1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt

The Gift of Thatcher

As we consider the profound impact that our Hope Babies have had on our lives, we can be filled with gratitude toward them, and toward the Lord. In this series, we reflect on some of the ways that we can say "thank you" to our precious babe(s) for the gifts that they have been and continue to be to us. We welcome you to contribute to this series by writing your own reflection on the impact your baby(ies) has had on your life and submitting it HERE. My Dearest Thatcher, It has been four years since I held your tiny body, kissed your precious head, and felt you take your last breath; four years of longing for your presence while imagining what ...

Does God Even Care?

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be studying the book of Habakkuk together. In this book, we gain insight into how God is at work on our behalf even when we can't always see it. Join us in the weeks ahead as we discover the God who is who carefully and lovingly crafted you, and lovingly created the gift of your child for which you now long. He has not carried you thus far simply to leave you on your own, but will be your Guide and your Strength. "You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the ...

Knowing Him: The Way, the Truth, and the Life

There is nothing greater than knowing Christ. Seven times in the book of John, Jesus offers us profound insight into His nature and character. In this series, we seek to guide the reader into a deeper understanding of these “I Am” statements, and the rich hope and comfort that can be found in Christ in the midst of grief. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 The early church had a fitting nickname. “The Way” spoke the message of Jesus as “not one among many ways to God but the only way to God,” 1 being ...

The Tapestry of Grief

People often ask why bad things happen. Too often, well-meaning people try to comfort those who mourn with cliché answers about why they are enduring misfortune. “God is preparing you for something big.” “Everything happens for a reason.” “God gives His hardest battles to the strongest soldiers.” These comments were always off-putting to me after my dad died in a car accident, again after my firstborn died at 19 weeks in utero, and again after my early miscarriage a few months later. Was I really supposed to think that God orchestrated these deaths just to make me a better person? That always seemed a bit self-centered to me. We ...

Knowing Him: The Good Shepherd

There is nothing greater than knowing Christ. Seven times in the book of John, Jesus offers us profound insight into His nature and character. In this series, we seek to guide the reader into a deeper understanding of these “I Am” statements, and the rich hope and comfort that can be found in Christ in the midst of grief. “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired ...

Dear Chance: A Letter to My Hope Baby

Dear Chance, Words cannot express how deeply you have touched my life. Your short life in my womb did not come with little impact. You lived for twenty weeks and three days, yet your legacy lives on in more ways than I can count. For this I am so filled with gratitude. Here are just four of the gifts that your life continues to give me, Chance. You point me to Jesus When I think of you, which is everyday, I think of Jesus and the ultimate goal of joining you, and our Lord, in heaven. This keeps my heart heaven-pointed daily, with a constant heart and mind refocused on what really matters in life, and keeps my priorities in check. You point me ...

Lift Up Your Eyes

"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them.'" Ecclesiastes 12:1 READ: The Preacher of Ecclesiastes reminds us of the trials that come with increased age (Ecclesiastes 12:2-7). But you and I also know the trials that can come with young adulthood, and even to the youngest lives. Ecclesiastes discusses that the elderly will ultimately go to “his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the streets” (Ecclesiastes 12:5). We know that the very young can also go to their eternal homes, leaving us to ...

Knowing Him: The True Vine

There is nothing greater than knowing Christ. Seven times in the book of John, Jesus offers us profound insight into His nature and character. In this series, we seek to guide the reader into a deeper understanding of these “I Am” statements, and the rich hope and comfort that can be found in Christ in the midst of grief. The room was quiet. I saw the concern on the ultrasound technician’s face as she gently circled her wand across my 20-week belly. Her demeanor had changed almost instantly from just a few minutes prior. After several seconds of horrid silence, she stated, “I am going to have the doctor come in.” In ...

Knowing Him: The Door of the Sheep

There is nothing greater than knowing Christ. Seven times in the book of John, Jesus offers us profound insight into His nature and character. In this series, we seek to guide the reader into a deeper understanding of these “I Am” statements, and the rich hope and comfort that can be found in Christ in the midst of grief. I went to a funeral today. A funeral for a baby. Another baby. We celebrated. We didn’t celebrate the death of a baby, but we celebrated the life she was living with Christ. We gathered with tears in our eyes and joy in our hearts, and worshiped the God of hope in the midst of our sorrow. How? How could we celebrate? ...

Take Heart! Christ Has Overcome

When I was in 9th grade, I found my favorite Bible verse: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 As I read that verse, it felt like God was directly speaking to me. He was telling my little 14-year-old self, “There will be times in your life that will be difficult, but take comfort in knowing that I have claimed victory over everything.” Over the years, I claimed that verse many times—through broken friendships, failed relationships, and uncertainty over the future. Through each circumstance, God ...