Blog of the Week! ~ Gotta Have Faith

My family who also blogs had asked me when they might be interviewed for the Blog of the Week award that I share with each of you each and every Sunday. So today is the day you get to meet one of the most important people in my life, my husband and best friend Steven.

I think it's great that he blogs when he has time. He is super busy being our sole supporter in our home so that I can be at home and take care of things here so it's one less thing he has to worry about. For quite a few years we both worked and it is so difficult when your child is sick or has a family function to decided how you can work being there for them. Work isn't generally very understanding when it comes to the needs of family over work.

I think we both knew we were destined to be together after spending almost 3 years as best friends and seeing each other through some of the worst times imaginable. He saw me through a bad divorce and child custody issue and I was there for him when his beloved Grandmother went home to be with God. We both had relationships going with other people during those years but someone I believe God wanted us with each other because it was His plans for us. He was going to use us together for His glory.

It isn't often we come across some amazing men that blog and walk with God so when I find them I really am excited to share them all with you. So today I share his interview with all of you and hope that you decide to become part of his followers today at Gotta Have Faith.

1. Why did you first begin blogging?

I first started blogging back on May 30th if this year, as a way to have a hobby and write about my life, interests, and walk with the Lord. At the time, I was so very busy with work I could not see where work ended and life with my family began! It was just one BIG Blur! For the Past year I had been traveling all over the country working 70-80 hours a week! NO JOKE! I was gone so much around 4-5 weeks at a time, then home for 4-5 days then back out again for another 4-5 weeks that my wife and children were starting to forget me.

By the time I was finally able to stay home and work locally, my wife started blogging and just loved it! It was a way for her to stay busy while I was gone so much! She suggested that I start my own blog as a way to stay in touch if I was going to be gone more and to write about whatever I wanted. So my first Blog was about Time Management, something I still struggle with ha ha. Now I blog as a hobby and try to keep up with her ( Impossible!), she is so well organized and has so much imagination it isn't even fair! Okay, next question.

2. Why did you name your blog, Gotta Have Faith?

I named my "Blog Gotta Have Faith" because at the time, my wife and I were going through some really rough times. I had to put my faith in God that we would be able to weather the storm together while I was working so much! I could not imagine life without her! I had somehow put my work before my marriage and as we all know that can end in disaster! So anyway, that is why I named my Blog, Gotta Have Faith.

3. What are your three biggest achievements in life?

• Giving myself over to God at the Calvary Chapel in Riverside in front of Pastor Greg Laurie. He is such a wonderful speaker that I feel God is talking through him. I felt so at ease when I was at his Church and even now that I am at Calvary in the High Desert.

• Finding such a wonderful woman and getting married to my best friend, and soul mate! She might not know it, but she has saved me in so many ways! I don't think I am ever good enough for her. She is my rock and keeps me grounded.

• Buying a house together so we could raise our family. Somewhere where we could plant roots, feel safe in this crazy world, and grow together as husband and wife, mother and father.

4. How did you know God is real?

This kind of goes back to the Gotta Have Faith in question 1. I learn more every time I go to church based on the writing of the Old and New Testament. Learning how there were so many people present when Jesus Christ performed so many miracles, and yet he was still crucified for what? Loving men and women and showing how to walk a righteous path! It is my faith in God that keeps me knowing that he is real.

5. What is the greatest advice you can give as a husband?

Be Humble and put your Wife first! If you try to put your wife first, everything else will work itself out. I need to put myself in her shoes, try to understand what she is going through. I still have problems with this as well, but I am a work in progress...Go Figure!

6. What is the greatest advice you can give as a father?

Listen, learn, be firm without being angry, and being a role model for my children. My family trait is to yell first and listen later. I have had such a time learning patience, listening before I give advice or help answer their questions or problems. I pray that I will have taught my children all they need to know before they brave this world on their own.


7. What are you three favorite smells and why?

• The Ocean! There is just something about catching the scent of the salt and beach.
• The Forest! Smelling pine trees, a river, it smells so clean and fresh!
• The Rain! Just before and when starts to rain, you know that smell I am talking about.

So if you find yourself being led to pay Steve a visit, become a follower of his as well and encourage him on his journey to do what I believe God has asked him to do at Gotta Have Faith.