Hi. I’m Jenifer: Lover of stories, old things, and simplicity. Wife to an amazing man and mom to 3 incredible kids.
I love stories. I love to tell them, discover them and create them. If you were to walk through our home, I’d share with you story after story about the treasures gathered within its walls. Visit my chicken coop and garden, and more stories would be told. From the clock hanging in our living room that my granddaddy made to my grandmother’s measuring spoons I use every day to the desk made by my dad from pieces of old barnwood from my childhood home to the 30-year-old shop built by my father-in-law that’s been transformed into a chicken coop, old things are rare gems to me, full of so many stories to tell. And I’m always on the hunt to find more of those gems so that I can extend the life of their beautiful story.
Maybe that’s why I’m an old soul at heart who loves tradition and simplicity and living life like my grandparents and great-grandparents did, growing food, cooking from scratch, canning and preserving, raising and caring for animals.
After 20+ years away, in the Summer of 2023, my husband, youngest daughter, and I moved back to the wide-open spaces of rural Alabama where my soul has found true rest and renewal, hope and healing. The life we’re living, the story we’re still writing after 25 years of being together, is beautifully simple and a dream come true. The only things missing are our two older children, both of whom have launched out into the world making it a better place because they’re living out their dreams: our oldest daughter creating her life in central Florida and our son serving our country in the United States Marine Corps.
meet jenifer
Her Specialties
I’m a visionary. A partner. A creator. Being able to link arms with others and help them see a bigger picture excites me.
Asking questions (I think this is where my counseling degree comes into play!) and leading someone to make their dreams become a reality is one of my greatest joys.
As a Book Coach and Developmental Editor, I help others turn their ideas into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into written works that will encourage, teach and inspire others.
Her Recent Projects & Experience
New to the MRM team, I’ve hit the ground running editing and creating content for a website redesign project.
As co-owner of an online devotional website that reached thousands of women monthly, I oversaw a team of writers, edited devotions, scheduled daily blog posts, lead online Bible studies, and created content, content calendars and graphics. As an author of one traditionally published Bible study book, two self-published books, and contributing author to two collaborative works, I understand what it’s like to be in the trenches of creating and teamwork. And, I LOVE it all!
It’s hard work, yes! But the commitment to see the dream come to fruition is so worth it!
Her Education & Training
So much of my learning and growing as a writer has been self-taught. Vowing to prove my 10th grade English teacher wrong after she told me I’d never amount to anything; I’ve made my own way. Grit and determination, reading a lot, asking questions, and trial and error are fabulous teachers. I’ve had the opportunity to attend writers’ conferences over the years like She Speaks and Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. I’ve also had some amazing mentors in my life who’ve helped me hone my craft of writing and navigate the world of social media, which has caused me to fall in love more with the art of storytelling.
Some of my mentors include:
- Linda Crawford
- Alee Anderson
- Ann Voskamp
- Michelle Gifford
- Alli Worthington
- Frank Couch
- Margaret Kennedy
1. I love coffee. It makes me very, very happy.
2. My chicken coop is my happy place. My flock count is at 32 and counting (but don’t tell my husband!). 😊
3. I am very detail oriented and like everything in its place.
Not so well-known quirks:
1. The Anne of Green Gables book series are treasures I’ll never depart from and the original movie from 1985 is my all-time favorite movie. I currently have an Anne, Diana, and Gilbert in my flock of chickens.
2. I taught myself to paint during the great quarantine of 2020 and as a result had artwork on display in a local art gallery and was commissioned to paint several pieces.
3. I loathe soggy cereal and will suck the milk out of the pieces before I chew them up. It’s gross I know!
claim to fame
My husband says my greatest claim to fame is the publishing of “Jenifer’s Famous Squash & Onions” recipe by my grandmother in the First Baptist Church’s cookbook in 2000. However, God bless my grandmother and her love for her grandchildren, I had never made squash and onions before in my life; she just wanted me to be included. But, after seeing my name in the cookbook she was in charge of creating, I now cook squash and onions and we always retell the story as we enjoy the dish.
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