Who Is Nakadude

Greetings,
I'm James Nakamura and most friends call me Naka (a childhood nickname that has stuck). Being originally from California we refer to each other as "dude" so thus the name Nakadude. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the East Bay suburbs. I became a Christian in middle school realizing that there was a void inside of me that I desperately needed filled. I also needed answers to some of the big life questions about life after death, who God is and where do I fit in this world.
I grew up with two older brothers and a wonderful German Shepherd dog. My neighborhood was filled with kids my age and like I've said many times was very much the Wonder Years existence. My childhood was also filled with bullying. Being physically small, the youngest, a bit sensitive and lacking strong emotional guidance I was an easy target. Looking back, I see that a lot of where I struggle in life can be traced back to those experiences. Being a good dutiful son, I did well enough in school to attend UC Davis where I found an amazing fellowship of believers (Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship) who are now my life long friends.
I then moved to the Silicon Valley where I worked as a software developer. I also got involved in church serving as a youth leader for 10 years mostly with the middle school kids. I married Jodi in 1995 and got the two most beautiful daughters in that union. After the Dot Com bust, we bought a campground in Sweetwater, Tennessee where I got to grow a lot in terms of business skills, manual labor and learning to sink or swim on my own. We sold the campground and moved to Knoxville where I currently live. I bought a business that got crushed in the Great Recession where I went through a deep personal crisis experiencing a professional bankruptcy and dragging my family through the carnage of my emotional weakness and unresolved past. To that I am deeply indebted to their patience with me.
Now I'm back working in the technology industry. I began foster parenting and eventually adopting an amazing young man named Fox. Sadly, my marriage to Jodi ended in 2014. I know I'm mostly responsible for this and am working on growing through it. I ride motorcycles, watch lots of sports, enjoy deep conversation and coach basketball (currently at the college level). I found lots of healing through friends, counseling, a great men's ministry (The Fight For Manhood) and mostly, God's gracious love. Now looking forward to whatever God brings on in my life.