To ask a new question…email: contact@truthportraits.com

The Chole’s family mission statement is: God, Himself, He is our treasure His global cause—it is our own In truth and love we will endeavor To draw all peoples to His throne

So when God began challenging the Choles to make Alicia’s teachings and messages available, they selected "onewholeworld" as the name for their company because it captured their desire to create substantial resources for the globally minded. Onewholeworld, inc. anchors its existence in God’s great love for all peoples.

Over time though, Alicia grew weary of spelling out the company's name.

"Hole?"

"No, w-h-o-l-e."

"Won, like 'I won a game?'"

"No, the number one."

"Oh, 1, the numeral?"

"No, spelled out o-n-e." (you get the picture)

Since our organizational vision statement was “using words as a paintbrush to create vivid portraits of Truth that direct souls toward God" we decided to go with "truthportraits" when we launched the new website. Long answer. Good question.

Our core values are Truth, intimacy, and accountability.

Alicia was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. Growing up, she lived in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Texas. Barry and Alicia spent their first 7 years in Austin, TX and since 1997 have lived Missouri.

God occasionally brings people to the Chole’s for sabbaticals or seasons of rest. All have said that they learned so much about Father God’s character through watching Barry as a leader, husband, daddy, and brother. Barry is an exceptional man. He adores his wife and children; enjoys his garden and tractor; and is an extraordinary mentor. He has a DMin, MDiv, and M.A. in applied linguistics. His field of expertise is third culture transitions and he currently is serving international students and missionary kids as they transition into and out of college.

Please see the above question! Barry strongly believes that God’s hand is on Alicia as a writer and speaker so he initiated a policy of team-parenting and team-ministering. They both are thrilled to parent their children and give each other time to minister and space to keep their spiritual lives fresh. In addition, Alicia practices “the discipline of selective disappointment.” She says, “People are going to be disappointed in us no matter what we do. So, why not take some authority in how that disappointment is distributed?” With her husband, she sets parameters on how often she will travel away from home, and then prayerfully says “yes” or “no” to each invitation and opportunity she receives. She would rather disappoint someone with a “no” than dilute what she has to offer them, others, and especially her family and God with a “yes.”

When people would invite Barry to preach they would also issue Alicia an invitation to greet the congregation and sing. Barry graciously replied, “Alicia doesn’t sing much, but you should hear her speak!” After hearing Alicia share with her husband, others began following Barry’s example and opening doors for Alicia to speak.

After presenting a Mother’s Day message at a church, a beautiful, professional-looking woman approached Alicia and said, “Do you write? If you write like you speak, I’d like to talk with you!” This amazing woman was a V.P of acquisitions for J Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers. Two weeks later, Alicia signed her first book contract (Pure Joy) and quickly realized that she positively loved writing!

Alicia’s road to writing was rather unusual. Since her route was not traditional, she refers prospective writers to www.classervices.com to better assist them in their journey.

Alicia is happy to receive and return an occasional question about mentoring in general but she does not actually mentor others via email or the phone. Because she believes so strongly in purposeful proximity, she focuses her mentoring efforts close to home. She normally invests in three to four younger women intensely and several others informally.

She would LOVE to! Realistically though, the next step will be to video tape her teaching again, put it on a DVD, and write a participant workbook to help mobilize mentors in the local church.

Alicia declared herself an atheist at the age of 9. Immediately after God interrupted her existence, He began sending her mentors who loved Jesus deeply and treasured His Word with integrity. Alicia spiritually grew up seeing, appreciating, and learning from an enriching collection of God's people including Baptist missionaries, Episcopal artists, Assemblies of God churches, Catholic writers, and charismatic ministers. Since moving to Missouri in 1996, the Choles have been members of New Life; a fresh, Bible-based, Jesus-centric church community.