All Episodes

At GPS Hope, we get emails from those of you who are struggling in your marriage after the death of your child, or who have questions about how your spouse is grieving. So, I decided it was time to do a podcast episode on this topic.

Of course, this means I got to bring in my other half to talk about this subject, as my husband Dave joins me to share his side of things.

In our workshops, Dave and I like to use the acronym T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R to bring up eight points on how to understand each other and strengthen your marriage during this dark and difficult time, which we share with you in this episode. We pray it will help you on your grief journey together.

Dave Diehl is retired from a career of over thirty years in IT. He is the cofounder of GPS Hope, and is much of the “behind-the-scenes” support, including technical support for the ministry, and driving the Hope Mobile. Dave wrote a chapter in Laura’s book When Tragedy Strikes, and ministers directly to grieving fathers around the nation at the GPS Hope & Healing retreats.

Tale of Two Brains video with Mark Gungor

Information on The Grief Cruise in Dec. 2021 with GPS Hope

GPS Hope website: gpshope.org

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.)

Dawson Morris was born on October 29 and is forever 19.

Donice Vaughan was born on October 29 and is forever 30.

Marisa Diaz was born on October 29 and is forever 20.

Zen Dylan Koh was born on November 1 and is forever 17.

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.

So often I hear the frustration of bereaved parents who are hurt and angry because people around them think they should be doing better than they are, even as early as 3 or 4 months, on up to the first few years.

This episode addresses this difficult issue, with some ideas of things that can help you deal with these kinds of ignorant remarks.

To get a list of my top ten recommended books from a couple years ago (or to let me know what book(s) helped you), email me at [email protected].

GPS Hope website: gpshope.org

Find out more about My Grief Journey: A Coloring Book and Journal for Bereaved Parents

Find our more about Come Grieve Through Our Eyes

Expressions of Hope blog with these five things as a printable download.

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.)

Taylor Contreras was born on October 20 and is forever 16.

Mckenzie Aucapina was born on October 21 and is forever 7 ½.

Matthew Sulikowski was born on October 22 and is forever 36.

Nate Wilson was born on October 22 and is forever 30.

Dustin Clements was born on October 26 and is forever 21.

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 week is a continuation of last week’s episode as I talked with Erica Mitchell. Erica had a pregnancy loss and had to deliver her stillborn son, which was pretty traumatic.

Last week we ended in the middle of Erica’s story of God allowing her to see her son, Sheldon, in heaven. She was so angry that He would dare to show her that, after taking her son from her.

This episode starts with God’s response to Erica, and then continues as she shares  about her struggle with the grief and how God has helped her through the darkness.

She also tells us about their rainbow baby, Zoey, and her traumatic birth, how they almost lost Zoey, and also and the fears Erica had to fight during that time.

Instead of pushing God away during these times of pain and confusion, Erica chose to draw as close to Him as she could. This has allowed her to be able to minister in a deep way to others who have lost a child or been through a traumatic event in their lives.

We are all on our own journey of child loss, but we all need hope in our place of darkness, which I pray you will receive in hearing Erica’s story.

Erica Mitchell is a daughter of the King. She loves being a wife of 9 years to Justin and the mother to 3 sons: Shylo 8, Shay 6, Sheldon (growing up in heaven) and rainbow baby girl Zoey. She believes worship is a lifestyle and loves to create with lyrics, music, and makeup. She has a calling and anointing in her words and voice to encourage and bring freedom to others in their personal relationship with Jesus. Her faith and heavenly perspective are contagious and overflows into all areas of her life.

Read a recent Expressions of Hope blog written by Erica: Child Loss, PTSD and God.

Connect with Erica on Facebook  or email her at: [email protected].

Find out how to have an In Loving Memory heart placed on the Hope Mobile for your child.

Contact us to let us know if you live in one of the areas mentioned so we can plan to get together by emailing [email protected]

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.)

Joshua Kirkendall was born on October 6 and is forever 14.

Isaac Cojocarescu was born on October 14 and is forever 10.

Bub Amis was born on October 16 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 beginning of a chat I had in the Hope Mobile with a Wisconsin friend, Erica Mitchell.

Today’s talk is quite a bit of the details (and I do mean details – as in possible trigger warning, which are important to her story) of Erica’s story of the traumatic pregnancy loss of her son, Sheldon, including her questioning why God would make promises to her that He wasn’t keeping.

Erica does a great job of sharing how she saw God preparing her for the loss and walking with her as she went through the drawn-out trauma. She also does a great job of sharing the raw realness of not understanding what was happening or why it was happening, and being confused and angry with God.

This is the same seesaw many of us find ourselves on. We know we desperately need Him to get us through this suffocating darkness, but at the same time we feel like it is His fault for leading us to this painful place.

Most of us desire and even beg God to see our child in heaven. We close this episode with Erica getting that chance and being angry that God would dare show her Sheldon with Jesus in heaven after taking him away from her.

Erica Mitchell is a daughter of the King. She loves being a wife of 9 years to Justin and the mother to 3 sons: Shylo 8, Shay 6, Sheldon (growing up in heaven) and rainbow baby girl Zoey. She believes worship is a lifestyle and loves to create with lyrics, music, and makeup. She has a calling and anointing in her words and voice to encourage and bring freedom to others in their personal relationship with Jesus. Her faith and heavenly perspective are contagious and overflows into all areas of her life.

Watch Erica in Bride shocks groom as she sings to him walking down the aisle “From This Moment” YouTube video (which has over 15 million views).

Read a recent Expressions of Hope blog written by Erica: Child Loss, PTSD and God.

Connect with Erica on Facebook  or email her at: [email protected].

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.)

Joshua Nicholson was born on October 9 and is forever 29.

Niyam Deloatch was born on October 10 and is forever 20.

Mitchell was born on October 12 and is forever 17.

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 our child dies, most of us have an immediate support system. But as the weeks and months go by, those people usually go back to their lives and we are left still shattered.

We feel like we are going crazy. People around us say that we should be “over this” by now and make us either feel angry at them for suggesting such a thing, or feel guilty for still being such a mess, easily confused, forgetful, not wanting to be social, crying all the time, etc.

How do we know if this is “normal” grief for someone who has lost a child, or if it is abnormal and we need to get some professional help or be on meds, like some friends and family might be telling us?

Finding others who are ahead of you on this journey of child loss can be that anchor of assurance and hope that you need.

In this episode, Linda Findlay joins Laura Diehl to talk about the importance of connecting with other bereaved parents for support, how it isn’t morbid to attend a group meeting, and how cruises (yes, a cruise ship out on the ocean stopping at tropical places) can be the ultimate place of connecting with others who “get it”, helping you move in the direction of greater healing.

Linda Findlay has worked with grieving families for over 30 years. After losing her daughter in 1989, she started a resource and referral service for grieving families. Soon after she began providing personalized aftercare solutions for hundreds of funeral homes across the nation. Linda is now an aftercare specialist who has created, facilitated, and coordinated hundreds of workshops, services, and support groups. As a Christian lay counselor, Linda’s highest honor is to enter people’s lives and help make a difference.

Get more information to join GPS Hope on a grief cruise.

Mourning Discoveries(for funeral home aftercare services) with Linda Findlay.

YouTube video “Does It ever get better?” with Laura and Linda.

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.)

Giovanna Giannini was born on September 30 and is forever 20.

Aaliyah Henderson was born on October 1 and is forever 4.

Corey Ryan Woodrich was born on October 1 and is forever 31.

Joshua Konaszewski was born on October 2 and is forever 24.

James Gross was born on October 3 and is forever 30.

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.