John and Trina
John and Trina have been married for 30 years, and are blessed with a daughter, Chaili, and a son, Carey. Our family and our children are the treasures of our lives. We are entering our 19th year of homeschooling and feel a deep call to discipling our family and the generations to follow. John was born in the city of Chicago and is a lifelong fan of his Chicago teams. His other interests include running (with Carey), working outside, and watching old movies with the family. Above all, John loves studying God's Word, knowing Jesus more, and thoroughly enjoys getting to share Him through both writing, speaking, and teaching as he travels throughout North America and works with students online. Trina was born in Michigan and is a country girl at heart, though she came to think of Joliet, IL and the Chicago area as home during our six years there, but loves our country home in Tennessee. Trina is a certified teacher and has been the primary facilitator for Chaili's and Carey's home education. In addition to her other responsibilities, Trina works full time from home in the field of medical billing, as well as doing a great deal of work behind the scenes for LifeMessage International. Trina also loves working outside and getting her internal "solar batteries" charged. One of her recent and greatest interests is in the area of horsemanship and horse training, as she and Chaili have grown in skill and knowledge through working with our horse, Storm. Trina travels with John occasionally these days in order to look after the calling she has at home during this period of life.
Chaili
Chaili is twenty-twoyears old and in 2017 graduated with her bachelor's of science in nursing from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN, where she also served in student leadership as a peer mentor, as well as singing in gospel choir and playing piano for the jazz band. She is now a registered nurse and employed as a labor and delivery nurse in a local Nashville hospital. Chaili has a sweet, gentle spirit and has always had a tender love and care for people. She has also had a lifelong love for horses, and she was very excited for us to welcome our horse, Storm, in the summer of 2010. Chaili, along with Trina, has thoroughly enjoyed working with Storm and learning the skills of horse training and horsemanship --- an ongoing education. In addition to her horse, Chaili loves her dog, Dolly, and the several outdoor cats who call our property home. Chaili enjoys the opportunity to travel with dad on trips occasionally. She has also been a great help in editing dad's books, and was the primary editor for John's books, The LifeMessage of Philemon and No Shortcuts. Mom and dad are proud of all of Chaili's academic and professional achievements and for the young lady she is and continues to become. Most of all, Chaili is a young lady who desires more than anything to respond to Jesus in her life, and this is continually evident in her, for which we thank the Lord each day.
Carey
Carey is sixteen years old and is entering his senior year of high school, and is a gifted and strong young man with a sensitive heart. He loves languages, engineering, and learning about history, especially military history, where his particular area of interest is World War II as he was likely influenced by Trina's father, who was a WWII veteran. Carey is also an avid collector and player of strategy games, which he uses to hone his engineering mind. He also enjoys swimming, and is a member of a local high school swim team. Carey has had a lifelong love for airplanes, and his dream and plan is to enter the U.S. military as a pilot, looking toward an engineering degree in college. Toward that end, he is an active member of the Civil Air Patrol, currently serving as a cadet 2nd lieutenant, aerospace officer and flight commander in his home squadron as well as a flight commander at this year's Tennessee Wing Encampment. He also serves in the Naval Sea Cadets, another JROTC prorgram. He gets to travel with dad quite regularly on trips to various parts of the country, and recently took his first overseas trip to Kenya and Uganda. He enjoys meeting new people and finding ways to serve. We are thankful that Carey is a young man with a heart that is open to Jesus, and our prayer is that he will continue to grow to be a man who is strong in the Lord and who will lead and disciple his own family in Jesus.