Soul Munchies

I first experienced God’s call to ministry at the young age of 16, when I was worshiping at an All-Georgia Lutheran Youth Gathering.  I went to college as a Theology/Pre-Seminary major with the intention of going to seminary to focus on Youth & Family Ministry.  Throughout my college years, I had various experiences in the church which infuriated me and convinced me that “the church” or organized religion, is not true to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ – the one we claim to follow.  I thought that I could do real ministry better in the world instead of from the pulpit and went to law school instead.

The deep sense of call I experienced at 16 never left me, and the I spent my three years in law school trying to figure out how to say yes to God’s call while not going to work for the church.  Having not had a real church home since I was 18, finding a church to call home became a priority for me.  In December of 2003, I stumbled upon First Lutheran Church in Strongsville, Ohio and knew the minute I stepped in the door it was the place I was to call home for the next few years.  I very quickly made First Church my home and in May 2004 joined the staff part time as Gift-Based Ministry Coordinator.  This experience was an incredible one – but I decided I needed to focus on my studies and find a legal internship and left the staff just a year later.  I continued to worship at First Church and it became a safe haven for me in the midst of tumultuous times.  As graduation approached, I received a job offer in Blairsville, Georgia – where my parents lived.  Saying goodbye to First Church was the hardest part of leaving Ohio.  I was moving to a place where I knew I would have a near impossible time of finding a church to call home.

My intial job only lasted a few months before I decided my boss and I didn’t see eye to eye on how to treat clients and in November 2006 I went to a highly regarded firm in Hayesville, NC to focus on estate administration and small estate planning, with a little bit of real estate.  At the end of January 2008, my boss had to let me go due to financial restraints on the firm.  Instead of seeing this as a disaster to my career, the instant it happened I felt a huge sense of relief – like God had given me an opportunity to jump off the ledge and trust that He would lead me in the direction He had prepared for me.

I moved to Atlanta in April 2008 and worked for a brief period at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Midtown.  For various reasons, none of which are very important, I left Redeemer in July and I now serve as Director of Children & Youth Ministry at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Marietta, GA.  After one week, I knew that I was finally doing that which God has created me to do.  It is an amazing experience and a great joy.

On February 20, 2010 I married the most amazing man in the entire world.  If God truly does create one person for everyone (and I’m not sure that God does, but IF God does) David is the one created for me.  We share ministry together in a way that I never knew possible.  It is a joy and an honor to be his wife.