Say Hi to Diane Swan

Diane Swan is a woman that wears many hats and wears them with class. Besides her wide-brimmed, brown fedora, that is. She is a member of the PennDel Women Dream Team for the South Central section, a credentialed Assemblies of God minister, and a licensed professional counselor, to name a few. But her favorite hats must include mother, MomMom, and devoted follower of Christ. And these hats she never takes off. Diane is incredibly passionate about helping women live victorious lives in Christ because following Jesus truly changed everything for her.

She can remember very her first women's conference, forever etched in her memory. It was two years after she accepted Jesus. She attended the PennDel Women's Fall Conference in Hershey, not knowing what to expect. After saying yes to a girl's weekend, she couldn't have fathomed what God had prepared, changing her life trajectory forever.

She says, "Seeing thousands of women come together to worship the Lord and seek Him was so powerful to me." She was overwhelmed by experiencing the sheer number of sisters in Christ uniting over the common purpose – to worship God. She was blown away by the level of sisterhood and devotion, and hunger for the Lord. She was captivated by God showing up to meet these women in miraculous ways. At this conference, Diane received her own healing and accepted her calling. "I knew, in that moment, there was power in God's daughters coming together, and I wanted to make sure that I was a part of helping other women experience that too!" She's been hooked ever since. Now she is dedicated to the behind-the-scenes work of women's ministry to prepare conferences to create spaces for other women to experience their healings and their specific calling.

 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!” Diane's favorite life verse sings freedom as her anthem. But it didn't use to. Diane did not always wear these hats. These strong, free, life-giving, beautiful, grace-filled, fulfilling, joyful hats. No. A filthy baseball cap to cover her eyes with her head down was more like it. Some hats labeled: hot mess and drunk, broken and unholy. Diane speaks about it freely because she is free! She says, not with her head down but with her head held high with her lovely fedora tilted back, "If He can turn that hot mess of a broken, drunk, drugged-out, unholy woman into His holy messenger, He can do anything!" And He truly can because her life smells of His sweet aroma. And there is no denying who she was and who she is because of the precious sweet name of Jesus.

Diane lives to help set other people free through the power and blood of Jesus! Her heart breaks for those still lost and broken because that was the only hat she wore for a long time. The hat of loneliness, of being unloved and unworthy. She says, "My favorite is when psychology and theology intersect. I love helping women heal from past hurt, be set free, grow in their identity in Christ, and live the life they were born to live!"

Disney World is described as the most magical place on Earth. And although some are unconvinced of this claim, Diane's story may prove the Disney skeptics wrong. The definition of magic is the power of influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces. And there indeed was a supernatural force that influenced the course of Diane's life. A divine and mysterious wind swept through that place and into her heart and changed her forever. She went to Disney World, a very different woman than the one who left. She was radically saved at the age of 26 while vacationing there. She says, "I was forever changed in an instant. Set free from a life of drugs, alcohol, and brokenness, my Savior found me, transformed me, and made me new! I once was lost, but now I'm found!" Now, that's magic. 

While on vacation, Diane met a man with so much joy and love. It was exuding from him so fiercely and uniquely that she thought it strange. Odd enough to ask him, "What makes you so happy?" His answer changed everything. He said he had given his life to Christ two years prior and that God completely transformed him. Diane explains, "After listening to his testimony and hearing about all that God had done in his life, I knew that whatever it was he had, I wanted! I gave my life to Christ and in that moment, I was radically changed forever, and have spent every minute since telling others about the redeeming, restoring, and renewing goodness of God!"

 Diane has been walking with the Lord now for over two decades. Her relationship grows sweeter and sweeter with Him every year. She is currently an LPC at Greencastle Family Practice. As a credential holder and counselor, Diane is a frequent speaker at churches, women's events, and trainings and workshops specializing in mental health. She and her husband serve faithfully at Bethel AG Church in Chambersburg, PA, where they currently live.

Diane is married to the man of her dreams or, as she states, "greatest earthly gift." Todd Swan. Todd and Diane have been married for almost 18 wonderful years now. She says, "Next to Jesus, he is my best friend and biggest fan." He is a very passionate musician and lover of worship. Quickly spilling compliments about his character and heart, she oozed, "He is a very gifted High School teacher. And seriously, I'm not biased! He won the national instructor of the year award for 2021! He's literally the best!" Diane has the biggest smile on her face when it comes to Todd. "Fun fact about my husband, he is four inches shorter than me (and that's without heels!). But I always say, if men were measured by the love in their heart instead of their height, he would be a giant among men."

