This website or its third-party tools use cookies which are necessary to its functioning and required to improve your experience. By clicking the consent button, you agree to allow the site to use, collect and/or store cookies.
I accept

GPS Hope

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About GPS Hope
    • Meet Dave & Laura
    • Our Becca
    • AUTHOR Laura Diehl
      • About the Author
      • Laura’s Books
    • SPEAKER Laura Diehl
    • Contact Us
    • MEDIA
      • In the Media
      • PRESS KITS
  • PODCAST / BLOGS
    • PODCAST
    • Weekly VLOG (YouTube Channel)
    • Expressions of Hope Blog
    • Friends of GPS Hope Blog
    • Archives
      • Gems from the Crown
      • Kidz Korner
  • RESOURCES
    • My Profile
    • BOOKS
    • COURSES
    • HOPE For Your HEALTH
    • Laura’s Music CD
    • Free Content Library
    • FACEBOOK
    • Wall of Rememberance
  • SUPPORT GROUPS
    • ARIZONA, Sierra Vista
    • FLORIDA, Deltona (H.U.G.S.)
    • MINNESOTA, Worthington
    • OHIO, Columbus
    • OHIO, Newark
    • OREGON, Grants Pass
    • SOUTH CAROLINA, Columbia
    • TEXAS, Livingston
    • WASHINGTON, Olympia
    • WISCONSIN, Janesville
  • EVENTS
    • Calendar
    • CRUISE Feb. 2026
    • RETREATS
      • OCT 2025 Long Island NY
      • FEB 2026 Florida
  • DONATE
    • DONATE NOW
    • Sponsor Memorial Heart Decal
    • Sponsor a Podcast Episode
    • Our Sponsors
  • STORE

August 4, 2020 by Laura Diehl 6 Comments

68: Joy is Part of God’s Kingdom

Our lives revolve around our children. They become one of our main reasons to live. When our child dies, the pain is so intense that it feels like we can’t continue to live (even if we have other children, maybe a loving spouse, a job we used to enjoy getting up for every day or a ministry that was extremely fulfilling).

We need to figure out how to want to live again.

Most of us don’t even think that is possible, but it is.

There are things we can do to help ourselves:

  • get the strength needed to keep going
  • learn how to get beyond just surviving
  • find something bigger than our loss to live for
  • live a life of meaning and purpose again
  • Have joy back in our lives

Joy is part of the Kingdom of God. Most of us have been robbed of that joy when our child died. As we wind down on the series of Finding Joy Again, we look at how we can get that joy back. Not a euphoric happiness, but an undercurrent that opens the door for all of the needs listed above.

 

Links Mentioned in this episode:

GPS Hope YouTube channel

Please remember to give this podcast a rating and review to help other parents who are looking for something that will encourage them.

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(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:

Christopher Hotch was born on August 10 and is forever 31.

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.

July 28, 2020 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

67: Getting out of “Whyville” (With Joe and Shaunda Knight)

This week is a continuation of my talk with Joe and Shaunda Knight in our Finding Joy Again series. (If you didn’t hear last week’s episode, I highly recommend going back to hear Shaunda share about her “Matt box” in Episode 66: Fighting for Joy.)

This week the discussion covers:

  • How easy it is to go back to that dark place, and how our perspective can make the difference between staying there or coming out.
  • How even a career pastor can ask questions, including “Why?”
  • How our changed view of God after the death of our child may not be correct.

When we ask God “Why”, we don’t usually get an answer. But there is a question He will answer, which is “How”. We hope our talk will help by giving you a changed perspective if this is an area that is a struggle for you.

(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:

Click here to find out more about the My Grief Journey: Coloring Book and Journal for Bereaved Parents (only $5 through the month of July 2020).

Knightsong Ministries website

To receive information on GPS Hope Bereavement Cruises when they become available, fill out this form.

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(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:

Easton Holden was born on July 28 and is forever 5.

Dayne Sturm was born on July 29 and is forever 21

Whitney Leanne Garkow Seehusen was born on July 30 and is forever 31.

Mitchell Herrmann was born on August 1 and is forever 24.

 

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.

 

July 26, 2020 by Laura Diehl 2 Comments

Are We Doing It Right?

As bereaved parents, I think we have all experienced the pain of people staying away from us. We feel like we are being ignored. And knowing the reason (because they don’t want to say or do the wrong thing) doesn’t seem to help, does it? We want to scream at them, “Just be with me! Just give me a hug! Just tell me you don’t know what to say but you are praying for me!”

Their silence makes us feel like they have turned their backs on us at a time in our lives we needed them the most. 

Death Doesn’t Care Who You Are…

Death doesn’t care. It doesn’t care about age. It doesn’t care about money or prestige. Death doesn’t care about fame. It doesn’t care about intelligence. Death doesn’t care about gender and it doesn’t care about ethnicity.

And so, with those two thoughts, I believe the Holy Spirit has given a nudge. It is time for me to say something, so that my silence isn’t seen as turning my back on those who need us.

