week, Dr. Swinton is returning to expand on how the body of Christ can create a community of belonging for those facing mental health challenges. He offers up new ways of seeing one another in which difference and disability are embraced as a valid way of being fully human and fully alive to the possibilities of God. Because when we view each person as a unique individual, rather than defining someone by their diagnosis, we can create an environment of friendship and belonging.
“When Jesus, who is God, sits in the margins with those who are marginalized, the margins change.”
James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
*Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Join us in answering the call in Luke 14:21-23... until his house is full!
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