1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt

In the Word: God is Gentle

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at different characteristics of God—specifically reflecting on how each aspect of His character offers us hope in the midst of our grief.  As we study together, we encourage you to use the comments as a place to dialogue with us about what you are learning and share your answers to the questions below. We pray that you hearts will be encouraged as you dig into the infinitely beautiful character of God along with us!  “He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently ...

Losing A First Child

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. We are eager to go above and beyond in showing honor and love for one another (Rom. 12:10, 15). Through this series, we honor each other’s experiences of motherhood in love through our shared God of hope. I felt like a mother, but I didn’t look like one. While there are a thousand reasons why losing a child, especially a first child hurts, this was the possibly the hardest part for me when I miscarried our first baby in January of 2016. The minute that second ...

Secured: Where Security Begins

In March 2017, Hope Moms from all across the country gathered in Giddings, TX for the annual Hope Mommies Retreat.  Together, they spent the weekend sharing the stories of their precious babies, and finding that Christ can indeed comfort the brokenhearted, often through the hands and tears of another sufferer along the way. The theme of the 2018 retreat was "Secured." In this mini series, our retreat speaker, Lindsey Dennis, takes us through Psalm 91:1-4 in order to give us a greater picture of the security we have been given in Christ. It was just a few months after losing our second daughter when my husband and I sat across from a friend ...

Emily’s Story

In May of 2017 I found out I was pregnant. When I told my husband, we celebrated together, full of joy and excitement. Before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl, we were trying to pick our top names. I thought of Audrey, and instantly fell in love with the name. I knew that if we had a girl that would be her name. The meaning of Audrey is “noble strength.” We wanted to give our child a first name that had a strong meaning, and to me, Audrey was perfect. When I was 20 weeks, we were getting ready to find out the sex of the baby, and were both almost certain that the baby was going to be a boy. But she was a girl! Looking back now, this was ...

Q: What if my Dreams Don’t Align with God’s Plan?

This Q&A series is intended to help you take steps forward in wisdom. Lay your questions before Scripture with us; find in the ashes that wisdom “will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown” (Prov. 4:9). What questions about grief, God, or the Bible do you have right now? Contact us here.  The first time I experienced the heartbreaking loss of a child, I was completely stunned. After having three beautiful and easy pregnancies, I had arrived at my doctor appointment feeling invincible. But as soon as I heard that my little one’s heart was no longer beating inside of me, I was ...

Grace for Community

A few weeks after we received a fatal diagnosis for our son, we received one of my favorite emails yet. A friend, who had been walking through deep waters of grief for many years, wrote that she and her husband were praying for us to have grace for our community. I smiled. She knew exactly what it meant to be in the position we were in. At this point we had received several emails, cards, and comments from people who wanted to care for us well. At times, though, the things that they felt might comfort us weren’t exactly encouraging. In fact, many things people said stung—I still remember some of them nearly three years later. I remember ...

In the Word: God is Compassionate

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at different characteristics of God—specifically reflecting on how each aspect of His character offers us hope in the midst of our grief.  As we study together, we encourage you to use the comments as a place to dialogue with us about what you are learning and share your answers to the questions below. We pray that you hearts will be encouraged as you dig into the infinitely beautiful character of God along with us!  “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 READ: There has never been a greater declaration ...

Q: Did My Baby Die So I Would Become More Holy?

This Q&A series is intended to help you take steps forward in wisdom. Lay your questions before Scripture with us; find in the ashes that wisdom “will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown” (Prov. 4:9). What questions about grief, God, or the Bible do you have right now? Contact us here.  In the wake of my son Max’s death, as I was stumbling through my grief, trying to make sense of this great and unexpected loss, I had a friend “encourage” me with a passage of Scripture. “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer ...

How Can We Walk in Joy this Mother’s Day?

Every year when Mother’s Day rolls around, my Facebook feed is full of people honoring their mothers. Sprinkled among the “odes to mom” are those lamenting the loss of their mothers. Then, there are also those who have lost their children. My Facebook feed is a mix of joy and sorrow. At churches on Mother’s Day, moms are often honored by giving them a rose, or asking them to stand to be acknowledged. I’ve seen the Hope Mommy start to stand, and then sit back down because no one knows she’s a mom. On a day that is supposed to be celebratory and honoring to moms, Hope Mommies are often left feeling sorrow. We ache to celebrate and be ...

Caitlin’s Story

Eleanor “Ellie” Love Kropchuk was the most beautiful surprise. In March 2017, my husband, Matthew, and I were so excited to find out she was on the way to join big brother Timothy (three years old) and big sister Caroline (20 months). Since I already have two children, pregnancy was nothing new for me. But Ellie was different. My doctor even commented at one point, as we laughed together about how active Ellie always was, that this pregnancy was just different than the others. Around seven months into my pregnancy, I created a playlist that I would listen to during my birthing time. God often uses music to minster to me in very unique and specific ...