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BE UNASHAMED
Last January (2025), I rediscovered my X account (I made an X (Twitter) account in 2012 because “work” asked me to. It was a hard sell and it never took off, and by 2025, @elonmusk had thankfully taken the platform over). I deleted all the 2012 content (which wasn’t much) and started over.
I renamed it @Next50Years and tried to write a tag-line/bio that would interest people who are into the big Fs … being fifty/faith/family/fitness/fumbling through life. I turned 50 in 2023 and was ready to start the second half of my life, hence the name of my account. Live to be 100? Maybe. I’m ok if I don’t though.
I had also just finished my second master’s degree. This one is in Social Work. I am currently working toward becoming a licensed therapist. I love therapy and feel like I have finally found my niche. A lot of people hate on therapy. I was one of those, too. So, part of my desire to be a therapist was to do it “right”. I feel like we all have the answers inside us. We’re all children of God, after all, and we have His DNA flowing through us. My job is to help unlock those answers and to help my clients see and feel that they are GOOD! And that their imperfections are part of what makes them good. Kintsugi, anyone? It’s been a blast so far.
My whole career I have worked for the @Ch_JesusChrist in teaching youth and young adults. It has been a hard career for me. I question my decision at the beginning of every school year. I love the people I teach. I love the doctrine I teach. I won’t go into all the things that cause me angst in my professional life. My current assignment is teaching college-aged young adults at a University near-ish my home in Utah. They have allowed me to teach some “innovative” courses that combine Jesus’ Restored gospel and dealing with mental and emotional health issues. It’s been fantastic.
I discovered the weight room at 47. Never thought I was the ‘athletic’ type. I had “triathlon” on my bucket list as a younger man, so at 40, I did my first sprint triathlon and was hooked. I have done multiple sprint and Olympic distance tris in the past almost 13 years. In recent years, though, I have taken to weightlifting. I had no clue what I was doing at first. I was intimidated and still kinda feel like an imposter some days. But, I love it now and lifting has helped me in my spiritual journey as well.
This year, I decided to become a football fan. I have NO CLUE how to play football. I am learning the game though and follow the @BuffaloBills. My wife and I also started attending all the home games at @USUFootball. Go Aggies! It's been a ride!
We were not able to have children. We adopted 6. They range in age from almost 15 to 25. As they’ve grown up (are growing up), we’ve faced difficulty with pretty much everything that parents might imagine (or might not imagine) their kids choosing to do/be/think/feel. For me, being a dad is insanely difficult. I don’t “get” my kids much of the time. Being a parent is the most intense endeavor of my life. There are days of joy, but it is a daily grind currently.
For about a year, I have been released from a calling/volunteer position in my Church. Before teaching little kids in Primary this past year, I served as Bishop of my congregation. That experience tested my mettle, especially as my children were growing up and choosing other roads where I initially thought Jesus was not be found. Funny thing … Jesus is on ALL the roads. I not-so-quickly began discovering that truth as I counseled with the members of my ward for 5+ years. I came away from that experience better understanding that EVERY person has something REALLY HARD they are going through and that EVERY person needs Jesus.
I started GOING to therapy during the time that I was Bishop as my world was imploding at home. The therapist said something that I keep near to my heart: “As the Bishop of your ward, you’ve just given permission for everyone in your congregation to need the Savior because even the leader of the ward can’t do it on his own.”
In recent. years, I am seeing Jesus in ways I have never seen Him or felt Him. It feels good. It feels right.
So, as we begin 2026, I come to X again to learn, to grow, to laugh, to commiserate, to connect and to be real. And I want to continue to learn more about being fifty, fitness, faith, family and fumbling through life. And this year ... to be Ruggedly Unashamed!
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