All Episodes

Without hope, we have no desire to live. It can be easy to feel hopeless when going into a new year without our child. But that does not have to be the case.

Join Laura, as shares how we can stir up the seed of hope that may by lying dormant inside us after the death of our child.

Find out more about GPS Hope get-away weekend retreats.

Click here for information about the January 2023 Grief Cruise.

Don’t forget to give a rating and write a review on your favorite podcast app!

Listen to podcast episode with Rick Kauffman.

Listen to part one or part two podcast episodes with Marcella Johnson.

Listen to podcast episode with Patti Small.

Ryan Hines was born on January 7 and is forever 27.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click 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.

Going into a new year without our child can feel horrible, knowing there is nothing we can do to stop it. Join Laura as she shares what that was like for her after the death of her daughter, Becca, along with sharing some words of encouragement for those who are struggling with feeling like they are leaving their child behind as we close out 2021.

Laura also prays over the listeners as they begin a new year in this “unwanted club” of child loss, and ends the episode by reading a poem she wrote a few years ago, reminding us all that someday, because of Jesus, it will all be made right.

Please consider giving a special year-end gift to keep this podcast going.

Click here to join over 1000 parents receiving a Weekly Word of Hope from Laura.

Find out more about GPS Hope get-away weekend retreats.

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

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

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click 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 episode with Anne Moss Rogers is one with a lot of practical advice for those who are struggling deeply in the darkness of grief after child loss. Being a mom who lost her son to suicide, Anne Moss made a conscious decision to figure out how to work through the guilt, shame and horrific darkness to be able to live a life of meaning and purpose again, both to honor her son, Charles, and to help those who find themselves contemplating ending their own life.

Anne Moss Rogers is an emotionally naked® public speaker who captures hearts and fills them with hope. She is a TEDx storyteller, certified suicide prevention trainer, NAMI Virginia board member, and the award-winning author of Diary of a Broken Mind. After her 20-year-old son, Charles died by suicide on June 5, 2015, Anne Moss chronicled her family’s tragedy in a newspaper article that went viral, and her blog, Emotionally Naked, has reached millions.  A UNC-Chapel Hill alumna, Anne Moss currently lives in Richmond, VA with her husband. Her surviving son, Richard, is a filmmaker in LA.

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

Connect with Anne Moss on her website:  EmotionallyNaked.com

Listen to episode episode 91 and episode 92 for newly bereaved parents (referred to in this episode).

Find out about our GPS Hope & Healing Retreats

Information about the January 2023 Grief Cruise.

Please consider giving a special gift to keep this podcast going.

Carissa Perkins was born on December 21 and is forever 29.

Dylan Bieber was born on December 21 and is forever 16.

Jonathan Granick was born on December 21 and is forever 36.

James Anthony Walkley was born on December 23 and is forever 28.

John Ferreira Jr. was born on December 24 and is forever 32.

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

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click 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.

For Beverly Shoemaker, finding meaning and purpose in her life was extremely difficult after her husband ended his own life three years after their son, Nick, died. Her husband’s decision to take his own life left Bev in an even darker place, filled with anger, bitterness, and deep depression.

Bev thought she would never ever forgive the drunk driver who killed her son and struggled to forgive her husband for leaving her the way he did.  Not only did God help Bev work through the long process of forgiveness, but He also led her to a place of having meaning and purpose in her life once again, even when she didn’t realize what was happening and resisted it.

This episode is a continuation of Laura and Bev’s conversation last week. If you missed it, you can listen to it here.

Having faced serious trauma in her own life, Beverly is no stranger to adversity. After losing a husband to suicide and her son in a drunk driving crash, she wanted to give up. She battled depression and discouragement, loneliness and pain, yet she persevered and ultimately found hope. Now Beverly seeks to share that hope with others. She speaks to churches, schools, businesses, and military events, showing strength and courage in a way that offers hope to those listening. She makes it her mission to help others rediscover their identity and purpose after loss and trauma.

Beverly is a published blogger, Podcaster (The Resilient Heart Podcast) resilience mentor, and Inspirational speaker. She is certified through ICISF in individual and group crisis intervention. She is certified in ASIST, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training through LivingWorks.

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

Connect with Bev on her website: theresilientheartpodcast.com or beverlyshoemaker.com

Find out about our GPS Hope & Healing Retreats

Please consider giving a special gift to keep this podcast going.

Brian was born on December 17 and is forever 26.

Austin Smith was born on December 18 and is forever 30.

