Anna is one of our Study Together women’s Bible study leaders, and we’re grateful she took time to give us this interview!
Where do you live and what community group do you attend?
We now live in Chadds Ford, but for the first 13 years that we attended Covenant, we lived in North East, MD. What used to be a 45 minute (one way) commute is now an 8-minute commute, which is sweet! We attend the Culley community group, an awesome group!
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Perryville, MD. Part of me, especially the part that loves crab cakes, will always be a Maryland girl at heart.
When and how did you start coming to Covenant Fellowship Church?
When we were looking for a new church, we lived equal distance between Covenant and the Sovereign Grace church in Joppa, MD (which I and my family had attended when I was a teen.) We decided on Covenant because my husband’s brother and sister were attending here at that time.
Tell us about your family.
I have been married for 21 years to a truly wonderful man named Chris. We have a daughter, Victoria, who is a college student and a son, Hunter, who just graduated high school.
Do you have an interesting family tradition?
When I was a girl, my dad started doing what he called The Blessings Book with my family. At the end of every year, we would gather as a family and he would write down all of the blessings we could remember from that year. We would also read over some of the blessings from previous years. Chris and I began that tradition when we got married as well. It is a special way to chronicle and remember God’s faithfulness to us over the years.
Tell us about your job.
I am a cleaner, teacher, chauffeur, cook…I’m a stay at home mom, a “job” I love.
Can you list “five favorites in five words”?
Ice cream, reading, crochet, datenights, coffee.
What ministries do you serve in at CFC and how have you have seen God work in one of those ministries?
I lead a women’s book study on Tuesday morning. Selfishly, I am thankful for the opportunity because of the way the study is impacting my own life. But I’m also so grateful to hear from the women in my group about how they are being encouraged and growing through their own study and our group discussions. If you have been thinking about joining one of our Study Together Bible/book studies at the church, please don’t wait any longer! They are a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth and fellowship.
What are you currently studying and learning in your devotional times?
Apart from the bible studies at church, I’m doing a devotional by Nancy Guthrie called Praying Through the Bible for Your Kids. I highly recommend this devotional, particularly if you have teens/young adults.
What is your favorite verse or passage of scripture, and why?
I have SO many favorites, but I think my all-time favorite chapter is Psalm 139. It has encouraged me many, many times over the years.
If you could talk to a younger version of yourself, what advice would you give her?
Don’t take yourself so seriously! Also, don’t be consumed by what people think of you.
When and how did you come to Christ?
I was raised in a Christian home and remember praying at a young age to become a Christian. For years I was embarrassed by that testimony, thinking that I didn’t have an amazing story like other people did. But now I understand that every salvation story is amazing…because of Jesus’ work on the cross…because it is God who makes those who were dead in their trespasses and sins alive…because every single soul that has been saved was once an object of God’s wrath and is now called a son or daughter…because no one can boast save Jesus and Him crucified. To God be the glory!
What is one situation you have faced or are facing? Share how God moved, or is moving, in the midst of this experience.
I am the mom of two older kids. My role in their lives is shifting as they transition into adulthood. As this change is becoming a reality, God is showing me my utter dependence on Him in a new way. When I see my children making decisions I don’t agree with, I am faced with a choice. Do I despair, do I rant and rave, or do I trust God?
With each passing day, I am seeing more clearly that I have limited wisdom (at best), that I cannot fix things by sheer force of will, that I am only seeing in part, and that my most effective tool is prayer.
In praying (particularly praying scripture) for my kids, I am acknowledging that it is God who does the work. I’m placing my trust in the One who holds all things together and has a plan for their lives. I am reminding my soul that my hope is not in my own parenting, wisdom, experience or anything else I might think I bring to the table. Rather, my hope for my children is in an awesome, loving, merciful, powerful God.
