Tag: Infertility

Focus Friday-Gratitude Again!

Posted on by Evangeline

Here’s a quick note about gratitude.

Yes, I know I’ve had quite a few posts about gratitude lately but this theme just keeps whooshing through my mind like waves at the seashore.

I hope this repeated focus on gratitude is something that will encourage you to interrupt the stress of  your day by being grateful for some simple things. I like thanking out loud God for parking spaces close to the building I need to walk to (especially when it’s 113 degrees outside), the 7 consecutive  green lights I drove through so I could be on time, the opportunity to do a random act of kindness for someone, favor that I received from someone, etc.

Gratitude helps to lighten the emotional and mental load you carry and it gives you something to smile about.

What’s something that you can be thankful for today?

Gratitude - EV turquoise 2

You’ve Got to Get the Kinks Out for the Blessings to Flow

Posted on by Evangeline

In an attempt to save a bush in my front yard from the scorching heat wave we were having, I pulled our water hose over to it to give it a good soaking. It did not turn out to be a quick and easy task. The hose had knots that I had to untangle (a sign that my husband was the last one to use it since he hates to neatly coil it when he’s done). The hose also had kinks in it, places along the length of the hose where it was bent and would restrict the flow of the water.

I tried to get as many knots and kinks out of the hose as possible, but it was 110 degrees outside and I was not going to take the time to make it perfect! When I turned the water spigot, water came out of the hose but not at the free-flowing rate I expected. The remaining kinks in the hose were restricting the flow to a trickle.

Life can be like that hose. Distractions and hardships in life (for example, infertility) can make us think that we have to do all we can to make something happen. They cause great stress in our minds and bodies.  Even our muscles can be like the hose and get kinks and knots in them when we are stressed. When we’re focusing on the problem and looking to ourselves or other people as the source of our solution, the resulting stresses can close off the supply of what we need, even though the supply is still freely flowing from the source, or should I say Source.

God really wants us to be blessed abundantly and He, as our Source, has made provision through Jesus to give us every good thing.  The Bible instructs us to look to Jesus– to move our attention away from the troubles and fix our attention on His love and provision (Hebrews 12:2). His supply is always flowing from Him but the kinks that we allow in our lives can restrict the flow to a trickle, or even just a drop, by the time it gets to us.

water hose kink

What would happen if we just relax in God’s arms and trust Him? What would happen if we rest in Jesus’ work as being sufficient? Could we more fully receive and enjoy His peace, faithfulness and provision? Surely the kinks in our lives would relax, opening up the channel of supply from our Source so that we can receive abundantly!

What kink will you remove from your life today so you can enjoy the blessings that are already freely flowing in God’s pipeline to you?

Monday’s Marinade – PRAISE

Posted on by Evangeline

As you begin this week by “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God, meditate about the importance and power of praise. Praising God gives you strength! Praise is powerful enough to silence the enemy and the negativity that he brings into your thoughts.   

Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening!

 

Here’s your spiritual marinade about Praise:

Praise

Spiritual Tools :: YouVersion Infertility Bible Reading Plan

Posted on by Evangeline

I have a YouVersion tool that you might find helpful.

It’s a Bible Reading Plan specifically for women struggling with infertility. You can easily access it on your phone, tablet, computer, and maybe even your watch! 🙂
YouVersion_logoREV
My infertility Bible reading plan is free on the YouVersion site. It includes applicable scriptures for the season of infertility as well as  brief biographies of women who struggled with infertility and overcame it. You’ll also find some great affirmations to use as you encourage yourself by speaking life to your life. It’s always good to be able to have a go-to resource when you need some encouragement.

Check it out:https://www.bible.com/search/plans?q=infertility.

Bonus tool:

The Appendix of my book, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility, is full of multiple scriptures that will give you a good start in addressing the spiritual aspect of infertility. I hope you’ll keep it handy and use it daily to encourage yourself by using God’s Word.

Mother’s Day and Infertility

Posted on by Evangeline

mother's day infertilityMother’s Day and infertility–they just don’t seem to go together. If you’re in the throes of infertility, is this a difficult time for you?

