1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt

Leah’s Story

We were in shock, elated shock, to find out that I was pregnant in 2018. We had struggled to conceive both of our boys for over a year each with a miscarriage in between them. As much as our hearts wanted to keep growing our family, I just couldn’t handle the ongoing heartache of trying. So, we didn’t try, didn’t really prevent, and sort of assumed that pregnancy was off the table. Our reactions to the positive pregnancy test confirmed just how much we really did hope for another baby. Even though I was 38, my doctors were fairly relaxed about additional testing. I was healthy with two healthy kids, so there was no pressure to be extra ...

Overcomer

Everyone will wake up to a day filled with bad news at some point in their life. A call late at night, an unwelcome diagnosis, a visit from a police officer, a letter sent out to the employees of your company. Perhaps, for you it was an early break in water, pre-term labor, a heartbeat not detected, fearful tears during a sonogram, or bleeding during early pregnancy. Should I go on? Unfortunately, we are all part of a club that is heartbreakingly large because we all have had this type of bad news one way or another. Before this bad news hit my heart, I was a blissfully ignorant Christ follower. I am a faithful and busy servant to my Father, my ...

Streams of Living Water

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be studying Revelation 21 together, which gives us a beautiful picture of the eternity that awaits those who are in Christ . In this series, we seek to lift the grieving mother's eyes up towards heaven and the imperishable inheritance that is hers and her precious baby's in Christ. "And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."Revelation 21:6 READ: The topic of eternity generates a variety of ...

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

My hope is built on nothing lessThan Jesus' blood and righteousness;I dare not trust the sweetest frame,But wholly lean on Jesus' name. My hope is built on nothing less, nothing more, and nothing other than the blood and righteousness of Jesus and His finished work on my behalf. I know that nothing else can satisfy. Nothing else is enough—not even the sweetness of having my precious babies in my arms once more. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;All other ground is sinking sand:All other ground is sinking sand. It is Christ alone—all other ground is sinking sand. All other hopes are empty, all other attempts at salvation are striven ...

Purposed: God is Near

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good… for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”Romans 8:38-30 God's objective is to conform us to the image of His Son. He wants to make us like Christ, because that is our ultimate good. Psalm 73:28 says “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge....

Mary Beth’s Story

Our waiting was finally over. After three years of trying, we were finally met with a positive pregnancy test. My husband made me re-do the pee stick every morning for three days to be sure. We were so excited, but waited to tell our families until nine weeks.I knew that at eight weeks we were safe, right? When we reached 12 weeks, I was even more confident. By 20 weeks, seeing our little boy squirm and wiggle in perfect anatomy and size made me feel so safe and secure in our future as a family of three. I was filled with confidence and love during our maternity shoot and the baby shower at 30 weeks. I waited to post those beautiful pictures to ...

Three Years Later

It can often seem as though you will always be drowning beneath the acute pain of loss. However, while our grief never truly ends, it doesn't always look and feel the same way. In this series, our writers speak from where they are now in their grief, _________ years later. Throughout this series, you will find testimonies of how grief has changed them, and how God has used their heartache to shape them into a greater reflection of His image. 3 years later.  One. Thank you, Lord, for sustaining me through that first year of deep, overwhelming grief that felt heavy and unrelenting. Thank you for carrying me through the waves that ...

Purposed: Nothing Is Wasted

Grief can play such destructive tricks on your mind. There were moments that I really thought I made up everything about my pregnancy—but knowing that Gwen is real, heaven is real, and I will really go there because of what Christ did for me was an anchor to my wild thoughts and a balm to my grieving heart. What is the big question that we ask ourselves, again and again? “Why? Why did this happen? Why me? Why my baby and my family?” While these are not unspiritual questions to ask, the Bible doesn’t always reveal the "why’s" of God. But, it does reveal His character and the assurance of His Spirit. So, when when we are plagued by ...

All Things New

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be studying Revelation 21 together, which gives us a beautiful picture of the eternity that awaits those who are in Christ . In this series, we seek to lift the grieving mother's eyes up towards heaven and the imperishable inheritance that is hers and her precious baby's in Christ. “And He who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” Revelation 21:5 READ: The death of our daughter when she was just seven days old has ...

Choose Hope in 2020

In May 2014, I received the devastating news that my baby’s heart had stopped beating. As I grieved the loss of this beloved child of mine, I began to fear that the passing of time would force his memory and my affection to fade—that, with no tangible reminders of the significant place he held within our family and my heart, he would someday be overlooked or dismissed.  Within weeks of my loss, I suddenly started receiving packages from all sorts of grief groups filled with little trinkets and platitudes related to infant loss. I don't even know how they came to have my name and address. Most of the items in those boxes were tacky and ...