The first thing people often notice about Shirley is her smile which she says reflects her joy since coming to know God intimately, and especially when sensing His Presence.

Shirley, an inspirational speaker  and author, was raised in the tiny town of East Palmyra, NY surrounded by many of her extended Dutch family and church friends. As a child and teenager, Shirley was extremely shy and even as an adult she couldn’t get beyond her fear of public speaking.

Then crushing challenges of many kinds put Shirley on her knees where she could hear God more clearly.  And she not only knows Him better, but loves Him more, and has found  courage to obey God’s directions – even when she doesn’t understand or know how! And miracle of miracles, she now enjoys sharing her faith with any size group! No one is more surprised than Shirley over how God has taken this little East Pal Gal into places she never dreamed of being.

Shirley and her husband, Stefan, live on Cape Cod where she has served through a local church for 20 years; chairing major fund raising campaigns, founding and directing both Caring Ministries and wHispers, an ecumenical ministry for women. Shirley is an inspirational speaker and a free-lance writer whose writings have appeared in several publications. (An excerpt of “Financing by Faith,” which was published by the Leadership Journal, is available in the Christianity Today library.  If you would like a copy of the complete article, please contact Shirley.  In their spare time, Shirley and Stefan enjoy visiting their six children and fourteen grandchildren who live throughout the USA.