Sing Hannah’s Song Through Lament
“As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, ‘How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.’ But Hannah answered, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexati...
Combating the Idleness of Grief
“We urge you, brethren, admonish the idle […] be patient with everyone”1 Thessalonians 5:14 NASB
I understand, firsthand, that grief can stall a person—it can take a physical toll that might, especially at first, preclude the amount of activity in life that used to take no thought. Though this may seem disconcerting and endless, in my experience, it is an aspect of grief that time does change with time.
But even further, perhaps you have been sitting, for a while now, with a sense that little is worth doing anymore in this life. I have had these thoughts. But ...
In the Word: Declared Innocent
Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next few weeks, we will be meditating on Psalm 19 together. As we study these truths together, we’d love 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 God's Word each week with us!
“Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.”
Psalm 19:12
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I don’t know what kind of regret or guilt you might be carrying today surrounding the ...
Sing Hannah’s Song Through Tears
“After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”
1 Samuel 1:9-11, ESV
A woman named Ruth Stull said, “If my life is ...
We Are Heard When Sorrow Has No Words
I've always liked to talk. Growing up, I could prattle on about various topics, and as an only child, there was no one there to stop me. My parents were a captive audience to all my daily accounts, questions, and dreams. In college, my favorite course was speech. A class where I could get up and talk, and others sat there and listened. Words came easily (sometimes too easily). Words never failed me until my daughter died.
When we found out Kinley would never breathe on her own, I had plenty to say to God. I cried, I yelled, and I pleaded for a miracle. After Kinley ...
Crystal’s Story
In the emergency room I looked at the sonogram screen and couldn’t really see Adalynn Grace. I just thought the equipment wasn’t the best there since it was the ER. A few hours before I had a gush of fluid and didn’t expect to be told it was my water that had broken at 20 weeks.
Unfortunately, we had trouble with this pregnancy even before it started. My husband and I had prayed for 3 years to add this beautiful life to our family of three. We were over the moon to find out that we had been blessed again with another little girl. My oldest daughter was more than ...
Sing Hannah’s Song Through Suffering
In May of 2012, I walked down the aisle to the song “How Great Is Our God.” I was 33, my husband 34, and it had felt like we had waited an eternity for each other. Perhaps it didn’t feel like that to my now husband, Kevin. He’s much less dramatic than me. I knew that I wanted our wedding to be a taste of the wedding we’re really created for. The one where we meet our Savior, face to face, where we sit at the great wedding feast that will go down as the one for the ages, and praise the One who was faithful to us in the midst of our unfaithfulness. That day in May ...
Could I Have Done More?
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.
When we carry a child in our womb, we often feel our child’s life and development is ultimately in our control. The baby is in us and part of us. We share blood and oxygen. We feed him or her. Doesn’t that make it all up ...
In the Word: Our Great Reward
Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next few weeks, we will be meditating on Psalm 19 together. As we study these truths together, we’d love 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 God's Word each week with us!
“Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”
Psalm 19:11
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We have been exploring what it means to love the Word of God. It teaches us ...
Held Together
Our third child enters the world. The room is silent. There is no noise, only hushed commotion—no cries from my babe. The air is thick, but peace is present. I look up and ask my sister, “Does my baby look like a baby?”
“Oh goodness, yes,” she replies.
I then ask, “Is it a boy or a girl?”
All goes quiet for several seconds, and Dr. G gently replies, “It’s a boy.” Brandon lets out a cry from the sitting room.
The nurses gently clean off my son. They weigh and measure him. 6.6 ounces and 7 inches of perfection. They wrap him in a tiny blanket ...
