Hannah’s Story
We do not always get to choose the roles we must play in life, but we do get to choose how we will play the role we have been given. Our youngest daughter, Ellianna Grace, was born on March 2, 2011. It was a Wednesday; my husband Mark was at work and I was home with our 3-year-old daughter when the contractions started. I did all the usual things to try to make them stop—rested, hydrated, soaked in a warm bath—yet the rhythmic tensing of my belly continued and grew in strength. Our previous daughter had been born at 30 weeks, so being just 29 weeks and a few days I ...
Streams in the Desert {Part 5}
Streams of Living Water
Jesus has an incredible way of bringing things full circle. As He quoted Isaiah 35 to John’s disciples, I wonder if their mind lingered on the next verse and all the texts related to it. The themes of streams and water, need and fulfillment, were not unknown to the Israelites of Jesus’ day. The soul-barrenness from Genesis 3 had only increased and festered until Jesus’ arrival.
In the great exodus from captivity in Egypt, the Israelites doubted God’s provision and grumbled to Him about water (Exodus 17). In the book of Jeremiah, ...
Ask the Blog Team: How Did You Handle Invitations to Birthday Parties or Baby Showers After Loss?
Welcome to our Q+A series, Ask the Blog Team. In this series, the Hope Mommies blog team joins together to answer questions that are commonly asked in grief. If there is a question or topic that you have wrestled with in your grief that you would like the opportunity to see how other Hope Moms have processed or answered, we would love to hear from you. You can submit your questions here.
“Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.” -Romans 12:5About five months after my daughter Ginny was stillborn, one of my best friends invited me to her ...
The God Who Sees Hannah
Over the next several weeks we are going to look at how God acts as El Roi, The God Who Sees, through four different biblical mommas who experienced grief and sorrow. We will look at the lives of Hagar, Hannah, Naomi and Mary and see for ourselves how God was faithful to meet them in their pain and sorrow. As we study the testimonies of these four Biblical women, our prayer is that you would know in the depths of your heart that you are seen and heard, that you would feel loved and known.
Hannah is a momma that my heart resonates with. While the cultural ...
Streams in the Desert {Part 4}
Streams
I live in a town with two rivers running through it. New Braunfels, Texas is a hotbed in the summer months for river activities—tubing, kayaking, fishing, waterparks, bathers. It’s quite literally a hot mess in the summer months, when thousands of tourists come seeking relief from the heat and fun in the sun.
One of our rivers is the Comal, which is the ‘shortest fastest’ river in Texas. The wellspring of the river is open to the public, and you can watch as thousands of gallons come forcefully bubbling up, unstoppable and rushing. What I ...
An Offering of Tears; An Offering of Praise
I love to experience the cusp of a changing season. It’s such a relief to smell winter’s thaw as the ground softens and birds return to sing their sweet morning melodies. Few things are as thrilling as that first autumn chill in the air and the sight of the first leaves that harken to the coming of the holiday season’s cheer. The rhythm of change from winter to spring and summer to fall reminds me of Ecclesiastes 3: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven."
As a woman who loves Jesus and yearns to see His kingdom ...
Kaitlyn’s Story
My husband, JT, and I started trying to get pregnant in March of 2020. COVID-19 quarantine had just begun and we were both working from home. I was filled with excitement at this time, dreaming of the future while equally being completely unaware of what the following months would hold. I just thought it was all so simple—a positive test leads to a healthy baby. I had never before considered the possibility of losing a baby, although I knew how common that outcome was.
Fast forward to the first week of May. I unexpectedly began to bleed eight days before my ...
Streams in the Desert {Part 3}
Quietly Attend
I love this word, “Behold.” It’s used often in the Bible. It serves as a signpost. In our language and culture, it would be like a neon sign or writing in all caps; if it were an emoji, it would be something like this: ✋❗. “Behold” is meant to make us pause. To stop and pay attention to what is about to be communicated. It had to do with quieting people in the presence of someone or some event of importance.
“Behold, your God will come…”
Truly, that is the most important event in all of history. God Himself was ...
Ask the Blog Team: How Did You Decide When to Start Trying to Conceive Again?
Welcome to our Q+A series, Ask the Blog Team. In this series, the Hope Mommies blog team joins together to answer questions that are commonly asked in grief. If there is a question or topic that you have wrestled with in your grief that you would like the opportunity to see how other Hope Moms have processed or answered, we would love to hear from you. You can submit your questions here.
I made it a point to never refer to another child as the rainbow after my grief. I focused on Jesus and working through the waves of my grief more than on having another child; ...
The God Who Sees Hagar
Over the next several weeks we are going to look at how God acts as El Roi, The God Who Sees, through four different biblical mommas who experienced grief and sorrow. We will look at the lives of Hagar, Hannah, Naomi and Mary and see for ourselves how God was faithful to meet them in their pain and sorrow. As we study the testimonies of these four Biblical women, our prayer is that you would know in the depths of your heart that you are seen and heard, that you would feel loved and known.
The first time I fully understood the significance of Hagar’s story, I ...
