To begin . . .

I like reading Christian writing. I like listening to Christian sermons and seminars and participating in Christian workshops. I like doing these things because it seems like the presenters know what they are talking about, are experts in all things Christian, have all the answers, and have all their shtuff together. I am not deluded enough to believe that this is true, but this is their public persona, and most of us buy into it.

I am not that guy.

I have been a Christian by name my entire life. Up until yesterday, I was specifically a Lutheran Christian. Missouri Synod Lutheran to be even more accurate. Despite believing that Jesus Christ is my Savior, I never really lived my life like it. I prayed and went to church. I went to a Lutheran elementary school, a Lutheran high school, a Jesuit Catholic university, and a Fundamentalist graduate school. My Christian upbringing and knowledge did not translate into Christian living. I was not living my life like I had a saving faith in the redemptive work of Christ.

As you probably could guess, my life really isn't working out the way I planned. I have not been a godly husband, father, son, friend, or representative of the faith. My wife and I recently made the decision to reset our relationship, straighten out our finances, become better parents, and be all around better examples of Christian living. There are lots of programs out there that purport to help people in our position and we are going to try as many of them as we can. Our goals are:

1.  To have a rock solid, godly marriage with me as the proper head of the house.
2. To manage our finances Biblically, get out of debt, start saving, and end the cycle of my family's money woes.
3. To raise children who love God, love others as much as themselves, work hard to follow God's plan for their lives, are content with their station in life, and who, in the end, stand with us and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servants."
4. To be role models of stewardship, healthy living, conscientious consumerism, social justice and activism, and truly Biblical, global citizenship
5.  To have it be said of us, "Wow, if this is what Christians are like, where can we sign up?"

So this is not a blog by a Christian expert. This is a blog by a flawed man trying to do right in the eyes of the Lord, in the eyes of his wife, in the eyes of his children, and in the eyes of his community. I know I will struggle. I know some attempts will fail. But I hope that through this blog I can organize my thoughts and plans as well as offer hope to others who are in the same position and would like to take the same journey. I intend to report on our attempts and their outcomes, whether success or failure. My hope is that I will be able to substantiate our work with Biblical teachings and principles. Mostly, when we succeed, I want people to realize that we didn't have it all together; we didn't have all the answers. In fact, the only thing we do have is God, but fortunately for us, that is all we need.

Please keep us in your prayers and if you would like to make comments or suggestions, please realize that I am a Christian, but I am a human, too. I will make mistakes in my walk. I will not be a perfect reflection of the perfect standard, Jesus Christ. I will appear hypocritical on occasion. I will be flat out wrong once in a while, but I care immensely about all people as God's creations, whom He loves more perfectly than I. I am also immensely concerned about the eternal consequences of our choices so I will attempt to persuade you to view things from my perspective. I appreciate all people's right to believe what they choose to believe, but I do not believe that everyone's beliefs are equally valid. One's beliefs, however, do not change one's value as a person and so I hope not to devalue anyone based on a disagreement.

If you find what I have written here to be intriguing, please follow our journey. Today is day one.