1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt

Trying to Conceive After Loss

Each child gone ahead from among us is a precious person made in the image of God—and all having been made into Hope Moms, we together declare motherhood in each of our journeys. Through this series, we honor each other’s experiences of motherhood in love through our shared God of hope. “Hasten to answer me, Lord; for my spirit fails me. Do not hide your face from me, lest I become like those descending to the pit. In the morning let me hear of your mercy, for in you I trust. Show me the path I should walk, for I entrust my life to you.” Psalm 143:7-8 Trust. Such a simple word, and yet such a complex process. The journey of ...

Lauren’s Story

We both heard it clearly: God’s call on our lives to be parents. We felt hopeful, grateful, and a little scared. In time, we questioned those words “parents” repeatedly and even doubted our ability to hear God accurately or trust Him, because what we didn’t know and barely understood was that our first child, Isaac, would be the child we wouldn’t raise here on earth.  … My husband, Eric, and I were hopeful when we started planning for a family. Getting pregnant proved difficult. My sister and friends announced their pregnancies, threw baby showers, and grew beautiful, round bellies, while I got my period month after month and ...

The Gift of Zachary

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. I’ve read through the description for this topic a few times and contemplated what ways I am grateful for my son—who I only got to hold briefly when he was stillborn. I didn’t get to ...

How Long, O Lord?

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.  How Long? "O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,    and you will not hear?Or cry to ...

Parenting New Blessings

Each child gone ahead from among us is a precious person made in the image of God—and all having been made into Hope Moms, we together declare motherhood in each of our journeys. Through this series, we honor each other’s experiences of motherhood in love through our shared God of hope. Our New Blessing baby girl was born 17 months after her older sister, our Hope Baby, went home to Jesus. During my pregnancy with her and in these first six months of her life, I have dealt with a wide range of emotions—fear, guilt, grief, joy, and gratitude. Perhaps you are also expecting a New Blessing or already have him or her in your arms. I ...

Chapter Spotlight: Northern Indiana Chapter

What's happening in Northern Indiana: The Northern Indiana Hope Mommies Chapter has had an exciting year of growth and change. We added several new individuals to our leadership team and began reaching women in a new city, Fort Wayne, which is the second largest city in Indiana. New territory allowed us to provide Hope Boxes to four new hospitals: Parkview Regional Medical Center, Parkview Randallia, Dekalb Health, and Dupont Hospital. We distributed a total of 250 Hope Boxes this year. We also began offering a monthly gathering in Fort Wayne, in addition to our Goshen group.  This year, we continued our annual tradition of hosting a ...

Hannah’s Story

“God is faithful; He will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” 1 Corinthians 10:13 I found out I was pregnant on my husband, Justin's, birthday. To tell you I was excited would be an understatement. I was over the moon, off the walls excited! Being a mom is something I’ve wanted since I was a little girl with baby dolls. It is also something both Justin and I had talked about well before marriage and have been putting off because of school and life transitions. We were thrilled! About eight weeks later, we lost our baby.  The events ...

The Gift of Max

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 sweet Max, You changed everything. You were light in the dark after the early loss of our first baby shattered us. Learning that you existed was the sweetest gift. And somehow, despite ...

A Renewed Focus for the New Year

New Year’s resolutions have a bad reputation. So much so that my husband decided to start working out on December 31 last year to avoid quitting during 2019. I will say he was successful in his reasoning, but one day didn’t actually make the difference. His commitment to one day at a time with focus on his future goals did.  As believers, we often find ourselves living with this temporary, humanistic view of time—we are impatient, frustrated in trials, lacking in perseverance, not living with eternity in mind, worrying, not trusting God for provision, or living in fear. Often, our goal is to make this life as easy as possible, not ...

Prince of Peace

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be studying Isaiah 9 together. In this passage, Isaiah gives us insight into the incredible hope that was given through the birth of Christ. Join us as we discover how the grieving mother can find comfort, especially in the holiday season, in the following descriptions of Christ. Prince of Peace “And He will be called     Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace     there will ...