1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt

I Wish You Knew: Remember With Me

Often in our grief, those closest to us do not know how to comfort and encourage us. Sometimes they stay away or don’t say anything at all because they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. In this series, we hope to better equip those around us to come alongside a grieving mother—to enter their hurt and offer hope and encouragement, or simply grieve with them. It has been four years since the day we were told that our precious Simeon had gone to be with the Lord. Eight months later we experienced that same devastating sorrow as we said goodbye to another sweet baby, our Odelle. There were many days where it seemed as if the whole ...

The Road to Gratitude

It was late on a Friday evening in January. I was sitting in a chapel with dozens of high school students at a winter retreat, thankful for the dim lighting that hid the tears that were streaming down my face. Just a few hours earlier I had been told that my baby’s heart was no longer beating. The worship team began playing, and soon the room was filled with the sound of voices lifted up in praise. I robotically formed the words of each song on my lips, but I was numb to what was taking place around me. Inside, I was crying out to the Lord, mourning the death of the child that I still carried within me. The next morning we gathered together again ...

Margaret’s Story

This is my least favorite season of the year. I know what you are thinking based on my rather pale complexion. You think I mean the hot, sunny summer season, right? While it may be true that I avoid the sun and heat like the plague, the season I am referring to is this yearly season of grief that coincides with summer's first day. You see, my sweet, much-loved twin sons Matthew and Caleb were born on the first day of summer. The first day of summer is the longest day of the year for me, not because of the summer solstice, but because it is the beginning of my living nightmare. Matty died that day. I only held him, wrapped in a soft yellow blanket ...

I Wish You Knew: Don’t Stay Away

Often in our grief, those closest to us do not know how to comfort and encourage us. Sometimes they stay away or don’t say anything at all because they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. In this series, we hope to better equip those around us to come alongside a grieving mother—to enter their hurt and offer hope and encouragement, or simply grieve with them. As a bereaved mother, I often times had no clue what I wanted or needed from my friends and family. As I reflect on the past few years I can now recognize things that people did that were incredibly meaningful, and things that I wish people had known. One of the best ...

Is He Worthy?

"He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler." Psalm 91:4 The Psalmist declares with conviction that God is a safe place to not only find refuge, but to experience protection. In the NLT, this last phrase is translated, "His faithful promises are your armor of protection.” God’s faithfulness is His reliability, and His trustworthiness. When someone is reliable, you trust what they say they will do. Because God is faithful, we can trust that His promises are true. After I walked through the loss of Dasah, I began to study the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1-2. One of the ...

In the Word: The Lord is My Peace

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at different names of God found in Scripture, and how these different aspects of who He is offer us hope in the midst of our grief.  As we study together, we encourage you to use the comments as a place to dialogue with us about what you are learning and share your answers to the questions below. We pray that you hearts will be encouraged as you study these names of God along with us!  “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in ...

I Wish You Knew: I See Your Care for Me

Often in our grief, those closest to us do not know how to comfort and encourage us. Sometimes they stay away or don’t say anything at all because they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. In this series, we hope to better equip those around us to come alongside a grieving mother—to enter their hurt and offer hope and encouragement, or simply grieve with them. Love hopes all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7 One commentator writes on this passage, love hopes “what is good of another.”¹ Church father Augustine of Hippo also understood 1 Corinthians 13:7 in terms of “‘believing the best’ about all people.”² When others have ...

He Gives Peace

When our oldest daughter was a baby, she, like many babies, did not enjoy her carseat. She would scream and scream until we discovered that there was a certain song that would immediately quiet her. The name of the song was “Peace” from the children’s album “To Be Like Jesus” by Sovereign Grace Ministries. As I listened to this song over and over for the first year of my baby girl’s life, I had no idea the impact that it would have on me in the years to follow. Peace, You give me peace When the storms come and I’m afraid  In March of 2011 the storms came. They were big storms, and the word afraid didn’t even come close to what I ...

Bethany’s Story

There were two lines on the pregnancy test. Two lines! After three years of infertility, countless negative tests, being told by doctors we had a 2% chance of conceiving without fertility treatments, and deciding just five days prior to stop trying and pursue adoption—there were two lines telling me I was pregnant. I couldn’t believe it. I had dreamt of this day for years. Praying, hoping, and waiting. I’d always assumed I’d break down in tears. Instead, I felt a sense of amazement. My husband David was in the same boat. It’s safe to say we were in some degree of shock. But it was nothing compared to the shock the next nine months would ...

I Wish You Knew: Words Won’t Erase the Pain

Often in our grief, those closest to us do not know how to comfort and encourage us. Sometimes they stay away or don’t say anything at all because they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. In this series, we hope to better equip those around us to come alongside a grieving mother—to enter their hurt and offer hope and encouragement, or simply grieve with them. “He was just too beautiful for this earth.” What? Too beautiful for this earth? What does this even mean? Too beautiful? So God decided to take my only son? I know plenty of beautiful people who are living and thriving on this earth. What? Is she serious? I sat in ...