If you had asked me ten years ago, five years ago, even two years ago if I would be creating this site, I would have said “never.” I am a very private person, and I am not a writer.
However, this last year while transitioning from one season of my life to another, an unwavering persistent internal drive pushing me to share on these topics could no longer be ignored.
This internal drive arose from questions over the years – questions about our parenting, questions about the education we gave our children, questions about the educational and mission trips we have taken, and questions about teaching our children financial responsibility. These questions have come from strangers, friends, teachers, bankers, and even financial gurus.
Somewhere in my own journey of joy, my professional training and personal experience merged into the knowledge I’ve shared on this site. I was raised in a very frugal family that valued hard work, family, and church. I was on my own financially after high school, so worked from one to four jobs from teen years through graduate school in order to support myself and pay for my education without debt. Money was scarce. It was a privilege to serve my country in the Air Force after completing my Ph.D., an experience which also afforded me a wide range of professional experiences from conducting neuropsychological evaluations to being an expert witness on trauma, from leading various psychoeducational classes to intervening in psychological crisis situations. Simplicity and organization have been part of my fabric for as long as I can remember and have led to unexpected job opportunities decluttering and organizing homes and offices from housewives to executives.
My love of travel, history, and other cultures came together during a semester studying in Austria and traveling all over Europe, paid for from savings from jobs during my teen years. Between undergraduate and graduate school, my desire to help and serve others came to fruition spending a year as a missionary teaching music and English to children and youth in seven villages in Paraguay. These two life-changing experiences were a driving force behind the travels and mission trips with my own children.
Though I had spent many years achieving my academic goals and gaining professional experience, when we began having children, a new season of my life began, a season focused on raising and educating them – twenty short years to invest in my children seemed so short. During this time, many doors opened to be able to pursue my own personal and professional interests and passions. Only now is this wonderful, nostalgic season of my life with my family winding down. Just as I am anxiously waiting to see God’s plans for my sons as they become independent and strike out on their own, I am eagerly anticipating God’s plan for the next season of my life. So many options, so many opportunities!
Not one step of this journey has been made without God walking alongside me, for any strength and wisdom I have comes from this source so much bigger than myself.
I am constantly working on hearing His voice in my life. Only in retrospect can I see how His mighty plan for my life is playing out, how the various experiences I have had are being woven together. The more I recognize His wisdom in my past, the more I fully trust His plan for my future, and the more I am willing and able to follow His lead.
I hope you find something helpful, informative, or inspiring in Joy in Life’s Journey. I also hope each and every person finds peace and joy in his or her own life’s journey.