Hope
Courage
Faith
Love

Trust
Believe
Grace
Peace

About Holly Rudolf

Holly Rudolf has trained herself to recognize beautiful moments and be alert to the wonder of God's world. She became a photographer when she was seven years old. Her father, who learned from his father, began her photography lessons early--teaching her to operate the camera, compose photos, and develop them.

Holly's mother instilled in her the beauty of the written word and encouraged Holly to develop her writing. Over the years, Holly's photographs have won awards and her writings have been published by several denominations.

Holly received her Bachelor of Arts from Ohio Wesleyan University, her Master of Arts from Butler University, and her Master of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary. Additional studies have focused on spiritual formation, assisting recovering addicts, biblical storytelling, anthropology, and archaeology.

During her ministry, she was a chaplain, a parish pastor, and a retreat leader. Since retiring from the ministry, she has been an activities director, a customer service representative, a florist, an insurance sales person, and an administrative assistant.

When Holly married Tom Russell in 1985, their honeymoon to England began their travels, which so far have included Scotland, Canada, Israel, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, as well as backpacking portions of the Grand Canyon, the Smoky Mountains, and the Appalachian Trail.

Collected from their travels and her years in ministry, the photographs and prayers in By the Heartful: Seasons of Hope in Word and Image offer inspiration and encouragement. Readers have commented that their spirits have been lifted in these pages where they have met the God of Hope.