Welcome!

I am a veteran Marine, serving for 10 years on active duty from 2003-2013, including time in Iraq, Afghanistan, and a few other countries. For virtually my entire time in the Corps, I was married to my bride, Kelli (Houser) O’Day, who has remained by my side for the rest of life’s journeys since leaving active service.

God saved me just a few months before I joined the Marines and got married. I found it immensely challenging to live for Christ and build a healthy marriage in the Corps. My goal in this blog is to provide biblical wisdom and practical resources for Christian Families serving in the Military. I also host a podcast, which shares the same goal as this blog, with my wife and our good friends: Military Wellness Collective.

These efforts are really an overflow of my primary roles serving as a pastor at Pillar Church of Jacksonville, NC (across the street from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune), and as the Executive Director of The Praetorian Project– a family of multiplying churches in military communities worldwide.

Practical Articles for Your Military Journey

PCS Well: Moving in a God-Honoring, You-Flourishing Way

During my ten years of active-duty service, I moved six times. Moving provides a host of challenges for the military family. However, if you will intentionally engage with the Lord and His purposes throughout your move, your upcoming PCS offers an amazing opportunity to accelerate your spiritual maturity. This series of articles aims to help you do that!

Deploying Well

During my time in the military, my wife and I experienced three military deployments and multiple other times of prolonged separation. Since leaving the military to pastor, we have walked with more than 50 married couples as they walk through their deployment seasons. This writing journey is my attempt to capture the lessons learned from these experiences to help you glean from all of these experiences. I am convinced that God intends for you thrive in this season- not merely survive.

Read the Bible for Yourself

During my time in the military, it took me a while to realize the value of reading the Bible for myself. Having grown up in church with parents who read their Bibles, I knew the importance in my head, but it took far too long for it to become a regular practice. Once I found the discipline of regular Bible reading, the Lord sustained me and grew me in powerful ways. I pray that this short journey of articles will help you start this practice today!

Other Recent Articles

  • PCS Well: Moving in a God-Honoring, You-Flourishing Way

    My friend, Joshua, has a saying, “The military is a fasttrack to maturity.” I am convinced that if you engage with the Lord and His purposes for you in this military life, that statement will indeed ring true. The PCS (Permanent Change of Station) offers an amazing opportunity to accelerate your spiritual maturity if you…

  • Be Where You Are: Finding Peace in the Present

    What is the best duty station in the military? “The one I just came from.” What is the worst duty station in the military? “The one where I am.” When will all my problems be solved? “In the next place.” The temptation to think this way creeps up on all of us. It typically starts…

  • Seek the Welfare of Your New City: PCS Well

    But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:7 [ESV]) The words above are from the Lord to His people who are in exile in a foreign city. He tells them, through his…

  • Find Your Church First: PCS Well

    As the military moves you, I am well aware that your to-do list is endless. I understand that there is no bottom of your list. But what’s at the top? Let me guess: Where will we live? Where will the kids go to school? Where will we find the medical specialist we need? The necessary…

  • Don’t Leave Before You Leave: PCS Well

    Temptations abound as you prepare to leave your current duty station on PCS orders. Mentally, you will think of the never-ending to-do lists that must be accomplished. The more complicated your life has become, the more to-dos you have. Spiritually, you will be torn from the healthy rhythms and relationships God has used to grow…

  • Riding Solo: Trusting God Through Your Deployment

    “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32 [ESV]) Do you remember learning to ride a bike? Perhaps you learned by yourself. Perhaps someone taught you. Either way, at some point, the…