Dear Friend,

Little did I know that when I was eight years old and at a birthday party for a friend of the family, I would be face to face with my future husband. To be honest, I do not even remember this party. If it wasn’t for a picture that documented the moment, we would have never known it happened.

Fast forward 11 years later, two hours after my parents left me in my freshman dorm room, Nathan walked back into my life. For me it was love at first sight, or I guess technically second sight! Our time at Drake University was everything you hoped college to be. While our course work was challenging, we developed friendships that have stood the test of time and our faith in God was solidified on that campus.

Over the course of my freshman year, Nathan and I developed a wonderful friendship that laid a foundation for our relationship to grow on. It is amazing what cups of coffee and good books can do for a friendship. Half way through my sophomore year, through encouragement from a mutual friend, we started dating. A year later we were engaged, and the following August we were married.

When Nathan graduated we moved to Kansas City where he completed a two year pharmacy management residency. I completed rotations here in KC and graduated the following year. While our initial plan was to move back to Iowa, God had another path. Through a series of closed doors we decided to remain planted in the Kansas City Area. In our time here, Nathan has worked for several different health care systems. Over the years I have worked part time in health care or Children’s Ministry and am now a full time stay at home mom. Through each job change we have seen the hand of God preparing us for the next stage of life he has for us.

We have now been married for just under 20 years and have 4 kids. Two teenage daughters and two elementary aged sons. Life is full of excitement now, and the need to lean into the Holy Spirit is impossible to ignore. Life is full of many twists and turns. But there is no other tribe I would rather do this adventure with than these 5 humans.

Back in 2013 God gave us the word “Purpose” as our theme word for the year. It was from that word this blog, Our Purposeful Life, was born. Nathan and I have always had a heart for improving our marriage, being intentional with our parenting and sharing what we have learned with others. The idea of “purpose” has made us focus a little more on the why and how we do things. We started on a path of seeking the Lord and trying to understand the bigger picture of what He has for our life and for the lives of our kids.

While this journey has not been easy (the next three words God gave us for the following years were: challenge, painful growth and pruning), we have experienced life-changing moments with our Lord. When our world was rocked and turned completely upside down during these three years we learned what it truly meant to surrender and walk with the Lord. We have come out of this time a truer version of who God created us to be. Something I would not change for anything.

While we still have a ways to go, we would like to invite you into this season of discovery. Discovering what God says about you, what your true identity is in Christ. Learning new ways to think and respond to things that are thrown at you. We will also explore ways to pass these lessons on to your children. And lastly we want to encourage you on your own personal journey. We pray that you believe the promise that God says in Philippians 1:6 is true for you and for those in your family.

Come join us on this journey.

– Dana

Why the name

Our Purposeful Life?

Our

We are a team. Our team consists of individuals, our marriage, our family unit and our community. God is our Father, Jesus our coach and Holy Spirit our guide. Each of us plays a valuable role that only that person can play. Together we sharpen each other and bring the full picture of Christ to the world. Will you be a part of our team?

Purposeful

Are we perfect? Not at all! Do we make mistakes? Of course! Do we have lazy days? Sure! But most days we wake up and choose to make this day count. We are purposeful with our walks with the Lord. We ask Him what we need to do to become a better version of ourselves. We are purposeful in how we teach and train our children and where we spend our time. We would like to share this lifestyle with you.

Life

Jesus came so that we could have abundant life here on earth. We want our life and your life to be full and complete. The world may try to take us out, but we will take a stand and purposefully choose to live life to the fullest. We want you to experience all that God has for you. We want you to join us in this adventure of discovery, so that you can experience true peace and joy.

“I am certain that God who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Philippians 1:6

Testimonials

Ruth from Overland Park, Kansas

Time and time again, I’ve desperately come to Dana with questions on how to raise our strong willed child, and every time I have left the conversation feeling encouraged and empowered! So often it’s easy to feel helpless when you need answers quickly but don’t necessarily have the time to find a good parenting book and actually read it. That’s where Dana and Nathan have so helped me in my parenting journey— they readily share the wisdom they have learned in the process of raising 4 kids with varying personalities and temperaments and how to be resolute, while still instilling a culture of grace and honor. Although good behavior is the first thing I tend to focus on with my kids, Dana has taught me how training them to personally lean on the Holy Spirit is key to their own walk with the Lord and behavior development—and no age is too young for that!

Stephanie from North Carolina

If you want to be intentional in how you raise your family and spend your time, Our Purposeful Life is for you! I have enjoyed following this blog through the years as I was first drawn to it for creative activity ideas for the kids when they were younger, but quickly realized it was a good place to come for practical advice on marriage, parenting, and how to do better as a family unit. I’ve enjoyed reading various topics on not only having a God-Centered-Home but a fun home too. And as a bonus, I also learned a very useful shower door cleaner recipe!

Heather from Illinois

Romans 12:12-13 encourages us to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer, to share with God’s people in need and to practice hospitality. Everyone needs a friend like this! Our Purposeful Life has reassured us that we were good parents and that joy through hope could be ours. They said “Us too!”, so we were able to be patient in the trenches. They prayed specifically for our son. They shared ideas and techniques that we could implement immediately. In short, they have thrown open their front door and invited us all in!