Encouragement for Today, Hope for Eternity
Encouragement for Today, Hope for Eternity
Faith & Hope
It’s the most wonderful time of the year,With the kids jingle belling,And everyone telling you be of good cheer,It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” (Songwriters: Edward Pola and George Wyle) Anybody else hear this song and think, “Uh, the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year?” How about… The most sickly time of the year? The …
Infant Loss, Infertility
My second daughter will be 14 months old tomorrow. She is crawling like a champ, pulling up constantly, standing up in the middle of the room, and taking a few steps on her own. She talks like crazy, and she understands way more than she should for her age. When tested recently, her language, fine motor skills, and cognitive level …
Faith & Hope
I can still remember this particular morning clearly. It’s dark outside, and I’m sitting on my living room couch in the same place where I always sit for my morning devotional time. I have my Bible open in my lap. Looking back, I honestly don’t remember now the book or chapter I was reading. I do remember, though, that the …
Infant Loss, Parenting after Loss
One year ago today, I was 40 weeks pregnant with our second daughter! She wasn’t quite ready to come out yet so she stayed in for a few more days until the 15th. That little stinker! If I’m being honest, this past month leading up to my second daughter’s first birthday has been a mix of emotions. I know every …
Faith & Hope, Infant Loss
I’m gonna sing, in the middle of the stormLouder and louder, you’re gonna hear my praises roarUp from the ashes, hope will ariseDeath is defeated, the King is alive!” “Raise a Hallelujah” by Bethel Music Anyone heard this song at church or on the radio recently? (If not, click on the link-it’s worth an extra 5 minutes of your time, …
Parenting after Loss
This post is probably not going where you think it is. It has nothing to do with the difficulty of putting our 6 year down for bed (though sometimes that can be challenging). And it has nothing to do with having a hungry baby at the end of the day who is fussy and needs to nurse but I have …
Faith & Hope
Proverbs 16.9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” I recently re-read a post I wrote one year ago entitled A Blank Slate. In this post I reflect on the fact that looking into 2018 I had no expectations of what the year would hold. I had hopes, dreams, and loose plans that …
Faith & Hope
But Moses said to the Lord, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the …
Infant Loss
I recently signed a card for my mom and stepdad to celebrate their anniversary. I wrote them a little message and then proceeded to sign our family’s names: “Mace, Jennifer, Bernard…(long pause)…and Haven…(another long pause).” I then closed the card, stuck it in the envelope, and sealed it. My heart remained heavy and lingered for a moment in the thick …
Faith & Hope
This is not an easy post for me to write. Depression is something that most people don’t want to talk about (me included). In fact, I started writing this post a month and a half ago, and I just couldn’t get the courage to finish it and publish it. There’s a societal stigma against depression, and for some Christians, there’s …