Restore Your Hearts Unto God
My friends, will you take a brief tour with me of the Scriptures—a tour for the heart? Will you come with me as I remind us about essential truths of the Word of God? Let these serve as a reminder to you and to me. Let these serve as a reminder that you and I serve a great God. A reminder that He is in control. A reminder that He is the one working all things together for our good and His glory. A reminder that He is willing in His heart to be near to us.
You have suffered. But you need God all the more now. Your suffering threatens to distance you from God, to be ...
Has God’s Character Changed?
Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next few weeks, we will be meditating on Psalm 77 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!
Has His steadfast love forever ceased? Psalm 77:9
READ:
Then my spirit made a diligent search: “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ...
A Prayer for the One Who Feels Angry
God, I am angry. So angry. Furious. Bitter. Resentful. Offended.
I am angry that you took my baby from me. That you would allow me to know the joys of pregnancy and motherhood only to strip them away. That you would leave me feeling so empty. So alone. So broken. I am angry that you would give me this road to walk. That the steps you have ordered for me would take me down this road. That the plans you have for me could harm me so deeply.
I am furious at myself. I am furious that my body could not do the one thing it is meant to do. That it could not protect my baby. It ...
The Gift of Eternal Perspective
Most of the time people are happy enough to ignore death. They may feel it as a looming elephant in the room, but never talk about it. Our culture encourages us to make the most of this life, but doesn’t much care to address the fact that it ends. Suffering, on the other hand, has a way of clearing everything else out of the room. When you are suffering, especially in the face of grief, you are forced to stare right at death.
When my daughter, Ginny, was stillborn at 35 weeks, death was in my womb. And then death was placed in my arms. My dreams and plans were replaced ...
New Year, Renewed Hope
There is no circumstance in life in which placing your hope in Christ is not relevant. There is no valley so low that His light cannot penetrate. Even in the dark night of grief we can choose to make much of the Lord. We can be resolved to lift Him high. Tomorrow we will wake to the start of a brand new year, and this reality is often accompanied by the idea of a fresh start. We make lists of the ways we’d like to grow or change and make plans to implement new habits, learn new skills, or embrace new experiences.
Often, these resolutions are driven by a desire for ...
God’s Good Gift
It's a scene that I’ll replay in my mind for the rest of my life. Sitting on the floor of our white tub, watching clots of burgundy run down my legs and past my feet. Tears poured down my cheeks, becoming one with the water as it drowned out the sounds of my guttural wailing. It’s a surreal feeling; watching life leave your body and run into the drain. I have lived this memory twice. It feels sacrilegious of sorts. Insensitive and cold. To carry life but instead of giving my babies a proper goodbye, I watched pieces of the life that was once inside of me run into the ...
Hymns of Hope: Joy to the World
When it seems as though the whole world is intent on joyful celebrations, Christmas movie marathons, winter wonderlands, and gift exchanges, it can be hard to imagine how your grief fits into all of the merriment around you. But one thing we often forget in all of the holiday bustle is that the Christmas story is intertwined with sorrow. God's people had endured years of oppression and hardship and 400 years of silence from God. They were under Roman occupation and longed for the coming of the Messiah that had been promised long ago. Jesus was coming to a burdened, ...
Christmas Day – Reign
“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
Our sovereign God preordained the birth of a Savior to a virgin; He has preordained your first breath; and He has preordained the precious—yet short—life of your child.
Today, you will mourn the missing piece of your heart. You, loved one, desire to hear those tiny feet pad to your room bright and early, long to listen to the miniature voice praise ...
Christmas Eve – Rain
“… the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.’”
Luke 1:27-31
Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus, our Savior. She was called to carry, birth, and mother the Messiah. What a weighty responsibi...
Through the Waiting
Waiting. Are you feeling the pains of waiting too?
Life is incomplete because we lost the presence of God in the garden. We don’t know Him as He so wants to be known by us. He created us for that purpose, to live our lives with and unto Him. I adore that God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Oh, can you imagine? The God of all walking with His people, fellowshipping with them. Oh, how could have Adam and Eve desired more than that?
But they were pulled away by the evil one. They were pulled away by desires stirred in their own hearts. My friends, God ...
