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Welcome back to Fierce Calling! In today’s episode, host Doris Swift sits down with Jessica Ronne—author, speaker, caregiver advocate, and founder of the Lucas Project—for an inspiring conversation about faith, resilience, and answering God’s call in the midst of life’s biggest challenges. Jessica opens up about her lifelong journey as a caregiver, from growing up as the eldest of twelve siblings to raising a blended family of eight children, including her son Lucas who has profound disabilities.

Jessica shares how her experiences of navigating personal loss, blending families, and caring for a child with special needs have shaped her calling to support caregivers and create real solutions through initiatives like the Lucas Project and her work as an author and documentary producer. Together, they discuss the importance of giving yourself permission to feel all the complex emotions that come with caregiving, the holy and transformative nature of serving others, and practical ways to support families facing these unique challenges.

Whether you’re a caregiver yourself, know someone who is, or simply want to understand what it means to walk in faith and fierce compassion, this episode is packed with encouragement, wisdom, and actionable insights. Get ready to rediscover joy, find community, and learn how God meets us—and uses us—in every season of life.

Episode Takeaways …

• Permission to Feel: Jessica opens up about the reality of caregiving—how it’s okay to admit feelings of grief, resentment, or overwhelm, and how naming those feelings is the first step toward healing.
• Finding Holy Purpose: She beautifully reframes caregiving as “holy work,” reminding us that as we care for those who can’t care for themselves, we reflect the heart of Christ.
• Blended Family Wisdom: Jessica and her husband blended families after losing their spouses. She shares practical, honest advice for navigating new relationships, grief, and all the “stuff” that comes with starting over.
• Practical Help for Caregivers: Learn about the power of presence, the need for respite, and practical ways to support families—like bringing a meal (pro tip: offer easy choices like tacos or lasagna!).
• Resources You Can Use Today:
  • The Lucas Project provides respite and resources for parent caregivers
  • The Coffee with Caregivers podcast for ongoing encouragement
  • Caregivers Cove Facebook support group (2,200+ members!)
  • Two documentaries: Unseen and the upcoming Uncertain
  • Jessica’s books: Caregiving with Grit and Grace, Sunlight Burning at Midnight, Blended with Grit and Grace, and more

Episode Highlights

06:38 Lifelong Caregiver Journey

08:38 “Author’s Journey and Family Life”

10:39 “Blending Families: Grace and Grit”

16:30 Permission to Feel in Caregiving

20:18 “Founding the Lucas Project”

22:31 Divine Design and Support Systems

26:49 Caregiving: Finding Purpose and Support

28:30 Seek Professional Help, Not Spouse

33:05 Simplifying Help for Caregivers

Connect with Jessica!

You can connect with Jessica at thelucasproject.org and jessronne.com

Facebook: @jessronneofficial

Instagram: @jessplusthemess

Jessica Ronne is a multi-published author, speaker, host of the Coffee with Caregivers Podcast, producer of UNSEEN and UNCERTAIN,  and caregiver advocate. She offers encouragement and practical tips to her listeners. She is also the founder/executive director of The Lucas Project, a nonprofit providing resources, and respite for special needs caregivers. She and her husband, Ryan, live in Michigan with their eight children, including their son Lucas, who has profound disabilities.

What Threatens to Steal Your Joy?

Check out Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You 6-week Bible study rooted in John 15. You can find more info at https://dorisswift.com/book/

Let’s Stay Connected!

Find my free resources including Fear Fighting Bible Verses, Simple Tips for Sharing Your Faith, Surrender the Joy Stealers, Step Out of Your Doubt and Into Your Calling ebook, and more on my dorisswift.com homepage!

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Thanks for Listening!

I hope this episode encouraged, inspired, and challenged you to cultivate community, live and walk in the value, purpose, and worth God gave you, and take action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.

If you’re looking for a speaker for your next women’s conference, retreat, luncheon, or workshop, reach out and connect with me on my speaker page at https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/edgewater/speaker/doris-swift

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Stay tuned for more amazing content and remember to check the show notes for all the links mentioned.

Thank you for being a part of our community. We are grateful for your continued support and encourage you to embrace the unique gifts that make you magnificently you.

I hope you’ll join me next time when I talk with another guest who is taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect …

Until then friend, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.

