The Joyful Mourning - A Podcast for Women Who Have Experienced Pregnancy or Infant Loss

You're listening to The Joyful Mourning Podcast, a special Christmas Bonus Episode. Over the next 4 weeks I have a special Christmas series. In this special series we will get to know Jesus, the one we celebrate at Christmas by studying the names He is given in Isaiah 9:6 — in order that our hearts would love Him and trust Him despite the hurt and brokenness we may feel today. If this is your firs...

You're listening to The Joyful Mourning Podcast Episode No. 58. Each week during the month of November I am interviewing women about what it looked like to navigate the holiday season while grieving. If you are joining us for the first time, make sure you go back and listen to episode 56 with Lindsey Dennis & episode 57 with Ashlee Karasch for incredibly helpful and relatable wisdom about navigati...

Each week during the month of November I am interviewing women about what it looked like to navigate the holiday season while grieving. In Episode 56 I spent time talking with Lindsey Dennis and her perspective was incredibly helpful and relatable, especially for a mom who has received a life-limiting diagnosis for their baby. In this week's episode I am interviewing Ashlee Karasch about her exper...

In a special series of episodes throughout the month of November I will be talking with 4 different women about what it looked like for them to navigate grief amidst the holidays. In this first of four episodes I spend some time  talking with Lindsey Dennis who shares with us hope-filled wisdom about her journey through the holidays after she lost her daughters Sophie and Dasah. Lindsey's experien...

You're listening to The Joyful Mourning Podcast Episode #55. In this episode I have the privilege of interviewing Sarah Garvey, a woman who has experienced an incredible amount of loss and yet she communicates in a way that is full of hope and joy and wisdom. Sarah experienced infertility, three miscarriages, and the premature birth and death of her triplets. Her experience with loss and trauma ha...

EPISODE 54 Listen in as I spend some time with Carmen Smith as she shares about her journey to motherhood and in motherhood. She shares openly and honestly about her experience with infertility and pregnancy loss. While Carmen has children of her own, her story, like many of ours, is not wrapped up with a pretty bow. She talks honestly about how she still feels barren and still feels broken all th...

I'm getting really honest in today's episode about what pregnancy after loss has been like for me and sharing a few practical ideas for how to fight through the difficulties and challenges a loss mama might face in this season. If you love someone who has experienced the loss of a baby and is either trying to conceive or is pregnant again, I think this episode will help shed some light on what she...

You're listening to The Joyful Mourning Podcast Episode 52. This week we celebrated my son's birthday. He would have been turning 11 years old. Celebrating the birthday of a baby who has died is incredibly hard. And over the years it has often felt impossible. Like I might just be crushed under the weight of that reality. In today's episode I'm sharing with you all the things I've learned about na...

You're listening to The Joyful Mourning Podcast Episode #51. In this week's episode I spend time talking with Diana Stone -- the mother of two girls here on earth and three boys in heaven. She is the editor-in-chief at Still Standing Magazine: a site for all those grieving infertility and child loss. My time with Diana is real and honest as we talk about her experience of losing not one but 3 baby...

Listen in as I spend some time with Brooke Stone whose son Sawyer, was diagnosed with Trisomy 13. Brooke shares helpful and practical thoughts about Trisomy 13 and her experience of carrying a baby to term that had a life-limiting diagnosis. She shares invaluable wisdom about the decisions that need to be made, how to ensure the best possible medical care, what she did to prepare for her son's bir...

Listen in as I spend some time with Elizabeth Bloomquist who's daughter, Isabelle was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 after early prenatal testing around 11 weeks. Elizabeth shares very helpful and practical wisdom in this episode about Trisomy 18, what it is and how you can advocate for your baby if you have been given a similar diagnosis. She talks very practically about who you will need on your care...

Listen in as I spend some time with Kathryn Ann Casey -- a mom to 4 children here and 3 in heaven, a woman who's journey to motherhood and in motherhood has been full of heartache and loss and grief. And yet, after experiencing so much suffering she speaks with such tenderness and peace and reminds listeners of the joy that can be had even in the midst of suffering. Kathryn experienced 2 miscarria...

