Come on In (Coffee Chat – Part 1)

Come on in! The door is always open. Pour yourself a cup while you “hush the rush” for a while. How do you like your coffee? Perhaps you prefer tea? I do love my afternoon herbal teas! I am obsessed with ‘Laughing Man’ dark roast at the moment. I get all panicky when the box runs low because I can’t always find it in the store! Do you take cream or sugar? I love to tease my daughter for having a little coffee with her creamer! Today I’m having a scooch of cream with a few drops of vanilla creamer. Your cup smells divine!

Forgive me! I haven’t told you about myself. I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and follower of Christ. I didn’t begin learning about Jesus until I was a young adult in college. It wasn’t until I met my, now, husband, that his unwavering faith and commitment for God captured my heart. We joined a church shortly before we married, and a new relationship with Christ was born!

As a social worker in my twenties, I served an adult population of individuals with developmental disabilities. I worked at this non-profit organization in Southern California for seven years before deciding to stay at home with our first child. My husband, Ian, is incredibly gifted as a Funeral Director and has considered it his ministry over the years. So, with baby in tow, we bought a Funeral Home in Globe, Arizona. Globe is a small mining town nestled in the foothills of Tonto National Forrest, East of Phoenix, where we have made our home for 28 years. 

As our business grew, I stepped out of the day-to-day office to focus on raising our kids and volunteering. I have the blessing of a tight-knit family, including two adult kids.

My daughter, Holley, shares my maiden name. She is a tiny but fiery thing that loves to remind others that she is not short, but “Fun-sized!’ She is now married to her childhood sweetheart, Jon, who adores her.

My husband’s namesake, Ian III, often goes by “Tripp,” proudly credited to both of his grandpas. This young man, with a highly empathetic soul, loves his family fiercely and battles an ongoing addiction. He is supportive of and the catalyst for my writing path where you find me today. When I say we are “tightly-knit,” it doesn’t mean we have not had struggles over the years. It means we have each other’s back, we love unconditionally, and we leave no one behind.

So what leads me to this thing called blogging? 

I want to share with you how I found one of the purest, most authentic, bottomless relationships with the mightiest God. I did not embrace this relationship overnight. I fought it for many years.

I sat with, questioned, adored, became stagnant with, recommitted, tumbled, ghosted, tossed aside, and rushed back to the most forgiving friend I’ve ever had.

And I groaned.

I groaned to the Lord, and He groaned for me.

I had a profound communication with Him that, at times, felt so wounded that I had no words. The Spirit knew. When my heart hurt so deeply that I could not breathe, He heard me. He wept with me. He interceded for me. He picked me up, dusted me off, and equipped me with a song in my heart that carried me through one more day.

Wordless Groans is a phrase that stirred my soul and hung in the air like a gentle breeze; like a whisper in my mind. Some days it came in a blustery wind that changed my direction. On other days it brought refreshment that moved me forward. It repeatedly wafted my way, carrying me to Romans 8:26:

“Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

It beckoned me. It shook up my beliefs, and it remade me. I could never have imagined the places this one verse would take me on my path of accepting, healing, and serving.  I found hope and encouragement in the groans, and I want that for you too! That is what I hope to bring to this exciting world of blogging!

‘Sipping coffee.’

Enough about me. I want to know more about you. 

-Come follow me to part 2- About You-