If you are anything like us, we enjoy knowing a little bit about the lives of the people whose articles or books we read or whose teaching we listen to. Because neither Maranatha or I are bloggers, we want to have a place to give you a small window into our lives and put faces to what you read about and who we are.

We are a family who loves the Lord Jesus and we want Him reigning and bearing fruit in every aspect of our lives. He is our aim, our focus, and our whole life, and we daily live to be poured out and to teach our children the same thing. You will notice that in almost everything we write, speak, or sing, we make a huge deal about being wholehearted for the Lord and His kingdom and never settling for anything that is shallow, hollow, merely outward, and lifeless.

As far as Kindling Publications goes, it is simply our way of getting out and passing along what the Lord has given us. It is definitely not a profitable business or anything that supports us. I work full time with my son in the window cleaning business he started. We don't aspire to be "a ministry family" and we don't have any agenda for how we think the Lord should use us. We are just simple people who want to be emptied of ourselves and available for the Spirit of God to flow through in whatever ways He desires. Neither one of us come from perfect families but we have asked the Lord to be strong in our our weaknesses and overflow who He is through our lacks so that others might be edified, encouraged, and equipped.

Maranatha and I have been married for 23 years as of July of 2011, and have seven precious children and two delightful grandchildren. We homeschool all of our children all the way through, and have graduated two so far. We are blessed to live in beautiful East Texas on 9 acres on the outskirts of Tyler. As a family, we love to garden, work outside, cook big meals, sing, or do really any activity that has us together and keeps us close. We all enjoy sharing hearts, whether through deep conversation or delivering love to one another through "the simple things in life." And not a one of us ever tires of a good discussion as we "rise up, sit down, and walk (or drive) along the way."

Maranatha and I are best friends and truly grow deeper in love every day. We feel like our marriage just gets sweeter and sweeter every year. From the very beginning of our life together, we purposed to always live "connected" and never let anything separate us, and I can honestly say after this many years of marriage that we live just that -- completely heart-connected.

Maranatha is the one in our marriage that is full of energy and ideas. She definitely goes through life full-hearted for the Lord in whatever she does, and I love how she ends each day with a joyful peace and confidence that she "left it all on the field" (i.e., gave her all) for that day. She is the kind of person who loves very deeply and would stay up all night to help someone (and has many times). She doesn't just holler down to someone who fell into a deep hole, so to speak, but rather one who crawls down in there to help them get out and would give her life to see them restored and made whole. If you are with her for five minutes, you feel loved. Yet for all of her compassion, she is also one of the most uncompromising people I know and is tenacious about the truth. She is constantly creating, working on projects, and doing something active with our children. She is always full of laughter, singing, and fun. She homeschools our children and runs our home like a well-oiled machine, but is not uptight about it, and is fully devoted to being a "keeper at home." Yet she's also the kind of mama that will do things like play in the mud with the little ones, write songs, and encourage the kids try or make up new recipes (and make a mess in the kitchen in the process, which used to alarm me, but to which she'd say, "Oh, we'll have it cleaned up in no time," and they always have).

Now, by contrast, I am most definitely not the creative, "thousand new ideas a day" kind of person, and I am not the one in our home who is doing tricks on the floor with the kids, though I love my family deeply and savor every moment with them. I think very linear and am the detail guy who can take those creative ideas and bring them into being and make them work. That makes Maranatha and I a great combination and complement to one another -- she's got the creative juices and I identify what's doable and what's not; she keeps things fresh and lively and I keep our feet on the ground. I love to tell stories and have to really work at stating only the facts and giving it "in a nut shell," usually preferring "the scenic route" instead. I really enjoy engaging conversations, and I can teach, share, and preach for hours, but I am clearly not an extrovert. A few in the family are like me, who couldn't be messy or put something out of order if their life depended on it. I am meticulous, orderly, and prefer a routine, yet I am also very adventurous (I was a pro bull rider in my younger days -- that should tell you a lot!) and love to explore and go on spontaneous outings and family vacations. I like to find what works and stick with it, and I don't necessarily need or want change for change's sake -- but I love and welcome change when it's the Lord taking us forward. Though I'm not a vivid personality like my sweetie, I am every bit as wholehearted and am known for my intensity and passion, yet, to the surprise of many, I have an equally big silly side and I love to laugh and tease. The Lord is my everything and He is the reason I live and am passionate about His kingdom and purposes. I've unashamedly given up and risked everything I know to follow Him and it burns in me to lead my family and God's people in that same way.

We dearly love all the saints we walk with, who make up the church that gathers in our home, and are so blessed to see the Lord work in/through/and among us. It is simply amazing to see the mighty hand of our God work in the lives of His people, not just in meetings, but in daily life and all the ways our lives are intertwined and shared throughout the week. It just excites our hearts to see Him breaking chains, mending hearts, knitting us together, and making us more and more into "a dwelling of God in the Spirit." We are so looking forward to all that He wants to do in the coming years. Many ask how long we've been a part of home churches, and that would be for more than 26 years now.

Here's a little bit about them....