Tell us a little bit about yourself and what God has called you to do? I am a woman who is passionate about seeing others set free by the love of Christ! That is played out in my roles as a grateful wife, a joyful mom, and as a writer and speaker.

Where do you live and have you lived anywhere else? I live in central Illinois with my husband and daughter (and a little boy on the way!). In the past we have lived in Chicagoland and the St. Louis area.

How do you carve out time with God everyday? I’ve found that how I carve out time with the Lord has changed in every season, depending on the age of my daughter! When she was really little, we had a gym membership with childcare, and I would use part of my time at the gym to get time with the Lord. Now that she’s a little older, I get time with Jesus while she’s at preschool or getting her own “Jesus time” by watching a Beginner’s Bible video or listening to worship music. It’s a dance we’ll continue to work out as our second arrives this November, but it’s always, always worth it to get time with the Lord every day!

What is your favorite Bible Verse? Share with us why you love it so much. John 10:10 –“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” This verse points me to the goodness and abundance that we have in Christ, regardless of the season that we are in. Our physical and emotional abundance will wax and wane—sometimes we will feel as if we are anything but abundant. However, this verse reminds me that true abundance is found in Christ, and in Him we have fullness of life, because He is our life!

What is your best organizational/planning tip? First of all, I LOVE my Anchored Press Devotional Planner, and I use it regularly—I especially love being able to see my month at a glance and get a feel for how the weeks ahead are going to play out. Other than that, my family teases me for all of the reminders I put in my phone—but it’s one of the only ways that I remember important meetings and phone calls!

What is your family’s favorite go-to easy meal (you can share the recipe if you’d like)? Taco skillet! It’s a one-pot recipe and we eat off of it for days! You can find the recipe here.

Tell us your favorite God story (in your own life)? There are so many! One of my favorite lighthearted stories would have to be how my husband and I really started dating. We went to a Christian college, and every week we had to attend chapel three times; we had assigned seats that changed every semester. The running joke on campus was that you would “marry your chapel buddy”—one of the people who sat on either side of you. Well, during my second semester of junior year, out of 2500 seats in the chapel, Michael and I had seats assigned next to each other—with no one on either side of either of us! There are many other fun parts to this story, but we started dating shortly after the start of that semester and have been happily married for over 11 years!

What are your 3 favorite books, other than the Bible of course? Nonfiction: Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, Fiction: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, Devotional: Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman.

We are dying to know . . . what the Lord taught you this year by sharing your story of “Still Waiting” with the world? You know, any time that we open up and share about the vulnerable parts of our lives with other people, there can be the fear that we will be rejected or misunderstood or ignored. But in sharing my story through Still Waiting, I have actually found that the opposite is true—even on a large scale. As I have opened up about my weaknesses and my struggles, I have not only encountered the grace of God personally, but He has used my story to encourage others with His grace and mercy, as well. That has been humbling, exciting, and ultimately has made me worship the Lord more. The fact that He delights in using our stories to build one another up is a beautiful thing!