Who We Are

Hi! We are James and Sheri Fortes. We were recently married in February, 2018. We'll describe in another blog post how God brought us together but we met in August, 2017, got engaged two months later in October, and married four months after that! :)

We believe there is a higher purpose in marriage than to just fulfill our own selfish desires and needs. We believe God brought us together so we can serve the body of Christ better together than we could have separately on our own. We also believe God uses marriage to teach us to be more like Him.

Like all believers, we each have unique spiritual gifts. James has a gift for evangelism and teaching, and Sheri has a gift of writing and helping others. Thus, the reason for the name of our blog. You will probably see more videos from James and more writings from Sheri.

We both have a passion for serving God and a desire to be used by Him for His glory. Together we hope to share the gospel with those who are seeking, and encourage single and married Christ-followers in their relationships with others and with God.

A little bit about us...

James' Background

Being of Filipino heritage, I was born and raised Catholic. With all due respect to the Catholic faith, I learned about God and His Son, Jesus, but I never knew Him. I do not recall any moments where the message of Biblical salvation was preached or impressed upon me. 

Instead, a message of good works was communicated. So, I went on with my life trying to do the right things like being a good person, being nice to others, being a law-abiding citizen, and donating time and money to charities.

I figured if I did enough good things, God would look at my life’s “balance sheet” and forgive me of my sins and when I died, I’d have enough good outweighing my bad. This is how I lived my life until God slowly got a hold of heart through friends and acquaintances who planted spiritual seeds over several years in my early 20's...

In college, I was invited to a party, but it was no ordinary party. There were only chips and soda and everyone seemed way too nice. They shared stories and one person shared a personal testimony of who Jesus Christ was. I wondered what they wanted from me. I zoned out waiting for a moment where I could excuse myself and leave the party. They invited me to attend a Moody Church service the following Sunday, which I did. 

I recall a different type of service. No communion, no sit-kneel-stand…no canned prayers. Despite my mental resistance, I admired the passion of these people and how the church service was “real” as compared to what I was used to at the time. However, I went on to ignore this group over the next few weeks, but not before they had planted that first seed. 

A couple of years later, I started dating a girl who was a "saved Christian."  I thought I was too, being that I was Catholic. She was reluctant to continue dating me because of our difference in faith, but because I was a “good” person, she continued. 

In hindsight, I realize she also tried to witness to me. The whole concept of a personal relationship with Jesus was new to me, hence it seemed odd. She often asked questions that I thought at the time, were offensive. We eventually broke up, partially because of our difference in faith. But not before she took me to a service at Calvary Church in Naperville. 

“Wow”, I thought, “This is even weirder than my Moody experience a few years back.” The whole tongues speaking thing and people raising their hands in worship was a bit abnormal to me.  Again, although the experience was very different (for me), and my wall of resistance continued, I admired the passion I sensed among the congregation and I began to wish that passion for myself.

Fast forward about 10 years later. I started dating a girl who would eventually become my first wife. It’s amazing how God positioned her in my life to continue to impress upon me who He was. When we met, we both "knew of" the Lord without really knowing Him. 

That would change on September 11th, 2001; that infamous day we all remember too well. That day was the catalyst for her. God used that catastrophe for her to truly accept Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. She started attending services regularly at a nearby evangelical Lutheran church in Naperville called Good Shepherd Lutheran church. 

At the time, I was already convinced that the Catholic church wasn’t for me. However, I still felt that attending services outside the Catholic church was betrayal. So, I didn’t attend any church services for the first several months. 

In November, 2002, I proposed. She said yes under one condition—that I meet with the senior pastor of Good Shepherd. I agreed. I walked in with a guarded heart and almost an arrogant attitude, but the pastor quickly demonstrated a type of genuine interest in getting to know me. I lowered my guard as he listened intently to me and answered my questions with truth and love. 

Inevitably, he invited me to attend the Thanksgiving service coming up. I did. Again the service seemed a bit strange, but this time I embraced it rather than resisting. For the first time in my life, I felt a true and loving presence during the service and in me. 

After that service, my then fiancé shared the Gospel with me and I quickly embraced it. She shared that God’s Love was real as evidenced by sending His one and only Son as an atonement for our sins, so that we may have eternal life with Him. And that this is a gift – a free gift that cannot be earned. We only need to wholeheartedly accept it and in turn, repent of our sins. 

I learned that we are called to do good works as a result of our faith. Works that are inspired by our faith, and not in order to earn God’s grace. This notion became clearer and clearer to me.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast."  - Ephesians 2:8-9 

A word on repentance. www.bible.org states it so well in their article entitled, "Is Repentance Necessary forSalvation?" that I am just going to quote it here.

Roy B. Zuck writes:

"Repentance is included in believing. Faith and repentance are like two sides of a coin. Genuine faith includes repentance, and genuine repentance includes faith. The Greek word for repentance (metanoia) means to change one’s mind. But to change one’s mind about what? About sin, about one’s adequacy to save himself, about Christ as the only way of salvation, the only One who can make a person righteous." (“Kindred Spirit,” a quarterly publication of Dallas Seminary, Summer 1989, p. 5).

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6

"From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” - Matthew 4:17 

I started attending church services every week and began memorizing Bible verses. It took me a while to begin truly maturing in faith (a process called sanctification), hence I stayed a “baby Christian” for the first five or so years. As a “baby” you’re alive and breathing but unable to comprehend the fullness of the experiences surrounding you. That was me. Outside of my then fiancé/wife, I had no real disciple mentoring me.

