SPEAKERS


S H A U N A  N I E Q U I S T
Shauna Niequist is the author of Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet, and Bread & Wine. Shauna grew up in Barrington, Illinois, and then studied English and French Literature at Westmont College in Santa Barbara. She is married to Aaron, who is a pianist and songwriter. Aaron is a worship leader at Willow Creek and is recording a project called A New Liturgy. Aaron & Shauna live outside Chicago with their sons, Henry and Mac. Shauna writes about the beautiful and broken moments of everyday life--friendship, family, faith, food, marriage, love, babies, books, celebration, heartache, and all the other things that shape us, delight us, and reveal to us the heart of God.



L A U R E N  C H A N D L E R
Lauren Chandler is a wife and mother of three. Her husband, Matt Chandler, serves as the lead teaching pastor at The Village Church in Dallas, Texas. Lauren is passionate about making much of Christ through writing and singing music, leading worship, blogging and speaking. The Lord has taken Matt and Lauren on a challenging journey, beginning with the November 2009 discovery of a malignant brain tumor in Matt. The Lord has been infinitely merciful to provide peace and comfort in uncertainty, and joy in times of victory and healing. Lauren and her family have been given a deeper trust in clinging to the Lord and his cross during this appointed season of valleys and storms.



C A S E Y W I E G A N D
Casey Wiegand is married to her best friend, Christopher, and mom to a 3-year-old boy, Aiden, a 2-year-old girl, Ainsleigh and baby, Apple. She blogs at CaseyLeigh where you can expect pieces of her perspective on life, faith, kids, loss, marriage, with touches of art, creative inspiration, projects and things she loves along the way. Writing and sharing Christ is a true passion of hers and being able to share her life and thoughts through this space has been an amazing journey so far. She desperately wants to encourage others and love people well. Casey is a free spirit and lives with her family in Dallas, Texas.



J A M I  N A T O 
Jami is a married mother of three living in imperfection and shares her marriage story of infidelity, the raising of a special needs child, her mothering-fails, and inability to do laundry to tell a bigger story of how God works in the messy and the unrepairable broken. She loves photography, blogging, crafting, and margaritas. Jami blogs at from the natos



J E S S  M C C L E N A H A N 
When Jess married her high-school sweetheart, she was plucked out of the city and transplanted straight onto a Kansas farm. She now lives in a charming farmhouse, where the door is always open. Jess is the mama to two rambunctious boys here on earth and one precious girl in heaven. On her blog, The Macs, Jess authentically shares her journey through grief, her life wrangling two boys, and her desire to live abundantly in all circumstances. Jess is passionate about pursuing God, being intentional with her children, and living purposefully as she waits in hope. Her greatest desire is to know Christ intimately and to share His faithfulness with others.



D A N I E L L E  B U R K L E O 
Danielle is a mom and a wife who needs a shower and whole lot of grace. She met her dashing husband on the internet, which is sort of fitting, and is blessed to do life alongside her best friend and their three little ones. She enjoys blogging, photography, carbs, and getting crafty from time to time. She's not afraid to admit her love of fonts and tweeting. Danielle is passionate about abolishing child sex trafficking and is a LOVE146 task force leader in upstate New York. If she could tell you one thing it would be be brave. She loves and she laughs and she's falling more in love with her maker every day.  



S H A N N A N  M A R T I N
Shannan Martin and her husband have three kids who came to them across oceans and rivers. As a family, they recently left their pretty farmhouse in the country for a heap of citified crazy, where they're finding more of God and a lot of rascally teenagers. Shannan enjoys refining her salsa palate and falling deeper into the fullness of grace as she learns more about loving the way she is Loved. Follow her adventure at Flower Patch Farmgirl or on Twitter as @flowerpatchfg.



H A N N A H  S I N G E R 
Hannah is wifey to a patient man and an adoptive mama to an always busy boy; they live in a cozy downtown apartment in North Dakota. Hers is a story of rescue from sin and shame, being awakened daily by the gospel, to make Christ known. She loves to share her faith, thoughts on parenting her child with special needs, and encouragement for others. In her precious free time, she creates jewelry, sends snail mail, and laughs at her husband's jokes. She is fueled by black coffee, cupcakes, and the relentless grace of Jesus. Follow her journey on her blog Happy Days and on twitter @wifeysinger.



M A N D Y  C A S T R O
Mandy is the proud wife to Jason, her traveling music man, and a stay at home mom to Madeline, her sweet and silly toddler. Whole Foods is her happy place and a good mocha is her drink of choice. Jesus Christ is the lover of her soul and Mandy is grateful for His unending love and mercy that has transformed her life and continues to do so on a daily basis. Her greatest desire is to love God and love His people.



W Y N N E  E L D E R
Wynne is a Texas girl married to her best friend wildly chasing after God's plan for her life. She's an incredibly blessed adoptive momma to the most beautiful Ethiopian babies she knows, Camp + Asher. Her blog, Gloriously Ruined, is a place where stories are told, hope is given, and the firm belief that anybody can change the world is spoken. Wynne's own life was gloriously ruined by her trips to visit and love on orphans in Africa, and she's using her stories and voice to encourage others to step out of their comfort zone and be ruined too. You can always find her trying to "purchase with purpose", rocking Noonday Collection, and drinking Ethiopian coffee.



L E S L I E  P A D G E T T
Leslie sees her faith like it's a novel being authored by Jesus. In the difficult chapters, she's learned that God has called her to be the heroine in her own story, and she tries to follow His lead with passion and courage. Leslie has also learned that part of her story is in the telling of it, because it's God's story, really, and sharing what she's learned is a holy offering. Leslie blog parts of that story at top of the page. When she's not blogging, she's wifing, mothering, crafting, sewing, and nestling into their new life in the snowy hills of Montana. But God never stops authoring her faith; His grace is what makes it amazing. And when He writes, she's pretty sure He uses a vintage typewriter.