Church affiliation and salvation

My husband and I are active members of Lighthouse Baptist Church in La Verne, California, where Brian Dunlop is serving as pastor. Lighthouse Baptist Church is a growing, active body of believers who are committed to the fundamentals of the faith and the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. Both my husband and I were raised in committed Christian homes and personally trusted the Lord as our Savior when we were 5 and 6 years old.

Husband

My husband and I have been married for 38 years. Tom is very active in church ministries, serving as a deacon, choir director, and adult Bible teacher. He teaches Bible classes for Pacific Baptist Bible College and is thoroughly enjoying teaching Bible students. Tom is a terrific Bible scholar and teacher and has a heart to simply serve and assist his church and pastor in whatever area there is a need. Tom has retired after a successful career as an executive and program manager with Raytheon Corporation here in Southern California.

Children

Tom and I have two children. Our son, Thomas, is 37, married, with five small children. He is an evangelist and travels with his wife Martha and the children. Martha is a talented musician and registered nurse. She is also a devoted wife and mother who has set aside her nursing career in order to raise her children. Martha keeps quite busy home-schooling the children and supporting her husband in ministry. Our daughter Michelle is 35 and is married to Lee Brock. Michelle became a full-time mother and homemaker with the birth of their first child after having been an English and Special Ed professor at Maranatha Baptist College in Wisconsin. She just finished her first book called "What Is Modesty?" which we believe is the best available on the subject! Lee and Michelle have three children and live in Alamogordo, New Mexico, where Lee is serving as a pediatrician for the Air Force. Michelle and Lee stay actively involved in their local church.

Teaching Experience

The Lord has graciously allowed me to teach various ladies' Bible classes and given speaking opportunities with ladies' groups over the past 30 years. After being a full time homemaker and home-schooling our children through high school, I returned to college along with the kids and eventually decided the Lord was leading me to give myself full time in ministry rather than seek career opportunities. Besides retreats and special ladies’ meetings, I have enjoyed teaching ladies' soul winning and visitation, Christian parenting classes, various Bible studies and ladies' Sunday school classes. I began writing Bible studies for my ladies' class about 20 years ago and began reformatting the materials into Bible study books which have become a helpful tool in counseling and mentoring women. I teach seminars on the material in these books and enjoy speaking at various conferences throughout the states. My greatest burden is for the problems Christian women face today, and my greatest love is ministering to women who have a heart for their family and children.

Biblical Counseling

The Lord has given me the marvelous opportunity of developing a ladies' Biblical counseling ministry for Christian women in the Los Angeles area through my local church. I began counseling women over 20 years ago and presently hold two certifications as a biblical counselor. My classroom work and in-service practicum was in the masters level curriculum of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation in conjunction with the faculty and counseling department of Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. I am presently involved in serving as a staff counselor and school guidance counselor for Lighthouse Baptist Church and Christian School and teach a ladies’ Bible class during the Sunday school hour at Lighthouse.

Counseling seminars

As the ladies’ counseling ministry became increasingly busy, it became apparent that pastor's wives and women in ministry were needing training that would enable them to share in the burden and need for women counselors. The Lord led my friend and I to begin praying and seeking His will and direction in this matter. Soon after, we began a one on one tutoring program at the church location but soon became overwhelmed with the number of women seeking help and training. This prompted Mrs. Betty Brock and I to begin organizing a counseling seminar that was designed to meet this need. Much to our surprise, the one time seminar touched such a great need in the hearts of many women that it has become a yearly event for the past ten years. We now do a basic counseling seminar each fall and an advanced seminar each January at Ironwood Christian Camp in Newberry Springs, California, as well as Camp CoBeAc in Michigan, Asia and Europe. The "Women Counseling Women" seminars are designed to teach pastor's wives, missionary wives, and women in ministry how to apply Biblical principles to women's problems in practical ways and counsel effectively. God has been blessing this ministry tremendously and is graciously giving much fruit from it.

Books and counseling materials

Presently, we are continuing to seek the Lord’s direction and are working on developing materials for women who counsel and disciple others. The Lord has mercifully blessed our efforts to serve Him and minister to others by providing needed resources and materials through Iron Sharpeneth Iron Publishing.

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