38 results for tag: Stephanie

A Song for My Soul: Trust in You

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. Facebook. Such a frenemy. You love it because it lets you stay connected with friends and family, notifies you about events in your area, and allows you to share endless photos of your kid, dog, or what you ate for dinner. But you also hate it. When you see those pregnancy/birth announcements, and ...

Defined By God’s Love

Love stories. We've read them in books. We've watched them on tv and movies. We are drawn to the romance, the passion, the security. We long to know that true love exists and that it exists for us. That need for love, to feel loved, is in every person. The key is to make sure that the love that defines us is from the right source. In order to embrace our identity of "loved," we need to know where love is not found. Love is not based on appearance. Your hair, your skin, your weight, those things don't earn you love.  When we look in the mirror, we all see things we'd like to change. But what does God see? "The LORD does not look at the things ...

Strength For Those Who Are Weary

Confession time—the Bible I use is still my Student Bible from high school. I’m three years shy of forty, and I still haven’t graduated to the adult Bible. But don’t worry. It’s in great shape because of my nifty Bible cover that displays the "Footprints in the Sand" poem. You 90’s girls know what I’m talking about. Maybe you had that Bible cover too, or perhaps you had the poster up in your Sunday school room at church. This poem talks about a man who looks back on his life in a dream and sees two sets of footprints during his life’s journey. They belong to God and himself. However, the man notices that during the hardest ...

I Will Trust in You

Facebook. Such a frenemy. You love it because it lets you stay connected with friends and family, notifies you about events in your area, and allows you to share endless photos of your kid, dog, or what you ate for dinner. But you also hate it. When you see those pregnancy/birth announcements, and it should have been you. When you view those milestone first year baby pictures, but your baby never experienced any of them. When you get the “on this day” reminders, that show belly pictures or bring you back to the worst day of your life. My husband jokingly calls Facebook the devil, and on some days, I’d have to agree with him. But on ...

In the Word: The Prayers of Many

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! “As you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." 2 Corinthians 1:11 READ: “Praying for you!” “You and your family are in my prayers...

A Song for My Soul: Blessings

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. Music is such an amazing gift. Songs have a way of speaking to our soul and ministering to our mind. The first time I heard the song “Blessings” by Laura Story was two months after losing Kinley. I remember tears just pouring down my cheeks. The song captured the emotions I felt, yet grounded ...

Dear Kinley: A Letter to My Hope Baby

Dear Kinley, Oh my sweet girl, how has it already been over 12 years since I last held you in my arms? Time goes by so quickly. Your 13th birthday will be in here in December. A teenager. Wow! There are so many life lessons learned in the teenage years. Things I wish I could have taught you or helped you process. Instead, I feel I have learned many things from God because of you. Even though you are not here, God continues to use you, your story, for His glory. I wanted so much for the narrative of your life to read as a miraculous tale of healing. I desperately prayed for that miracle. However, that wasn’t how God wrote your story. He did not ...

Our Forever Family

“How many children do you have?” “Is she your only girl?” “So, you have three kids then?” These are normal questions. Reasonable questions. These are standard questions that women are asked on a regular basis. But to the Hope Mom, these questions rip off the band-aid, exposing the wound that’s present, though not often visible. These questions remind us (not that we ever need reminding) that the picture people see of our family is incomplete. I am asked these questions frequently, and I could answer: “No, I have 4 children—2 boys and 2 girls. My second child is a girl. Her name is Kinley Peyton. She has dark hair that ...

We Are Heard When Sorrow Has No Words

I've always liked to talk. Growing up, I could prattle on about various topics, and as an only child, there was no one there to stop me. My parents were a captive audience to all my daily accounts, questions, and dreams. In college, my favorite course was speech. A class where I could get up and talk, and others sat there and listened. Words came easily (sometimes too easily). Words never failed me until my daughter died. When we found out Kinley would never breathe on her own, I had plenty to say to God. I cried, I yelled, and I pleaded for a miracle. After Kinley died, my voice fell silent. I no longer had the words. My sorrow was too great, and ...

Blessed Are the Merciful

"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." -Matthew 5:7 Isn't that a nice verse?  I really like the second part. I want God to show me mercy when I mess up. However, the first part, that's not my favorite. Sometimes, I don't want to show mercy. There have been times when people have really hurt me, and extending mercy to them is the last thing I want to do. So, is it really fair for God to ask us to show mercy all the time?  And what about those people who don't even acknowledge that they've wronged you? Is it really necessary to be merciful to them? First, I think we need a definition of mercy. It's defined as: compassionate or ...