My ministry journey and offerings

My heart for ministry is summarized by 2 Corinthians 1:4: “who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Our family’s trauma and many years of long-suffering provided a gift - the gift of complete and total surrender and intimacy with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Out of this great love for Jesus and what he did for us, came my desire to walk alongside others going through hard circumstances. Our hard story had us living out the impossible scriptures that many of us only memorize or recite. I know what it’s like to have comfort and be in need when we lost everything. I know what it’s like to feel death breathing down my neck and have no other comfort or refuge other than under his wings.

Every experience, gifting, skill, and personality trait God has created in me, as well as the desires of my heart, have come together to serve others in ministry.

I knew, before our family’s hard challenges began, that I wanted the Lord to use me with my unique giftings for his glory. I sought him earnestly, praying his will be done, and ensured him that I would trust him, knowing his ways were best, through whatever that would take. I could never have imagined the incredibly painful journey of ‘becoming equipped’. Wow! Trusting him THROUGH the trauma was hard, but he very clearly told me, ‘the only way out is through’. I remember a moment very specifically many years ago, during one of the hardest days ever, I heard him speak to my heart clearly. I was on my knees bawling and screaming out to the Lord and I asked him ‘Why, Lord? Why are you putting us through this?’ and immediately a vision was placed in my mind’s eye. It was the scene when I was on my knees, earnestly asking God to use me in a powerful way one day. I hadn’t thought of that moment since it happened those many years before. And I made the decision then, though it didn’t make the pain any easier, that I wouldn’t waste a moment of this pain and use it for God’s glory. I knew he had work for me to do.

It wasn’t long after that, the Lord sent hundreds of people to me who needed help on their PANS/PANDAS journey, even while we were walking through the trenches in ours. I found myself in ministry before I even realized it. Helping others became the distraction God knew I needed while we were suffering, too.

And another miracle happened around this time. God gave me the beautiful gift of using the creative arts as a way to process, find comfort, heal, and connect with him and others through art. I remember the day the idea arrived for building an art studio in our home so I could invite others into ‘whatever this was’ the Lord wanted me to create. The only way to describe what happened next is a holy, Spirit-led energy came over me and moved me to create something wonderful of which I had no prior vision. He used me to build this beautiful thing I didn’t see coming and it wasn’t long before a large spare room in our basement became an entirely equipped art studio for an art ministry and I was teaching workshops and helping women, children, and teens connect with the Lord through art and creativity. We were growing our faith in creative community and healing together.

Through all of this, things didn’t get any easier - oh no, they got much harder and our entire family became sick, we lost everything we owned from hidden toxic mold. We lost our health, our home, all of our belongings, our jobs, my art studio and all of my supplies, our dogs died, and and we had to start our lives over again from scratch with absolutely nothing…except Jesus.

To lose everything is a humbling and refining experience. But to see that God was there and provided everything we needed along the journey was something the Lord needed us to go through. He never left us, despite losing everything. We had nothing, but we had everything because we had him.

I have a passion for studying God’s word and teaching. Those two things always rank highest for my spiritual giftings. God has gifted me with a deep understanding of scripture and how to apply it in our lives and share that with others. He’s also created me with a desire to create safe spaces for people to be authentic and a genuine interest in helping others’ feel safe and seen. I have a passion for helping others see God’s goodness in the midst of their pain because I know he was/is there through mine.

Over the years, and through my own personal creative journey and discovering a way to connect with the Lord and experience freedom and surrender through art and creativity, I have developed a HUGE heart for creative ministry. I know we, as the body of Christ, can heal in creative community, and I want to help others walk through this freedom and discover this meaningful way to connect with the Lord. Often, no matter how long we’ve been a Christian, it can feel impossible to surrender our burdens and ‘let go’. I am eternally grateful the Lord has provided this creative discipline that allows us to practice that in art, which in turn, helps us in life and in growing our faith. I’m grateful he’s given me the space and energy despite being chronically ill from mold sickness, and the opportunity to share this with others so they, too, can be transformed.

At the end of 2024, I felt called to become certified as a therapeutic arts practitioner and now I am incorporating the experience and wisdom gained from this program into my workshops and ministry. I sincerely want others to experience the freedom they desperately long for and, “taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him.” - Psalm 34:8