Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog. I don't really like that term "blog", so let's just call it my "on-line journal".

I am Bob Masterino. I'm 37 years old (next month) and live in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, PA. Been here for most of my life. I have been married to a wonderful woman, Dena, for almost 10 years now. Since I am the one who is the goofball in our relationship, she has added a bit of a serious side to me. In turn, I think I have helped Dena to take life a little less seriously. We are quite a complement to each other.

I was raised in a Roman Catholic home and hadn't attended a church regularly in more than 20 years. In retrospect, I have always believed in God, but I don't think I ever really took it seriously or even considered having a relationship with Him. I guess the only relationship I had with Him was as a scapegoat for everything that went wrong in my life.

Last summer, I quite literally received a sign from God in the form of a new church based here in the North Hills. "Iron City Church, More Jesus, Less Crap" is what the sign, posted less than a half-mile from my house, said. As we drove by, I said to Dena (who has always wanted me to attend church with her) that sounds like my kind of church. Dena did some research on Iron City and contacted them regarding their mission. They were having a kick-off picnic right up the street the following week so they invited us to attend.

With much resistance that evening - I'm sure I had a crappy day - Dena was able to drag my butt up the street despite the rain that was falling. We were greeted with smiles by everyone there and there was plenty of food to be eaten. That's when I met the most significant person who has come into my life in quite some time. I actually have to leave to meet him right now, so more about that later.

Bob