Tell us a little bit about yourself and what God has called you to do? My family and I have lived in the Pacific Northwest for about 8 years now but I'm a Southern girl through and through. My Southern roots influenced me to gather and seek community life, which continues with my own family now. Nothing pleases me more than gathering, encouraging and uplifting others-particularly women. Because of this God has called me to encourage women to remember who they are and find healing and life through this freedom.

Where do you live and have you lived anywhere else? We've lived all over the US. We spent 10 years together as a military family and have found temporary roots from Tampa, FL to Honolulu, HI. We are now settled in the Seattle area. 

How do you carve out time with God everyday? I wish I could say I am intentional everyday in the carving out of my time with God, but my Bible and prayer time sometimes come in the morning, in the car on audio, at night when the kids are down. I am constantly listening to worship music, praying and talking to God throughout my day-intentionally. I find those are the things that help me when I can't have time in the Word first thing or when I miss a day reading. In my current season, it's all over the place. I'm not sure about others, but I need it this way. I can't do the same thing, in the same way, everyday. 

What is your best organizational/planning tip, other than your Anchored Press Devotional Planner, of course? Oh, organization. Since having 4 kids this topic is somewhat of a elusive one. My best tip? Don't take life too seriously, loosen up and let it go. Signed, your formerly seriously Type-A, anal, everything has to be perfect, friend. XO

What is your family’s favorite go-to easy meal? Taco Tuesday, baby!! And cotija cheese is a must! 

Tell us your favorite God story (in your own life)? My entire life is a testament to God's faithfulness, mercy and love in my life. I don’t think I could choose one story as my favorite. He's just too good. 

What are your 3 favorite books, other than the Bible of course? The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, The Selfless Way of Christ by Henri Nouwen and Uninvited by Lysa Terkheurst.

What is your favorite Bible Verse?  Ezekiel 37:1-14 (The Valley of Dry Bones). These verses represent everything God continues to do in my life and what He will continue to do for the rest of my life. He brings things back to life and breathes into them over and over again! 

“The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’” Ezekiel 37:1-14  

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what God has called you to do? I am a 9-year joyfully married mom of 4 incredible little ones who are 6, 4 ½, 3 and 9 months. My absolute favorite thing to do, be it to rest or have total fun, is to be with my family of 6, hands down. I have served in full-time ministry at Saddleback Church for 12 years overseeing our children’s discipleship program, Kids Small Groups. I am also a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist focusing on Biblically-based counseling. My calling embodies everything in my life as I deeply desire to make Kingdom impact in the lives of children and families. I am called to help children go deeper in their faith and build healthy families upon the firm foundation of the Lord.

Where do you live and have you lived anywhere else? I am born and raised in Mission Viejo, California, where we currently live. I’ve lived in San Diego while in undergrad and graduate schools, but God has always called me back to the OC.

How do you carve out time with God everyday? I wish I could say it was a deep, intentional daily time. With jam-packed schedules (& noise) I do my best to read a devotional to start each day to have some solid one-on-one God time. We are very intentional with God time with our children in reading their Bible each morning, praying multiple times a day and seeking/offering forgiveness to one another when we make mistakes.

What is your best organizational/planning tip? I am a MAJOR planner/scheduler so I write things down in my Anchored Press Devotional Planner AND we have a family Google calendar with everything color-coded if it is for me, my husband or both of us regarding time, transportation, etc. On this same calendaring/planning note we have a calendar in our home for meal planning and whiteboards with Scriptures being worked on in school/Kids Small Groups/church and “to do” lists. Sounds a little over-the-top when I write it all down but it helps to keep things literally in front of our eyes amidst all the craziness. :-)

What is your family’s favorite go-to easy meal? Turkey sliders on Hawaiian rolls; ground turkey meatballs and spaghetti; and ground turkey tacos…can you tell a theme that we love ground turkey?

Tell us your favorite God story (in your own life)? The first favorite God story that came to mind is what started our Gant family of six. Long story short, I felt very clearly called in the midst of my PsyD graduate school program to work in ministry. Back in 2005 I would have never thought I’d leave my PsyD program midway to then work in full-time ministry, but that was God’s plan for me. And for good reason as I joined the team that my husband was on. We then had an international relationship development as we became best friends on the Mexico trip, decided to date after our Kazakhstan trip and were engaged in Rwanda. God was fully and completely present every step of the way. And we are SO grateful for that as we wouldn’t be where we are, who we are and doing what we do today.

What are your 3 favorite books, other than the Bible of course? Ugh. I’m embarrassed to say that while I absolutely LOVE reading it is just not happening in my current season of life…like since we started having our kids. But my favorites have are: Children’s Ministry on Purpose by Steve Adams, How We Love by Kay & Milan Yerkovich, and Choose Joy by Kay Warren.

What is your favorite Bible Verse? Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” I love this verse because it was my anchor in college when I was doing my best to stay rooted far away from home, my home church and at a LARGE university (UCSD). It has then continued to keep me focused on the bigger picture through good times and bad.

We are dying to know how you would describe the theme of your current season? The simplest words to describe my current season is A LOT. Obviously, with 4 kids, marriage, full-time ministry and MORE it is A LOT to schedule, keep going and be united on with my husband. At the same time, it is A LOT of beautiful memories and moments with the people I love so dearly. It is A LOT of precious times with each of our children that I will forever cherish…A LOT. Yes it is all A LOT, but I would not change it for the world.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." GALATIONS 6:9