With love and joy,

Doris

P.S. Don’t forget to follow us on social media for bite-sized wisdom and inspiration from Doris and our incredible guests! 📲

Transcript

Doris Swift [00:01:40]:
What is threatening to steal your joy? What is it that feels so heavy right now that you could barely stand? God has a plan. And his plan is to surrender it. Surrender it to him. It might be a prodigal. It might be a relationship, a marriage, something with your job. So many things. We have so many amazing blessings, but there are so many things in our life that threaten to steal our joy. I’m Doris Swift, author of the award winning six week Bible study, Surrender the Joy.

Doris Swift [00:02:18]:
Rediscover the Jesus joy in you. And it helps women rediscover the overflowing, ever present Jesus joy within that fills, empowers and ripens the fruit that God produces in our lives. Using personal biblical stories, I share how you can identify your joist dealers. Surrender them to God, Reawaken the joy within and share the joy with others. You can do it on your own or with a group. Check it out, friends. Surrender the joy stealers. Rediscover the Jesus joy in you. It’s available on all the online retailers. It’s time to take your joy back.

Doris Swift [00:02:53]:
Welcome back to the show today. I am excited to welcome my friend today, Jessica Ronnie. She is an author, a speaker, a podcast, host of the podcast Coffee with Caregivers, associate producer of the unseen documentary, which I would love to hear more about and I know you would too. And she’s a caregiver advocate. She’s the founder and executive director of the Lucas Project, which is a nonprofit dedicated to serving parent caregivers with recognition, respite and resources, which is so, so, so needed. And she is a wife and a mama in a exciting blended family with eight kids.

Doris Swift [00:03:41]:
And we just want to hear more about how God has been working in your life. Welcome to the show.

Jessica Ronne [00:03:48]:
Yeah, thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here.

Doris Swift [00:03:50]:
Yeah, this has been great. And I know there’s so many things that we could go and share about your story that you could encourage the listener with. So I will just ask where you are taking where your passion, compassion and conviction intersect.

Jessica Ronne [00:04:08]:
Jess, Goodness, that’s a big question.

Doris Swift [00:04:12]:
You can break it down.

Jessica Ronne [00:04:13]:
Where am I taking action? I’m taking action in all kinds of different spheres these days. Still very much so in the caregiver advocacy space. I am, like you mentioned, the founder of the Lucas Project, and we are still coming up with programs and different areas to support parent caregivers in that regard. Still writing books, still speaking a lot nationally, and hosting the podcast Coffee with Caregivers and really just kind of trying to simplify my life. Too, since we did end up creating a group home for our son Lucas, and he moved into that group home about a year ago. And I find I have a lot more space on my hands now, a lot more time, because I’m not his primary caregiver anymore. There’s absolutely still a lot of micromanaging that has to be accomplished from afar. But he now has new primary caregivers and I find myself leaning more into this space of helping families create solutions for their loved ones because it is a national crisis.

Jessica Ronne [00:05:17]:
And we are creating a new documentary called Uncertain, which will explore that housing crisis for disabled adults and their families. And I’ve started a coaching service so that I can partner with families to help them create solutions as well.

Doris Swift [00:05:32]:
Wow, that is fantastic and so beautiful and, and very encouraging because that is a challenge for families. I know I have had several guests on the show who have, who, who are or were caregivers. And there are a lot of moms that come on that have special needs children and some of the things that they have concerns about is what happens when I’m no longer here, you know, how, how is this going to play out, you know, because oftentimes other family may not be able to take on that caregiver role. So I love that you have these resources and how God has led you to create this group home and then now freed up time to help others in this journey that they’re on. And you have quite an extensive background. I know, really, God has been preparing you as a caregiver for like I’ve heard you talk about how even growing up you can look back and see that. Can you share a little bit about that?

Jessica Ronne [00:06:38]:
Yeah, it’s interesting, you know, as I’ve had some time to process since I haven’t been Lucas’s full time caregiver anymore, I realized really I’ve been in a caregiving role for about 46 years of life. At 2 years old, my mom had twins and there are, you know, Pictures of little 2 year old Jessica with her arms around her twin brothers helping out, you know, so my mom could probably run to the bathroom or take a shower or whatever. And then I ultimately became the oldest of 12 children. So I’ve been sort of just in this caregiver role, helping with siblings forever. And then going off to college. I became a nanny and when I married my first husband, Jason, we added to our or we decided to start a family very quickly, had Caleb. And then in 2004 we were excited to find out we were pregnant again with our Second child, Lucas, who ended up experiencing a stroke in utero. And we were told there was very little hope.

