Dementia Caregiver Support for Christians: Tips for Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregivers to Manage Stress, Prevent Burnout & Handle Difficult Behaviors

“Have you ever worried that your loved one is picking up on your emotions, your stress, your lack of sleep—and it makes things worse?” That’s where Helen was before a full day of caring for her sister with dementia. We walked through a calm, honest plan that preserves dignity and steadies the caregiver’s heart. As I always do, I began with the exact focusing prompt: “If after this weekend, things went well, what would make it easier for you so that we can prepare you for this weekend?” Helen said: “to be able to communicate… affirm what she’s saying… keep her peace so she doesn’t pace.” 1) FAST stroke signs—don’t wait till morning. With recent TIAs, we reviewed FAST: Face droop, Arms drift, Speech/Swallow changes, Time = brain. If you see it, go—don’t “wait and see.” There are two things I never mess with: the brain and the heart. 2) Communicate differently (Therapeutic Truth-Telling™). Keep words gentle and simple; mirror emotion; validate first. Use short cues and “circle back” if she says no—agree when you can, then try again a few minutes later. Measure a good day by presence and peace, not perfect sentences. 3) Plan the day without exhausting yourself. You’re not on duty Thursday night—rest so you can serve Friday. Create low-energy connection: a 15-minute drive, a quick park/ice cream stop, a soft-spoken library visit, short Scripture reading or hymn singing. Use process-of-elimination for needs, and give space when needed. 4) Safety for a flight risk. Talk with the primary caregiver about interior locks or strategies so doors aren’t easily opened; you cannot be on duty 24/7. Identify a backup person you can call if fatigue hits. Long-term help matters. The caregivers who benefit most join early—steady prayer, coaching, and a place to ask real questions. You don’t have to walk this alone. Don’t walk alone. The Christian DigniCare Society (lifetime, under $100) gives you community, coaching, prayer, and practical tools.  https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/cds   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

“Every caregiver starts from a different place, and where you begin will shape everything about your experience.” In Episode 291, I walk you through a simple, biblical framework to help you see where you are—and what the next faithful step looks like. Stage 1: Complacent (not ready, not skilled). You may say, “I’m just helping.” Denial is common—sometimes there isn’t even a diagnosis yet. Proverbs 12:15 reminds us that wisdom begins when we listen to counsel. Awareness is grace; once you recognize you are a caregiver, you can steward this season. Stage 2: Capable but Reluctant (skilled, not ready). You can do the tasks, but you haven’t embraced the call—resentment follows. James 4:17 exposes our reluctance: knowing the good and refusing it is sin. I had to confess my own resistance before the Lord turned reluctance into contentment. Stage 3: Committed but Overwhelmed (ready, lacking skills). Heart willing, hands unsure. Proverbs 19:2 warns that zeal without knowledge leads to mistakes and burnout. This is where training matters—communication, transfers, daily care—so your willingness can last. Stage 4: The Contented Caregiver (ready and skilled). Here you accept God’s call and keep growing in skill and the fruit of the Spirit. 1 Timothy 6:6–7 ties contentment to godliness—peace in the middle of hard things, not the absence of hard things. This pathway sits inside a relationship-centered approach: Think Different Dementia Method™ for biblical clarity, Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ for truthful, peace-giving communication, and the Contented Caregiver Blueprint™ for sustainable rhythms. Don’t walk alone. The Christian DigniCare Society (lifetime, under $100) gives you community, coaching, prayer, and practical tools.  https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/cds And you’re invited to Ask the Dementia Coach on October 18 at 3 p.m. ET—bring one real problem and leave with a plan. May the Lord bless you and keep you as you grow from awareness to contentment—one faithful step at a time.   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? ✝️ Speak Calm, Not Just Words Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. ✅ 10 ready-to-use scripts ✅ Rooted in Scripture ✅ Built on the Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ model 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🗓️ Brought to you every month! 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps ✅ Practical tools ✅ Faith-informed strategies ✅ Same-day results 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Are you caring for a parent with dementia all by yourself—no siblings, no spouse, a tiny church, and a growing knot of worry in your stomach? That’s Jennifer’s story in Episode 290. Her 84-year-old mom has Alzheimer’s, and Jennifer admits the hardest part is asking for help. I begin, as always, with the focusing prompt: “in six months, what needs to have changed for you to be able to say that your caregiving journey is easier?” She answers simply: more support. Together we turn that desire into a plan. 1) Ask specifically and schedule it. “Let me know if I can help” is not help. Create a small “help list” you keep in your purse—two meals a week, Saturday outing with Mom, lawn care—and when someone offers, hand them the list and put a date on both calendars. People aren’t busy when it’s scheduled. 2) Do the quick safety check. If Mom can no longer scan for items she can’t see (open the fridge to find food, open a drawer to find a phone), she is no longer safe to stay home alone. That single test guides next steps. 3) Begin with the end in mind. If your loved one lives long enough with dementia, 24-hour care will eventually be needed. Start now: list options (paid in-home help, adult day, memory care), review assets, and treat using Mom’s money for her care as stewardship, not selfishness—your health matters too. Because God is not a God of confusion, we pursue ordered, practical steps—relationship-centered care through the Think Different Dementia Method™, truthful communication with Therapeutic Truth-Telling™, and weekly rhythms from the Contented Caregiver Blueprint™. Need steady support? Join the Christian DigniCare Society (lifetime access, monthly AMAs, prayer, curated tools) https://www.skool.com/dignicarebydesign/about?ref=687c3a3591644ccda8fd2b5f5cedfede Or register for the next live workshop listed in the show notes. You don’t have to carry this alone.   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? ✝️ Speak Calm, Not Just Words Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. ✅ 10 ready-to-use scripts ✅ Rooted in Scripture ✅ Built on the Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ model 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🗓️ Brought to you every month! 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps ✅ Practical tools ✅ Faith-informed strategies ✅ Same-day results 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

