Parenting comes with both struggles and joy. For parents that have children with disabilities, those joys may look different. This week we are joined by Jim and Faith Schneider as well as Wendi Rawls. These parents share their unique insight into their families and help us learn more about the many blessings their children have brought into their lives.
Resources
Turning Disability into Opportunity part 1
Life is momentarily turned upside for families who have a member born with a disability. But these families quickly realize that many blessings come with the unexpected.
Turning Disability into Opportunity part 2
In part two of this two-part episode, Brad interviews Mary Verdi Fletcher, the founder of the Dancing Wheels Company. Mary has been living with spina bifida all of her life, but she didn’t let her disability detract from her dream of becoming a dancer. She started the nation’s first integrated dance company and today they travel all around the world giving unique and inspiring performances.
VCY America
VCY America seeks to advance the gospel thru every legitimate means. The history of VCY has been described as God’s Continuing Miracle.
Among our ministries, most people are familiar with our broadcast outreaches. At the urging of three teenagers, a 30 minute radio program in 1961 under the direction of Vic Eliason grew into a 24/7 radio station, WVCY-FM.
Today, under Executive Director Jim Schneider, the VCY America Radio Network features solid Biblical teaching programs, live call-in programs on issues of concern to the Christian community, news and commentary, children’s programs, and conservative, uplifting Christian music.
Mentors Making a Difference
No parent ever wants to hear that their child has been diagnosed with special needs. At that moment, a mother and father are at their most vulnerable. This critical time will inevitably shape the future of their lives. In cases of a prenatal diagnosis, what happens next can mean the difference between life and death.
Melissa Thomason is using her life experience to help others in a mentoring program through the National Down Syndrome Society. The program matches parents who have just learned their baby has a Down syndrome diagnosis with an experienced Down syndrome parent. They’re able to ask questions about what to expect, the impact it’s had on their family and how they coped with the diagnosis. Mentoring cuts through the medical theory and replaces it with the reality of a family who’s actually living through the same situation. It gives hope, rather than fear.
Special Inventions for Special Needs
There’s a special place in my heart for those with special needs. I’m always in awe of the blessings they bring to everyone they encounter. Yet, I’m also keenly aware that the challenges their families face are very real. Everyday tasks that we take for granted are often far more complicated for them. In spite of the difficulties, they find innovative ways to adjust and adapt. Today, I’m going to share three extraordinary inventions that are changing lives for those living with disabilities and helping to mainstream them into everyday society. This, I believe, helps to counter the misguided reaction of abortion when preborn babies are diagnosed with disabilities.
Field of Miracles
After retiring to his hometown of Pittsburgh, Sean and his wife founded an organization called Casey’s Clubhouse to help fundraising efforts to build a Miracle League Field for special needs kids in Pittsburgh. The field opened this past summer and has become a special addition to the city.
These 5 Words Help the Abortion
Engrained in the pro-abortion culture is a mindset that believes some lives are more valued than others. What’s dangerous is how this belief can permeate our culture in such subtle and covert ways. Sometimes we don’t even realize it. And there’s one phrase in particular that seems innocent, but can actually be a gateway into abortion.
National Disability Independence Day
Today is National Disability Independence Day. It celebrates the signing of the Americans with Disability Act over three decades ago. The law protects those with disabilities from discrimination and assures them to be full participants in the community. But the Americans with Disability Act neglects one segment of society that needs these protections more than anyone else.
Guests
Jim and Faith Schneider are the parents of 4 children and grandparents of 14. Their youngest child Matthew who turns 30 later this year was diagnosed with a genetic disorder, Angelman Syndrome when he was just over two years old. While Jim serves as the Executive Director of VCY America, Faith is a housewife and in-home care provider for their son.
Wendi Rawls met her future husband Tyler in 2009. They were married in 2011. Together, they have 3 boys, Jaxon (11), Camdyn (9), and Brysen (5). Wendi serves a s Missions Associate for SaveOne; an abortion recovery ministry for men, women and families. The Rawls Family is affectionately known by their community as the “Rowdy Rawls” because you hear them before you see them! God is using this family in a powerful way and they pray that their lives will impact many with the testimony of God’s goodness and faithfulness in their life.
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