It’s been almost a year since I last posted here. I took a break because I wasn’t clear about what I wanted to accomplish with my website. Telling stories is my idea of a good time, but life has changed, and I wasn’t clear about my purpose or what I wanted to accomplish.
I kicked off this website many years ago when my life was more limited. I was focused on photography (pun intended) and writing for the world’s top fitness magazines. I was living in Las Vegas and traveling a lot. Every week I saw interesting places and did interesting things with interesting people. For the folks who enjoyed all that fitness industry stuff, I had a lot of material for show and tell each day.
But that was a million miles ago.
As I sit quietly writing this tome, cozily nestled in our sun-bathed small-town Florida home, a robust mug of hot black coffee steams just off my starboard side. The sun is starting to warm the day, and each window reveals blue skies and lush greenery in every direction. The beach is all but a twelve-minute drive from here and more importantly, the church is only nine.
I own a security company now and do cool things like protecting schools and being a bodyguard to wealthy, and sometimes, famous folks. It’s different than photography, more reminiscent of my Law Enforcement and SWAT Team days when I busied myself thwarting evil and regularly leaped over tall buildings with a single bound.
And when I am not packing a gun and keeping an eye out for dastardly types, I am a very loving husband to Ana, and dad to my four kids…and three dogs…and four rabbits. I volunteer at our church, I workout in the gym at least four days a week, and because I haven’t yet caught on to this whole sleeping thing, I am working on my Bachelor’s degree in Ministry Studies.
Ana, unlike me, lives a life of leisure at home each day. She runs her clothing business, BlessedBodywear.com, homeschools our four children, takes care of seven animals, leads a woman’s church group, and serves at the church. She also works out at least four days a week, makes her own sourdough, laundry soap, and toothpaste as well.
And despite the time pressures and endless days, we are both incredibly joyful. Yes we have our rough spots, and sometimes they can run pretty deep, but we always get to the end of it together by leaning on God. He gets us through everything.
And in that, I think I discovered a purpose for this website.
At this point in my life, I have come to know that I can’t do it on my own. The more I read and learn, the more time I spend praying, and the more I do what He has asked me to do, the better it gets. There are still problems but they are never mine to solve on my own. When I don’t know the answers, He does. I just need to humble myself and take my mess to Him. He forgives me, stands me up, dusts me off, and walks with me in a better direction.
Let me be clear. I am no expert in theology and I have not yet managed to get through a day without a sinful thought in my head. But I have given my life over to the Lord, and I do my best to live by what . That doesn’t make me better than anyone, it just makes me forgiven for the mess that I am.
At the end of the day, I’m just a guy who likes to tell stories. I pray you find them interesting, and maybe even helpful.
And thank you for being a big part of my life.
