eileen

/Eileen Benthal

About Eileen Benthal

Eileen Benthal is a writer, speaker and wellness coach with a B.A. in Theology from Franciscan University. She and her husband Steve live in Jamesport and have four young adult children. Their youngest, Johanna, is a teenager with special needs. Eileen can be reached at FreeIndeedFreelance.com.

Learning to ‘let go and let God’

Eileen Benthal's week brought lessons in responding with grace, as her youngest child underwent three brain surgeries at NYU medical center in Manhattan, where she is recovering in pediatric ICU. I spent last weekend away on a women’s retreat. I was leading the worship for 80 women who took time away from their busy lives and their families to commune with God and fellowship with each other. It was a beautiful retreat, filled with inspiration, laughter, tears and prayer. The presenter, Kathleen McCarthy, was excellent. She is a mother of twelve and a grandmother of fifty. If I thought that my life was complicated; compared to her life, mine is a walk in the park. When her children were younger, their house burned to the ground and they lost everything. When her youngest was just 18 months old, her husband was diagnosed with colon cancer and died. A few years [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:49-05:00 March 10th, 2012|Categories: Caregiver, Life on Purpose|0 Comments

Legendary child starlet gets behind a pet project helping raise funds for assistance dog program

By Amy Sacks / DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Saturday, December 18, 2010, 4:00 AM Legendary child starlet Margaret O'Brien was just a normal 3-year-old when she landed on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post with her cocker Spaniel-mix, Maggie. "He said, 'That's just the face we're looking for,' but he was talking about my dog," the actress said recently, recalling the fateful day in 1944 when she and her pup were discovered at a Los Angeles theater where her mother was dancing flamenco. The photo spread caught the attention of MGM Studios, which cast her in a one-minute role in "Babes on Broadway" and then a starring role in "Journey for Margaret." Judy Garland sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," to O'Brien in her role as Tootie in "Meet Me in St. Louis." Unlike many child stars, O'Brien, who was born Angela Maxine O'Brien, was never in trouble in [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:50-05:00 December 18th, 2010|Categories: In The Media|0 Comments

Government-Run Health Care Would Ration Care for Disabled Children, Parents and Lawmakers Warn

Parents of disabled and special needs children are particularly concerned about a health care system that could end up rationing care for some people, including their own children. By Penny Starr (CNSNews.com) – Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday shared a personal story that shows why he is passionate about protecting the most vulnerable in society -- and why a government-run health care program would not only fail to offer that protection, but could end up rationing care for some people, including children with disabilities. At a Capitol Hill press conference, Franks said the parents who brought their special needs children to Washington, D.C., had the most compelling stories to share. “But I would cite just one (story) that has a personal connection to me,” Franks said. The story involved an “old man” and his firstborn son, who was born with deformities of the mouth – a “missing pallet” and [...]

2017-01-08T20:42:50-05:00 September 16th, 2009|Categories: In The Media|0 Comments