1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt

The Suffering Servant Has Come

As I approach Christmas, I can feel that there is—inherently—a sense of longing that swells this season, especially having lost my child on this earth. I have a biblical longing for all to be made right, for the gap between this world and the next to be gone, for the righteous King of all to return—not as a baby this time, but as the One coming on the clouds carrying all victory over sin and death. The reality that this world is missing what I most desire is all the more pronounced through my unique, acute, and raw awareness of how empty this life can feel. And yet—do you feel the rush of this season too? I don't mean the rush of mall vis...

Erin’s Story

Emma Grace was our first child.  Everything was going perfectly with the pregnancy when we went in for our routine 20-week ultrasound in October of 2011. Then everything changed. After finding out that there were many things medically wrong with our precious girl, we left the doctor’s office in complete shock and devastation. I remember thinking, this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we get to live out the faith that we have professed and said we have believed our whole lives. This is when we get to choose to walk with the Lord or not. I truly felt like I was at a fork in the road in that moment. I chose the Lord, but it ...

To Gaze on the Christ-Child

One silent night, over 2,000 years ago, God came to the earth as a baby. Immanuel. God with us. A baby who came to live so he could die, and would die so we could live. This is the hope of Christmas. This is the hope of Christ. But when your heart is broken and bleeding and the sting of commercial holiday cheer intensifies it all, that hope may not bring much comfort. Not because the Christ-child is not enough, but because we push what is offered away. The lights glisten on the tree. The stockings hang over the fire. Familiar tunes are sung about joy and being merry. While the world is writing lists long with desires of the newest ...

In the Word: Mighty God

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!  “And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 READ: How often ...

What to do When Your Friend Loses a Baby

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. This past summer I was experiencing the most intense and sudden pain I've ever had. After an hour where I was just trying to bear it, Nate overruled and we went to the ER. After all night in the ER, we were admitted the next day and there for five days, during which we had ...

Light in the Darkness

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shown.” Isaiah 9:2 Does it feel as though God is silent or distant? Does it seem like the Christmas season only reminds you of the ache in your heart for the ones you wished were with you? Do you wonder if God will breathe life into the broken places of your heart, or if there will ever be a day where it won’t feel so dark? You are not alone in those questions, fears, and silent cries for God to not feel so silent. In fact, for 400 years the people of Israel felt those same questions stirring in their souls. The God who ...

Angela’s Story

My husband and I got married in April of 2010. We wanted to grow our family right away. When I went in for my early exam six months after we were married, my doctor was concerned that I was not yet pregnant. We began to chart my cycle with ovulation tests, charts, and checking my temperature. When I was still not pregnant a year later, the doctor’s concern increased. Since my cycles and exams all looked good, we started talking about various fertility treatments. I started on some medication and began a treatment plan. When the first round of treatments failed, I didn’t know what to do. I felt devastated, lost, and alone. There was nowhere to ...

I Wish You Knew: What Really Helps

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. “Let me know if you need anything, I’d love to help.” It’s the phrase I heard most often after I lost my first two daughters. A well meaning statement, but a difficult one to know how to answer in the midst of the intense grief that follows the devastating loss of a ...

Grieving With A Grateful Heart

All of the pumpkin spice lattes in the world couldn't warm me that first November. It wasn't just the air that was cold, it was my heart. When my son went Home just two months earlier it was as if a part of me had died with him. And there I was, surrounded by family and what seemed like hundreds of platters of food, and fear instilled in me as we gathered around the table. Before dinner, it was customary to say grace followed by each member of the family saying one thing they were thankful for.  But this year—this year, I was struggling under the weight of my grief to find any reason to be thankful. I knew logically that there was plenty to be ...

In the Word: Wonderful Counselor

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!  “And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor” Isaiah 9:6 READ: We need counsel; we need to know how our hope ...