Luke Getchell was born on December 19 and is forever 14.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click here.

www.gpshope.org

Today Laura is joined by Bev Shoemaker, who lost her son, Nick, back in 2004 in a car accident. She was contacted within days by another mom who had lost her own son several years previously. This caring woman shared things with Bev that helped her immensely, in navigating through the darkness after Nick’s death.

In this episode, Bev passes along some of the helpful advice that was passed on to her, seventeen years ago.

Having faced serious trauma in her own life, Beverly is no stranger to adversity. After losing a husband to suicide and her son in a drunk driving crash, she wanted to give up. She battled depression and discouragement, loneliness and pain, yet she persevered and ultimately found hope. Now Beverly seeks to share that hope with others. She speaks to churches, schools, businesses, and military events, showing strength and courage in a way that offers hope to those listening. She makes it her mission to help others rediscover their identity and purpose after loss and trauma.

Beverly is a published blogger, Podcaster (The Resilient Heart Podcast) resilience mentor, and Inspirational speaker. She is certified through ICISF in individual and group crisis intervention. She is certified in ASIST, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training through LivingWorks.

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

Connect with Bev on her website: theresilientheartpodcast.com or beverlyshoemaker.com

Find out about our GPS Hope & Healing Retreats

Please consider giving a special gift to keep this podcast going.

Sarah Jordan was born on December 11 and is forever 42.

Tanner Allen-Harris was born on December 13 and is forever 20.

Cameron Paddock was born on December 14 and is forever 22.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click here.

www.gpshope.org

Our grief journey can be compared to taking a road trip – an unplanned road trip – which is what Laura discussed last week with her guest, Jill Theriault.

In this week’s episode, Jill shares how the road signs we see while traveling can also guide us on our grief journey. They specifically talk about seven of the eighteen signs Jill has listed out on an available PDF.

Jill Theriault’s son, Nathan, died of meningitis two weeks after his second birthday and was buried on Thanksgiving Day. Jill’s faith in God is what helped her find glimmers of hope in the darkest moments. Jill has previously been a newsletter editor and chapter leader of Bereaved Parents USA. She is currently a certified Christian Life Coach for Crossroads Coaching with her goal being to share the valuable lessons she has learned on her grief journey and to help others find P.E.A.C.E. (purpose, encouragement, acceptance, clarity, endurance) on their grief journey.

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

Jill’s website:  www.ongodstime.net

To email Jill for the PDF of all 18 road signs : [email protected]

Click here for more information about the book Hope for the Future: An Advent Journey for Bereaved Parents.

Go directly to the GPS Hope free library.

Please consider giving the podcast a rating, review, comment, etc. which will help other pareavors find the same hope and encouragement you are receiving.

Liam “Trip” Nugent was born on November 29 and is forever 21.

Raelyne Ten Bruggencate was born on November 29 and is forever 1.

Ginny Rettig was born on November 30 and is forever 21.

Andreas Claren was born on December 1 and is forever 30.

Jesus Ortega was born on December 2 and is forever 20.

Drew Jaggars was born on December 2 and is forever 19.

Angie Mata was born on December 4 and is forever 36.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click here.

www.gpshope.org

Most road trips are well planned, but occasionally they are not. Some things in life are planned, but losing a child is definitely an unplanned part of our life’s journey.

Today’s guest, Jill Theriault, has been on this journey as a bereaved parent for over 20 years after her two-year-old son, Nathan, died from meningitis.

In this episode, Jill compares our grief to taking a road trip with three different mile markers.

Jill closes out their talk with an acronym God gave her for the word P.E.A.C.E.

Laura and Jill continue next week, as they chat about some of the road signs we will see along our journey as a bereaved parent.

Jill Theriault’s son, Nathan, died of meningitis two weeks after his second birthday and was buried on Thanksgiving Day. Jill’s faith in God is what helped her find glimmers of hope in the darkest moments. Jill has previously been a newsletter editor and chapter leader of Bereaved Parents USA. She is currently a certified Christian Life Coach for Crossroads Coaching with her goal being to share the valuable lessons she has learned on her grief journey and to help others find P.E.A.C.E. (purpose, encouragement, acceptance, clarity, endurance) on their grief journey.

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

Connect with Jill

Website:  www.ongodstime.net

Email: [email protected]

More information about starting a GPS Hope Share & Care Group

If you already have a group and want to be an affiliate or become a GPS Hope Share & Care group, email us at [email protected].

Click here for more information about the book Hope for the Future: An Advent Journey for Bereaved Parents.

I want to know more about the Rebuilding Your Life After Child Loss self-guided video course.

Take me to the GPS Hope resource library.

