More About Ginger

Tell us about your family, your children, and the daily life of your home.

My husband and I live in Ft. Worth, Texas and have been married for 38 years in June. We have five REALLY beautiful children, whom we homeschooled, and so far, we have two grandsons to enjoy in our retirement. I enjoy teaching, exhortation, and administration, so home education, tutoring, and teaching at my children's co-op was a good fit for my bookish personality.

Tell us when you started to follow Jesus, and about your journey with Him.

Ever since childhood, I have longed to be in God's house and with His people. I was introduced to Jesus in elementary school, and I was taught that Jesus would always take care of me. Knowing that a loving God always had time for me made me run to Him with everything. I became a serious disciple in my teens. Since we were a military family, I had to move in my senior year of high school. (No dramatic teenage girl needs that!) I was invited to a youth group where the kids actually lived the way they talked. I wanted that, and my walk with the Lord deepened. When I watch God transform a heart, I fall in love so hard with Him all over again. I have loved serving as a Sunday school teacher and leader for Missionettes (now MPact Girls) and Embrace Grace in the past, and now in Mom Heart.

What ministry or work in your community gives you personal fulfillment?

The ministry that I find most fulfilling is to moms. God has given my friend, Rachel, and I several wonderful years of Mom Heart discipleship ministry to incarcerated mothers using Sally's materials. I have also served on a team that leads a Mom Heart group at my local church since 2012.

What hobbies or activities do you most enjoy pursuing in your free time?

I read and crochet in my free time. I love in-depth Bible study because I'm a homework nerd. Coffee shops love me. I make hot tea in my bedroom because I can. You'll also find me taking road trips with my husband, children, girlfriends, or anyone who invites me.

Thinking of books you’ve read, which authors have influenced you most?

Some of my book club favorites have been Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson, Changes that Heal by Henry Cloud, and Booked by Karen Swallow Prior. Everything by C.S. Lewis, Bonhoeffer, L'Engle, and R.T. Kendall has been soul-shaping for me. Children's literature is also a favorite: currently reading The Green Ember series by S.D. Smith and I can never get enough of Winnie the Pooh. (The audio version by Peter Dennis had me in tears within the first minute.) I often nose around in the classics and poetry. Other authors I've enjoyed are Randy Alcorn, Frank Peretti, Nabeel Qureshi, and George MacDonald. As far as influence goes, since I'm mentoring moms, I'm frequently studying something Sally-esque to pass on. She and Clay are my hands-down parenting mentors. That's just the truth.

When it’s just you, what music or musicians do you most enjoy listening to?

I was raised on Motown and gospel, so everything stops when either Aretha Franklin, Shirley Caesar, or Gladys Knight opens her mouth. I also listen to everything from Christina Major the Toilet Paper Diva to NF. A worship track with King's Kaleidescope, Stephanie Gretzinger, or Amanda Cook typically begins my day, but it usually doesn't end without some form of Kirk Franklin, Toby Mac, or Kike Pavon. Audio Adrenaline's Underdog, BeBe and CeCe Winans' Greatest Hits, and The Newsboys' Take Me to Your Leader are the quintessential road trip tracks, period. You should also know that it's worth every dime to hear Andrea Bocelli in person. He makes my left eye leak a little bit.

What books of the Bible, and what specific passages, mean the most to you?

The Word in its entirety is my life, but any passage with Jesus. He is amazing.

What are you passionate about, and who inspires you to be even more so?

Motherhood, parenting, and literacy are my biggest passions. My vision is to see generational incarceration broken off, and God has shown me that my part in that is to mentor mothers both in and out of prison so that they can affect civilization itself.

How did you first connect with Sally Clarkson and Whole Heart Ministries?

In 1999, I began going to the WholeHearted Mother Conferences in Irving, TX, and after I finished bawling my eyes out, I never missed another one. Sally's messages completely changed the way that I mothered my children for the better, and the good relationships that I enjoy with them today are due to those messages of grace. In 2016, Sally invited me to a leadership intensive and I not only met 40 new BFF's who totally get me, I was ministered to in a way I never have been before or since.