Their Story
His story
When a young boy from the projects becomes a rocket scientist, it’s the power of God turning our mess into a masterpiece.
As a kid growing up on the tough side of Pittsburgh, I should have been just another statistic. I have no memory of my mother. My military father was either absent and distant or present and violent. As I watched people around me getting caught up in the system, I quickly learned how to fight to survive.
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Over time, I learned how to hide my pain with my accomplishments. As a young man, it was martial arts and fitness. As an adult, it was my success as an engineer in the Space Program. But all the while, I still had scars that only Jesus could heal. Eventually, I realized that none of my accomplishments mattered if I wasn't happy at home. I made up my mind that the one battle I needed to win was that of relationships - with my wife, my kids, my family, and my God. Today, God has replaced the scars of my childhood with a passion to help men leave the past behind and run into the great future that God has for them.
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Her story
My desire for a great marriage and family was born from my own experience of not having one.
When I was young, my parents divorced. As a youth I had escaped the reality of my family life by pursuing a career in the performing arts on stage, movies and TV. Eventually becoming a buyer for the designer Betsey Johnson. Because of my childhood and my career, I was well versed on how to #Fake It Till You Make It, even in my marriage. Faking a smile and hiding my insecurities was something I learned early in life.
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One day, I had a hard conversation with myself. I saw the truth about my reality, myself, and my circumstances. So when God showed me that I had a choice and I could choose the amazing life and love story that Christ died for me to have - I ran after it against all odds. I held God to His word to make me whole and to make my marriage new; to fix what was broken in me and in my husband.
When I saw that I had a choice, I also saw that God wanted to fight my battles. I had to choose to fight His way with His tools. Today I am living a blessed life. I am married to my best friend who also happens to be the man of my dreams and I am grateful for a family that is a walking testimony of God's faithfulness.
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Their Story
God took two broken people, made them whole, and built a love story for His glory and their good.
Neither of us really grew up in Christian homes. Having both come from broken families, we knew we didn’t want that for ourselves or our kids. Neither of us had a blueprint on how to do family well, so we had no choice but to look up. Year after year, God answered our prayers for help and guidance and helped us build our family.
To be clear: we are not perfect spouses, family members, or parents. But we are people who are running hard after God for our lives and for the lives of our children. Today, after 32 years of marriage and adult children who are both Ivy League attorneys loving and serving the Lord, we always get the same question: what did you guys do? Each time, we say the same thing: we did Jesus!
These workshops are not here to tell you how to raise your kids - that is between you and the Lord. Instead, these workshops will give you tools for applying the Bible to your family life. We are passionate about marriage, family, and training up the next generation to be sold out for Christ and living with the confidence of serving, loving, and knowing our great God. We believe that as Christians our kids should be reaping the rewards of every promise in God's word and all of the blessings that come with it. The Bible says, “Christ came so we could have life and have it in abundance, to the full, overflowing”.
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An abundant life is not a perfect life, but it is a fulfilling one. Our prayer is for you, your kids, and your community to experience such a life in Christ Jesus.