I remember some years ago when I dreaded Mother’s Day because I was struggling with infertility and it was difficult to get through that Day without feeling inadequate. Despite all the “trying” my husband and I had been doing, nothing was working and I felt like so out-of-place on that Day.

I wanted to experience pregnancy and it seemed that I couldn’t.

I wanted to watch my tummy grow and it seemed like that could very possibly be impossible.

I wanted to feel the baby kicking and moving inside of me and it seemed that I wouldn’t.

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

With infertility, the finite disappointment rolls around on a monthly basis, but don’t allow it to make you lose hope in Jesus’ for love you. Don’t let the doctor’s diagnosis make you lose hope for having a child. There’s a spiritual enemy, the devil, that would love for you to give up on Jesus–don’t let him win. Hope is what gets us through the tough times. I overcame infertility because I did not lose hope…I did not give up on God promises.

Reinforce your hope this week by digging more deeply into God’s promises of fertility. Let them give you courage to rest in His unfailing integrity, His covenantal willingness, and His omnipotent strength. Placing our hope in Jesus is the only sure thing. He desires to be our anchor, especially in times of raging storms.

“We have this HOPE as an anchor for the soul.” ~ Hebrews 6:19

Stay in the Word this week…allow Jesus’ love to speak to you through it. Need some suggestions for some applicable verses to read? Check out the appendix in my fertility devotional, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility for lots of encouraging passages.

How will you cope with Mother’s Day 2015? Please share with us your ways of maintaining hope!

 

Image courtesy of 89studio | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Monday’s Marinade – Decision Time

Posted on by Evangeline

Your marinade for this week presents a challenge— make a decision! There’s power to be gleaned from doing so! As you begin this week by “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God, make a decision to believe that God’s Word is true for you. Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening! Let me know in the comments below what decision you choose to make about trusting what God has said in His Word about your situation.

Here’s your spiritual marinade about making a decision:

Monday's Marinade - Decision Time

5 Secrets for Maintaining Hope When You Feel Like Giving Up

Posted on by Evangeline

Evangeline Colbert - Hope in Hard Places

Here are some thoughts about hope that I shared over a year ago at In Due Time. If you’re about to give up because you’re feeling stuck in a difficult situation, I think this will help:

I know what the pressure of infertility feels like. It’s as if it completely surrounds you, pressuring you to give up, to not see any advantage in continuing to hope. In the midst of infertility, life can feel like you’re always stuck between a rock and a hard place. It seems like not much is working out in your favor. Every day seems as if infertility colors how you view life. It looms over every aspect of your life, clouding your vision so it’s hard to see anything good that’s on the horizon.

But I’m glad to share with you that in that place of feeling stuck, hope can shake things up, freeing you to enjoy life!

Here are 5 secrets that I’ve found to be powerful in nurturing and maintaining hope as you look to come out of this struggle with infertility.

  1. Believe God loves you. His love is a “no matter what” kind of love. No matter what you’ve done/thought/said, He loves you with an unfailing and unending love.
  2. Decide to not give up. Don’t underestimate the power of a decision!
  3. Remember the previous times, big or small, when God has come through for you. Encourage yourself.Think about those successes and the joy you experienced.
  4. On a daily basis, affirm the promise of God that relates to your situation by speaking the Word out loud. Instead of focusing on medical facts, allow God’s Word to be your point of focus and become your truth.
  5. Greet each morning with gratitude for the gift of a new day. This helps set a positive tone for the day ahead of you. Thankfulness has a way of shifting our attitude, choices, and behavior.

Hope established upon Jesus’ love never disappoints.

Hope is one of the three things that 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us will always remain as a resource that allows us to tap into God’s grace. We are to always have hope—the joyful and confident expectation of God coming through for us!

Allow hope to shake things up in your life so that you experience the freedom to confidently expect good things from a very good Father.

An Affirmation for You: God loves me and desires for me to experience only His goodness. I rest in His love for me. I choose to allow His desires for my life to be my desires. I maintain my hope in God!

When you’re feeling stuck in a situation at work, how do you bring yourself out of that? How can you apply that same strategy to infertility or some other personal struggle?

