At Your Service

Welcome

It is a delight to be part of the Christianity Columnists here at Patheos. Thank you for stopping by the Thriving Life column. It is my hope and prayer that no matter who you are, this space will be an oasis of hope and encouragement for you in your parenting and life journeys. 

I am a spirit-filled minister of the Gospel, with a passion for helping people with the Word of God. I grew up in a Christian home with my paternal grandparents and went to church regularly with them. However, Jesus found me at age 15 during an altar call at a youth camp. For the first time in my young life then, I understood the message of salvation and my great need for a Savior. I am so grateful that God’s love found me, because without His saving grace then, life would be pointless. Born again and spirit filled, I love sharing from the many life experiences with my Savior Jesus Christ. 

House Cleaning

Last fall, my husband and I cleaned out our home. We had unused clothes, appliances, and furniture in different rooms. We had kept all these things, thinking we will use them soon. We decided it was time to give them all away. During this clean-a-ton, we found my stack of diaries from our time of raising our daughters. Those years of active parenting were years of intense prayer, seeking God for direction in raising them. Those diaries are filled with those experiences. God blessed us with three beautiful daughters who were precocious. In fact our oldest daughter began reading at age 3 (this is what started our homeschooling journey). These beautiful daughters are now adults- ages 32, 30 and 28. 

In one of my entries about twenty years ago, one of our daughters was having a tantrum at the dinner table. She did not like the vegetables we were having with the meal. I took her plate from her and informed her she was full. She cried that she wanted something else to eat. Dad and I looked at each other and answered together- “no.” She did go to bed like that, without something else to eat. I wrote in my diary that night, that I needed God to give me wisdom for any future tantrums and that the Holy Spirit will help me as a mom, not to give in to the intentions of the tantrums. Children throw tantrums because they want to have their way at all costs. Add the fact that a mom is tired from running after her children all day. When tantrums show up, giving in becomes so easy. 

Thriving Life

I wanted you to know that this Thriving Life column is not about parenting perfections. I am at your service here at Thriving Life sharing lessons learned, ups and downs of parenting from those years recorded in those diaries. From parenting experiences as homeschool parents, private school parents, public school parents, church pioneer parents, and many more parenting experiences, it is my hope that you will be empowered and equipped in your parenting journey with your children as you raise them in this current climate of our world. It is dangerous out there! But you don’t have to do this parenting thing alone! You can learn from those of us that have been there and have lots of t-shirts we currently wear! 

Christianity

Though this platform encompasses a broad view on religion,Thriving Life is all about seeing and living life from a relationship with God. For me as one of your Christian columnists here at Patheos, it is from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is fueled by a daily walk with the Holy Spirit and the living scriptures. So, pull up a chair, get a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy the ride of Thriving Life!