My Work
I am a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice, leading a team of counselors at Jacksonville Counseling Services in Jacksonville, FL. Prior to starting my practice in 2015, I spent 15 years in church ministry with children, adolescents and their families. I was on staff at several different churches during this time. As I was preparing to make the transition to full-time counseling, the Church of Eleven22 asked me to build and launch a children’s ministry from the ground up under the leadership of Pastor Joby Martin. During my time at Eleven22, I was also able to fulfill the requirements for ministry ordination.
In 2015, the church helped me launch my private practice, and I still serve as a resource for church staff. Eleven22 utilizes me for speaking and teaching to groups of ministers and pastors at the church, leading and teaching at retreats, and being an occasional guest on the weekly Deepen podcast. I recently was part of a mental health panel during Sunday morning worship, where I taught and participated in a panel discussion.
I am passionate about the intersection of scripture and psychology. I believe that scientific research reveals to us how God made and created us for healing in our faith communities. I get excited about equipping Christians to understand and practice good mental health for themselves and their families. A major focus of my practice is relational health and parenting; people are healthier and more productive in secure, safe and connected relationships.
My Story
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, in a loving, generous home where faith was not discussed much. But God clearly had a plan for me. My neighbor at an early age was also my preschool teacher at a local Baptist preschool. No doubt she prayed for me and over me in my most formative years. In middle school, a local youth group started me on the pursuit of knowing Jesus. God has always put people in my path to continually point me to him. In college, some friends brought me to a gospel-centered campus ministry at Georgia Tech. It was in this environment that I truly understood what it meant to surrender to Jesus as the Lord of my life. I also met my husband, Shawn, and our journey together began.
Shawn and I have always pursued ministry together in our 24-year marriage, being active in serving our local church wherever we have lived. We have always enjoyed discipling kids and teens, and we spent many years leading a high school conference called Fun in the Son. Shawn is now an ordained Pastor serving in full-time ministry at Eleven22. We have nearly raised two college-age boys, and are excited to see where the Lord takes them as they launch into adulthood.
There are so many words that we can use to describe ourselves. It is hard to narrow it down to a few words that capture our essence and help others get to know us. I often lead with what I do, but that is not the essence of who I really am. I'd like to take the lead of the Apostle John and tell you that I am "the one that Jesus loves". I am working to believe and live that more every day. I truly believe BELOVED is the most important part about me, the part that is foundation to each word listed on the left.
In many ways, I am striving each to day to help people put on that identity for themselves, the identify of Christ's beloved child. Beloved is the only identity that orients everything else and provides the deepest sense of peace.
Working in ministry and learning how to teach others the Bible is God's most profound method to develop me spiritually. Each time I write, speak, or teach, it is an overflow of what Christ has poured into me. I would not have anything to say or the ability to communicate it clearly without the deposit of the Holy Spirit in my life. I am fully dependent on him for every step I take because it is he who works in me (Philippians 2:13).
I think folks would say that I love deep conversations and am not great at small talk. I love to learn new things on a variety of topics. I especially love hacking life according to the scriptures. For fun and rest, I love to travel, swim, ski, golf and hang with good girlfriends. A good girls trip is a cup-filler like no other. Lately, I have been spending a lot of time with my therapy dog-in-training, Miss Daisy.
