163 results for tag: Ashlee

6 Questions for the New Year

There's just something about this time of year that has everyone thinking about all the improvements they want to make in their lives. We set goals for our health and finances. We determine to be more creative, more adventurous, or more engaging. We ponder what new habits we would like to form and what old habits we would like to overcome. We make lists and promises, and determine to become a better version of ourselves over the course of the year. Self-reflection and goal setting are admirable, necessary, and biblical practices. When God's people had grown careless in their relationship with God, He rebuked them through the prophet Haggai and ...

Hope for the Hurting this Christmas

The people of Israel were waiting for the coming of the promised Messiah. They were living under the threat of the Assyrians, who would later bring the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity, when the prophet Isaiah delivered news of a child who would come to dissipate the darkness and redeem the world from sin. This birth announcement was a glimmer of hope in the midst of the fear and sorrow. “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 We live in the space between the ...

I Wish You Knew: Remember With Me

Often in our grief, those closest to us do not know how to comfort and encourage us. Sometimes they stay away or don’t say anything at all because they are afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. In this series, we hope to better equip those around us to come alongside a grieving mother—to enter their hurt and offer hope and encouragement, or simply grieve with them. It has been four years since the day we were told that our precious Simeon had gone to be with the Lord. Eight months later we experienced that same devastating sorrow as we said goodbye to another sweet baby, our Odelle. There were many days where it seemed as if the whole ...

The Road to Gratitude

It was late on a Friday evening in January. I was sitting in a chapel with dozens of high school students at a winter retreat, thankful for the dim lighting that hid the tears that were streaming down my face. Just a few hours earlier I had been told that my baby’s heart was no longer beating. The worship team began playing, and soon the room was filled with the sound of voices lifted up in praise. I robotically formed the words of each song on my lips, but I was numb to what was taking place around me. Inside, I was crying out to the Lord, mourning the death of the child that I still carried within me. The next morning we gathered together again ...

In the Word: He Has Delivered; He Will Deliver Again

Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be meditating on 2 Corinthians 1:3-11. As we study the truths found in these verses 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! “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again." 2 Corinthians 1:10 READ: I felt like I was trapped in a terrible rerun, staring at the ultrasound ...

When God’s Plan is Different Than Mine

The first time I experienced the heartbreaking loss of a child, I was completely stunned. After having three beautiful and easy pregnancies, I had arrived at my doctor appointment feeling invincible. But as soon as I heard that my little one’s heart was no longer beating inside of me, I was forever stripped of the innocent and naive bliss of pregnancy. I clung to the Lord with every ounce of my aching heart. I spent hours at a time saturating myself in His Word, and laying my brokenness at His feet. I knew that God was good, and that He would carry me through this valley of sorrow. But there was a part of me that wondered if my heart would still be ...

In the Word: The God Who Raises the Dead

Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be meditating on 2 Corinthians 1:3-11. As we study the truths found in these verses 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! “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." 2 Corinthians 1:9 READ: We aren't given any description of the circumstances surrounding ...

In the Word: Despairing of Life

Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be meditating on 2 Corinthians 1:3-11. As we study the truths found in these verses 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! “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of ...

Dear Odelle: A Letter to My Hope Baby

My darling, From the moment I first knew of your existence, I have loved you more than words can say. Tears fill my eyes even now as I think of the precious gift of your life. What a tremendous privilege it is to be your mother. Though many years have passed since we were last together, you will always have my heart. Oh! Those precious days when your tiny frame was cradled within me! I can still vividly recall the wonder of watching my body begin to swell as you grew day by day, seeing you squirm about on the monitor during ultrasounds, and dreaming of the life we would share. I am forever grateful for each day we had together. And then the ...

Return, O My Soul, To Your Rest

Return, O my soul, to your rest;     for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death,     my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 116:7-9 A LAMENT Darkness closes in again. Despair wields its ugly sword. Hope and joy feel so far off. Why does it feel like you are so slow to save? My lungs are tight, my breath is heavy. I cannot keep my eyes cleared of tears. Will there ever be an end to this sorrow? Where is your redemption in all of this? I am wearing thin. This load seems too heavy carry. How long, O Lord? B...