Stories
Personal stories, encounters, and the eight autobiography chapters. Every story is part of a longer journey. None of them are dead ends.
The first time I remember truly feeling alone, I was around sixteen or seventeen years old — sitting in a parked car with a group of friends, an immense emptiness opening up inside a crowded car.
The FatherIdentityAbandonmentOne of the guys in our circle underwent a radical, overnight transformation. His entire lifestyle completely reversed. Intrigued and quietly desperate, I asked him what had happened.
JesusAwakeningFaithI was only nineteen years old when I got married. Within three years, we had three children. At the same time, I started a retail waterbed business. My life became deeply divided, fragmented, and stretched to the absolute breaking point.
FatherhoodFailureAngerIn a single calendar year, my retail waterbed business collapsed into bankruptcy, my first marriage completely dissolved, and I fell into an affair. Every single pillar collapsed in the same twelve-month stretch.
FailureGraceForgivenessI landed a job selling television advertising and stayed for ten years. I turned thousands of highway miles into my 'windshield university' — and built a home that was a clean, structured sanctuary for my kids.
Learning Through ExperienceFatherhoodWisdomI became a grandfather. Looking down into the eyes of those innocent grandchildren, I experienced a depth of unconditional love that shattered my understanding of the Father's heart — and melted the fear-based concept of Hell right out of my theology.
The FatherGraceGrandfatherhoodI was sitting in church with my eyes closed when the back wall of the sanctuary completely vanished. Three majestic horses charged toward me. A piercing voice asked one question: 'Who is between Me and you?'
Religion and RelationshipJesusThe FatherMy knees gave out. I burned out on sales. Then artificial intelligence exploded into the world — and at nearly 68 years old, I found myself starting a brand-new business from scratch, running toward purpose instead of away from fear.
PurposeRedemptionLearning Through ExperienceMy father abandoned our family when I was only four or five. His absence created a phantom limb in my emotional life — a constant longing for masculine validation.
The FatherAbandonmentIdentityWell-meaning relatives looked at me and said, 'You're the man of the house now.' I was just a boy, entirely clueless about how to anchor myself, let alone carry the emotional survival of an entire family.
IdentityShameParentingI was standing on the front porch when I saw my five-year-old son walking home from kindergarten with his shoulders completely slumped. In one agonizing flash, I realized I was the reason he looked that way.
FatherhoodFailureRedemptionMy house became their clean, structured sanctuary — a place where they could just breathe and be teenagers. I drew an ironclad boundary: no relationship would ever integrate into our family unit.
FatherhoodParentingPurposeI consciously poured everything I had into raising them to be exceptionally strong, independent people. And that intention backfired on me. The very strength I gave them is the thing that keeps them from needing me.
FatherhoodRelationshipsLegacyLast night, my oldest grandson said the timing of what I sent him was perfect — he was trying to understand his own faith apart from his parents' faith. Sitting alone with tears running down my face, I realized none of it had been wasted.
PrayerGrandfatherhoodLegacyThis morning I had a thought that surprised me. The women I've loved throughout my life have shared something with my mother — a certain insecurity, a way of seeing what was wrong before seeing what was good. I'm beginning to wonder if what felt familiar wasn't always what was healthiest.
RelationshipsSelf-AwarenessGraceLooking down into the eyes of those innocent grandchildren, I experienced a depth of unconditional love that I didn't know the human heart was capable of. It shattered my understanding of the Father's heart.
The FatherGraceGrandfatherhoodIn that quiet bedroom, as my friend prayed, an event occurred that nearly fifty years of human language still cannot fully capture. I experienced a living, breathing Presence.
JesusAwakeningFaith'So, are you a Jesus freak now?' I didn't flinch. I looked him dead in the eye and said, 'Yeah.' And I never went back.
FaithIdentityFreedomThe atmosphere inside the car suddenly shifted into something thick and malicious. She lunged for my throat. In that split second of panic, a phrase dropped into my mind from completely outside my own intellect.
JesusFaithGood and EvilFor three or four years, we completely bypassed the steeples and met in living rooms — crowded onto couches and floors, someone with an acoustic guitar, spending hours singing directly to Jesus. No elevated platform. Just honest questions.
Religion and RelationshipCommunityFaithI was in church with my eyes closed when the back wall vanished. Three majestic horses and their riders charged toward me. A piercing voice asked a single question that changed everything.
JesusReligion and RelationshipFreedom