Matters Of The Heart | Naturally Knocked Up

Still Standing {giveaway}

June 29, 2012 by Donielle

Still Standing is a brand new website written by and geared towards women who have and are going through infertility or loss. They exist to help women “embrace life after infertility and loss”.

I met Fran, the Still Standing founder, at Blissdom this last year and her ministry, her focus, is heartfelt and inspirational.

I’ve followed Still Standing for the last month or so, since their launch in May, and have been impressed with how they inspire and encourage hurting women.

In the face of loss and infertility, our mission is to show the world that we are still standing. Holding fast to resilience and hope. Our mission is to help you embrace life for everything that it is after experiencing the loss of a child or infertility. This magazine is to give the men, women and families who have experience the unimaginable loss of child and infertility… a voice.

I’m saddened that there is a reason for a website like this to exist, but I am ever so thankful it’s here.

Because you are not alone.

We are not alone in this.

There are thousands of women who deal with loss and/or infertility and often times we feel lost in our own communities. Lost in our feelings and hurt. And it’s time that a community of women stood up to make a community happen. To give hope and encouragement, to give us courage to meet each new day.

And for this reason, Still Standing is here.

Today they are sponsoring a giveaway here at NKU, a Still Standing t-shirt.

To enter:

leave a comment on this post

Additional entries:

subscribe by email to the Still Standing Magazine
follow them on Pinterest and twitter
subscribe to NKU

Entries will be accepted until Monday, July 5, 2012 at 6am.

Giveaway Fine Print

1) giveaway item will be as stated above. 2)Entrants must be over 18 and have a US mailing address. 3) Giveaway to run from 6/29/12 to 7/2/12 6:00am EST. 4) Entries will be considered when left as a comment, valid e-mail address required. 5) Winner will be chosen via random number by the WP plugin ‘and the winner is….’ and they have 48 hours to claim their prize after I send an email. 6) Duplicate entries will be deleted if found, contest will be extended is site issues come up. 7 ) giveaway sponsored by Still Standing 8) No purchase necessary to win. 9) Prize not redeemable for cash. 10)Naturally Knocked Up, LLC is not liable for any injury or damage to persons and/or things as a result of the acceptance of the prize offered.

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

Links in the post above may be affiliate or referral links - meaning that through a sale I may be given monetary benefit. I blog with integrity and only endorse companies and products I love.

I am not a doctor and don\'t pretend to be one. Use everything you read only to inspire you to do your own research and be an advocate for your own health. Please read my disclaimer in full.

Filed Under: Latest Blog Articles, Matters of the Heart, News, Reviews and Giveaways

Stories of Hope and Healing: Finding the Heart of God {through broken dreams}

June 8, 2012 by Donielle 13 Comments

photo credit: audreyjm529

{a guest post}

Even before I was married the doctors were telling me that babies would be difficult to have, at best, and I was wiping tears and crying out to God that I didn’t want to travel this road. I had been mothering everything around me since I was a child myself.

Being a mom was in my blood.

It was my hope. It was the thing I longed for as far back as I could remember.

I spent evenings curled up, staring out my window at the stars that blanketed the night sky. Can I have a promise, God? I asked Him.

The only words that seemed to come were simple and comforting. Do not fear tomorrow. So I clung to the promise, hoping beyond hope that He meant that I would someday be the mom I longed to be.

When marriage came several years later and my cycles stopped coming, I prayed that I was pregnant.

But it wasn’t a baby, it was cysts and pain and the return of my nightmare with a vengeance. I spiraled into depression as my doctor’s visits provided nothing but discouragement. The pills I tried left me with see-sawing emotions, an upset stomach, weight-gain and a growing bitterness.

When I came back from the doctor that last time, in tears because she told me I had to lose weight to get pregnant and I wasn’t trying hard enough, when I literally was almost starving my body per her instruction, my husband put his foot down and said, “No more.”

The pills went in the trash and I stopped looking in the mirror.

For three months I did nothing.

Then I started, slowly, to look into natural remedies for infertility. That led me to researching nutrition and I realized that the diet the doctor had placed me on was actually starving my body of nutrients and I had depleted my body’s natural resources to battle illness.

In the meantime, my husband and I were asked to work at a mission hospital in Haiti so we packed up our little house and flew to LaColline. I fasted for several days then started drinking potassium broth (made with potato skins, carrot skins, onion and garlic) then added in the traditional Haitian diet of rice and beans with a bit of meat broth for flavor and whatever I could grow in my garden. I felt like my body, which had been tilted sideways, righted itself.

The depression lifted and I seemed to wake up from a long, painful sleep.

Along with correcting my physical body, God was calling me to correct my spiritual life. The bitterness over the loss of my dreams was coloring everything I did and I realized that I needed healing for my bitterness far more than I needed a baby.

So I went to the only place I knew for answers. I flipped open my Bible to Genesis 1:1 and started reading. Twenty-six days later I read the last words in Revelation.

God still makes blind eyes see and deaf ears hear.

