I grew up in a home where we went to a Methodist church regularly. My parents were very involved in all the church activities so I was at church a lot. Although I knew all the popular Bible stories and was in the children’s choir, I feel like all the church “stuff” stayed at church. I don’t recall being taught much about God and living a godly life at home. When I was 11 or 12, I went through Confirmation classes. The head minister led the classes and he told us about the love of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross to save me from my sins. He said if I accepted Jesus into my heart, I would be saved and born again. Until this time, I feel like I never really heard this or understood it. I remember feeling excited at the opportunity to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I asked Jesus into my heart during these Confirmation classes and felt a peace that I could not describe. However, shortly after this my mom and dad made the decision to leave the church – they thought the head minister was “too holy roller.” It took my parents some time to find a new church and by then I was in high school. Since I had no way to grow in my relationship with Christ, I fell away and it was now considered “lame” to go to church. The only thing that kept bringing me back to God was a YMCA camp on Catalina Island, Camp Fox. My uncle was a director there so I got to go a lot as a camper and as a staff member during spring breaks and the summer. I rededicated my life each time, but each time I came home and had no support system. I kind of ambled through my life like this until after the birth of my second child. By this time, I had hit an all time low in my life. I had everything I should want – I was married with two healthy children in the right order in my mind (a boy then a girl), an amazing job, we had just bought a house, and we had nice cars. Yet, I was very empty inside and it wasn’t postpartum depression. My husband came across a Christian radio station and suggested I might enjoy listening to it on my drive to and from work each day (Valencia to Los Angeles). I ended up listening to Greg Laurie preach every morning and sometimes Focus on the Family if traffic was particularly bad. At the same time, I was involved in management training at work that required me to go to classes on learning how to use a day planner system put out by Stephen Covey. In these classes I was taught how to set goals by making plans on how to reach them. The instructor used the example of finding a church as something you could write down as a personal goal. I don’t know why but I felt like he was talking just to me. I did in fact write that down as a goal and on my way home, while listening to Christian talk radio, I rededicated my life to the Lord. I started attending a local church and was baptized again – this time of my own choosing. My life has not been the same. I have stayed committed to the Lord despite many hardships and trials. He is my rock and my fortress. I trust Him completely with anything He gives me. I am married to Thane and have two grown children, Tayven and Tristan. Tayven recently graduated from BIOLA with a degree in Business Administration and is continuing his studies there to earn his MBA while working at AppleOne. Tristan also attends BIOLA where she is pursuing a Studio Arts degree with an emphasis in Design while minoring in English and Biblical Studies. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing from Cal State Fullerton, and I love reading, walking my dog Nyla, hiking, and watching professional tennis. I have always wanted to visit Israel and tour the Holy Land. I would love to see Faith Community Church become an integral part of the Santa Clarita Valley and make an impact for Christ through the various outreach programs it has planned and is pursuing.