Who am I? As the title of this blog says, I’m just man living life and walking with God along the way. However there are numerous occasions when He has to carry me.

My name is Jay Caruso. During the day I am the director of IT at a third party logistics company in Florida. At night, I was kind of hoping I could be Batman, but that’s not how it worked out. Outside of work I am a husband to the greatest wife in the world and a father to two beautiful, vibrant (sometimes too vibrant!) children. It was 15 years ago that I became a follower of Jesus Christ and my life has never been the same since. It’s been a bumpy ride and for nearly seven years, I broke away from God’s grip but when I decided to return over four years ago, there He was with open arms. The greatness of God is personified by the fact through His grace has given me what I do not deserve and through His mercy has spared me what I do deserve.

I learned about true forgiveness over 15 years ago when my then girlfriend chose to stay with me (she was already a Christ follower) after I ran afoul of the law and I was certain she would leave me as a result.

I have very poor vision in my right eye, but He has blessed me with the ability to see with a perspective in my left eye what many people cannot have despite excellent vision in both eyes. As such, I can create art with a camera. You can see some of that work here.

He blessed me with just enough talent that despite being pretty much self-taught, I can play the drums in the worship band for our church. I am surrounded by people far more talented than me and under the direction of Derek Overton (who pushes the limits of the band, but does so in a loving way), the worship ministry at Parkview Baptist Church has flourished. I am honored and humbled to be able to join those people on stage every other week.

I attend a church with a great Pastor, Greg Peters. Above everything else, his greatest quality as a Pastor is the one thing lacking in so many churches: He is a Pastor who is transparent. What do I mean by that? He’s not afraid to be open and honest about his own failings right there from the pulpit. He never puts himself on a pedestal. I learn from him, love him and respect him. I never leave Sunday feeling like I was just beaten over the head, but I often leave feeling better than when I walked in or feeling like I need to do something more with my relationship with God.

I read a book recently called ’10 Choices: A Proven Plan to Change Your Life Forever’ by James MacDonald. This book hit me like a freight train, especially the chapter about choosing to be authentic and that’s part of the reason why this blog was created. I had another blog where I posted on issues of faith, but it wasn’t really authentic. On it I was trying to be the “good Christian” instead of just being some dude who happens to be a Christ follower. Authenticity. I wanted that for this blog.

So come along with me and enjoy the ride.