Welcome to MyOrthodoxFamily.com! Tell us who you are.
I am an Orthodox Christian wife to a professor, stepmother to a wonderful 18 year old, and mother to 2 sweet girls. I typically spend my days caring for my children, cooking endless meals, and very VERY occasionally cleaning. I am a night owl, a baker, and I love board games and dinner parties. I attempt to use my artistic abilities to bring beauty and light to the world, and to point people towards the Creator of it all. It is in that spirit that I co-own @draw.near.designs, where we create educational resources for Orthodox Christians (this endeavor has become a huge part of my life), and I also do freelance illustration and design projects. It’s a beautiful life, and I savor every busy, messy, beautiful, humbling minute of these happy, golden years.
What do you most enjoy sharing? What do you feel most called to share?
I most enjoy sharing food, my home/fellowship, and my time. I love to make meals for people, and welcome people into my little home. In a more public way, I feel called to use my art to share a message of joy and beauty and the richness of the Orthodox faith. I feel like I have a lot of love in my heart and I want to share it however I can.
The world of social media is complex. What do you see as difficult and as redemptive about sharing your journey in this way?
For me personally, the most challenging part is not getting distracted from real life that is happening right now around me. What I LOVE about social media is making connections with kindred spirits that I never would have met otherwise, and keeping up with old friends. I am all about connections with other people, so social media is something that brings me a lot of joy in that way.
What is your earliest, distinctly Orthodox memory?
I am cradle Orthodox (my parents converted in their teens/20s), and so I’m not really sure what my earliest memory is. Maybe my Godmother letting me have a tictac after communion (something I always looked forward to as a very small child, haha!)? Orthodoxy has always been woven into every part of my life.
What do you hope will be the mark you leave on the world as you pass through it?
I hope to raise Godly children, and that maybe the work I am doing will point others to Christ as well. I hope people will remember me as someone who loved deeply, cared about people, and showed the love of God to others. Most of the time I feel like I am failing miserably at all that, but every day I try again.
My Orthodox Family 