Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
- Romans 12:12 -
The last few launches of our new shop products have had a consistent theme: facing our hardest questions WITH God. As I looked at this summer collection, launching Thursday, I saw this same theme emerge: we have products for baptism, communion, on Wicca and neopaganism, items for hospitality and community – all of them designed to help you process your theology in relationship with God and others. And this is no mistake, because it's what we spent 2024 doing as we walked through some of the most harrowing months of our marriage. You've been along for this whole journey, our whole story of secondary infertility, double miscarriages, financial setbacks, grief and pain. And you've also borne witness to the miracle we're now living: a baby who shouldn't exist by all medical counts, here after four failed rounds of fertility medication. It seemed only right to include you in this chapter of the story, too.
We decorated with lilacs from the farm. The perfect color: pink and blue combined in an exquisite lavender, representative of the surprise waiting for us… would Baby M be a boy or girl??? We invited our closest friends and family – family in town for the double funeral for my grandparents, which would fall the following day – about to discover, with them, who our next baby would be.
After our two losses in 2024, one in January and one in June, discovering this pregnancy in January 2025 was a shock. And to be honest, it was emotionally difficult. We “held it loosely” not because anyone told us to but because it was all we could bear. I found myself tempted to cynicism, defaulting to self-protection instead of hope. We passed the loss markers of both previous pregnancies but even then I thought: I must prepare myself for the worst.
But when I was nine weeks pregnant, a direct message on Instagram from one of my readers stopped me in my tracks:
"Good morning Phylicia, I prayed about sharing this with you, a dream I had last night. I asked the Lord more about it. I would like to share it with you and hope it is an encouragement but I also recognize it is deeply personal and a raw topic, and so I am a little nervous about sharing it:
Last night I dreamt I read a post by you (Phylicia) about your fourth and most recent pregnancy (one which has not actually taken place yet in the waking world). The gist of the post was that you were going to the doctor to see whether their baby… was going to live or die…
In the dream, I fell to my knees and prayed intensely for the child, in a prayer language that was not a regular one. I think I woke up or moved on from the dream soon after."
There was more to her message that I'll share in a moment, but I want to stop here and note something important: The sweet woman who wrote this message had no idea we were pregnant. Some of our friends didn't even know yet. We didn't announce it until over a month later. What she believed did not yet exist “in the waking world” already existed, and God gave her this dream to encourage us in our doubt, fear, and grieving self-protection.
Her humility in seeking God about her dream and her sensitivity in sharing it with us was a visible act of the Holy Spirit. First Peter 5:10 says “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” We read this and think – God Himself will strengthen us. We forget that He loves to use His church to do it.
The dream strengthened us and gave us hope; hope that God would not go to the trouble of speaking life through His people for no reason. Hope that this baby might actually live.
But there's more.
In her dream, the baby had a name.
The message went on to say, “I looked up the meaning of [the name], which means olive tree. I continued to pray and ask the Lord about it in my dream, and He reminded me of Noah and the dove. The second time he sent it out, the dove brought back an olive branch, and the third time the dove did not come back, because it found dry land.” (Genesis 8)
I, too, looked up the symbolism of the olive tree after reading her message. One source said this: “The olive tree and olive branch have been symbols of peace and reconciliation ever since the account of Noah’s flood. When the dove brought Noah “a plucked olive leaf in its beak,” the olive branch represented new life sprouting on the earth (Genesis 8:11). The olive tree was alive and growing. The promise of the dove’s olive branch was a new beginning for humanity, peace and reconciliation with God, renewal, and revival.”
Three times the dove went out. On the second, the dove came back – but on the third it did not return, because there was life in a barren land. This is our third child in the span of a year. Two are with the Lord. One is still alive; life in a barren land. A new beginning. Renewed, reconciled, revived.
The day of the gender reveal we gave each of our children smoke cannons while Josh and I set up a cake, baked by our dear friend Jozlynne, to find out all together who the baby would be. On the count of three we sliced, the kids pointed the cannons in the air and…
Baby Masonheimer is a GIRL!!!
Josh and I looked at each other joyful – but not surprised. Because this is what God gave to us when she was a tiny heart beating at 9 weeks. He spoke through a dream to one of His people to take heart, to have courage, to trust Him for her life. And He gave her a name.
Olivera. The olive tree.
Woven into the message on Instagram: “You were going to the doctor to see if your baby girl was going to live or die, and you had named the child ”Olivera".
So that is her name. We believe the Lord gave it directly to us through one of His faithful, Spirit-led women – an appropriate thing considering the ministry we get to participate in! As we discussed middle names, we came down to two and settled on the one our other children liked the most: Hope.
Our hope has always been in our Redeemer, not in outcomes or promises or changed circumstances. And may hope be a marker of this child's life.
Olivera Hope, we are so excited to meet you in just three months!
And to all of you who have prayed for us, laboring in the spiritual realm on our behalf – thank you. You are part of this story. Every email, every message, every face to face meeting where you told us you were praying – we do not deserve. But we are so grateful. We have not lost faith in the Church, but if we had, you would have restored it.
And for those of you who are still in the middle of the hard: I see you. God sees you. This is not our “easy ending”. We are still in the middle of other hard things, trials and difficulties that aren't as “tidy” as this one looks. Seek God's face, not just His hand. His love for you has not changed, even if your circumstances have. He is FOR you, not against you. He wants to walk this road with you. He is here to hold your hand.
For the next Great Awakening,
PDM
All photos by Zack Smith, EWAT videographer and photographer, owner of Promise Media
This Thursday: the Summer Shop Drop!
We know you've been waiting a long time for this launch and we can't wait to provide it for you. Stay tuned because with launches, as soon as a product sells out it is OUT. We restock books, but do not always restock other items!
In this launch we have:
For the Awakening baseball cap
Cathedral earrings
leather bookmark and keychain
Gospel Ready: Conversations to Prepare Your Child for Baptism
Ethically-made picnic blanket and utensils
The Book of Proverbs “Not-So-Quiet Time” Multisensory Bible Study
Explore and Engage: Wicca and Neopaganism
a NEW nontoxic candle
and more!!!
Shop opens at 10 AM ET Thursday!
The Every Woman a Theologian Mission
Whether you're new to us or you've been here a while, it's always helpful to hear the mission behind a company you support. Our mission is to equip women and families to know what they believe, why they believe it, and how to communicate these truths graciously to the world.
As a ministry, our values are to be Spirit-led, gospel-focused, prayer-centered, open-handed, fruit bearing, reconciling and celebrating. These values dictate our team culture down to who we hire, how we operate as a team, and how we communicate with our customers.
Our goal is to equip the church for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:12). We create products that help you be a witness to your corner of the world – wherever on earth you are!
