1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt


In the Word: The Source of Our Rest

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. It is our desire that this series will aid you in getting in the Bible for yourself and discovering the joy that comes from hearing from God through the pages of His Word. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Matthew 11:28 READ: There is only one God, the One whose nature, attributes, and character are revealed in the Bible. There is only one God who is capable of rushing His people into His presence at death. There is only one God who created people out of the overflow of His own perfect joy and for His own pleasure. There is ...

Our Infinite God

God has invited us to be captivated by the greatness of His character and what we believe about God has the greatest potential to shape our suffering. Although we will never be able to thoroughly grasp the fullness of His glory on this side of eternity, He has given us glimpses of His glory in the revelation of His Word. In this series, we will dive into ten attributes of God and discover what hope they offer us in our sorrow and how knowing and believing these truths about who God is can provide great comfort in the midst of grief. As a sinful person, I am blown away as I read throughout Scripture about how great our God is. We will never ...

Freedom from Guilt and Shame

I remember so vividly the look on the doctors face the day he told me and my husband that our unborn daughter would not live. He just kept shaking his head while looking at the ultrasound, repeating softly, “I’m so sorry. She just will not survive.” The first seeds of guilt began to take root in my heart as we drove home from that appointment. It was subtle in the beginning, more of a whispering question. “Was it something I did?” Over the coming months though, it began to creep deeper and deeper into my heart as I continued to carry my daughter, knowing she wasn’t expected to survive the rest of the pregnancy, or birth. I ...

Megan’s Story

January 23, 2019 started with a mix of pure excitement and a little bit of fear. My husband and I had taken the day off work and he brought me strawberries and cream for breakfast in bed. Afterwards, we got up to go to the anatomy ultrasound for our first baby. We sat together in the exam room, so excited to see our little one moving and to find out if we were having a girl or a boy.  “It’s a girl!” the tech announced, and we knew she was our Adelynn Claire. We moved to the waiting room and studied the scans, imagining the excitement our family would feel when they heard the news, and dreaming, even then, of what life would be like with ...

Yet I Will Praise You: The Weeping Prophet

History bears witness to the many men and women who have gone before us in choosing to praise God in spite of the great suffering they endured. We can learn much from their testimonies of faithfulness and perseverance in the midst of grief and pain. In this series, we share about the trials others have endured, and of their commitment to praise God from the valley. The moment my husband and I found out we were expecting our fourth child, my mind instantly began to imagine what life as a family of six would look like. Baby names began to run circles in my mind, prayers for this precious life were whispered often throughout the day, and ...

Grieving with Children: Remembering Together

For those who have experienced the loss of a child following the birth of other children, it can be so hard to navigate your own grief while also shepherding the thoughts, feelings, and reactions of your other children.  This week on the blog, Hope Mom, Calli Williams, is sharing her experience on helping her children grieve with hope. Walking alongside my children as they have been given the roles of grieving siblings has been one of the hardest parts of my own personal grief journey. But it has also been the most rewarding. They have taught me and my husband so much more than I think we have taught them. Our family finds so much ...

In the Word: Finding True Rest

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. It is our desire that this series will aid you in getting in the Bible for yourself and discovering the joy that comes from hearing from God through the pages of His Word. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.-Matthew 11:29 READ: 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 ...

Filled Unto the Fullness of God

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19 One phrase in the passage immediately brings question and skepticism for me: “that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).  I think, "How is this ...

Grieving with Children: Looking to Jesus

For those who have experienced the loss of a child following the birth of other children, it can be so hard to navigate your own grief while also shepherding the thoughts, feelings, and reactions of your other children. Calli Williams is sharing her experience on helping her children grieve with hope. As Hope Mommies, God gives us the beautiful ability to lean into Him while He turns our ashes into beauty. Our response to the trials we face in losing a child is a walking testimony to turn others towards Him—especially those closest to us. While journeying through the loss of our daughter, my husband and I saw the truth of the Spirit ...

Evie’s Story

August 28, 2019. The day my life changed. Again.  This was the day I was the first to know a new person existed. The day I knew I was a mommy again. It only took a moment for me to register the results on the pregnancy test and have so many thoughts flash through my head. “I’m having a baby! Who will this child be? Boy or girl? Blond hair or brown? Blue eyes or brown eyes? Your sisters will be so excited to know you’re on your way! Your daddy will be so proud!” I was bubbling after telling Peter and blurted out, “Let’s tell the family!” I’d felt very private in announcing our pregnancies before, but it was just the opposite ...