But you'll miss the good stuff!
GROWING UP
on a small Kansas farm I began "teaching" to the assortment of barefoot critters who squawked, snorted, and stank. Today's audiences smell much better and (usually) wear shoes. Learning and teaching has been part of my make-up since childhood, as you'll discover below.
FARM LIFE and SHELVES OF BOOKS
instilled a strong work ethic and cultivated an imagination and thirst for knowledge. I came to faith in Jesus as a child, primarily due to my parents’ example. When I was older, summers were spent walking soybean fields and eradicating weeds with a machete, a guaranteed way to get and stay fit. (One fitness program I've never seen advertised!)
TODAY I'M A MOM AND NANA,
and these peeps hold my heart like no other! If you shared a meal with us, you'd find there's never a dull moment, and you'd hear plenty of "bad mom" stories. While lame jokes, movie lines, and Disney songs pepper our conversations, we also converse deeply from the heart.
We play games, share (steal?) books, debate, celebrate, grieve, develop patience, and learn grace because we know and experience each other's weaknesses. We navigate how to support individual homes while building an extended family network.
In short, you'd find ordinary people dealing with ordinary trials in pursuit of an extraordinary life.
FOR TWO DECADES GROCERY LISTS & LESSON PLANS
dominated my focus while raising, feeding, home educating, and feeding (again!?) five energetic sons. In addition, I've been honored to:
~ Serve as a founding board member and instructor of a Christian University-Model school.
~ Lead the establishment of a K-12 homeschool cooperative.
~ Mentor scores of teens by directing several theater productions, including my original script, "The Great Caper Along Route 66."
~ Write history, language arts, communication, film, and critical thinking curriculum.
~ Teach courses in several subjects to students from K-12.
WHEN NOT WRANGLING WORDS,
I enjoy:
~ photography, especially wildlife and outdoors.
~ travel, now working to increase international destinations having joined the "50 State Club."
~ house design. I was a DIY'er long before HGTV, sketching my first house remodeling plans at age 10.
~ exercising enough to keep up with 5 sons, 4 daughter-in-laws, and a growing flock of grandchildren.
BELIEF #1
You have an impact that's immeasurable, eternal, and irreplaceable. It's not a matter of "if," only "what kind" and "how much."
BELIEF #2
Our world and nature defaults to destruction & deception. Faith in Jesus Christ frees you to be & become your true self & help others do the same.
BELIEF #3
Accepting God's salvation by grace and aligning with truths He has established about yourself, Himself, and others is the only way to achieve spiritual and personal maturity.
Official Bio
Stephanie Smith's heart for teaching began with the chickens and cows on her childhood farm. ​Today’s audiences don't moo or squawk but instead appreciate Stephanie’s applying Biblical truths and human insights to real issues with artfulness, authority, and authenticity. Experiencing deep relational and emotional pain starting at birth, Stephanie is now on a mission to build spiritually strong, emotionally healthy, and relationally smart women and families.
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Stephanie’s passion for education motivated helping launch and teaching at a homeschool cooperative and later a Christian school. She’s mom to five grown sons, mother-in-law to four heart daughters, and Nana to seven grands. Believing every person has an impact that is immeasurable, eternal, and irreplaceable, Stephanie invites and equips others to engage fully in God's grand story!