I Will Not Be Shaken
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand,
I shall not be shaken.
-Psalm 16:8
I have set the Lord always before me. That sounds kind of churchy and odd, doesn’t it? Who talks like that? I think David was saying, “I’m keeping my focus on the Lord. I’m putting Him first and looking to Him in all things.”
We all have things in our lives that bring us to what I call the faith barrier. It’s what makes us question if God is there, if He cares about us, if He loves us, and if He really is a good, good Father. We wonder how God could ...
Katie’s Story
It had been nearly a year since our early miscarriage and we yearned for a sibling here for our almost 3-year-old son. I had recently finished reading a book on prayer which inspired me to keep a prayer journal and be more intentional in seeking quiet time with the Lord.
I began to recognize that my fervent desire (bordering on obsession) to expand our family had become an idol to me. A verse that I continued to meditate on during that time says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). These words sank deep as I ...
Love One Another: Her Story
I watched from the window as he helped our oldest daughter hang a hand-painted sign on our backyard fence. It said: “We Love You, Chase.” This sign was my daughter’s decoration for our son’s “celebration of life.” Our baby’s funeral was something I never dreamed we would host in our backyard that autumn of 2009.
Our lawn was perfectly manicured and had been transformed with a rainbow of color displayed in planted flowers, balloons and painted decorations. My sweet husband had made this happen, after listening to me cry and brainstorm and wonder about ...
Love One Another: His Story
It was a typical weekend filled with family activities in late September 2009. Chelsea was 36 weeks pregnant with Chase and we were both trying to keep up with his three big sisters—Kendyll (7), Carlie (5) and Abby Kate (2.5). The long hot Texas summer was nearly behind us. We were in the homestretch of this fourth pregnancy, and simply ready for this new era as a family of six to begin. We completed all of the typical "night before church” routines—baths, hair-drying, and story time, and announced to the girls that we were going to see a live Broadway style perfor...
Faith in the Unseen
Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be narrowing in on specific truths of the gospel to learn how they direct and inform us in our grief. 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!
“Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen Me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and yet ...
October 15 Reflections
We are only a few weeks from October 15, the day set aside for National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day. It’s a day to remember, to come together, and to hope in the Word.
Before I had experienced loss of my own, I had no idea that October 15 existed. Perhaps I had heard it mentioned before then, but it was certainly not something that I had given much thought to. I was completely unaware of how often pregnancy and infant loss occurred. It felt unreal from the outside looking in. Sure baby loss doesn't happen now! We are living in the age of modern medicine!...
Discussions in Grief: Entitlement
Grieving involves new emotions and considerations often too many to numbers. When you find yourself in overwhelming grief, you likely feel buried and lost. In this series, we slowly and compassionately look at one aspect of grief at a time from a biblical perspective for the newly grieving mother. Click {here} to read past posts in this series.
The worst thing imaginable has happened. You have lost your baby. You have suffered greatly and experienced more pain than most everyone you know. You have hit rock bottom, and the only solace is knowing that things ...
Encourage One Another: Her Story
“Put courage in.”
That’s what the word “encourage” means. In my story, courage to face the lonely days, the quiet nursery, the empty womb, the unfilled baby book, the days and days that stretched ahead that mocked me with their childlessness --- courage was one of the many things I needed.
Like all grievers, I had days when I felt completely unable to function, let alone face the day with courage and hope. That is where my incredible husband Blair was such a powerful force of God’s healing work in my grieving heart.
Gwendolyn Hope was born via emergency ...
Encourage One Another: His Story
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
-1 Thessalonians 4:18
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
-1 Thessalonians 5:11
Both of these verses in 1 Thessalonians come immediately after sections of Scripture where Paul the author is giving us a glimpse into things that will happen in the end times. After cracking the window into the future for us Paul concludes with “go encourage one another. Go build each other up.”
I fear that the norm is actually the opposite when we think of the events, both marvelous and ...
A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be narrowing in on specific truths of the gospel to learn how they direct and inform us in our grief. 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!
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.”
John ...