Jessica Ronne [00:07:34]:
But he did survive and spent two weeks in the nicu, underwent brain surgery at one day old, and is now turning, what is he turning, 21 this August. And he, he has profound disabilities. He requires help in every aspect of life. He’s non verbal, he’s incontinent, he needs help feeding, bathing, moving from one place to another. And so just looking at the scope of my life and then a few years after Lucas was born, Jason, my first husband, was diagnosed with brain cancer. He went on to fight cancer for three years and ultimately received his healing in heaven in 2010. And that’s when I found myself as a 33 year old widow with four young children. And the story doesn’t even really stop there.

Jessica Ronne [00:08:24]:
I went on to marry a widower who had three children, and then we had a child together. And now I’m a mom to eight children. So my whole life has sort of encompassed this idea of caring for other individuals.

Doris Swift [00:08:38]:
Yeah, it is definitely a fierce calling, you know, that you have been walking in and how God has equipped and prepared you and actually continues to equip you as you go. Because as we know, you know, if we were to say we’re, we’re fully equipped for whatever God is calling us to, it’s like, no, not yet, you know, but he can do that as we go along. And, and I, I have your, your memoir, actually, which we’re talking about, the caregiving book that came out more recently. But Sunlight Burning at Midnight is, is an excellent book and it just really touches the heartstrings and so deeply as you are, you know, you, you have a beautiful way of expressing your story and just sharing in your artistry and creativity of writing because you’re also called to be an author. You have, you have a lot going on. But, but yeah, so what, what is the spread of ages with the kids? You know, all eight kids. We know Lucas, he’s gonna be 21, right?

Jessica Ronne [00:09:51]:
Yeah, it’s 22 down to nine. So it’s. And at one point in the year, we have like three sets of twins, is what we say, because one of Ryan’s and one of mine are the same age. So. Yeah, it’s never a dull moment.

Doris Swift [00:10:08]:
Yeah. Also, I’m sure a lot of our listeners today have a blended family. And so it is definitely a unique way that not only the parents can navigate all of that, but the children also, especially when they’re siblings on both sides. And how, how did that look when your family first came together? I know you also, and you can talk a little bit about the book where you share that part of your story as well.

Jessica Ronne [00:10:39]:
I wrote about that and blended with grit and grace. You know, our kids gelled beautifully. They were all young, so we had seven under seven and. And they were just so excited to have all of these built in playmates. And it wasn’t really all that shocking to my system. Having been the oldest of 12, I think my new husband, Ryan struggled more with the sheer number of children that we were now entrusted to care for. And I would say our difficulties really came more in our relationship with one another and navigating what is this going to look like? And really coming to an understanding that it was a marriage between the two of us, not the four of us. And meaning like our late spouses, because initially they were really sort of brought into everything and we had to navigate what that was going to look like and put some clear boundaries in place and even some clear boundaries and what we were willing to share with one another.

Jessica Ronne [00:11:36]:
Because when we met, we really grieved together. We both lost our spouses to brain cancer and kind of used each other as therapists. And I would not suggest doing that. I would suggest finding a therapist for yourself and working through a lot of those emotions with somebody else, not necessarily somebody that you’re newly married to because it’s a really tricky thing to navigate grieving the loss of somebody you loved and were married to while falling in love with another individual. And so we learned a lot. We just celebrated our 14 year anniversary and you know, things aren’t nearly as sensitive or triggering as they once were. But yeah, those early years there was just a lot of issues to navigate that nobody tells you about. Like, you just have no idea how, how triggering it can be to even have your husband bring all these new decorations into your home that you’re like, I don’t really like these decorations.

Jessica Ronne [00:12:41]:
Why are they in my home? So nobody like tells you that these things are going to come up and they’re going to trigger a lot of insecurities and a lot of questions and. But we figured it out and then we wrote a book about.

Doris Swift [00:12:55]:
Yeah, I. That is, that is really great. And I love how you. Well, first of all, I love how when you were saying you had Seven under seven, that just sounds like it could be like the title of a whole nother book probably.

Jessica Ronne [00:13:07]:
Right?

