שָׁלוֹם בְּשֵׁם־יהוה אֱלֹהֵינוּ׃
Welcome in the name of the Lord our God!
My personal mission is to empower people for spiritual growth, wellness, and life in community and service to God; to encourage them to persevere during times of struggle; and to equip them in areas of need.
Whether you have come here because you have heard about my work as a biblical language teacher, because you have heard that I am a braille transcriber, or because you are interested in my work in ministry, you will find information to answer your questions.
All that I do comes from my personal experience of living as a person who was hungry for God but who struggled to find ways to access God’s Word. I was born blind, and I did not own a complete English Bible in a format that I could read until I was an adult. I learned about God through music and through the testimony of people who had strong, abiding faith during my early childhood and adolescence. Consequently, music and relational evangelism are vital elements of Christian discipleship for me. My first ministry activities were singing and songwriting;; and even while I work at other jobs that equip people to serve as pastors, I remain active as a worship vocalist and choral singer.
Access to Biblical Text!
Today, I not only have an English Bible; but I have gone to seminary and studied Biblical languages. I have experienced a great treasure in studying the Bible in its original languages. I would love to share this great treasure with you!
I am an adjunct professor of biblical studies at Anderson University, having taught biblical languages since 2015. I have also taught Bible and theology courses remotely at George theological School in Pakistan. Currently, I provide private non-credit instruction in Hebrew and Greek for anyone who wishes to learn, whether sighted or blind. If you need or want to learn Hebrew or Greek, please see more about what I can do to assist you.
I also work as a braille transcriber, specializing in providing access to foreign language text. If you need access to foreign language material in braille, please see information about my transcription services.
I maintain another web site, Night-Light, which provides information about accessible study of sacred texts, information for communities of faith about including people with disabilities, and information to help families who are living with chronic illness and disability. If you are looking for my accessible language study information, it is there.
I’d Like to Speak to You
Having experienced personal struggles that challenged my faith formation and ability to study the Bible, I am excited to help others to overcome faith and access challenges. I encourage people to draw near to God with their struggles and questions and to explore the text of the Bible in light of their own questions, emotions, and the historical context of Scripture. If you need a guest speaker for a community event or someone to preach in your pastor’s absence, I would like to talk about how I can meet your needs..
I am a graduate of Anderson University (M.Div., 2009; D.Min. 2019) and an ordained minister with the Church of God (Anderson, IN). In addition to biblical teaching and preaching, I am also available to provide music ministry. If you are interested in hearing sample sermons or music, please visit my ministry page.
A Personal Note
My husband and I talk openly about our lives with blindness and chronic illness. Living with blindness has taught us both to persevere through difficulty. Living with chronic illness has taught us to draw near to God when we need Him most.
Life, Love, and Other Things
I live with my husband, Kevin; my working dog guide; and our three cats. We send our deep love to our precious and extremely gifted Louisa, who has embraced life with two sets of parents with great grace.
Because I am a home-based professional, the office goes mobile when I travel. Throughout my life, I have learned to cope with people’s reactions to seeing a blind person. In my adulthood, I have learned to disclose about what is not seen; for it is often what is not seen that creates my need for accommodation on the go. When I travel, I don’t get to put my dietary needs or other medical needs away and take a break. In the midst of blogging about ministry, biblical study, etc, I also blog about what it means to live and work with disability. I have learned through a lot of networking that I am not alone and that it is very hard to find good information about what to do when juggling a lot of unique needs. If my blog sometimes seems jumbled, welcome to my daily life. It’s a wonder I have not washed a Hebrew book in the laundry machine! I do occasionally ask where my phone is while I am talking on it, but so far I’ve been told that this is a symptom of my age. Perhaps my blogs will be helpful to others.
If you would like to contact me, you may do so by sending an email.