Ellen Stumbo
-
When Your Child Is Depressed
My daughter is only 8 years old, and she has clinical depression. It was not shocking to hear the therapist say it after a long process of evaluations, but it was still hard to hear. She’s so young. What did I do wrong? Is it my fault? Is she not happy with our family? Did …
-
A Surprising Lesson From a Child With a Disability
“When you say,” my friend asked, “that God has worked in your life because of your kids with special needs, what exactly do you mean by that?” “Yes, let me try to explain. … I don’t just know about the fruit of the Spirit, I get to experience them. It’s like I was right there …
A Surprising Lesson From a Child With a Disability Read More »
-
Moms: Don’t Ignore These Signs You Need a Break
One at a time! And you, stop pulling on your sister! Who let the dog out! How many times do I have to say that if the dog is outside you have to ask if he can come back in! No, I said one at a time, I cannot listen to two people at the …
Moms: Don’t Ignore These Signs You Need a Break Read More »
-
What to Do When Life Feels Like More Than You Can Handle
When my daughter was born with Down syndrome I felt devastated about her diagnosis. I cried constantly, and I struggled to find hope as I pictured our lives in the days, months and years to come. One night, as I climbed into bed, I turned to my husband who was ready to go to sleep. …
What to Do When Life Feels Like More Than You Can Handle Read More »
-
Why We Don’t Like to Admit Our Sin One to Another
For a couple of years, “finding beauty in brokenness” has been my tagline, my motto. The problem with brokenness is that some people identify with it while others find it offensive. Much of my writing is about disability, and I can understand how someone unfamiliar with my writing would mistakenly think I am referring to …
Why We Don’t Like to Admit Our Sin One to Another Read More »
-
When Children Pay For Our Success
I am guilty of pursuing other endeavors outside my home. I can get passionate about other things besides my children, but it simply is not worth it. I get tired and bogged down by the daily chores in my home. The laundry, dishes, groceries, and meals. A constant song of “I want,” “I need” “Help me,” …
-
How Christians Should Respond to Kids With Mental Health Issues
A 7-year-old shouldn’t need to see a therapist because of a struggle with low self-esteem or because they feel lonely even when they are fiercely loved by their family or feel like they hate themselves or have a constant self-dialogue that says, “Nobody likes you. You’re a dummy.” But mental health issues are as real …
How Christians Should Respond to Kids With Mental Health Issues Read More »
-
How God Sent a Divine Airport Connection
Sweat drenched my back under a heavy winter coat; a weighty and oversized backpack hung on my back, a child was strapped on my front, and I tightly gripped a large suitcase. Amidst morning breath and a hint of coffee, a crowd of Ukrainians yelled furiously around me at the Lufthansa service window, where we …
-
Where Churches and Disability Meet
One of the greatest passions in my life is to see the church embrace adults and children with disabilities—not out of pity or out of service but out of a genuine understanding, acceptance and celebration of their life. This church, this body of Christ—with all of its broken pieces along with its many gifts and …
-
The Group Forgotten by the Church
I consider it an honor to be a pastor’s wife. It is a privilege to be allowed into people’s lives: their hurt, pain, devastation, joy, celebration, transformation. This church, this body of Christ—with all of its broken pieces along with its many gifts and talents—is beautiful. But it can also be so ignorant that it …
-
God Wants to Come to Your Rescue
Life can be hard. Broken relationships, unemployment, loss, grief, illness. As I parent two children with special needs, there are seasons in life where the health concerns, the doctor appointments, the therapy sessions, the delays, the sensory issues or the lack of understanding from friends and family overwhelm me. Some days, it might even …
-
Make One Resolution – Live Intentionally
We want to lose weight, to exercise, run a 5K, a half marathon. We want to wake up earlier, go to bed earlier, get more sleep. We want to eat healthier, cut down on fast food, discover delicious recipes that even the kids will love. We want to stop smoking, or drinking, or binge …
-
How Did I End Up Here?
The associate pastor walked into our house with his wife and oldest son. I could tell right away they felt uncomfortable. They were poor, barely making ends meet. Although we were not a rich family—and my parents would have also agreed we were barely making ends meet—the difference between the poor and the middle class …
-
Living the Contradiction
If you walked into my church today, most likely you will feel uncomfortable. We have a large sanctuary that sits around 300 people, but we have only 30 people in the pews. It feels a little empty. I can’t let go. We know how our church looks from the outside, and we know …
-
Confessions of a Pastor’s Wife: You Don’t Have to be Super-Spiritual to Talk to Me
Life is messy. In the middle of the joy, celebration and goodness of life, there are strokes of pain, loss, heartache, foolish choices, unrealized dreams and wrecked relationships. I call this brokenness. And I like broken people because broken is real, and there is beauty in brokenness. I don’t want to pretend life is …
Confessions of a Pastor’s Wife: You Don’t Have to be Super-Spiritual to Talk to Me Read More »
Recent Posts
- Tampa Church Baptizes Nearly 1,000 People on the Beach: ‘There is A Wave of Revival Coming’
- Morning Rundown: Cahn Addresses Mental Wellness Amid MacArthur Backlash
- 7 Numbers That Clearly Reveal The Direction That America Has Chosen
- Seeking the Holy Spirit in Your Silence
- Larry Tomczak’s Week in Review: 6 Areas Where US Is Reaping What We’re Sowing