163 results for tag: Ashlee
My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
My hope is built on nothing lessThan Jesus' blood and righteousness;I dare not trust the sweetest frame,But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
My hope is built on nothing less, nothing more, and nothing other than the blood and righteousness of Jesus and His finished work on my behalf. I know that nothing else can satisfy. Nothing else is enough—not even the sweetness of having my precious babies in my arms once more.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;All other ground is sinking sand:All other ground is sinking sand.
It is Christ alone—all other ground is sinking sand. All other hopes are empty, all other attempts at salvation are striven ...
Choose Hope in 2020
In May 2014, I received the devastating news that my baby’s heart had stopped beating. As I grieved the loss of this beloved child of mine, I began to fear that the passing of time would force his memory and my affection to fade—that, with no tangible reminders of the significant place he held within our family and my heart, he would someday be overlooked or dismissed.
Within weeks of my loss, I suddenly started receiving packages from all sorts of grief groups filled with little trinkets and platitudes related to infant loss. I don't even know how they came to have my name and address. Most of the items in those boxes were tacky and ...
Two Books for Hope Dads
Today, we wanted to share with you two books, written by fathers who have experienced the loss of a child, which might be meaningful and encouraging to you as Hope Dads.
Written In Tears, by Luke Veldt
In August of 2006, Luke Veldt endured the sudden and unexpected death of his thirteen year-old daughter, Allison. After Allison's death, Veldt dove into Psalm 103, reading through it every day for more than a year. Written In Tears describes Veldt's journey through this Psalm, and how he experienced God's presence and love in the midst of his grief. This book is filled with reminders of God's faithfulness and teaches the griever to call upon ...
A Mother’s Day Prayer
Lord, I pray for the precious momma
Who comes to You this Mother’s Day
With empty arms and a weary heart.
I ask you to wrap her in Your loving embrace and give her rest
For you are a shield around her and the lifter of her head (Psalm 3:3).
Where she is broken, bring healing.
Where she is lonely, draw near.
Where she is anxious, offer Your perfect peace.
For the eyes of all look to You
And You give what is needed (Psalm 145:15).
As she fixes her eyes on You,
Teach her how to love and grief well.
No one understands her pain better than You do.
You demonstrated what it looks like to suffer as unto the glory of God
When You willingly ...
Mother’s Day: Rejoicing in the Gift of Motherhood
This is the time of year where practically every advertisement you see is sharing gift ideas for moms. Store windows feature adorable matching mother and daughter outfits for spring. Kids come home from school trying to hide manilla envelops containing their carefully created handprint crafts, and flower shops scramble to keep up with the overwhelming influx of orders.
The origin of Mother’s Day, as it is celebrated today in the United States, dates back to the early 19th century. Before the start of the Civil War, Anne Reeves Jarvis started “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” in order to educate woman on how to care for their children. Then, ...
Links for Hope Moms: Spring 2020 Edition
We want to share with you links to posts, videos, and resources from around the web to uplift, help, and encourage you in your walk with the Lord as you grieve.
{Even If Not, He is Still Good: Lessons from Habakkuk} // "Earlier this year, we were expecting our first son, Joshua. On April 1st, we woke up excited to see his sweet little body at our anatomy scan, only to face one of the deepest valleys of our lives. Sometime before our twenty-week scan, the Lord saw fit to take Joshua home. We went into the hospital to deliver that evening and went through the longest, saddest night of our married life. After induction began, I looked at ...
Easter Mourning
Never did the resurrection bring such comfort to my weary heart as when I first found out that my baby’s heart had stopped beating. I was suddenly faced with the reality of death and all that it had stripped me of—all of the firsts and all the memories that would never be experienced, the innocence and care-free naivety of pregnancy, and the sense of “completeness” for our family. Something—someone—would always be missing. Fear and anxiety now had greater access to my heart through the terrible wound that was opened in the wake of my child’s death. Grief would now be my faithful companion for the rest of my weary days on earth.&nb...
Consider the Cross
As mothers who have heard the words, “there is no heartbeat,” who have held the lifeless body of their precious baby, or who have watched their child take their final breath, the cross tells us that we are not alone. This day that we call “Good Friday” is the day that God watched His only Son die. Our God can and does empathize with us in our sorrow, because He has felt it too.
That cross—it is heart-wrenching and bloody. It is shameful and full of rejection. It is painful, and terrifying, and yet so beautiful.
When I begin to think about what my Savior endured on that cross for me, my soul weighs heavy. It is never easy to linger ...
Grieving Together: Spend Intentional Time With Your Spouse
Walking through the loss of a child is extremely difficult on its own, but the difficulty can be greatly compounded when walking through that grief with another. In this series, we seek to write about the ways we can encourage and support our spouse in grief, and come together before the Lord instead of being driven apart by sorrow.
It had been just over two weeks since our little one went to be with Jesus. I was still carrying his lifeless body inside of my own. My womb was just not ready to let go of the pregnancy, and I desperately wanted the opportunity to deliver our baby naturally instead of having surgery. It was the one thing I ...
Links for Hope Moms: Holiday Edition
We want to share with you links to posts, videos, and resources from around the web to uplift, help, and encourage you in your walk with the Lord as you grieve.
{What Suffering People Wish You Would Do at Christmas} // "Remind them that our faithful Savior will never fail or forsake them. That Jesus walks with them and He weeps with them. Remind them that He knows every detail of their struggle. Remind them that for all of us, the unshakeable hope of Christmas lies solely in Emmanuel, for our God has come to us and will forevermore be with us."{Celebrating Christmas with a Broken Heart}// "In the wake of grief, emotions are ...
