Thankful for Opportunities to Speak

I am amazed and thankful for all the opportunities 

I have had to speak at during the years.  God gave

me a passion to speak as I was finishing up my

softball career, and I told Him, "I can't speak."

God showed me that He would open doors if

I would be faithful to share about what He has done

in my life.  I have seen that our God is ALWAYS

faithful.  He definitely deserves all praise for 

all the blessings in my life.

 Last summer I spoke at
Surfers 4 Christ at Bolsa
Chica Beach.  I love seeing
people use their own gifts
and talents (teaching surfing)
and using it as a way to share
the love of God with others.

 At Jennie Finch's camps all
over the US we offer a Sunday
morning devotional.  I love
seeing how many girls and
their families show up to
be in the Word before
taking the field!

 I have been blessed to speak
to HS Softball Teams, like the
Rancho Vista HS SB Team
in Temecula.

Throwback picture of me at the
Women's College World Series
with one of our fans, Erin :)

So excited to speak at the FCA
Remarkable Girls Conference this
weekend in Ocean City, NJ.

I have also been able to speak

at Opening Ceremonies for 

leagues.  This year I spoke

at Pico Rivera and La Habra

Opening Ceremonies.  I love

seeing all the excited girls looking

forward to another season starting.

 I spoke at a High School
Girls Female Athlete Banquet
called Girls Got Game last
month.  I was pumped after
sharing my story with 600
HS female athletes!

I love camps and clinics and even when

I get to work out with just a team.

Stephanie Cluff asks me to come

out each year to work with her

team in Rialto and these girls always

work hard with a smile on their

faces.

 We have had one Jennie Finch
camp so far this year in Mission
Viejo, CA and are looking forward
to her other camps in NY, MS, VA,
AR, IL, and PA.

I enjoyed working with a youth league

in NJ last month.  They are working hard

to grow the sport in their area in Manalapan.

I spoke at Tabor College in Kansas 

last month.  I spoke to all the student

athletes and was impressed with

their athletic credentials. The softball

team is pictured above.

 I love Fellowship of Christian Athletes!!
I was honored to speak at the banquet in
Dalton, Ga.  God is moving!  That was such
an awesome night hearing about all God
is doing on school campuses and in sports
in particular.

 I was able to speak at Santa
Fe Christian to the middle school
and high school students at
Chapel again this year.  This
is a wonderful school and I
enjoyed sharing and encouraging
them in their faith!

 Last year in September
I spoke for FCA and Kaye
O'Sullivan and we had 200
collegiate female athletes
in attendance.  Kaye is a
wonderful leader and mentor
and I have enjoyed hearing about
all God is doing on those college
campuses around Spartanburg, SC.

Last summer I took a team
of HS Softball players from
all over the US and we even
had one Canadian with us :)
We traveled to Madrid and
Barcelona and played against
the local teams.  We learned so
much about the culture and I
fell in love with Barcelona!!
I want to go back some day.
These girls who travel with me
all become like adopted daughters.
Our time together is so special.
We even had a day where we
taught softball to some adults
with special needs and we were able
to have lunch with them and watch
them work and help them out.  These
girls hearts are so great and I think
we all walked away so blessed after
that experience!  I love when we
get glimpses of what it looks like
when you put others first and have
actions that line up with that.

Family

 What a busy year last year
was and this year is starting
out the same!  I wouldn't
have it any other way.  My
boys keep me on my toes
and life is never boring!  I
love my family.

 Family time in Big
Bear is a yearly trip
for us.

 We haven't been to Disneyland
as a family in 8 years!  It was
so fun to go on all the big
rides with our boys.

 These boys are growing so fast.

 I spoke in Kansas in Februaty
so I was able to drive to visit
my Grandpa.  He turns 100
years old on March 30th!!
Happy Birthday Grandpa!

 Thanks to our friends, the Lewan
Family, we were able to tour
the fire station.

 The cousins LOVE spending
time together.

 Tommy and I celebrated 17
years of marriage on January
3rd.

 Fun rainy day at Knott's Berry
Farm & a chance for a photo with
the Snoopy gang :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day from
these 2 cuties.

 Our 2 dogs: Grover and Teddy :)

 We had a great time over the
holidays with our parents.
They live in Boston so it's
always a treat when they
come to stay over Christmas
with us.

Alabama Regionals in Tuscaloosa

 After games last week at Baylor and
Arizona, this weekend I am headed
to be an analyst at games in
Tuscaloosa, AL.

