I grew up in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My mother and father divorced when I was in 4th grade and was raised by my father. As a child and young adult, I was very independent, selfish and discourteous. As I started college, my independence and desire to climb the corporate ladder became stronger. I did not have any desire to marry, because I felt that I could live my life alone and take care of myself. Living a lifestyle in the nightlife as a party girl didn’t make my life any easier.

During my sophomore year at Columbia College, I was invited to Campus Crusade for Christ at USC. I felt that I should become a Christian one day, but I had a misconception of the Christian lifestyle viewing Christianity as a form of Amish living. When I visited Campus Crusade, I realized that Christians were normal….they looked, dressed and acted like regular people. For several months, seeds were being planted into my life. During October 1994, when I was home with my father for Fall Break, I went to church with him at Clinton First Pentecostal Church in Clinton, SC. During the altar call, I invited Jesus Christ into my life. It was at that time that I realized that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, buried and was raised three days later. Immediately, I was convicted of sin and my lifestyle began to change. After finding a church home, I was baptized January 1999 at Northside Baptist Church in Columbia, SC.

Today, as a Christian, my life is altered. I have compassion for other’s and a desire to share God’s love with as many as I can through ministry. There are many decisions that I have made in the past 13 years that were not ‘my’ decisions but God’s decisions, and I have seen His faithfulness by obeying Him. Becoming a stay-at-home mom (6 years ago), moving to Spartanburg (4 years ago) and the complicated health of our oldest child has allowed me to see the power of God, power of prayer and power of the Holy Spirit. The best gift I have ever received is His salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Though life isn’t easy, even as a Christian, I have peace with Him because of my submission (Job 22:21).