Hello, and thanks for stopping by to learn a little about me. I’ve been very happily married to my best friend Vicki since 1989. We’ve raised two beautiful kids together and now enjoy life with three of God’s greatest blessings, Grandkids.

Together we’ve spent more than 30 years in ministry, both part-time and full-time. Most of my adult life has been spent in the Air Force dating back to December 1984. I’m at the tail end of my career now as I have to retire at 60.

My wife and I have overcome many challenges in our 33+ years together. God has been at the foundation of our lives and the source of our strength and blessings.

I started this blog to share my love of the Word of God and teach specifically about mindset and how the Bible can help with our thought lives. Thoughts are at the core of everything in our life. Every action, good or bad, is preceded by a thought. Winning the battle of our minds is essential to living the victorious life available to Christ followers. 

I’ve been teaching the Bible for more than 30 years in various forms of ministry, and I’m excited to use what I’ve learned to connect with and help others.

My Story: Anger, Pornography, Alcoholism, Attempted Suicide, REDEMPTION 

So you know where I’m coming from here is a little of my history. Maybe there are some things about my story you will connect with.

I was raised in a preacher’s home and, from the time of birth, learned about Jesus. Throughout my childhood and into my teenage years, I knew about Jesus but didn’t have a close relationship with Him. Like many people, I had a head knowledge but didn’t actively pursue a more intimate relationship. 

Thankfully, I witnessed things as a child that secured my faith that God was real. I saw people healed before my eyes and experienced how God provided for my family’s needs when we had no money. God protected me on numerous occasions, like when I shot myself with a .22 caliber bullet and walked away with no lasting injuries.

Several things shaped the course of who I am today and eventually led me to an intimate relationship with Jesus.

I was bullied relentlessly as a child. I was short, nerdy, and had little self-esteem. Girls didn’t like me, and I was lonely for a relationship I saw others have.

Another significant event that shaped my life was when I saw pornography at ten years old. I wasn’t looking for it. I hung out with a girl with older brothers who showed it to me. I still remember everything about that day more than 45 years later. Like many young men, it was an instant addiction. I found myself searching for it after the seed was planted.

Fast forward six years and another dramatic event shaped my life. I was working at a local grocery store and was introduced to alcohol for the first time. I loved the feeling I got from it and instantly began drinking for the buzz. The department I worked in was co-located with the liquor department at my job. There were always open liquor bottles, and I started drinking vodka heavily while working. Somehow I was able to hide it and keep my job.

While struggling with tremendous anger from bullying, a pornography addiction, and the early stages of alcoholism, I desperately wanted a close relationship with God.  None of my close friends were serious about their relationships with God, and I wasn’t strong enough to break from the crowd and seek God.

At 19, I joined the Air Force and left for basic training in December 1984. I was excited about getting away where it was just God and me. I felt this was my chance to pursue the relationship I wanted and needed.

I did pretty well until I was given the first bit of freedom and was able to go to the club on base with my fellow Airmen. By then, I was not as much of a nerd and felt a little more confident with women. Up until then, I had experienced very little in the way of any intimacy with women.

That day at the club, I abandoned any pursuit of God as I suddenly found the military offered me ample opportunities to fulfill every lust of the flesh I desired.

I fell deep into a life of promiscuity, drunkenness, and adulterous affairs. Long story short, this life that the world made look so appealing led me to a parking lot late one night. In my sorrowful and drunken state, I tried to end my life, taking 90 pills in just over an hour.

At the same time, I had praying parents back home who had not given up on me. Somehow, I survived that incident. The problem is that I didn’t turn back to God and kept living the lifestyle I had become accustomed to.

Shortly after ending a relationship with a married woman, I was so distraught that I tried to end my life again.

Leaving her home late one night on snow-covered roads in Alaska, I removed my seatbelt in my Jeep and began speeding down a slick road. I lost control of my Jeep as I sped around a turn and was headed directly into a telephone pole where it would have t-boned me on the driver’s side.

I still remember it like it was in slow motion. I knew I was about to hit the pole with no protection, and I was ready to die. As my Jeep slid into the pole, miraculously, it was as if my Jeep passed through the pole and came to a stop. I sat there wondering why I was still alive and found myself disappointed.

I would like to say everything was great after that, and I turned my life around. It didn’t happen overnight. Thanks to praying parents and the grace of God, a couple of years after these events, I met my best friend and forever bride. Together we pursued God, and my life has been changed forever.

God could have let me die in my sin, but instead, He was patient and showed me mercy. If left to my own devices, I would have missed out on the extraordinary life I’ve had with my wife, two children, and three grandchildren. Most important, I would have missed out on the joy of knowing God more intimately for all these years.

My prayer is that I can use these experiences to help others using the wisdom of God’s word.