I will admit, I have told myself that people don’t want to hear this kind of stuff from GPS Hope. They come here to be given hope and encouragement in their place of darkness. But the truth is, we are a family, and if it affects some of us, it affects all of us in one way or another.

Division of Any Kind is Never From God

My heart has been so heavy these last few weeks with what has been happening in our nation. I am guessing yours has been, too. Division is never from God, so we know where the root of all this lies. So, for the last few weeks, I have been doing what I can to listen to voices I have not paid attention to before. I want to get a more complete picture, because it’s so easy for us to only listen to one side or the other, based on our backgrounds and upbringings.

It is also easy for us to stay in the shadows, waiting for things to settle down so we don’t have to upset anyone by what we say or share. But as grieving parents, we know the truth of the saying, “Your silence is deafening,” and I just can’t let silence be the voice of GPS Hope on this issue. 

I Didn’t Know This Until I Started Some Personal Research

No matter what your personal view is on what is happening (or the why, for that matter) the fact is that racial tension is rampant in our nation right now.

I also want to say that no matter your skin color, your political views, or any other thing the enemy wants to use to divide us, if you are a bereaved parent, we are united and are on this journey together.

Did you know that African American parents experience a higher death rate in their children (especially their sons) than Caucasians by a significant amount? Based on 2017 CDC statistics, the death rate per 100,000 for black versus white males is 76% higher for those under the age of 45. (The age bracket of ages 15-19 is 90% higher.)  

That is significant in our world of bereaved parents, and I for one, want to say how sorry I am. No excuses, no blame, just a heart that hurts for these parents, both the ones who are part of these numbers, and the ones who have to fight the fear that they will become one of those parents.

My Personal Experience in a Tiny Town called Boynton

I have my own small experience of seeing how some people behave as if skin color makes you less of a person.

When I was younger, we lived in a tiny town in Oklahoma called Boynton, where whites were by far the minority. My dad took a pastoral position, with the understanding of having full support from the church to reach out to the black community. When the youth group outgrew the church basement, it was moved to the community center.

One evening, a church member of one of the white girls came to pick up her daughter who had walked to the youth group meeting. However, that girl had not shown up that night. Come to find out, behind my dad’s back, a youth group for the white church kids had been started by one of the elders, back in the church basement! My dad’s salary was drastically cut so that he had to resign, which is when we moved up here to Wisconsin. That would have been in the mid 70’s.

As a child, I didn’t understand. As an adult, I still don’t!

Have You Been Hearing Stories Like This?

I would like to share a couple more things I have heard recently that tugged at my heart, while learning what I can from as many people and viewpoints as possible.

I was listening to a podcast where a black woman shared how she had received some documents from her mom about the history of their family. All of them had good jobs and even their own businesses. When her son was told this, he got so excited and said, “You mean we weren’t slaves?” How sad is that, for a black child to believe that because of his skin color, it must mean his ancestors were slaves in our nation.

I heard a highly educated black woman talk about her experience of moving from the west coast to a southern state, and how her life changed to moments of fear and intimidation because of her skin color, which she had never experienced before, with stories and examples.

I heard another black woman share about how she and her sister were pulled over six times within one stretch of road in a certain city, for reasons that made no sense, including things I had never even heard of before.

These are all mothers… 

…who fear for their children’s lives, with valid reasons.

The one that caused me to believe it was time to also be a voice in this social issue was listening to a mature Christian black woman say that when all of this recent uprising started, she found herself very angry and siding with “her people.” After a few weeks, she realized this anger was not a righteous anger from God, but her own flesh being stirred up. As she took a step back, she realized how both “sides” were wrong, and both “sides” were right, and that she really needed to pray into what her part is in this, to educate and bring people together.

This is why I felt compelled to no longer stay silent.

It goes both ways

I know there are also plenty of stories of those who have done their part in bridging this shameful gap throughout our nation’s history. There have also been many people rising up these last few weeks to speak out against this injustice, who are either being ignored or “trampled on” by those who just want an excuse to lash out in anger, perpetuating the problem instead of being part of the solution.

We might be able to erase visual reminders of our history, but we cannot erase the effects of it, just like we cannot erase the effects the death of our child has on us no matter how much people around us think we should be over it by now or want us to get back to normal.

Yes, we bereaved parents are doing it right!

I am so thankful to be part of a group of people who look beyond skin color. When we meet someone who has also lost a child, there is a bond that goes beyond ethnicity, political beliefs, religion, and anything else that seems to cause division in the world around us.

Yes, as bereaved parents, we are doing it right! It doesn’t matter the skin color;  we hurt for any parent who has lost a child. No matter who you are, we are sorry, we are hurting with you. You have our hearts, our love and our prayers.

 

Do you struggle with fears you didn’t have before, after the death of your child? We would like to give you chapter 8, “Looking out the Window of Fear” from Laura’s book When Tragedy Strikes: Rebuilding Your Life With Hope and Healing after the Death of Your Child. (This will also allow you to join over 1,000 other parents who are receiving a Weekly Word of Hope, which you can unsubscribe from at any time.)

