Although just a few years old, 1819 News has become a powerhouse in the Alabama media landscape, uncovering corruption, shining the light of truth on the issues of our day, and encouraging both leaders and civilians to live a life full of truth, beauty, and goodness.
The figurehead of this institution is Bryan Dawson … but as the old saying goes, “Behind every great man is a great woman.” So it is at the Dawson home, where Bryan’s wife Kristina keeps the home fires burning and manages their family of seven children.
Kristina is a prime example of the courageous women who are choosing to buck the trend of feminism and invest their time, talent, and treasure in their families rather than a corporate office.
But it wasn’t always that way.
For years, Kristina’s life seemed destined for corporate success. Working in healthcare management, she was climbing the ladder quickly, moving from lower-level management and being groomed for senior leadership, positioned for bigger paychecks and greater influence.
It was a path she was raised to follow: go to college, get a degree, build a career, be able to provide for yourself—just in case.
But as she dropped her children off at daycare each morning, a quiet ache grew in her spirit. By the time she picked them up, someone else would tell her of the milestones she had missed. First steps, first words, first moments—gone.
She began sensing a stirring that no promotion or paycheck could silence.
Kristina describes it as a “check in her spirit.” Every Sunday sermon seemed aimed at her heart. Every Scripture study echoed the same call: come home.
She realized that while the world defined her by her work, God had already defined her identity.
“I am a child of God, a wife, a mother, a friend, a keeper of the home, an educator, someone raising eternal souls,” she says. And raising eternal souls, she knew, was no ordinary job—it was a mission.
Leaving the corporate world wasn’t a simple choice. Kristina was the family breadwinner. Quitting meant losing more than half of their household income. The world warned her against it. Feminism told her that staying home was a waste of talent, a waste of her degree, and a step backward. But Scripture told her otherwise.
“Titus 2 reminds women to love their husbands and children, to be keepers of the home,” she says. “I realized I couldn’t keep ignoring that calling.”
So, with trembling hands but a trusting heart, Kristina walked away from her career after much prayer and many conversations with her husband.
The first weeks at home came with a disorienting fear. Kristina was conditioned to see housework as burdensome and submission as weakness. But as the months passed, her perspective transformed.
“Submission isn’t bondage,” she explains. “It’s beautiful. It’s freedom. It’s choosing to walk in God’s will and finding joy in it.”
Her husband saw the transformation too. With a smile Bryan often says, “Home is just more attractive through Kristina.”
“At work, I was easily replaced,” Kristina says. “At home, I never could be.”
Of course, sacrifices came with the decision. The Dawsons lost income, but they never felt poor. What was lost in dollars was multiplied tenfold in peace, joy, and family growth.
The family that numbered five when Kristina left the workforce eventually grew into a family of nine. Their table is filled with “olive shoots,” as Kristina likes to say, referencing Psalm 128. And every time a financial need arose, God provided. Bills were paid, debts were settled, and every gap was filled—not by chance, but by grace.
Kristina’s story runs counter to the world’s message. The culture insists women should “have it all”—career, independence, recognition. But she knows those promises often leave women exhausted, enslaved to the world’s expectations and missing God’s blessings.
“It’s so much more courageous to follow Christ than to follow the world,” she says. “Now, I have a peace that surpasses all understanding. I’m finally living in God’s will.”
For those women who also want to courageously leave the workforce and come home, Kristina shares the following words of encouragement.
“Trust God Fully,” she says. “Proverbs 3:5-6 has to be your foundation. ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.’ See submission as beautiful. It is not loss, but alignment with Christ’s design. Pray with your husband. Seek God’s will together, in unity.”
“Guard your influences,” she continues, “from music, to podcasts, friends, to media—surround yourself only with voices that lead you toward Christ.”
Ashley Carter is a wife, mother and grandmother living in Elmore County. She serves as the Vice President of Finance and Events at 1819 News. Ashley has written three books, one inspirational as well as two children’s books.
This article was originally published in 1819 News: The Magazine. Republication was made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal, a project of 1819 News. To comment on this article, please email [email protected].
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News.
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