Doris Swift [00:13:08]:
Seven under seven. Right. But thank you also for sharing and being vulnerable about sharing that part of Your story. Because I know in that book you get into, like, the relationship, what does intimacy look like, and how you were talking about, you know, coming out of the other relationships, and then you have the grief and all the history of your, you know, former, like, what you had before, you know, your first marriages and everything, and then just trying to get through, but. But also mentioning, you know, things like you don’t think of too, you know, while. How do we blend our stuff, you know, like. And not that stuff is the main thing, because Jesus is. But, like, thinking about how do you do that, you know, that is really hard.

Doris Swift [00:14:02]:
And I know some people also might run into that situation when they find themselves caregivers for an aging parent who now has to move out of their home. And how. Because we’re kind of navigating that road right now and trying to figure it out. Because my mom, you know, we lost my dad a few years ago to lung cancer, and my mom is living with my sister, but she had her own home with all her own stuff. And so trying to figure all of that out, you know, is really challenging. But I just love that you write about these things so that other people can be encouraged. But not only that, but have some kind of a. Maybe a.

Doris Swift [00:14:48]:
Something where they can establish their own plan, you know, or action or practical things, you know, not just like, this is my story, but you share, like, practical things for people, and that’s what they really need. They. They want to hear stories, but they also want to see, well, how does this relate to my story and how can I implement these kind of action steps? So I would love if you would share a little bit more about the caregiver book that you wrote and what you would want the reader to take away from that book.

Jessica Ronne [00:15:20]:
Yeah, I appreciate you saying that. I think in everything that I write, I try to give the reader permission to say, this is what I’m feeling. And I. And that was my goal in Blended with grit and grace. Loving with grit and grace. Sunlight burning at midnight and now this Caregiving with grit and grace. We all have these emotions. We all have these feelings.

Jessica Ronne [00:15:41]:
And to be able to say, I am feeling this way, there’s something so freeing about that that even opens you up to then be able to explore the tools and the strategies that you can implement. But if you’re not willing to even admit that you are having these feelings, you can’t move into that place of bettering the situation or grieving the situation or whatever that’s going to look like. So I think that Was. And that’s not even intentional. I’m just not a very private person. I often joke, like, I don’t even have blinds on my windows. I’m just like, this is my life. I don’t really understand the point of being so private about things, because I feel like we all go through these things, and the more we would talk about these things, I think it would be healing for other people.

Jessica Ronne [00:16:30]:
And so with the caregiving, with grit and grace, it wasn’t even necessarily intentional that I was giving permission to caregivers to be feel these things, But I kept hearing this feedback from caregivers as they read the book. Thank you for giving me permission to feel anger or to feel this grief or to feel resentment, because I don’t want to do this, you know, for the rest of my life. And so beginning at that place of permission and then I think, leading into a place of trying to bring hope and encouragement in a really challenging scenario, because caregiving is tough. I mean, we are going through these mundane, monotonous tasks that don’t really seem to mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of what is important in life. And that was a hard lesson for me to learn, too, that caregiving is holy work. And it is the holiest work I can do. This side of eternity is caring for someone who cannot care for themselves. And so much so that that’s exactly what Jesus came.

Jessica Ronne [00:17:31]:
Came to earth to do for us, is care for us physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. And so in our actions of caregiving, we are becoming more Christlike, and that is ushering in the kingdom of heaven here on earth. And so once I was able to shift that perspective, it was a game changer for how I viewed my caregiving duties. And so I hope that people who reading, who read this, who are either caregivers now or know a caregiver or will be in a giving role at some point, can also learn to shift their perspective, because that is ground zero, I believe. And being able to embrace the calling that the Lord puts on your life for a season of time.

Doris Swift [00:18:17]:
Yeah. Wow. That is a beautiful way that you explain that and how a shift in perspective can really change the trajectory of the whole journey. And how you were talking about caregiving as being holy work. And I think really, for sure that is going to encourage someone listening right now. Because when you’re in the thick of it, sometimes you. You really can’t or don’t have the bandwidth to step back and look at the whole big picture of how. How is God, you know, leading me in this or how can I glorify him and also partner with him in kingdom work as I care for this person or people who have been fearfully and wonderfully made in his image.

