I have always been told that, when telling a story, the best place to start is at the beginning. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do, take you back to the very beginning… “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1). Okay a little too far back, fast forward several thousand years to October 17th 1990. My birth, let’s start from there, shall we?

The Womb

I was born and raised in the “sunny” little town of Cheshunt in Hertfordshire, England. Growing up I had no real goal or direction in life, so when leaving school, I just started jumping from job to job. Somewhere amidst all the jumping, I started working in a hardware store which is where I remained for 6 years. During that time, I met my now best friend who was the first real Christian I had ever met. Me, being an atheist at the time, was unusually fascinated by his worldview and wanted to know more. For many weeks, he spent numerous hours each day thoroughly explaining to me the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sometime during September of 2012, the Lord graciously saved me.

The Wife

From that time, I began attending a church in London. At first, I didn’t know what gifts the Lord had given me with which to serve the church. One of the areas I trialed was the Evangelism team. We headed out on the streets of London every Friday night to give the same gospel that saved me to others. It was whilst serving in this area I met my now most lovely wife, Elisabeth. We met whilst she was on a mission trip from the U.S. helping to proclaim the Gospel. Suffice to say, we instantly bonded. Just under 2 years later (and many flights to and from the U.S.) the Lord sovereignly joined us together in marriage. After a lovely honeymoon in California, I whisked her away to England.

The Woodworking

It was Elisabeth who motivated and inspired me to start a hobby, and to stop playing so many video games! After some looking around, I ultimately (and obviously) decided to start woodworking and whittling. The desire I have for this is so intense, I can only attribute that to God putting it on my heart. Right from the get go I loved it! I started to develop a slight obsession with carving spoons and other kitchen utensils…okay, more than a slight obsession! Don’t worry…I don’t just make spoons; I also make various pieces ranging from candle holders to pendants-even devices to help one hold a book.

Around 5 months into my new hobby (and albeit a fair number of trees later), we started a discussion amongst the family. “How nice it would be if we could start a business doing what each of us loves to do?” Voila, For God’s Glory Designs was born!

It is an honour and huge blessing to be part of a business doing what I love. And not just that, but doing it with the people I love. All of us have the same focus and ultimate goal: to do all “For God’s Glory”.