God has a plan for us but we have to trust Him and give Him control.
- Hometown: Clinton, Iowa
- Children: 5
- Fun fact: I love to bake and sew. We have an amazing yellow lab named Daisy.
I went to college at Ashford University where I earned my B.A. and planned to teach high school chemistry. While at college I met my husband, Craig, and after we graduated in 2004, jobs moved us to Ankeny. When we moved our new neighbors asked us for over a year if we wanted to go to church. Shortly after beginning to attend Lakeside we did a Bible study on sin. This is when I accepted Christ as my Savior. Christ died on the cross and He died for me, for my sin, so that I can go to Heaven.
The November after trusting Christ, I found out I was pregnant. My husband, and I were excited and felt so blessed to be able to start our family, but something wasn’t right. I was anxious and worried about this blessing growing inside me. Philippians 4:6 tells us “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.” This is what I tried to do, but my human sinfulness still let worry in.
In March, we learned that our sweet baby boy had a condition called anencephaly and he wouldn’t be able to survive long after birth. During this time, I finished my M.A. in education from Viterbo University. When Noah died, we mourned the loss of raising him, the things we would never get to do with him, but in that mourning there was a light, a joy – Christ. Noah went from our arms to Christ’s and that is the greatest comfort and joy that I can have.
Shortly after Noah died, we were ready to try again. God had given us such peace about Noah that we felt like we could move forward in our lives. We spent 3 years trying to get pregnant. I saw doctors, took medications and even had a surgery to try to have a baby. During this time, I had a miscarriage too. It wasn’t until I stopped trying to control life and gave God complete control that we got pregnant and had our daughter.
God made it very clear to me He has a perfect plan for me and all I have to do is trust and follow Him. That can be hard sometimes, but Jeremiah 29:11 tells us “I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord “plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future.” God has a plan for us but we have to trust Him and give Him control.
After losing Noah and struggling to have our daughter, God laid it on my heart to be a stay at home mom. We have been blessed with our daughter and three more sons. During my time at home, my involvement in Lakeside’s children ministries increased and my love of sharing God and Christ with kids has continually increased. When the opportunity arose to be more involved as Children’s Ministry Director, I felt God leading me to use my experience in education for Him and His glory.