Keep The Faith

In this Unity Series reflection, I want to share how my own story, a simple experiment with rats, and the way of Yeshua all point to the same truth: everything begins with an encounter that breaks isolation and opens the door to real community and oneness. The Encounter That Breaks the Cage When I look back over my life, I can see a pattern I didn’t understand at the time — a pattern that reveals how the Kingdom actually begins in a person. It doesn’t start with doctrine. It doesn’t start with effort. It doesn’t start with trying to be better. It starts with an encounter — a moment when Yeshua Jesus steps into the isolation of a human life and opens the door to connection, healing, and community. For me, that moment came after Vietnam. When I returned home from the service, I didn’t feel welcomed. I didn’t feel understood. I didn’t feel safe. I felt isolated — cut off from the world I had left behind. Whether people truly didn’t want to associate with me o...

As I look back on something I wrote in 2016, I’m seeing it with clearer eyes today. Not because the events have changed, but because I have. The Lord has been patient with me, steady with me, and protective in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. Reading my own words from ten years ago feels like opening a window into a younger version of myself — one who was trying to make sense of spiritual conflict, fear, and the weight of responsibility that comes with writing publicly about faith. In that old post, I wrote about the demonic activity I experienced in 1999 and how boldly — maybe naively — I declared that I intended to be “a thorn in Satan’s side.” I didn’t realize then that those words weren’t really mine. They were the Lord’s. The blog wasn’t mine either. It was His. I also wrote about the fear that followed — the sense that every time I tried to post something meaningful, something disruptive happened. The most frightening moments were when we temporarily lost...

My Journey Through Shame, Discipline, and Father God’s Mercy My life has been a long road of learning, stumbling, and being restored by Father God. I grew up in the Lutheran faith, doing everything I thought made me a “good person.” Yet beneath the surface, I struggled with sin, shame, and confusion about who God truly was. Early Years and Misunderstandings I viewed sin on a scale—small sins and big sins—never realizing that the heart behind them mattered more than the size. Lust, shame, and hidden thoughts followed me into adulthood, even as I tried to live rightly. Military Life and Deep Failure During the Vietnam era, I entered the Army hoping for a safe path. Instead, I found myself drifting spiritually. Drinking, pornography, masturbation, and other sins became part of my life. A painful betrayal by someone I trusted brought me to bitter tears and deep grief over who I had become. Father God’s Gentle Intervention In my darkest moment, I asked Jesus b...

Trust in the Midst of Trials: Looking Back, Looking Up There are seasons when faith feels strong and unshakable, and seasons when questions rise to the surface. As I look back over the years — through pain, surgeries, healing, setbacks, and unexpected blessings — I can see how Father God has shaped my trust in Him. This reflection is part of that journey. December 2017 I’ve often said that I’ve learned to trust the Lord in all things. In my post Salvation , I wrote about the many times the Lord has saved me from harm throughout my life. That trust was built by looking back and realizing that God had His hand on me again and again. But during this time, I also had moments where I questioned even the existence of God. Maybe it was the enemy whispering. Maybe it was the weariness of a long journey. Maybe it was simply being human. Back in August of 2015, I wrote a post called “Funny Dream” (now titled " A Divine Handshake… With Dog Paws ").  In that dream...

When Everything Hidden Comes Into the Light Intro: Some stories take years before we’re ready to tell them. This is one of mine. I first wrote parts of it back in 2013 but never finished. Shame held me back. Confusion held me back. Maybe even fear. But today — June 6, 2026 — the Lord brought this unfinished post back to my mind, and I knew it was time to let the light in. I don’t share this because I enjoy exposing my past. I share it because if we do not abide in Christ, we can fall away from grace . And I share it because the Father has made it clear: this story is part of the work He has given me to do. John 15:6 (NASB) “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” The First Time I Gave My Life to Christ When I was about seventeen, my cousin invited me to a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting. Afterward she shared the gospel with me...

When Everything Hidden Comes Into the Light (Part 2) Some topics weigh heavily on the heart, and this is one of them. Every time another school shooting happens, especially close to home, it forces us to confront the darkness that hides beneath the surface of our society. These tragedies raise painful questions—about loneliness, hate, influence, and the unseen battles people carry inside. And they remind us that what remains hidden eventually comes into the light. Another School Shooting Close to Home There’s been another tragic school shooting—this time in Santa Fe, Texas, not far from where I live. The shooter was a student from the same school as the victims. It’s heartbreaking and difficult to understand how someone so young could take the lives of classmates without empathy or remorse. Since I first began writing about this, more mass shootings have occurred. They’ve become so frequent that they almost feel like a grim rhythm in our nation. It makes you wonder ...

Encouragement for Those Who Are Doing the Work of Father God I want to offer encouragement to those of you who are faithfully doing the work of Father God. I have been working on this blog for five years now. This blog belongs to the Lord. And during this time, I have experienced Satan’s power again and again. From what I have seen, humans could very well call him a “god” — he is that powerful. He knows what I am thinking, and he reacts when he does not like what I am doing. Here is the most recent example of what I believe was his work. June 2016 — The Ant Bites, the Wasp Sting, and the Infection On Wednesday morning, 6/29/16, I posted “ To all the bond-servants of the Lord .” The day before, 6/28/16, I was working in the yard and picked up some corn stalks I had laid down earlier. My right hand was attacked by fire ants — I probably got half a dozen bites. They formed the usual red welts with white centers. On Thursday, my wife and I went to our river prop...

I have been extremely reluctant to say what I am about to say, for fear of “jinxing” it — a sign of my weak faith. I recently shared with my Facebook friends the demonic activity I experienced back in 1999. I also posted about it (“Questions”) here on the blog. At that time, I said, “I plan to be a thorn in Satan’s side.” It was out of the blue that I said it, out over the Internet for all to see. Today I feel confident those were not my words — they were the Lord’s. This blog is not really my own; it is the Lord’s. This is why I’ve been fearful. When I said those words, Satan responded with, “Now feel my pain.” (6/30/16 — his complete message to me was: “So you think you will be a thorn in my side? Now feel my pain.”) Who has ever gotten a personal message from him? Pain comes in different formats. There is pain from disease, like the pain I have from the problems with my back (still no surgery, and it has not been debilitating). The other pain is what so many people ar...