About Therapy

More than just feeling better…

Many seek counseling to change their external circumstances. But God is concerned about what’s on the inside – what’s in your heart – why you react, behave, and think the way you do.

Biblical counseling not only explores your heart, but also seeks to understand and know your Creator so you can better understand who you are in the eyes of God.

A successful session is not simply to help you become a better version of yourself. Rather, we’re going to reorient your disorder, desires, affections, and behaviors.

It’s about living a life of satisfaction and contentment – a life of victory!

Fill your mind with the right things.

That’s going to be your most powerful offense!

Biblical counseling shows you how to replace negative, intrusive thoughts with new, beautiful, and relaxing thoughts. We’ll slow down and pay attention to what is going on in your mind… and dismantle the words, ideas, ideologies, and lies swimming within your mind.

Our world is filled with disappointment, brokenness, and pain, but…

Believers in Christ have access to a power that others do not.

Maybe you’re doubting your faith…

It happens to many of us for many reasons, especially in the face of pain, suffering, and grief.

Maybe you’re a logical and reasonable person, and faith isn’t making sense right now.

Perhaps you’re an emotionally driven person, and you can’t remember the last time you felt the presence of God.

Doubts do not indicate an absence of faith. In fact, it’s a critical step for moving toward faith.

Biblical counseling lets you wrestle with the questions and answers and emote through your circumstances. I’m here to guide and support you, watching the process unfold like a budding rose.

Questioning God is not how you lose faith; it’s how you claim it.

You’re looking for hope. Here’s what it looks like…

To give good counsel, one must assess the facts. No matter what’s brought you to counseling, the first session is a time to understand your situation and explain what will unfold in subsequent meetings. I’ll ask lots of questions, and I’ll answer yours.

Knowing your testimony of faith in Jesus Christ will help determine your receptivity to utilizing the Word of God and how I introduce biblical topics addressing your situation.

Biblical wisdom and appreciation of the loving relationship between you and your Creator will be woven into each session. I’ll give you assignments based on your specific feelings, emotions, thoughts, and circumstances.

I will listen to your story and pray with and for you as we learn what God has to say specifically to you. You will quickly discover that you can experience life differently when you allow God to guide your steps.

Your growth depends on your full involvement.

A 50-minute session won’t change you. Each session is meant to build upon the last as you practice the Biblical practices discussed.

Your involvement includes a commitment to apply biblical strategies through weekly homework assignments. The key to lasting change is that God must be a part of your daily life.

Biblical counseling is NOT about spouting off relevant Bible verses and assigning prayer in hopes of supernatural healing. That’s not biblical or helpful.

There’s only one thing left to do…

That’s to get started!

You’re here for a reason. Let’s work together to discover the next step in God’s plan for your life.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Give me a call, and we’ll talk more during your free consultation: (417) 448-0144.

About Me

I always dreamed of being in the spotlight.

I was a theater kid and dreamed of someday being a star! I was in 5th grade when I landed a part that had me in the spotlight. I was so proud of the role I was cast in. The local newspaper even chose me to be pictured on the front page of the local section. The article provided details about the local community play and listed the names of all the young budding actors. I was honored and proud to be apart of something bigger than myself and there I was, pictured front and center, on that stage.

My big break?

I was cast as the flagpole. I was a stationary star!

My dreams and career have been a divine duet.

As an adult and a true believer, I now understand that this life is not about me or being front and center. I can still dream big, but it is only because I have a big God who can do all things! Although I was raised in the church, I didn’t grasp this truth until I was 36 years old – ten years after becoming a therapist. I finally realized it was only through God’s power that I could accomplish all the dreams HE puts in my heart. This new understanding was so freeing that I naturally began implementing this truth in my chosen career. Now, in my fifties, I find it impossible to counsel others without sharing the truths of God and inviting Him to be the ultimate guide. He is the one who knows us all inside and out, so why wouldn’t we want His input? I stay current in traditional therapies but they must harmonize with God’s principles if we are to anticipate any dreams, wishes, or purpose to come true.

With a faith that’s grown stronger over the years, I’ve learned that even the toughest moments can be turned into something beautiful – like a flagpole on the front page.

This is me and AL (AL is short for “Alison”)

My Testimony

Born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, I never dreamed of leaving city life, but God had plans for me!

I married a wonderful country boy I met in college. With this ring… you will move three hours south and begin a new life in the country! For 32 years and counting, I have never looked back. Now that we have successfully raised and launched three adult children, I now spend my free time putting on muck boots to care for the 12-18 hens in our backyard. Those girls are a different kind of therapy! I just LOVE those fluffy butts!

If you had told me as a young, newly married woman I’d be where I am now, I would not have believed you. I see now that this move as a young bride was only the beginning of the journey to meet God…

Moving to a new town requires you to meet people to survive…

One of the women I met invited me to a church Bible study, so I gladly went—what better place to meet new friends?

No one knew me or my background, and I saw this as an opportunity to get to know other women in the area. I thought everything was going well when, about halfway through the study, one of the women pulled me aside and privately asked,

“If you were to die today and Jesus met you at the gates of Heaven and said, ‘Jane, why should I let you enter my heavenly home?’ How would you answer?”

That question didn’t go away.

As I had attended church all my life, I gave her the “correct” Christian answer. She seemed satisfied with my response to her questions, giving me a small nod. I didn’t think much more about her strange, private question, and she didn’t explain further why she asked it.

I should have been suspicious when a second woman approached me with the same question, but it wasn’t until I was approached a third time, privately, to ask the same question that I was wondering what I was doing wrong. Somehow, this group of Christian women didn’t view me as “good enough” or “real enough.”

I was surprised and perplexed.

And frankly, I was a bit peeved! I realized they didn’t think I was a real Christian at that moment! What the…., I was attending this Bible study, wasn’t I? I was dutifully hauling my three small children to church every Sunday! (Their father/my husband refused to attend church with me back then, but that’s another miracle of a story.) 🙂

I became bound and determined to prove to these ladies that I was a REAL CHRISTIAN! So, I grabbed my Bible – the one I received as a gift from my eighth-grade confirmation – and stared at it. I stared some more…

Where should I look?

Where should I start?

Truthfully, I had never really read the Bible on my own.

I’d followed along at church but never opened the Bible for myself. So, I took a deep breath, randomly opened the Good Book, and started reading.

God knew I didn’t know what I was doing, and He knew I didn’t even know what I was looking for. But He knew what I needed to see.

I opened my Bible to the Book of Matthew and started reading chapter seven. Jesus spoke about the difference between a false and a true believer.

Jackpot! Or so I thought.

I came to verses 13-14 and paused as Jesus pointed out that there are two paths: one wide and one narrow; one is the truth, and the other is a lie; one is easy, and one is difficult. Few even find it, let alone walk on it.

These verses were thought-provoking and scary, but not as scary as the ones next, verses 21-23:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Here’s what I realized…

It’s not enough to mentally believe in Jesus as a way of earning a ticket to heaven.

It’s not enough to call or say to Him, “Lord.”

And it’s not enough to attend church and take communion once a week.

We must be transformed by daily association, activity, and intimacy with the Living God.

Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than living in a garage makes you an automobile.

Now, as a fifty-something year old woman, I know this with all my heart…

I am a Christian.

I am an adopted child of God who has been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.

I value the time I am allowed to worship God inside and outside the church, reading from his word and maintaining a relationship with my Lord, Savior, and King through daily prayer.

I submit and surrender all my cares to God, including priorities, plans, hopes, dreams, and fears.