Who Am I?

I am a Christian. I believe Jesus died for my sins and rose again. I believe that a faith in Jesus as Saviour is the only way to heaven--that actions, works, denomination, and affiliation only serve to help others understand your beliefs. This is, first and foremost, who I am.

I am a Husband and Father. I am 29 years old, have been married for nearly 11 years, and have had 4 children. My wonderful wife, Jennifer, is 9 months older than I am, and I believe that I was specially created by God just for her when she was born. My first born, Kadence, died of SIDS when she was four and a half months old. She would have been 9 years old this month. Knox, my only son, will be 7 this summer. Declan is 5 years old and only 16 months younger than Knox. Oakley just turned one year old.

I am a Teacher. I have just completed my first year of teaching junior and senior high English Language Arts. My first year was at Ridgevalley School about 45 minutes east of Grande Prairie. I had a great year teaching but am looking forward to the summer break.


While the roles mentioned above give you some indication of WHO I AM, we all know that individuals are made up of more than just the titles they take on. Who I am encompasses my personality, my likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc., and is constantly changing as I live my life. While the content of this blog will likely relate in some way to the three roles I stated above, the tone is likely to portray my personality and mood at the time I write. As an advanced warning to you, and possibly to pique your interest, I will let you know that I am often sarcastic, critical, and expect the best from others (though you should not assume that I appreciate sarcastic, or critical comments about my frequent lack of effort).


You may be wondering about the title of the blog and the picture I have posted. I won't go into too much detail this post, but I will give you a just a bit of background. I fist saw this picture, which is one of those inspirational posters (which usually I hate) a number of years ago. I was at a point in my life when I really needed some direction because I was headed nowhere. This poster really spoke to me as I realized I was holding onto a life of safety instead of taking some risk and moving out of my comfort zone. I decided at that moment that I would begin to take some risks and start living my life. Perhaps you will begin to think about your own life and where you might be willing to take some more risks to accomplish the goals you have but are too afraid to work toward. In case you can't read the caption to the picture it reads:

RISK: A ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what ships were made for.