This is who I am.
Not my resume -- my story.
I didn't choose financial coaching -- it chose me.
I know that sounds cliche, but to understand why I say that, you need to know where I came from.
Where I started
I grew up in rural West Tennessee, the son of two hardworking parents who never finished high school. We weren't wealthy -- my brothers and I agree we grew up solidly lower middle class. But looking back, we realized our parents taught us something more valuable than money: they showed us how to live within our means.
In all our years growing up, we never once saw our parents take out a loan. Not for a car. Not for home renovations. Not for anything. They didn't talk about it as a principle or a rule. They just lived it. And without ever saying a word about financial discipline, they shaped the way I think about money to this day.
That foundation followed me everywhere I went next -- including into a career I never could have imagined growing up in a small town in West Tennessee.
What the Air Force Taught Me
I spent 24 years serving as a U.S. Air Force officer, retiring as a Colonel. Those years taught me things no classroom ever could.
I learned to stay calm when everything around me was uncertain. I learned to see the big picture when the people around me were focused on the immediate crisis. I learned that the
best leaders ask really good questions rather than giving really loud answers. And I learned that trust -- real trust -- is built through consistency, not credentials.
I didn't know it at the time, but those were exactly the skills I'd need years later, sitting across from a couple in the middle of a money fight.
What the Air Force didn't prepare me for, though, was what I'd learn about money and marriage from my own life.
What my own marriage taught me
My wife and I have both been divorced before. We don't talk about those years much, but we don't hide from them either. They shaped us. They taught us what it costs when a marriage falls apart -- emotionally, spiritually, financially, and in ways that linger years after the judge signs the papers.
When we got married, we were determined to build something different. From the beginning we made deliberate choices. We merged everything -- accounts, debt, all of it. There was no "her money" or "his money," no "her debt" or "his debt." It was ours. We set personal spending limits we could each use freely without asking permission, which meant neither of us ever felt controlled or monitored. And we made giving our first financial priority, before savings, before anything else.
One of our most common prayers has always been for God to put us -- or keep us -- on the same page. Over twenty years later, that foundation still holds.
I know what financial alignment feels like from the inside. And I know it doesn't happen by accident. It happens because two people make intentional choices, together, rooted in shared values. That's what I was living. What I didn't yet know was that God was about to show me why.
The moment everything clicked
When my church asked me to get trained as a financial coach, I said yes before I fully understood what I was saying yes to. I'd heard of Dave Ramsey. I'd been through Financial Peace University with my wife. But I had no idea financial coaching was even its own discipline, its own calling.
Looking back, I believe God had been preparing me for it my entire adult life -- through my upbringing, through my military career, through my own marriage, and through the painful years before it. When my church
asked, it was like my heart recognized the path even before my mind caught up.
And the more I stepped into it, the more I understood what was really at stake.
Why this work matters so much to me
I'm a father of two daughters and a grandfather. I think about the marriages they'll build and sustain. I think about what I want for them -- not just financially, but relationally. I want them to have what my wife and I have built.
And then I see the statistics. Divorce in our society is rampant, even among Christians. I know that breaks God's heart, because that's not what He wants for married couples.
And you've probably seen or heard it, too: money is the #1 leading cause. Not because couples don't make enough, but because nobody ever taught them how to navigate money together. And the conflict that starts small in the first years of marriage rarely gets easier on its own.
That's the gap I work in. And it's the gap God called me to fill. Which brings me to you.
A word about your husband
I want to say something directly to the wives reading this, because I know how this often goes.
You're the one who found this page. You're the one who recognized that something needs to change. And there's a real possibility your husband isn't quite there yet -- maybe he's skeptical, maybe he thinks the two of you can figure it out on your own, or maybe he just isn't crazy about the idea of getting any kind of help, even if he knows it's needed.
That's more common than you think. And it's one of the reasons I do this work. In my experience, husbands who are initially reluctant often engage differently -- and more openly -- with another man who isn't going to judge them or take sides. My job isn't to fix your husband. It's to create a space where both of you feel safe enough to do the real work together.
And that work? It's worth it.
I recorded a short video just for him. Send it to him, or sit down and watch it together. He'll hear straight from me what my coaching is and what it isn't, and the two of you can decide together how you want to move forward.
Who I do this for
I do this for the couple who loves each other but can't seem to get on the same page about money. I do this for the wife who lies awake wondering if this is just how it's going to be. I do this for the husband who is tired of the fights but has no idea how to make them stop.
I do this because I believe God designed your marriage to flourish -- not just survive. And I believe that with the right tools, the right conversations, and a little outside help, you can build something you're both genuinely proud of.
If you're ready to find out what that looks like for your marriage, I'd love to talk.