2011- The difference one year makes..........

As I sit here on New Year’s Eve with Lora and Lucas watching college football I couldn’t help but reflect on what 2011 has meant to me and my family. Most of you reading this know the journey we’ve been on but I felt the need to summarize.


This time last year (and most previous years) I take the end of the year to reflect on personal goals that were achieved. Things such as my training miles, workout schedules, races completed, business success, and ways to improve for the next year.

This New Year’s Eve I can’t say that any of those things have really crossed my mind. I will always be trying to improve health and athletic wise but I really don’t have much of a clue on how my “total” accomplishments were achieved. The reason? 2011 was a life changing year for me and my family.

In February I was contacted by an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) ministry leader in Atlanta and was asked to go to lunch. As we met it was expressed to me that God had opened the door for me to enter full time sports ministry as the Director of Baseball/Softball ministries in Georgia. As most of you know baseball has always been a passion of mine and the opportunity to minister to coaches, kids, and parents through this platform was exciting. I knew the consequences would be walking away from our insurance business where I had felt comfortable for the past 12 years. As I went home after the meeting I knew that Lora and I needed to do some SERIOUS talking and praying. As I have stated on several occasions I believe that God seems to speak to our wives quicker than most of us men ( or at least they listen better than we do..ha). This conversation was no different. Lora and I sat down, I explained my meeting with FCA and her response was, “you should have been doing this years ago”. I knew at this point it was time to start praying. It took us 4-6 weeks but it became very apparent that God was working in our lives and it was time to take the leap. So in May the journey began and steps were taken to follow God’s lead.

I could type for hours about how God placed so many people in my path that have been such a blessing but I will simply say this. I can’t thank all of you enough for your support, prayers, encouragement, and the same excitement that I had for what God was doing through the game of baseball to reach the world (you all know who you are). I couldn’t have done this without you. A special shout out to my family, friends, my baseball board members, and of course Lora and Lucas.  I love you all!!

Since entering the sports ministry world this past summer I have been blessed to meet some awesome people, was part of 150 person baseball mission trip to the Dominican, seen young men lead to the Lord, coaches rededicate their lives, and hearts opened to become strong in their faith. The idea that God has chosen me and my family has been humbling to say the least. As I travel around Georgia and Atlanta area I have found that God has given me a voice to speak the Gospel/Truth and give coaches a different perspective on how to approach the game. You see…..a coach has more influence on a group of people in one year than most people have in a lifetime. The goal…..help them see that and make an impact on young people’s lives.

As 2012 is about 2 hours away I would be honest if I told you that I’m really not ready for 2011 to end. God used this year to change our life forever and I couldn’t be more blessed. However, knowing what He did in 2011 I can only be excited about what’s in store for 2012. My prayer is that all of you have a blessed 2012 and that you too find what it is that God is calling you to.