Personal Statement of Faith
"What I believe about God is the most important thing about me." A. W. Tozer
Thanks for wanting to know more about me! I am a work-from-home mom to two lovely girls and a happy wife to one dear husband. I worked alongside my husband in his Christian bookstore until two months before our first daughter was born. Coming home full-time was a big change for me and I longed to find creative connections with other moms. I love computers and the internet, so I was drawn to this "world" I could visit any time of the day or night (as a baby's schedule demands!). Over the years I have gained many treasured friendships and have been truly blessed to meet so many wonderful people all around the world.
I have gone through some tough times in my life. Just to name a few, I have experienced the death of a newborn and only son, a failed adoption, a spouse with a terminal illness and financial challenges beyond anything I could have imagined. In 2000, my husband and I opened our home to a foster daughter aged 10 with many special needs. By 2003 the hopes of adoption fell through and she returned to her parents with very little notice. It was best for her, but difficult for us. We were left to explain her absence to my then almost 4 year old daughter who had only ever known having a big sister in her life. In 2005 my very young husband was diagnosed with PSC liver disease, listed for transplant in 2007 and as of 2011 still needs a lifesaving liver transplant. The doctors tell us that while his condition is currently stable, with PSC it can turn quickly and give him six to twelve months to live until transplant is necessary. We've had that expiration number hanging over our heads for almost six years now. We try to live each day the best that we can and not think about what may come! In 2006 my newborn son (six weeks) died suddenly just a week before Christmas. We were shocked and horrified by the loss and it has taken years to feel we're getting back to normal, a new normal as they say. Not at all what I had planned for my life! I do not like to complain, but I think it helps sometimes when we share what's really going on in our lives. It's just LIFE. Not perfect, not easy, but still better than we deserve. My heart could have been devastated by pain and suffering, but God gives me mercy and peace to keep going. God is faithful. I hear a lot of people say that God will never give us more than we can handle. I don't agree! I think we take our blessings for granted, we forget that our next breath is dependent on His mercy and that we only get through the tough times by leaning on Him. It's got nothing to do with our strength, but His strength at work in us. That's my humble opinion. God is faithful. It's all about His strength, not mine.
Happiness may not be easy to find in this life, but joy is always there if we choose to count our blessings. Some of my greatest blessings are my family. My dear husband who fights daily to keep a cheerful attitude and has the ability to make every situation fun, yes, even a late night ER trip is fun with my darling and funny husband. Two of my other dearest blessings are my two daughters ages 11 and 8. They are sweet girls who love music, horses (is that a requirement for little girls?) and all things girly. One is outgoing, loves to teach small children in Sunday school and hugs everyone, the other is quiet and a reader who is always thinking deep thoughts she likes to share with Mommy when I say prayers with her at bedtime. The quiet one also recently revealed that what she wanted most for Christmas was a Nerf gun and a Matchbox garage, so it's not all girly stuff around our house. God was gracious to give us a girl who enjoys having a Nerf gun fight with her daddy! I was blessed to grow up in a Christ-following family and church. In my high school years I attended a Christian school where I got involved in music and loved singing. After graduation, my interest in music led to joining a traveling Christian music group The Continentals, and I toured Europe, South America, Canada and the USA during three tours. Amazing experience. After that I studied Christian education and music at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, where I met my dear husband. My role now as a wife, mommy, sister, daughter and friend fills my days and I am blessed. Thanks for reading.
Thanks for wanting to know more about me! I am a work-from-home mom to two lovely girls and a happy wife to one dear husband. I worked alongside my husband in his Christian bookstore until two months before our first daughter was born. Coming home full-time was a big change for me and I longed to find creative connections with other moms. I love computers and the internet, so I was drawn to this "world" I could visit any time of the day or night (as a baby's schedule demands!). Over the years I have gained many treasured friendships and have been truly blessed to meet so many wonderful people all around the world.
I have gone through some tough times in my life. Just to name a few, I have experienced the death of a newborn and only son, a failed adoption, a spouse with a terminal illness and financial challenges beyond anything I could have imagined. In 2000, my husband and I opened our home to a foster daughter aged 10 with many special needs. By 2003 the hopes of adoption fell through and she returned to her parents with very little notice. It was best for her, but difficult for us. We were left to explain her absence to my then almost 4 year old daughter who had only ever known having a big sister in her life. In 2005 my very young husband was diagnosed with PSC liver disease, listed for transplant in 2007 and as of 2011 still needs a lifesaving liver transplant. The doctors tell us that while his condition is currently stable, with PSC it can turn quickly and give him six to twelve months to live until transplant is necessary. We've had that expiration number hanging over our heads for almost six years now. We try to live each day the best that we can and not think about what may come! In 2006 my newborn son (six weeks) died suddenly just a week before Christmas. We were shocked and horrified by the loss and it has taken years to feel we're getting back to normal, a new normal as they say. Not at all what I had planned for my life! I do not like to complain, but I think it helps sometimes when we share what's really going on in our lives. It's just LIFE. Not perfect, not easy, but still better than we deserve. My heart could have been devastated by pain and suffering, but God gives me mercy and peace to keep going. God is faithful. I hear a lot of people say that God will never give us more than we can handle. I don't agree! I think we take our blessings for granted, we forget that our next breath is dependent on His mercy and that we only get through the tough times by leaning on Him. It's got nothing to do with our strength, but His strength at work in us. That's my humble opinion. God is faithful. It's all about His strength, not mine.
Happiness may not be easy to find in this life, but joy is always there if we choose to count our blessings. Some of my greatest blessings are my family. My dear husband who fights daily to keep a cheerful attitude and has the ability to make every situation fun, yes, even a late night ER trip is fun with my darling and funny husband. Two of my other dearest blessings are my two daughters ages 11 and 8. They are sweet girls who love music, horses (is that a requirement for little girls?) and all things girly. One is outgoing, loves to teach small children in Sunday school and hugs everyone, the other is quiet and a reader who is always thinking deep thoughts she likes to share with Mommy when I say prayers with her at bedtime. The quiet one also recently revealed that what she wanted most for Christmas was a Nerf gun and a Matchbox garage, so it's not all girly stuff around our house. God was gracious to give us a girl who enjoys having a Nerf gun fight with her daddy! I was blessed to grow up in a Christ-following family and church. In my high school years I attended a Christian school where I got involved in music and loved singing. After graduation, my interest in music led to joining a traveling Christian music group The Continentals, and I toured Europe, South America, Canada and the USA during three tours. Amazing experience. After that I studied Christian education and music at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, where I met my dear husband. My role now as a wife, mommy, sister, daughter and friend fills my days and I am blessed. Thanks for reading.
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