On fire for the Lord, this couple raised five children who also love and pursue the Lord fiercely. Their eldest, Nicole, is 26. She lives her best life in St Petersburg, Florida, with two fur baby kitties, Walnut and Oolong. She is about to graduate with her bachelor's in psychology and start her master's degree in mental health counseling, just like her mama. Their 25-year-old daughter, Lexi, is a thriving stay-at-home mom married to a civil engineer and musician, Grant. They currently live in Tallahassee, where they love serving at their AG church, Transformation Church. She says, "These two just made us grandparents for the first time!" The family welcomed Jude Alexander Harris into the family two months ago.

 Their oldest son Andre is a 24-year-old software engineer. He is newly married to his beautiful bride, Emily, a NICU nurse at Hershey Children's Hospital. The couple lives in Mechanicsburg and enjoy worshipping at CLA in Camp Hill.

Diane and Todd still have their 17-year-old twins, Sam and Ella, filling their home and hearts with laughter and joy. Diane is treasuring every minute with her last babies. She says she is "seizing every moment to pass on wisdom and truth, speaking and praying life and purpose into them and their future." It honestly does go by in the blink of an eye. "It's only taken me until these last two children to finally realize how precious a gift time is."

If Diane isn't busy enough, when she isn't keeping up with her five children's lives, plowing into ministry, or pouring herself out into counseling, she loves to fill her life with the things that matter most to her. FaceTiming her grandbaby! She always makes time to go on dates with her husband. She loves the Cheesecake Factory and Thai chicken lettuce wraps. She adores hanging out with her girlfriends, which usually turns into a whole night of laughter. She cherishes cuddle time with her teenage twins- "as much as they let me," with a chuckle and smirk. She fills all of her free time with loving on her family and friends. And when she can, she does ALL of the above while at her favorite place on the Florida gulf coast beach. And the best of both worlds collides. Then she gets out her sun hat.

The one thing she wishes she could tell her younger self is, "Girl, get to Jesus quick! And also start moisturizing because stretch marks and wrinkles are real!" She laughs. But now she spends her life telling other young girls all about getting to Jesus quick! She says the Diane she was before Jesus is hard to recognize. But that's the true transformational power of Jesus. When she first started pursuing God's calling, she wished she knew the true design God intended for women as a part of His kingdom. She says, "I wish I understood the truth about all the scriptures that have sadly been used to limit or restrict women within the church and Christian communities." But it was this prior misconception that has made her fiercely passionate about sharing the Bible-based knowledge of how God designed women and anoints them in their God-ordained purpose. One of her favorite books is "Powerful and Free" by Danny Silk. It's a must-read for all women! She wants to give women every tool possible to empower them to run powerful and free in Jesus!

She dreams that women find freedom and safety within the church. Her goal is to help women build their women's ministries across churches to be that safe place where women can come and truly feel like they belong. She wants women's ministry to be a place "where women can grow in the faith, feel the love of the Father, and find forever-friends in Christ. Women need connection and support so badly right now, and creating an atmosphere within women's ministry church groups where women feel an authentic connection is so powerful!"

This defining moment in her life shaped the woman she is today. It was during a crisis. She abruptly lost her job. Yet isn't it like God to use the hottest furnaces to make us more sparkling than before? She felt like her world was falling apart. She says, "But in that moment, I had a choice. Either I was going to trust God, or I wasn't." She had no idea what was next, and she didn't even know how or if it was all going to work out. "But, I decided to trust Him, and I surrendered it all to Him. All my fear, all my questions, all my hurt." She explained that in exchange, God revealed to her that actually losing her job was one of the best things that ever happened to her. "The days and weeks and months afterward are when God finally opened the doors for me to enter my calling fully. I would have never done it if I hadn't lost that job."

In His majestic kingdom wisdom, He took from her what she would have never given up and handed her back something far greater. "And thankfully, in the midst of it all, I still chose to trust Him. Trust and obedience will ultimately open doors that security and control will never be able to move!"

The best advice she ever received she uses every single day. It helps her trust God in the fiery furnace. It helps her lead her kids well and love her husband selflessly. It helps her inspire the women around her to Jesus. It allows her to teach and instruct, counsel and guide. It helps her fulfill her calling. It helps her serve, give, go and love like Jesus. "Pray. Pray often. And pray in the spirit! Prayer is powerful! Prayer is productive! And prayer will bring you peace!" She says. And that allows her to wear all the hats and make Him look good while wearing them.

Diane wants to be a resource to you in all ways, especially on mental health. She can be best reached via Facebook, messenger, or email dianeswan2@gmail.com.