Spiritual and Family History

Tiffany Bohrer

Google “the meaning of Tiffany” and you will find that it means “Manifestation of God.” My parents told me that my name symbolized God’s

greatest encouragement in the form of creativity. I am so grateful for their declaration of purpose with my name and the courage and faith of my strong

family roots to see every Big Dream Come True!

From the very beginning, I would listen to stories from my Grandfather who was awarded the Purple Heart during Word War II. Through tear filled eyes, he would tell me how he saw Jesus stand above his fox hole giving him peace and hope to make it through all the landmines and the promise of returning safely home.

I was born in Huntington Beach, California. My Father was a passionate, hard-working salesman. My Mother was a strong

adventurous homemaker, that transformed a humble beach house into her proudly professed “Love Shack.” My primary years are filled with

images of seashell hunts with my Mom in matching outfits that she made by hand, peewee cheerleading, swimming and winning sand

building contests at a very young age. “Most Original” was my prize title at the age of four.

The beach has always been a very powerful place of connection for me and my precious times with God. I have wonderful memories of taking long

walks and talks with my Dad along the shoreline, smiling and saying hello to everyone we encountered. Our footprints would magically disappear behind us, as the surf would usher in a clean slate for tomorrow. I would stare over

the water, listening to the crash of the waves, the whispering secrets of shells and feel the most incredible presence of God and his creative power.

At the age of 6, we moved to Texas and soon thereafter, my parents divorced. For many years I lived with my Mom and younger brother in the harsh lands of West Texas. Although my mother did her best to recreate the “love shack” in Texas, my heart

belonged to the white sandy beaches with annual summer trips to rekindle my first love and dream of living by the shore.

Perseverance not only runs in our family… It Swims! I decided to “bloom where I was planted” and if you can bloom next to tumbleweeds and scorpions; you can bloom

anywhere. My determination found resolve in a lap pool, where it filled the void of the missing ocean. In fact, I swam so much, that I raised more funds for the American

Cancer Society than any other man, woman or child in the entire West Texas region. The “Swim for Life” leaders finally told me to stop swimming and go home, like

everyone else had done hours earlier. I was 11 years old.

My Mom always encouraged a very personal relationship with Jesus. She would say we should always have our Spiritual Breakfast… that it was the most important meal of the day. She would read the bible to us every morning with a devotional to help us have the right vision and perspective for the day.

“Life is What You Make It!” - Mom

My Dad encouraged me to be very thorough with my spiritual training and to always check my facts and be very well read. He balanced the good feeling of a devotional with some good ole fashion Hermeneutics and Exegesis! Seek the truth! And

do it with a smile!

“Smile and the world smiles with you ” - Dad

Both of my parents provided a diverse denominational journey. I have had the privilege of worshipping God in many different venues including Lutheran, Full Gospel, Baptist, Methodist and Non-Denominational churches. I found God’s love everywhere. I also found one focus in diversity. Different declarations of doctrines and a myriad of messages all boil down to one thing: the unwavering and consistent love of God. The Gospel of Mark tells us to “love God with all of

your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” And that there is no greater commandment than to “love your neighbor as yourself.” My role in my best life

is also a commitment to my name sake. My role is to be one who loves, encourages and gives the gift of manifesting success and healing to others

through an extraordinary and divine friendship with Jesus Christ.

One of the greatest testimonies of God’s power in perseverance is in the life of a quadriplegic named Chuck. As a boy, he jumped head first from a high-dive into a shallow pool and broke his neck. At the age of 14, Chuck was sentenced to a wheelchair for life. If that wasn’t enough, he survived more car wrecks than I can count and a horrific two-story fall from an elevator malfunction. And yet, Chuck never complains. Ever. He says what he means and does what he says and always with a smile. I know this because Chuck is my Step Father. He married my mom when I was a teenager.

My Mom became a Registered Nurse to support our family after the divorce. She worked long hours to help bring healing to everyone she

met both professionally and personally. She fell in love with Chuck when he was in a wheelchair knowing that her responsibilities would

far exceed the vision of fairy tales and life happily lived ever after. How did she do it? A lot of laughter, grace, persistence and a very authentic relationship with Christ that is continually filled with the

qualities of 1 Cor. 13:4 “Love is patient. Love is Kind.”

