Spiritual Self-Care
Spiritual self-care is about infusing your personal beliefs and values into your life. Some examples include: soaking up nature, mindfulness, prayer, journaling, enjoying solitude, talking about end-of-life wishes, expressing gratitude, and attending a retreat.
Podcast Episodes
Hope for Caregivers
Meet Peter Rosenberger, who has been a family caregiver for over 38 years for a spouse with severe disabilities. Peter is fluent in the language of caregiver and has navigated a medical nightmare that has mushroomed to 85+ major operations—including the amputation of both of his wife Gracie’s legs below the knee. In this episode, Peter recounts his experience attempting to admit himself to a mental hospital, discusses why caregiving shouldn’t hinder us from embracing life, shares his strategies for finding moments of stillness and pursuing energizing hobbies, and outlines how he spreads hope among caregivers.
Healing Powers of Nature
Lisa Nigro describes herself as an ordinary woman with an extraordinary spirit. Before becoming a full-time caregiver in 2015, she was a community activist serving the poor, and undervalued living in Chicago. Currently, she is the full-time caregiver of her adult son, Nick, who on October 31, 2015, suffered a heart attack at home from a virus and became brain injured and fully disabled. In this episode we discuss the parallels of Lisa working with the homeless and caring for Nick, how being non-verbal doesn’t mean non-communicative, the challenges in finding quality respite care, gratitude pumpkins, pizza gardens, and more!
Everything You Want to Know About Hospice
Most people run away from the topics of death and dying but Registered Nurse and family caregiver Barbara Karnes runs toward it. She’s a quoted expert in many national media publications and has been awarded the NHPCO Innovator award for her decades as an end-of-life educator. She is a pioneer in the hospice industry and the author of what is referred to as “the little blue hospice book”. In this episode, we talk about all things related to hospice and end of life. We dispel the popular myths, define the terms, and find out why Barbara continues to make this her life’s work.
- A Faith Based Ministry – Sheila Welch
- Staying Present – Beth Scibienski
- Yoga4Caregivers – Ellen and Jennifer
- The Death Positive Movement – Cassidy Bastien
- Mindfulness & Meditation – Elizabeth Miller
- A Spiritual Journey – Deb Kelsey Davis
Articles
From Our Gift Shop
Books for Inspiration & Healing
Create Your Zen
- Just for You: a Daily Self-Care Journal by Elizabeth Miller
- Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
- Hope for the Caregiver: Encouraging Words to Strengthen our Spirit by Peter Rosenberger
- Good Grief by Granger E. Westberg
- Jesus Calling daily devotional by Sarah Young
- Grief Survivor 28 Steps Toward Hope and Healing by Beth Marshall
- Caregiver Jar Inserts
- Magnetic Poetry
- Inspirational Watercolor
- Five Wishes Advance Directive
Other Spiritual Caregiving & Self-Care Resources
- The Conversation Project – Request a free conversation starter kit on how to talk to your loved ones about their desires for end-of-life care.
- National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) – Learn more about your palliative care and hospice options.
- Nourish for Caregivers – The Caregiving Wisdom Series (Elizabeth’s topic: Family Dynamics)
- Share this action plan with your faith community to develop a caregiving ministry
- The Scripture Store – Memorize, Wear, and Share the Gospel