All Episodes

Losing another child is one of podcast host, Laura Diehl’s, biggest fears that she has to fight.

It is also one of the most common fears bereaved parents have, because once we know it can happen to us, we know it can happen again.

Laura tackles this big issue with friend and bereaved parent of over 30 years, Lynn Breeden. Discussing how it is okay and even normal to have this fear, they talk about some of their personal experiences on this subject, how it has affected their other children, and share what they have done to help combat this fear as it continues to rear its head in their lives.

Lynn Breeden’s life was forever changed on October of 1987, when her son Joel Brian died of cancer at the age of five. After coming to terms with this loss, her greatest desire was to help other moms through their own loss, so they do not have to grieve alone. Lynn founded Mourning to Dancing, which is a non-denominational ministry, with the sole mission to offer comfort, hope, and encouragement to mothers who have suffered the loss of a child. She also currently serves as the Pastor for Bremen United Methodist Church in Bremen, Indiana. 

This week we don’t have any birthdays to share with our listeners.

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. (It is the song that plays in the background of the birthday segment.)

To receive a copy of the pages on fear from the My Grief Journey: A Coloring Book and Journal for Bereaved Parents, click here.

Click here to take a look at the book My Grief Journey (along with a link to order it in our store). You can also check out My Grief Journey for Kids.

To contact Pastor Lynn Breeden, click here.

Find Mourning to Dancing on Facebook.

www.gpshope.org

I want to partner with GPS Hope financially to help give support to grieving parents.

You are safe here. No masks needed…

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 judgement in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

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

This is the second episode with Laura’s guest, Pastor Lynn Breeden.

The first conference event Laura attended after Becca’s death, was the only one Lynn has ever hosted for grieving moms (even though Lynn’s son died over 30 years ago, and she has had her own ministry to grieving moms for many years). This was when Laura first realized what a relief it was to be able to take off her mask and both cry and laugh with others who got it, and she didn’t have to apologize or feel guilty for it.

Two of the reasons discussed by Laura and Lynn for being afraid to enjoy life again are

They also talk about

It is important to get to the place where the connection with our child is not the pain of their death, but the warmth of the wonderful memories of his or her life. And Laura and Lynn are full of encouragement that it can be done, eventually.

Lynn Breeden’s life was forever changed on October of 1987, when her son Joel Brian died of cancer at the age of five. After coming to terms with this loss, her greatest desire was to help other moms through their own loss, so they do not have to grieve alone. Lynn founded Mourning to Dancing, which is a non-denominational ministry, with the sole mission to offer comfort, hope, and encouragement to mothers who have suffered the loss of a child. She also currently serves as the Pastor for Bremen United Methodist Church in Bremen, Indiana. 

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.

This week we celebrate:

Joey Figueroa was born on July 23 and is forever 39

Claire Rebecca was born on  July 27, and is forever 5 

Dayne Sturm was born on July 29 and is forever 21

The special song I wrote for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here. (It is the song that plays in the background of the birthday segment.)

Click here for information on any current GPS Hope retreats.

Events: GPS Hope web page calendar or GPS Hope Facebook event page

To contact Pastor Lynn Breeden, click here.

Mourning to Dancing on Facebook.

Partner with GPS Hope  to support grieving parents around the nation

www.gpshope.org

You are safe here. No masks needed…

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 judgement in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

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

Pastor Lynn Breeden joins Laura for the next six episodes, talking about different fears we may have after the death of our child.

This episode begins with Lynn sharing her son Joel with the listeners. He was only five when he died, and it has been over 30 years since he left this earth. Lynn then shares what she has done to keep his memory alive within herself and those around her, including her own family and people who never met him.

As they were talking, God showed Laura a new revelation of something about our children in heaven that got them both very excited!

There was also a conversation about our other children and how important it is to find a balance in helping them remember their sibling, but not giving them the message that the child who is gone is more important or more loved than the ones who are still with us.

As the discussion came to a close, Lynn encouraged us to find a way to honor God and to honor our child with what we do as time goes on, which led to suggesting a few things that we as bereaved parents can do, to make sure our child won’t be forgotten in a way that won’t be awkward for others.

“We learn how to live our life without our child in it, but we don’t live our life without them. They are still part of us for the rest of our lives,” Lynn Breeden.

Lynn Breeden’s life was forever changed on October of 1987, when her son Joel Brian died of cancer at the age of five. After coming to terms with this loss, her greatest desire was to help other moms through their own loss, so they do not have to grieve alone. Lynn founded Mourning to Dancing, which is a non-denominational ministry, with the sole mission to offer comfort, hope, and encouragement to mothers who have suffered the loss of a child. She also currently serves as the Pastor for Bremen United Methodist Church in Bremen, Indiana. 

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.