 

The Good Thing I’ve Enjoyed For 33 Years

Posted on by Evangeline

I’ve enjoyed a good thing for 33 years…being married to the guy that God gifted to me through “holy matrimony” in 1982.

good thing - wedding

 

These 33 years of married life have had their ups and downs but we’ve been blessed to experience a very high rate of ups!

Here are a few of the downs:

good thing - downs

  • The death of my father 6 months after we got married. My biggest regret about his death is that my children never got to know him as “Granddaddy.” He would have made a  wise and fun one!
  • My layoff from my job.
  • INFERTILITY
  • My mother’s bout with cancer.

 

Here are the few of the ups:

good thing - ups

      • My mother lived to see, hold, and pray for each of my children.
      • JOB SECURITY!!! Freeman has never been laid off from his job.
      • Discovering Family Life’s “Weekend to Remember” getaway. It’s a booster shot for our marriage. We’ve attended this event more than a dozen times!
      • We OVERCAME infertility using God’s Word
        • Gave birth to 3 wonderful children
        • I became a stay-at-home mom 🙂
      • Cancer has no authority in our family anymore.
      • My in-laws love me!
      • Freeman’s in-laws love him! 🙂
      • I became an author (NEVER planned for that to happen!)

 

I’m so glad today is my wedding anniversary. But more importantly, I’m so thankful to be sharing life with a man who loves God and loves me unconditionally and allows me to return the favor!

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In honor of Freeman and our 33 years of being married, I’d like to share with you something a wise woman passed on to our church in 2013. It struck me as one more way that I can be selfless and focus on the good qualities my husband possesses (and that I desire him to possess).

Daily Confessions For My Husband

(Original version shared by Glorya Huff at SonRise in 2013)

He has the Meekness of Moses

The Patience of Job

The Ear of Samuel

The Courage of Joshua

The Strength of Sampson

The Discipline of Daniel

The Integrity of Joseph

The Heart of Boaz

The Focus of David

The Peace of Paul

The Steadfastness of Peter

The Love of John

And most of all, he has the Mind of Christ.

Freeman is my Mighty Man of GOD!

 

Here’s a link to a PDF of this confession. Why not personalize it and use it to speak goodness over your husband AND to help you focus on the goodness that’s already in him?

Daily Confessions For My Husband TEMPLATE

 

[Guest Post by Nerida Walker] God’s Will for Your Life is FRUITFULNESS!

Posted on by Evangeline

Today, it my honor to share a guest post from Nerida Walker. I’m thankful that she too shares a message of hope for those struggling with infertility. If you’re not familiar with her story of overcoming infertility, read it HERE. 

 

Nerida WalkerHave you ever felt like God has forgotten you, abandoned you or is answering everyone else’s prayers but yours? We have all at some point in our journey felt this way and while these times feel very real, the reality could not be further than the truth.  It is very easy when struggling with infertility to lose sight of the goodness of God. Especially when another menstrual cycle begins. Therefore, I want to help you to overcome the times of doubt and despair by reminding you of what you already through Jesus and His finished work of the Cross.

I have listed below some Biblical truths to remind you that God’s has not abandoned you and that Fruitfulness is His plan and purpose for your life. So next time you feel forgotten or are struggling in your journey, encourage yourself with the following…

1) God created mankind to be FRUITFUL!

When God created Adam and Eve, He Blessed them and commanded them to be fruitful (Genesis 1:26-28). This was NOT just for Adam and Eve but for all of mankind. Even after the fall when fruitfulness was thwarted, God made provision for His children to be fruitful. We see this all throughout the Covenant God made with Israel. The Bible tells us that God does not change His mind and that He does not show favoritism so the simple truth is that God’s will for those who are in Covenant with Him is to be fruitful!

2) Infertility and miscarriage are NOT creations of God.

God only created everything good! James 1:17 tells us ONLY good & perfect gifts come from God. In the beginning infertility and miscarriage did not exist because God did not create them! Romans 5:12 tells us that death came through sin. This means ALL forms of sickness and disease, including those that cause infertility and miscarriage, resulted from the Fall. But don’t despair, because while we live in a fallen world where sickness and disease reign, always look to Jesus and His finished work on the Cross, because through Him God made provision for you to be made whole!

