Militarized Citizen

For the purpose of this blog, I begin at 25 years old. Being 32 today, I can remember turning 25 like it was yesterday. I’m not sure what it was, but for some reason I felt that I had transformed into a true adult at age 25. Now, I’m not saying that I acted like an adult, I said I felt like one. For the first time in my life I actually felt like I had a purpose; that I would be someone that would do great things. The only problem was I didn’t know what. And that’s where my story, my passion began…

I grew up in a Christian home, knowing the difference between right and wrong. I was considered rebellious by most who knew me at that time, but I considered myself as independent instead. I never did drugs, never got anyone pregnant, never frequented any bars or clubs… you get the picture. My parents and I had had our run-ins, but nothing that we didn’t overcome by the grace of God and nothing drastic enough to ruin our relationships with each other. Most of my time at that age was spent doing two things: managing a bicycle shop and writing/playing music in a band called, StillRoom. My parents taught me the value of a dollar by making me work for my needs and wants and to them, I applaud the effort. I drove a 1969 Buick Electra with a 455 (7.0-liter!) that was puke-green, but it got me to and fro, if you know what I mean. In other words, besides the occasional life lessons that come along for all of us, life was as simple as it could get for me. But once I turned 25, something changed; my mental picture on life was different. Little did I know it at the time, but God was preparing me for great things to come.

In my past, I had the opportunity to see God work miracles for my family and even for myself, personally. I remember in grade school, during the cleanup of our glass-blowing elective, when I picked up what looked to be a cold piece of glass that was still scalding. Long story short, it stuck to my right forefinger, I ran to the sink to put my hand under cold water until mom came and picked my brother and me up from school and I told her we needed to go the hospital and why. She suggested I pray God would take away the pain while we drove (little did I know at the time she silently prayed that God would reveal Himself to me). Well, I prayed and immediately afterward the pain went away and the dimple the glass had burned into my finger was completely gone. I couldn’t explain it. I was in so much shock over the miracle God had done that my mom thought I was in shock because of the pain. Once things calmed down, we were able to praise God on the way home and were given a great testimony where God truly revealed Himself to me in an amazing way. I was twelve. There were plenty of other miracles in my life where I saw God supply for the needs of our family in unexplainable ways, but I’ll leave those testimonies for another day.

Jumping in and out of junior college courses I didn’t really care for school much. The only thing that saved me during high school was mom’s ability to homeschool her two sons. Even so, feeling transformed into an adult, I knew I needed a change of scenery for my life to count; for it to truly mean something. During this time, I was going to church and reading the Bible quite a bit and that’s when it happened. I had been searching for God’s “perfect will” for my life and just couldn’t seem to find it. In fact, I wasn’t expecting to find it. During my search, I came upon Romans 12:2 – “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” The footnotes in my study Bible gave me more insight: “Only when the Holy Spirit renews, reeducates, and redirects our minds are we truly transformed.” So, I knew what I needed to do: ask the Holy Spirit to renew, reeducate, and redirect my mind to be able to hear and understand what God’s purpose for my life was. And I did just that. Something in my heart made me get out of bed, onto my knees, and start praying with my whole heart that God would hear my prayers. I was so discouraged with where my life wasn’t headed that I began to cry uncontrollably while praying. I couldn’t get any closer to the ground. By this time I was laying prone or prostrate before God, asking him to reveal what I was to do with my life, “God, I know I like computers, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with that. I know I like playing music, but I don’t see a career in that. I know I want to be married someday, but I don’t see marriage unless I have a decent-paying job…show me what to do!” and so-forth. In that moment, one word came to mind: “networking.” I looked up to see if my mom had entered the room. Who said that? I opened my bedroom door… everyone was asleep. Networking? What is that? I think it has something to do with computers, but… And then it hit me. Just a couple of months earlier mom had been setting brochures on the desk in my room related to different computer schools and I had been brushing the idea of checking into those schools aside. So, what did I do? Like any good kid, I shoved them onto the top shelf of my closet – out of sight – that’s what I did! Immediately, I went scouring for the brochures and finally found them all. As I poured through them, I started writing down the phone numbers for some of the better-looking schools and determined that I would call them the following morning. I can remember a huge burden being lifted from my shoulders. For too long I had put up with people asking me when I was going to get a “real job” instead of working at the bike shop and if I was ever going to finish college and the like. Not anymore. I had a plan, a purpose. And God had given it to me – I knew it! Little did I know how God had been preparing my way by mom dropping off those brochures, constantly urging me to give it a shot. And I was going to do just that!

The next morning I called a couple of schools and found one that had an appointment opening with a counselor. Should I tell mom I was going to check it out? Sure, why not. Needless to say, mom was excited. She even suggested that she go with me for moral support. Um… hm… okay. We went, discussed some things with the counselor, and he told me I would need to take an entrance exam to see if I fit this particular type of school. You see, this wasn’t college – this was a certification school. This is where everyone gets certified in Microsoft certifications. Microsoft? Well, I liked Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 (what a huge upgrade!) and I liked Windows 98… ME – not so much, but hey, let’s get certified to fix all of Windows’ problems!

