How my journey with Jesus began…
As a very young child I had experienced a lot of pain, damage & uncertainty. My mother & birth father had separated, as my birth father was a heroin addict. There were many people around me from a young age who were emotionally abusive & physically aggressive.
The first 4 years of my life were filled with unexpected difficulty & trauma, but it was also one of the most pivotal points of my life. At the young age of 4 years old, my mother told me about Jesus & as a result of this conversation, I asked Jesus to come into my heart & I felt so much peace and love, as I could see a face that was smiling at me, without any hate or anger.
I heard His voice speaking to me about how loved I was, & that even though He hated the things the people around me were doing,
He loved them, that one day He would use me to help people just like them. The voice & the love I experienced that night never left me. I loved Jesus, getting baptized later in my childhood, while there was still much pain & turmoil in my life.
Sadly, at 14 years of age I was experiencing severe bullying, had experienced sexual abuse from family ‘friends’ & I became involved with drugs, crime, drinking & found my life rapidly spiraling out of control on every level.
By 16 I became homeless, & many terrible things happened in those days, but Jesus was still there with me, speaking to me, no matter how deep into the pit of darkness I fell.
By 17, my life was a mess, but God still protected me, stopping me once from getting into the car of a now convicted serial killer, & telling me how to get out of a situation where a man connected with the mafia had driven me to a reserve to physically violate and kill me.
Though God had saved me many times from death, at this young age I was tired & felt completely hopeless. I believed there was no other way out of the pain & mess other than to take my own life.
One day I felt an overwhelming push to end it, but moments after I attempted to take my life a family member found me, an ambulance was called, & against my will I was taken to hospital with a police escort for a psychiatric assessment.
What happened next was the beginning of the end of the life I had been living.
At this point in my life I realized that God was keeping me alive. I felt that if I tried to take my life again, He would save me, & in desperation I began to cry to God each day.
“Please, kill me or change me, because I can’t be this person anymore.”
I was still drinking & taking drugs but found they weren’t working anymore. I would even take twice the dose of those around me & still stay sober.
One day, after months of trying to overdose but still praying “Change me or kill me” I felt what I can only describe as a lightning bolt hitting me. I heard that voice speak to me again “You are no longer addicted.” And in a few powerful seconds God had set me free instantly & completely- no withdrawals, no cravings.
I was free from addiction and immoral living, & I walked away from a pending prison sentence which was a miracle.
I gave my life over fully to Jesus He wiped my record clean. I was 18 years old and finally set free, now living as a follower of Christ.
My life completely turned around in 1999 and since then I have had a burning passion & desire to see people
set free and reunited with our Heavenly Father’s heart.
I published my testimony as a book ‘Beauty for Ashes’ available for purchase here.
I have also had the privilege of ministering to many young women in addictions and bondage, & to believers & non-believers through words of knowledge and prophetic ministry.
God has used my story to set others free from addiction & bondage, and for this I give Him all the praise, thanks, the honor and the glory!
In 2006 I met my husband Stuart, & in our 15 years of marriage we have had 8 children together, built several businesses, served God together, and relocated from Australia with our 9 children to Dallas, Texas where we currently reside.
I am involved in ministry & marketplace, & we have found a wonderful church community, serving in different place in the Body.
I love sharing the goodness of God with anyone who I have opportunity to. His faithfulness never ends!
At the beginning of my spirit filled life with Jesus He led me to a verse in the Bible which has since become my life’s vision- Isaiah 61. He will give us BEAUTY FOR ASHES!
If you would like to connect please go to the Contact Me page here.
