My faith in my Lord, my family, nursing as a profession, my love for my church community.

In the recreational areas I love to cook and especially to bake artisanal breads (you know, Italian and French breads with chewy crisp crust and tender crumb!) I miss having my hands in the dough if I'm away from my kitchen for a few days. Oh, the question was about passion...:)

But I could also go on and on about providing health care for vulnerable populations. (no, not Obamacare!). I'm talking about my volunteer work for my church community and other uninsured people in the community. I love to roll up my sleeves and help in a charity clinic in the community that does not take government funds (!). Nurses practice holistically, and conservatively, so helping someone avoid ER fees when they could do some simple things to get or stay well is very satisfying.

All the basic Christian characteristics of honesty, dependability, constance, charity, generosity and selflessness, are greatly appreciated, and are those characteristics that I try to emulate.

I enjoy deep intimate conversations. I love to hear what others are reading, and why they enjoy the material. I appreciate being listened to and allowing me to hear, in a companion, what the heart is thinking. It is that sharing and being transparent with each other that I long for in a relationship.

My marriage of 31 years ended over six years ago. It had been rocky and sometimes lonely, almost from the beginning, though it took me decades to realize why. I met my husband at church and married after four years of dating. I had just turned 19. My husband finally revealed that he was not Christian and did not want a Christian wife. He wanted a wife to be open minded about the origins and nature of Truth. I think the journey our family took to become Reformed excelerated the process. In our mostly evangelical churches, no one challenged his faith, but in the Reformed Bible studies and church sermons (which he continued to attend almost to the end), he was confronted with expository teaching that he found increasingly uncomfortable. We had Biblical counseling and he said he just wanted me to change my beliefs. Later I realized that the philosophy my former husband espoused was postmodernity. He now infrequently attends a unitarian house. Jay Adams' book on Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage helped me understand that while I would never leave, I could allow him to leave if he didn't want me anymore.

I am a strong woman, but I am learning that I don't have to say everything that I am thinking or feeling. This experience has clarified life's priorities for me, and I try not to sweat the little stuff. I want to focus on pleasing, not myself, but others. Going through the divorce brought me to absolute dependence on my Lord. I feel that my life has purpose, not in a career, but in that I belong to Him, who bought me with HIs blood. My life must please HIm, not me, and everything I have is a gift from God.

After the divorce, I went back to school for a masters and a doctorate in nursing. I am now a family nurse practitioner and have worked in a private primary care practice and in a Christian community pregnancy center. I now teach nursing in a community college. I am also opening my own little practice to take care of my church community, especially those who do not have insurance. I love this work.

It is interesting because I am a strong supporter of women being keepers at home and not 'career women'. I think longingly of those happy times homeschooling my four children. But God providentially allowed me to be at home when the children needed me. I am thankful that He has provided a way to pay my bills that I can really dig into and enjoy.

Leisure time? What's that? I threw my self into school and work after being a stay at home mom for all those years. I still enjoy reading, needlework of various kinds, baking, watching old movies when I have time and entertaining.

I usually make dinner for a crowd after church on Sundays. We have quite a few young (and older) singles in our congregation and I try to provide a home cooked meal, a mom's ear and helpful advice for these people without other close family members. That is often my only leisure during the week.

I was born in Chicago and have lived in Michigan and Missouri as a child and Wisconsin, Minnesota,Georgia, Florida and California as an adult. I have had the pleasure of travel to Canada, Mexico, England (twice) (London and the Cotswolds), Paris (twice), Switzerland, and Malta, where my oldest son worked for a year.

I love travel but am really a home body. I love a quiet evening at home with dinner and good conversation.