“Why is everything spinning when there’s still no diagnosis?” In Episode 288, we walked with Fran through locked doors, false accusations, ER ping-pong—and the ache of holding Power of Attorney that seems powerless without clarity. Lizette began with the focusing prompt she uses in every session: “In six months from today, what would need to happen for you to say your caregiving journey is easier—keeping your health and your relationships in mind?” Fran’s answer was simple and brave: clarity for Mom and calm for me. Here’s where they landed: 1) Capacity vs. Competency Adults are allowed to make unsafe choices until someone documents impaired capacity. Competency is a legal status set by a court. That’s why APS sometimes can’t act and why many families only gain traction after a hospital evaluation—or by pursuing guardianship. You’re not failing; you’re navigating the rules. 2) Name what you can (and can’t) control You can ensure food, meds, bills, and safe transport. You cannot force cooperation without legal authority. That isn’t a moral failure—it’s accepting reality so you can act wisely. God is not a God of confusion; order begins with honest boundaries. 3) Document patterns Write down delusions, unsafe choices, ER visits, elopement attempts. Patterns open doors for assessment and guide next steps. This is Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ applied: we face the truth kindly so we can steward well. 4) One act of grace—for you This is a dimmer-switch season, not a light-switch fix. Choose one self-kindness today (a walk, a psalm, a call to a trusted friend). The Think Different Dementia Method™ and the Contented Caregiver Blueprint™ exist so you don’t white-knuckle alone. If this is your story, come closer. There’s a calm, biblical path forward—step by step, with community and prayer.   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? ✝️ Speak Calm, Not Just Words Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. ✅ 10 ready-to-use scripts ✅ Rooted in Scripture ✅ Built on the Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ model 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🗓️ Brought to you every month! 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps ✅ Practical tools ✅ Faith-informed strategies ✅ Same-day results 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

