ABOUT
Christian Author, Counselor & Speaker for Parents Who WANT MORE PEACE AND GOSPEL CLARITY
I found more freedom
I found more freedom
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Grace changed me first. Then it changed how I parent, write, and show up for other people
I used to be the president of the Serious Club. When my kids were young, our family had two official clubs — the Silly Club and the Serious Club. For a long time I was the sole member of the serious one. Somewhere along the way, grace genuinely loosened control’s grip on me. I became more free. More present. More like someone who actually believed the gospel she was teaching her kids.
That's the thing about grace — when Jesus’s work and worth really registers, it changes you. And when it changes you, something changes in your family too. That's what I write about, speak to, and sit with people through. Not a better version of yourself. Just the gospel, doing what it was always meant to do.
From my front-row seat as a parent, pastor’s wife, writer, and counselor, I kept seeing the same thing — people who loved God but feared they weren’t measuring up and God was disappointed in them.. They believed the gospel but functionally none of us believe the gospel all the time. We forget that Jesus measured up perfectly for us—that we are clothed in his righteousness—and fall back into the performance trap.
The treadmill is real. And naming it —what we are chasing after—what we fear and turning to as a self-salvation strategy — is the first step off. But doing so takes understanding what’s happening beneath the surface in our hearts.
I wanted to help people at this root level but felt that along with a robust theology I needed clinical mental health training—so I returned to school.
Theology and real life in the same hand.
Now I am equipped to integrate evidence-based, therapeutic care with faith for a holistic approach for meeting people where they are.
Everything I write, speak, and counsel toward exists to help parents rest in what Christ actually secured. Not a lighter to-do list. Not a more intentional morning routine. Just the gospel — for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.
I'm a licensed professional counselor, author of four books (and counting), and a speaker who has had the privilege of sharing this message at women's retreats, conferences, and churches across the country. My husband and I are empty nesters now, living in Dallas, Texas, where he serves as Pastor to Families at Park Cities Presbyterian. All three kids are now adulting, with two of them married—and parenting never ends. It just looks different.
Let's get to know each other. Three things about Kristen.
NO. 1
I went back to school as a mom — and it shifted my perspective. Watching my own kids navigate faith, identity, and the pressure to perform is in part what sent me back for a masters in counseling. I knew we weren’t the only ones struggling with real things, but in Christian community it can feel like we have no one to turn to. I wanted to be equipped to walk alongside others like me.
NO. 2
I married a pastor, which means the gospel of grace has never been just a Sunday topic in our house. My kids may have rolled their eyes when my husband pushed “pause” on the remote to give a “TV sermon,” but the truth is theology matters in all of life. And now it may be one of them pushing pause! The aim was always for us to see our need for Jesus and by his grace that we might live redemptively with one another.
NO. 3
We are empty nesters — and it’s not what I feared. When our youngest left for college I braced myself. What I found instead was an invitation to embrace this new season as a parent of young adults, and the privilege of watching our three kids step into their own. Still their mom. Always will be.
Features and Collaborations
Ways to Learn
with KRISTEN
All the places and spaces you can learn more right alongside me:
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01. SUBSTACK
Honest writing on redemption in the ordinary, grace-based parenting, real relief for real-life hard—to help you exhale and get off the treadmill. Delivered straight to your inbox.
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02. SPEAKING
Kristen speaks at conferences, women’s retreats, churches, schools and other organizations— bringing theology and real life into the same room. Honest, grounded, and genuinely freeing.
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03. BOOKS & RESOURCES
Four books—and one more in the works—plus a growing library of resources for parents who want to build a gospel-centered home — from the young years to beyond the launch.