Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamara Lexow.
Hi Tamara, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have spent most of my adult life in ministry to children, students, and families. I’m passionate about walking hand in hand with people, women especially, to help them see the value and worth God has placed in them. My mom died from suicide in 1997. She faced a divorce, I was a college student, and she felt she was no longer needed anywhere. I don’t ever want another person to feel trapped by depression or self-doubt. I write, speak, lead studies, and work with recovery groups to help people step out of trauma, find their inherent value as a child of God, and find the voice He has given them. This passion connected me with Hopeful Hearts Ministry, where I am the Director of Development. I work with founder Shannon Carr to create programs, retreats, and studies that will help survivors of trauma and abuse step out of darkness and shame and into the light.
I also love makeup. It’s a fun and artistic way to highlight inner beauty. I work with teen girls and women to teach skin care and makeovers. I have worked with SnapGirl Photography for several years. Owner and photographer, Jen Pisani, and I both believe a beautiful photograph highlights the light God has placed inside each individual. It’s our job to help them shine.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Jesus promised his followers that life would never be easy, but he would always be with us. I am a living example of that promise. Before my mom’s death, we had plans to open a day spa together. Her death changed the path I thought I was on, but thankfully, Jesus has guided me every step of the way. My husband and I got married in 1999 and made a pact to always be “Team Lexow.” That pact hasn’t always been an easy one to keep. We faced infertility and pregnancy loss for several years, before finally having our two children. We have ridden the waves of market changes, housing changes, and just about any other change you could imagine! But thankfully, God has held us together when we didn’t have the strength to do it on our own.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Having recently joined Hopeful Hearts Ministry, I have been focused on raising funds for future ministry work. We are a non-profit, and, like most ministries, the pandemic was a tough blow. So many more people need help from organizations like ours, but less people can give. We are focused on providing peer support, healing yoga and breathing classes, book studies, and retreats. Now that the world is opening up again, we hope to offer someday and weekend retreats soon. I have been working on writing a book that I hope to finish this year. It is part memoir and part faith lessons. My style is to tell stories and bring humor to conversations. I have learned that laughter brings a lot of healing to a hurting soul.
How do you define success?
My hopes and dreams for my life are not defined by money or material things. If I get to the end of my life and see that my husband and children love Jesus, love me, and love to share their lives with others, then my life will have not been lived in vain. I want to run to the arms of Jesus, hearing Him say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant!”
Contact Info:
- Email: tamaralexow@gmail.com
- Website: www.tamaralexow.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/tamaralexow
- Facebook: facebook.com/alltheglitterandgrace
Image Credits:
Jen Pisani
Snap Girl Photography