At the beginning of those 26 days I was blind and deaf and at the end I could see and hear.

I met God, again, in the pages of Scripture. Not just as my Savior from sin or the Creator of the universe but as a God who understands pain intimately. My fears and heartache were not foreign to Him.

To put it simply: I saw parts of His heart that I would have never understood without the loss of my dreams.

Since that day I have experienced years of childlessness, a miscarriage and several dips back into depression and tears. But I am learning. I’m learning that being a mom doesn’t necessarily mean bearing a child. I’m learning to love God most and to pour His love onto those around me. I’m learning to look beyond my pain to see the hurting people around me. I’m even learning to be thankful that this is my road.

I still hope.

Hope that someday I will have the child I dreamed of. But for today, for this moment, I want to be faithful. I want my words and my experiences to point people to the cross and to the heart of God.

And this is the hardest truth I know: if empty arms are the most effective way to show people the heart of God, I am willing to bear that burden. Not because I am strong enough but because I know the heart of Him who carries me.

Natasha is a farmer’s wife who blogs about brokenness and being made whole in Christ at To Live For Him.

Do you have a story of physical, emotional, or spiritual healing? I want you to share your story.

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

Links in the post above may be affiliate or referral links - meaning that through a sale I may be given monetary benefit. I blog with integrity and only endorse companies and products I love.

I am not a doctor and don\'t pretend to be one. Use everything you read only to inspire you to do your own research and be an advocate for your own health. Please read my disclaimer in full.

Filed Under: Latest Blog Articles, Matters of the Heart, Stories of Hope and Healing Tagged With: Success Stories

31 Gifts on my 31st Birthday

June 6, 2012 by Donielle 5 Comments

Today is my 31st birthday.

As I sit thinking about that ‘something’ that Todd hid out in the barn, told me I couldn’t go in there (which makes me totally want to!) I’m also thinking about the gifts I’ve been given that don’t come packaged as “gifts”.

Over the last few months I’ve been reading about gratitude. Mostly through the enjoyment of reading Ann Voskamp’s book “One Thousand Gifts“.

Taking time in my day to really notice beauty around me. To really notice the gifts we’re given each and every day – though normally to busy to notice.

My life is full of beauty and joy, and it always has been. But I didn’t always see it, and a friend recently told me that “I don’t believe that you can laugh from the soul, dance from the soul, if you haven’t cried, mourned, from the soul.” Dealing with grief has also opened my eyes to true beauty, the kind where it takes your breath away and causes you to pause.

I see it not because my life is perfect, not in the slightest. I see it more now because I choose to see.

May I share a few gifts with you a few gifts I’ve seen lately?

1. An expanse of blue sky.

2. A warm cup of coffee (organic…yes – it was caffeinated) on a cool summer morning.

3. Hearing the hum of bees, knowing it means summer produce.

4. Finding the perfect garden stone, when I wasn’t even looking.

5. The smell of freshly dug dirt as I plant our garden.

6. Four happy hens who graciously (and sometimes not so graciously) lay eggs for us each day.

7. Friends who “get me”.

8. And having another friend remember my due date, and ask me how I was doing. (thank you for remembering!)

9. Having a husband who makes me laugh while I stress over a silly two-minute slideshow.

10. The curtains blowing gently in the summer’s breeze.

11. A worship service where every song touches my heart and soul.

12. A sunset that paints the sky.

13. A good movie while snuggled up next to the ones I love.

14. A song played at the moment I needed to hear the message.

15. A swallowtail (my favorite) that showed up on a day I needed a reminder of beauty.

16. The ‘jokes’ of a five-year old.

17. The red clover and purple flowers that grace the field across the street.

18. Raindrops as I drift to sleep.

19. Friends who provide me with “real” food.

20. The bright green of spring.

21. Friends who call, just to say hello.

22. A reader that sends love and care wrapped in a simple email.

23. Flowers picked by little hands.

24. A carefree weekend.

25. Blog friends who don’t bat an eye when I talk stats and social media.

26. Chicken broth simmering on the stove.

27. Clear skies at night, a bright moon to fill the sky.

28. Frogs chirping in the woods.

29. Family that remembers to treat you like you’re special.

30. An approaching storm.

31. Laughter, the sound of community.

What are your gifts today?

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

Links in the post above may be affiliate or referral links - meaning that through a sale I may be given monetary benefit. I blog with integrity and only endorse companies and products I love.

I am not a doctor and don\'t pretend to be one. Use everything you read only to inspire you to do your own research and be an advocate for your own health. Please read my disclaimer in full.

Filed Under: Latest Blog Articles, Matters of the Heart

Today’s the Day

May 16, 2012 by Donielle 27 Comments

May 16.

A day etched into my memory.

Not because of what happened, but because of what didn’t.

The loss of a dream.

photo credit: alicepopkorn

Today was my due date.

And instead of holding a new little baby, I’m holding on to the promises of our Creator. That He is loving, and kind, and just. That His peace that passes all understanding washes over me. Filling me.

