Laura Diehl, Author at GPS Hope Page

April 25, 2023 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

208: Our Dark Thoughts After Child Loss

The Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast’s first episode was released on April 23^rd, four years ago.

Today you will hear Laura read the April 23^rd entry in Reflections of Hope: Daily Readings for Bereaved Parents, which talks about how our thoughts affect the process of finding our way out of the suffocating darkness of our grief.

Links Mentioned in this episode:

Click here to find out more about Reflections of Hope: Daily Readings for Bereaved Parents. This is where you will also find how to participate in the preorder bonus of joining Laura live for four Mondays in May.

BE a grieving parent sharing hope with a financial gift or become a monthly partner with GPS Hope here.

Birthdays:

Jude Como was born on April 23 and is forever 19.

Aminu Christopher was born on April 23 and is forever 41.

Abigail Jane (Abi) was born on April 25 and is forever 18 months.

Michael Roach was born on April 26 and is forever 28.

Bradley Brown was born on April 27 and is forever 17.

Christi Gayheart was born on April 29 and is forever 49.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

Remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at office@gpshope.org.

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

It is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgment in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

April 18, 2023 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

207: Reflections of Hope After Child Loss (with Sara Nelson and Vickie Hickox)

When we are faced with the shock of child loss, literally every part of us is out of whack – our thoughts, our bodies, our emotions, and even our relationship with God.

Most of us start looking for some sort of hope, that life will not always be like this. We look for a way to try and make sense of why a good God would allow this to happen. Unfortunately, these things can be hard to find.

For almost three years, Laura has been working on a book to help pareavors find hope in all these areas, and she is thrilled to announce that Reflections of Hope: Daily Readings for Bereaved Parents is now available.

In today’s episode, Laura brings on two guests, Sara Nelson and Vickie Hickox, who were part of a team of twelve bereaved parents that stuck with her for over a year, reading every entry and giving valuable feedback. Sara and Vickie share their thoughts on Reflections of Hope, so the listeners can hear from other pareavors how this book will help them in this difficult journey, no matter the age of your child, how he or she died, or how long or short of time it has been.

Sara Faith Nelson taught elementary and middle school grades for 15 years. Now she enjoys pursuing her love of writing. The primary focus of her writing has always leaned toward themes of hope, faith, and trust in the goodness of God. Since the death of her daughter and only child, she writes about her grief journey and surviving a devastating loss. She continues to write about trusting in God’s goodness and grace while grappling with the hard questions. Sara and her husband, Dennis, live in Arizona.

Vickie Hickox lost her son, Dominic, from this earth on June 22, 2019 from brain cancer, which sent her on a journey to rediscover who God is in the midst of such a horrible tragedy. She was a correctional officer in a county jail in Georgia for ten years and recently moved, continuing her career in Florida to be closer to her other children and grandchildren. Whenever she can get away from her job, Vickie enjoys spending time with her family, and time on a beach somewhere.

(Note: The views and opinions of our guests outside of this podcast may not be in agreement with GPS Hope.)

Links Mentioned in this episode:

Join Laura and Dave, as well as Sara and Vickie on The Grief Cruise in October! Click here for information.

Birthdays:

Briana Martinez was born on April 17 and is forever 17.

Christopher Schofer was born on April 21 and is forever 25.

Adam Sharp was born on April 21 and is forever 19.

Shannon Chevalier was born on April 21 and is forever 27.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

Remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at office@gpshope.org.

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

April 14, 2023 by Laura Diehl 8 Comments

Their Birthday is So Hard!

Forever 29. Every bereaved parent reading this knows exactly what that means.

April 13^th is my daughter, Becca’s, birthday. She would have turned 41 this week. She died at age 29, so knowing she would be in her 40’s now makes it seem like she has been gone for much longer than eleven years. Wow! How is that even possible? I have a hard time wrapping my head around it or imagining Becca that old.

I should have already called her to make plans. “What are you doing for your birthday? Do you want me to make something, and you and your family come over here for supper?” I should have already gone shopping for the ingredients of her favorite cake – chocolate filled angel food.

It doesn’t help that the further away we get from our child being gone, it seems the fewer people want to continue celebrating with us, which really hurts. Far too many people question why we still want to find a way to acknowledge our child’s birthday when they are no longer here with us. The reason is pretty simple. It is because we gave birth to a human being which is a big deal! (Or we adopted a child who became like our own flesh and blood, and their birthday is the day they came into the world as our special chosen gift.) Just because he or she is no longer on this earth does not erase that fact, or our memory of it, nor does it take away our instantly fierce and intense love for the little bundle of joy that came into our lives that day.

