Grieving with Hope

This is a truly inspiring story of one woman's journey in unseen faith!

Testimony to holding the Shield of Faith from Morning Star Church.

Have you taken up the shield of faith today?

My Next Book

I'm often asked when I'm going to write my next book. In reality I've been in the process of writing a book on the life of Paul as encouragement for living with chronic pain and illness for probably close to 5 years now. Since Hannah's Hope took me about 10 years to write, that may not be such exciting news because it tells you I still have a very long way to go!

What I hope is more exciting, what I would like to ask you to partner with me in prayer as God continues to unfold His plan, is that this very blog is becoming a launching pad for what I feel God is turning into my "next" book. Yes, I'm continuing to work on the Paul book too, but over the past year God has me focusing more on an exploration of the Fruit of the Spirit and I've been working on a Bible study related to what He's teaching me.

How does the Fruit of the Spirit tie in with Harvesting Hope from Heartache? I'm glad you asked. ;) It all has to do with sowing seeds, gathering fruit, and ultimately what Source hope springs from. What better time to look to the Lord for help than in the midst of the trials? I'm very excited to see how God is tying so many themes together in my life as He's teaching me through Galatians 5 this year! I pray that this book will be as much of a blessing to you as the journey has been to me.

It is my current goal to have enough of this study written and ready to present to publishers that I can begin the query process around the end of the year or in the very early part of 2012. Will you join me in specific prayer that God will give me His words to write and that this project will unfold according to His will and in His perfect timing?

If you would like to stay updated about my progress, I've just opened a new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/HarvestingHope and would love to have you "like" me over there. :) Feel free to pass this link along to your friends as well.

Womb Woven

I just came across a new-to-me website this evening, called Womb Woven and Wonderfully Made. Here Angela Nazworth shares the realities of her Post Partum Mood Disorders as well as the hope of living she's found beyond her nervous breakdown.

Angela shares,

...this battle was even more severe than the first, which in my darkest moment found me lying on my living room floor in a literal puddle of my own tears plotting ways to end my life while making it appear accidental. That time I received just enough help to function. Just enough to fool me and those around me into thinking that I had it all together.

I think the fact that I did not receive enough help and intervention during my first perinatal struggles led to the intensification of my second battle, the battle that alarmed even a psychiatrist...

Angela goes on to share about her season of healing and how she learned to harvest hope from her heartache. She recently relaunched her blog under the new banner of Womb Woven and Wonderfully Made where she shares stories of hope and courage from many walks of life.

In the Shadow

Misunderstood

A friend recently pointed me to a fascinating article titled, The Most Misunderstood Woman in the Bible : Why Job's wife may have gotten a bad rap. Much of the article is speculation, but gives some wonderful historical and cultural perspective and food for thought such as,

Imagine the grief that overwhelmed her soul as she looked down in disbelief at ten freshly dug graves...

Clearly God chose to record her thoughts in Scripture, yet sometimes I wonder how fair it is to define an entire life based on one conversation. Nowhere before or after this incident are we given any indication that Job's wife was a perpetually bitter, unhappy wife...

Yet, if you listen to Job, you almost hear admiration. "You speak as one of the foolish women." He didn't say his wife was foolish. He didn't even say her words were foolish. He said, "She sounds like one of the foolish women."

In other words, "You don't sound like yourself." You might read these words like this: Sweetheart, that's not you talking. This doesn't sound like the woman of God I know and married. That is not you talking, my wife. Let's remember God's promises. Let's remember his goodness...

I would encourage you to read this powerful post!

Through the Valley

Today I'm sharing two more windows into my past on the Hannah's Hope book blog (my struggle with depression) and on Held (God's grace to carry me through that dark valley).


If you or someone you love if caught in a similar struggle, these resources might help.

Suicide Prevention:

U.S. Suicide Prevention Hotline - 1-800-SUICIDE

International Suicide Prevention Listings - http://www.befrienders.org


General Depression Resources:

My Story, as posted here at Harvesting Hope last year.

Depression is Not a Sin (Focus on the Family)

Just Breathe (in)Courage

Common Cold of Emotional Illnesses

Women and Depression

Mental Health


Depression After Pregnancy Loss:

Is Miscarriage Supposed to be This Hard? (Focus on the Family)

Out of the Valley Post-Partum (Including Post-Miscarriage) Hope

It's Not Over

So it's the day after Easter. All the excitement is over and it's back to the same-old-life, right?
Nope, this is just the beginning!!! And a simple napkin explains why...

When Simon Peter ran he to tomb, he noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying to the side.

Is that important? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition...

Find out more at Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin??? This story gave me chills (the good kind) and reminded me again of the amazing details that God never overlooks.

Same-Sex Struggles

I was just blessed to listen to a wonderful testimony of hope and healing from a Christian woman who allowed God to restore His purpose for sexual wholeness after 20 years in lesbian relationships. I think of how much I love my husband and how devastating it would be to me if God called me to walk away from the man shared my life with for the past 20 years. I know He wouldn't but ask this of me, but hearing this woman's story gave me a new compassion for people who seek to obey the Lord's commands for sexual purity and marriage, yet feel devotion to long-held relationships that fall outside of God's will. Listen to a Journey Out of Sexual Brokenness here.

Raindrop Blessings, Healing Tears

Laura Story has a story to tell, all right! Her new song, called Blessings, will be hitting the airwaves in April. Find out more about the song and Laura's story of discovering sometimes "God's blessings come through raindrops and healing comes through tears" at read the words here.

PPD Revisited

We've talked about Post-Partum Depression here before. Today I was thrilled to run across an article by Dr. Heather Rupe, D.O., entitled Postpartum Depression: Not Just a Matter of ‘Bucking Up’ and Praying Harder. I found this overview to be basic, informative, straightforward and helpful, so wanted to point it out for anyone else who might be wondering about symptoms of PPD.