that. So, I would have lunches with her and kept communications with her. Eventually she ended up staying with my mom and then ended up getting married. What was your most rewarding time as a mother? Well, now our daughter is a very successful cosmetologist, she got married and we have our first grandchild, and her name is Righteous. Those are the rewarding times. And she’s also my hairdresser. Advice for women and mothers: Keep the faith! Even though it may look like it’s hard at times, keep the faith and God will bring you all through it, including your child. Dede Osborn Lomenick Rio Vista Community Church Founder of theUnleashedWomen’sMovement, DedeOsborn Lomenick is a gifted speaker, Christian comedienne and creator of “The Divine Momedy – Word to Your Mother,” an unforgettable showcombining stand-up comedy and song. She and her estranged husband Matt Lomenick, former executive pastor at Rio Vista Church, have three daughters, one natural and two adopted through foster care. “I always wanted to adopt because I was adopted as well,” said Lomenick. For years, Lomenick served on the women’s ministry at Rio Vista Community Church, did a lot of volunteer care and was on staff for a time doing children's ministry. How did she get into comedy? “Over a decade ago I was really ill and while I was laid up, I began reading about standup comedy. I wrote some funny skits for church. Then a friend who was doing a comedy thing asked if I’d like to open for her. I said, yes! And it just felt like this was exactly what I was made to do.” She uses her comedy as a type of ministry. “Comedy has a way of having people relax and let down their guard, then you're able to look at our humanity and our struggles and put some deep truth in there.” In 2019 Lomenick set into motion a new vision God gave her for a movement of women, Unleashed. It developed intomulti-churchweekend conferenceswherewomen could learn to live in the freedomonlyChrist can bring, connect with others and leverage their gifts to do big things for Christ. More than 600women attended theUnleashed from 60 different churches, and they continued it the following year before COVID hit. What do you believe is God’s calling for you? I think it would be comedy, but also authenticity, and not authenticity just for shock value, but instead just being able to get us past all the cultural niceties and really bemore honest about what we're dealing with. Is the role of women changing in the faith community? I would say I don't think it's changed enough.As of today, women have very limited roles in the denomination that I'm currently in, which is the PCA. It doesn't mean that women need to be in charge of everything, but I do think that God gavewomen different outlooks. Each brings something different to the table, and theymight be able to explain things differently when talking about a passage of scripture or praying. I feel like we've missed out on the voices of some incredibly gifted women. What Bible verse has encouraged you? “Delight yourself in the Lord andwill give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm37:4). What was your most challenging time as a mother? The biggest challenges have been most recently, continuing to encourage them in the gospel when they're very confused about what they believe. The only thing I can do is continue to try to live out the fact that my faith has not changed. My desire to see them in godlymarriages has not changed, and I still believe that God ordained all those things. What was your most rewarding time as a mother? It is a joy towatch your children assimilate their faith. I think themost rewarding thing is towatch how this unfortunate situation has bonded them inways theyweren't bonded before. It doesn't mean they didn't love each other, but God is using this circumstance to kind of teach them how to hang on to Him and how to minister to each other. Advice for women and mothers: I think culturally, everybody has something to say about every single age of kids. Newborns are so exhausting. You’ll never get to sleep again. My kid, he's two. Oh, those are the worst, then middle school and high school… I've spoken to tons of people just about speaking words of life about their children instead of pre-deciding that those are all going to be horrible stages. Every stage comes with wins and losses, but the bigger thing is to choose to enjoy them at every age, which is not always easy. COVER STORY 30 May 2022 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition The Lomenick Family From left to right: Reina Lomenick, Dede Osborn Lomenick, Rachel Lomenick and Delaney Lomenick
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