What does it look like to keep saying “yes” to God when life feels chaotic, exhausting, and completely unexpected?

In this heartfelt conversation, Carrie Holt sits down with author, disability mom, and “coordinator of chaos,” Johnna Hensley. With six children—including a son with complex medical needs and three adopted children—Johnna shares what it really means to live a life of unexpected yeses.

From navigating disability parenting and biracial adoption to processing trauma, grief, and the reality of “forever nesting,” this episode dives deep into the everyday surrender required to follow God in the hard places.

Johnna offers honest insight into:

• Letting go of control and trusting God’s bigger story
• The shift from big, visible “yeses” to small, daily obedience
• Advocating for disability awareness and belonging
• Parenting through trauma triggers and emotional overwhelm
• Reframing expectations around independence and adulthood
• Finding peace in the questions instead of rushing to answers

This conversation is a powerful reminder that faith isn’t about having it all figured out—it’s about being willing to be willing and trusting God one small “yes” at a time.

If you’re a parent navigating disability, adoption, or the unexpected turns of life, this episode will meet you right where you are—with honesty, hope, and grace.

Eps. 48; May 12, 2026

Resources:
Johnna’s Website
Her Book: Reckless Yes
Children’s Book: HP and the VIP’s
Social Media: IG, FB, YouTube
Listen to This Podcast

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

What happens when the life you planned is suddenly replaced with one you never expected?

In this powerful and deeply practical episode of This Unexpected Life, Carrie sits down with Dr. Joe and Cindi Ferrini, authors of The Special Needs Parent: A Guide to the Life You Never Expected, to talk about what it really looks like to raise a child with special needs over the long haul.

With over 45 years of caregiving experience, Joe and Cindi share honest insight into the shock of diagnosis, the strain on marriage, the weight of caregiving, and the beauty of a life shaped by faith. From navigating sibling dynamics and isolation to handling public judgment and building a support system, this conversation is filled with wisdom you can apply right now.

You’ll hear:

• How special needs parenting reshapes marriage—and how to stay united
• Practical ways to support siblings without neglecting their needs
• What to do when people stare, judge, or don’t understand
• How to build a “team” when you feel completely alone
• Real encouragement for caregiver fatigue and long-term burnout
• Why embracing your unexpected life can lead to deeper purpose and joy

This episode is for any parent walking the special needs journey—whether you're in the early shock, the daily grind, or years into caregiving and needing renewed hope.

You are not alone. Your story matters

Eps. 47; May 5, 2026

Resources:
New Book: The Special Needs Parent
Cindi’s Website

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

What do you do when you don’t have the words to pray?

In this deeply honest and hope-filled conversation, Carrie sits down with author and speaker Rachel Wojo to talk about caregiving, grief, and how prayer transforms in life’s hardest seasons. After walking a 22-year journey caring for her daughter Taylor, who was diagnosed with a rare terminal disorder, Rachel shares how suffering reshaped her faith, her understanding of God, and her approach to prayer.

Together, they unpack what it looks like to move from asking “Why, God?” to “Show me You,” how to pray in moments of exhaustion and overwhelm, and why God’s presence matters more than His intervention. Rachel offers practical, grace-filled ways to build rhythms of prayer in unpredictable caregiving life, including “prayer habit stacking” and letting go of prayer perfectionism.

If you’re a special needs parent, caregiver, or someone walking through grief, this episode will remind you that even your simplest prayers—“God help me”—are heard, held, and answered with His presence.

Eps. 46; April 21, 2026

Resources:
Rachel’s Website
Book: Desperate Prayers
Praying Through Life’s Battles

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

In Part 2 of this powerful conversation on This Unexpected Life, Carrie M. Holt continues her interview with Anna Harp, a young writer living with cerebral palsy who is discovering her God-given purpose through storytelling.

Anna opens up about the ongoing grief that can come with disability and the freedom of realizing that grief is not failure—it’s part of the journey. Through reflections on Psalm 23 and God’s “withness” in the wilderness, she shares how God meets us in our hardest places and gently reshapes our understanding of purpose.

You’ll also hear how Anna discovered her calling as a fantasy writer, creating stories where characters with disabilities are seen, valued, and empowered. Her passion is to help teens with disabilities feel understood, less alone, and full of hope.

This episode is a deeply encouraging reminder that:

• Your child’s story matters
• Disability does not disqualify purpose
• God uses the broken things for beauty and impact

Whether you are parenting a child with special needs or walking through your own unexpected journey, this conversation will strengthen your faith and remind you that God is always at work—even in the wilderness.

Eps. 45; April 14, 2026

Resources:

• Subscribe to Anna’s Monthly Newsletter
• Purchase Book Featuring Her Writing
• Anna’s Website

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

In Part 1 of this powerful two-part conversation, Carrie sits down with Anna Harp, a young adult living with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, to share her story of faith, fear, and transformation.

