Tag: overcoming infertility

A Prayer for You

Posted on by Evangeline

Did today have a good start for you? I hope so.

If it did not, do not fret or be stressed. Put your trust for the rest of the day in the One whose truth can change your facts, making this day, and every day, blessed.

“Father, You are our refuge and  fortress; our safe place. Thank you for Your Word, the Bible, and that every solution we need in life can be found in it. Help us to have faith in Your Word as it works in our lives. You have made the way for us to be empowered in every area of our lives through Jesus. Help us to look to Him in every situation without being distracted by our circumstances. Thank you for always loving us and being with us. Help us to accept Your love and receive all that Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross. We plead the blood of Jesus over ourselves and our family. Thank you that your grace overflows to us. Help us to believe BIG today and to live with a hope-filled focus. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” 

Image courtesy of Janet Drez
Image courtesy of Janet Drez

The Overwhelming Truth

Posted on by Evangeline

Sunset CloudsIt may seem like a contradiction to say that you believe that your womb is fertile even in the face of experiencing long-term infertility. But when you say the things that God has said, like “none shall be barren” (Deuteronomy 7:14), you are putting yourself in agreement with the Creator of the universe. Remember, with Him, nothing is impossible!

So keep saying and believing the Truth (what God has said in the Bible), rather than the facts of your reality. You’ll see the Truth is powerful enough to overwhelm the facts and make the Truth your new reality!

 

RESOLVE’s Action Plan

Posted on by Evangeline

Thought I’d share this newsletter from RESOLVE with you today as we acknowledge infertility on a national scale. I’d like to add: use the Word of God to build and maintain hope for having a child!

A Special National Infertility 
Awareness Week® Update from RESOLVE:
2013 NIAW Stationery image
2013 NIAW Day Three
Definition of an advocate: someone who strongly or publicly supports someone or something. That someone is you and that something is infertility.
Infertility can take a toll on your body, your relationships, your finances, and your emotions. RESOLVE exists to improve the lives of people with infertility. We do this by providing you with ways to advocate for yourself, and gain control over this disease.

Actions you can take today:

1. Find a RESOLVE Support Group in your area.
2. Learn about the issues the infertility community will bring to Washington, D.C. on May 8th.
3. Volunteer for RESOLVE. 
4. Visit our Facebook page and tell us how you advocate for yourself, and for our community.
5.Tell us your personal story.

Special Event: Join RESOLVE and Parenting.com for a special “Twitterview” event on Wednesday, April 24th at 1:00PM ET.

Overcoming Infertility

Posted on by Evangeline

Here’s an article from UPTOWN Magazine,  Overcoming Infertility, that I hope you’ll find informative and encouraging.

By Bryna Jean-Marie
Photography by Sumner Dilworth

If 40 is the new 30, then 30 should be the new 20. However, most women’s biological clocks are still ticking to the same beat they did in the 1950s. And fellas, before you flip this page, fertility isn’t a slam dunk for you either. No matter who has the physical challenge, both share the emotional one. Thankfully, reproductive medicine has come a long way.

Many of us are claiming an extra decade to focus on ourselves before we consider marriage and starting a family. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing—often this time is used to knock out grad school, fast track it up the corporate ladder, or become financially solvent. For the first time, more babies are being born to women over the age of 35 than to teenagers, according to the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C. However, says Dr. Thomas Vaughn, founder and director of the Texas Fertility Center in Austin, “Patients read about women becoming pregnant at an older age and assume that they, too, will have no problems conceiving. Couples do not realize that fertility begins to decline when a woman is in her early thirties.” Thankfully, couples do have options when their biological clock is thumping.

A couple is considered to have fertility problems when they have been sexually active for one year without using any contraception and has been trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant. (It is recommended that couples seek help after six months of trying if the woman is over 35.) According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the total percentage of affected women, including those who are unable to carry a baby to term, is virtually the same between black and white women. But when it comes to using alternative
methods of conception, the roads begin to part.

Health scientists are still piecing together the reasons why more fertility challenged African-Americans are not undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) or considering surrogacy or egg donation. Contrary to popular belief, preliminary studies indicate that money may not always be the top deterrent. Religious
beliefs and other factors often play a significant role.

For those trying to make it happen by any means necessary, there are options—and an exhaustive amount of material and research to sift through. The Watleys believed in miracles—and IVF proved to be theirs.

Read More…

Focus Friday

Posted on by Evangeline
Image courtesy of Pgraur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Pgraur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!

 “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” ~~Psalm 56:3

5 Bible Verses Every Infertile Woman Needs To Know

Posted on by Evangeline
Infertile woman addresses the spiritual aspect of infertility
Photo courtesy of Microsoft Images

Shouldn’t every infertile woman address the spiritual aspect of infertility?

If you are struggling with infertility, you know what a hopeless situation it can become, if  you let it. When I dealt with it, I found the best source of hope was the Bible. It contains numerous scriptures that pertain directly to infertility. It also gives many accounts of women who were once barren/infertile/childless but became a mother, all because they trusted God to be true to His Word.

I’ve said it before, Infertility Sucks! But I know firsthand that it can be overcome. Here are five verses that I meditated on and repeatedly used as verbal affirmations, putting my name in each scripture. I think you’ll find them to be great sources of HOPE.

Deuteronomy 7:14 [NKJV] ~ “You shall be blessed above all people; there shall not be male or female barren among you.”

Isaiah 50:7 [NKJV] ~ “For the Lord God will help me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.”