The teams at that Regional competing
to advance to Super Regionals are:

Alabama
Washington
USC Upstate
Fairfield


The facilities are beautiful in
Tuscaloosa and I'm excited to be
working with play by play
announcer, Cara Capuano.
Games are on Fri, Sat and Sun.

MAY is for SOFTBALL!!

I am heading to New York for Jennie Finch
Softball Camp this weekend!  This is the
time of year when I am thinking SOFTBALL
almost the entire month!! I am excited to
be an analyst next week for:

Texas at Baylor: Wed May 6 on ESPN2
at 8pm EST

Oregon at Arizona: Sat May 9 on ESPNU
at 8:30pm PST

Then it will be the exciting time of
finding out where post season begins
for each team on Sunday, May 10th!

I love this time of year.  The weather
is beautiful, school is almost out, and
SOFTBALL is almost to post season
and finding out who the 2015 Women's
College World Series Champion will
be!!

FCA Remarkable Girls Conference

I was excited and honored to speak

this past weekend at the Remarkable

Girls Conference in Damascus, MD!

Denise Ginsburg, and her amazing team

with FCA and other women of faith

put in all their hard work and a lot

of prayer to make this event happen.

We had close to 200 female athletes

attend and experience an amazing

worship time, power talks, yummy food,

and a time of prayer.  God was lifted high

and His truth went forth.  I am excited

to hear how He moves in the lives of

the girls at this event going forward.

The girls also had a chance to 

listen to some University of Maryland

softball players and a track athlete.

 I was able to see some girls from
VA after meeting them last Sept.
at Jennie Finch Softball Camp!
They even gave me a shirt with
softball, heart and Bible verse
on it.  I can't wait to wear it.

 One of the speakers was Jessica
Stewart with FCA in Tennessee.
She has a powerful testimony of
how God changes everything when
you follow Him with all your heart.

 God led me to speak on what
the Bible tells us about truth
and who Jesus is.  I read a lot
of verses from 1 John that show
how we are to live in light, live
in love, and live in victory!

 It was so great to see so many
girls and women together singing
praises to God.

 These are the awesome FCA
women who made this all
possible!  Denise Ginsburg,
Jessica Stewart, me, Courtney
Ginsburg, and my friend, Donna
Noonan.

 I love how God works together
all things!  Caity (on the far left)
lived with my family this past
Oct-January to work as a travel
nurse.  She also coaches varsity
softball and brought her players
to a clinic on Friday night and
a couple of the girls came back
Saturday to the event.

 Even though it was a quick trip,
I was able to speak to the local
HS lacrosse teams and put on
a hitting clinic Friday night when
I arrived in MD.  I feel so fortunate
to be able to encourage female
athletes around the country!

 Before flying out on Sunday,
I was able to share the gold
medals with the Sunday school
classes at Redeemer Lutheran
Church and attend their Sunday
service.  This is the church where
we had the girls event.  Another
great trip in the books and it's
one I will remember for a long
time to come.  God was moving
and I have new friends on the
east coast!!

New Shirts!!!

I am excited to share the 1 Cor
10:31 shirts I have in stock. If you
want to purchase a shirt, they are
$20 (including S&H)- they
come in sizes youth medium
to Adult 2XL.  You can pay
through paypal:
leah20usa@gmail.com

When you send payment, let
me know if you want me to
sign the shirt! Make sure to
include the size and an
address. Thanks and
keep shining for the Lord in
ALL you do!

Lots of school, travel, softball, speaking, and more. . .

I have not been good about updating

my blog, so here is a blast of

pictures from the past few months:

2014-2015 school year. . .

 It has been a crazy, busy couple
of months!  School is in full swing
(I am homeschooling once again),
and we are balancing it all as I
have had many opportunities
to travel, instruct, and speak.
In terms of teaching my boys,
I now have a 2nd grader, 3rd
grader, and 7th grader!  Where
has the time gone?!

JFSC VA

We continue to do Jennie
Finch Camps (our last one
for 2014 is this weekend in
Tucson, AZ!).  I'm excited
to get back to Wildcat Country
and see some of my favorite
people in the softball world!

JFSC AL

 Jennie, Crystl Bustos and I all
have birthdays in early September,
so Jennie decided to rent out the
paintball facility to celebrate!  It
was my first and my last time but
it was a lot of crazy fun.  Memories
were made for sure that day!

Bible Study Sunday morning
at JFSC

It was exciting to get the NEW
FCA Softball Sports New Testament!
Just released this fall and it features
my former teammates and coach and
other softball stars!

