My Bio

‘everything for the greater glory of God:
  more is not possible’

i cannot remember a time when i did not wholly believe in
God. my mother’s passion for Jesus was infectious and at a very young age, i
clung to this belief as a life-line. believing came quite easy, it has been the
denying of ‘self’ and my heart’s comprehension of God’s grace that has been
treacherous for me. life is full of divisions, and my rebellious
self-gratification has often eclipsed my desire to love Him with all my heart,
mind and soul.

a little over three years ago i had the great pleasure of
being part of a medical mission trip to

kenya. the two most overwhelming
themes that resonated with me at the end of this experience were: the last
shall be first, and Jesus is enough. i felt i understood this conceptually, but
i struggled with and even failed at living it out since my return from
africa. i reached the point, finally, where i came to the
end of myself. this seemed to catapult me into being face- planted on the
hardest concrete imaginable, with God’s very large foot firmly upon my back. not
in force, but rather out of His tremendous mercy and longing for me to
ultimately let go of the past, to completely surrender my will, imploring me to
go deeper into healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation with Him – ‘though He
slay me, yet will i trust Him’ (job 13:15). God revealed to me the many idols i
had raised above him – knowledge and understanding, relationships, acceptance,
control, and myself. i love knowledge and debate, and have lived in my head
analyzing simply everything. it has not been unknown to me that the gulf
between my head and heart was vast, but i had no clue as to how to resolve it. and
yet, i now miraculously find myself at a place where my heart finally gets it.
i see clearly God’s hands holding me up in all the years of trauma, struggle,
and poor choices. my life has been radically transformed and some of the things
my heart at last understands and embraces are – i am God’s precious, royal
daughter, loved beyond measure, and He is absolutely enough; Jesus is my only
judge and will never abandon me; admitting or even showing my fragility and weakness
is not something to be feared, ‘the Joy of the Lord is my strength’ (neh 8:10);
God the Father determines my worth, i am free in Him, and He alone is my
center. i remain on the Potter’s table and want nothing more than to be completely
abandoned to Him, to be broken bread and poured-out wine. as one of my favorite
hymn states, ‘oh the wonderful cross, bids me come and die and find that i may
truly live’. i am beginning to more readily accept the gifts of suffering and
pain, for out of them can rise great beauty.

i am a nurse by profession, caring for adults with cancer. i
am happiest when in the service of others, and i have had a long-held desire to
serve along side the people of
africa. i am committed,
passionate, focused, intuitive, loyal, complicated, joyous, and
 curious. some of my passions include: our Savior,
music, reading, food, nature, travel, animals, adventure, athletics, the arts, my
family and friends, laughter, truth, integrity, justice, and life lived well. i
have a wonderfully chaotic family, whom i have come to greatly appreciate, that
includes three sisters, two step-brothers, the greatest nieces and nephews
ever, and a father and step-mother extraordinaire. i have been blessed with
astonishingly faithful and wondrous friends. i am a better person because of
those in my life.

where does the world race come into all of this? i am daring
to dream, daring to step out of my comfort zone and discover God’s will for me.
i desire to love and serve God with all of my being and to give away to others
the blessings God has bestowed upon me. i want Jesus to remain my ultimate
passion. isaiah 26:8-9 echoes my heart’s cry: ‘yes, Lord, walking in the way of
your laws, [i] wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of [my] heart.
my soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you’. i
feel incredibly honored with the gift of this opportunity, yet incredibly
undeserving. as martin smith sings, ‘your grace has found me just as i am,
empty handed but alive in your hands’. i recognize that there will be many
challenges on this journey nevertheless i am so excited to be a participant on
this team that will further the Kingdom and bring glory to Him.