Meet Me

Much of what I share with you here in this “Meet Me” section I will discuss and expand upon as I share my story. I did, however, want you to start out with an idea of who I was, have become, and am becoming and what my hopes and reasons are for my being here and wanting you to join me.

I was born Lisa Michelle Willis on June 17, 1973, in the small city of Sheffield, Alabama. My first five years were spent on Hawk Pride Mountain in Tuscumbia, Alabama.  At age five I moved with my family, my dad, mom, and older sister to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where I have remained for the majority of my life. 

At an early age I began being plagued with fears and insecurity, and low self-esteem. These were not words anyone really knew at the time only the feelings. I was what was known as the “fat kid” in my schools and spent a good bit of my time lying in front of air conditioners, eating and watching TV. This was my escape from any physical activity, mostly for fear of being made fun of. 

My hard times with those issues were only made worse when my parents divorced when I was eight years old. Things then became even worse when a couple of years later, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease after horrible bouts of pain and extreme weight loss. I suffered several setbacks as the doctors attempted to treat my illness and finally at age fifteen had to undergo a major life-saving surgery. To this day, I credit that team of doctors and assuredly God Himself for the healing and recovery that followed. I do not have to battle daily issues like so many with Crohn’s do. I understand and am so thankful for what a blessing that is!

Throughout high school my low self-esteem and insecurity only worsened. I was often bullied for my weight issues, how I looked and also because I stood up for my Christian faith, which became vitally important to me in my teens- and continues to be so even now. 

Only ten months after high school graduation I got married and thought that now I had been validated because there was someone who thought I was pretty and said he loved me. However, the marriage soon became a tumultuous one and after years of confusion and thousands of prayers and tears, I realized that I was dealing with narcissistic and emotional abuse at the words and actions of my husband. Emotional abuse is such an insidious form of abuse. It can leave you feeling crazy and so unsure of who you are and what is going on. I spent much of my time trying to please my husband and change to make him like and accept me. Nothing ever worked. I pray you will stick around to hear more from my history on this topic. One of my goals and callings is to shine a light on this awful form of mistreatment that has the capability to even cause brain damage and change who you are.

In 2023, God granted me final release from that marriage after 31 years. My two biggest blessings coming from that time are my amazing children, Lyndsay, age 30, and Micah, age 29. I also now have a sweet daughter-in-law, Ella. There are many lessons that continue to come from those 31 years and continue to open the doors of ministry for me, just like this blog, that I believe God will use.

I have felt the call to write and teach about the Word of God since early in my twenties. I now know that my main focus is to be bringing clarity to such topics as narcissistic abuse and mental illness, and personal trauma. It has been my experience that the church has not done a great job of speaking to these topics. I do not necessarily think this is due to unconcern but more likely due to confusion and ignorance. I believe God wants to use what I have endured and therefore learned as a result to bring about much needed change.

Along with abuse and I wholeheartedly believe because of it, I have also dealt with mental illness and hospitalizations that resulted. These all came after multiple emotional breakdowns that came as my mind and body responded to trauma and abuse.

My story is multi-faceted and includes even more issues than I have shared so far. I pray you will engage with me here on this blog on a regular basis. I hope to expose the lies of the enemy, rid hurting hearts of confusion and fear and desperation, bring understanding, and reveal the Word of God as the only true way to healing. I hope to do this with encouragement and humor and in such a way that will make you fall in love with Jesus.

Because He loves you so!

My journey continues and I will also share some of it as we go. I now still happily reside in my hometown of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with my wonderful husband, and our three immensely loved cats, Tigger, Isabella, and Rusty. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me and for you and I absolutely believe He is up to big things! 

Now that you have met me, I would love to meet you. Go to my contact page and let me hear your story! I would love to connect with you!

Isaiah 43:18-19
Luke 21:13

Blessings,
Lisa