Once upon a time
There was a woman. She was blessed with five children. Life was good, until it wasn’t. In 2014, she suffered forty panic attacks in two weeks. She was a woman of faith and prayed to the Lord to bring her relief, as her life was becoming unmanageable. Each morning she woke up, she put her feet on the floor, and tried again. Time after time, her body would not cooperate and went into uncontrolled panic. Her heart raced. She had difficulty breathing. Her palms dripped with sweat. She felt faint, nautious, and that death was coming for her. Filled with fear, shame, and sadness, she begged the Lord to heal her.
Panic was not unfamiliar to her. During her freshman year at college, panic found her and now twenty-one years later, it hadn’t let go. Disappointed in herself, she reluctantly walked into her doctor’s office and said, “I need help, I can’t pray this panic away.” Completely exhausted, she hesitated, but agreed to taking medication. What else was she to do? She was responsible for her five children’s daily needs and like many women, numerous additional duties, expectations, and roles that she could only fill. She intuitively knew there was a deeper reason that her body was not well. She was also aware that although the medication relieved the symptoms, it was just a Band-aid. Her body was screaming that there was something wrong. She swallowed her medication and continued to pray that one day, God would heal her.
The year passed and it was January 2015. She and her husband were to attend a marriage conference for the weekend. During that conference, she learned that the main speaker has also suffered intractable panic attacks. He offered that they occurred just prior to a significant spiritual break through he experienced. He went on to say that this can be a common phenomenon for others. Her mind raced, thinking about her own two weeks of intractable panic. She wondered if this man’s experience could somehow help her?
As only God can do, he did have a plan for her. Over the years, he heard her prayers and intended for her to be healed that day. She received prayer ministry with deliverance and the root to her panic was spiritually removed from her physical body. The root wound’s name was “Abandonment”.
And since that day, she has not needed medication. She was healed by the Holy Spirit.
I am the woman in this story.
In 2015, I didn’t know that this was just the beginning of my healing journey…
And now I’m being called to accompany you on yours.
One of the main things I have learned along the way is that we are in a battle.
A battle between good and evil.
It is as simple as that.
Scripture provides the solution.
It informs us to draw strength from the Lord, encourages us to stand firm, to resist evil put on the Armor of God and instructs us to pray.
Ephesians
6:10-18
“Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.”
Why work with me?
Accompanying women is my mission.
Over time there has been a growing desire in my heart to accompany women on their journeys of growth and healing. My life has been the training ground for this now God-given mission.
I have a unique background and experience that I will bring as your coach. My education began with psychology, and led to nursing. I have over 25 years of experience working with people. Motherhood is my greatest success as I have raised five great kids, ages 14-20 and I have been married for 27 years.
Over the years, I have developed a particular way of listening to the spoken word that allows me bring clarity and make connections between things that you may not be aware of. Working together we will move obstacles and truth will be revealed.
You are not meant to travel this journey alone. It is a lot of work and requires perseverance. There will be times that you will want to quit before the Lord is done. This is where coaching comes in, to encourage you to keep going.
I have been on the journey for quite some time. I know how challenging it can be. I have dealt with (and continue to deal with) my own trauma, pain, woundedness, fears, lies and beliefs. This is the journey of life.
Together we will sit down and I will listen to your story. We will develop your plan of growth and healing that is tailored to your pace and comfort level. Over a few sessions, you will be empowered to live from the truth and start living the story you desire.
“We love because he first loved us.”
~1 John 4:19
Why is the ministry named
Arise AND STAND?
Over the past few years, I have felt the Holy Spirit inspiring me to start a ministry that accompanies women on their journey of growth and healing. I had no idea that he was “literally” using my life as a training ground for the ministries development.
In the summer of 2023, I was serving at our parishes Extreme Faith Camp(EFC), a summer camp for youth. The theme for camp was “ARISE - Rise Up And Stand Upon Your Feet” from Acts 26:16. While there, I had a profound knowing that Jesus was calling me to “officially start” this ministry. One problem. He had not given me the ministries name. After camp, I came home and started the process of praying for the name.
Once a week, I get together with five dear friends to pray the Our Lady of Sorrows Rosary. One day, I asked them if they would ask the Lord to give me a name for the ministry. They said, “we don’t have to pray for it, it is right there on the shirt your shirt!” I happened to be wearing my ARISE camp tee shirt. They said, “Arise!” I smiled and thought that is a great name! I took their suggestion to prayer.
Here is the shirt.
Four months later, October 2023, I had signed up to go on a silent retreat with my parish. This was not my first silent retreat. But, it was different than all of the other silent retreats that I had been on. Our pastor decided, rather than preaching over the course of the next three days, chose to left the retreat to the power of the Holy Spirit. He told us that he preselected the scriptures in advance of the weekend. Preselected scriptures? I thought, how is this going to work? The Gospels of Mark and Luke and confirmed the name of the ministry suggested four months prior.
Can you see God at work?
Mark 10:46-52
Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
Bartimaeus, a blind man, sat by the roadside begging. As he cried out to Jesus.
“Take heart; rise, he is calling you.”
And throwing off his cloak he sprang up and came to Jesus.
Luke 15:11-32
The Parable of the Prodigal And His Brother
“I will arise and go to my father…”
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion…”
Mark 2:1-12
Jesus Heals a Paralytic.
“… rise take up your pallet and walk?”
“I say to you, rise take up your pallet and go home.”
And he rose, and immediately took cup the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed…
Luke 24:1-12
The Resurrection of Jesus
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
“Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise.”
“But Peter rose and ran to the tomb…”
Over the course of three days of prayer, he provided the word “Arise” or a form of the word, ten times! After four months, I had the name.
The second half of the name, “AND STAND” came after the retreat. He showed me during prayer, with images, my weakest moments and I was not standing up. God affirmed that my mission is to accompany all the women he sends to Arise AND STAND. And this mission has become one of the purposes of my life.
