Jan Ross (Willard, Ohio)

Jan Ross and her husband of 38 years have six adult children and fourteen incredible grandchildren. In an answer to God’s call, Jan is an ordained minister and in her local church; she ministers to women’s groups and organizations yet has been known to fly across the country to minister to one person in need. She is the president and co-founder of Heart of God International Ministries (www.heartofgodinternational.com) through which she has had the incredibly unique opportunity to travel as a missionary, sharing the message of Jesus Christ in remote tribal villages where the name of Jesus had never been heard. As a published author, public speaker, and Bible teacher, Jan’s passion to encourage and build up the Body of Christ becomes obvious while she uses her life experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother, missionary, and adoptee to touch the hearts of ordinary people with the love, acceptance, and approval of an extraordinary God. Jan is the co-author of Women of Passions and has had several stories and articles published in anthologies and various magazines. She writes "Today's Devotion" which is sent by email each day to thousands of readers; to subscribe, send a blank email to devotions-subscribe@heartofgodinternational.com.  

Jeanice McDade (Mahomet, Illinois)

Jeanice is blessed to be a mother of four, a freelance writer and short term missionary. Her calling to her family is her most important ministry. Having been a founding board member for CASA and a board member of Caring Counseling Ministries, Jeanice has been active both in community and Church arenas. She holds a certificate in Missions from Commit and Gateway Ministries, a Christian counseling certificate from AACC and a lay ministers certificate (level 1 and 2) in Women’s Ministries. Jeanice uses her God-given gifts both domestically and internationally as she designs and implements women’s and children’s programs for various ministries and in the mission field.  Jeanice is a co-founder and Board member of Heart of God International Ministries where her gifts of encouragement and compassion are utilized to edify the Body of Christ.  Currently serving as Senior Editor for JournEzine, Jeanice helps to reach many through the written word as an avenue for other believers to use their gifts, as God has called them to do.  Jeanice is available to help develop programs in your Church or ministry.
  

Julie Arduini (Boardman, Ohio)

Julie is a graduate of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild (CWG). She is the facilitator of the CWG Forum’s Missing Pages Book Club and the Sunday mom blogger for the Day in the Life Series associated with the forum’s blog. She is a member of FaithWriters and recently placed in the Editor’s Choice for publication. Another tentative publication is her contribution to Peculiar People’s Postcard Project. Julie is featured in Kathy Vick’s 2009 gift book release by Howard/Simon and Schuster called Run Like a Girl. She is also a team blogger for www.thenarrowgateinvites.blogspot.com and maintains her own blog, where she encourages women with the written word at www.thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children. 

Yvonne Blake (Searsport, Maine)

Yvonne lives in Searsport, on the rocky coast of Maine. She and her husband have enjoyed thirty years of marriage and launched the last of their eight children into college. Their family is very active in the Lighthouse Bible Church, singing, teaching, piano playing, preaching and serving the Lord. Yvonne home-schooled for five years and also taught at Evangel Baptist Academy for twelve more years. She is a member of Christian Writer’s Guild and is now pursuing her dream of becoming a published writer. She is hoping to share some of her experiences and to encourage young parents in her upcoming book, Upside Down Parenting. Much of her work can be seen at the website www.faithwriters.com. To contact Yvonne, please email her at yvonblake@hotmail.com.  

Shellie Creasy (Palm Harbor, Florida)

Shellie is married and the mother of four children. As a licensed minister, Shellie and her husband have pastored the Crossroads Chapel (www.crossroadscogop.com) in Palm Harbor, Florida, since 1993. Shellie is a member of the State Women's Committee for the Church of God of Prophecy in Florida. In addition to pastoring, Shellie is involved in homeless, prison and children's ministries, and teaches sixth grade at Oldsmar Christian School. Shellie is currently working on her Bachelor's Degree in Bible and Theology at Faith Christian University. She speaks at other churches and ladies ministries throughout the state of Florida. Her goal is to eventually become a full-time author. Shellie would love to hear from you; she can be contacted at sheshe40272@yahoo.com.  

