About Janel

Writing about yourself is a scary thing. How honest do you
really want to be and how close to reality is your view?

If you just want the facts and only the facts, here they are: I am a wife, homeschooling mom of 4, piano playing homemaker who loves to sew, reader, mentor, editor, speaker and author but most importantly, I'm a passionate godly woman serving the Lord since I was a young girl. That keeps me busy and my life full. I like it.

"Godly? How can she call herself godly? Isn't that pretty brazen?" you might ponder for half a split second. If it makes you feel better, I struggled with calling myself godly for awhile too. Then I looked up the definition in Webster's 1828:

GOD'LY, a. Living in obedience to God's commands, from a principle of love to him and reverence of his character and precepts; religious; righteous; as a godly person.

That's definitely my life! I seek to follow the Lord where he leads because I love him and I know he has my best interest at heart - even in tough times. Lord knows where I've followed even though I didn't want to, yet knew it was best. The more I know, the deeper our relationship grows. I can't say I'm perfect in obeying what God wants all the time, but I'm habitually and consciously trying to choose his commands over my will. So there you go, I'm a passionate godly woman who aspires to be all I can be.

I love to learn, laugh and I'm never satisfied until I understand life just a little bit better. My heart is seaside and my creativity never sleeps. I long to return to a simpler day when being a woman embodied so much more... Where homemaking was an art and women pleasantly chatted over the back fence while hanging out laundry. I love this Tasha Tudor quote:

"Whenever I get one of those questionnaires and they ask what is your profession, I always put down housewife. It’s an admirable profession, why apologize for it? You aren’t stupid because you’re a housewife. When you’re stirring the jam you can read Shakespeare." [from The Private World of Tasha Tudor]

So true.

God didn't make women less than men. He made them different. Both are equally loved and have equal worth in their responsibilities, they just have different things to do. Nobody questions that most 5 star chefs don't have the talent, training or desire to do brain surgery. But yet, society wants men and women to exchange their God given talents and responsibilities for what equals a similarly preposterous situation.

Rich and I I have interests too numerous to mention and passions too great to conceal. Some of my numerous interests are baking, scrapbooking, beading, papermaking, watching good dress movies & chick flicks, yard sale-ing for potential treasures, tea parties, hats, writing letters with old fashioned dip pen, ink & sealing wax, reading past issues of Victoria Magazine with my daughter or by myself, sitting by the ocean and hiking in the mountains looking for water falls, to name a few.

My passions? After prayer and musical worship, the discipleship and mentoring of God's women! I long to see women come to know the Lord better. After leading people into the presence of God during musical worship, growing believers is the desire of my heart. I have an earnest desire to help them understand and embrace God's plan for their lives and know God better. I ache to see them set free from past pains and live with joy. I love to see them bloom where they are planted.

As for the rest of my life, it's taken up by five very special people and a handful or two of others dear to me. Before any other earthly pursuit, I'm the wife of Rich and mom to Josh, Ben, Christopher and Ariana. Anything else leaves me wanting.

My hubby is a handsome gent with the most captivating blue eyes. He's a wonderful blend of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightly. What more could a woman want? (Did I mention I like Jane Austen in almost any form?) On a sunny afternoon over tea, I might tell you of our own little Pride and Prejudice saga and how God worked through it - but the names and places would have to be changed to protect the guilty.

Easter 2008 I could write heaps and volumes about our munchkins so I'll leave it that we are second generation home educators who are effectively learning to apply The Principle Approach. I loved the freedom homeschooling brought me years ago. And our older boys are just now realizing what it means to them.

It was sharing a bedroom with my grandma after my grandfather died that I first remember learning the Lord’s Prayer and 23rd Psalm before falling asleep at night. Although God has always been a part of my life, I didn't understand the impact of accepting Jesus during Vacation Bible School at age 5 until 1998, after I started the Christian Woman's Page. My journey with Jesus is the fodder I speak, write, mentor and disciple about. God is good. Keep your eyes open and you'll know more than you ever wanted to know about me.

As for fancy scm'ancy degrees, I'm a Naturopathic Doctor by education and have my honorary spiritual Ph.D. in Trial and Prayer. (I joke about the Ph.D., but it feels like it!) Several years ago God showed me that spiritual hearts are far more important than physical ones, so I focus there first. Just don't think I'm afraid to talk about vegetables or the benefits of Echinacea. Because my mission is to engage, inspire and motivate growth in women and their families, I use whatever wisdom God has given me to accomplish that.

We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it, than we do from learning the answer itself.
Lloyd Alexander