Please consider giving a special gift to keep this podcast going.

Timothy Krawiec was born on November 17 and is forever 27.

Skylar Spencer was born on November 23 and is forever 24.

Melissa Sulikowski Hill was born on November 23 and is forever 38.

Josie Floyd was born on November 24 and is forever 25.

Jessika Matejcik was born on November 25 and is forever 21.

Austin Delgado was born on November 26 and is forever 21.

Tyler Green was born on November 26 and is forever 27.

Chase Hairston was born on November 28 and is forever 32.

Joseph Amaha was born on November 28 and is forever 29.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click here.

www.gpshope.org

Many of us have been thinking about how to deal with the upcoming holidays, especially Christmas, for weeks or months already, so we might as well talk about it.

Advent is a time of waiting, usually known for the four weeks of waiting for Christmas and the celebration of Christ’s birth. We think of Jesus coming as a sweet little baby, but He came as more than that. He came as a Shepherd for his lost and wounded sheep. He also came as the victorious King who not only has the final word for all eternity, He IS the final word.

This week, Laura has pulled out parts of a special advent book written just for bereaved parents as an encouragement and reminder of what the coming up holiday season is really about. Christmas doesn’t have to just be about who is no longer here with us to celebrate, but it can also be a renewed time of hope.

The end-of-the-year holiday season can amplify everything for us as pareavors, especially the questions and the pain. But we can still have the assurance that He truly is Emmanuel, God with us.

Click here for more information about the book Hope for the Future: An Advent Journey for Bereaved Parents.

Please consider giving a special gift to keep this podcast going.

Lara Ann was born on November 17 and is forever 15.

Cord Ramsey Davis was born on November 18 and is forever 24.

Philip Bouthillier was born on November 19 and is forever 49.

Austin Lotterman was born on November 20 and is forever 8 ½.

Benjamin Krawiec was born on November 21 and is forever 32.

Jacinda Avina was born on November 22 and is forever 18.

Jacob LeTourneau was born on November 22 and is forever 21.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click 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.

The holiday season brings many dark and painful emotions to the surface for those of us who have lost a child from this earth. It is a time of year where the pain of who is missing can be so much greater than the joy of who is still here. Many of us don’t even want to acknowledge Thanksgiving (or Christmas), but it is hard to ignore because we are surrounded by reminders everywhere we look.

Specifically, this is the time of year where “thankfulness” abounds. Everyone is telling us to be thankful and to count our blessings. They even say things like, “You can at least be thankful that you are breathing.” If you are like Laura in those first couple of years, she did not want to be breathing, so it was not helpful for others who had never lost a child tell her things she should be thankful for.

So, what do we do, when thankfulness is the furthest thing from our minds, and not in our hearts? That is what Laura talks about in this episode, along with touching on the Christmas season, which we know is just around the corner as well.

Click here for more information about the book Hope for the Future: An Advent Journey for Bereaved Parents.

Send your written or recorded scripture message to [email protected]. (Give your name, your child’s name, the scripture and what it means to you now. If sending a recording, please add “Hold On Pain Eases. There is HOPE”.)

Please consider giving a special gift to keep this podcast going.

Chaney Partrich was born on November 4 and is forever 20.

Beau-Dean Gordon was born on November 10 and is forever 23.

David Shelton was born on November 11 and is forever 23.

Nathan Theriault was born on November 11 and is forever 2.

Austin Augustine was born on November 14 and is forever 16.

Casen Sancraint was born on November 14 and is forever 10.

Fill out the short form with the needed information to have your child’s birthday shared with our listeners.

The special song “I Remember Well“, which was written by Laura for our children’s birthdays, can be heard on your favorite music app. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click 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.

We want answers and we want them now! We want (or feel like we need) God to explain Himself to us, telling us why our child left this earth before we did.

We question how God can call Himself a loving Father or can possibly tell us that He is a good God. We don’t understand, and it is normal and okay to bring our questions and emotions to God, no matter how dark they are.

If God explained to us why from His viewpoint, would we be okay with the answer? Would it even make any sense to us with our limited human minds while here on earth?

How we deal with the question of why will greatly affect our grief journey.

These are the things Laura talks about in today’s episode.

See the various Hold On Pain Eases shirts and place your order.

Send your written or recorded scripture message to [email protected]. (Give your name, your child’s name, the scripture and what it means to you now. If sending a recording, please add “Hold On Pain Eases. There is HOPE”.)

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.)

There are no birthdays to announce this week.

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 on many music apps including Spotify, Pandora, iTunes and Apple Music. To hear samples of Laura’s other songs, click 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.