1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt


Feed Your Soul: Mothers Suffering Well {Sanctification, The Responsibility of the Believer, & Suffering}

In the last post in the Feed Your Soul Series, we considered the ordinances of the church, that in the Lord’s supper we remember that Christ’s body has been broken for us and that in baptism we identify ourselves with Christ in His death and resurrection. Our baptism as believers is the outward declaration of our inward faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. When we consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ, we have our impetus for desiring to live a godly life.   Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes this about the connection:   [Being delivered in the sense that our sins are forgiven] is only the beginning, but ...

Megan’s Story

"I remember leaving work that Thursday afternoon feeling a little off and thinking to myself all the way home that it’s not possible for me to be pregnant. My husband and I had been reeling from back-to-back miscarriages that year, the last one only six weeks removed. I stared in disbelief as I saw the two lines appear. This wasn’t supposed to be happening; we still had more testing to go through and we weren’t ready to try again. After several weeks of the typical pregnancy symptoms and initial blood work, I had begun to pray earnestly for this little baby and so had my sweet friends and family. I remember someone telling me that this would ...

Shannon’s Story

"When we found out we were pregnant with our third child we were over the moon. Being ever the planner, I immediately began to envision how this new one would fit into our lives. At our 20 week ultrasound we found out we were having a girl. We brought home pink flowers and balloons to surprise our two oldest. The next day I bought her first outfit- a sweet little summer romper. There were a few small things that came up on the ultrasound that we needed to follow up on, but were assured that they were nothing major. We went back at 24 weeks. Things seemed to be fine with our little one. Later, I remember so clearly the phone call that explained ...

Feed Your Soul: Between Now and Eternity {The Holy Spirit & Assurance)

My husband and I went to sit at a Lake Michigan beach while we were still in deep grief after our daughter’s stillbirth. We sat in chilly air, looking at the endless blue. This was the closest that we could come to an ocean, living in the Midwest. Looking out at my version of the ocean, I mused about themes of eternity in that endless view. We sat on our folding chairs and swatted at a few pesky flies, mostly in solitude together except for a few passersby in the distance whose frames eventually faded into the long stretch of sand. For me, this subtle act felt bold. It was one of my first attempts to return to the “real world,” meaning ...

Becky’s Story

"I became a hope mom on May 2nd, 2015.  It was less than 5 weeks shy of my due date with our second child and I found myself headed to the hospital thinking I may have an early delivery, only to arrive there and find out my son was already with Jesus.  It’s the kind of thing I thought would never happen to me. There are many things I am thankful for in the midst of our loss.  All the tangible things that the Lord provided in loss, especially the sweet presence of family and friends, with the many ways they sought to help us.  But above all things, I am eternally grateful for God who is good and promises to work all things ...

Feed Your Soul: Defined by Love {Jesus Christ & Salvation}

How do I now do justice to the beauty of the cross? I cannot. Indeed, I will be worshiping Him for the way He has saved me from my sin for all eternity. With the last post in this series, I waded through some truths about sin. Has that post about sin and wrath not made this one all the sweeter to anticipate? There is a Savior! As Thomas Watson said, "Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet."   This is sweet; these are the three words I have learned to describe what Jesus has done on the cross for me: Penal: The just punishment that my sin deserved… Substitutionary: was placed on Christ instead… Atonement: ...

Feed Your Soul: Eternity at Stake {Man & Hell}

Andrew Bonar wrote, “It has been much impressed upon me, that if convinced of sin at all, I must be so by the view of it in Christ’s love.” The biblical facts of human sin help us understand why the cross is necessary—and further, they help us understand why the cross is the greatest act of love mankind could ever know. And this love gives endless comfort in the darkest of days. This post is primarily focused on the biblical concept of human sin. The next post is primarily focused on the salvation of Christ. ... Read the Hope Mommies doctrinal statement regarding man: MAN: We believe that man was created in the image ...

Hope Group Testimonies

Hope Groups are a group of women who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss (up to two years of age) at any point in their life. It’s a collection of women who meet and share their stories with one another, pray together, ask questions, share hurts, share happinesses … and cling to His Word to find that there is still hope after the death of their precious sons and daughters. Hope Groups are a nine week, Bible study and small group. Some meet online through Facebook and some meet in person. Each group will establish a specific meeting time. Even if you can’t make it for that specific time each week, we encourage you to join a ...

Feed Your Soul: Where Can I Find Rest? {The Godhead & The Father}

In grief, nothing seems to be what it used to be; even something as simple as sitting feels different. One day, I walked down the staircase in my home to sit in the corner of the basement where I could be physically lowest and most removed from the world that had seemed to go on without me. As I sat, my body had the odd sensation of continually traveling lower. Sitting was more like sinking. I felt that I was being lowered, though I was not moving. As this was happening, I could also feel my heart pounding even though I was attempting to rest. Every strong pulse sent me a perceived level lower into the ground, the subbasement, the ...

Calli’s Story

The Blessing of Blair My husband and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary in May of 2014. We were so happy with where God had led us in our journey as husband and wife. We had welcomed into this world three beautiful and healthy children, Gavyn, Grant, and Gwyneth. We had witnessed each other grow in godliness hand in hand. God led us down a path of adding to our family through the adoption of our daughter, Bertie, from Malawi, Africa, whom we met while serving with our church at an orphan care center in Malawi. Even through the grueling adoption process, we were over the moon excited to bring our family to completion with such a special gift as ...