The day our children entered the world was a special gift from God, and it should be celebrated, even if no one wants to join in. You may want to do the same thing every year, such as bake their favorite cake. If no one wants to share it with you, take it to a homeless shelter and let them know it is in honor of your child’s birthday. (The people there know what it is like to be going through a rough time. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness and probably want to hear you share about your son or daughter.)

You may want to do something different each year, depending on the circumstances. Right now, that is easy for me, since we live in the Hope Mobile (a 38-foot motor home), which means we are literally in a different place each year. One year I got my guitar out and wrote a song, honoring the day our children came into this world and into our lives. (It is called I Remember Well, which has since been recorded. You can find it on most listening apps such as Spotify, Pandora, iHeart radio, etc. or click here to listen.)

This year, we will have the blessing of spending it with Becca’s twenty-year-old daughter who now lives in Tennessee. I am making Becca’s favorite chocolate-filled angel food cake and we will remember and celebrate Becca together, which I am looking forward to, in a very bittersweet way for sure.

Happy Birthday, Becca! I celebrate the day you entered this world, with all the emotions that now come with it, but most of all with the same deep love I had, and will always have, for you.

How do you feel about your child’s birthday? Some of you may not want to celebrate his or her birthday because it is just too painful to not have them here. I understand that, but I want to gently remind you that your child’s life is still worth celebrating. Please ask the Holy Spirit to help you still see the blessing of this very special day when it comes.

It doesn’t mean you won’t cry, or not feel your heart breaking. It just means you are acknowledging the gift given to you, and showing how thankful you are that you got to be your child’s mom or dad, no matter how short that time was.

And you don’t have to wait for his or her birthday. You can take time right now to celebrate in your heart and thank God for the gift of the day your child came into this world.

As a final note: I love to help pareavors celebrate their children’s birthdays and do so by announcing your children on my Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast the week of his or her birthday. If you would like me to share your child who is no longer here with our thousands of listeners, click here and submit the needed information.

Since this is the birthday week of Laura’s daughter, Becca, Their Birthday is So Hard! is also this week’s topic on the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast.

Along with talking about how difficult their birthdays can be, Laura shares some encouragement in this area, as well as various ideas on how to celebrate our child’s birthday, even while deeply missing them. You will also get to hear Laura sing the entire song that she wrote, “I Remember Well” which plays in the background of each week’s birthday segment. Listen to it here, or find the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast on your favorite listening app.

Today’s blog was taken from Laura’s book being released later this month called Reflections of Hope: Daily Reflections for Bereaved Parents. If you would like to know more, click here.

Expressions of Hope is provided by Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope). The founders, Dave and Laura Diehl, travel full time in their Hope Mobile (a 38-foot motor home) to be more easily available for speaking and ministry requests, and bringing intimate weekend retreats to bereaved parents. Laura is also a singer/songwriter and the author of multiple award-winning books.

If you would like more information about bringing Dave and Laura to you for an event, please send an email to office@gpshope.org.

If you are interested in bringing GPS Hope to your area for a weekend retreat click here.

Check out the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope weekly podcast
Subscribe to Laura’s YouTube channel.
If you are a bereaved parent, we encourage you to connect with us on our private Facebook page or our public Facebook page.
If you are not a bereaved parent but want to support those who are, or want to follow us as we give hope to these precious parents, please connect with us at Friends of GPS Hope on Facebook.

April 11, 2023 by Laura Diehl 2 Comments

206: Their Birthday is So Hard!

Forever 29. Every parent who has lost a child from this earth knows exactly what that means.

Since this is the birthday week of Laura’s daughter, Becca, she decided to talk about how difficult their birthdays can be, especially when those around us think we should be “moving on” and don’t understand why this day is still so important to us.

Laura shares some encouragement in this area as well, along with various ideas on how to celebrate our child’s birthday, even while deeply missing them.

You will also get to hear Laura sing the entire song that she wrote, “I Remember Well” which plays in the background of each week’s birthday segment.

Today’s episode was sponsored by Dave and Laura Diehl, in memory of their daughter, Becca Diehl Howard. If you would like to sponsor a podcast episode for your child, click here.

Links Mentioned in this episode:

Click here to know more about Laura’s book Reflections of Hope coming out soon!

To find out more about My Grief Journey for Kids click here.

To go directly to order My Grief Journey for Kids and automatically receive the matching book for pareavors click here. (This offer is only good from April 9-15, 2023.)

