My Story

My life started out as a date gone bad. At least that is how I felt most of my childhood. Both of my parents were in high school when my mom got pregnant. They decided to get married and have me. After my brother was born, when I was six, they divorced. For the next few years we bounced around; each year in a new school, a new neighborhood. During this time I felt very alone.

When I was in 5th grade we had new neighbors move in next to us in our duplex. My mom asked if we could go to church with them. My mom loved it. I however was not impressed. It was not what I expected of church. On TV they always had stained glass windows and pews. This was a small church in a run down youth center. We continued to go. One night they had a special presentation about a new program; Royal Rangers (a scouting program). I loved to camp and fish and I was immediately hooked.

It was during our first major camp out that God reached out to me. That year’s theme was “The Greatest Show On Earth”; a circus theme. On June 6th, 1986 Norm Turek, my senior commander, turned to me when they made the alter call and asked if I wanted to go forward. I nodded and he walked up with me. I was led in the sinner’s prayer by Zerubbabel the clown. I left the council fire that night not fully understanding what had happened to me, but I knew something had changed and that I would never be the same again.

Through the following years God wove me into His family. I was no longer alone. When I was sixteen God called me to dedicate myself to Him for His purposes in ministry. The years after that did not go as I thought they would, but they were what the Lord had planned. I went to bible college, got married, had children and worked in a number of ministries. With all that I have seen God do through me I have realized that all of it has been the very potter's wheel that He has used to shape and mold me.

And I’m still being spun.