The dictionary defines a compass as a device that points in the direction of magnetic north and allows someone to take their bearings off it. A compass gives you both direction and reference. And every family needs a compass. Without having a direction and the ability to define reference points, a family can be lost.

I started this site to talk about a number of difficult topics that we have struggled with in our family. These include parenting a special needs child (in our case, two children), while also caring and nurturing a gifted child. We also talk about our true north: Jesus Christ. We are blessed by Christ’s love and enjoy sharing our passion of Evangelical Christianity. We call our faith Compassionate Evangelicalism and it is our compass.

I’m Anna. I’m blessed with an amazing husband Michael, who works as a general contractor. Together, we live in Missouri and are raising our seven beautiful children. All of our children are special, but three of them have unique needs: Matthew has autism with partial deafness, Mark has ADHD and dyslexia, and Genevieve is extremely gifted but socially awkward. That’s not to say the other four aren’t unique. We have an athlete (Alex), a musician (Christopher), an engineer (Lola), and an artistic scientist (Nancy). All of our children are an example of God’s blessings – special and unique in their own way.

I have to admit, raising four boys and three girls on a daily basis can be a bit of a challenge. We’ve struggled with behavioral problems and other struggles, but each day, we look to God’s word to guide our actions. These days, the struggle is more difficult.

All around us, we see a word abandoning the good word. We see people claiming the mantle of Christianity, yet they are not true Christians. They pervert the word of God. In their hands, Christianity is not a religion of love and peace, it is a tool to enrich themselves while they do evil. Nowhere is the perversion more evident than in mainstream Evangelicalism. Multi-millionaires live in mansions, drive fancy cars, and enrich themselves at their mega churches while reading scriptures of peace, love, and poverty. It’s disgusting. Here at The Williams Family Compass, I want to create a space where we can discuss true Christianity, not the bastardized Taliban-like fake religion offered by mainstream Evangelicalism and cable news channels.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6