44 results for tag: Erin

When Grief Feels Like Loneliness

After college, I moved to Chicago for a change of pace. I wanted—and needed —to spread my wings, abandon my safety zone of family for a time, and learn what it meant to fully depend on the Lord. Being 22, I thought the idea of learning loneliness sounded so romantic in a tragic sort of way. I pictured myself strolling the streets of the windy city, coffee mug in hand, with a cute sweater and scarf and with the soundtrack of Natalie Merchant crooning in the background. What I learned is that loneliness is not romantic. Coffee and cute scarves are too expensive when you're learning to pay all your bills on your own, and being surrounded by ...

A Release from Remembering

November arrives and as the holidays come within reach, I feel a near physical ache. Holidays have a built in nostalgia—have you ever noticed that? Reflection is inherent in the joy of a holiday celebration. We look back on the year and remember its highs and lows; we take pictures to capture our family and friends as they are right now, so we can remember in years to come. We reflect and remember, and for grievers there is an inescapable wondering that happens at the holidays. We remember what we have lost. What would she have wanted for Christmas this year? How big would I have been with the baby by now? These are questions that linger in my ...

Reflecting on God’s Faithfulness

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!  “I will remember the deeds of the LORD,” Psalm 77:11a READ: Asaph had no framework to understand how to respond to his grief. What He had known about God’s character was being tested in the furnace of his affliction. He needed the Lord to show him that his ...

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 ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be ...

My Song in the Night

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!  “I consider the days of old, the years long ago.” Psalm 77:5 READ: “Yesterday everything was perfect, everything was fine…” The abruptness of trauma can leave us reeling. There becomes a “before” and “after”; a version of your life that has ceased. ...

My Soul Refuses to Be Comforted

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!  “You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.” Psalm 77:4 READ: I didn’t want to fall asleep. I didn’t want to stay awake either… the reality of her absence weighed so heavily upon me, at times I couldn’t breathe. But to fall asleep ...

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 cesarean in October of 2010, and died 36 hours later as one by one her body ...

Blessed Hope

My Gwendolyn was my very first pregnancy. It was beautiful, and it was perfect. Then I was in labor, and we lost her heartbeat. I was at a birthing center, and so they rushed me over to get an emergency c-section and the on call head of L&D told me, “You need to be prepared for the fact that when you wake up your baby might not be alive.” Even in labor I was just thinking, “What are you telling me? How do I prepare for that? I prepared the past nine months for a baby. I had baby showers, I have a nursery, I have dreams of what my life is going to be like. I have plans for the holidays. I’m prepared for all of that. I am not ...

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, the Lord rebukes faithless Israel: “For my people have committed two evils: ...

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 love most is watching the people who watch the spring. They all step back from ...