There’s not much to tell that is very exciting. I was born in a small town in East Tennessee and have lived here all of my life.  I worked at the same job for a little over 36  years.  That sounds sort of awful when you read it. I just realized that I haven’t been anywhere or done anything but work for the  36 years of my life.  But in reality, I realize how blessed I am that God has allowed me to live and work like I have. Life is only boring if you are boring. They used to say I could have fun sitting  on a hot rock in the sun. I always wondered if you would find a hot rock anywhere else but in the sun.

I love riding motorcycles, but sadly I no longer ride. After experiencing some health problems in 2015, I haven’t been able to ride. Even though I can no longer ride, I thank God that he gave me a love to ride motorcycles and then provided me a way to ride. Riding on the open road provided us many pleasures over the years.

First and foremost for me now in my life is loving Jesus and proclaiming His gospel. God has proved His love for me so many times and realizing that has completely blown me away. I became a Christian at the tender age of 9 years old, but even though I knew enough to ask God’s forgiveness, it took me several years to grow into a two-way loving relationship with God. Through my teen age years, I was like most others around me. The Lord had forgiven me and I was saved, but I was not that serious about my relationship with God. To me,  God was in heaven and I was on earth. I believed in God, I was saved, but I had all this earthly stuff that I wanted to do. This kept me from growing as a Christian in my teenage years and developing the trust in God that would carry me through life’s problems. Soon after high school,  I got married and moved out on my own. Then without warning, life began throwing some hard stuff at me. First, in 1976 my first son, Jason, was born. Due to complications during birth, Jason only lived four days. Then in 1982, my first wife passed away from cancer. I remarried and in 1989, my second wife was killed in an auto accident. During all this and more, I began to shape my view of God based on what was happening to me in life. I had no other choice to do that since I was guilty of neglecting my relationship with God and I had never grown in my faith and knowledge of God. All that I knew in my limited knowledge of God was that he loved me but I could not understand how that someone who loved me could allow so much pain to come into my life. But as time went on, God used different people and times to help me to come to the realization that God did not cause my pain and suffering. He allowed it and used it to reveal Himself to me. If  life was always good and I never had bad times when I needed Him and He came through for me, then I would never have grown to know and trust Him and appreciate Him for all that he does. We need the darkness to help us understand how much we need the light. Looking back I can now see how that God has opened my mind and my life to all that He wants to do for and through me. I am so grateful that God thought more of our relationship than I did. He never gave up on me even after I wanted to give up on Him.

For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ~ John 3:16-17 HCSB