1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt
Has God’s Character Changed?
Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next few weeks, we will be meditating on Psalm 77 together. As we study these truths together, we’d love 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 dig into God's Word each week with us!
Has His steadfast love forever ceased? Psalm 77:9
READ:
Then my spirit made a diligent search: “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be ...
A Prayer for the One Who Feels Angry
God, I am angry. So angry. Furious. Bitter. Resentful. Offended.
I am angry that you took my baby from me. That you would allow me to know the joys of pregnancy and motherhood only to strip them away. That you would leave me feeling so empty. So alone. So broken. I am angry that you would give me this road to walk. That the steps you have ordered for me would take me down this road. That the plans you have for me could harm me so deeply.
I am furious at myself. I am furious that my body could not do the one thing it is meant to do. That it could not protect my baby. It could not sustain him. It could not get him here safely. I am furious at how ...
The Gift of Eternal Perspective
Most of the time people are happy enough to ignore death. They may feel it as a looming elephant in the room, but never talk about it. Our culture encourages us to make the most of this life, but doesn’t much care to address the fact that it ends. Suffering, on the other hand, has a way of clearing everything else out of the room. When you are suffering, especially in the face of grief, you are forced to stare right at death.
When my daughter, Ginny, was stillborn at 35 weeks, death was in my womb. And then death was placed in my arms. My dreams and plans were replaced with death. There were moments I felt I might just drown in death. There was no ...
New Year, Renewed Hope
There is no circumstance in life in which placing your hope in Christ is not relevant. There is no valley so low that His light cannot penetrate. Even in the dark night of grief we can choose to make much of the Lord. We can be resolved to lift Him high. Tomorrow we will wake to the start of a brand new year, and this reality is often accompanied by the idea of a fresh start. We make lists of the ways we’d like to grow or change and make plans to implement new habits, learn new skills, or embrace new experiences.
Often, these resolutions are driven by a desire for self-improvement. But what if this year we allowed our resolutions to be rooted in a ...
God’s Good Gift
It's a scene that I’ll replay in my mind for the rest of my life. Sitting on the floor of our white tub, watching clots of burgundy run down my legs and past my feet. Tears poured down my cheeks, becoming one with the water as it drowned out the sounds of my guttural wailing. It’s a surreal feeling; watching life leave your body and run into the drain. I have lived this memory twice. It feels sacrilegious of sorts. Insensitive and cold. To carry life but instead of giving my babies a proper goodbye, I watched pieces of the life that was once inside of me run into the sewer.
From my medical chart, the words, “chemical pregnancy” and “mis...
Hymns of Hope: Joy to the World
When it seems as though the whole world is intent on joyful celebrations, Christmas movie marathons, winter wonderlands, and gift exchanges, it can be hard to imagine how your grief fits into all of the merriment around you. But one thing we often forget in all of the holiday bustle is that the Christmas story is intertwined with sorrow. God's people had endured years of oppression and hardship and 400 years of silence from God. They were under Roman occupation and longed for the coming of the Messiah that had been promised long ago. Jesus was coming to a burdened, waiting, and hurting people. Even the magnificence of the birth of Christ was tinged ...
Through the Waiting
Waiting. Are you feeling the pains of waiting too?
Life is incomplete because we lost the presence of God in the garden. We don’t know Him as He so wants to be known by us. He created us for that purpose, to live our lives with and unto Him. I adore that God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Oh, can you imagine? The God of all walking with His people, fellowshipping with them. Oh, how could have Adam and Eve desired more than that?
But they were pulled away by the evil one. They were pulled away by desires stirred in their own hearts. My friends, God is a good God. I know that the world tells us otherwise. The world tells us ...
Hymns of Hope: It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Written in 1849 by Edmund Sears, the words of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" is one of the few Christmas hymns that does not actually mention the birth of Christ. Instead, this song focuses on the good news that the angels brought that first Christmas morn. After appearing to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem, the angels sang of the glory of God and the peace that is ours in Christ. In the fields that night, the song of the angels rang out, piercing the darkness and declaring the arrival of the long-awaited Savior. Hope had come at last.
It came upon a midnight clearThat glorious song of oldFrom angels bending near the earthTo touch their harps ...
Moria’s Retreat Experience
75 moms traveled from all over the world to come to the Hope Mommies retreat — A Song In The Night. 75 moms came here with broken hearts in search of connecting with other moms who have walked a similar journey. It was a spirit-filled weekend of healing, worship, prayer, and intimacy.
I listened to so many mothers share stories of their babies in heaven. I’ve seen their photos, I’ve heard their names, and I’ve honored their stories. I, also, shared my son Noah’s story. I’ve shared his photo, I’ve said his name, and I’ve honored his story.
At first, I was hesitant about even going to the retreat. I wasn’t sure why God wanted me to ...
