Fast forward to 1973. My husband of five years and I had recently moved to Iowa and bought our first home. We had two toddler daughters and everything I dreamed of had now come true. 

My husband had returned from Viet Nam. I had endured the loneliness and the fear that he would die. Every day for ten months I had felt like I was dying too. While he shouldered a rifle ankle deep in a rice paddy somewhere near Danang I had given birth to our first daughter without him. I shoved this disappointment aside as best I could. 

Now three years later loneliness and depression again struck a deadly blow. Hundreds of miles from family and friends, we struggled to raise our daughters without help. Short-tempered and moody, this former A student thought she was scoring a D+ in motherhood. I couldn’t nurture my daughters the way I wanted to. I felt like my dream was dying.

One day Billy Graham associate John Wesley White arrived in town for a crusade. I wanted to go but no one invited me. However, the crusade team made sure to deliver educational materials to every house in town. I subscribed to Decision Magazine and devoured it every month. 

In May of 1973 I knelt beside my bed and made my decision for Christ. When I did, the inner loneliness and depression lifted from me. God took my dead dreams and began resurrecting them beyond what I could imagine. Thus started a life-long journey to know God more deeply. I didn't understand it then, but He was preparing His destiny for me.

You’d like to change your marriage, family, community or nation, but it seems impossible. Has your life felt more like a rollercoaster? Mine too. It certainly hasn’t been a smooth ride. 

Many more doors closed for me. Sickness, injuries, being misunderstood, and being denied opportunities are just a few. 

Do you feel like God is shutting doors because of your sin, guilt, or lack of ability? 

Maybe you think you don’t deserve a better future.

Do you know what I discovered?

God loved me through every misstep, and He will do the same for you.

It took me twenty years to grasp these simple principles, but it doesn’t have to take you that long. I can show you what I’ve learned. 

The road won’t be easy. That’s why encouragement is so important. I can cheer you on and share how I’ve learned to navigate the roadblocks. 

Here is a key: a deeper walk with God leads to a deeper discovery of your purpose. This is step #1 in God preparing you for your destiny.

Even after my decision for Christ, a fog of uncertainty crept into my life. I enjoyed my life as a wife and mother but felt that God was calling me to more.

Sometimes I got criticized about my service to the church community which confused me. I didn’t fit the mold of traditional “women’s submission.” I confidently led others, but some people considered me to be too outspoken.

 I see the same pattern playing out in the lives of many other Christian women. They have been sold a pharisaical bill of goods about God’s purpose for women that only makes them feel mixed up and distant from God. This affects all of their relationships. The truth is, women were made in the image of God, not the image of man.

God prepares you for your destiny so He can brings His kingdom to the earth. No wonder the devil wants to sabotage that.

Jesus taught us to pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” 

You weren’t sent to earth to endure until the end. You were placed here to be a light in a dark world.

1. Church, Bible school, and courses in Biblical counseling have been my training ground. I also  studied elementary education at West Chester University for two and a half years, where I met my husband. 

I have learned that: 

2. I studied slavery and African American history of that era to research my novel about a boy who runs away on the Underground Railroad. After reading autobiographies written by former slaves, I felt the pain and destruction that slavery inflicts on the human heart. The horrors of that time grieved me. 

This inspired me to:
Help people who feel enslaved in any way find freedom in their God-given destiny. 

3. Writers conferences, critique groups and online classes taught me the craft of writing. It took me fifteen years to write my first novel, have it rejected, and start a new one. 

This showed me:
It takes hard work and patience to accomplish your goals. Never give up.

4. The instruction that most impacted my journey into ministry did not happen in the classroom, but under the guidance of Dr. Wm. J. Hurst.

 I realized:

The classroom cannot replace the power of relationship with someone who has walked with God for years.

1. I taught elementary school, Sunday school, Bible classes on counseling, and art classes.

2. I discipled a small group for over ten years under Dr. Hurst’s guidance. 

I discovered:
There is more to learn.

Whether you need encouragement to reach your destiny, or you help children reach their dreams, I have resources to help you. 

1. My Underground Railroad novel for middle grade students, Dark Enough to See the Stars, boasts accurate, historical people and places. 
It earned a silver medal from Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards and received a Kirkus starred review. 

2. I crafted the Dark Enough to See the Stars Study Guide for teachers and homeschoolers who want to use  my novel in their curriculum. The booklet contains social studies, language arts, and science lessons. All work pages are reproducible.

3.  I ventured into non-fiction with my devotional for women, 30 Days of Devotions to Defeat Discouragement.  GET YOUR FREE COPY!

My writing offers:
Inspiration, teaching, and guidance that reaches women, teachers, and students.

Dark Enough to See the Stars received:

My husband Frank, and I live in Northeast Pennsylvania. Our five children all reside in great places to visit, Virginia Beach, Washington DC, New York City, and Italy. We have been blessed with eleven grandchildren. Our oldest daughter’s family lives nearby, so we enjoy soccer, softball, and recitals with our three grandchildren who live locally. We love traveling to see the other eight.