It is an honor to have been
chosen as one of ISBC’s Women of the Week (WOW)! My story has similarities with many other
stories shared by women in our church and includes multiple “stages” of life. I have been married to Scott Stephens for 23
years and we have one son, Hunter, who is 20 years old and a student at
Tennessee Tech University. We have been
members at ISBC for approximately 10 years.
Scott and I both teach Sunday School - Scott in a couples class
and I teach 9th & 10th grade girls. Hunter enjoyed many years in the youth
department and has participated in several domestic and foreign mission trips. He was one of ISBC’s youth interns this past
summer.
As a woman, I wear many
hats. First, I am a wife and mother and
am so grateful God gave me the opportunity to experience both of these
roles. I am also a nurse educator and
researcher. My full-time job is as a
faculty member at King College where I teach in their undergraduate and
graduate nursing programs. I also have
an active program of research exploring resilience in nursing students, the
health behaviors of nurses/nursing students, and the use of social media in
nursing education. I am also a contributing author on the website
NurseTogether.com. It has been a great privilege
to be able to present various aspects of my research at national conferences
and to small groups. I especially enjoy
talking to students and faculty about these topics from a Biblical
worldview. I truly believe I have been
“called” to my profession and am convinced God has allowed certain experiences
to benefit me in my roles as educator and researcher. While some of the experiences were difficult,
I am thankful for the lessons learned from them.
My life has been filled with
many blessings and opportunities. As a
family, we had the wonderful opportunity to live in Singapore. We all three love to travel and enjoy
learning about other cultures. Since I
married a South Carolina boy, we consider it our “second home” and love
spending time in Charleston every chance we get (Go Clemson!). I thoroughly enjoy my work, but cherish the
moments when I have some free time. As I
have gotten older, I have learned to enjoy just “being” and to allow myself to
fully embrace the rare, quiet moments of life.
During these times I enjoy knitting, reading, and walking.
The book of Isaiah has always
been one of my favorite books of the Bible, but it has become increasingly dear
to my heart over the past few years. I
adopted Isaiah 43 as one of my guiding passages to “Remember who you are and to
Whom you belong”. Each day I pray for
wisdom in all I do as a wife, mother, and educator. I truly believe God has a plan for each of
our lives and He has given us specific interests, abilities, and talents to
fulfill this plan. Additionally, I
believe God has directed us to pursue excellence in whatever we do for His
glory. I strive to fulfill this by
continually recalling His words in the following passages.
I Corinthians 10:31
“So whether you eat
or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
2 Corinthians 8:7
“But since you excel
in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in
the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
~ Submitted by Kathy Neal
ISBC Women's Ministry
Communications Coordinator