Born at just 27 weeks and spending nearly three months in the NICU, Anna’s life began with immense challenges. As she grew, she wrestled deeply with feeling “less than,” questioning God’s goodness, and navigating the emotional weight of living with a disability.

In this honest and hope-filled episode, Anna shares:

• When she first realized she was different
• Her struggle with comparison, anger, and faith
• The moment her faith became personal
• Her life-changing spinal surgery and recovery
• How she relearned to walk—step by step—with Jesus

This episode is for any parent raising a child with disabilities, and for anyone walking through fear, grief, or uncertainty. Anna’s story is a reminder that even in the unexpected places—Jesus is there

Eps. 44; April 7, 2026

Resources:

• Subscribe to Anna’s Monthly Newsletter
• Purchase Book Featuring Her Writing
• Anna’s Website

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

What happens when the life you planned falls apart—and God builds something completely unexpected in its place?

In this episode of This Unexpected Life, Carrie sits down with Barb Stanley, founder of Wonderful Works Ministry, to talk about losing everything she thought defined her success… and discovering a deeper calling rooted in surrender, identity, and purpose.

Barb shares how her journey through career loss, disappointment, and shame led to the unexpected birth of a ministry that is now helping churches across the country become more accessible to families impacted by disability.

Together, they unpack:

• The truth about identity and why your worth is not tied to what you do
• A harmful misconception about disability ministry in the church
• The scripture often misused when talking about disability—and why it matters
• How families impacted by disability are essential to the future and revival of the Church
• Practical ways churches and families can begin working together

If you’ve ever felt unseen, exhausted, or like you don’t belong in church because of your child’s needs—this conversation will remind you: your story matters, your presence matters, and you are deeply needed in the Kingdom of God.

Eps. 43; March 24, 2026

Resources:
Barb’s Facebook & Instagram
Wonderful Works Ministry

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

What happens when an autism diagnosis reshapes everything you expected about parenting—and faith?

In this episode of This Unexpected Life, Carrie Holt talks with Bible teacher, author, and autism mom Larah Roberts about navigating autism parenting through the lens of the gospel. Larah shares the story of her son Graham’s autism diagnosis and the difficult early years of confusion, advocacy, and learning how to trust God in the unexpected.

Together, they explore some of the biggest questions Christian parents ask after a diagnosis:
• Can my autistic child truly know God?
• What does discipleship look like for neurodiverse children?
• How do parents advocate for their child without losing their Christian witness?
• What do we do when suffering makes us question our faith?

Larah also shares insights from her book Letters to Lindsey: Seeing Your Child’s Autism Diagnosis Through a Gospel Lens, offering practical and spiritual encouragement for parents who feel overwhelmed by the road ahead.

If you are raising a child with autism or disability and wondering how faith fits into this journey, this conversation will remind you that God is still faithful, the gospel still applies, and your child is an image bearer deeply known and loved by Him.

Eps. 42; 3/17/26

Resources:

• Larah Roberts Instagram
• Book: How To Advocate & Stay Christian
• Book: Letters to Lindsey: Seeing Your Child’s Autism Diagnosis Through a Gospel Lens

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.

What is it really like to grow up as the sibling of a child with disabilities? How does that experience shape the way you parent your own family?

In this episode of This Unexpected Life, Carrie Holt talks with Sandra Peoples, a disability ministry consultant, author, professor, and mom of a son with level-three autism. Sandra shares her unique perspective of living on both sides of the story: growing up with a sister with Down syndrome and now raising a child with significant autism.

Sandra opens up about the hidden experiences many siblings carry — from trying to make themselves “smaller,” so their parents have less to worry about, to navigating embarrassment, protectiveness, and love.

Together, Carrie and Sandra discuss:

• What Sandra’s parents did well in raising a special needs sibling
• The stage of life that can be most difficult for siblings
• How parents can validate difficult emotions without guilt or shame
• Navigating responsibility and avoiding unhealthy parentification
• Why disability families are still one of the most overlooked mission fields in the church

If you’re raising a child with disabilities and wondering how this journey is shaping your other children, this honest and grace-filled conversation will offer both wisdom and encouragement.

Eps. 41; 3/10/26

Resources:

• Sandra’s Book: Accessible Church
• Find Sandra on FB and Instagram
• Sandra’s Website

If you enjoyed the show, leave a 5-star review!

• Get my new resource: 5 Practices For Processing Grief
• Click here if you want to be a guest on the show
• Carrie’s Facebook or Instagram
• Find me on Substack
• My book: The Other Side of Special

*This podcast features honest conversations with special needs parents and faith-filled guests. While I deeply value the stories and insights shared, the views and opinions expressed may not always reflect my own. Any resources listed are shared for reference, not necessarily a personal recommendation. I invite you to listen with spiritual discernment and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what you hold onto and set aside.