These words succinctly, but fully convey what I believe true spirituality is all about. I’ve been a Christian now for well over half my life, yet it is only recently that I’ve been even getting a small understanding of what Christianity is about. For years I understood religion as a means for self-preservation. After a while, it occurred to me that the endeavor to save self only results in self-centeredness. It doesn’t matter what church involvement I may have, it doesn’t matter what doctrines I subscribe to; if my goal is to save my skin, I am fundamentally no different than if I was a non-believer. This was easy to see in my attitude toward those who strongly disagreed with my faith and had better arguments against it than I for it. Feelings of anger and resentment over thwarted attempts at self-validation were common as my pro-religious arguments fell apart. As strange as it may seem, I had to disregard my faith in religion in order to discover faith in God -- the former ironically being in the way of the latter. True faith means letting go of Self, abandoning it to obscurity and death (Galations 2:20, Luke 9:23) and receiving a new life in Christ altogether.

Some personal details:

I was born in Mountainview, California on sometime in September 1974. When I was about 2 years old, my parents moved to the Olympia area where I grew up (some people say I still need to grow up ;-)  ). I was blessed to have plenty of woods to roam around in and over the years developed a deep love of nature and the outdoors. It also helped that we would go camping every summer at Mt. Rainier and the Olympic Coast.

After high school I joined the army and left my home for Ft. Leonard Wood, MO where I would complete Basic Training. It didn’t take long to notice the stark contrast between the rugged beauty of the Pacific Northwest and...well, I’ll just say Missouri. I was relieved to find out while I was at Ft. Sam (studying to become an army medic) that I’d be stationed at Ft. Lewis after airborne school. After getting my airborne wings, I returned to Washington to be assigned to the 18th MASH, a leg unit. Thus I was what the army calls a “five-jump-chump”. Oh well. I’d rather climb mountains than jump out of perfectly good airplanes anyway.

While in the army I went hiking as much as time and money would let me. On Memorial Day Weekend, 1996, I did my first Olympic summit, Mt. Stone, with my friend Dean Willis. In April 1997, I did Mt. Ellinor and attempted Mt. Washington. In May I did The Brothers, and after beginning terminal leave from the army, went hog-wild in the Olympics and around Mt. Rainier, which I summited 3 times in as many weeks. Since then I’ve had lots of humble adventures and many fond memories. It’s a little hard to get out like I used to. Family life is more important and needs my time. No regrets whatsoever. Still, I try to get out when I can. The Selkirks and Cabinet Mountains are nearby and I can often hear their voice calling to me. Lately, I’ve been getting into free-heel skiing. It’s a great way to experience the backcountry during the winter months. As ungraceful as it was, I was hooked the first time I dropped my knee and made a telemark turn on my skis.

Summer of 1998 and 1999 saw me in the mountains a lot as well. Yet, God would show me that there was more to life than mountains. I needed to continue my education. God directed me to Kettering College of Medical Arts where I’d spend the next 4 years, with no mountains. Yet, heavy as my heart was at the time, I’d never rethink my decision to go. I made some good friends, though now life seems to have made contact quite sparse.

In July 2003, I graduated with a degree in Radiologic Technology and headed back to Washington to a job at St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham. I would have gone to Port Angeles were it not for the fact that St. Joe’s offered me a job before I was done with the program or had even met the Radiology management face to face. After a year and 4 months, I cross-trained into Interventional Radiology. The experience has helped me grow in a lot of ways, yet I still have yet to see exactly which direction. Currently I’m working in general diagnostic radiology at Sacred Heart in Spokane. It’s a great place to work and provides a uniquely varied experience. I hope to continue on in my education. But the home life will take precedence. If the opportunity arises to throw myself fully into both (with time for the occasional adventure in the mountains), I’ll continue on. I am quite content with life’s simplicity at the present, however.

I got married on 19 June 2005 to my beautiful wife Darlene. She is truly the love of my life and I’m eternally grateful to the One who brought us together. We’ve learned a lot about each other and a lot about ourselves. Most important of all, it has taught us a lot about God and His love for us. On February 27, 2010 our little girl Abigail was born. She’s growing fast and is developing quite the personality. We’ll definitely need to spend a lot of time in prayer as we raise her.