61 results for tag: Shelly

A Song for My Soul: My Life is in Your Hands

Music has the ability to speak into the deepest recesses of our hearts. God often uses songs to speak hope and encouragement to our souls. In this series, Hope Moms share songs that have pointed them to the hope of Christ in the midst of their grief. Is there a song that has comforted you in your grief? We'd love to have you share your story here. What song has God used in your grief to speak hope and encouragement to your soul? How have the lyrics pointed you to the hope that we have in Christ? How did the truths presented in this song resonate with you in your sorrow? I was standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes a few months after my ...

Guilt + Grief: Am I Grieving Enough?

I sat in my kitchen with a friend whose baby lived for only five weeks. “It’s been five years. When will I stop grieving the loss of my son? Shouldn’t I be finished grieving?” I asked. She looked at me for a few seconds and I saw a memory flash across her face. “I remember on my son’s 8th birthday going through the whole day before I realized what day it was. I felt so guilty for ‘missing’ his birthday. I was overwhelmed with guilt for not remembering—for ‘moving on.’ I felt so guilty for grieving for so long and then I felt guilty for not remembering to grieve. Grief is a weird thing,” She replied.  Grief is a ...

Knowing Him: The Door of the Sheep

There is nothing greater than knowing Christ. Seven times in the book of John, Jesus offers us profound insight into His nature and character. In this series, we seek to guide the reader into a deeper understanding of these “I Am” statements, and the rich hope and comfort that can be found in Christ in the midst of grief. I went to a funeral today. A funeral for a baby. Another baby. We celebrated. We didn’t celebrate the death of a baby, but we celebrated the life she was living with Christ. We gathered with tears in our eyes and joy in our hearts, and worshiped the God of hope in the midst of our sorrow. How? How could we celebrate? ...

Lift Each Other Up

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 READ: Grief has a way of isolating. Grief wants you to think you are alone. Grief wants you to believe you are the only one who feels the way you do. But God did not create us to be alone—even in our grief. Our time of grieving is the most important time to be in the company of others. We need others to gently help lift us out of the despair of our grief. We need others to say, “I know. I understand. ...

The Healer of Broken Hearts

How can a God we cannot see, feel, or often times hear be near to us? Is God really near to us? The day after coming home from giving birth at 37 weeks to my perfectly formed—yet stillborn—baby boy, I flipped the Scripture card on my kitchen window and Psalms 34:18 was the verse waiting to give me hope. I left it there for nearly a year because I often needed the reminder as I journeyed on my grief path. “The Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalms 34:18 When I was in high school, and the guy I thought was my future broke up with me, I thought my heart was broken. When my first choice for college didn’t ...

Remain in the Word

Paul reminds us in his letter to the church in Thessalonica that we do "not grieve as others do who have no hope" (1 Thess. 4:13). But what exactly does that mean? In this series, we explore what it looks like to honor God in our grief and examine the ways we can choose to grieve with hope. This week, a huge box arrived on our front doorstep. Another big box was in the huge box. In the big box was a fan, or I should say, all the parts for a fan. Lots and lots of parts. Lots of parts to a fan with lots of blades —unlike any fan we’ve ever had before.  Once my husband opened the box, pulled all of the ...

Rise Up to Worship

Paul reminds us in his letter to the church in Thessalonica that we do "not grieve as others do who have no hope" (1 Thess. 4:13). But what exactly does that mean? In this series, we explore what it looks like to honor God in our grief and examine the ways we can choose to grieve with hope. This is how I fight my battles... It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by you. Yesterday was a day filled with hard things and sad emotions for me, but today the lyrics to “Surrounded (Fight my Battles)” have been on my heart, in my ears, and seeping into my soul. As the worship song seeps into my ...

When Worship Changes Everything

This is how I fight my battles... It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by you. Yesterday was a day filled with hard things and sad emotions for me, but today the lyrics to “Surrounded (Fight my Battles)” have been on my heart, in my ears, and seeping into my soul. As the worship song seeps into my soul, my spirit is lifted. Worship changes everything. Throughout my life, I have seen the power of worship to fight the enemy who comes to “kill, steal and destroy” (John 10:10). In 2 Chronicles 20, we read about a massive army marching to destroy God’s people. God’s people were extremely distraught ...

Strength in the Sorrow: Romans 15:13

God's Word is sufficient for our every need, even those that follow the heartbreaking loss of a child. In this series, Hope Moms share about the way God, through His life-giving Word, has provided them with the strength, comfort, encouragement, and hope they needed as they walk through the valley of loss and grief. "My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word!" Psalm 119:28 For years, on my kitchen window, I had a box of cards with Bible verses on them that someone gave me as a wedding shower gift. Every day or so, I would flip to a new verse. The day after my son died, I flipped the card and it said. "The Lord is ...

I Wish You Knew: Speak Their Name

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. People often don’t know how to comfort a mom who has lost a baby. They aren’t sure what to say or how to say it, so they often don’t say anything. In the early months after my loss, I had people tell me they didn’t want to mention my stillborn son because they didn’t ...