Are you living in chaos—sure something’s wrong, but there’s no diagnosis yet? That’s where we meet Fran in Episode 288. Her mom changed the locks, accused her of stealing meds, refused help, and bounced in and out of the ER. Fran holds POA, but without clarity she feels powerless. I began with my focusing prompt: “In six months from today, what would need to happen for you to say your caregiving journey is easier… keeping your own health and your relationships in mind?” Fran’s answer: clarity and proper care for Mom. Here’s the hard truth we unpacked: capacity vs. competency. Until someone documents cognitive impairment, adults are entitled to make stupid decisions.  Adult Protective Services may investigate, but if the person still has capacity, they cannot force care. That’s why some families, like Fran’s, don’t get traction until a crisis leads to evaluation—or they pursue guardianship through the courts. So what can you do today? Name what you can and cannot control. You can ensure food, meds, bills, and safe transport; you cannot compel cooperation without legal authority. That isn’t failure—it’s reality. Document patterns and keep asking for assessment. ER visits, delusions, unsafe choices—write them down. Patterns guide the next step. Choose one self-kindness. I asked Fran for one action to make this easier. My suggestion to her—and to you: Be gracious to yourself. You’re doing what you can in a dimmer-switch season, not a light-switch fix. This is why longitudinal community matters: steady prayer, coaching, and a place to ask the right questions before the wheels wobble. If this is your story, come closer—there’s a calm, biblical path forward.   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? ✝️ Speak Calm, Not Just Words Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. ✅ 10 ready-to-use scripts ✅ Rooted in Scripture ✅ Built on the Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ model 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🗓️ Brought to you every month! 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps ✅ Practical tools ✅ Faith-informed strategies ✅ Same-day results 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

“She said, I’m not really a caregiver—I just call my dad to check if he ate.” That’s where Episode 287 begins: most of us don’t recognize caregiving until we’re already overwhelmed.  Readiness isn’t a switch; it’s a process God invites us into. 1) Move from unaware to aware. Awareness is grace. When you finally name, “I am a caregiver,” you can respond faithfully instead of reacting frantically. (Proverbs 12:15) 2) Stay watchful—with gratitude. “God calls His people to wake up, be watchful, prepare, and endure.” Watch patterns before they become crises; give thanks in this providence. (Colossians 4:2) 3) Steward what God has given. Skills, resources, and your own well-being all require stewardship. Count the cost (Luke 14:28) and learn practical skills—communication, transfers, bathing with dignity—so you can serve wisely. 4) Practice discernment. Wisdom applied looks like seeking counsel, anticipating problems, and deciding on purpose (Proverbs 15:22; 27:12). Some crises can be prevented (remove throw rugs); others you consciously accept because you chose a path with eyes open. 5) Prepare your foundations. Legal first, then logistics: will, health-care POA, durable financial POA—secured before capacity is lost. Preparation is obedience, not fear. (Proverbs 24:27) 6) Endure in Christ. Readiness produces perseverance, not perfection. You’ll adjust and readjust, and that isn’t failure; it’s faithfulness (Galatians 6:9; Hebrews 12:1–2). If you need steady, faith-anchored help, I just opened the Christian DigniCare Society—lifetime access, monthly AMA calls, prayer gatherings, and a curated resource library (founding members get a 15-minute welcome call).  God is not a God of confusion. He meets you with order, wisdom, and strength for today’s step.   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? ✝️ Speak Calm, Not Just Words Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. ✅ 10 ready-to-use scripts ✅ Rooted in Scripture ✅ Built on the Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ model 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🗓️ Brought to you every month! 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps ✅ Practical tools ✅ Faith-informed strategies ✅ Same-day results 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

