A little background

I'm not exactly a big talker. I think that my family will agree with that. When I was on my mission I didn't write home very much, to my parents chagrin. I don't call home all that often and I am often the last one in the family to hear any news. Because of that even my family is not always sure what is going on in my life. And when they do know what is going on, they may not know all the details behind it. Because of that, and because I am trying to turn over a new leaf and be a little more intentional and sentimental, I am making this blog. It may be very short, but it is still the thought that counts.
So I will backtrack a little bit to fill in some important little tidbits. In case somebody is reading this who doesn't know, I am married to the world's most adorable woman, and have three of the most adorable kids. For seven years I taught full time LDS seminary in Utah. I loved the job and the students. I can honestly say that I never dreaded going to work, and would even dread the long school vacations because I missed teaching. In 2006, however, I began having feelings that something was coming. I can't explain it very well, and some of it is too personal to try, but I started to think that maybe I wouldn't be teaching seminary for the rest of my life. I had several dreams (and it is not very common that I remember my dreams) that made me think about changing careers. I remember one day around Christmas time in 2006 walking somewhere and my mind kept trying to decide what job I would do if I didn't teach seminary. I was still very resistant to the idea, so I tried to push it out of my mind, but it was persistant. I also later had this overwhelming feeling of needing to get out of Utah. I just had this desire to have some more experiences. As feelings intensified, God made it clear that it was time for us to make the change. Katie was completely in agreement and supportive, so we took the leap of faith and put ourselves in the Lord's hands early in 2007. I still remember the day that I finalized my resignation with CES. Even though it was scary I felt so good and happy about what I was doing. Meanwhile, my sister Jessica, whose husband is a Physician's Assistant in the Army recommended that I look into becoming a Chaplain. As soon as she said it I knew that was what I was looking for. It is sort of like when you are putting together a puzzle and trying to find a certain piece. You can find lots that look like they should fit, and you may even force it in there, but when you actually find the piece that slides right in there it feels great. So immediately after she mentioned it I began the process of becoming a military chaplain.
The Department of Defense requires chaplains to have a master's degree in some sort of theology with at least 72 graduate hours. Fortunately my Masters in religious education at BYU was all but done, but for some reason, five years after beginning I still hadn't been able to finish. That turned out to be a great blessing for me because the my program consisted of only 40 hours. So because I had not yet finished my degree, I was able to go back and complete the rest of the required credits, with the appearance of all being part of the same degree (while this is not required it looks a lot better). So I immediately went back to school full time. I took classes in military ministry, and counseling psychology.
I also had to find a job that would be flexible enough that I could go to school and take care of my family. As I searched I found an add in the paper for a car salesman and Murdock Hyundai. For some crazy reason I felt really good about it. From a seminary teacher to car salesman...what a fall. It actually turned out to be an incredible blessing for my career as a chaplain. One of the things I have never been good at is going out and actively getting to know people quickly. As a salesman I had to get to know and understand people quickly and to build their trust by listening and helping. I realize that salesmen don't have the best reputation, and maybe don't always have the best motives for what they do, but the skills I have learned have been very helpful to me as a chaplain. It is amazing how the Lord has led us through this path even in seemingly small and simple ways.
Fall Semester 2007 I had the amazing opportunity to teach three sections of Book of Mormon while I was attending BYU and finishing up my required classes and my Thesis. It was a wonderful experience. I was blessed with very good classes. I was also taking 23 credits at the time. It just about killed me during finals trying to juggle everything. In fact, I got strep during the last week of finals and was unable to take several of my finals, but I still passed, and that is all that mattered.
After graduating, I began the application process to become a chaplain in the Air Force. However, when I called to contact the chaplain recruiter he said they didn't need any Mormon chaplains. I said that I would like to submit the application anyway because I felt my qualifications were pretty good. He said it didn't matter how qualified I was and that they wouldn't even accept my application because the didn't need anymore Mormon chaplains (there are currently 7, and our church is the most under-represented church besides the Catholics). So I called a navy recruiter. They literally bent over backward to make things happen. They were so excited to get LDS chaplains. There were several miracles in the process of getting all my paperwork in, but in the end I took the oath of office and went off to training in May of 2008.