There is no way I would miss an opportunity to praise the Lord for our first grandchild that was born last September. I cannot express how thankful we are that everything is perfect with mom and baby. Micah is so precious and sweet. I pray that he will be a man of love and integrity and a mighty warrior for the Almighty. In this weird and wacky world in which we live, there is a great need for prayer, not just for everyone we know but to help us stay closely connected with Jesus. The enemy is trying to shake us with anxiety, confusion, discouragement, and fear, which is why we need to make sure we are learning how to walk with God as a constant lifestyle. Today is the day to become more determined and more disciplined to stay focused on His voice. We have been called to PRAY and OBEY! Who will stand in the gap and intercede for our children, grandchildren, and friends if we are too busy or become distracted or overwhelmed? I want to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers for our family and little Micah. Many blessings to you and your family.

This is me with my beautiful wife Cheryl.

I was born and grew up in Lexington Kentucky and my family attended a Baptist church down the street. When I was a kid, my dad was a construction contractor and the guys that worked for him were always trying to sell their possessions because they lived the fast and wild lifestyle and constantly needed money. Over the years this ended up making our attic look like a pawn shop and I loved to rummage around in the “treasures.” When I was around 12 years old, I started banging around on some of the electric guitars and amps in the “inventory” and with a few chords that my Uncle Carlos showed me, a life-long passion for music was born. I received Jesus as my Savior and was baptized when I turned 14 and I will never forget that first week of being a brand new Christian and taking the phone book and randomly calling people to tell them about Jesus. It would be amazing if we could stay that excited and be on “fire” like that without fear and intimidation! By now, my parents had bought me my first acoustic guitar and I remember my first ministry experience was leading the youth in singing in front of the church.

I regret to say, but I fell away from the church for a couple of years as the distractions of having a car and landing a job became a strong temptation to venture out into a new world of independence. I went through a season of having a low interest in church and even after I met Cheryl, I continued running from the Lord. However, with God’s merciful conviction and encouragement from Cheryl (which was now my wife), I rededicated my life back to Jesus and began to sing and play again. Since I was raised in the church, I had a basic foundation of Biblical knowledge but I KNEW there had to be more to the Christian life than just going to church. I began a daily personal Bible study to expand my understanding of God and human behavior and purchase books and listen to preaching tapes to increase my understanding. As my research became more intense, I continued to question doctrine, which this enthusiasm was not exactly shared by the leaders of the church. I would meet with the pastors, elders and anyone who would listen to my questions but would mostly just receive pats on the back and sympathetic smiles. After a season of frustration, Cheryl and I parted ways from this assembly and thus began the search for answers in all types of different denominations, styles and belief systems. It’s been an interesting journey, to say the least, and we are very grateful for His patience. We simply refer to ourselves as independents or disciples who follow Jesus, intentionally avoiding the entanglements of a religious/political system. Wisdom is the understanding of knowledge and only God can enlighten our mind with His personal revelation. Laying down our will and becoming aware of His voice is the path to a personal relationship with Him no matter where we go or what we call ourselves.

Here I am at the KCAL Old Time Radio Show in downtown Nicholasville. Our theatrical troupe re-enacts radio shows from the ’40s and ’50s in front of a live audience to let everyone see how they were done. It’s really a lot of clean fun and everyone seems to enjoy them. Our summer round-up of 3 live performances included an old Gunsmoke episode called “Cheap labor” that of course had the old crew of Matt Dillon, Festus, and Miss Kitty. I played a retired gunslinger named Foss Capper that was trying to change my ways. The second performance was another old radio show, a comedy called “My favorite husband” that originally starred Lucille Ball. In that show, my character was called “Little ole Floyd” that was a sarcastic horse trainer with a strong southern accent. Here I am singing “Ghost Riders in the Sky” just before intermission. (Photo by George Adams). Below is a photo shoot from October 2017 with the KCAL cast. This production is a Christmas radio show about Nicholasville in 1952 and we are trying to use props to make the picture look old. I could not resist getting Teddy in on the action.

This is one of our dogs. His name is Teddy which is short for Theodore Roosevelt. This picture was a part of a photoshoot for a theatre production where we all dressed up in our 1950’s character props. One of our cast members actually wrote the show called, “A Hometown Christmas” and was about Nicholasville Kentucky in 1952. I could not resist getting Teddy in on the action. At the bottom is our group photo for an old Gunsmoke radio episode. This will be one of our 2018 Christmas shows. (I’m the mountain man Eben Hakes on the left).

We are thankful for the opportunities to help plant several churches through the years and I have served in several assemblies leading worship as well as an associate pastor, ordained elder, counselor, and adult Bible teacher. I am blessed to have been given a gift to sing and write music, and you can learn more about by going to the prophecy category. I have written many songs over the years and also love to write about spiritual topics to those who are interested in developing a more meaningful relationship with God and to receive encouragement within the beauty of His presence. I have shared God’s love in prisons and nursing homes and enjoy listening to the elderly as they share their stories. In 1999 I enrolled in a two-year Bible school called “Word of Faith Bible Training Center” and graduated with a diploma of general ministerial training.

I was so excited about this learning atmosphere and my personal spiritual growth that I enrolled in a Seminary that offered a distance education program. I was accepted at Christian Bible College and Seminary (Blue Springs MO.) and earned a Bachelor’s degree in theological studies. As a bi-vocational minister, the opportunity to learn and pay at my own pace allowed for me to work full-time for UPS during the day and study in the evenings when I was not busy with other ministry responsibilities. The Lord had been using me in some divine appointments with counseling but I did not really feel qualified so I went back to Seminary and majored in Christian counseling and graduated with a Masters of Theology in Christian Counseling. I took a break for a few years and came back to apply for the Doctorate program and was accepted.  With much prayer and determination, I finally finished my Doctorate of Divinity in Christian Counseling. I recently enrolled at Andersonville Theological Seminary (Camilla GA.) and earned a second Doctorate degree majoring in the discipline of Christian Education. I am grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to harvest this knowledge and it has truly been a very valuable asset to my community chaplain, crisis response, writing, and counseling ministry.

I am retired from UPS and now have the time to serve Christ full-time as I am filled with an expectation to see what God has for us in the future. The doors of opportunity have opened in many places and I have been enjoying meeting people and being able to help and minister in ways that is stretching me as a student of servitude. Working in the church world is one type of service but when we branch out into community ministry, we find a more hostile environment and discover that more strategy and sensitivity is needed to be spiritually effective. It’s easier and more comfortable to work with those like-minded and who agree with our views, but learning to become all things to ALL men requires us to become serious about walking in God’s Spirit. We attend a church here in Jessamine County but are open to the call to go wherever the Lord leads. Cheryl and I have now been married 40 years and are very proud to have two talented and accomplished children. We have a wonderful son and a beautiful daughter that are both college graduates, married, and blessed with amazing spouses.

Here I am performing at a gospel concert in October 2019.

Cheryl and I are animal lovers and below are some pictures of our beloved Sampson. We recently lost him to an unknown problem that has been speculated to be heart-related. He was such a good boy – the best dog we ever had. He was only 5 and a half years old, and we were so blessed to spend these years with him. We develop bonds with our pets because we spend so much time with them. He loved to sleep with us every night and was so obedient. Sampson, we will always love you.

Below is a pic of Sam in his fancy duds and the oldest member of the family – China. She is a 9-year-old Brush-Coat Shar Pei. China is an amazing animal, highly intelligent and very protective with superior hearing and sensitive personality. Absolutely devoted to protecting us and our property, these dogs were used in ancient China to guard the palaces and the desire to monitor their perimeter and be constantly concerned with her territory is no doubt embedded in their DNA. She is not a lap dog but rather very independent and peculiar much like a cat. She is not easily impressed or amused and never played with toys. Always very serious and you can tell she is always thinking. Her favorite thing to do is to explore new places.

Below, China is at the park and loves it when I remove her harness. She is always very excited and runs and plays just like a little kid. I love to watch her.

Below, China looks so sad or maybe she’s just tired. Her fur feels like a rabbit.

China is quite the hunter. When anything ventures into the yard, it’s usually their last moments on earth. I did not train her to be a killer, but we regularly find opossums and other intruders that made the fatal mistake of coming in under the fence.

It never gets too cold for China! She lays in the snow and loves it. Below she sticks her nose in the snow and reminds me of a black bear. Actually, her full name is China Bear.

Here is Teddy at only 8 weeks old, and he’s really catching on to being house trained. He will grow fast and I’m sure within no time he will be a big ole Teddy Bear!

He has such a rough life.

Here is a recent picture (early August) of Teddy. He is now 4 months and nearly 30 pounds!

Here he is at 9 months – January 2018 – So spoiled!

There is no way to live in our house and not be a CAT fan! He’s pouting because I told him, “no more treats!”