What do you do when the spouse who has always handled the finances, paperwork, and big decisions can no longer do it safely?

In this episode, Lizette Cloete walks alongside Anne, a Christian wife whose husband was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, as they talk through the first faithful step when dementia changes who carries the legal and financial load.

This conversation brings calm, order, and biblical clarity to one of the most overwhelming transitions Christian caregivers face.

• Christian dementia caregiving and stewardship

• When a spouse with Alzheimer’s can’t manage finances

• Health care power of attorney and durable power of attorney

• Elder care attorney and Medicaid planning

• Asset protection for Christian families

• Caregiver procrastination and overwhelm

God’s order in dementia decision-making

Protecting dignity while planning ahead

• Dementia care does not start with daily tasks—it starts with legal authority

• God is not a God of confusion; clarity brings peace to caregiving decisions

• Early Medicaid and asset planning is an act of love, not pessimism

• Procrastination often signals missing order—not missing faith

• Protecting the caregiver’s future matters just as much as caring for the spouse

✔ Confirm healthcare and financial powers of attorney early

✔ Choose a backup decision-maker who is not your spouse

✔ Meet with an elder care attorney who specializes in Medicaid planning

✔ Ask the right question: How do I protect my ability to live well long-term?

✔ One clear step today reduces years of stress later

Community and biblical grounding bring order where caregiving feels chaotic.

Don’t walk alone. The Christian DigniCare Society (lifetime, under $100) gives you community, coaching, prayer, and practical tools. https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/join

💬 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

Some burdens sit heavier than others — not just on your shoulders, but on your soul. In this episode, Lizette speaks directly to caregivers carrying grief, confusion, and responsibility they never asked for. Using James 1:2–5, she unpacks how Christian caregivers can find real joy, hope, and wisdom — not from easier circumstances, but from Christ Himself.

Whether you’re grieving a parent’s decline, feeling stretched thin by holiday stress, or just wondering how much longer you can carry this weight, this conversation will anchor you in biblical truth and help you take the next faithful step.

• Why you don’t have to pretend your burden is light (James 1:2-4)

• How God uses every kind of burden to produce steadfastness

• The power of Therapeutic Truth-Telling™ in dementia caregiving

• Why decision fatigue is real and how to ask for wisdom without shame

• How to hold grief and joy at the same time — and why that’s possible

• The reason hope is not in changing circumstances, but in Christ

• God doesn’t minimize your burden. You don’t have to either. Naming it truthfully is the first step toward healing.

• Every burden has a purpose. You may not see it yet, but steadfastness is forming.

• Wisdom is available — ask. You’re not expected to have it all figured out.

• Joy is a posture, not a feeling. It flows from knowing God is with you, not from things going your way.

• You are not alone. Join a community of Christian caregivers who get it.

Community and biblical grounding bring order where caregiving feels chaotic.

Don’t walk alone. The Christian DigniCare Society (lifetime, under $100) gives you community, coaching, prayer, and practical tools. https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/join

💬 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

What do you do when your loved one with dementia insists, “I’m fine,” while everything in you knows something is deeply wrong? In today’s episode, we walk alongside Jamie, a spouse caregiver facing the painful reality of caring for her husband as he refuses medical help, stops eating, and shows clear signs of cognitive decline.

This conversation offers practical tools, biblical clarity, and emotional grounding for Christian caregivers who feel stuck between what they’re seeing and what their loved one refuses to acknowledge. If you’re navigating frontotemporal dementia (FTD), apathy, anosognosia, or the overlap between dementia and depression, this episode will help you find your next faithful step.

In this episode, you will learn:

Why your loved one may deny anything is wrong (anosognosia)

A powerful explanation of why reasoning and convincing create more conflict—and how understanding brain changes can bring clarity and peace.

How to make steady decisions even without a firm dementia diagnosis

Why a diagnosis may not change what you need to do next—and how to anchor your caregiving in wise stewardship.

The hidden connection between dementia and depression

How depression can mimic or worsen dementia symptoms, and how caregivers can advocate for treatment even when a loved one refuses office visits.

Practical strategies for supporting hydration and eating

Gentle, conflict-reducing ways to encourage nourishment when apathy takes over.

One simple action step caregivers can take today

A clear, realistic step to reduce pressure and bring direction to your next decision.

1. You are not imagining the decline—your observations matter.

You don’t need a confirmed diagnosis before you make wise, protective decisions.

2. Anosognosia is not stubbornness.

Your loved one cannot see the decline, which means you must steward the decisions with clarity.

3. Depression may be playing a role.

Treatment can sometimes reduce apathy, refusal, and emotional withdrawal.

4. You can advocate without forcing confrontation.

Messaging your loved one’s doctor or using telehealth may open doors when in-person visits fail.

5. You do not have to walk this alone.

Community and biblical grounding bring order where caregiving feels chaotic.

Don’t walk alone. The Christian DigniCare Society (lifetime, under $100) gives you community, coaching, prayer, and practical tools. https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/join

💬 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

Read the Blog: https://www.thinkdifferentdementia.com/dementia-caregiver-support-when-loved-one-refuses-help/