Laurie Glass (Viroqua, Wisconsin)

Laurie has a Christian Counseling degree. Her passion is to share a message of hope and healing with those who suffer from eating disorders and other bondage issues. Her website, Freedom From Eating Disorders (www.freedomfromed.com), offers spiritual encouragement, free downloads, recovery stories, e-books containing poems and note cards, and more.   

Bonnie Grove (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)

Bonnie is an innovative thinker, writer, and speaker. Passionate about people, she imparts a clear message of empowerment, hope, strengths, and the fullness of life found in Christ. Bonnie has training both in Christian Counseling and secular psychology. She has developed and written several social programs currently in use throughout Alberta. Bonnie‟s book, Living Out of Your Strengths (working title), will be published by Beacon Hill Press March 1, 2009. She is currently at work on her second novel, based on her beloved short story The Stuckville Café. Bonnie lives with her husband, Steve, a pastor, and their two young children in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Visit Bonnie at her website: www.bonniegrove.com.  

Krysten Lindsay Hager (The Azores in Portugal)

Krysten is a freelance journalist and writer who has published fiction in New Works Review, The Academy, and the University of Michigan-Flint’s literary magazine, The Qua. She has been a regular contributor for the Grand Blanc View, the Burton View, and The Michigan Times newspapers. Her work has also appeared in: Natural Awakenings, Chronicles of Power, One Upon a Time magazine, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators newsletters in Michigan, Minnesota and the Dakotas. She has received honorable mentions in Byline magazine for fiction and features, and received an honorable mention in Writer’s Digest’s Writing Competition. She won the Deadwood Arts Council “People’s Choice Award” for best short story in 2007. She is married and has lived in Michigan and South Dakota. She has a Master’s Degree from the University of Michigan-Flint. Read her work at: www.myspace.com/krystenlindsayhager.   

Kandy Crosby-Hastings (Salina, Kansas)

Kandy is a homeschooling/unschooling mom of two sons: Taliesin, age five, and Nathanael, age three. She is happily married to Kelsey. She is also a full-time student through Liberty University's distance learning program, majoring in Religious Studies. She plans to pursue a master's and doctorate in Theology upon completion of her bachelor's degree. Kandy’s goal is to continue in her writing career and to begin lecturing at universities about theology and apologetics. Currently, she is working on a book disputing such ideas as the Gnostic Gospels, the idea that early scribes altered scripture to fulfill their own agenda, and ideas such as those presented in The DaVinci Code. She is also founder of A Walk in the Park Unschooling Group in Salina, Kansas. http://awalkintheparkunschoolinggroup.bravehost.com.  

Holly Hrywnak (Corning, New York)

Holly is a 23-year-old who enjoys life’s simple pleasures, like romping through mud puddles, the smell of autumn and a good cup of coffee. Follow some of her adventures, thoughts and photos at www.xanga.com/dorothyisinkansas.  

Shelley Karja (Maple Lake, Minnesota)

Shelley and her husband Brad have five children between the ages of 17 and 25; they live in Maple Lake, Minnesota. Shelley enjoys boating and water skiing in the summers, and ice skating and cross-country skiing in the winters. Shelley has lived in Minnesota all her life and loves the changing of seasons. Shelley and her husband are very active in their church and both love the Lord with all their hearts. She is involved with the woman’s ministry and designs the newsletter, and is also involved in Bible studies. Shelley is currently working on a book of short stories and some poetry. She hopes to continue writing in the direction that the Lord leads her. 

Christal Keith (Houston, Texas)

Christal is a young Christian writer who enjoys writing short fictional stories and poems that focus on the Father's heart toward His daughters. She has just completed her first novel, Daze of Grace, and it can be purchased at http://stores.lulu.com/jemine77.  