Doris Swift [00:19:05]:
And it is a high calling and a holy work. So thank you for sharing about that. And if you could also share a little bit more about the Lucas Project, like, how did that come about? I know it can’t most things come about because there’s a need for these things and to encourage someone because we haven’t had to do this in our family. But I can imagine that trying to seek out additional help when you know that actually it’s the best for everyone. And then, you know, with the group home and that kind of thing. Could you elaborate a little bit about that?

Jessica Ronne [00:19:44]:
Yeah. Just to clarify, the Lucas Project and the group home are two separate entities. The Lucas Project is a nonprofit, and that came about when we were living in rural Tennessee. My current husband Ryan began having numerous panic attacks that resembled heart attacks. And we were rushing him down to Vanderbilt repeatedly because we were so isolated. Lucas was going through puberty. And what that looked like with Lucas was constant screaming, aggression, hurting his siblings, behavioral challenges. And we had nobody who would step in and help us.

Jessica Ronne [00:20:18]:
We did not have a community. And my husband Ryan was having panic attacks all the time. And I thought, if we’re this desperate for a break, other families also must be desperate to have a break from their caregiving duties. And so I just googled how to start a non profit, printed off the paperwork, filled it out, sent it in. That’s just kind of how I operate. I’m very much a problem solver, obviously, if there’s a problem, how are we going to solve it? And a couple weeks later it was. I was the founder of the Lucas Project, so we partnered with a local school that offered us their facility. And we were able to offer families consistent respite opportunities, including our family.

Jessica Ronne [00:20:59]:
And I was the first to say, I’m not going to be here directing this. I’m going to hire a director, and here is my child. We need a break as badly as anyone else. And that has now since blossomed into numerous programs. We are starting an M and M club for individuals ages 13 to 50. This July. We partner with local hospitals and give care packages to parents in NICU with their children. We’ve created the unseen documentary, working on the second documentary, the podcast.

Jessica Ronne [00:21:32]:
We have a support group on Facebook called Caregivers cove with over 2200 caregivers. That’s a completely free resource and then we do have a database of resources on our website as well for caregivers. So. And then the group home too came again. I mean, the thread has always been Lucas and what our family needs. And we needed a future solution for Lucas as he aged. And so we purchased a home and created a group home where he now lives with three other disabled young adults as well. And he’s thriving.

Jessica Ronne [00:22:06]:
You know, I look back now 15 months later and think what 20 year old would want. His mother, you know, feeding him, bathing him. Like he wanted his independence as much as we wanted our independence. And he is just doing remarkably well. It’s about 10 minutes away from our house, so we see him often. And it was just a very, very wonderful thing for our family.

Doris Swift [00:22:31]:
Wow. Praise God. You know, praise the Lord and, and just kind of how special it is how God wires us all differently. Like he wired you to get things done and to start things, but then also with the wisdom to know just because I started doesn’t mean I have to be the director, you know, doesn’t mean I have to be in control of everything. And I think that’s sometimes hard when we really try to keep control of everything. And you know, that’s just not healthy for anyone really to just because, you know, God will lead people to help and come around. You know, like it says in 1st Thessalonians 5:11, that we would encourage each other and lift each other up. And this is, it’s, it’s a support system based on the love of Christ and just, you know, how, how this has all come about and the, the thing about the documentary, where would someone be able to find that? Like probably when you share about how they can connect with you, you’ll have information on your website and everything.

Jessica Ronne [00:23:41]:
So yeah, they can go to my website, jessrani.com or the caregiverdoc.com is the, the unseen documentary and then the latest documentary is uncertain doc.com.

Doris Swift [00:23:54]:
That’s awesome. And what is the M and M club?

Jessica Ronne [00:23:57]:
What is the M and M Club? That is going to be a three hour club for disabled individuals ages 13 to 50. We’ve partnered with a local church here in West Michigan and it’s going to provide respite for their caregiver so they can come and hang out at the club, do activities. We’ll do movies and crafts and activities and sports and their parents or caregivers can take a three hour break and just, you know, exhale for a couple of hours. Our long term goal is to partner with churches nationwide to, to be Able to provide this Eminem club. It’s the meet and Mingle club.

Doris Swift [00:24:33]:
Oh, nice. Okay.

Jessica Ronne [00:24:35]:
Yeah. For disabled individuals and their families throughout the nation.

Doris Swift [00:24:41]:
Wonderful. Meet and mingle. And it’s just. It’s meeting the need of both the caregiver and those who are in the club because they need to meet and mingle.