Softball continues to bring new
friends into my life, and I love
how God just combines opportunities
to see friends from across the country!
Taylor (TN) and Caity (VA) were
involved with Jennie's camp in VA
and we all traveled to the Dominican
Republic in the summer of 2013.
We will be traveling to Spain together
next summer with America's Team!

Taylor and Caity

This summer, we went to a Red Sox  vs Angels game so
Tommy could cheer on his favorite team!

I had the chance to meet Willie
Robertson from Duck Dynasty
in Sulphur, LA when Jennie
Finch and Sulphur put on a
fundraiser for the Wounded
Warrior Amputee Softball
Team.  We had Jennie's camp
that weekend as well.  It was
AWESOME!  And Willie is
such a great guy!  We even
played outfield together- he
can play :)

 I turned the BIG 4-0 in
September!! And I was able
to spend my birthday with
my family and closest friends.
The older you get, the more
you realize that the greatest
gifts in life are the relationships
you have with those around you!

I also took a trip to Mexico
for my birthday.  We planned
to go to Cabo San Lucas but
a hurricane destroyed the area
one week before we were
supposed to be there.  So we
had a quick change of plans
and went to Rosarito.  It was
fun to spend quality time with
my brother and sister-in-law
and my best friend and her
husband.

 The food was amazing!!

 We found some fun treasures. . .

 And I crossed a bucket list
item: Riding horses on the beach!

 Drew and Luke are finishing up
their soccer season.  Luke's team
is undefeated heading into play-offs.
Drew's team has struggled but he
has met some new friends and
enjoyed being out on the field.

 I have been honored to have
more opportunities to share
about how important Jesus
is in our lives!  I spoke at the
Ashlie Pipkin Memorial
Tournament in Sumter, SC
in September.

September also marked a full
year of working out.  I haven't
done workouts like these since
I retired 10 years ago.  Although
the weights are not as heavy,
it has been hard work and I
have enjoyed the struggle!

 I spoke at the Purpose
Conference for teen girls
in Norco, CA.

It was so nice to have
some quality girlfriend time.
A few weeks ago, I spent a
Fri-Sat with some
dear friends of mine at
Beth Moore's Conference
in San Diego.
It was refreshing and
encouraging!

 We celebrated my niece,
Brooklyn's, 3rd Birthday
in September, and Drew's
9th Birthday on October 8th.

I was excited to get the chance to 

go back to West Virginia.  Faith

Christian Fellowship brought me out

for a softball outreach and to speak

at their Sunday church service.  I

was so honored and have met the

most wonderful people!  It was such

a bonus to have the entire Marshall

University Softball Team and staff

help at the clinic and come to the

church service.  

 We took a family field trip to the
San Diego Safari Park last month 
and it was so nice to have Tommy
go with us!

Oak Glen . .

 Oak Glen is a family tradition
and this year we were able to
have Caity go with us.  She is
staying with our family for 3
months as a travel nurse in the
OR at Children's Hospital Los
Angeles.  She also helped us to
get some great shots for family
pictures.

Cousins

 My niece, Taylor, is playing travel
ball now for CIA out of Chino Hills.
I was able to speak to the girls a few
weeks ago.  My passion is to encourage,
inspire, and empower these young ladies
to be all that God has called them to be!

 I was honored to speak at a
fundraiser for Westmont Girls
Basketball as they are preparing
for a trip next summer to Africa.
Santa Barbara is so beautiful-
it was fun to enjoy the weather
and beach for the short time we
were there.

 A couple weeks ago, I helped
at a clinic at Lander University
in South Carolina.  We also worked
with FCA and I was able to share
about the love of Christ.  I love how
God is connecting me with others
who have the same heart!  The
Lander Head Softball Coach is
Tina Whitlock, and we were
teammates when we were 14
years old and then again in Women's
Ball.  She is so strong and bold in
her faith!  It was inspiring.

We hung out with good friends on

Halloween this year.  The boys

enjoyed dressing up and getting

candy!  They wore these costumes

to their Thursday classes that

they take.

 I was able to speak this week
for Sports World in Watertown,
NY and surrounding towns.  The
response was so encouraging!  These
students just need reminders sometimes
that they are not alone in their
struggles, and they all can achieve
greatness with hard work!

Tommy has been working so hard:

eating healthy and working out and

 I am SO proud of him!  He 

has lost so much weight and

has shown great discipline!

In January we will celebrate 

our 16th Wedding Anniversary!

 This has been a very hectic couple
months, but I cannot complain at all.
We are beyond blessed and I am
thankful for my family and for
all that God has allowed me to do.
I am looking forward to the holidays
with my loved ones!  I can't believe
it's already November.