Hannah's Hope

Just A Note!!!

2008-09-11T13:59:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone!
I hope that you are all doing awesome. Getting to know each one of you has been so much fun. I must admit that at times I have taken a little break in the last few months, but thank God, I am on my way up (again). I have found that in this journey there are going to be ups and downs. What is important is that when we find ourselves having a down time that we pick ourselves back up and keep moving forward! Any of you who have seen "Meet the Robinsons" knows what I am talking about. ;-)
Whatever you do, don't allow yourself to get stuck in a rut, or stuck in a rut of hopelessness. You HAVE to make sure that even if you are sad for a moment, that you remind yourself of God's promises and that no matter what the situation looks like or what has happened in the past, is that you have a future and it is good. Surround yourself with people that can encourage you and minister to you! Listen to encouraging teachings or music. Surround yourself with things that will build you and your spirit and your heart back up!
I love you ladies and know that all of the desires of your hearts will be fulfilled and that God has GOOD things in store for you. A Pastor friend of ours always says at his church, "God is good, and if something bad happened to you, God didn't do it!" Even though I don't understand the why's I know that God is a good God and I have to have faith and hope in His promises (even if I have to remind myself of that 100 times a day!).
You all are amazing!!! Lots of love!!

XOXO
Jen

Where Is the Hope?

2008-09-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

(Taken From www.griefshare.org A great site that will let you sign up for daily devotions.)

When Grief Runs Deep: Where Is the Hope?

Dr. Joseph Stowell says, "Even though your heart is breaking and tears are clouding your eyes and staining your cheeks, God does give us something worth trusting in tough times. And that's Him, and Him alone."

When your heart is breaking, you can place your hope and trust in the Lord.

"Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD" (Psalm 31:24).

Anne Graham Lotz defines hope: "Biblical hope is absolute confidence in something you haven't seen or received yet, but you're absolutely confident that whatever God has said is going to come to pass."

She also declares that "Jesus is your hope for the future. One day Jesus Christ will come back, and He will set all of the wrong right. Good will triumph over the bad. Love will triumph over hate. Righteousness will triumph over evil. He's going to make it all right, and you can have absolute confidence that that's going to take place. That's your hope."

God, I choose hope. I choose faith. I choose life. Give me an unshakable faith in You. Amen.

Isaiah 49:13-16

2008-08-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 49:13-16 (TLB) says
"Sing for joy, O heavens; shout, O earth. Break forth with song, O mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion upon them in their sorrow. Yet they say, 'My Lord deserted us; he has forgotten us.' 'Never! Can a mother forget her little child and not have love for her own son? Yet even if that should be, I will not forget you. See, I have tattooed your name upon my palm, and ever before me is a picture of Jerusalem's walls in ruins. Soon your rebuilders shall come and chase away all those destroying you."

The Strongest Ladies I Know

2008-07-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

"But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,
but of those who have faith
and preserve their souls."
Hebrews 10:39

Hey ladies! I came across this scripture this weekend and had to share it with you all!! This is a great scripture because it can minister to you no matter what you are going through in your life right now!!

All of you that I have met or known on Hannah's Hope really are the strongest women I know. You have endured so much, yet remain kind, compassionate and willing to let God heal your hearts and keep on going.

Through all this, I believe that one of the most important things we can do is allow healing to take place in our hearts. To not let bitterness or resentment take root in our souls. When we hear the word soul, some think of the spiritual part of us. But when you study out the original meaning behind the word soul in the bible, you find that it means, "our mind, will or emotions." Also, in dictionary.com you find that it means, "the emotional part of human nature".

We have to choose not to let what has happened (no matter what it is) in our lives to destroy our souls, but we choose to preserve and keep faith that God will see us through and we will come through this!

So I encourage you to keep moving forward, keep the faith, keep hope and don't shrink back! Keep moving forward with your life and your relationships and your dreams.

You ladies are amazing and I love you so much!!! Keep it up!!!
XOXO Jen

"God I pray right now that our friends are strengthened continuously through you and that they do not grow weary, but are continually built up through your word and comforted. I thank you that you have them under the shadow of your wing and that peace and joy fills thier heart today. In Jesus Name, Amen."

Devotion- Hold Fast

2008-07-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful! And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as some, but encouraging one another!!!" Hebrews 10:23-24

I read this scripture this Sunday as we were waiting for church to start and it really hit me. Have you ever just heard something over and over, but then just at the right moment God just reveals something to you through it that you have never seen before?

This scripture means so much to me! "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful!" That means hang onto that hope! Don't stop talking about what you are hopeful for! Keep the vision before you as a goal that you can and will reach somehow one day! We might not know the exact way or timing that our hearts desires will be fulfilled, but I believe God wants them to be! (God gives us the desires of our hearts.)

