Tag: dailyprompt

Thank God I do!


Do you remember life before the internet?

I graduated from high school in 1979, so I remember much of my life without the Internet. Life was so much easier without all of the drama that comes with the social media that everyone seems to cling to today.

Granted, I actually had to use an encyclopedia and the library in order to do a research paper but I did it. Because I didn’t have a choice! Before the computer came along, we had to write these papers by hand. We also had to learn to type on a typewriter. Something that most people today have no experience with.

Yes, life was different before the Internet but we had nothing to fall back on that was easier. Enjoy what you have today but don’t use it to put others down.

Comfort


What does “having it all” mean to you? Is it attainable?

Actually, it means NOT having it all as far as the world is concerned. Is it possible? Yes! Just determine what you really NEED and take away those things that don’t fit that view. The world may not like your version of “having it all” but if it brings you joy, that’s their problem.

Following Jesus


What gives you direction in life?

I surrendered to a call to preach in 2011, and I’ve been reading the Bible at least once a year every year since then. Following the advice and the wisdom of God is the best decision I have ever made.

Giving my life to Jesus has made my life more fulfilling than any other decision in my time here. I pray that anyone reading this will do the same.

A life-changing decision


Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow.

There are many decisions that I have made over the course of my life that helped me learn and grow. The first was when I joined the Air Force back in 1980. I gained confidence in myself and learned many things that are not taught in school. Then I became an EMT for a number of years and I learned a lot about how people treat each other in various situations. I’m not going to go over all of my life and the decisions that I made but the one that had the most impact was when my son was born and my acceptance of Jesus Christ as my Savior.

I knew I couldn’t raise him without having a true moral center in my life and God agreed with me. He called me to be His and I hope I’ve been pretty good at following Him. Like everyone else I have stumbled many times but He has always been there to help me get back on the right path with Him.

For me…


What animals make the best/worst pets?

I’ve always had a dog. My first was a Pug but the one who was very attached to me was a Chihuahua/ Terrier mix that my Mom got for me when I was ten. She was a faithful companion until my 25th birthday. As a family, we’ve had a Dachshund since 2005. Trixie passed away in 2020 when she was fourteen. Since then I have had a rescue that came to me when she was nine years old and she’s thirteen now. I’m probably a little biased but small dogs are the most loyal and loving in my opinion.

The Bible


What’s something most people don’t understand?

People have heard sermons from it and heard or seen quotes from it but so many people don’t understand it at all. Many people don’t understand it because they have no idea what to think about it.

It’s not just a book. It’s the Word of God and it’s His testimony about His love for humanity. Whether you believe that the Earth was created six thousand years ago or 4.5 billion years ago, God had a hand in its design. Every element is balanced in such a way that if the ratio was off by a few percent we wouldn’t exist. That kind of precision doesn’t happen by chance.

The Bible also tells us the history of the Jewish people and their struggles. But if you look at it from a little bit farther out, it is God’s love story for all of us. He loves us so much that He sent Jesus as the ultimate passover Lamb to pay the penalty for all who will accept His grace and mercy through belief in Him. In our belief in Jesus, we are sanctified and forgiven so that we can come into God’s presence as adopted sons and daughters.

Technology was a part of it


How has technology changed your job?

I went to college for four years to be a Medical Technologist. I was one of those in the hospital lab doing all of the tests for the patients. After that job, I worked as a computer technician for about five years, so technology has always been at the center of my recent job life.

Death of my parents


What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

This started my dependence on God and when I became a pastor of a small church in 2011, I began to dig deeper into His Word. Growing up in the natural sense, physically, wasn’t the problem but growing up was. My parent’s divorced when I was only five years old so my sense of who I was and why things went wrong, thinking that it was somehow my fault, was the real hindrance to how I looked at myself and those around me. I was angry for many years and I had no idea who I was angry at. Was it my Mom or my Dad? Was this my fault or was this God’s fault? I didn’t have a clue and that added to my frustration and anger.

So…what experience helped me to grow the most? Getting older and raising my son was the experience that helped me the most because if it had not been for him being born, I don’t know how my life would’ve turned out.