“Caregivers are natural givers… when it comes time to ask for help, that guilty voice shows up.” In Episode 286, Linda says, “I hate to ask my sons for help. This is my job, not theirs.”  I answer plainly: “That guilt doesn't protect anyone. It just leaves you drained and makes it harder for you to serve with patience and joy.” As always, I begin with the exact clarifying prompt: “if you look back six months from today and your caregiving journey is easier. What would need to happen for you to say that you have been able to steward it well, keeping in mind your health and your relationships in the process?” Linda’s hope is simple: ask her sons for specific times—“a few hours in an evening or on Saturday or Sunday”—to take Dad out. She hesitates because they’re building their own families. Here’s the reframe I offer: 1) Receiving is part of stewardship. Givers often struggle to receive. But when you never ask, you remove your children’s opportunity to give to you. Offer structured choices and concrete time blocks so they can put it on the calendar. 2) Let “no” be an honest answer. Sons are heads of their households; sometimes the right answer is no. Don’t take it personally. Use that no to pursue other provision: church friends, paid caregivers, wider community. The need you identified is respite—find it. 3) Take one action step. After the call I ask, “What is the one action step you will take?” Start with your children; if they can’t, line up help elsewhere. Longitudinal support matters—join early so you’re not guessing alone. If you want steady, faith-centered help, the Christian DigniCare Society offers lifetime access, monthly AMAs, prayer, and a curated library—plus a 15-minute welcome call if you join before year-end.  Or come to Ask the Dementia Coach live on September 20.  You don’t have to carry this alone.   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? ✝️ Speak Calm, Not Just Words Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. ✅ 10 ready-to-use scripts ✅ Rooted in Scripture ✅ Built on the Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ model 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🗓️ Brought to you every month! 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps ✅ Practical tools ✅ Faith-informed strategies ✅ Same-day results 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

“Caregiving is full of hard choices… you feel overwhelmed, stuck, and guilty.” That’s how Episode 285 opens—and why we walk straight at the question so many of you are wrestling with: Is it time for memory care? I guide you through a simple, biblical grid to cut through decision fatigue. Run your situation through these five questions—exactly as I teach them in the episode: 1) Is it possible? Do you have the financial, physical, and emotional resources? Count the cost (Luke 14:28–29). 2) Does it please God? Are you motivated by love of God—not guilt or fear of people? Does this honor your parent and protect your marriage and children (Colossians 3:17; Micah 6:8; Mark 10:9)? 3) Is it legal and ethical? Do you have authority—financial POA, health-care POA—and are you acting with integrity (Exodus 20:12; Proverbs 11:3)? Placing a loved one can be the right decision in the right circumstances. Sometimes keeping them at home is the wrong one. 4) How will this impact my family and myself? God’s order matters. Marriage first, then children, then parents (1 Timothy 5:8; Philippians 2:4). Ignoring this order can damage the very relationships God calls you to protect. 5) Make the decision and move forward. Indecision can harm more than an imperfect decision. “Trust in the Lord… He will make your path straight” (Proverbs 3:5–6; Psalm 37:5). Many choices are reversible—including keeping someone home or placing them. Move in faith. If you’re tired of spinning, I’d love to help you practice this process in real time. Join Ask the Dementia Coach on September 20 at 12 p.m. ET; we’ll walk your exact situation through these five questions so you leave with clarity and peace. This is the kind of order-bringing, truth-telling clarity we pursue together—because God is not a God of confusion.   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? ✝️ Speak Calm, Not Just Words Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. ✅ 10 ready-to-use scripts ✅ Rooted in Scripture ✅ Built on the Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ model 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🗓️ Brought to you every month! 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps ✅ Practical tools ✅ Faith-informed strategies ✅ Same-day results 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

