We lived in Florida most of our lives, so when we felt we were supposed to move to California, it was a pretty big step for us. We started preparing for the move when a roller coaster of events hit us just weeks before we picked up our lives and drove across the country.
Young Family Finds Strength and Purpose Amidst Pain and Loss
We started the process to buy our first home and some even more great news… we were pregnant with our first baby! Things seemed to be falling into place for our young family. But we were about to go through the most challenging time of our lives. The doctors told us our baby was not “compatible with life.”
Party of Seven… All In!
We had been doing the church thing for quite a while. We knew we should be in church, but we were constantly just going through the motions. The fire in our hearts just wasn’t there… it was an obligation. We ended up at City Church… and we got a lot more than we expected. It was honestly one of the greatest days of our lives and this event encouraged all of us to go “all in” — together, as a family.
Wife, Mother… World Changer
Let’s be honest. When you’re chasing around 6 kids, cleaning up behind them, driving them around to their events, making sure they’re fed, and doing all the things a mother does, you sometimes ask yourself, “Is this all God made me for?” It doesn’t mean I’m ashamed to be those things, but it’s sometimes hard to see beyond the season of life you’re in.
From Going to Church to Being The Church
I was raised in church and gave my life to Jesus at a very early age. You’d probably think I had it all together — that I’d be so confident and sure of my purpose in life. It was the exact opposite. I felt lonely, unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and restless. Then I discovered how to truly make a difference.
A Veteran Returns to Riverside a Single Father and Discovers Purpose Along the Way
I was deployed to Iraq right after 9/11. No one can ever prepare you to see the things I saw and experienced oversees. One day the phone rang and I was now the full-time dad to an 8-year old girl. Now, I’m learning to be the father God designed me to be!
A Family Restored
We met when we were young. We bought a house and like many people, we tried to impress them with ‘things.’ That lifestyle was so hard to maintain and after a while it put a strain on our marriage. We started fighting so much. We decided the best thing was for us to separate; we sold the house and went our separate ways. We were running from God and His plan for our marriage and family… but He found us!