Sharing my personal story
Introduction of my I am sharing my story
A few weeks ago I posted the question on if I should share my personal story on this page, which is primarily for my wrestling content. I have decided that this is the place to share (for now), instead of trying to start a new page all over again.
What will be following is the book of my life that I started writing a couple of years ago. Never was sure if I would publish it or not, but I am not in the season of my life that I will begin to share my story.
Just so I do not make it overwhelming, I will be posting a chapter at a time, maybe just once a week…we shall see.
Thank you for indulging me. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Now please enjoy the introduction to my story (sorry no catchy title yet)
Have you ever seen the Way of the Master videos by Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort? Hard hitting videos where Kirk and Ray share how we are all sinners. Random people will get asked if they think they are a good person. Then they will be asked pointed questions like “Have you ever lied”, “Have you ever stolen anything, even something small” or “Have you ever looked at someone with lustful eyes”.
After the responses, the hosts would say “if you have done any of these; you are a liar, thief or an adulterer”
How humbling to be called any of those things. But if you have done any of these (which we have all done at least one of the three) you have broken the Ten Commandments, the laws sent down by God to his servant Moses.
Let me tell you at the beginning…
I am a liar.
I am a thief.
I am an adulterer.
All three of these things are true.
As I used to tell my AWANA T&T boys group every Wednesday night when I was a leader, I am a sinner just like all of us.
But I am also forgiven. No, I am not talking about apologizing to someone and they say “it’s fine”. The forgiveness I am talking about is the ultimate forgiveness, provided by Jesus Christ.
Before you stop reading, thinking that this is going to be “another one of those Christian books”, it is not. Yes over the course of these pages I will be talking about my faith and how Jesus saved me; but I will also be sharing with you my journey, the mass litany of mistakes I have made over the years, and how lucky I am to be alive.
My story is one that I was not sure if I would ever fully share with anyone, outside of my wife. Not that I have anything to hide. Quite frankly, I never thought anyone would be interested hearing my story. It was a few years ago that someone suggested that I start sharing some of the things that have happened to me. I decided to pick and choose what I would tell.
A few years ago, as I was going through a season of change and reflection, the idea came up again. I joked that I should write a book of my life. One person that heard me say that and encouraged me to write it all out.
Sharing my story also came to fruition after an opportunity to share my testimony with a group of men at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. Our Life Group (our small group) at our home church, Spring Creek Church in Pewaukee, Wisconsin; would lead a worship service with 100 plus men that were residing at the Rescue Mission. Over the course of three different visits in 2017, I got the opportunity to read Bible verses, but then also the main message.
In my third visit that year, I shared a message based on Joshua 1:9, where Joshua shares Moses’ message to the Israelites on how God called them to “be strong and courageous”. This opened the door for me to share my testimony, but also a story that I have only shared with a small select group previously (sorry no spoilers, you will have to read the book to find out the story)
Writing this book has multiple purposes for me:
To hopefully impact at least one person by sharing what I have gone through
To open to door to some areas of my life that are blank spaces right now
To finally close the door on certain chapters of my life that I have not reached full closure on.
Please notice that I did not write that I had a goal to be a New York Times Best selling author, to sell thousands or millions of copies, or to make a great amount of money off of the production and sale of this book. None of those things matter to me. If I never make a penny off of this project, I am fine with that (as long as I do not lose a bunch of money through the process).
Thank you for picking this up (or in the case of an online reader, opening this up). I am humbled by the fact that even one person would want to read this rag tag collection of personal stories. My hope and prayer is that someone is positively impacted by what I write, that my journey can cast a guiding light for someone in need.
TO BE CONTINUED…