I’m Laura and I love Jesus, His word, and sharing that with others.
That’s all you really need to know, but, if we were sitting down for a coffee or tea somewhere here’s 10 things that you might learn:
1) Marrying my husband was the best decision of my life (beside following Jesus).
He encourages me to be a better person and has been such a patient and loving support through all of life, but especially the hard times. He’s my favorite person to be with and I can’t imagine life without him.
2) I’m a mom. It’s been one the the hardest and most wonderful things I’ve done.
I never really know how to answer how many kids I have because I had an early miscarriage, have a daughter who lives with Jesus, and have three boys that live with us. The boys are in high school, middle school and elementary school.
Our daughter’s name is Aliza and she was our youngest son’s twin. She passed away when she was almost 3 months old from complications related to being a preemie (they were born at 30 weeks). Aliza’s traumatic NICU stay and death ushered me into a long struggle with depression, PTSD, and a very painful refinement of my faith.
3) I live with chronic pain- headaches and fibromyalgia.
Living with chronic pain has given me an intimate view of the brokenness of this world. It has given me a love for lament and a longing for God to redeem and fix this tainted world. It’s also taught me reliance on God and his grace to keep going despite the physical and emotional exhaustion that chronic pain brings.
4) I work at a cancer infusion clinic as a part time nurse.
God has given me a love for hurting people and I love being able to walk hard roads with people. My boys were very appalled to learn that I poke people with needles as part of my job. (They do not share my fascination in medicine.)
5) I’ve lived in Africa…twice.
I lived in Liberia until I was 7 and had to flee the civil war that ravaged the county. If it sounds hard and traumatic, that’s because it was. I still struggle with war movies and books because they often hit too close to my still healing heart.
The second time, my husband and I (and our two older sons) lived in Nigeria for almost 4 years. He taught at a small Bible school for church leaders in the middle of the African grasslands. It was an exciting ministry to work with 1st generational Christians but it was a hard and very isolated place to live. We had the amazing privilege to work with Nigerian Missionaries (missionaries from other parts and tribes of Nigeria who came to minister in that area). After a few years we handed off our ministry to them and returned to the states. We often look back to those years as the foundation of the things we care now doing because we grew leaps and bounds in our ministry skills and walks with God.
6) I like to talk and verbally process.
You’ll probably see some of that here on this blog and in my emails. 🙂
7) I like to make up my own terms and phrases to name or define things and actions.
Since I’m now sharing them with you, I’ve made you a glossary page. You’re Welcome. (I’ll try to keep it updated)
8) I love taking and sharing pictures.
My boys and I have a running joke about me always taking pictures of beautiful things. Sometimes its just for me, but more often I’m contemplating sharing it with you. I often need the reminder that life is beautiful and God makes beautiful things even when it feels really hard. Things growing in seemingly impossible places remind me that God often works and grows something out of impossible situations and the cracks in my soul.
9) I like to share fun and useful things with people I like. (aka How I got into all this…)
At some point in my depressed fog I realized that I desperately needed more Jesus in my life. I read Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin and (long story short) I started doing independent deep dive Bible examinations of the Bible. I also started listening to the Bible, a lot! As I marinated in long chunks of the Bible and dug deep into shorter sections I started to emerge from my depression and fall more and more in love with Jesus. A year later I realized that I needed more creativity in my life and added in doodling reflections.
And then, a few of my friends noticed and started asking questions about my methods of studying the Bible and doodle reflections. Now, several years later I’m still attempting to share this unique gift with my friends…and this (throws arms open wide, gesturing to this blog) is my attempt to share it more fully and with more friends.
10) I love the church of Jesus and being part of it.
I’ve never not known being part of the church. I grew up in a missionary and pastor’s family and my husband became a pastor after we came home from Nigeria. I love being part of the church and growing closer to God with his children.