This week we celebrate:

Ethan Barclay-Weberpal was born on July 10 and is forever 18.

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

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

The special song I wrote for our children’s birthdays I Remember Well can be heard here. (It is the song that plays in the background of the birthday segment.)

To contact Pastor Lynn Breeden, click here.

Mourning to Dancing on Facebook.

Click here to see the GPS Hope Wall of Remembrance or to have you child added.

Sponsor an “In Loving Memory” heart on the Hope Mobile.

If you would like to be sent a PDF of Ten Ways to Honor Your Child, click here.

www.gpshope.org

I want to partner with GPS Hope financially to help reach more grieving parents.

You are safe here. No masks needed…

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 judgement in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

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

This is the first episode in a series of seven, discussing our fears after the death of our child.

Fear brings torment, and as parents grieving the earthly loss of our child, it is easy to feel the full weight of that torment. But there is something much more powerful than our deepest fears; God’s love for us!

If we live in fear, it is because we doubt His perfect love, which is understandable because it is hard to reconcile in our minds how we can trust a God who says He loves us, and yet allowed this terrible thing to happen to our child and to us.

In this episode, Laura shares seven ways to help make a shift in how you see God in the midst of your fears, caused by the pain of the tragedy of the death of your child.

Pastor Lynn Breeden will be joining Laura for the following six episodes. Lynn lost her five-year-old son, Joel, to cancer over 30 years ago and has such a deep wealth of experience to draw on, along with so much compassion and love for those on this road behind her.

The specific fears Laura and Lynn will be discussing in the next few weeks are

We don’t have to live in fear, because God truly is with each one of us, and someday we will get to see the whole picture that we are very blinded to right now.

You can be set free from your fears.

I would love to announce your child’s birthday. Click here to fill out the short form with the needed information. And be sure to let other bereaved parents know that their child can be celebrated with our listeners!

The full song I Remember Well (which is the background song during the birthday segment) can be heard here.

To get in on the early bird price before August 1, or to find out more about the GPS Hope retreat, click here.

We are putting our itinerary together. If you live in Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Nevada (Las Vegas area), Utah, Colorado, Kansas, or Nebraska and want to see if we can get together with you, a small group, or set up a conference or retreat, email us at [email protected].

Give Hope to Others: If GPS Hope has brought you hope and light in your grief journey, please consider helping us reach more grieving parents who find themselves hurled onto this same unwanted path. Click here to support GPS Hope monthly or to give a special gift.

And please remember to Hold On Pain Eases, there is HOPE!

www.gpshope.org

You are safe here. No masks needed…

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. This is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgement in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

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

Last week on episode 10, Laura and Kelly talked about the struggles we can have as believers in Christ, wondering where God is in the tragedy of the death of our children.

This week the discussion turns to pregnancy and infant loss. Kelly starts out by sharing why she doesn’t like to use the term “miscarriage,” and how important it is for these precious moms to have their loss of a child validated.

Much of their discussion is about some of the unique triggers and things parents deal with in early loss that those who lose an older child don’t deal with.

Other things touched on are:

There is also time spent talking about how important it is to be able to talk about your child, and that incorporating their memory into your life is not wallowing or being crazy or being unhealthy. Acknowledging the lives of everyone we love just makes sense, no matter how long or how short their time here on earth was.

The discussion closes with sharing some personally helpful scriptures and a word of strong encouragement that God is walking with you through the dark valley of child loss.

Kelly Gerken is the founder of Sufficient Grace Ministries, serving thousands of grieving families worldwide since 2004, comforting others with the comfort she received in her time of grief. She is the mother of five children, three who dance in heaven, and two who fill her days with boyish antics on this earth. Kelly is a featured speaker at hospitals, churches, women’s groups, and a leader of educational seminars for hospital staff and caregivers. She is also a certified SGM Perinatal Loss Support Doula, building a comprehensive perinatal hospice birth and bereavement program to support bereaved families. Kelly’s book “Sufficient Grace” addresses many of the questions people ask in the face of tragedy.

Each week I am honored to announce any birthdays for the coming week of our children who are no longer here on earth with us. This week’s podcast I don’t have any birthdays to announce.

I would love to announce your child’s birthday. Click here to fill out the short form with the needed information. And be sure to let other bereaved parents know that their child can be celebrated with our listeners!

The full song I Remember Well (which is the background song during the birthday segment) can be heard here.

To connect with Kelly Gerken: Sufficient Grace Ministries

Click here to check out the GPS Hope & Healing Virtual Summit.

Find out more about The Comfort Cub.

I want to partner with GPS Hope financially to help reach more grieving parents.

You are safe here. No masks needed…

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. This is a safe place for anyone who has lost a child from this earth. There is no shame or judgement in where you are in this journey, including if you are struggling in your relationship with God or your faith has been completely shattered.

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