"Please know that whatever you have gone through in your life, you can overcome and move beyond it to do great things."

My Journey From Past To Present

After dealing with domestic violence all of my life and finding myself as a single mother of three young boys with virtually no resources and very little support, a vision was birthed in me to have a place where victims of domestic violence could come to be loved and empowered. In my vision I saw a building that would house women upstairs, and downstairs there would be a shop of some kind where the women could work and learn job skills as well as discover their talents, gifts and PURPOSE in life. Although in 2001 I had no money to purchase a building, God had me go through the process of looking at buildings. It was a time of vision casting and dreaming of what He would some day bring to pass.

While going through my divorce and deciding what to do with my life, I felt God tell me to go back to school. I finished an associate degree in Business Financial Management in 2002, and then went on to get a Bachelor degree in Middle School Education in 2005. When I graduated, I spent three years as a teacher's aide because there was a hiring freeze in Indiana at the time. After my second year I went to Hungary and taught English as a Second Language at a refugee camp for the summer. Upon returning to our local school system, I realized my heart was to teach people who, for them it was a matter of life or death that they learn what I was teaching. I wanted to make a much bigger impact.

God moved me out of the school system and I spent the next two years unemployed. God had another path for me to take and had to put me in a position to recognize it. My heart was for victims of domestic violence and when opportunity came knocking, I answered the door and so my six year journey at Safe Passage began. My time at Safe Passage was such a blessing on so many levels. I learned that the abuse I had endured throughout my life had a much bigger impact than I had realized. The work I did developing Domestic Violence education programs allowed me to see on a deeper level the effects Domestic Violence had on my life. It kept me in a place of being stuck and unable to really pursue my PURPOSE. This was a great time of healing for me as I helped other women to overcome the abuse in their lives.

Once I was able to personally recognize and overcome the effects Domestic Violence had on my life, I was finally able to hear what the Lord was speaking to me about my PURPOSE. It is a great passion of mine to personally figure out what my God-given PURPOSE in life is...beyond that I have a passion to help other women do the same. I firmly believe that women who have been in abusive relationships don't recognize the impact the abuse had on their lives. They don't recognize that because of the abuse they are stuck. I know, that was me! So with experience working at a DV agency and with an Education degree under my belt, I have developed programs to help women get "Freedom from the Effects of Domestic Violence" & change the narratives of their lives.

During my time at Safe Passage, a part of my job was to go to Court with my client's to support them during an extremely difficult time in their lives. I would watch them lose their children to their abusers because they couldn't afford an attorney. I would watch them continue to be abused by the legal system. I began to cry out to the Lord..."God this is so wrong!" For months all I heard from Him was "So, what are you going to do about that, Tina?" During this season several people told me I should go to Law School...but I didn't want to listen. After a particularly difficult case, I again cried out to the Lord and He told me, "Tina, you need to go to Law School!" After four months of fighting Him, I finally submitted to what He was telling me to do. And off I went...

Let me tell you...Law School was no joke!!! It was a long hard process, but I finally made it through, passed the Bar and was sworn in at the first ever virtual swearing in ceremony in history on 5/5/20. Read that date again! I started practicing law during the 2020 pandemic and now I own my own law firm! These are exciting times, and it has been my absolute pleasure to share my journey to finding my PURPOSE with you. I hope it has touched your heart and encouraged you! Please know that whatever you have gone through in your life, you can overcome and move beyond it to do great things. But the story doesn't end here. Stay tuned to see what God has in store for us next...