If you're looking for the "official" bio, click here to download the pdf file. But if you're looking for the real-life lowdown, you are in the right place!
Marriage: I am married to Pat, who is (now) the love of my life. The first five years of our marriage, though, were less than what anyone would call "wedded bliss." We were destined for divorce from the very beginning: spiritually mismatched; parents first, husband and wife after; financial mismanagement; living separate lives (him on the road with his co-workers, me at university with my co-learners); fighting loud and mean at every opportunity...the list goes on! What kept us together? There is no other explanation - it was God! And how is it possible that we are truly happily married now (for more than 11 years)? Hard work and God!
Motherhood: I am blessed mom to five little monkeys: Braeden (12), Abbey (8), Megan (7), Shea (5), and Malakai (3). (Here we all are.) Blessed as I am, I have spent far too many of my mothering years seeing my kids as a burden. Impatience, anger, irritability, and total lack of control are all words you could use to describe my "parenting technique." I could lay the blame on many factors: hormones; depression; dealing with a special needs child; dealing with a "spirited" child; unexpected pregnancies; lack of sleep...you get the picture. Fact is, I have been an angry mother because, in all those circumstances, I allowed myself to drift away from God and let the Devil get a foothold. It is though God's grace that I am experiencing freedom from the anger that held me captive for so long! And it is for His glory that I am working on my first book, Mommy, why are you Angry?
Work: Long, long ago in a land far, far away I was employed in the social work field - supervising and training foster parents of high-needs children. I haven't been employed outside the home since Megan was born almost eight years ago, and unless God tells me otherwise I have no intention of being an employee again.
Education: I spent four years immersed in a culture where "truth is relative" in order to attain my Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology. I am still paying off those student loans! I am grateful for so much of that experience, though, because it was in university that I learned to defend my faith (and thus made it my own).
Ministry: I had the overwhelmingly fantastic opportunity to birth and lead a women's ministry in our local church for over six years. Nearly a year ago, I reluctantly gave my "baby" up for adoption in order to step ahead into the new place that I felt God was calling me to. I know spend my ministry hours writing, speaking to women's groups, and consulting for women's ministries. And I am so pleased to say that my other baby is thriving with her new family!
What else could I possibly say? If you know me, you know that I could go on a lot longer! But I'll spare you. If my crazy, messed-up, completely redeemed life story has left you wanting to read more, I invite you to follow my blog. I love having new friends join me in the triumphs and trials of this life I call mine!
