Gather the Outcasts

Since the very young age of 19, my life has been anything but normal. If you are new here, my daughter Vaeh was born in 2006 with Down syndrome. Having my daughter changed all that I deemed as normal. Sure, there were major life changes that required a huge adjustment in how I did life, but there were so many little things that nobody could have possibly prepared me for. You have to learn to walk slower. You have to get use to carrying five bags with you everywhere you go. You realize how little trust you have in doctors and school systems. And did you know those little plastic bags in hospitals that hold your wet umbrella make excellent balloons? Lots of little things you learn as you go that you wish someone would have told you. Maybe life would have been a little bit easier. But for my journey, I was not awarded the luxury of preparation.   The word prepare is used 159 times in the Old and New Testament. We can point to several stories in the bible about God preparing a thi...

I feel like a warning label should be added here in this moment. Hello my name is Breona Ball. I am crazy. I am very passionate. I am very real and I use a lot of exclamation points and capitals (because there is NO OTHER WAY to live life!) 😂 Authenticity This is a word that has been tumbling around in my spirit like a wobbling weeble! IT WAS KINDOF MAKING ME NAUSEOUS!! What does it mean to be authentic? Am I my authentic self? How am I supposed to answer these questions?  So for the passed few weeks God has been dealing with me. He has opened this well of questions that have made me examine myself in ever aspect of my life. However, the one that started it all is, ARE YOU BEING TRULY AUTHENTIC!!? Hearing this question in my spirit was like getting hit in the face by a bag of nickels by your best friend! It hurt... It was hard... Its left some bruises... It was super confusing... And just being real it made me a bit angry! However once I stepped back and actually paid attention th...

Written by special guest Blogger: Josh Walriven Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it. Father’s do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. I can remember the day I became a father. I can remember holding that beautiful princess for the very first time. I can remember all the promises that I made to her. I meant every one of them, but…. I have failed in holding to those promises.  A lot of those promises were the normal phrases and promises we make as a new father. I will never let anyone hurt you, I will always be there for you, I will always provide everything you need. The reality is that these promises are not realistic.  One of the major struggles as a father is living up to the societal expectations that are placed on you. We often don’t think of peer pressure being a struggle with adults, especially the masculine, tough fathers that we are to be. A struggle for...

I failed again. I lost my temper. I can't even tell you how many times I've done it this week alone. I'm trying to be more patient and understanding but the stress I feel keeps building over and over until I emotionally erupt. I saw the pain in my children's faces as I yelled. I failed again. I told my wife I'd finish hanging those pictures and get the new light installed in the living room.  It's all still sitting on the floor where I left it yesterday. I just feel so tired that I don't want to get up and do it. Tired all the time. I shouldn't feel like this. At least I don't think I'm supposed to. I failed again. I hate this cycle and I want to change. I have so much I need to do. I have to provide and protect and support and coach and build and play and know and be strong and be soft and wrestle and hug and affirm and coach and lift up and maintain and stay steady and be stable and cool and calm and collected and fit and healthy and dashing an...

  Written By Special Guest Blogger: Jessica Walriven So I was asked, well maybe I volunteered myself, to team with Felicia on the topic of the struggles of being a mother. So many things came to mind when we decided on this topic. As a mother I could speak on the joys of hearing your child’s laughter, the peace you get when all of your kids are safe and home together under one roof after a long busy week. I could speak about the pride you have when your child gets Student of the Week. On an on! However, I don’t feel like that is where God is wanting me to take this. It's easy to speak about all the good. Let’s be real, there is so much happiness being a mother brings you. I want to speak about the struggles we have as mothers. I can only speak on my own personal struggles and hope that at some point you can look at this and relate. I pray it encourages you, that you are not alone, and we are all in this together. Failure Motherhood started for me after what felt like a billion year...

My family and I are currently in a difficult time in life. In 2018, we started noticing some “red flags” with my father. He wasn’t acting like himself. His behavior seemed very off. Some of the things he would say wouldn’t make any sense. He became paranoid, anxious, and off-balanced. By the end of that year, we would have an answer to all of this odd behavior. My father had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was in the beginning stages of fighting a very tough battle. Over the course of the next few months, the word “stages” was thrown around a lot. It was important for us to monitor symptoms of this disease since the onset of these symptoms would measure what stage he was in. Within Parkinson’s, there are four stages. Naturally, he started out at Stage 1. As years went on, I found myself obsessed with measuring the stages. With every new symptom, I became worried that he would progress into other stage, leaving my family and me with less and less time. With Parkinson’s, he c...