MILES IS THIRTY

Hi Friends! My man turned the big 3-0 last week and I promised a tell all! You guys asked and MILES has your answers! He is our guest blogger today so take a peek! I was excited to read his answers too and may have learned a thing or two! Ha! Happy Reading!

Q: When did you start following the Lord?

A: I started passionately pursuing God when I was 13 years old. Although I had known many truths in the Bible for a long time, there was a defining moment where my life changed forever. Believe it or not, it was at a movie theater with some of my best friends seeing the movie “A Walk To Remember.” Mandy Moore people, so good. However, what God did had little to do with that movie, and more to do with the Holy Spirit. Me and two of my best friends felt so overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit that we walked out of the movie theater and decided to build our lives on following Jesus. We would end up doing exactly what we committed that night for the next 17 years and both of those guys are in full-time ministry to this day. I know that’s a weird story, but that is seriously exactly how it happened. No worship band, no preacher, no big moment. Just three 7th grade boys at a Regal Cinemas in Austell, GA. 

Q: When did you know you wanted to be a pastor?

A: Shortly after that encounter with God I got an opportunity to “share my testimony” at FCA (sidetone: how much of a testimony can you have at 13 years old?!?!). I got on stage and felt so comfortable being myself it was a little strange. I got home from school and told my Mom I wanted to be a preacher and she said “I know, I’ve known that your whole life.” Over the years I found myself biting my lip in church because I wanted to be preaching so bad. And not because the person preaching wasn’t doing a good job, it was just because I knew that’s what I was supposed to be doing! 

Q: What is your favorite city to visit?

A: NEW. YORK. CITY. Greatest city in the world. Sometimes I go crazy if we go too long without making a trip up there. We have been five or six times and need to go back soon. The combination of the tall buildings, energy, and grandness of it all gets to me. It was actually in NYC where Courtney and I dreamed with God that we should pant a church one day. We didn’t know that day would come so soon or be in Auburn, AL. NYC really is the concrete jungle where dreams are made of! Other than NYC, I LOVE London and also think Minneapolis is the most underrated city in the US. Also, Philadelphia is pretty cool too. Our country started there and the Super Bowl Champions reside there. I was also born in Philly!

Q: What was your major in college?

A: In college I majored in Communication at Kennesaw State University. Not Communications, Communication. It’s a good well-rounded major for someone going into ministry to do a lot of writing and speaking. 

Q: Were you really as good as you say at basketball?

A: This question cracks me up. I don’t feel like I say I’m that amazing! But yes, I would say I’m as good as anyone at being competitive. In basketball I’m not the tallest, fastest or highest jumper. However, I grew up learning and perfecting Allen Iverson’s crossover while trying to pass like Jason Williams (Kings). I like to think of myself as a mixture of the two! 

Q: Are you nervous about having another baby?

A: Yes and No. I’m not nervous about having multiple kids, when you have a wife and mother like Courtney you feel like she can handle anything! But I am nervous about making sure I learn each one of my girls as they grow up and let them be themselves. I don’t want to try to repeat my relationship with Anniston with baby number two, I want it to be our own relationship that grows over time.

Q: How do you feel about two girls?

A: Two girls? You mean THREE girls? It’s a little overwhelming to be outnumbered 3-1… but Lebron was down 3-1 and made it work, so can I. 

Q: If you have son, will you name him LeBron?

A: If Courtney would let me, Lebron Miles Fidell sounds amazing. That would never happen. Ever. 

Q: What's your favorite thing to do on your downtime? 

A: Ahh downtime. What’s that like? I’m in a season of life where I no longer get downtime, but it keeps me focused. I’m almost always working for the church, being with my family, working out, or asleep. I do really enjoy reading books from my favorite authors when I’m disciplined enough to make time for reading. 

Q: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

A: I LOVE THIS QUESTION!!! So a day after I turned 30 I randomly found this list of goals I wrote when I was 22. They were goals I wanted to accomplish by the time I turned 30! It was crazy because when I wrote them, the goals seemed so crazy and impossible to me. Now I’m 30 and by God’s grace, I met almost every single one of them. So I took some time to write out some more impossible goals for 40. If I wrote them on this blog, many of you would probably laugh at them or call me crazy. But I honestly believe God loves it when we dream big because it gives Him a chance to show off! At a minimum, I want to be more in love with my wife and family and more passionate about JESUS in ten years than I am now. At a maximum, there is no maximum. Our God is a God of immeasurably more! There is no limit to what God could do with an available life so I’ve got some huge goals for my family, ministry, generosity, and overall well-being. 

Thank you, Miles! And happy, happy BIRTHDAY! You are the greatest man I know on your worst day and I am unworthy of you on your best! Here is to your best year and decade yet!