My story has taken me all over the place, and I don’t mean geographically. For years, I struggled with a lack of direction only to discover much later, that I was steeped in self-doubt. I wanted to study the Bible, write and used my creative side to explore faith and help others grow spiritually but had zero idea that a woman could do this outside of women’s ministry. It took me years of struggle to finally have the confidence to pull up a chair and take a seat at the table of theological thought.

The moment I became a follower of Jesus, I had an instant love for the Word. I hungered to know God, scripture, and to be guided by the Spirit. As a teenager, some of my fondest memories were browsing through the Christian book store in small town Eagle River, Alaska to find the next topic or book I would study. Years later I ended up at the doorstep of Multnomah Bible College to finish my undergrad degree. I graduated with my bachelors in Bible and Theology, with a second major in Music. Soon after graduation I got a Bookkeeping job and didn’t use my degree once until my husband landed a youth pastor job in SE Portland, and by mere association I was able to “pastor” some pretty great kids for a while.

One of my biggest obstacles in pursuing a Bible and Theological education and thereafter using my degree, there were no women I knew doing it. I never once saw a woman preach or be apart of the core leadership of the church. And I certainly didn’t feel called to the “appropriate” spaces of women’s or children’s ministry. I attempted a middle ground as a Worship Leading which ended with me gaining a thicker layer of skin but losing my love for the ministry. So I opted for being an Office Manager at a Christian college, a professional organizer at a faith-based organization, a health coach, a social worker and so on and so forth. I jumped from job to job looking for anything that mimicked ministry but never finding it. I knew I felt called to the local church but I ignored it because I didn’t want to fight an uphill battle.

Fast forward to today, I have a Masters of Divinity as well as a writing and speaking ministry focusing on faith resiliency. Church ministry still has shown itself to be elusive for me as a woman, and so I press more into my writing. I write to exhort you to engage spiritual practices that strengthen your faith. I write to challenge theological view points in what I call Bigger Table Theology. I write because it’s the primary way I process the world around me and my life. I love studying God and his Word. Currently most of my writing is done on Substack (check in out here) and so this blog has morphed into offering helpful resources for spiritual and emotional nourishment.

Here are a few others things about me (Bullet-point style)

• Born and raised in Alaska
• Lived in Portland since 2003
• Married 14 years
• Two cats (Olive and Aoife), one dog (Ingrid)
• Extrovert
• Enneagram 6 (but 3 is very close behind!)
• Decaf coffee drinker and wine lover (My husband and I love out wine clubs!)

I’d love to connect with you and hear about your story. Send me an email at colette@coletteeaton.com and let’s chat!