1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt
The Test
"The crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts." Proverbs 17:3
Yesterday I came across this verse, and found much comfort in it. These were my observations:
Silver, gold, and other precious metals are of great worth.Because they possess value, they must be made pure and spotless; who would purchase imperfect, muddied gold? The inherent worth of the material demands purification.The materials, while raw, must be proved genuine. The silver looks shiny, but will it endure age, wear, and the elements? It must be tested to prove its authenticity.Testing of precious metals is achieved and efficient only when it ...
The Lord Will Fulfill His Purpose For Me
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."Philippians 1:6
I blinked, and the years have passed right in front of me. Every year when the page on our calendar turns to July, my heart stops just as it did that early morning in late July, 2010, when two doctors stood in front of our family and told us that Landry did not have much longer to live.
As I focus on that day and how different my life and family look now, I am reminded over and over that the Lord will fulfill His purposes for us. No matter how dark some of your days are on this journey that you are now ...
Such a Wide Freedom
Everyone's grief is unique and your stage in the process of healing as a Hope Mom might be such that this post is not an ideal read for you right now. I want to make you aware in advance that I am writing about my pregnancy after loss. Most of all, I desire that this post give hope of the freedom that comes with inviting God into grief. With love, Lianna
There is a baby growing inside of me today. My husband and I are in disbelief. We are 15 weeks along in this pregnancy and our daughter, Noelle, whom we lost at 42 weeks, would have been two years old in three short months.
As I grieved the loss of my daughter ...
Who Needs Friends?
After college, I moved to Chicago for a change of pace. I wanted—and needed —to spread my wings, abandon my safety zone of family for a time, and learn what it meant to fully depend on the Lord. Being 22, I thought the idea of learning loneliness sounded so romantic in a tragic sort of way. I pictured myself strolling the streets of the windy city, coffee mug in hand, with a cute sweater and scarf and with the soundtrack of Natalie Merchant crooning in the background.
What I learned is that loneliness is not romantic. Coffee and cute scarves are too expensive when you're learning to pay all your bills on your own, and being surrounded by ...
Remember Your Creator
Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be studying the book of Ecclesiastes together, which centers on the truth that life apart from Christ is empty and vain. In its pages, we discover how to view our lives with an eternal perspective, enabling us to press into the Lord regardless of our circumstances. In this series, we seek to explore the wise principles presented to us by "the Teacher" in order to better understand what it looks like to walk in the fear and joy of the Lord even in the midst of our grief.
"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before&...
Where Were You?
After my loss at 18 weeks, I found myself unable to listen to Christian music or hymns without bursting into tears, and my voice couldn’t find the strength to utter any of the words. It was just so hard to sing “it is well with my soul” when my soul hadn’t healed. As the entire church sang “Good Good Father” my harsh reality seemed in stark contrast to the joyous noise surrounding me. You bet I believed those words, but my wound was still so raw.
I knew God was good, even though I didn’t feel any bit good at the time. I hoped if I said, “God is good” in my head enough times that my feelings would eventually catch up. ...
Seeking the Lord in the Midst of the Valley
The nature of infant loss occurring in 1 out of 4 pregnancies, means that there are new women joining our community on a weekly basis. Over the next few weeks, we want to repost some of our earliest blog articles to encourage the dear mommas that have recently joined the ministry and community of Hope Mommies. Although these posts may have been written many years ago, the truths they contain remain the same. God is enough. He has always been enough. And as we place our hope in Him, we will find that He is our anchor in the midst of this storm of grief.
Pain. Deep, deep pain. We all experience pain on many different levels. The pain of ...
The Good Shepherd Guides His Sheep
God’s Word is filled with rich promises for His children. How do these “precious and very great promises” inform and direct your grief? How does keeping your eyes fixed on these truths anchor your hope in the Lord? In this series, we write about how God, through the promises in His Word, comforts and strengthens us in our sorrow.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” John 10:11
The day before we found out our daughter, Lydia, had died, my husband and I were reading this passage in John 10. We spent some time reflecting together about how great this truth is. A shepherd is someone who ...