My Dad is also very persevering. He is remarried to my beautiful step-mother Vanessa who is a fantastic mom and teacher. They have two handsome boys

Jonathan and Ryan. My Dad’s work over the years has included countless hours with overseeing the 24 hour Prayer Hotline at his local church,

coaching my brothers’ athletic teams and staying fit as an avid runner in several marathons. Ironically, one marathon that is worth mentioning is the

race where he pushed a dear friend who is a quadriplegic in an 8K run for charity. I am so very grateful for his inspiring and clear vision of the verse

Hebrews 12:1 “Let us run with perseverance!”

This is a snapshot of me and my younger brother Jimmy. My brother’s greatest inspiration in my life growing up was his sense of humor, awesome break dancing skills and honesty. He is very passionate about his family and his love for Christ with a brilliant creative flair. As a child he was always either making me giggle non-stop or making me cry by putting horny toads in my bed. As an adult, you can find him married to his stunning wife with 2 beautiful children while performing skits in church where he sings like Prince and break dances like Michael Jackson entertaining hundreds of people in worship services.

I was taught at a very young age that “Faith without works is dead.” I believe that a living faith is very actively producing

good works. I followed in my parents footsteps by volunteering and fund raising on an active level all during elementary school,

Jr. High and High School. What started with Swim for Life at age 11 continued with becoming the Statewide Winner of the

MDA - Jerry Lewis School “Hop-a-Thon” Fundraiser when I was a senior in high school. I raised close to $10,000 with one

fundraiser while competing for Miss Teen Texas.

After high school, I moved to Lubbock, Texas and received a B.A. in Fine Art from Texas Tech University. My brother enrolled a couple of years later and became a Youth Minister at a local church. I was extremely active at the Methodist Student Foundation where I met my first husband who was also a Youth Minister. It must have been contagious as I too became a Youth Minister. I got to meet some pretty amazing people on this journey. You can see me here with Toby Mac, the lead singer of DC Talk at a Youth Specialties Conference.

Several years later, I was blessed with two beautiful children. London, my amazing beautiful daughter, was the first “manifestation of God.” She can sing like an angel and wants to be a rock star. Now 12 years old, she writes music, plays the guitar,

paints and is an amazing athlete. Hawkins, my fantastic handsome son, is the second gift from God. He is 8 years old and currently the world’s youngest standup

comedian, artist, Beyblade Master and back-up dancer for his sister.

My children are a constant reminder of absolute gratitude, joy and the balance between creative power and humility in my life. Becoming a mother has allowed me

to fully embrace the artist, teacher, leader and minister roles for fully discovering and nurturing our creative spirit with grace and a very enduring steadfast faith.

Over the years I have taught my children to sing, laugh, write, draw, color, paint, dance and pray. I’ve taught them to count, add subtract, speak and

spell. But nothing is as hard as teaching my own children about divorce. I was able to fall back on the foundation of love, forgiveness, faith and grace that my parents have given to me as a divine legacy. I learned valuable and

visible actions of today will bestow hopes and dreams in my children’s tomorrow.

Several years after my divorce, I married my husband Joe Bohrer. We met while I was working as a contracted director of logistics for the

International Creativity Launch. He was chosen as an official ambassador and was being honored for his creative work with HGTV and PBS showcasing his fine art and furniture design. That certainly was

impressive enough, but it was Joe’s similar spiritual side that was very intriguing to me. It turns out that Joe had been a Southern Baptist Minister

for twenty years before becoming a Creative Director. We were kindred spirits from the start with love at first sight when we met.

As Joe and I embarked on our new creative mission together, I became the step-mother of two more beautiful children who are out on their own in this wonderful world. Logan is 20 years old and has his Dad’s creative

sense of adventure with dreams of changing the world through skateboard and tee-shirt designs. Vanessa is 26 years old and is

diligently working her way through college with dreams of one day owning her own cinema fashion design company.

Over the years I have received many inspirational blessings over my life. I keep these positive affirmations tucked away in an encouragement file. I focus on my

mission statement daily to know God’s plan for my life. One verse that I truly enjoy is the one said in church every Sunday at Journey. “God can do anything you

know, far more than you and I can ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working with us, his Spirit

deeply and gently within us.” -Ephesians 3:20

My wildest dream ever since I was a little girl… “Be a great leader for exciting creativity with a cause surrounded by the love of my family.”