So the other part of that "stirring up one another to love... encouraging one another..." Just lets me know that all of us who have become friends are just doing what God wants us to do! We can be encouraging and loving to one another~ I can't tell you how many times I may have been having a "bad" day and one of you has encouraged me and made my heart happy. And I hope that I have been the same to you~.

Keep up all the good work ladies! You can get through this if you are in the midst of anything in your life, no matter what it is.. infertility, loss, anything!

Love you lots!

XOXO Jen

What About the Due Date?

2008-06-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!! Sorry it has been awhile since I posted a blog! I know you all know that sometimes you just need a little break!

This week finds me learning how to get through a big day. Our little daughters due date. It has been tough... all our hopes and dreams were going to come true this week. Going into the guest room to find her stuff that we still have. Imagining giving birth and it being a joyful experience... I am sure you have had thoughts like this if you have gotten to a due date that didn't happen.

These are just some of the things that some may go through-- I haven't actually got to the due date yet.. it's Thursday.. but I feel like God has been preparing my heart for it. I truly believe that is part of the healing process after you lose a child. Learning that God did not cause what happened and even though we don't understand the WHY'S we know what we do understand and hold onto that. If we focus on the why's we will lose hope.

So if you are nearing a due date of your precious little one, make it a day of honoring them with your heart. A friend of mine is having a bbq with her family on that day. I am so proud of her for doing something to honor that day and her babies memory. It will be a day she will remember forever and she will be sharing it with friends and family.

Another thing I wanted to share w/you ladies is that God is a restorer! He will heal your heart and restore all that was lost to you. Hang onto the hope that we have in Him! A hope that anchors us and lets us look brightly into our future!

I dearly care for you all! If you all lived near me I would have you all over for chocolate cake and milk and watch a great movie!!

Treat yourself to some comfort and a good time, even if its just relaxing at home with some good friends or your hubby!! You deserve it and you are precious and valuable!!!

Love to you all!!

XOXO Jen

TTC Prayer & Devotion

2008-05-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

"He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord." Psalm 113:9

As I write this blog today, I am reminded of what I was going through before we got pregnant with Grace, our baby who is now in heaven. We had been married eight years and still no baby! For the last several years I would buy baby things here and there in hopes that one day soon we would have our little miracle. I didn't know when we would concieve and had no idea when we were going to be able to go through an IVF cycle!

But I had hope that one day we would have our baby. The reason I am reminded of this is because of this scripture I have above. I had printed it out on a big pink sheet of paper and pinned it to the wall in what was to be our nursery room with all of the baby stuff! Everytime I went in there I was reminded that one day our baby would be here one way or another and I was reminded of the promise that God made in His word. It gave me hope!!!

Even though we have our baby in heaven, and no children with us here.. I am reminded again to put my faith in God that this WILL work out. I printed out this scripture again and still have all my saved up baby items ready for our miracle baby that we will have.

I just want to encourage you that if you are TTC to keep hope. Keep a positive attitude and do what you have to to keep your goal before you! =) Remember with God all things are possible!!!

Love ~ Jen

Father I pray that all the ladies here will be encouraged and be strengthened in their journey of trying to concieve. I thank you that you keep your promises and that we will all have our BFP and carry a healthy full-term baby in Jesus Name. Amen!!!

Did you know?

2008-05-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

That more than seven million people in the US suffer from infertility? This is 1 in 8 couples. "Infertility is a disease that affects the reproductive system, prohibiting many loving famlies from bearing children. Despite the staggering number of people who have this disease, infertility is not recognized by most medical insurance companies" (from Send a Stork Campaign).

That ovulatory dysfunction is the single most frequent cause of female infertility and "denotes a problem with the monthly release of an egg (ovulation)"? There are varying causes for ovulatory dysfuntion; the most frequent one is Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).

That caffeine may increase the risk of miscarriage? A new study found that when a woman drinks more than 200milligrams of caffeine a day, the risk of miscarriage doubles as compared with a woman who drink no caffeine (from U.S. News & World Report, www.health.us.new.com).

Approximately 85-90% of infertility cases are treated with drug therapy or surgical procedures. Fewer than 3% need advanced reproductive technologies like IVF. (Most of us here are in that 3% LOL!!)

**just a note that I don't want to discourage anyone w/these research facts, but sometimes it helps to know you are not the only one! And it also helps to have facts when people are asking us about infertility. Love ya! Be encouraged that you are not alone and that we all have hope in Christ to have our dreams fulfilled!**

Angel Moms Poem

2008-05-15T18:45:00.000-07:00