In 2008, as I was listening to “Agnus Dei”, which means “Lamb of God” by Michael W. Smith, I broke down in tears as I felt the Lord’s presence upon me. I had a meaningful time of meditation with the Lord and He reminded me that He had been in me since 2003. The Lord was tugging at my heart, or maybe preparing it, because soon thereafter a life changing event would occur that would grow me exponentially in my faith...

Sheri's Background

I was born into a Christian family that attended a Baptist church. I asked Jesus into my heart at a young age, for fear of going to hell. I prayed the prayer I was taught to pray many times at church. "Jesus, please come into my heart. Please forgive my sins. I know I'm a sinner. I believe you died on the cross for my sins. Amen."

I followed all the rules, attended church religiously - every Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night Awana, Christian school Monday through Friday - you get the picture. If church was open, I was there. Church was a part of my being. I didn't know anything different.

I was encouraged by my Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Swanson, at a young age to read the Bible every day. She would give us one piece of gum for every day we read the Bible. I loved candy so I made sure I read every day so I could get that whole pack of bubble gum. This established a habit in me that I am forever grateful for.

I continued to read my Bible daily, reading through the whole Bible by high school. I was a rule follower so following all the rules I was taught in church and school came easy to me. I believed if I followed God's laws, things would go well for me. I would avoid heartache and the consequences of sin I read about in the Bible.

But something happened near the end of my Senior year in high school. Things didn't go my way. I felt that I suffered great heartache because of the fact I was following God's rules. I wasn't emotionally prepared for that. All my life I had been taught that I would be rewarded for avoiding sin. I felt I was being punished for doing what was right.

To make matters worse, I didn't feel close to God. Where was this God of comfort in my time of grief? Why did I feel so alone? I turned my back on God because I felt He had turned His back on me. All these years I had followed all His rules, and I felt like it was all a scam. Why should I follow Him? It didn't turn out well for me.

So I went off to college in the fall and walked away from God for the next 10 years. No longer was I surrounded by Christian friends, family, and teachings from the Bible. While I didn't do anything too crazy (by the grace of God), I stopped reading my Bible. I stopped going to church. I stopped praying.

I got married and had kids. Life was going OK. I didn't feel like I needed God in my life. I felt like I had the hell insurance because I prayed the prayer when I was little but I didn't see any point in doing anything more than that. God was just someone I prayed to in desperate situations.

But when I was 28, like the one lost sheep out of 100, God pursued me through a radio program on Moody Radio (90.1 FM). My parents had gotten involved in a Christian ministry helping orphans in Malawi, Africa and asked me to help with writing newsletters, etc. I dug back into my knowledge of scriptures and the 12 years of Christian education I had. I felt like a fake at first, using all the Christian lingo in newsletters.

I became friends with the couple that ran the ministry in Malawi and they came to the states for a visit and stayed with us. I knew I would have to drive them around while they were here, so I decided I better find some Christian radio stations and pretend I listen to it all the time. I remembered my Dad listening to Moody when I was little, so I turned there one night while I was driving. I believe it was Alistair Begg who was on the radio that night. He was preaching on Matthew 7:21-23 which says: 

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Hebrews 4:12 says: "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

That night, my heart and soul were pierced by God's Word. A deep sadness and fear came over me as I thought, "What if I died today? Would Jesus say that to me?"

I could say, "But I followed all your rules when I was little and I used to pray to you every day. You know me." I felt like God was saying to me, "I knew you at one time, but I don't know you now." and my heart sank as I felt like an old friend was saying, "Where have you been? We used to be so close."

And like the men that Jesus was talking to in this passage, I wondered if I had just followed all the rules and believed Jesus was the Son of God but did I ever really surrender my life to Christ, turn from my sins out of true repentance because I wanted to obey God, not just because I thought it was what I was supposed to do so that it would go well with me, but because of my genuine love and desire to follow Christ?

Jesus said in Luke 9:23: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

That day God impressed upon me that He wanted a relationship with me. He wanted to know me. It wasn't just about following the rules. He wanted me to follow Him. It wasn't about words that I just repeated once, but had no impact on how I lived my life. It was about me genuinely surrendering my life to Him. Letting Christ take the wheel. I wanted that. I wanted to be back into a relationship with my Savior.

I committed my life to Christ that day in my car. Not just because I was afraid of going to hell, but because of a supernatural desire to please God and obey Him. Not because I had to; this time I wanted to. I started reading my Bible and praying again. I started attending Christ Community Church every week without fail. Shortly after I got baptized, and I've never turned away from God again. And I've never stopped listening to Moody. :) I'm so grateful that God chose to pursue me that day.

Sheri was a single mom to four kids for six years prior to meeting James. James had been single for eight years.

Sheri is a stay at home mom, author, blogger, speaker, and ADHD diet and biomed coach. She has written two books - "All Natural Mom's Guide to the Feingold Diet - A Natural Approach to ADHD and Other Related Issues" and "Doing Disney on a Special Diet." 

She is the also the founder of the Treating ADHD Naturally Conference and blogs at www.allnaturalmomof4.com, as well as another single mom blog. Sheri's passion is to help parents of kids with ADHD or autism. She also has a passion to help Christian single moms and women dealing with domestic violence, especially within the church.

James graduated Moody in 2016 with his Masters in Biblical Studies with the intent of working in full-time ministry one day. He has served in homeless ministry, youth ministry, led singles ministry, and taught an Alpha type class for seekers and new believers. James currently works as a Business Intelligence executive (IT), as he eagerly waits for God's leading to move in to full-time ministry.

Together, James and Sheri hope to write a faith-based book in the near future. You can follow us on Facebook at our new page called Eyes On Me. 

Have questions about salvation? We'd love to chat with you. Send us a message on our Facebook page. Please also let us know if we can pray for you in any way. We'd be honored to do so.