Today we are going to post the first part of our interview with Brooke, the woman, wife and the servant of many behind the amazing blog "A life in need of change". A blog that is must read and a woman that we are honored to have on our blog to learn from her. Lets start to getting to know her more and get closer to the woman who plays a major role in her family, marriage and church.
How would you introduce yourself to others? But also how you introduce your self to God?
My name is Brooke McGlothlin and I’m a 31 year-old woman whose life is constantly in need of change. I’m a girl from the country…a tiny one stoplight town in Virginia that I will always love. I have two degrees, a BS in Psychology from Virginia Tech and a MA Counseling from Liberty University that reflect hard work and determination more than intellectual ability. I am married to the man I’ve had a crush on since the 3rd grade (really…it’s a neat story) and we have two precious little boys, just 23 months apart, who are the joy of our lives but who also suck the life out of us at times J (You’ll find that I have a passion for being real!) For almost 10 years now the Lord has captured my heart in service to women who are facing unplanned pregnancies. I worked full-time in Pregnancy Care Ministry before the birth of my first son and now chose to give as much of my life and time as possible to my two boys. Part-time now, I serve my local ministry as Director of Clinical Services and will celebrate seven years there this summer!
To God: Because of Your Son, my name is redeemed, restored, renewed. My name is beautifully broken, wonderfully cleansed and no longer what it was.
If you could summarize your life in one word, what would it be and why?
Real. Some of my family tells me that I'm too open about my life and that I share too much about my business with other people. My family is known for being private. It's just the way they are. But I feel completely confident that the Lord has called me to something different…to be open and real before Him and others. The past few years of my life have proven to me that the enemy has significant power over us when we don't share the truth. We feel like we're all alone and that no one has ever experienced what we're living through.
This is a lie, as one of my best friends would put it, straight from the pit of hell. Satan wants us to believe that we're alone. When we believe no one understands, He has power over us to defeat us and keep us from the abundant life we’ve been promised as our inheritance in the Lord. There is freedom, friends, in releasing the truth. There is power in knowing that you're not alone...that you're normal in your struggles and that people have walked through what you're walking through and passed through to the other side with victory.
My reality isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always what I want it to be, or what I dreamed it would be, but it’s what God is using to teach me and mold me. Sharing that with others builds a sense of community, unity and openness for growth, which is really what “A Life in Need of Change” is all about.
Why did you start blogging and how do you find time for it?
I began writing for my blog about 2 years ago. I hoped it would provide a place to keep my family updated about our latest news and the antics of our children woven together with encouragement from the Word and what the Lord was teaching me through my life. In August of this year I wrote an article entitled “Trivial Pursuit” which shared how life is really not about me (or you). The response from my family and friends was so positive that I kept it up! Over the past three months my blog has morphed into a place of encouragement and ministry to families, most notably, women. I look for God to show up in the everyday, and believe it or not, He ALWAYS does!
I could literally curl up in my favorite chair and write for hours…so deep is the love I have found for this art. But I do have a family J so I try to spend about one hour each evening after my children have gone to bed creating the next day’s post and learning tips and tricks of the trade along the way. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I can grab an hour or two over the weekend to prepare the next week’s posts, but this is a treat, not a common occurrence.
How did you come up with the name of your blog? “A life in need of change”
Paul David Tripp wrote a book entitled “Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change.” Outside of the Bible, this book has become my most valued guide in developing relationships with people and being used of the Lord in their lives. As a person whose educational pursuits gravitated toward the helping professions I find it an invaluable resource for the Biblical ministry of change. In spite of the fact that I am trained in Psychology and Counseling I believe in Scripture as the sole and supreme manual on the state of man and I believe it has the key to unlocking man’s heart. This book is Tripp’s effort, along with the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation, to restore counseling to the church and prepare people whose own lives are in need of change to help others. I simply love that concept and have internalized it in my life. It is the expression of my heart, so when the time came to pick a title for my blog, it seemed like the best fit.
My name is Brooke McGlothlin and I’m a 31 year-old woman whose life is constantly in need of change. I’m a girl from the country…a tiny one stoplight town in Virginia that I will always love. I have two degrees, a BS in Psychology from Virginia Tech and a MA Counseling from Liberty University that reflect hard work and determination more than intellectual ability. I am married to the man I’ve had a crush on since the 3rd grade (really…it’s a neat story) and we have two precious little boys, just 23 months apart, who are the joy of our lives but who also suck the life out of us at times J (You’ll find that I have a passion for being real!) For almost 10 years now the Lord has captured my heart in service to women who are facing unplanned pregnancies. I worked full-time in Pregnancy Care Ministry before the birth of my first son and now chose to give as much of my life and time as possible to my two boys. Part-time now, I serve my local ministry as Director of Clinical Services and will celebrate seven years there this summer!
To God: Because of Your Son, my name is redeemed, restored, renewed. My name is beautifully broken, wonderfully cleansed and no longer what it was.
If you could summarize your life in one word, what would it be and why?
Real. Some of my family tells me that I'm too open about my life and that I share too much about my business with other people. My family is known for being private. It's just the way they are. But I feel completely confident that the Lord has called me to something different…to be open and real before Him and others. The past few years of my life have proven to me that the enemy has significant power over us when we don't share the truth. We feel like we're all alone and that no one has ever experienced what we're living through.
This is a lie, as one of my best friends would put it, straight from the pit of hell. Satan wants us to believe that we're alone. When we believe no one understands, He has power over us to defeat us and keep us from the abundant life we’ve been promised as our inheritance in the Lord. There is freedom, friends, in releasing the truth. There is power in knowing that you're not alone...that you're normal in your struggles and that people have walked through what you're walking through and passed through to the other side with victory.
My reality isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always what I want it to be, or what I dreamed it would be, but it’s what God is using to teach me and mold me. Sharing that with others builds a sense of community, unity and openness for growth, which is really what “A Life in Need of Change” is all about.
Why did you start blogging and how do you find time for it?
I began writing for my blog about 2 years ago. I hoped it would provide a place to keep my family updated about our latest news and the antics of our children woven together with encouragement from the Word and what the Lord was teaching me through my life. In August of this year I wrote an article entitled “Trivial Pursuit” which shared how life is really not about me (or you). The response from my family and friends was so positive that I kept it up! Over the past three months my blog has morphed into a place of encouragement and ministry to families, most notably, women. I look for God to show up in the everyday, and believe it or not, He ALWAYS does!
I could literally curl up in my favorite chair and write for hours…so deep is the love I have found for this art. But I do have a family J so I try to spend about one hour each evening after my children have gone to bed creating the next day’s post and learning tips and tricks of the trade along the way. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I can grab an hour or two over the weekend to prepare the next week’s posts, but this is a treat, not a common occurrence.
How did you come up with the name of your blog? “A life in need of change”
Paul David Tripp wrote a book entitled “Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change.” Outside of the Bible, this book has become my most valued guide in developing relationships with people and being used of the Lord in their lives. As a person whose educational pursuits gravitated toward the helping professions I find it an invaluable resource for the Biblical ministry of change. In spite of the fact that I am trained in Psychology and Counseling I believe in Scripture as the sole and supreme manual on the state of man and I believe it has the key to unlocking man’s heart. This book is Tripp’s effort, along with the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation, to restore counseling to the church and prepare people whose own lives are in need of change to help others. I simply love that concept and have internalized it in my life. It is the expression of my heart, so when the time came to pick a title for my blog, it seemed like the best fit.
That was first of many parts from our interview with Brooke, Come Thusday Morning to read the second part. For now, check out her blog..."A life in need of change".