Leviticus 26:9 [Amplified Bible] ~ “For I will be leaning toward you with favor and regard for you, rendering you fruitful, multiplying you and establishing and ratifying my covenant with you.”

Hebrews 11:11 [NLT] ~ “It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise.”

Luke 1:37 ~ “For with God NOTHING shall be impossible.”

Are there other scriptures in which you find hope? Please share them below so that others can be encouraged.

Celebrating My Birthday Today

Posted on by Evangeline
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I will be celebrating my birthday by giving you my ebook, “A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility.”

It will be FREE on Amazon , for only 24 hours– today,  2/11/13.

Get your FREE copy NOW!

Famine in the Land?

Posted on by Evangeline

Do you sometimes feel that going through infertility is like experiencing famine in the land? Today, I’m sharing an excerpt from my devotional book, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility, that addresses that issue.

This devotion is entitled “God’s Circle of Blessing“:

Photo courtesy of Dreamstime.com | Romulus Hossu
Photo courtesy of Dreamstime.com | Romulus Hossu

The Living Bible Translation of Psalm 25:13 says, “He shall live within God’s circle of blessing, and his children shall inherit the earth.” To whom is this passage referring? The previous verse tells us…the person who reverences God.

Living in God’s circle of blessing enables us to enjoy the best in life even when circumstances around us tell, and sometimes yell, otherwise. Isaac, Abraham’s son, was a great example of living in the circle of blessing. The Bible’s account in Genesis 26:1-13 tells how there was a famine in the country where Isaac lived and he wondered if he should leave like so many others and go to Egypt where there was no famine. God told him to stay and that He would be with Isaac in his obedience. God promised him increase in all areas of life, including children. So in the midst of his country’s famine, despair, lack, and death, Isaac was blessed with extreme abundance because he stayed where God wanted him—in His circle of blessing. Infertility is like a famine—extreme hunger and despair—except it’s for a child. Just as Isaac experienced great bounty in the midst of famine, so can you, when you choose to remain in God’s circle of blessing even as your circumstances scream “famine.”

You can live in God’s circle of blessing by keeping the ears of your heart open to His Word. Hear Him as He speaks to you through it. Receive the Word by faith, as personal promises from God to you. Receive His wonderful blessings by saying “thank you” to Him for the promises you find in his Word for your child. Repeatedly speak His Word, His Truth, over your life. When we speak the Word, we’re in agreement with God. Receive His blessings by living in His Word and resting in His grace.

No matter what the doctor’s reports say, you don’t have to be stuck in the famine of infertility. Declare that you live in God’s circle of blessing because famine can’t exist there. Jesus is God of abundant joy! Nothing is too hard for Him to change; therefore He can change your circumstance of infertility. His Truth, His Word, can bring extreme abundance in its most wonderful form—the blessing of a child.

Speak the Word: I choose to stay in God’s circle of blessing.  He is my source of everything good.

More Encouragement: Galatians 3:14; Hebrews 6:14

If you’d like to have more devotions like this at your fingertips, to encourage you on a daily basis,

click here to order the printed version of A Seed of Hope.

A-Seed-of-Hope-low-cover

Thankful in the Midst of Infertility?

Posted on by Evangeline

When you’re facing the difficult struggle of infertility, what is there to be thankful for?

Photo courtesy of Dreamstime.com | Ctulu8

It’s so easy to get caught up in all that’s going wrong, the disappointment that comes month after month, the emotional drain of it all, the possible health scares, the financial toll and the marital problems that tend to stealthily creep in. But this Thanksgiving week, make a DECISION to look for the things in life you can be thankful for.

Start by remembering that God is with you. If you’ve asked Jesus into your heart, He has promised to never leave you and to bless you with his unfailing grace. Continue to rest in knowing that God is for you and not against you (Romans 8:31). Be thankful that He has given so many examples of women who overcame infertility along with promises in the Bible that relate to your fertility. Thank Him that you can count on Him to make good on those promises (Isaiah 55:11).  Even during the moments when you doubt  His ability, willingness, and timing, stand firm in being thankful that  He still loves you. Believe that He loves you unconditionally, just as much as He loves Jesus (John 17:23).

Be thankful that there is nothing too hard for God, not even infertility (Genesis 18:14)!

Do You Smell Victory?

Posted on by Evangeline

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”  2 Corinthians 2:14 [NKJV]

Photo courtesy of Microsoft Images

The first part of that scripture, has been one that I’ve believed in and stood on through multiple and various struggles. I frequently have to remind myself of my victory in Christ so that I don’t concentrate on the problem and sink into a pit of despair about my circumstances. I depend on that verse because it contains the word “always.” “Always” means without exception, on every occasion, continuously (dictionary.com). When I have truly and consistently put my trust/faith/belief in that victory supplied by Jesus to every believer, I have seen its manifestation.

But only today did the second half of that verse stand out to me—“through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” For the last 8 weeks, I’ve been teaching a Bible study class at my church about the unmerited, unearned favor (grace) of God. Having done so has opened my eyes to an entirely different way of looking at things! Now it’s easier to see that knowing more about Jesus’ perfect and complete work on the cross multiplies His grace in my life [2 Peter 1:2]. His grace does not depend on my efforts/works. His grace gives us continuous victory. We did not do anything to acquire because Jesus did it all. Knowing Him imparts a beautiful fragrance to our lives because increased knowledge about JESUS multiplies grace and peace.

To know Him — His love, His strength, His sacrifice, His work —  is to know victory, and it smells good!

Do you smell victory?

Please encourage others by sharing below an instance of victory that you’ve experienced.