It was September 2010 as I stood in the middle of our tiny apartment. We hadn’t planned on a baby, but I was holding a positive test. Before breakfast we were twenty-something’s living life in a big city. After breakfast we were planning our new path as parents. Fast-forward a few weeks. Our 8-week checkup was off. Something wasn’t right with the size. “Go home and come back in two weeks for another ultrasound.” And two …
There was a couple in our church that were barren. I don’t know the medical reasons for it – I just remember watching their struggle to conceive. I remember how as a church we rallied around them; how we stood with them as they responded to altar call after altar call praying for a miracle. Every time another round of IVF failed, we built them up with our words and prayers of encouragement. Every time …
Art and creative expression has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. But for the last 20 years, in between raising my four children, I have been painting and exhibiting as a visual artist. My art is intentional. I definitely have an agenda. I want to make people feel good. It’s not complicated, I want to release peace, joy, love, into people’s lives through art. There is a world …
My heart has always been moved by injustice. As a teenager I would spend hours reading autobiographies. Through tears, I found myself totally immersed in stories of real women like Ann Frank and Connie Ten Boom. They faced the most horrific of circumstances but remained faithful to God, courageous and strong. I was captivated by their example. Their stories, and some tough experiences in my own childhood shaped a strong sense of compassion and empathy …
I had never experienced the ‘glass ceiling’ until I moved to Australia 15 years ago. Growing up in Brazil I always believed that anything was possible for me. My parents were my greatest encouragers. From an early age they taught me that no matter whether I was a man or a woman, I could achieve anything that I put my mind to and our Catholic belief system reinforced the notion that hard work and success …
