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Rising Above Ministries is lifting up the special needs community through support, encouragement, inspiration, and community.
Episodes
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
About Evana
Evana is a wife and mother of two children. In May, she and her husband celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary. Her son, Elijah, is 11 years old and plays guitar. Her daughter, Jaycee, is 15 years old. Jaycee has Down syndrome and several health conditions affecting her heart and lungs. Evana has written about her family's experiences and thoughts about faith on her blog, A Special Purposed Life, and her book, Badges of Motherhood, which is available on Amazon.
Evana is also a pediatric speech-language pathologist. She has a private practice in Illinois. Evana serves in her local church as the co-director of the special needs ministry.
Related Links
We would love to have you at our By the Brook virtual retreat. Sign up to join us on June 25-26: www.risingaboveministries.org/bythebrook
Tuesday Jun 08, 2021
Tuesday Jun 08, 2021
Take a moment and hear a conversation between our speakers for By the Brook 2021! You will be blessed by their heart for special-needs moms and be able to hear just a taste of what we have in store for this event!
This event is only $10 for a whole weekend of encouragement and hope! You can attend virtually or at one our host sites! Learn more about By the Brook Virtual 2021 here: www.risingaboveministries.org/bythebrook
Get to know our speakers better by listening to their individual podcast interviews:
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
Rosie Howes has been a part of Rising Above Ministries for several years now, as we first met her through her son, Hyrum. In this episode, Rosie shares about the loss of their sweet boy and how she has dealt with the grief that has followed.
We are excited to announce that Rosie, along with Becky, will be leading a group for parents who have lost a child with special needs. We look forward to having conversations that encourage one another and deal with topics that those walking through grief understand. If you are a parent who has lost a child with special needs, we would love for you to join the group by signing up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nxzkE4rADgyycT0WjpsMnvjba3qH2DlikdmhLG4ZoRA/edit?ts=60ad0ed2
Tuesday May 25, 2021
Tuesday May 25, 2021
About Tonya
Tonya Nash is Board President and founder of the Autism Faith Network. She started this ministry after discovering that many churches struggle with ministering to those with autism and their families. The goal of this new nonprofit organization is to educate churches about autism and promote awareness, acceptance, and inclusion. Since 2016, the Autism Faith Network has served over 35 churches, with thousands of people learning about autism at their place of worship. In 2017, the network received Honorable Mention at the Patient’s View Impact Awards.
Promoting awareness and advocacy is not new for Tonya. She is a public health consultant and has worked in the field for over 18 years. She is passionate about advocating for underserved communities and communicating health information in a way that people from all backgrounds can understand. She has participated in numerous podcasts, speaking engagements, conferences, webinars and panels designed to educate, advocate and inspire audiences from diverse backgrounds.
Tonya and her husband Jamie have two amazing sons. Both boys have been diagnosed with autism and her youngest son was recently diagnosed with epilepsy. Tonya enjoys connecting with and encouraging parents of children with disabilities.
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Tuesday May 18, 2021
Tuesday May 18, 2021
About Jenn
Jenn Soehnlin is a mother to two boys who are precious blessings and who both have special needs. She is the author of Embracing This Special Life: Learning to Flourish as a Mother of a Child with Special Needs. She writes about faith, praying Scripture, and special needs parenting at www.embracing.life.
Related Links
Jenn's Website
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Mara Camacho is a dear friend of Rising Above and is a solo parent in Boston. She shares from her heart during this episode on what has given her hope as she raises two boys, one who has special needs. We are thankful for her willingness to share with us!
Find out more about By the Brook 2021!
Tuesday May 04, 2021
Tuesday May 04, 2021
About John
John Felageller has spent over 15 years in education, working with children from Infants to Middle School, serving in a variety of roles including Teacher, Mentor Teacher, School Director and Non Profit ManagerJohn lives in Highwood, IL, and is a single father to his son Christopher (AS), and is currently a special education teacher in Chicago, IL. He is a regular contributor to Key Ministry’s Special Needs Family blog, as well as other special needs blogs including Hope Anew and The Mighty.
Related Links
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
Tuesday Apr 27, 2021
This week, our team at Rising Above experienced the loss of our good friend and Rising Above Volunteer, Tracy Alexander. Enjoy remembering back with us to our "friend chat" from By the Brook 2019 as we discuss the value of friends to the special-needs mom.
Tuesday Apr 20, 2021
Tuesday Apr 20, 2021
About Kim
Kim Albrecht is a southerner transplanted to California via the Midwest along with her husband and 2 teenage daughters, the oldest of which has level 3 non-speaking autism.
She hosts the award winning LOMAH Special Needs Podcast, where over 100 expert guests have been interviewed on topics relevant to planning the future for teens and young adults with disabilities. The show deep dives into a single issue for 12 episodes and has covered disability housing, transitioning from school to adult services, financial planning, safety, technology, health, and more.
When not in the trenches of parenting, you can find her hunting sea glass, hiking a trail, or on instagram as @journey2lomah.
Related Links
IG: @journey2lomah
Website: lomah.org
Tuesday Apr 13, 2021
Tuesday Apr 13, 2021
About Sara
Sara is a special needs mom, wife, organization guru, writer, podcaster, and speaker. She knows first-hand the overwhelm of being a special needs mom and that the supports we often search for are hard to find or don’t exist.
Sara's passion is to help equip other special needs moms for a life they most likely weren’t prepared for so she can focus on what matters. She loves walking alongside other moms who may feel isolated, fearful and defeated; eventually arriving at a place of community, feeling heard & seen, and ultimately a place of authentic joy.
Saraclime.com is a place where she shares her years of experience and unique skills navigating the special needs world. She has first-hand experience knowing that by implementing practical tools to deal with the daily grind of special needs parenting, you create margin for what really matters.
Sara believes that a debilitating diagnosis does not need to be a debilitating life.
Favorite Quotes
“Is my faith foundational or is my faith fluff?” -Sara
“I realized that I’m so busy standing with my fists up…that the only thing they see is my back.” -Sara
“It’s not being thankful for your circumstances, it’s rejoicing in them.” -Sara
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