About the Author

I was raised Catholic, served as an altar boy at 6:00am Mass, and my mother worked as the church secretary. In 9th grade I began considering priesthood as a choice in life, but as I was too young to make that decision, I put it in God’s hands and went on with my high school years.

After high school, I wasn’t sure about college. My father offered to get me a job as a roughneck on a rig. I had to get up at 4:30 a.m., work in the heat of South Texas, carry mud sacks up a flight of stairs—and I swear the mud sacks weighed more than I did. A summer of this convinced me I needed an alternative strategy, so I decided to pursue college at Texas A&M University. My parents were of very meager means, so there were no college funds set aside for me. But I was determined. I threw a paper route, cared for a quadriplegic student in exchange for room and board, and stocked shelves at the local grocery store. All this, and yet I was barely getting by. Fortunately, the summers were the time to make some cash and save it for the next school year.

As I’m sure you have also experienced by this point in your own life journey, life has a way of throwing detours in our direction. During the summer after my sophomore year, I was working at a shipyard when I was in an electrical accident involving a winch truck, four of us steadying a metal sign, and a too-close encounter with a power line.

In the few seconds after 7200 volts and I made friends, I realized that I was going to die and that I had enough time to ask for forgiveness.

Then peace set in. Unfortunately, of the four of us involved in the incident, two of the men didn’t make it. For myself, after twenty minutes of CPR, I was revived. It was a very peaceful experience for the time I exited this world and attempted to enter the next, but I guess there were bigger plans for me.

As a result of the accident, I had no money to return to college. My relationship with God at this point was long-distance. I saw Him every now and then, and of course He was always with me, but I only called when I needed something. It was now that the idea of attending seminary resurfaced, which was made possible by the generosity of my local diocese, and so I decided to pursue it.

I transferred to St. Joseph’s Seminary College, set in the pine forests of St. Benedict, Louisiana. The setting was conducive to taking long walks to contemplate many things. I began to spend more time with Him and understand more about myself and more about Him.

By spending time with Him, I developed a much more personal relationship with Him.

I completed my Bachelor’s in Psychology and Philosophy and enrolled in Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, but while there decided to cease pursuit of the priesthood. There were a variety of reasons, but the most important was that I wanted to be married and have children.

Post-seminary, I stayed involved with the church and different ministries as I attempted to use the talents given to me.

But, regretfully, I got consumed with myself and life and began to lapse on the time I spent with Him. Our relationship was long-distance again.

I married my first wife in 1987, and our first child (Michelle) was born in 1990 then our second (Chandler) in 1993. It was through my new role as a parent that I glimpsed what His love is really all about. I realized how loved I was as the child of my parents—and even more so by Him as my Creator.

This was the missing puzzle piece that I spent years trying to figure out!

I couldn’t grasp how to put flesh and reality to this Being called ‘God’. How could my understanding of His love for me move from an exercise of the brain to an experience of the heart?

This book is about parenting as my “aha” moment. Parenting gave me connection between my role as a father and His role as my Father. It enabled me to see the deeper love that He has for me, similar to the love I have for my children.

As I realized more and more what true parenting was, I realized how deeply in love with me He is.

Let me say that again: how deeply in love with me He is. Is it not unbelievably humbling when you realize you are the object of someone’s affection, love, and adoration? That you are everything to that person? As I realized His agenda was all about me, I fell deeper and deeper in love with Him.

Fast forward: My first wife and I divorced in 2003. In 2005, I married my sweetheart, Katie, and her children Haley and Marshall. Together, we have a beautiful blended family of four grown kiddos and my informally “adopted” son, David, whom I began mentoring in 2015.

I strongly believe that education is an exit strategy for children with the burden of poverty. I serve on numerous non-profit boards that work to level the playing field for economically disadvantaged and underserved kids. You can learn more about some of these efforts here.