“I just wish my wife could speak louder so I’d know what she needs.” If that’s your heart today, Episode 284 is for you. Delbert is caring for his wife with late-stage Lewy Body Dementia. Her voice is very soft, sometimes garbled, and most days she sleeps. His deepest desire? “If I could look back six months from now and say, we got our communications back… so I can understand what her needs are.” As always, I began with the exact question I ask every caregiver: “in six months, if things are easier in your caregiving journey, what would need to have happened for you to say that you have stewarded it well, keeping in mind your health, your relationships, and then walking faithfully through this season?” Three anchors from our conversation: 1) Name the gap between expectation and reality. Your loved one is “landing her plane.” With hospice on board and Pseudobulbar Effect (rapid shifts between laughing and crying), verbal problem-solving will not behave. You are not failing; the brain is changing. 2) Communicate differently—beyond words. I had a wonderful “conversation” with Delbert’s wife where neither of us understood the words. Why did it work? Emotional mirroring, eye contact, gentle presence. Like with little ones, you meet needs by process of elimination (reposition, toileting, comfort) and validation, not by chasing perfect sentences. That’s Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ lived out. 3) Prepare for respite with honor and realism. Tell her it’s coming so you know you honored her, but hold a modest expectation of understanding. No one will do it exactly like you—and that’s okay. You need rest. “You cannot be on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” These practices sit inside the Think Different Dementia Method™ and the Contented Caregiver Blueprint™—caregiving clarity anchored in Scripture and dignity. Want steady, faith-centered help? Join the Christian DigniCare Society for lifetime support, or register for Ask the Dementia Coach at thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask.   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? ✝️ Speak Calm, Not Just Words Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. ✅ 10 ready-to-use scripts ✅ Rooted in Scripture ✅ Built on the Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ model 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🗓️ Brought to you every month! 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps ✅ Practical tools ✅ Faith-informed strategies ✅ Same-day results 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts

“Have you ever thought, I am so tired, I love the Lord, I pray, I serve, but I don't think I can keep doing this?” That’s where Episode 283 begins—naming the ache many of us whisper in the dark. Lizette shares how the Lord met her own exhaustion and then anchors us in four truths: The race is long—God will renew you. “The Christian life is race… not a sprint. … They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength… they shall run and not be weary.” (Isaiah 40:29–31) The reward is sure. “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season you will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) Faithful, unseen obedience is never wasted—even when the sheets, the night watches, and the hard choices stack up. You are weak—God is your portion. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26) Our endurance rests not on clinging to God but on God clinging to us. The finish line is glory. “Let us run with endurance… looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1–2) This journey ends with Christ, not chaos. Because God is a God of dignity, order, and truth, we can care without “therapeutic lying,” and we can keep walking with clarity through the Think Different Dementia Method™, Therapeutic Truth-Telling™, and the Contented Caregiver Blueprint™. Lizette also opens the doors to a new Christian caregiver community—lifetime access for less than 100 dollars, with monthly AMAs, prayer meetings, a curated resource library, and Q&A between sessions. She’s inviting the first 100 caregivers to join.  You’re not running alone. He will carry you to the finish line.   💬 What Do I Say When Dementia Makes Words Hard? ✝️ Speak Calm, Not Just Words Get “What Do I Say? How to Connect with Your Loved One with Dementia” — a free guide for Christian caregivers navigating confusion, repetition, and emotional moments. ✅ 10 ready-to-use scripts ✅ Rooted in Scripture ✅ Built on the Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ model 📥 Download the guide now: https://www.dementiacaregivingmadeeasy.com/script   🤝 You Don’t Have to Do This Alone Join other Christian caregivers who are walking this road too — and learning how to care with compassion, clarity, and faith. 👥 Join the free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/dementiacaregiversupportforchristians   🗣️ Ask Your Question Live — and Be Heard Bring your real-life caregiving questions to Ask the Dementia Coach — our free monthly Q&A session. You’ll get support, clarity, and maybe even be featured on the podcast. 🗓️ Brought to you every month! 🎤 Register here: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/ask   🎓 Want to Reduce Overwhelm Right Now? Join our free workshop: How to Immediately Reduce Dementia Caregiver Overwhelm and Stress — in 3 Simple Steps ✅ Practical tools ✅ Faith-informed strategies ✅ Same-day results 🎟️ Reserve your seat: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/wsl   🧭 Still Feeling Stuck? If you’re wondering what’s underneath your stress, the Caregiver Stress Assessment can help clarify what’s really weighing you down — so you can take your next step with peace. 📊 Take the free assessment: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dca   ❤️ Enjoy This Podcast? Leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify — it helps other Christian caregivers find encouragement and real help. 🎧 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts