All Episodes

We will face pitfalls on this unwanted grief journey after the death of our child. The valley of the shadow of grief is real and it is big. There can be many different feelings and emotions while on this unwanted journey.

Some of those are:

In today’s episode, Laura talks about each of these, based on something written by pareavor Libby, Brady’s mom.

Find out more about the GPS Hope Share & Care groups here.

Click here to know more about Laura’s book Reflections of Hope coming out in April.

Check out Laura’s fun project of writing a children’s book about their cat with her granddaughter:

Go here to find out more, including preordering a book (or several) to help cover the cost of the illustrator, production and printing.

Savanah’s webpage

Savanah’s Facebook page

(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.)

Ian Rodriguez was born on February 26 and is forever 33.

Miesha Grimes was born on March 1 and is forever 24.

Patrick Palazzo  was born on March 2 and is forever 24.

Aaron Wright was born on March 3 and is forever 32.

Christian Fafnis was born on March 4 and is forever 20.

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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.

When we are in that place of deep grief after child loss, all kinds of dark thoughts can go through our minds and hearts. God knows this. He knows all our doubts about who He is and all our shame and messiness that make us feel so very broken and unlovable.

Not only does He know the darkest things about us that we might not even want to admit to ourselves, He wants to continue living inside us, while letting us know that He still loves us deeply and completely.

To know and be known is something we all desire. God wants to give us that blessing, especially in our place of darkness and brokenness. In today’s episode we take a look at Hebrews 12, with this thought in mind.

Click here to know more about Laura’s book Reflections of Hope coming out in April.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

Email Laura to let her know what you think about today’s episode: [email protected] 

Click here to give a special gift to GPS Hope to bless Laura on her 60th birthday!

(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.)

Alex Soriano was born on February 17 and is forever 21.

Laci Ann Meyer was born on February 19 and is forever 28.

Sean Kraus was born on February 19 and is forever 24.

Jason Zimdars was born on February 20 and is forever 35.

William Burke was born on February 20 and is forever 29.

Sean Kelly was born on February 22 and is forever 44.

Nolan Sanders was born on February 24 and is forever 28.

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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.

Today’s episode is with guest, Alicia White, whose seventeen-year-old daughter ended her own life, very unexpectedly. As someone who had a well-established ministry, teaching families how to grow together spiritually, there was a lot of guilt and shame to work through, on top of grieving her daughter’s sudden departure from this world by her own hand.

This is a powerful conversation about how Alicia chose to lean on God when she couldn’t understand why she could not save her child, and the struggle of dealing with the fact that He chose not to save her daughter, either. Peace only started to come when Alicia allowed herself not just to surrender, but to abandon her will to the Father’s, even in the painful darkness of her daughter’s suicide.

Alicia White is the director and founder of Chosen Stones Ministries, which brings families together spiritually in various ways, including conferences, workshops, family devotionals and curriculums.  After her seventeen-year-old daughter died by suicide in 2020, Alicia’s focused shifted and she now spends most of her time in ministry partnering with Jesus to break off the spirit of suicide from a generation and see them healed, delivered, and walking in their identity as a sons and daughters of their heavenly Father.

Alicia also feels called to those within the body who have encountered tragic loss and suffering, including other bereaved parents and parents who find themselves trying to navigate their children through suicidal or self-harm tendency. Learning to abandon to the Father daily in all circumstances and encouraging others to do the same, is her heart. Alicia resides in the greater Cincinnati area, along with her husband, Jason, and their youngest daughter, Isabella.

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

To connect with Alicia: chosenstones.org

Alicia’s books At the Cliffs of Abandonment and There is Hope Even if Your Brain Tells You There Isn’t (taken from Hope’s journals) can be found under the resources tab of her website.

Find out more about the GPS Hope & Healing retreats or register to attend.

Check out the Bereaved Parents USA annual gathering where Laura is a keynote speaker.

Join Laura and Dave on The Grief Cruise in October. Click here for information.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

Jeffrey Allison was born on February 14 and is forever 30.

Hailey Eastridge was born on February 14 and is forever 9.

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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.

What do you do when you help your child fulfill their dream at a young age, only to have that dream be what ends your child’s life as a teenager?

