As this is my first blog, I feel that it is important for those who read it to know my background and where I came from. I grew up in a small midwest town with 2 brothers and loving parents. I attended the Catholic Church regularly, although I would grow to find that something was missing in my faith.
I met my wife while I was a Senior in high school and she was a Sophomore. She grew up in a Baptist Church and was involved in Bible Studies and Small Groups, many things that I was very unfamiliar with. We were able to make it through college staying together and roughly a year after I graduated, I had proposed. At that point, we knew that we had to make a decision about our faith and where we wanted to hear God's message. She surely didn't want to become Catholic and I hadn't had the best experiences at her Baptist Church either. We decided that we would find a non-denominational church that focused on the Bible as it cornerstone doctrine.
Shortly after we were married, work moved us out of state to where we had to really begin to rely on each other, because there was no one else we knew around. It really was great for our marriage to have only each other and learn to work out our differences. We began Church shopping and the first one, was just too big for us. It was held in a large auditorium of a church with 1000 people at the service. We were small town midwest people and this was definitely outside of our comfort zone. The next church was a Church of Christ with a membership population of roughly 300-400 people. It was perfect.
Now, going to Sunday School classes was something I hadn't done since High School in the Catholic Church. So I was hesitant and very reserved at first. We also joined a small group that met once a week with other couples from the church. This all was brand new to me and I wasn't sure how I felt about it at the time. Initially, I didn't believe I knew enough Scripture or had a strong enough Faith to participate. My fears began to slowly drop as I realized that there was no judgment and we were all there to learn together. It felt good to express my interpretation of the readings we did.
The first major impact in my faith came when I read, Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. This book opened my eyes to what I had been missing all of my life. I never had a direct relationship with God. I was used to confessing my sins to a Pastor, not to God. My heart began to come alive with wanting to learn more.
In the Spring of 2009, I was baptized again. This time, it was my choice, for the first time was as an infant in the Catholic Church. My parents and in-laws were present along with my wife to witness my spiritual transformation. While my parents didn't fully understand, they were there to support, for which I am grateful. Just a couple months later my first daughter was born. I know started to embrace the term "Spiritual Leader". I accepted the responsibility to lead my family in their walk of faith.
In 2010, I was approached by a group of guys who were starting a Men's Study Group. Because I knew a few of the guys, I figured I would check it out and give it a try. Little did I know that this would take my faith to a whole other level. My friend who started the group indicated that he had been through this Men's Study before and it changed his life. The Study was from John Eldredge and the book/video series was Wild At Heart. John Eldredge has since become my favorite author and he seems to understand the masculine heart and what we yearn for. ADVENTURE!!! It is how we were made, it is what makes our hearts come ALIVE!! I am sure I will get into more depth in later blog posts, but it had too big of an impact in my faith, not to mention it.
Fast forward to 2013 and we have moved back to our hometown and are back around our extended family. We have found a church and are beginning the process of starting a Small Group. I have a passion now to share my story as well as what I have learned along the way. I am far from perfect, and I need this blog as much of a reminder for myself of things I should be doing.
Thank you for reading my story and I look forward to sharing more shortly.
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