Andrea Schlappi
Hi, there! My name
is Andrea Schlappi (Whoa! Pause. I am giggling at hearing your trying to
pronounce it. Let me help you… SHH-LAP-E…
J). I have been
married for almost 11 years to my childhood sweetheart, Gabe. We have three
children, Annabel (9), Jackson (7) and Bennett (5). I graduated from Cedarville University in Ohio with a degree in
English Education, taught for a few years, and now am a Georgia peach mama at home
with my children. Fixing hair and building Legos, scraping plates and cleaning
bathtubs, fielding questions and playing referee – just a smidgeon of the
privilege I call mine. On top of wife-ing
and mother-ing, I have a passion for
the Word of God and for writing.
I attended the 2009
Mylonn Conference, There is a Time,
with my friend, Becky Blackwelder. God wrote all over my heart that weekend. I
want to share just how God brought me there…
Becky had been
telling me about Mylonn, and I wanted to see it for myself! In July, we began
discussing coming with our husbands. Quickly that plan foiled. My husband did
not want to go. I still did, but knew that buying a ticket/room was not an
option. I laid it before God, knowing that He knew my heart’s desire and would
work it out should He wish for me to go. Come September, I had asked another
friend to attend with me, even entered the recipe exchange, and still there was
no answer. God was going to do it His way and in His time!
On September 24th,
less than a month from Callaway, Gabe worked it out for me, finding out just
what my attending would entail. In the midst of that, Becky’s husband
graciously offered for me to have his place. That meant he would stay and I
would go. Gabe, out of town, called me from his hotel room. I will never forget
it. I was sitting at my computer with the children sleeping, tired from a day,
when he called and told me he had arranged for me to be able to go. I cried. I
cried. Oh how I cried. When I hung up the phone, I fell to my face because I
knew God had moved in His way and in His own time. I had no doubt God would do
a mighty work in my heart and that I was, in every way, supposed to attend!
Looking back, this finite mind is still amazed. Last year, in 2010, I began
writing with Traci a collaborative journey through Matthew 1:1-17 and it has
been an absolute joy!
And that brings us
around to the reason I write. There is a verse in 2 Samuel 7 that says, “Who am
I, O Lord, that You have brought me this far?” There you have it in a nutshell
– the reason I write. He has brought
me far. He was perfect sacrifice, and I am free because of it. By the way of
HIS cross I am redeemed, and He who formed the magnificence of the stars
resides in my heart. He loved me first, loved me most, and is faithful when I
fail. Glory!
I am not near
anything worthy of His Sacrifice, Mercy, Grace and Love. I also know that no
language could ever detail in perfect measure praises due Him. While I could
never solidify with words just how AWESOME He is, I choose to proclaim them
anyway because I stand forgiven. My words are
because HE IS.
The bottom line is
this: At the end of the day, I am simply a wife and mama trying to do all I can
so He will receive the glory. After
all, it is His alone! And so we have come full circle. The question remains. Who am I? The simplest answer I can give
-- HIS.