Jessica Ronne [00:24:51]:
Yeah. They need purpose and meaning and. Right. Fun activities that they can be a part of. And so, yeah, it’s. It’s kind of dual purposed.

Doris Swift [00:25:00]:
I think that’s beautiful. And then, you know, of course, you. You share about the season when you were Lucas’s primary caregiver. And now he is in a place where he’s thriving. And like you said, someone that gets, you know, a little older would probably doesn’t want their mom, you know, to keep doing this. So now you can be his mom, like.

Jessica Ronne [00:25:24]:
Yeah, exactly. And that’s the beauty. You know, I can go. And there isn’t any resentment tied to it anymore. You know, towards those final years of him living at home, there was a lot of resentment because he required so much care as he aged and grew stronger. And I’m getting older as well, and now I can just show up and be his mom and just hang out with him. I don’t, you know, if he. He needs a bath or something.

Jessica Ronne [00:25:48]:
Here you go. He wants a bath.

Doris Swift [00:25:51]:
That is so precious. You know, like, you were talking about how every, you know, every family needs some type of break and can just take a breath and that makes them refreshed more to continue on what they need to do. And just seeing the common threads, even though all the different stories are unique in many ways, there’s common threads in all the stories. And so thank you again for bringing up that it is important to name what it is we’re feeling or what we’re going through. And the fact that the resentment just kind of comes that way. Like it. You don’t purposely want to feel resentful of anything. It’s just how it kind of plays out.

Doris Swift [00:26:39]:
But that it’s okay that you have that feeling. It doesn’t make you a bad person or that you’re not a good caregiver or that you don’t love someone.

Jessica Ronne [00:26:48]:
You.

Doris Swift [00:26:49]:
It’s just challenging. And to be able to say that without because. Because that would be then tied to guilt and that kind of thing. So this is very freeing for a caregiver to search out and explore the resources that you have and read your books and. And it’s cool to read them all. You know, of course so yeah, because it’s, you know, it’s all kind of flows together, you know, the story of how God has unfolded, all of those things. And maybe someone listening right now isn’t called to start a non profit, but maybe they can partner with someone who already has a nonprofit or a project or a program or volunteer, you know, somewhere. And that gives everyone a sense of purpose and love and that they can be a support in some way.

Doris Swift [00:27:48]:
Because sometimes people just don’t know what to do. Do you find that?

Jessica Ronne [00:27:51]:
Oh yeah, absolutely. And I think a lot of that is tied to the thought process of are they going to expect me to stay with the disabled child or the parent with Alzheimer’s? The fear of the unknown. And I would just say to anybody, no, there is no expectation that you necessarily stay with that person or provide respite for that person. But if you could even bring a meal or put some, you know, gift cards in the mailbox or do some yard work or some cleaning, like as caregivers, we have really long to do lists and if you can take a few of those things off of our to do list, that’s extremely helpful.

Doris Swift [00:28:30]:
Great advice and wisdom there. Because sometimes people just don’t know what they can do and then they don’t know what to say. And so just like listen, I think just listening is helpful, right. And have somebody be able to share their heart and listen, give them an opportunity to just talk things out. But I love how earlier in the show you highly recommended that people don’t in the caregiving situation, but also like when there’s loss, things like that, not to expect that your spouse would be a counselor or you know, that you would have to do that, but to seek someone who is trained in that area and someone outside of the situation that can help to bring some encouragement and some clarity to the situation and to give tools and practical steps. So, so I love that you brought that out because oftentimes people don’t even want to go to a counselor because they feel like that is like a weakness or something. But no, I mean, when we’re weak, we’re strong and God leads us to people, you know, godly people who he has trained and has called to, to do that and help people. So, so I love that you brought that up.

Doris Swift [00:29:51]:
And so if you have any last bit of encouragement that you feel like you want to share with whoever’s listening right now, and then if you could share also with the list again how they can connect with you and reach out and find your books and your Resources and your podcast and all the things.

Jessica Ronne [00:30:10]:
Sure. For anyone who’s not a caregiver listening, but you would want to help caregivers. Just going back to, you know, offering something. And I would just say too, don’t even leave it open ended because as caregivers we’re so good at pretending like we’re fine, but we’re really not. So even if you’re going to offer a meal, make it something like, hey, I’m going to bring you a meal on Wednesday night. Do you prefer lasagna or tacos? I’ll leave it on your front door or on your front porch so you don’t even have to answer the door. And that is such a boost to our spirits. And it’s so helpful too just to have some of those daily things taken care of.