3) God’s will & plan for your life is what Jesus has ALREADY done for you!

Many struggle to know God’s will for healing of infertility BUT God’s will is very easy to determine!God’s will for your life is NOT what your circumstances, diagnosis, symptoms or your past experience says BUT is what Jesus did for you on the Cross! Jesus is the will of God for ALL of mankind, so what Jesus purchased & provided is God’s plan and purpose for your life!

4) Jesus has ALREADY won the battle of infertility for you!

If you understand what Jesus completed and perfected for you on the Cross then you will know that you don’t have to fight infertility any more! Jesus was the last Adam who came and redeemed mankind from everything that the first Adam bought upon us. We know that Jesus took the sin of the world to the Cross, but at the same time & in the same manner He also bore sickness and disease.  This includes any sickness and disease that can cause infertility and miscarriage! So don’t labor or strive against infertility in your own ability, instead REST in what Jesus has already freely provided for you!

5) God does NOT show Favoritism!

Some believe God chooses who receives Salvation and who doesn’t, who gets healed and who doesn’t and even who get babies and who doesn’t BUT the reality is that the victory Jesus purchased on the Cross is freely available to all who believe in Him!

2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT tells us that ALL of the promises of God have been FULFILLED in Christ and are always YES and AMEN (so be it) in Him! So it is time to unlearn all the traditions and doctrines of men and stick to Jesus & His finished work instead!

And lastly always remember…

6) The consistency of God’s nature!

Many falsely believe that God can do anything He likes BUT this is inconsistent with what Scripture says about Him. God’s Word is so clear on His nature and character! It tells us that God has bound Himself to His Covenant and to His Word and that means that God CANNOT:-

Change His mind or will

Change His nature

Lie or prove false

Break or go back on His Word

Alter His Covenant

Therefore, if you understand the New Covenant and what Jesus has purchased for you through His finished work on the Cross then you will KNOW that God cannot block, stop, withdraw or delay what Jesus has ALREADY provided for you!

These are foundational truths on the goodness of God and His plan of fruitfulness for your life! So next time you feel forgotten or abandoned remind yourself on what God has already provided for you through His Son. The more you look to Jesus, the less you are looking to yourself or to your natural circumstances. This will also help you to rest in His ability rather than in your own ability. Then you will see His power released in your life.

It was an honor to write this for you! I pray this post will continue to bless and encourage you and it is my prayer that infertility and whatever is causing it will be annihilated once and for all so that you will continue to go forth, be fruitful and MULTIPLY!

(C) Nerida Walker 2015

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Nerida Walker's book - pregnancy and fruitfulness

Fertility Retreat 2015

Posted on by Evangeline

iHope Fertility Retreat

The iHope Fertility Retreat is fast approaching!

Get all the details of this fabulous weekend HERE. 

You’ve struggled long enough…

Feeling like infertility has taken over your life?

Want to address the SPIRITUAL aspect of infertility? 

Pull away from the daily stress of infertility and hear what God has to say about infertility (He doesn’t like it). Receive personalized prayer and encouragement for overcoming infertility.

Get new Word-based tools to help you maintain hope.

Workshops at the iHope Fertility Retreat will be based on the content of my book, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility. We’ll have discussions that help you with increase your trust in God’s lavish and unending love for YOU, and in His faithfulness to always follow through on His promises. The weekend will be filled with revelation centered on God’s promises of fertility.

This 3-day retreat is tailored to help you nourish your spirit and to draw closer to the One who has the solution to your every problem.

ihope retreat theme - largeYour registration fee includes your lodging, meals, workshop materials, and a signed copy of A Seed of Hope.

It’s time for some R&R … Rest and Receive at the iHope Fertility Retreat!

Enjoy a time of fun, pampering and recreation.

YOU NEED TO JOIN US AND RECEIVE THE BLESSING!

Reserve your place now at  www.EvangelineColbert.com/retreat-registration