More about me

Yeah....more about me. I just thought that if you are going to be reading what I am writing you had better know more about me. Well I already covered where I lived, so lets move on to something that is more important to me. How and why I became a follower of Christ. I started going to church in Los Alamos when I was young, but did not go with my family. No one else in my family wanted to get up on Sunday mornings. I went because a lot of my friends were going and I wanted to spend more time with them. After a couple of years I accepted Christ as my Savior. So what does a person going to a Baptist Church do when they accept Christ....they get baptized, but not me. I wanted to, but that was not going to happen till much later. Why didn't I get baptized....well kinda sad story....I asked to be baptized and thought I was going to be, but on the day of the ceremony I sat in the crowd watching as all of my other friends got baptized....but not me. I didn't really know why. That was the beginning of the end for me going to church as a child. So much effort to get to church and not enough return...at least that is how I felt. No one ever told me why I didn't get baptized.....that is until a couple of years ago. My mom and I were talking about this situation and I finally found out what happened. Someone from the church came to my house to discuss my decision to be baptized with my parents, but my dad told them no....so they couldn't baptize me without my parents approval. I still don't know why my dad made that decision, but I don't hold it against him either.



During the remainder of my school years I was too busy to care about church. I was too busy chasing girls and partying to think about church....besides I didn't have anyone else trying to get me there. The best part of high school for me was meeting Kasey. We started dating during my Sophomore year. Yes we did have our problems....but we were able to get through them, and we got married in Dec 1994. January 95 I left for basic training in the Army and had to leave my new wife behind. I was able to come back home in June and we moved to North Carolina. You want to know tough times....try joining the Army, moving across the country from your family, and not knowing anyone around you....and I didn't have it as tough as my wife. A new baby....no family...no friends...and your husband is gone most of the time....now that is hard.



Move forward a couple of years....now living in Texas...closer to family....still married with 2 little girls. This is the time that I finally started going back to church. Everything we did was a struggle...I lost my job...money was tight...and we didn't know where to turn. We ended up attending Grace Community Church...the first time was a Palm Sunday. What a place! I couldn't believe how cool it was. Everyone there was so friendly. I didn't go to church every weekend, but at least I was going now. Kasey was more trusting in God than I was, and she never gave up on me. As I look back on the events that led to me getting involved in the church, trusting Christ as not only my Saviour but my Lord also, and wanting to be more Christlike, I am awed at how He worked in my life.



So here are only a few of the amazing things that He did for my life. We were living in a rental house in Plano and we got evicted. Our landlord lost the house and didn't tell us, and we get a notice that we had to move out. Talk about a shock...didn't have any idea where to go. We found an apartment that let us move in with no deposit...this was an answer to Kasey's prayers. I was working way too much...going to school full time, delivering newspapers, and working at a movie theater. So when did I sleep...in class of course.....no seriously, I would get sleep whenever I could. I know that God was working in my life to keep my safe and give me the rest that I needed to get through this time. Then I found a job working at Sports Authority....OK well Kasey found me the job, but I did the work. I was getting paid a whole $7.50 an hour, but that didn't last very long. I moved into Management within 4 months of working there and got a pretty good jump in pay. I was still going to school, delivering newspapers, and working full time. I was going to church when I could, but I was always so tired that it was hard to get up and stay awake long enough to listen. After a couple of months I was able to quit delivering papers. This is when things started getting interesting. We were trying to get out of the apartment, but with our credit problems no one wanted to rent to us. We finally found a house that was for rent and got to meet with the owner. Despite all of our credit problems he was willing to let us move in...he could see that we were honestly trying to do better. When we were talking with him we got onto the subject of church and God. I believe the reason we were able to get into this house was an answer to our prayers.

While working at Sports Authority I was promoted several times and was fortunate enough to almost tripled my starting pay in less than 3 years. This bump in pay and the promotions made it possible for me to start setting my own schedule and get the time that I wanted off. By doing this I made it a priority to get Sunday mornings off so that I could attend church regularly. I was also able to start playing on one of the men's softball teams for Grace. This got me started in a men's group with a bunch of the guys from the softball team. The influence that I was getting from these guys was amazing. I would see them and hear their stories and it made me want to do more. So I started looking for more ways to get involved in church. Working retail hours didn't work with what I wanted to be doing, but I thought I was going to be getting my own store and be able to really set my schedule to be able to do what I wanted. After being passed over for store manager 8 times in 7 months I started looking for employment elsewhere. That is when I got a job working 8-5 Monday thru Friday....first time I have ever had a job like this. This really gave me the ability to volunteer with anything at the church I wanted.

So what am I doing now you may ask.....During the past year I have been doing several things at the church. I have been taking the Master life training with the men's group. I have taken a Leadership class at the church. I facilitated a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Class. I have attended all of the membership classes offered at the church. I am currently taking The Truth Project, teaching/leading the 6th Grade Fusion small group, and am always looking for more ways to grow closer to Christ.

God has given me so much in such a short time, and I am so thankful that He is in my life. I wish that I had spent my youth learning more about His Glorious Kingdom because I feel so far behind now. My prayer is that I am leading others to want to learn more about Him. I love what I am doing now and I am looking forward to what the future holds for me. I know that God will not let me take on more than I can handle and will not test me with more than I can withstand, so I am always trying to look and pray for what He has in store for me next.