1104 results for author: Ashlee Schmidt
A Song for My Soul: The Garden
Music has the ability to speak into the deepest recesses of our hearts. God often uses songs to speak hope and encouragement to our souls. In this series, Hope Moms share songs that have pointed them to the hope of Christ in the midst of their grief. Is there a song that has comforted you in your grief? We'd love to have you share your story here.
I am an artist and I love to garden, so it should come as no surprise that I’m constantly finding inspiration in the outdoors. God blessed me with the ability to find beauty in the seemingly mundane. Every sunset, every flower, every texture and color is a source to pull from and a reminder of how ...
The Proof Of God’s Love
We are all sinful beings. In fact all of creation—every drop of rain, every blade of grass, every fish in the sea—is groaning under the weight of sin. Our sin separates us from the presence of our Holy God, and there is nothing that we can do to remedy this on our own. We can never measure up to the insurmountable holiness of God. If we were to gather all of the “goodness” in our lives, the sum of everything good and right that we have ever done or will ever do, and place it before the Lord, it would be to Him like a filthy rag (Isaiah 64:6). Left un-cured, our sin condemns us eternally.
What we greatly and desperately need is forgiveness. ...
In the Word: Pray Like This
Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. As we study God's Word 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 dive in Scripture with us!
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. ...
A Song for My Soul: Trust in You
Music has the ability to speak into the deepest recesses of our hearts. God often uses songs to speak hope and encouragement to our souls. In this series, Hope Moms share songs that have pointed them to the hope of Christ in the midst of their grief. Is there a song that has comforted you in your grief? We'd love to have you share your story here.
Facebook. Such a frenemy. You love it because it lets you stay connected with friends and family, notifies you about events in your area, and allows you to share endless photos of your kid, dog, or what you ate for dinner.
But you also hate it.
When you see those pregnancy/birth announcements, and ...
Preparing Your Heart for October 15
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5
We are just over a week away from October 15, National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. It’s a day set aside to remember our babies who have gone to their eternal home ahead of us.
This date has been burned into my calendar for ten years now. Ten years of October 15ths have come and gone since my first hope baby left this earth. Somehow, the day always seems to sneak up on me, even though I am reminded of it constantly in the weeks leading up to it. Some years I have felt guilty for not having planned something more significant to remember my ...
Guilt + Grief: Am I Grieving Enough?
I sat in my kitchen with a friend whose baby lived for only five weeks. “It’s been five years. When will I stop grieving the loss of my son? Shouldn’t I be finished grieving?” I asked.
She looked at me for a few seconds and I saw a memory flash across her face. “I remember on my son’s 8th birthday going through the whole day before I realized what day it was. I felt so guilty for ‘missing’ his birthday. I was overwhelmed with guilt for not remembering—for ‘moving on.’ I felt so guilty for grieving for so long and then I felt guilty for not remembering to grieve. Grief is a weird thing,” She replied.
Grief is a ...
Alive Together With Christ
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
-Ephesians 2:4-7
But God. These two little words carry life-altering significance. Whenever you see these words, you know something big is about to happen.
You were once dead… but God.
You had no hope… but God.
Sin had a hold on your life… but ...
In the Word: Our Light in the Darkness
Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. As we study God's Word 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 dive in Scripture with us!
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone.” Isaiah 9:2
READ:
Darkness took on a new meaning for me the day that we buried our daughter, Paige. It became a place that I couldn’t simply will myself out of on my own. It was a ...
Guilt + Grief: Should I Have Been More Excited About My Pregnancy?
The weight of grief that comes from the loss of a child is a tremendously heavy burden to carry. For many Hope Moms, that weight is compounded by the additional burden of guilt. In this series, we seek to gently guide the grieving mother to the foot of the cross to exchange this burden of guilt for the peace, assurance, and forgiveness that is found in Christ.
When I found out that I was pregnant with our fourth child, I was filled with so many mixed emotions. With each of our sons, I was ecstatic the day my test turned positive, but this pregnancy was different. It was not even that I did not want a fourth child, because I ...