Tammy Smith Lytle (Augusta, Georgia)

Tammy is a wife and mother of two daughters. Her heart is for women and children, as she is currently working with her local church in the Mother's Day Out Program. She is afforded a most precious opportunity to minister to children during their time of play by teaching them about Jesus. Tammy and her family live near Augusta, Georgia. Tammy's talents include art/drawing, poetry and worshipping the Lord as she stands in awe of His work in her life. 

Dana Marie (Greenbrier, Tennessee)

Dana is a self-employed mother of two little boys and, at the time of publication, mother-to-be of another little guy named Ethan. Although she works hard as a medical transcriptionist, she has recently developed a passion for photography. She has begun a side business doing freelance photography with emphasis on children in natural settings. Samples of her photography can be seen at http://thirdwishphoto.com. Dana is the second youngest daughter of author, Jan Ross. 

Deborah Ott (Willard, Ohio)

Debbie resides in Ohio and has been married eleven years to Mark, an awesome, hardworking man. She is a homeschooling mom to five incredible children. Keeping Christ the center of her home and serving others are Debbie's greatest passions. Along with being a helpmeet and mother, she also enjoys gardening, cooking, farming, reading, beekeeping and raising dairy animals. Her pets include two very proficient mom cats, a St. Bernard and two cattle dogs. And amongst the barnyard are two favorites...a milk cow named Annabelle and a smelly billy goat named Fred. 

Dixie Phillips (Floyd, Iowa)

Dixie is a pastor's wife of 30 years, mother of four grown children and a ghostwriter. You can find out more about the ministry she and her husband Paul are involved in at www.floydlighthouse.com.  She loves tea parties with her girlfriends and adheres to the philosophy:  “When women have tea, a marriage is saved.” She has a genuine love for people and would love to hear from you. Phillips4Him@omnitelcom.com  

 Laura Shaw (Plano, Texas)

Laura is a wife and mommy of three. She is the founder of lovinthearts.com, a web ministry committed to encouraging and strengthening the faith walks of believers. Her ministry passions include writing, leading kids’ praise and worship, and discipling Christian women. Laura can be contacted through her website: http://www.lovinthearts.com.  

Joanne Sher (Alto, Michigan)

Joanne was raised in the Jewish faith and came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in her 30's. Her husband Marc, also a Jew who came to Jesus, is currently on disability due to a brain tumor and assorted complications. Joanne, a "sometimes freelance writer," is working (off and on) on a book about God's presence during their health trials; she is also working on a Biblical fiction book about Michal, Saul's daughter and David's first wife. The Shers live in West Michigan with their two children: Andrew, 7, and Annika, 4. Much of her work can be seen at the website www.faithwriters.com.  

Martha Hubbard Smith (Cornelia, Georgia)

As a former teacher, counselor of children in trauma and hospital chaplain, Martha is first and foremost an encourager to the body of Christ. Even though Martha earned a B.A. degree and Master of Divinity degree, she is a learner, always desiring to draw closer to the Lord through His Word and prayer and through the counsel of good teachers of the Word. Martha and her husband, George, have been married for 37 years; they have one daughter and enjoy two granddaughters. She enjoys playing the piano and writing about life in the very middle of chaos with Christ, whom she knows intimately as her Peacemaker. Martha has rheumatoid arthritis and other medical problems; she is in a wheelchair. Recently, she was diagnosed with neuro-endocrine carcinoid cancer. Martha does not deny the doctor's report, but looks to the Great Physician as her Peace and Restorer in all things. 

Maria Spencer (Poland, Ohio)

Maria and her family reside in Poland, Ohio. She and her husband Michael are the parents of two, Jonah and Olivia. Olivia is a person with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Because of her experiences with Olivia, Maria provides parent-to-parent support for families involved in her local early intervention program. Her gift for writing has come directly from the Lord since Olivia’s diagnosis. She writes a monthly column entitled, Special Parents, Special Kids for the Mahoning Valley Parent magazine in Ohio; and has expanded into Parent magazines in parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. She is also a contributing author at www.mommiesmagazine.com and writes a weekly blog at www.thenarrowgateinvites.blogspot.com. Maria is very passionate about getting the word out to special parents that they are not alone in their journey of raising their special child; and that they were chosen by God to parent their children. She welcomes comments and questions at sri19952000@yahoo.com.  