Listen in as I chat with Laura Moore -- a mama who endured the heartbreaking journey of knowing the baby she carried would most likely not live more than a few hours, days at the most, after birth. Laura's son Hudson was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 and in this episode she shares honestly about her pregnancy, what it was like to prepare for his birth and the tangible ways she did so, how she celebrat...

Listen in as I chat with Natalie Sanders, a mama who experienced pre-term labor, delivered her baby boy Axel at 24 weeks and said goodbye after he lived for just 24 days. Natalie and I talk about everything from marriage to friendship and the very beautiful but feasible and practical ways her family is honoring and remembering Axel in their every day life. Natalie also shares how she has grown as...

Listen in as I chat with Mary Margaret Powitz, a wise mama who has walked through the loss of her baby girl Helen. Mary Margaret shares incredible wisdom about her journey with grief, her wrestle with faith and God, and what she is learning right now about life after the loss of a baby. We talk about the enneagram and how our unique personalities grieved differently. We talk about all the ways she...

If you are anything like me, you have wrestled with fear this week. Fear is a monster that wreaks havoc on a grieving heart. Keeping you up at night. Keeping you from finding rest. Keeping you from enjoying the gifts right in front of you. It can paralyze and debilitate and cause you to question everything that is good. In today's episode I wanted to share 5 things I learned from Psalm 23 that rem...

This is a very special episode as it marks the 1 year birthday of this podcast. Exactly 1 year ago I launched this podcast out into the world. And while this endeavor has been one of the hardest things I have ever done, I am so grateful for the opportunity to do so -- to bring you a tangible reminder that you are not alone in your grief and that you are loved deeply by a God who has not forgotten...

Listen in as I spend time with Megan Hillukka. She shares the story of her daughter Aria and the subsequent trauma she faced as a mother whose 15 month old daughter had died in her sleep. Megan shares her journey with PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder, and gives invaluable wisdom about getting help and the specific therapy that has brought her healing. We also spend some time talking about how...

Listen in as Lindsey Dennis shares honestly about what it was like to receive a fatal diagnosis for her daughter Sophia, to choose to carry her to term, and the ways she celebrated and cherished Sophia's life in the days she did have with her. Lindsey's story of loss and grief did not end with Sophia and she would go on to receive a second fatal prenatal diagnosis with her second daughter Dasah. T...

Listen in as my special guest Aubrey Tollefson shares her story of loss after loss after loss but the remarkable way she found hope and healing through intentionally choosing gratitude amidst an unbelievable amount of grief. During our time together Aubrey and I talk about what pregnancy after recurrent loss is like, why she couldn't even bring herself to buy maternity pants and why she hates the...

You're listening to The Joyful Mourning Podcast Episode #39. This episode is one of my favorite episodes to date and I am sure the words spoken by our guest will leave you changed. Listen in as I spend some time talking with Nancy Guthrie -- 20 years ago this wise woman experienced the loss of her daughter Hope and soon after she walked through loss a second time with her son Gabriel. Her story of...

Listen in as I talk with Denise Wolfe and Johanna Mutz. Cousins, best friends and founders of Laurel Box, a shop that offers thoughtful gifts for women who have experienced loss. Listen in as Johanna shares her story of miscarriage and all the things she would go back and say to the grieving Johanna then. Things like: "I wish I had given myself the rest I needed. I wish I had let myself be human."...

Listen in as I talk with Lianna Davis about what life and faith after she experienced the death of her daughter Noelle. Lianna shares about the moments immediately following her daughter's death as well as the weeks and months and years that followed. She talks about how her faith was challenged and how she has grown in her understanding of who God is as a result of having walked through death and...

Listen in as chat with Lacey Rabalais about miscarriage and finding joy amidst the mourning. We talk about all the things, life after loss, pregnancy after loss, and how to love someone who is grieving in a way that is helpful and meaningful. Lacey also what she has learned since walking through loss and all the ways how she has grown and changed as a result of walking through the pain of miscarri...

Listen in as my special guest Natalie Young shares the story of her daughter Paisley. After a perfectly healthy pregnancy, Natalie experienced every mother's worst nightmare when, at 23 weeks pregnant, Paisley's heart unexpectedly stopped beating. Listen in as she shares how she found joy amidst the mourning. She also shares practical resources that were helpful to her individually in the days, we...