Jessica Ronne [00:30:48]:
And then any caregivers who are listening, I would just really encourage you to try to stay present. As caregivers, I think we focus so much on the past and the shame and the guilt. If I, you know, would have done things differently, maybe my child wouldn’t be disabled or my loved one wouldn’t have cancer or we focus on the future and all these what if scenarios. What if my loved one dies? What if there’s never a group home for my child? And in focusing so much energy on the past or the future, we fail to stay present. And that’s the present is where the joy is found and that’s where the Lord is found. It’s only in each and every present moment that we’re blessed to have with our loved ones. So just trying to like recenter when you find yourself spiraling in either the past or the future and coming back to the present and even just saying something like, lord, just help me to stay present because that’s all that truly matters in this life. And then yeah, all the places you can find me, the Lucas Project is@thelucasproject.org I’m@JessRani.com I’m on Facebook @JessRoni official I’m on Instagram Jess + the mess.

Jessica Ronne [00:32:00]:
And I think that’s about it.

Doris Swift [00:32:03]:
Nice. Well, thank you for sharing all that and especially too when you shared how to go about in helping someone because it could be really applicable in any hard season, you know, where you want to reach out to someone and help if they’re going through something. Maybe they, they have had an illness in the family or maybe they just like in our situation, our house is flooded twice, you know, and things like that, like people are like, what can we Do. But instead of just saying, let me know if you need, blah, blah, blah, because they’re not going to.

Jessica Ronne [00:32:35]:
Nobody’s going to do that. And let me know what you can do too. We’re not going to. We’re not going to let you know. So don’t leave it open ended. Hey, we’re bringing a church crew over Saturday to do some yard work. Can you text me a list of what you want done, we’ll get it done for you type of thing?

Doris Swift [00:32:52]:
Nice.

Jessica Ronne [00:32:52]:
Yeah, it just has to. Don’t leave it open ended. Yeah.

Doris Swift [00:32:58]:
And you know, that’s great in how you said, do you want tacos or lasagna? Like, just give them easy choices.

Jessica Ronne [00:33:04]:
Right.

Doris Swift [00:33:05]:
Because oftentimes people don’t even know what they need. Like, it’s overwhelming just to try to say, like, well, what do you need right now? It’s like, I don’t even know. I don’t know what I need. But if you just say, you know, I want to bring a meal, what do you want? This or this? It’s like, oh, okay, how about that? You know, it makes it a little easier and not overwhelming for the person receiving too. So I love that so much. And so those of you who are listening right now, I know that you have been encouraged. Maybe you are a caregiver or like Jess had said, you might not be right now or you may be facing that in the future. You know, someone that’s going through that and to just point them to Jess’s resources and check it out yourself.

Doris Swift [00:33:51]:
And Jess, thank you so much for being on the show. This has been really just such a rich conversation and so needed because it really, it really touches a lot of lives right now, you know. So thank you so much for being on.

Jessica Ronne [00:34:07]:
Oh, thank you.

Doris Swift [00:34:08]:
And I hope to have you back on because I know you’re gonna do more things and write more books and.

Jessica Ronne [00:34:14]:
Yeah, I have a few. I have a few in the docket.

Doris Swift [00:34:17]:
Oh, wow.

Jessica Ronne [00:34:19]:
Wow.

Doris Swift [00:34:19]:
So that’s really encouraging too, for someone who really feels like their plate is full. But just because you have a full plate doesn’t mean you can’t have a full heart. And God will help carve out time to whatever it is that he’s calling you to do. And there might be things that he calls you to lay down and then things to pick up and it might just change in different seasons that you’re in. And it’s okay. It’s okay to just follow the Lord’s lead. And. And so again, thank you for being on the show.

Doris Swift [00:34:49]:
And friends, when you check out the site, be sure to share it. Be sure to share it. Check out her podcast. You listen to podcasts, so go check that out, because really, it’s something for everyone. Don’t just feel like this is only for a certain niche of people. You know, this is really encouraging for everyone because it can be applicable to all of our lives. So, friends, I hope you’ll join me next time when I talk with another guest who’s taking action, where their passion, compassion and conviction intersect. Until then, friends, have a blessed week and I’ll talk to you soon.