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Our Charis Family
Nancy Prevatt
Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my
journey into the field of birthing work! I am
Help Meet to Todd, for 15 years come February
14th, he is my best friend and the most wonderful
man I have ever known. I'm also mother to
three amazing children; Ethan 13, Kiley 10 1/2, and
Gavin 4, and two in Jesus’ arms. I am so thankful to
be able to teach them at home and experience
everyday with them! I graduated from Edison
College in 2000 receiving my Associates in Science
degree for Nursing. Let me go back and explain
how God lead me to Charis!
As a little girl being raised in a rural township
southeast of Cincinnati, Ohio I always loved to get
to go with my mother to work. If it was a sick
day, snow day, or any other school closure day she
would take me to the office with her. She
worked for an OB/GYN and she would let me stuff
envelopes and then as I grew older they would let me
setup the exam rooms and even do the urine checks.
I knew from that time that I wanted to be a Midwife.
My family & I moved to south Florida in 1994 and I
continued to take college preparatory classes
working towards my goal. I met my soon-to-be
husband in high school and we were married in the
middle of my senior year in 1997. I had
friends and family who thought I would never
graduate because of getting married. This made
me even more determined to prove them all wrong.
Thanks to a very generous elderly man in our
community that established a scholarship program for
my school district I was able to enroll in college
and began prerequisites for my nursing degree.
I thought this would be the appropriate course of
action. Labor & delivery then midwifery
following were in the back of my mind. In 1998
we welcomed the news that we would be starting our
own family. Again, I faced opposition that I
would never be able to complete my college education
because I was pregnant and going to now be a wife
and mother. One day, while I was pregnant, I was
doing volunteer hours at my father’s work helping
with the free food distribution when the Sheriff
came up to speak with me. We discussed my goals of
becoming a midwife, he felt the need to offer me
some words of advice…he told me that I needed to
decide whether I wanted to have my own babies or
deliver other people’s babies. I do think that
statement halted my plans for a while nonetheless.
When it came time to enroll into the 2 year nursing
program I was tutoring our evangelist’s daughter and
the church was offering to pay my way to go to Texas
for special training to teach homeschoolers. I
prayed long and hard about my options. I had
to submit an essay and references with my
application to the nursing program. I prayed
that God would help me to make the right decision by
not allowing me to get accepted to the program if He
didn’t want me to be a nurse. Long story
short, I was granted a few hours a day up from bed
rest to go to classes and had our first son via
cesarean right before my first semester finals. I
completed nursing school through a pregnancy, a
newborn, breastfeeding, and a toddler.
It is something I look back on and I cannot believe
I did it!
I knew shortly in the first semester that nursing
was not what I wanted to do. I did not agree
in my spirit with the medical model and hated the
idea of relying so heavily on prescription
medications. I always had a heart to help
people and that was not actually what nursing was
all about. When our eldest was in first grade
and our daughter a preschooler, I resigned from my
position as a hospice nurse and began homeschooling
our children. I knew that receiving my RN license
was something God had helped me to do and I knew he
would use it for His glory somewhere. I just
didn’t know how, when, or where! About 6
months ago I decided to help supplement our family
finances by doing agency work, in doing so I would
have to be an independent contractor. My very
dear friend suggested to me that I offer my own
services to new mothers and their babies.
Through research I discovered the world of birthing
work. This made sense to me. I could begin
right away offering myself as a
doula and continue my education. I began
watching everything I could online and via home
delivered movies, I dug out old college books, read
everything I could get my hands on, and
started ordering new books on the topic. I
researched certifying organizations and believed I
had made my choice after discussing it with my
husband (even though I really wanted a
Christ-centered training). I was ready to
click that button to pay when I received a message
from Doran Richards regarding a booklet I had
ordered from Blessings God’s Way. We began
talking about my desires and long term goals of
midwifery. She recommended I contact her
friend Kristin Schuchmann, the director of Charis
Childbirth. I am so glad I did! I
started with Charis in October and look forward to
meeting you all!
God bless~~Nancy F. Prevatt
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Charis Cuisine
Autumn Harvest Soup
Submitted by Heather Jones, who made some of her
delicious Autumn Harvest Soup for her family and thought
we would enjoy it, too!
4-6 servings
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable broth, or olive oil
1 ½ cups chopped (about 2) leeks
1 ½ cups quartered brussels sprouts
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 large potato, chopped
1 cup acorn squash, peeled, chopped
(or butternut, pumpkin,
sweet potato)
3/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, to taste
2 cloves minced garlic
3 cups vegetable broth, or water
1 cup (packed) chopped swiss chard or collard greens
1 firm, peeled and chopped large tomato
1 chopped sweet red or green bell pepper
1 ½ teaspoons dried dill weed
½ teaspoon marjoram
½ teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons soy sauce, or to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ cup almond or soy milk
sunflower seeds, for garnish
fresh parsley, minced for garnish
Directions
In a dutch oven or stockpot, cook the first 11
ingredients (everything through the garlic) over medium
heat, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes; stirring
intermittently.
Add stock or water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer.
Cover and let it cook slowly until everything is tender,
another 15 to 20 minutes.
Add swiss chard or greens, tomato chunks, and chopped
bell pepper. Simmer about 5 more minutes.
Add herbs, soy sauce, and lemon juice and continue to
simmer another 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the almond or soy
milk just before serving or add separately by tablespoon
to each bowl.
Garnish each bowlful with a sprinkle of sunflower seeds
and parsley. (I haven't tried it with the garnish
yet.)
About leeks:
Choose those with crisp, brightly colored
leaves and an unblemished white portion. Avoid any
with withered or yellow‑spotted leaves. The
smaller the leek, the more tender it will be.
Refrigerate leeks in a plastic bag up to 5 days.
Before using, trim rootlets and the darkest portion of
the green tops (the whole leek is edible, but the darker
green portions have a stronger, less pleasant flavor).
Slit the leeks from top to bottom and wash thoroughly to
remove all the dirt trapped between the leaf layers.
Enjoy! Blessings, Heather Jones
Wishing you and yours a warm, loving,
family-filled, blessed Thanksgiving! |
