Ginny Hunsberger
Ginny is a lifegiving mother of five boys who loves reading and homeschooling and sharing her passions with mothers around her. She is a longtime Mom Heart leader and a has been a friend of Wholeheart Ministry for many years.
More About Ginny
Tell us about your family, your children, and the daily life of your home.
I met my husband in a church college group the first weekend after I went to college. He was studying electrical engineering at NC State, and I was studying psychology and working towards K-6 licensure at Meredith College. Joel and I married in 1997, and God has since blessed us with five sons--currently aged 7 to 19. We live in Holly Springs, North Carolina. We home educate our youngest 4 and my oldest son is now in college studying computer engineering. Our home is lively--filled with books and good food. In all of my childhood imaginings, I never thought I would be the mother to 5 sons, but God’s plans are better than I could dream of.
Tell us when you started to follow Jesus, and about your journey with Him.
I was raised in a Christian home, and I don’t remember a time when I did not believe in God. I was a late in life child born to a late in life child. My two sisters were teens when I was born, and my eighty-eight-year-old grandmother moved into our home when I was three. My family and church family loved me well. My grandmother taught me to memorize much of the scripture still hidden in my heart today.
When I was in fifth grade, I felt convicted of my sin and accepted God’s gift of salvation. Looking back, I feel immensely thankful for God’s timing. The next year, my mom was diagnosed with cancer and died nine months later. I’m thankful that she could leave us knowing that her three daughters loved the Lord and were seeking to follow him.
After my mom’s death, I read the Bible searching for comfort and answers. When I first read James 1:2-4, I had to read it again and again. The assurance that God could bring good from my grief comforted me. The knowledge that God uses trials to make his children “mature and complete” inspired me. I prayed earnestly, as only a thirteen-year-old girl can pray, that God would teach me and help me to grow into the woman He created me to be. I continue to come back to this place when trials come. God is ever faithful.
What ministry or work in your community gives you personal fulfillment?
One of my favorite ways to serve is in teaching children. My husband and I teach a children’s class at church and I have enjoyed teaching in our homeschool co-op, too. I am the teacher with all the books.
I was more reluctant to serve in women’s ministry. I felt like I wasn’t wise enough or experienced enough. We were in a young church plant when my oldest was a toddler. I was asked to lead a day time women’s Bible study. Friends and leaders spurred me on, and I led that group for several years. When my youngest son was still nursing, I attended a weekend NC homeschool retreat where Sally and Sarah were the speakers. Several Mom Heart group leaders shared their stories, and I felt the need to start a group. I had my hands full with 5 children 12 and under, but I started praying about it. The following summer, my oldest sister’s family moved close to me. I took her to an event where Sally was speaking about the Lifegiving Home. After that, she asked me if I had thought about leading a Mom Heart group. I told her that I had, but space was the biggest obstacle. My sister told me that she would love to host the group at her house, so in June 2016 we started a group studying Own Your Life. Our group continues to meet and leaves me feeling renewed and encouraged.
What hobbies or activities do you most enjoy pursuing in your free time?
I am a reader, a scrapbooker, and a baker. The baking came in handy during the pandemic. I bake sourdough whole wheat bread in batches of five loaves at a time. (Five sons and a hungry husband to feed! I like it, too.) I like to invite friends over and teach them to make cinnamon rolls. It is one day I can share a skill I know and have fun in fellowship, too. I sew occasionally when simple things like Elven cloaks are requested.
Thinking of books you’ve read, which authors have influenced you most?
The last books my mom gave me were a Bible and a copy of Anne of Green Gables. Lucy Maud holds a close place in my heart. The Anne books were my companions during my teen years, and I hosted many movie nights watching the Anne movies in my dorm room in college. In my opinion, every girl needs a dose of Anne’s imagination. Random fact—Rilla was the girl name that my husband and I didn’t get to use.
As an adult, I still love Anne, Emily, and Valancy, and added to those literary friends, I like reading books with mothers who cling to their ideals no matter the challenge. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Little Lord Fauntleroy are examples. I especially enjoy books with likeable characters who grow over the course of the story-- A Man Called Ove is one such book, but my favorites are ones with the theme of redemption—Ben Hur is a favorite in this category
When it’s just you, what music or musicians do you most enjoy listening to?
Before having children, I listened to Rich Mullins and movie soundtracks on repeat. In the baby and toddler years, lullabies stand out. We listened to a lot of Michael Card’s Sleep Sound in Jesus album and J. J. Heller’s music in those years rocking babies to sleep. Today, I like music I can sing along to in the car and instrumental classical and movie soundtracks at home.
What books of the Bible, and what specific passages, mean the most to you?
For the past few years, Hebrews is a book I keep coming back to. The description of Jesus in Hebrews 1:3 as “the radiance of God’s glory” thrills me and his position at the right hand of God lets me know I am secure. The list of the faithful in Hebrews 11 who didn’t live to see the fulfillment of God’s promises, encourages me to press on and keep seeking Jesus. Hebrews 12:10-11 spurs me on to be faithful to God and love my husband and children well.
For the last several months, I have studied Matthew, and Matthew 11:28-30 seems especially fitting after a year of the pandemic. I am weary, but God offers rest for my soul.
What are you passionate about, and who inspires you to be even more so?
I am passionate about discipleship. I encourage others to study scripture and find a church family where they can grow and serve. I am passionate about encouraging mothers at all stages of life. I am passionate about family relationships. I am passionate about prayer and loving God faithfully with all of my being.
How did you first connect with Sally Clarkson and Whole Heart Ministries?
When my oldest son was two, I checked out all of the books about home education my library offered. I read them all. There was one that stood out from the rest. It had a purple and white cover, and it described a way of teaching that was already a dream planted in my heart. I returned it to the library but could never find it again. Years passed. My oldest was in first grade, and two more sons had been added to our family. I saw Sally’s The Mission of Motherhood in an Elijah Company catalog and ordered it. I read the first chapter and I cried, so I turned back and I read it again. I was longing for encouragement—someone to come alongside me and this book watered a weary soul. More years passed, and a friend came over one day. She saw Sally’s book sitting out, and she asked me if I had attended Sally’s conferences. Conferences? I had no idea. By the time I got to one of Sally’s conferences, I had five sons and had been encouraged by more of her books. The same friend who told me about the conferences introduced me to Lynn Custer. Lynn and I still haven’t figured out how we lived so close to each other but didn’t meet sooner. Last year, I finally got the chance to attend one of Lynn’s Seasons Groups. And if you didn’t guess at the beginning, that purple and white book I read in 2003 was Educating the Wholehearted Child.
