About
I help women with every relationship that matters most to them.
In a world of confusing messages, I am bridging the gap between biblical truth, clinical research, and trauma-informed relational wisdom, so you can learn how to be loved and love well.
I hope you’ll stay awhile. I think you’ll find something just for you!
As an author, podcaster, speaker, counselor and executive coach, I am committed to equipping women with the tools to have healthy relationships with themselves, God and others in order to restore, rebuild, and renew the generations long devastated.
I graduated with a B.A. in Educational Ministries (teaching Bible and theology) and a B.A. in Psychology from Seattle Pacific University in WA. I went on to get my Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from George Fox University in Portland, Oregon.
I have a pioneering spirit with a diverse backdrop prior to co-founding (alongside my husband, Jeff) a professional counseling, leadership development and organizational firm called, Living Wholehearted, and a non-profit helping moms raise confident daughters called, Courageous Girls. Some of my biggest influences include Mother Theresa, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, C.S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, and Dr. Daniel Siegel. From human resources to counseling in the county jail, I have taught graduate courses at GFU, served in youth ministry at a multicultural urban church and was the first Wholeness Pastor at Rolling Hills Community Church just outside Portland, OR. I have supervised and trained many counselors as the Clinical Director of Living Wholehearted while maintaining my own private practice working with pastors and Christian leaders around burnout, sexual addiction/betrayal, childhood sexual abuse, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, family and play therapy. I have been spokesperson for Christian Parenting, a ministry reaching millions around the world, interviewed for one of Christianity Today’s most circulated articles around the world, and taught at the American Associate for Christian Counselor’s World Conference the last 12 years. I have seen a lot of pain, suffering, resiliency, and hope. I want to help you experience the most of your relationships - from your relationship with God to the one you have with yourself and all those who you say you love the most.
Meet My Husband, Jeff
Jeff and I met when I was a freshman at Seattle Pacific University in 1998. We quickly became sweethearts and knew that God had something more than a romantic relationship for us.
Years later we discovered our calling to help leaders live and lead with integrity - learning to live from the inside out - rather than performance-based lives that leave us hollow and negatively impact the people we care about.
As leaders ourselves, we worked in full-time ministry in local churches, non-profits, and businesses before starting our venture called Living Wholehearted, a professional counseling, executive coaching, and organizational development firm.
We are both firstborn children with strong opinions, so we have worked hard on our marriage, understanding our stories, discovering our innate wiring, and learning how to be healthier teammates. We have been together a little over twenty-five years and are off to a good start. You can hear more of our story in episodes 65 & 66 of the Living Wholehearted Podcast or read our co-authored book, Shrinking the Integrity Gap: Between What Leaders Preach and Live.
Meet Our Girls
Adonia (Ad-o-ny-ah) and Nevaeh (Ne-vay-ah) are the original inspiration for the global movement called, Courageous Girls and my very first book, Courageous: Being Daughters Rooted in Grace.
When I held Adonia in my arms, early in my career as a Marriage and Family Therapist, I was working with children, teens, and couples who loved Jesus but were entangled in the lies of their story. Trauma. Abuse. Betrayal. Addictions. I worked with people who were doing amazing things for Jesus, all while hiding a divided life and struggling with their humanity. I knew that raising girls in a world of confusing messages was not easy, and just because I spent a crazy amount of money in grad school to become a trained therapist, I was surely not exempt from the common struggles.
Two things I learned from my clients:
We can’t do this life alone.
Our kids must see our humanity and how God meets us right where we are. I didn’t want to raise compartmentalized “good little girls.” I wanted to raise courageous women who knew they were loved from the very core of their being, could withstand any storm that blew their way, and knew how to love others well, all because of the God they trusted.
We live on five acres outside Portland, Oregon with chickens, two golden retrievers, and a few visiting deer. We love to hike, fly fish, camp, paddle board, and explore the great PNW. The girls and I enjoy thrifting any chance we can get and our favorite children’s books are the YOU ARE SPECIAL series by Max Lucado.