My story … and I’m sticking to it
We all have dreams. As a husband, dad, CFO/part-owner of a national company, and church leader, I was living my dreams. Still, I awoke one Christmas Eve, unable to shake a deep restlessness in my soul.
Had I veered off track? Pursued wrong goals? I didn’t know what to think. Turns out, God was preparing me to change careers as well as share my story of well-done parenting: turning well-intended choices into children who hear God say, “Well done!” No, it’s not perfect parenting. It’s helping kids know how to be faithful . . . and want to.
My goal isn’t to share my story. It’s to help your family discover yours . . . with your own God-given dream and parenting plan.
My blog
My blogs/resources often combine three elements to live the legacy you want your kids to pass down: 1) vision to turn what is into what can be, 2) character to live your chosen qualities with integrity, and 3) culture to multiply your values through others.
You’ll decide which of two kinds of parents you will be – Parent A or Parent B:
- Parent A tries to break little Suzie’s habits, fix her behavior, and stop her drama – the well-intended choices that get you through another day. But well-intended is not well done.
- Parent B sees little Suzie differently – as the godly adult she can become. These parents break Suzie’s bad habits by bonding with her heart, fix her behavior by funneling her beliefs, and stop her drama by shaping her dreams. They don’t make Suzie’s choices; they make it easy for Suzie to choose well . . . not by forcing her, but by helping her want to. That’s well-done parenting.
My family & background
I am so blessed. My wife of three decades, Anna, overflows with love. Our three kids and their spouses are truly inspirational too. But we’ve also had our share of drama and disappointment. We just choose to not stay there. Then again, God doesn’t promise smooth paths, but He certainly directs them.
My career also took some strange twists. The first half of my career culminated as CFO/part-owner of CiCi’s, a family-focused restaurant chain recognized for fanatical customer loyalty and service. During my tenure at CiCi’s, annual guests tripled to over 100 million. In QSR, an industry magazine, it was said of me, “His incredible passion and focus are crucial to the ongoing success of our brand and our continued plans for growth. He is a true example of why succession plans are so important.”
Then God called me to surrender my dream job at CiCi’s to serve as a pastor at my church. Eight years later, God called again, so I simply obeyed again, and now serve as CFO of Rental One, a phenomenal rental equipment company whose mission is to serve others with excellence.
As a lifetime learner, God has given me a unique ability to share inspiring success principles learned at both home and work. I have learned from thousands of families while serving as an executive pastor, preschool and adult church leader, corporate executive, and especially as a dad and granddad. In my early twenties, I also visited 4,000+ families as an award-winning door-to-door Bible salesman.
My family leadership was featured in Stories of True Financial Freedom: God’s Impact in Real Lives by Crown Financial Ministries (Bridge-Logos, 2006). And my work leadership was featured in Your Signature Work: Creating Excellence and Influencing Others at Work by Dianna Booher (Tyndale House, 2004).
These experiences have shaped my passion for hearing God say, “Well done!” and helping others do the same. But the glue holding it all together is the love of my life – Anna. Love is a choice, and Anna makes it easy.
Faithfulness is also a choice. Let’s join God to make it easy for our families and others to know how to be faithful . . . and want to.