Inspiration: David and Angela Munizzi

 In Inspiration

Seeing as how I skipped last Friday’s Inspiration post, I thought I’d give you a double dose of inspiration to make up for it. Today’s Inspiration Friday is about not one, but two amazing people. These two individuals have been the most influential people in my life, and they have known me longer than anyone else. Of course, they may have some advantage there, because, you see, David and Angela Munizzi are my parents.

My parents are both pastors, so it goes without saying that I was raised in a ministry-focused home. What cannot be taken for granted from that equation, however, is that I would have then also grown up in a God-centered home. Not all people out there who stand behind pulpits every Sunday are leading their lives the way they encourage others to on the non-Sunday days of the week. My parents? If it’s possible, their desire and commitment to serve Christ was the strongest in the quiet moments of our lives: prayers with my sister and I each day before leaving for school and each night before bed, our traditional Saturday morning “bagel and prayer time,” insistence on devotional time for each of us as we ate our breakfast before school each day, and more than anything, a real, living example of the characteristics that they fought to instil in us. My parents are the real deal.

My dad is one of the most real examples of the love of God that I have ever met. His heart bleeds compassion and it is painfully obvious that his whole life exists to simply help others and make God’s love known to the world. If there is one thing that would sum up his hope for me, I know it would be that I would simply fall more in love with God. He taught and showed me that when you fall in love with Jesus, everything else becomes better. I do not take lightly that I was raised with a dad who always put his family first, wasn’t afraid to laugh with us, and even sat through countless “chick flicks” with his wife and two daughters. But what I find most amazing, is that he did all of this while maintaining a gentle humility that is rare amongst men. He absolutely shines with God’s glory and love. He treated me like a princess, but reminded me to strive for being a woman of virtue. He loves my mother and respects her, making sure that my sister and I never settled for anything less than a man that would cherish us. He is my dad, my mentor, my friend. He is an inspiration.

My mother is passionate about the plan and purpose of God. She never stopped believing in me, even when I stopped believing in myself at times. She showed me how to be a strong, vocal woman, but also a woman of faith and integrity, who can lead a charge and clean the house, all the while being both a woman and a lady. She taught me that it’s okay to feel tired at times, and that strength isn’t measure in appearance or dollar value, but in the strength of your character and integrity. She instilled in me an early love for music, and a sensitivity to God’s anointing through song. She worked full-time and still never missed a school event. She would come home from a long day of work and throw together a meal that would melt in your mouth. She showed me that strength and vulnerability can go hand in hand. That a woman can be gentle and strong and still altogether womanly. She set a fire of passion ablaze in my heart for women’s ministry, and showed me the importance of being alone with God to simply worship. She prayed ferocious prayers over my life, and still intercedes on my behalf daily (a fact that she reminds me of on our daily phone calls). She was and is my biggest cheerleader, and she is my best friend. She is an inspiration.

What more can I say? I would not be who I am, where I am, or be doing what I’m doing without them. I hope I can be to my children what they have been to me. They are my heroes. They are an inspiration.

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