Hello! I’m Esther and I’m glad you’re here!

Let me tell you a little about myself.

I started playing the piano when I was 6 years old and began playing in church at the age of 11. Throughout high school and college, I traveled to churches across the United States, performing concerts where I interwove music and speaking.

In 2012, I earned a Master of Music degree in piano performance from Missouri State University and participated in the Washington International Piano Festival where I was selected to perform on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Around this time, I started noticing stiffness in my hands that turned into intense pain. The stiffness and pain spread all over my body to the point that I couldn’t move on my own. My husband had to lift my body out of bed and walk me one step at a time through my morning routine. I couldn’t even squeeze toothpaste onto my toothbrush. It took every ounce of my strength to make it through each day.

In October of 2012, I was diagnosed with systemic lupus. For me, this diagnosis includes widespread arthritis, particularly in my hands. I wake up every morning with my body reminding me of its brokenness and my need for God’s help to make it through the day. But despite challenges to my health, I continue to perform and was again selected to perform at the Kennedy Center in 2016.

I know suffering. I live with the daily struggles of a chronic illness (lupus) and have walked the hard road of infertility. I know what it means to fight to believe in the goodness of God.

I love being able to share my story of hope amidst suffering, whether it’s through speaking, performing music, or writing.

My husband and I live in Springfield, MO where I’m a piano professor at Drury University, writing my first book, and working alongside my husband who is the College and Young Adults Pastor at Central Assembly.

I love books, beautiful sounds, watching birds come to my bird feeder, wandering through museums, and long conversations with friends at coffeeshops.