 

Expressions of Hope is written by author, speaker and singer Laura Diehl. She and her husband, Dave, are the founders of Grieving Parents Sharing Hope (GPS Hope). Dave and Laura travel full time in their Hope Mobile (a 38-foot motor home) to be more easily available for speaking and ministry requests, including being invited to hold one-day GPS Hope & Healing conferences.

 

If you would like more information about Laura as a speaker for your next event or want more information on hosting a GPS Hope & Healing conference, click here.

 

  • Check out the Grieving Parents Sharing Hope weekly podcast
  • If you are a bereaved parent, we encourage you to connect with us on Facebook.
  • 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.
  • Subscribe to Laura’s YouTube channel. 

Filed Under: Expressions of Hope Tagged With: bereaved families, bereaved mothers, black bereaved parents, child death statistics, child loss awareness, Christian grief message, faith-based grief support, GPS Hope, grief across cultures, grief and compassion, grief and healing, grief and race, grief and social issues, grief community, grief without borders, grieving parents, loss of a child, parental grief support, racial injustice, racial unity in grief

July 21, 2020 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

66: Choosing to Find Joy Again (with Joe and Shaunda Knight)

Last week I started talking about scriptures that can be difficult to understand like having joy in trials or rejoicing always in the Lord. This episode was going to be part 2 of that discussion. Due to “the computer eating my homework”, I lost my notes and was unable to record what I had planned to share.

Instead, this episode is an edited version of a talk I had with Joe and Shaunda Knight, of Knightsong Ministries. Joe and Shaunda live full-time in their fifth wheeler, traveling the country sharing hope with others after the death of their son, Matt, in 2007. (No wonder Dave and I like them so much!)

It is a great discussion on the topic of finding joy again, including when Shaunda shares about her “Matt box”.

(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:

When Tragedy Strikes on Amazon (eBook on sale for only $3.99 through July 26, 2020.)

Click here to find out more about the My Grief Journey: Coloring Book and Journal for Bereaved Parents.

Go to the GPS Hope web store to order the My Grief Journey: Coloring Book and Journal for only $5 through the month of July.

Knightsong Ministries website

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(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:

Robert William Corbett was born on July 20 and is forever 21 years old.

Joey Figueroa was born on July 23 and is forever 39 years old.

Claire Rebecca was born on July 27 and is forever 5 years old.

 

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.

 

July 14, 2020 by Laura Diehl Leave a Comment

65: Untangling Tough Scriptures About Joy

This series of Finding Joy Again wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t also talk about some verses in the Bible that tell us to have joy in our trials, which can almost be like stumbling blocks that get in the way – things we can trip over.

As I started recording, I realized I had written myself so many notes on this topic, looking at a few of these verses that talk about having joy in our trials that I ended up cutting it off to have a part one and part two.

Here in part one we will look at:

  • 2 Corinthians 8:2
  • James 1:2-4
  • Romans 12:2
  • 1 Peter 1:6-9

Next week we will look at a few more verses.

If there are scriptures that just don’t make sense right now, or seem to contradict what you are experiencing, it’s okay to be honest with God about it, and set them on a shelf for a while, including these verses about joy. The Holy Spirit will pull them back down to untangle them for you when He knows you are ready to see them through God’s eyes and understand how they can help meet you where you are at that moment.

Links Mentioned in this episode:

Click here to find out more about the My Grief Journey: Coloring Book and Journal for Bereaved Parents

Go to the GPS Hope web store to order the My Grief Journey: Coloring Book and Journal for only $5 through the month of July.

Click here to become a monthly partner, giving hope to other parents, or to give a special gift to keep this podcast going, along with providing  other needed resources to bereaved parents.

(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:

Abby Sherwood was born on July 15 and is forever 18.

Madeline Youngdahl was born on July 16 and is forever 14.

Evelyn Grace MacQuarrie was born on July 16 and died at birth.

Jimmy LaPlante was born on July 19 and is forever 39.

 

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.

 

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • …
  • 102
  • Next Page »

Get Laura’s Newest Award Winning Book!

Click Image for More Information!


Get Your Copy of This Award-winning Book Now!

Click Image for More Information!

Get Laura’s Music CD

Click Image for More Details.

Get Your Copy Now!

Click Image for More Information!

Get your Copy Now!

Click Image for More Information!

What is a Pareavor?

Click to find out.

Get Your Copy Now!

Click Image for More Information!

Recent Posts

  • Finding Meaning and Purpose After the Death of a Child By Laura Diehl with Kim Harms
  • Is God Punishing Me for My Past? A Word for Grieving Parents Struggling with Guilt
  • When Dads Grieve: A Conversation on Faith, Family, and Holding On
  • Can I Trust God Leading Me?



LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

GPS Hope Page (for bereaved parents)

Events & Itinerary

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

BROWSEOUR STORE

Contact Us

guidestar

GPS Hope is a 501c3 not-profit Christian Ministry

Privacy Policy

Voted Podcast of the Year

for second year in a row!

Religion Category

2024 Illumination Award Medalist
Reflections of Hope

Available NOW!