Lisa's Story
I have been going to church with Lisa for about ten years, and she is one of the coolest adults I know — she is down-to-earth, stylish and fun; and most interesting to me, she has tattoos!

Just a few years ago, Lisa was completely against tattoos, but her mind changed when one of her kids got a tattoo and she went along. They went to the same place where I (and many other Erie natives I have talked to) went to get mine—Buddha’s Body Art & Exotic Piercing. When Lisa saw how clean the shop was and how friendly and talented the artists were she decided to get a tattoo. She says that after she got her first tattoo she was hooked, and now she has three.

Lisa has two tattoos on her left arm. Her first was of the Hebrew word for Jesus along with an outline of a cross and a shamrock. She got it in the middle of her forearm because she heard that was a crucial area of the arm when it comes to blood flow, and because Jesus is her “lifeline,” it just seemed appropriate that the tattoo would go there. Then she added in the shamrock to further symbolize who she is because she is half Irish.

The other tattoo on her arm is her latest one — a staff of music with “make a joyful noise” written underneath along with the Scripture reference of Psalm 98:4. Lisa says she got this tattoo because she has always had music in her life, and it reminds her that music is a connection she has with God.

And her other tattoo is of two hearts, one filled in with the look of an American flag and the other resembling the Puerto Rican flag. Lisa says she got this tattoo to show her solidarity to her nephew’s wife who is from Puerto Rico. She says that even though some of her family has ostracized her because of her support of the couple, she still stands beside them because her nephew’s wife and her family are wonderful, loving people.

Lisa also told me that she plans to get another tattoo. Though she is not completely set on a design, she knows that it will stand for her reliance on God, especially as He has grown her and brought her through some tough long-term circumstances.

Sorry it has taken me so long to get a story up here, but I hope Lisa’s stories behind the ink were worth it; I know I enjoyed learning about her tattoos. I’ll try to be back here next week. As always, thanks for checking out my blog, and if you have any tattoo stories for me to write about, feel free to comment below or e-mail me at

kimberlygarlick@cedarville.edu.