Hope

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

by: Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

This is my favorite poem. Some people that know me, know that I recently am attached to anything to do birds (It's not a coincidence that they are on the top right of my page).  I love birds on my jewelry, in photographs, in paintings, because a while back I heard this poem and it just clicked. The reason I'm fascinated by birds is because they represent Hope to me.  The basis of this poem is that Hope lives in our soul, it speaks to us. Hope keeps us safe and warm and Hope never asks anything of us in return. So, I just wanted to share this poem and maybe it will bring comfort to you as it does to me. There is also a song I love by Idina Menzel called Hope that is very similar to this poem, here is a link to listen, hope you enjoy it. http://vimeo.com/3290847
Have a blessed week!

First Comes Love,Then Comes Marriage, Then Comes....Infertility?

   As we all know, the title of this post is not how the song originally goes, but for some of us this is our song.  God gave me a new song, one that I wasn't expecting or hoping for but one I've learned to claim none the less. It's really hard being transparent at times when it comes to suffering, but God's word tells us to share our pain and suffering with him and to sing the song he gave us.

• "The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise him and exalt him." Exodus 15:2
• "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God..." Psalm 40:3
• "Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord and all the Earth." Psalm 96:1
• "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who he has given us." Romans 5:3-5
• "But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction." Job 36:15

   The fourth verse listed, Romans 3:5 is a verse on my heart. He tells me to rejoice in my suffering...WHAT? Who on earth wants to do that, but it is true. I could be going through this time in my life mad and angry and stressed and without faith (and I'm not saying those times haven't all hit), but now I have chosen to figure out what I can get out of this season in my life. I've decided to rejoice as much as I can in this time of suffering because the end result is HOPE! Hope, a beautiful word that gives me endurance every time I say it. The verse says "...hope does not disappoint us...", how true is that!? That is why it was so important for me to include the word hope in the name of this blog, it encourages me every time I see the word. The definition of Hope according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "to cherish a desire with anticipation" or "to expect with confidence". That is what God gives me, a desire I can expect with confidence. God knows the desire of Chris and I's heart right now, a precious blessing called a baby and we fully expect him to deliver our desire!

Thank you again all who are praying, Blessings!

Accepting Help While Experiencing Infertility

My husband and many of you reading that know me would agree, I like to be strong and independent, meaning I don't always ask for help.  I believe this is a problem many woman experience and going through infertility is not the time to be independent! When people ask to offer prayers or a dinner or a fun day out or even their time (which is most precious) I have learned to start saying yes! It's still hard, starting this blog and even mentioning fundraising here requires a lot of humility. I really feel the need to be humble in many areas of life, look at what scripture says about humbling ourselves.

The first scripture is so beautiful to me and is my favorite about humility:

• "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2
• "He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way." Psalm 25:9
• "You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty." Psalm 18:27
• "He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed." Proverbs 3:34

I know for me I tend to go up and down with my feelings about infertility.  Currently I am in a peaceful place and my Hope and Faith are strong in God. However, that can switch and sometimes it makes no sense to anybody, why myself and other women with infertility, go from feeling "good" to feeling "bad".  I find it helpful to have friends and support that will check in on me and gently push for more of an answer then "I'm good".
You never know how much just stopping to share a brief moment with a person will help or inspire or motivate them. Ultimately though the main person I need to go to FIRST is God.  I was talking wth a friend today about how we seek answers from other people first and if we only saught him first and listened we may have our answer or peace or whatever it is we are searching for. "But seek first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you." Matthew 6:33

I have included a website showing an article that I found very interesting and truthful about another couple fundraising for infertility treatment. It is a good read just to educate yourself on the lack of resources for this area of care.Just click below!

 http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/09/baby-or-bust-infertile-couples-turn-to-the-web-to-raise-funds-f/

Thanks for reading, Blessings!

Whats this blog all about anyway?

Hello,
My name is Amy and I have been struggling with infertility for a while.  Many of you personally know this pain or your heart has become heavy for a friend, family member, co-worker, etc in regards to infertility.  This site is simply my journey, what has helped me, what hasn't and my relationship with God through out this experience.
This site will not have medical advice but will sponsor advocating for yourself, suggestions from self and others, literature, feelings and help for family members and friends.  The main focus on this blog is going to be surrounding HOPE! As a person who is infertile and has a relationship with God I get tired of hearing nothing but negativity; words like "can't", "won't" and "you'll never."  Matthew 19:26 (NIV) contradicts those absolute words with these words "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible".  Some days are just bad and its very hard to believe this. This site will share the pain, the questions, the lack of faith, the constant questioning, feelings of being misunderstood, etc.
This is truly a work of the heart. Romans 8:26-28 (MSG) "meanwhile the moment we get tired in waiting, God's spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.  He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our significant condition and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." I love this verse and I fully believe it.  I will be adding additional scripture on this blog that I or others have found encouraging, hopeful and filled with truth during their infertility journey.
I will also be hosting some fundraisers and selling various crafts to help with the high costs of infertility treatment for my husband and I.  Many people do not realize that most insurance companies do not pay for infertility treatment; my husband and I fall into that majority and the costs of fertility treatment are expensive.  So you can look forward to seeing some items and fundraising opportunities soon. I also welcome any feedback on fundraising ideas as well.  I hope you will enjoy this blog and pass it to others that you think would benefit. Also, I would love to hear your responses to each post, something you say may give a pearl of hope to another person.  Blessings!