That is exactly what happened to Laura’s guest, Clint Hatton. His son, Gabriel, had a dream as a young boy to become a pilot. Clint and his wife got behind their son and helped him realize that dream. Gabriel got his pilot license even before getting his driver’s license, only to have his life end, shortly before his 18th birthday when his plane crashed.

Clint and his family decided they needed to carry on Gabriel’s memory by living life the same way Gabriel did – big, bold and brave. Listen in, as Clint shares how they chose (and continue to choose) to live life to the fullest instead of staying stuck in the darkness of death and devastating loss.

Clint Hatton is an author, motivational speaker, personal development and leadership coach, and the founder of BigBoldBrave in McKinney, Texas. He has been coaching individuals and organizations for over twenty years with a proven track record of helping people live up to their full potential while building healthier marriages, relationships, and teams.

Clint recently published his first book, Big Bold Brave: How to Live Courageously in a Risky World. It was inspired by the way his oldest son lived his life. Gabriel achieved his goal of becoming a licensed pilot at the age of 17. He died in a tragic plane crash while living his dream just shy of his 18th birthday. His legacy is carried on by the Hatton family.

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

To connect with Clint: bigboldbrave.us

See Clint’s wife’s beautiful artwork: artbyamarillys.com

Click here to recieve a Weekly Word of Hope delivered straight to you each Wednesday.

See Dave and Laura’s itinerary here.

Find out more about the GPS Hope & Healing retreats or register to attend.

Join Laura and Dave on The Grief Cruise in October. Click here for information.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

Ava Shaw was born on February 4 and is forever 20.

Brenton Smith was born on February 10 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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.

This is a continuation of Laura’s talk with Linda Dillow. If you did not hear Episode 195: Trusting God When It Doesn’t Make Sense, we strongly urge you to listen to that one first, as it will share Linda’s unusual story and it is a springboard to what you will hear from Laura and Linda in this episode.

Last week led up to how and why Linda came up with her Declaration of Hope. Today we will hear Linda read that declaration to us. She will also share how God is using it, not just in her own life, but literally around the world, including our Christian sisters in Ukraine who are in the midst of losing their husbands and children while watching their country being torn apart by a brutal war, as they are under attack by Russia.

There is a lot of depth, wisdom and hope in this episode. Please be sure to share it with others who may need to hear this heart-to-heart discussion as well.

Linda is the author of several bestselling books, including Calm My Anxious Heart, Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, What’s it Like to be Married to Me? And the co-author of Intimate Issues, Passion Pursuit, Surprised by the Healer and others.

Linda and her husband, Jody ministered in the former East European Communist countries and in Asia for eighteen years training the leadership of the church. They have five grown children (one in heaven) and ten amazing grandchildren. Linda loves to encourage women to hope in God and trust in His faithfulness!

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

Email your personal Declaration of Hope to Laura: [email protected] 

Books mentioned by Linda: (Note: These are affiliate links, which means a small portion of your purchase price will go to GPS Hope.)

Dark Clouds Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Vroegop

Sacred Sorrow by Michael Card

The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

Check out Linda’s book Calm My Anxious Heart

Songs Linda mentioned (on YouTube):

New Wine By Hillsong

A Thousand Hallelujahs

GPS Hope store for Hold On Pain Eases shirts

Find out more about the GPS Hope & Healing retreats or register to attend.

Join Laura and Dave on The Grief Cruise in October. Click here for information.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

Celeste France was born on January 29 and is forever 17.

Bryce Thurman was born on January 30 and is forever 22.

Robert Schafer DeVries was born on February 4 and is forever 35.

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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.

Linda Dillow was a missionary for 18 years in Eastern Europe, including Russia when it was under communism. She has seen a lot and learned to trust God through many hardships. But nothing has caused her to fight darkness, despair, and hopelessness as much as the death of one of her two daughters, who were both battling cancer at the same time during the COVID pandemic.

Linda has had to go back to what the Lord has taught her over the years, digging even deeper into what it means to trust God when something so painful as the death of our child does not make sense.

This episode is the beginning of Laura’s conversation with Linda. The second half will continue next week, with Linda sharing about her Declaration of Hope made after her daughter left this earth.

Linda is the author of several bestselling books, including Calm My Anxious Heart, Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, What’s it Like to be Married to Me? And the co-author of Intimate Issues, Passion Pursuit, Surprised by the Healer and others.