(GPS Hope is a 501c3 nonprofit and runs on the financial support of those who believe in passing along the hope they have received to others.)

Birthdays:

Brandon Matos was born on April 13 and is forever 23.

Becca Diehl Howard was born on April 13 and is forever 29.

Mylei Birdinground was born on April 14 and is forever 15.

If you would like your child mentioned on the podcast the week of his or her birthday, click here to fill out the short form with the needed information.

The special song written for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here.

Remember to Hold On Pain Eases; there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at office@gpshope.org.

Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope) is here to walk with parents through the darkness of child-loss, guiding them to a place of hope, light and purpose.

April 7, 2023 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

Removing the Sting of Death

There is a verse we hear every year around this time, which is one I struggled with after my daughter, Becca, died. 1 Corinthians 15:55 (NLT) says, O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? I can tell you exactly where death’s sting is after the death of my daughter!

I begged the Holy Spirit to please explain this to me. I know His Word is true, but this verse was not true in my life – not even close! God did not answer that prayer right away, but one day when it was not even on my mind, He began to speak to me about it.

Whenever we are dealing with a bee sting, one of the first things we do is make sure we get the stinger out. My understanding is that sometimes the stinger remains in the skin and continues to release its poison until it is pulled out.

Right now, we still have the stinger in us. The pain from the “poison” of our child’s death is still affecting us and will continue, until we join our child on the other side of eternity. That is where the “sting of death” will be pulled from us, and we will no longer be under the effect of that poison and continue feeling the pain of our child’s death.

As I read the scripture in multiple Bible versions, I discovered what the Holy Spirit had spoken to my heart is exactly what this verse means. The Contemporary English version puts it this way. “Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won’t die and won’t decay. The bodies we have now are weak and can die, but they will be changed into bodies that are eternal and then the Scriptures will come true. Death has lost the battle. ‘Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?’ Death, you’ve lost the battle. You’ve lost the power to hurt us. It’s gone! The stinger has been pulled!”

Did you catch that? This version actually says that the stinger has been pulled! I know it doesn’t help for the sting you are feeling right now, but we can all hang on, because there will come a time when this scripture will become true in our lives.

But what about right now?

Many Christians have been taught that God has a wonderful plan for their lives. We think that means our life is going to be great—full of fun, laughter, sunshine—and nothing bad will ever touch us. But that is man’s interpretation.

Jesus warned that we will have hard times, but promised that He will be with us to help us through them. He said those who mourn will be comforted (not that we will never mourn). He said we will always have the poor with us (He did not end poverty at that time). These are the kinds of things the Holy Spirit will use the most, to draw us closer to Himself and to have the opportunity to know Him more intimately than we ever knew was even possible. And He will bring us to a place of being victorious if we let Him.

God’s love for us is the one stable thing that we can count on in the life we are living here on this earth. Not only does He love you, but He is right smack dab in the middle of your grief with you, and He is excited about you, knowing your future and the good things He still has for you.

He is the foundation we have built our lives on. Most foundations of a building are unable to be seen. That does not mean it is not there. A building might fall, but the foundation remains. Our lives may have fallen apart, but the foundation of Christ is still there. We may not believe it, we may not be able to see it or feel it, but He is still there, firm and steady.

God does have a plan for your life. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord…to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. One translation says, “I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.”

Your future is full of hope. It can also be filled with wonder and amazement at the goodness and faithfulness of God, through both the incredible blessings and the painful tragedies because through both, we have the opportunity to see His powerful hand at work in our lives.

He is your anchor, your rock, your firm foundation. He is also a very present help in time of trouble and the giver of hope. Ask Him to open your eyes to see those things in a very real way. And not only can you have hope in your future here on earth, the most truly wonderful part happens when we leave this sinful world and move to eternity with Jesus. And just think, as a side note, we have someone very dear and close to us who has beat us there.

This is a shortened version of the recent Grieving Parents Sharing Hope podcast episode of the same title. If you would like to hear the rest of these thoughts, click here.

To find out more about Laura’s soon-to-be-released book Reflections of Hope: Daily readings for Bereaved Parents click here.

If you would like more information about bringing Dave and Laura to you for an event, please send an email to office@gpshope.org.

If you are interested in bringing GPS Hope to your area for a weekend retreat click here.

Check out the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope weekly podcast
Subscribe to Laura’s YouTube channel.
If you are a bereaved parent, we encourage you to connect with us on our private Facebook page or our public Facebook page.
If you are not a bereaved parent but want to support those who are, or want to follow us as we give hope to these precious parents, please connect with us at Friends of GPS Hope on Facebook.