There is a joy in the journey,
There's a light we can love on the way.
There is a wonder and wildness to life,
And freedom for those who obey.
-Michael Card, “Joy in the Journey”
I was born in 1966 and grew up in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I was the middle of five kids, so I think that balanced me out a bit. I was fascinated by science and math, so I pursued a degree in Aerospace Engineering at Iowa State University from 1984-1989.
I graduated with my Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering degree and moved to St. Louis to work at McDonnell Douglas. At about this same time, I became a big supporter of the child sponsorship organization, Compassion International. Visiting my sponsored child in Guatemala changed my life. I immediately became a volunteer for Compassion as a way to get more people involved in alleviating poverty in the world.
Meanwhile, I married my wife Tracie in 1993. She pursued her a medical degree at Washington University in St. Louis and graduated in 1997. To keep busy, I took night classes at Covenant Theological Seminary and earned a Master of Arts in Theology a the same time.
Turning in my badge at McDonnell Douglas was a solemn and life-changing event for me, as I committed to stay home with our two children, Jessica and Jeremy, during Tracie's 3-year residency in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. By the time she finished, we had decided to homeschool our children. We launched into homeschooling when we moved to Oakland, Nebraska, in 2000. I was the full-time teacher, and Tracie was the principal of the "Martin Academy".
We adopted Steve from Romania that same year, and he was diagnosed with autism. While that was a challenge for us, we just worked him right into our homeschool schedule.
By this time, I was becoming a leader in the Compassion Volunteer Network. In 2009, a small group of us met in Portland, Oregon, to receive training on becoming "coaches". Compassion felt that this would be a valuable tool to help other Compassion volunteers move forward in their ministry. The training I received through Compassion was top-rate, and I quickly grew to love this way of interacting people and helping them. Not only that, but the "coaching mindset" soon permeated my entire life.
In July 2012, my coaching mindset encountered new thinking about shoes. What would it look like to just stop wearing them? It just so happened that I had a coach training weekend in Chicago coming up, and I gave it a try. I did the whole trip, airplane and all, barefoot. I even took in a Cubs game! After that I became a lifestyle barefooter. I've always loved a bit of eccentricity in my life, and this fit the bill.
I continued homeschooling Jessica through graduation, and my sons spent a few years in the public school. In late 2017, I was being coached by a friend, and the topic was, "What's the next big thing for my life?" It didn't take long for me to realize that I really loved coaching and wanted to do that in a more formal way.
I enrolled in the Executive Christian Coaching program at Coach Approach Ministries in January of 2018 and took several courses that were accredited with the International Coach Federation (ICF). I earned my first certificate, the Certified Christian Leadership Coach (CCLC), in October. I also joined the ICF in preparation for getting a coaching license.
Currently I am building hours toward that goal. The fact is, I really enjoy seeing the results that people achieve through coaching. I love to see people reach their own beautiful goals in life, doing it in their own unique way and motivated by their own new thinking.