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Meet Frank
Maggie's Dad
Husband of one, father of five. Left-handed, guitar player, beer snob, lover of wine; an artist, sports fan (football, basketball, boxing), pool player, casual gamer, gourmet burger enthusiast and steak lover, writer and speaker, and I love running and working out. Studied theology at The Criswell College (Baptist), The University of Dallas (Catholic) and Cranmer Theological House (Anglican / Episcopal).
Above all, an unworthy lover of the triune God and His Bride. Born and raised in “tha hood,” born again and discipled in the Church.
Since Easter ’99, when I encountered the presence of God in Jesus at a charismatic assembly, I’ve been passionately pursuing the mystery of God – as a charismatic, a Baptist, an Anglican, but mostly as a Catholic; in personal study and in academic contexts; as an unmarried person, a husband and a father.
And for many years prior to Magdalene’s death, it was my private prayer that, together with my wife and kids, we would be a “city set on a hill” (Matt 5:14), effectively witnessing, from the womb to the tomb, to the “gospel of the kingdom of God” (Matt 4:23), and that His kingdom has no age limits.
Maggie’s unexpected and tragic death has proven to be an occasion of fulfillment of this prayer, although one I could not have imagined or ever desired. In the midst of the wreckage left by the hurricane of suffering – it is only by the power of the Spirit of God that “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude v3), this unbroken succession of hope, has remained our own, though we ourselves have been broken
As Maggie holds the hand of Jesus with one hand, she holds mine with the other. She has become the child who teaches me about the gospel of the kingdom of God. As I follow her in procession, I have found that the words of the second century martyr-bishop, written on his way to the Roman colosseum to be eaten by lions in the presence of the social media of his day, have become my own: “Now at last I am beginning to be a disciple”; and Maggie’s mission has become my conviction and purpose.
Meet Jenifer
Maggie's Mom
Convert. Wife. Mother. Christian. Catholic. There are many words that I have used to define myself over the years. Never did I think that my very identity would be tested and challenged in the way that it has. Losing my daughter, and recently my unborn baby, has renewed and grown my identity in Christ. I am a mother of two dead children. I am a mother of two living saints. These facts cannot be separated from who I am. My living children in Heaven are as intimate a part of who I am as my living children here on earth.
I grew up in a Baptist home and it was there that I was first taught to love Jesus and work passionately for Him. This love was taken to a deeper level when I was received into full communion with the Catholic Church on Easter 2001. When I became a mother in 2003, it was deepened yet again. But as my focus shifted to discipling our children, it also shifted away from the missionary passion that I had years before.
When Maggie died I realized, almost immediately, that my Maggie has a mission here on earth and that this would be fulfilled through my help and my love of her. I promised Maggie that whatever she wanted to accomplish on earth that I would be her hands and feet because she is the hands and feet of Jesus. See, as a Christian, I fully believe Scripture when it says that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. I fully believe Scripture when it says that absolutely nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. Christians are bound to each other by the love of Jesus and if death cannot separate us from this love then neither can I be separated from my children.
Today, I strive forward with purpose, passion, and love. I am here to fulfill the mission Christ has set before me and I do so in the midst of my agony. It is He who gives strength. It is who gives me Hope. And now I work to show you this strength and hope. You are loved. You were brought into this world for a purpose. You too have a mission to fulfill and it is my prayer that I can accompany you on the path you find yourself traveling.
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