48 results for tag: Erin


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 ...

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 coming, as sure as the sun rises. And if we are not careful, we could breeze ...

Streams in the Desert {Part 2}

Behold The sky was slowly waking up, a pale white light rising over the horizon. The clouds shifted from darkness and became awash with color. I gripped my mug of tea a bit tighter, breathing in the mercy that was coming.  For weeks after Gwendolyn went Home, this became my routine. I would wake early (had I even slept?), steep a bag of vanilla rooibos in my travel mug, and walk through the stillness of our camp home toward the river. A new building was under construction, and I would sit on the balcony amidst the tools and sawdust, watching creation wake up and do what it was—tell the glory of the Creator. I was beholding without ...

Streams in the Desert {Part 1}

The Desert It was a suffocating emptiness from which I couldn’t escape. The barrenness of my womb; the silence in her nursery; the bleak look in my husband’s eyes. It was everywhere. Though I was rarely left by myself in those first few days and weeks, I felt unmoored and distant from all who were around me. Life had lost it’s brilliance when her life ended. The guttural cries of the biblical poets echoed my own: “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” -Matthew 27:46 “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light,” -Lamentations 3:1-2 ...

Why Hope Mommies is Different

I feel the need to reiterate the mission of Hope Mommies. There are too many support groups out there that do nothing more than support laziness in healing (ie: "Do whatever is best for you/makes you feel better/etc."), and Hope Mommies is not one of them. A support group should be about coming alongside a deeply wounded, theologically shattered person and pointing them to the Truth. Because no matter who you are, or what your belief system is, losing a child will radically alter what you believe about God—whether you think you believe in Him or not. And we believe that what you believe about God is the only thing that matters when your child ...

Hope Mommies Publication Release: Bright Hope, by Erin Cushman

"Bright Hope," by Erin Cushman will be released soon! We celebrate what God has done in faithfulness through Erin's writing and through those who have supported this publication in other ways. We want to give you an opportunity to hear from Erin today about how this book came to be, and Here is our interview Erin: 1. For those just “tuning in,” what is Bright Hope, and how did it come to be published? Bright Hope is a 28 Day Devotional for Grief in Light of the Gospel. Hope Mommies is coming up on their 10th year of ministry, and Jennie Parks (Executive Director of Hope Mommies) had asked if I would consider a new writing project to ...

Purposed: God is Near

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good… for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”Romans 8:38-30 God's objective is to conform us to the image of His Son. He wants to make us like Christ, because that is our ultimate good. Psalm 73:28 says “But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge....