In the Beginning aka Back in the Day

We were a family that practiced our faith like Paul describes in Romans 14:5-6. Both of my parents worked Monday through Friday, so our weekends were jam-packed with chores – yard and livestock work, housecleaning, shopping for the coming week, etc… Squeezing in a two-hour church visit on Sunday morning was not always possible. So, we said grace before each evening meal, prayers at bedtime, and praises in the morning to get through the coming day.

Officially, my father professed a Lutheran upbringing and my mother, Catholic. The religious structures and expectations were very similar, so we would attend our formal church gatherings at whichever church in town came closest to meeting our schedules.

We got all the basic info we needed to assure us that there was a God in Heaven and we were here on earth to serve and honor Him with our daily lives. We learned prayers and bible verses and some really great songs of worship! All in all, we got a solid foundation in the idea that Life was about more than just going through the motions.

As is often the case, however, it was a lot of pomp and circumstance and seemed way out of reach during any number of mid-week crises that inevitably arose. So, it's what happened next that really started my personal spiritual journey in earnest...

The Big Revival

It wasn’t until a Catholic nun (thank you, Sister Mary!) suggested we attend a “charismatic revival” that I learned the real reason I was born! That night, in the fall of 1978, at the age of 12, I was told I didn’t need to wait for Sunday to talk with a person of influence who would pass my request onto the Higher Authorities to ponder… I could go straight to the top and speak with the BIG MAN Himself, anytime about anything! I could have a personal relationship with the Son of God and He was actually looking forward to it and was waiting for me to simply say “YES”!

Well, anyone who knows me knows that my first thought was, “It’s about time! I’ve got a list of questions for the Guy in Charge and I’m tired of wading through church protocol to get an answer!” Yep, it’s true, I was a mere 12 years old, however I related well with another young man you may recall, Jesus? (Luke 2:41-52)

In truth, the idea of interacting with beings you couldn’t see was nothing new or intimidating. We were open-minded about magic and mystery and ghosts and goblins and, of course, the devil was just as real as a God in Heaven. I never needed convincing about the reality of it, I simply needed to know about the importance of making a choice and “picking a side” in this other-worldly ongoing battle. (Revelation 3:15)

And, pick a side I did! If you are educated in role playing games, I come closest to being a paladin by nature… Pollyanna on steroids! Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware of evil, just don’t care for it much… I’m happier playing for the winning team, at least as my Guidebook describes it all, and so I made it my quest to “…march into hell for a Heavenly cause” (actually, go ahead and read the whole song’s lyrics, it might just be my theme song…)

Turns out, I didn’t find nearly as many folks excited about hunting down the devil as I had hoped. In fact, I hardly found any who even had anything more than religious rhetoric to toss my way when asked…

Not to worry, though, because I had just been given the key to the Kingdom! I was welcome at the banquet table and I showed up hungry for Truth!

And, thus began the journey of Spiritual Warfare I’m going to share with you!

The Quest

I started studying everything I could get my hands on! I bought a whole collection of Gary S. Paxton albums, we listened to Mike Warnke’s testimony until we nearly wore out the record, I read every pamphlet they sent home with me after the revival, and I started asking questions, a lot of questions!

Then, just after the revival, I was given, as a Christmas gift, my very own, shiny new, leather-bound Catholic Holy Bible! Up until then, I had only seen these in the hands of priests on Sunday morning, reading aloud the treasured words from inside and then proceeding to tell me what they meant… Now, I had my very own and I wasted no time in reading every word! To date, I would say that I have formally read the Good Book cover-to-cover at least 10 times, and, if you count reading out-of–order, you could probably multiply that by a few more. I’m not sharing this to brag, simply to help you understand how desperately hungry I am for the Truth that leads to Victory!

Okay, so back to my hunger for the truth… Remember how I said I was surprised to discover that very few of the Spiritual leaders in my world were trained and/or willing to share any advice with a youngster like me? My parents were the best resource I had, as they were willing to pray with me, supply me with books on the subject, and generally support my “need to know” attitude. Of course, this was the late ‘70’s, so forget about anything as handy as the internet… It’s okay, though, all God needs is a willing heart and He can provide the rest!

I started by reading the bible cover-to-cover using one of those “read the bible in a year” programs. And I got connected with my local Youth for Christ and Young Life groups, which helped answer the basic questions of salvation and such… And, remember, I played my Gary S. Paxton records and we listened to Mike Warnke’s testimony as often as possible!Other sources of wisdom included anything C.S. Lewis has ever written, especially “The Screwtape Letters”, and a book by Mark I. Bubeck titled “Overcoming the Adversary".

Then, a few years later, I was working as a “DJ” for a Christian talk radio station and discovered Bob Larson and his ministry to free those trapped by occult practices. Now, while I find some of Bob’s work to be unnecessarily sensationalized, this man is remarkably gifted and down-right fearless in the face of the devil’s scare tactics. 

Onward and Upward

So, here's how it all played out... You know that I’m well aware of evil, I just don’t care for it much… And, I knew we were on our way to real Victory over these harassments when I said “YES” to Jesus!

Over the years, I've witnessed the ALMIGHTY GOD do wondrous things! Change lives, rescue souls, heal hearts, and LOVE us all UNCONDITIONALLY!

At present, I'm over 40 years into this "quest" and have no intention of changing course!

We're dedicated to teaching others what we have learned about pursuing a life of Spiritual Excellence and, now that you know a bit more about us, if it seems like the right fit, you can click on the button below to learn more about our Offerings!