It's our pleasure to introduce you to Joanna Hardwick!
Joanna is the wife of Josh Hardwick, the Pastor of Elementary Children's Ministry at Beltway Park. They have been married for nine years and have two precious blonde headed little girls; Kaylee is four and Abby is two.
Jo is a self-described stay at home mom, but like most moms, if you can name it, she does it! It fits perfectly that Jo's favorite hobby is just being with her family. It really doesn't matter what they're doing, she's happy when they are together. Even when it includes the occasional embarrassing public toddler tantrum!
Choosing to be a stay at home mom has also proved to be one of the biggest faith steps Jo has ever taken. After their first little girl was born, Josh and Jo decided to trust God and Jo quit her job to stay home like she'd always dreamed. The numbers on paper showed a huge monthly deficit in their income, but God has been faithful to provide for all of their needs and beyond.
Jo also serves joyfully at Beltway, sharing her time and gifts in Kid's Quest and the AWANA Cubbies class. Having been blessed with the spiritual gifts of encouragement and hospitality, she also looks for opportunities to pour out encouragement to her friends. Jo loves to cook for people, especially desserts, which delights and encourages everyone she shares with!
Growing up, Jo never dreamed that she would be a pastor's wife. She actually had no desire to be. Jo's dad is a pastor and she felt that she had already experienced that area of ministry and wanted to be apart of something different. Both she and Josh were surprised during their engagement when God called him to children's ministry during a week at Camp Bonita. She is thankful now that God knew best and is using her in unexpected ways in her role as a pastor's wife after all.
Being in both ministry and marriage, Jo has learned that it's not a possibility that offenses will come, but just a matter of when. In the times where offenses do come knocking, she finds that reminding herself of God's love and forgiveness toward her helps to soften the blow. She knows she has a choice to make; dish out what she feels the other person deserves or do what she knows God would have her do because of what He did for her on the cross.
In the same way, Jo walks out her freedom in Christ everyday by taking deliberate steps. She says the biggest thing she comes against each day is taking her thoughts captive. In the past, Jo has struggled with believing lies about herself and how others thought and felt about her. She made choices to walk away from godly friendships because she just couldn't believe she was good enough. This brought on a lot of struggle with depression in her life. Having encountered the radical love of Jesus, Jo now makes the choice daily to believe the truth about who He says she is!
It's this radical love and faithfulness of her Savior that has carried Jo through her most difficult time. After having two healthy pregnancies, she was shocked and devastated to find herself suffering the loss of a miscarriage. Though she continues to walk out her healing from this painful time, Jo has learned to surrender her plans and allow God to do abundantly more than she can ask or imagine in her life. She hangs on to the joy of knowing that she will someday meet her sweet baby in heaven!
Joanna is the wife of Josh Hardwick, the Pastor of Elementary Children's Ministry at Beltway Park. They have been married for nine years and have two precious blonde headed little girls; Kaylee is four and Abby is two.
Jo is a self-described stay at home mom, but like most moms, if you can name it, she does it! It fits perfectly that Jo's favorite hobby is just being with her family. It really doesn't matter what they're doing, she's happy when they are together. Even when it includes the occasional embarrassing public toddler tantrum!Choosing to be a stay at home mom has also proved to be one of the biggest faith steps Jo has ever taken. After their first little girl was born, Josh and Jo decided to trust God and Jo quit her job to stay home like she'd always dreamed. The numbers on paper showed a huge monthly deficit in their income, but God has been faithful to provide for all of their needs and beyond.
Jo also serves joyfully at Beltway, sharing her time and gifts in Kid's Quest and the AWANA Cubbies class. Having been blessed with the spiritual gifts of encouragement and hospitality, she also looks for opportunities to pour out encouragement to her friends. Jo loves to cook for people, especially desserts, which delights and encourages everyone she shares with!
Growing up, Jo never dreamed that she would be a pastor's wife. She actually had no desire to be. Jo's dad is a pastor and she felt that she had already experienced that area of ministry and wanted to be apart of something different. Both she and Josh were surprised during their engagement when God called him to children's ministry during a week at Camp Bonita. She is thankful now that God knew best and is using her in unexpected ways in her role as a pastor's wife after all.Being in both ministry and marriage, Jo has learned that it's not a possibility that offenses will come, but just a matter of when. In the times where offenses do come knocking, she finds that reminding herself of God's love and forgiveness toward her helps to soften the blow. She knows she has a choice to make; dish out what she feels the other person deserves or do what she knows God would have her do because of what He did for her on the cross.
In the same way, Jo walks out her freedom in Christ everyday by taking deliberate steps. She says the biggest thing she comes against each day is taking her thoughts captive. In the past, Jo has struggled with believing lies about herself and how others thought and felt about her. She made choices to walk away from godly friendships because she just couldn't believe she was good enough. This brought on a lot of struggle with depression in her life. Having encountered the radical love of Jesus, Jo now makes the choice daily to believe the truth about who He says she is!
It's this radical love and faithfulness of her Savior that has carried Jo through her most difficult time. After having two healthy pregnancies, she was shocked and devastated to find herself suffering the loss of a miscarriage. Though she continues to walk out her healing from this painful time, Jo has learned to surrender her plans and allow God to do abundantly more than she can ask or imagine in her life. She hangs on to the joy of knowing that she will someday meet her sweet baby in heaven!
There is so much more to learn about Joanna Hardwick. From her passion for standing for the unborn to her affinity for old movies and chocolate, Jo displays the beauty inside and out of a life dedicated to serving God and her family with all she has!
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