Mid Stutsman (Goshen, Indiana) 

Mid Stutsman is a Christian believer who, just as King David in Psalm 42:1, has a heart which thirsts after the Living God. She is a full-time wife, mother and nana, with twelve living children and nine grandchildren. Her heart and passion is writing to bring glory to the Lord and to bless His Body. She has written several poetry and short story collections. She has finished one novel, The Faeren Lands, which she hopes to have published soon, and has three other novels in various stages of completion. In 2003, she wrote Arcelia, which won a children's short story contest. Her entry, Shavings, was chosen as the FaithWriters’ Best of the Best winner for 2007.  You can view Mid’s artwork and writings on her website, Mid’s~Point Artisan Gallery: http://midspoint.com and contact her at midspoint@hotmail.com.  

Lydia Nicole Thornton (Danville, Kentucky)

Lydia is the oldest granddaughter of Jan Ross. Lydia attends Danville High School in Danville, Kentucky, and is active in her youth group at Danville Church of God. Lydia’s story is still very real to her as the first anniversary of the tragic accident has just passed. Her deepest prayer, however, is that through her personal tragedy, others will see the power of her Lord Jesus Christ at work in her life and in the lives of all those involved. Lydia is not ashamed to tell you she loves the Lord and is alive today because of His mercy toward her. Lydia can be contacted through her parents at d4ton@bellsouth.net.  

Terri Tiffany (Clermont, Florida)

Terri earned her B.A. in Psychology and counseled adults for almost twenty years. After co-owning a Christian bookstore as a ministry, she relocated to Florida where she resides with her husband. Her stories have been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Hearts at Home, Purpose, and numerous anthologies and Christian publications. She would love to hear how God blesses you each day. Please email Terri at talker445@yahoo.com.  

Faith Bigelow Walker (Bush, Louisiana)

Parenting involves "child" training on many levels. Faith admits that God has been training her, the parent, over the childrearing years, as much as she has been training her own children. There have been many hills and valleys as they have grown as a family of faith. God has taught each of them about His marvelous grace and His supernatural ability to restore all things. Though each member of Faith’s family supports her writing and the sharing of the family's faith journey, she has elected to write under a pen name--Faith Bigelow Walker--and to use fictitious names for family members, as well, in order to preserve and protect the beautiful work in progress in her family. “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8 NKJV)  Please email “Faith Bigelow Walker” at afaithwriter@bellsouth.net.  

Karen Myers Wilber (St. Petersburg, Florida)

Karen lives in the Tampa Bay area with her husband and their two active boys. She is a former elementary school teacher, librarian and corporate trainer. Karen completed her MA in Biblical Studies from St. Petersburg Theological Seminary with a thesis entitled The Character of God in the Book of Ruth: Traditional Rabbinic and Current Evangelical Interpretations. She has a love of storytelling, particularly stories of faith. Karen enjoys reading to her kids, playing outside and occasional uninterrupted conversations with her husband. Contact Karen at karen.wilber@gmail.com.  
 

It all began in 2003 when the hearts of two ordinary women sharing the same passion met on the internet.  From there the ministry has grown, reaching the nations with the message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Messiah.  Jan Ross and Jeanice McDade have watched as their dreams became reality, a reality that continues to grow every day.  With chapters in Kenya, India, and Uganda, and with a new School of Ministry in India, Heart of God International Ministries continues to spread as the fires of evangelism burn with increasing fervency through ministry leaders in each partner nation.  Jan and Jeanice are available to minister to your church, group, or organization, share experiences from the mission field.