Linda and her husband, Jody ministered in the former East European Communist countries and in Asia for eighteen years training the leadership of the church. They have five grown children (one in heaven) and ten amazing grandchildren. Linda loves to encourage women to hope in God and trust in His faithfulness!

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

Check out Linda’s book Calm My Anxious Heart (Note: This is an affiliate link. A small portion of your purchase price will go to GPS Hope.)

Find out more about the GPS Hope & Healing retreats or register to attend.

Email Laura if you would like to use the scholarship being provided by another pareavor to be able to attend the Florida retreat. [email protected]

Join Laura and Dave on The Grief Cruise in October. Click here for information.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

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.)

Richie Rudkin was born on January 27 and is forever 27.

Zachary Kidd was born on January 27 and is forever 26.

Robert Scott Lelle was born on January 28 and is forever 26.

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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.

A point of frustration for many bereaved parents after child loss is feeling like we are being judged for still missing our children.

There are some people around us who think we should be “moving on” or be “over it” by now, as if the death of our child is like a bad cold. Yes, the death of our child was an event, a moment in time. But that moment has disfigured us for the rest of our lives.

In today’s episode, Laura shares a lot of the reasons we continue to struggle with grieving the loss of our child, even years later.

If you know someone who wonders why you aren’t back to your old self yet, or thinks something is wrong with you for not moving on by now, you may want to consider passing this episode along to them.

Want to know more about Laura’s books? Click here. 

Find out more about the GPS Hope & Healing retreats.

Join Laura and Dave on The Grief Cruise in October. Click here for information.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

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.)

Noah J Barela budded on earth to bloom in heaven on January 14.

Joshua Caldwell was born on January 16 and is forever 28,

Tate Kwiatkowski was born on January 16 and is forever 69 days.

Jonathan Jackson was born on January 17 and is forever 15.

Hugh Brown was born on January 19 and is forever 18.

Jeanette Marie was born on January 19 and is forever 36.

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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.

This is the time of year when we are surrounded by people talking about having goals for the new year and how to achieve them.

For those of us who are in the darkness of child loss, we are probably not making lists of lofty goals. We just want to know how to simply survive the coming year without our child.

Laura understands that one “goal” of survival, and also knows while it may sound simple, it can be far from easy. In this episode, she wants to help by sharing with you her acronym for G.R.I.E.F.

I want to know more about Laura’s new book Reflections of Hope: Daily Readings for Bereaved Parents.

Find out more about the GPS Hope & Healing retreats.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

Go to the GPS Hope library.

Join the private GPS Hope Facebook page. (Remember to answer the two questions or your request will be denied.)

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.)

Mackenzie Barnes was born on January 9 and is forever 22 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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.

After child loss, it can feel like the dagger in our hearts is being twisted as we head into a new year without our child, especially that first year. We feel like we are leaving them behind on a whole new level. Life is going on without our child and it isn’t supposed to!

We desperately need hope to hang on. We need hope that God has not betrayed or abandoned us. Our head may know that, but sometimes our heart does not line up with that information.

In this episode, Laura reminds us of the hope we do have in Christ, throwing it out as a lifeline to those who feel like they are drowning in their grief.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

Get a downloadable PDF of the 36 verses of hope. (This will also put you on our Weekly Word of Hope email list, which you can unsubscribe from at any time.)

Join the private GPS Hope Facebook page. (Remember to answer the two questions or your request will be denied.)

To sponsor a podcast episode in 2023 in memory of your child click here.

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.)

Joseph Youhana was born on January 6 and is forever 23.

Ryan Hines was born on January 7 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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.

This is a short episode, but an intimate and deep one as Laura reads a poem she wrote a few years after her daughter, Becca, died. Laura also closes out today’s episode with a prayer over the listeners, as they may be struggling heading into a new year without their child.

Join the discussion! Leave a question or comment on today’s talk here.

Click here to request a PDF download of this poem.

Join us for the first GPS Hope & Healing retreat in 2023.

Find out more about joining Dave and Laura on The Grief Cruise in October.

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.)

Isaiah Key was born on December 25 and is forever 13.

Mariah Drane was born on December 26 and is forever 16.

Ryan Durkin was born on December 27 and is forever 19.

Tevin Tyon was born on December 28 and is forever 21.

Melanie Bach was born on December 30 and is forever 46.

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.

www.gpshope.org

To have Laura come and minister at your event, contact us at [email protected].

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.