My pregnancy with my daughter was easy. I glowed from day one, never having much nausea, all the way through to the end when my overdue self waddled into a room, happy and content, dreaming of my baby. Aside from her necessary induction ten days after her due date, my pregnancy and delivery were textbook. This is one thing that I truly took for granted, as most do when they haven't been touched with loss.
Her younger brother's story, while textbook in the pregnancy stages, didn't conclude with a happy ending. Funny how eight years later, I can close my eyes and review ...
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Please tell me I am not the only one that has ever skimmed over a word they didnt know the meaning of in the Bible? Miktam. That was my word. Read it. Didnt understand it. Moved on. But one day, several years ago, I sat in church as my pastor read Psalm 16 aloud. Psalm 16. You Will Not Abandon My Soul. A Miktam of David. But then he paused and looked up. He asked if anyone knew what the word Miktam meant. I sat in my chair hoping that no one else knew the meaning either so that ...
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“I’m sorry, I normally can see a heartbeat in a baby this size, but I don't.”
“I’m sorry, this doesn't look to me like a viable pregnancy.”
Two different pregnancies, two different ultrasound techs, two different lives lost. And my heart broken two different times.
The doctors say it’s good that my two “missed” miscarriages didn't happen in a row. I had a healthy son between the two of them. But that didn't comfort me. Nothing can comfort a woman who has just found out her baby “isn't viable.” Nothing but the love of Jesus.
The first time ...
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Hope Groups are small groups of women who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss (up to two years of age) at any point in their life. Its a collection of women who meet and share their stories with one another, pray together, ask questions, share hurts, share happinesses, and cling to His Word to find that there is still hope after the death of their precious sons and daughters.
Hope Groups are nine-week Bible study small groups. Some meet online through Facebook and some meet in person. Each group will establish a specific meeting time. ...
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"It was April Fools Day. Pregnant with our third child, we were scheduled to receive our 20-week anatomy scan, and to learn the sex of our littlest babe. We arrived eager and couldn’t help but giggle that here we were again — God had blessed us with yet another surprise miracle, after struggling to conceive our first child.
Three babies in three years when we were once told “You might never be able to do this on your own.” We couldn’t wait to learn if this last blessing in my womb was a boy or a girl. The moment the technician started the scan I knew something ...
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"I had a textbook pregnancy. It was my first pregnancy, and I enjoyed every second of it. We didn’t find out the gender because we wanted it to be a surprise. I chose to use a midwife for my prenatal care and delivery. It was always my dream to have a completely natural birth in water at a birth center. I went into early labor on my due date which was May 8th at about 11 pm. This was when the contractions first woke me up. They weren’t bad, so I just tried to get as much sleep as possible. When my husband woke up to go to work, I told him that I’d been ...
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"A little before we made the decision to start trying for baby number three, my older sister and her husband found out that their son, Jaxson, had a hereditary genetic disorder that was complicated. It would require a bone marrow transplant along with additional, life long, support of various kinds. Of course this was difficult news for our entire family to digest but I didn’t worry about the effects that it could have on my family- until a conversation that I had with someone close to the situation. I was excited to share that we were going to start trying for ...
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Recently, Lord Willing?, by Jessica Kelley came to the attention of women in our Hope Mommies private Facebook group. We are so thankful this group is a place for discussion and sharing of our ideas and journeys. Our shared Hope Mommies group has been founded upon a set of beliefs about the character and ways of God. So, when appropriate, we want to carefully provide a review for you of material introduced to our group that we consider outside of the scope of the Biblical beliefs this organization was founded on.
Here, we extend to the author of Lord Willing? our own ...
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"My story is not one I would have chosen to write. It isn’t glamorous, it hasn’t been easy, but I would not be who or where I am today if I were the one writing it. God has written my story, and throughout my story there have been many beautifully broken moments that I have had to desperately cling to what I know of God’s goodness and faithfulness. I have been challenged in my faith and have still been able to boldly say that God is Good.
Just shortly after our first year of marriage, we were joyously surprised to find out we were going ...
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"October 2nd of last year I found two very dark pink lines on a stick, discovering that I was four weeks pregnant. This was one of the most joyful days of my life. Instantly, I called my mom and shared the news. We both cried in overflowing joy and thankfulness. She was going to be a grandmother and I a mom! It was the greatest feeling in the world. A miracle was being knitted together inside of me. That weekend Evan and I had a camping trip planned, which was a perfect time to share the news with him. I made a little note that said “I’m going to be a big sister!” ...
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