A little about me
As a child, I hated writing! I wanted to move and play and compete—not ponder and sit and write words. It was that subject in high school that brought the “B.” Writing was dreaded work and required a creativity that seemed to evade me.
One flippant decision equipped me for a life-changing adventure
I spent my first three years at the University of Utah in the school of business. I wanted to be a restauranteur and a business education made sense. I bounced between every field of business and it all tasted like sand in my mouth.
Then a life-altering encounter changed the trajectory of my life. Down with the business degree! My senior year, I declared communications as my new major—thinking it was all about talking. Those three, five-page essays due every Friday blew my uneducated “talking” theory out of the water. After three semesters of writing hours on end under attentive professors…I became a writer.
I was raised in a devout Mormon family
in Salt Lake City, Utah and believed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to be true with all my heart throughout my entire childhood. During my freshman year at the the University of Utah, I began dating a baseball player who called himself a Born-again Christian. This relationship catapulted me into a terrifying search I had never envisioned for my life. In my determination to prove the truth of Mormonism, I was introduced to the love and grace of the biblical God. When I encountered this God, all I wanted to do was share Him with others. So, I joined the staff of Cru, a global Christian organization. All of the juicy details of my journey are in my book Out of Zion: Meeting Jesus in the Shadow of the Mormon Temple. Come journey into the deep with me.
I was born to question the status quo
and have experienced the deep loneliness which accompanies this reality. My desire to be a trustworthy traveling companion and spiritual guide to others led me to become a Spiritual Director through New Way Ministries under Larry Crabb’s tutelage. I am passionate about journeying with you through your questions, spiritual wanderings, and dark nights of the soul.
My hunger to know what I believe and gain a deeper understanding of biblical theology and spiritual growth led me into a two-year certificate program with Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation. I am passionate about helping you catch a clearer vision of God and encouraging you in your journey of spiritual transformation.
I love family
and I’m crazy about mine. My husband Dennis and I have been blessed with five, spirited children, whom I home schooled for 13 years—it felt like three lifetimes. Madison, Keegan and Cole are married to wonderful people and live between New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida. I am delighted to be in a season in which we graft more kids into our family that I didn’t need to raise! Mez is a junior in college and Kamise is anxiously awaiting her high school graduation this May, as she seems to do in every season of her life. We adopted Mez and Kamise in 2012 from Ethiopia and are all growing into different lovers than we would have been had we not followed Jesus to Ethiopia to bring home our girls.
I love beauty
and offering you a taste of beauty through hospitality, tantalizing food and deep conversation. So whether you’re at my physical table in Orlando—or here at my virtual table—my desire is to nourish your body and soul, and encourage you in your journey of spiritual transformation.
I’d love to journey with you and invite you to subscribe to this website below to have occasional newsletters with pertinent musings sent straight to your inbox. You simply fill in your email address in the box and confirm the subscription when the confirmation email shows up. I promise to not bombard you with emails or sell the list to anyone.
Learn More about Us
Dennis and I met 34 years ago when I was a college student involved with Campus Crusade for Christ at the University of Utah. He was my campus director. That’s another story for another day. Dennis and I joined Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) staff 41 and 32 years ago. We spent the majority of those years with the Campus Ministry, raising up the next generation of leaders who will influence our world.
I currently work with Transform art, an arts ministry of Cru. As an artist with Transform, I am privileged to write, spiritually direct others, and guide artists in spiritual formation. To learn more about my ministry with Cru, click here.
My ministry is funded by churches, individuals and families who partner with me in helping bring the message of hope and healing to a hurting world. Please click on the button to visit our ministry giving site. Your gifts to Cru are tax deductible. If you would like to receive our monthly prayer letter, please email me in the form below.