Instead of being in the trenches of newborn life, I grieve. Yet count the ways I have been blessed and give thanks. For He is good.

While no lullabies are being sung, I sing out in praise to my Heavenly Father.

For my life is no less blessed in trials as it is when I can easily see that life is good. And this one very small and seemingly insignificant child has taught me so much in such a short amount of time.

While difficult, I’ve seen growth in myself, my marriage, and my family. I’ve learned what it means to be held and comforted.

Some days are not easy, and I’m sure some of you have these days as well. I lash out. Where the pain is raw, where my heart aches, and my arms crave to hold. Where I want to disappear, to hide, to spend time alone.

To choose joy is not always easy for me.

But I must choose peace in my here and now. That this is my life. That this is where I’m supposed to be – learning, stretching, growing. Opening myself to His goodness and grace.

Finding joy in my every day life. Even when it’s difficult.

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

Links in the post above may be affiliate or referral links - meaning that through a sale I may be given monetary benefit. I blog with integrity and only endorse companies and products I love.

I am not a doctor and don\'t pretend to be one. Use everything you read only to inspire you to do your own research and be an advocate for your own health. Please read my disclaimer in full.

Filed Under: Latest Blog Articles, Matters of the Heart, Miscarriage and Loss Tagged With: Miscarriage and Loss

The Sting of Mother’s Day

May 11, 2012 by Donielle 17 Comments

It’s that day every year where many women feel so very alone, left out.

We turn our focus inward, separating ourselves from others.

What we lack becomes our only focus. We get angry, bitter, sad, depressed. Skipping Mother’s Day get-togethers with family or services at church.

We’re being selfish, but we have a right to be. Right?

I want to challenge you this year, to make a change. To make a difference.

Over the last few months, since our baby passed away, I’ve been thinking. A lot. I always looked at other people in crummy situations and thought “If that ever happened to me, I’d still live out my life to the fullest. I would choose to be happy and make the best of my situation! I would want to be a witness to others for God’s amazing love, even though I struggle.”

But I haven’t always done that.

In fact, I’ve done a really bad job of doing that.

I may not have cancer, and I may not deal with physical limitations, but I still get brought down with my struggles. I let Satan’s record play over and over in my head, telling me I’m not good enough. That I’m not worthy, that something is wrong with me. I allow the events of my miscarriage to replay over and over, robbing me of the peace I’ve experience over the last few months. The grief keeping me up at night until the darkness overwhelms me. I dwell on how “unfair” it all is.

My grief became sin.

And I call out to God – crying and pleading for peace, to settle my soul. But it doesn’t come…… until I realize that the little voice in my head is not my own.

Are you allowing yourself to be brought down by the one who wants to see our demise? Are you in a battle against the enemy that wants nothing more than to make you feel miserable, so much so that you stop doing the work of the Lord?

My dear friend, I want you to know that you are enough.

You are good enough, you are whole enough, and you are so very loved. Your status as a mother does not define who you are. And we can not let these attacks on our emotions take control of us.

“Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name.” – Psalm 142:7

Let us choose joy.

Let us choose to be full of life and service to others.

Let us show how the love of the Lord works in us and through us, even in times of struggle.

“May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

It seems difficult to serve others when we ourselves are hurting, but you, my friend, also know how others in your situations may be feeling. Your ability to minister to others will leave a lasting legacy in their lives.

So how do we show love to others this Mother’s Day?

Send a card to someone who may be dealing with infertility. Let her know you’re thinking of and praying for her.

Same thing goes for a woman who has experienced the loss of a child this year. To often our culture deems a woman only a mother when she can physically hold her child. But there are many that long to hold their children, yet will have to wait for heaven until they can. Let these mothers know that they are celebrated and loved.

Look around your social circle or church for that single mom that needs encouragement. Invite her over for dinner or send her a card acknowledging her work.

There are also mothers out there struggling with feeling their worth as older children cause a divide in the home. Find a way to encourage them, give them a hug and let them know how “good enough” they really are.

The loss of a mother is also a devastating event. (it’s actually the real reason Mother’s Day was created. The founder wanted to have a way to honor her mother after she had passed.) So remember those around you that no longer have their mother with them.

I’m not suggesting that the pain of infertility or loss will go away. We all have different journeys, different emotions, different outcomes. I’m only suggesting that we show love to others who are struggling on Mother’s Day as well, to let them know they are being thought of, that they are loved, to help take some of the sting out of their day.

How have you been able to choose joy?

How are you showing love to someone else this year?

All images and content are protected under US copyright laws, please do not copy and paste.

Links in the post above may be affiliate or referral links - meaning that through a sale I may be given monetary benefit. I blog with integrity and only endorse companies and products I love.

I am not a doctor and don\'t pretend to be one. Use everything you read only to inspire you to do your own research and be an advocate for your own health. Please read my disclaimer in full.

Filed Under: Latest Blog Articles, Matters of the Heart, Miscarriage and Loss Tagged With: Miscarriage and Loss