The test had over 200 questions and most of them I can’t even remember because of the results I received. As mom and I waited about 20 minutes for the result, she was praying for me… out loud. “Okay mom, people are starting to look,” I was thinking. Finally, the counselor walks through the door, jaw dragging on the floor, and proceeds to tell me that I scored the highest anyone had ever seen in the 10 years the school had been in business. God at work again? Absolutely! Without a doubt, God was directing my path and I knew I had to run (not walk!) His way.

The program for the MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) training didn’t start for another couple of months so, during that time, I went to Mt. San Antonio Junior College in Walnut, CA to take a few counselor-recommended courses in electronics. I had electronics, electronics math, and lab for both. These were short semester classes (where they shove a full semester of work into half of a semester) and they were tough. Even so, I kept my head on track and passed those courses with a B+ average. Now it was time for my certification classes.

The MCSE certification program was a grueling seven and a half months, non-stop. Classes were from 08:00 – 13:00 each day, five days a week. And believe me, if you missed one, you were done for the week – there was almost no catching up. Six weeks per class, five classes total. We had to read two Microsoft certification books each week (some of them had over 700 pages!). We were tested each week and each test had 150-200 questions. I pressed through each class and received no less than a 98% on each test I took. The first three classes I received 100% on all of my tests. By the end of the second class, I had taken two tests to receive my CompTIA A+ certification (hardware/software – OS). Each class thereafter I took two Microsoft tests for a total of seven to receive two Microsoft certifications: MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) and MCSE. Towards the end of the first class, I had other students asking me to help them with their studies. How was this happening? I didn’t like school for the most part yet I was actually understanding it, pressing on, and mentoring other students. I had to quit my bike shop job, not knowing how I was going to pay my bills, but I was on a mission. Half way through my schooling, I had been granted a government work-study job at a Catholic school in Pomona which not only gave me the opportunity to pay my bills, but to learn by building my first network. How did I get through, successfully? I know how: God.

At graduation, my parents and grandmother were present. I had finished top of my class with one day missed (and made up) for near-perfect attendance. I was so happy to be able to stand before them with my accomplishment, but even happier knowing that there was no way I could have failed because God directed my path, I listened and followed, and only by His grace, I completed the goal. What now? “God, please find me a job.” 🙂

The gig at the Catholic school was great, but it was only paying a whopping $10/hr. for work that I knew was worth more. I mean, I had a student loan to pay off on top of my other bills now. Negotiations with the school failed and I continued to work for them until I could train their in-house computer guy a thing or two. It was a great learning experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I remember seeing the librarian in a supermarket in Chino a few years afterward and we had a great time catching up. Even so, the Lord was moving me forward – I knew He had great things in store and I couldn’t stand still.

Due to my parents’ separation while I was in school, just after graduation I found myself living in a small guest house with my father and I didn’t have a job. I remember when the funds in my bank account were getting low and I had bills coming due. I had been through this test before, but that was with my family. I saw first-hand the miracles God produced in our family financially and I knew he would produce those same miracles for me if I applied my parent’s teachings: pray. So, once again I found myself on my knees, seeking God for His guidance, knowing full-well that He would supply my needs. The test wasn’t an easy one. I remember someone telling me I should go get a job at Home Depot while I waited for an Information Technology (IT) job to come my way, but I knew better. I knew God had directed me all this way for what? To lead me to Home Depot? I think not! God wasn’t done working miracles.

About a week later, I received a phone call from our drummer’s father who owned his own business and he was wondering if I could take a look at some of their PCs and, “get everything working again.” Of course I can! I worked on that job, building new computers and setting up a small network to share files and accounting data. When I was done, I deposited the check, immediately went home to pay my bills and when I was done, I literally had $5 left in my bank account. My bills were paid, there was food in the fridge, gas in the truck and once again, God had provided a miracle for me.

Shortly thereafter, I received a call from the owner of the bike shop I used to manage and he mentioned that one of our customers (that I hardly knew) owned an IT consulting firm and wanted to speak with me about a possible job. I went in for an interview and two months later was hired. I finally had my “dream job.” But now what? Well, I applied good ole American spirit by working hard and quickly became the Sr. Network Engineer, managing three Junior Network Engineers – God directing my path the entire way. From there I landed my first corporate gig at a German-owned subsidiary, American Kleaner, owned by, Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. Through that job I was able to travel the world, including: Stuttgart (a week before the World Cup), Venice, London, Monterrey (Mex), and New York City. Once that company shut down, I was blessed to work the remaining five months of that job from home while being hired at a UK-owned subsidiary in Fontana, Forged Metals, Inc. where I expanded my knowledge of networks and learned other Microsoft solutions such as SharePoint, along with many other proprietary systems.

Being laid off in April of 2009, I had the option to search for a job or start my own IT consulting firm and, after prayerful consideration, the wife and I knew God was leading us to start our own business, Enspired Technology, Inc. The main purpose of the business being that we will show the love of God to our customers by the way we do business, that we would always remember to rely on God for our success and through our failures, and through our testimony others would be Enspired.

My name, Joshua, means, “God is my salvation.”  I’ve seen this first-hand.

And this is why I am such a passionate person.   I’ve seen God’s hand at work directly in my life at times when I needed Him dearly and at times when I didn’t even know He was preparing my future.  I know the God of which I speak; the God of the Bible is real.  And nothing can take that away.  So, if you see me get overly excited about something or if you wonder why I analyze everything, you’ll know it’s because I simply want the best – God’s best.

“…being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6