My 49th Spiritual-Birthday

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

    they shall walk and not faint.

Today on March 9^th I celebrate my 49^th spiritual birthday. Over a lifetime, one has many testimonies of God’s faithfulness, and His presence in significant ways during specific seasons, but today I am going to be vulnerable and share with you about what led me to dedicate my life to serving and loving Christ, knowing Him as my Savior, Counselor, and Friend as well as God.

I have always struggled to view my testimony as dull and boring, because it doesn’t have a bunch of drugs, alcohol, or sex in it. Have you felt that way?

I was raised in a typical Christian, church-going home, and lived a pretty blessed life, comparatively speaking. While most of my friend’s parents were getting divorced and re-marrying, my parents were faithful. And that same faithfulness flowed over to their discipline of going to church every Sunday and being involved in church ministry. I grew up going to Sunday School, and sitting in church every Sunday, and had no doubt in Jesus’ existence. It was natural for me as a young boy during Sunday School to ask Jesus to fprgive me of my sins and be my Savior.

Looking back over my life, I can see evidence of God’s faithfulness, guidance and protection in my life.  It is evidence to me that He chose me before I knew Him. As His adopted son, it deepens my loyalty and love for Him.

Isaiah 40:31, became a motto and meditation for my life.  This powerful verse has been highlighted in many ways in my life. Becky and I made it our life verse the day we were married. As we dedicated each of our wonderful sons we used this verse. When we faced a trying time in our life and we decided to start a business the name of our company was taken from this verse “R and B On Wings of Eagles, LLC.” As we look at this verse we are continually reminded me of the bigger picture as we go through every struggle in life.

So I am excited to say that Forty Nine years ago, today I began a journey of growing in Christ and finding my identity and purpose in Him.  Of course, our journey growing in Christ doesn’t end, it is a life long journey! And there is more I could share with you about how I have experienced God, and grown in Him over the last 49 years, but this is to share with you about when God and I began our intimate relationship as Savior and Sinner Saved by Grace. 

I realize that while my testimony may seem simple to you, and not worth writing about or reading. In fact, you may even believe the lie that your testimony isn’t very powerful either. You story is significant! It’s contributed to your faith journey, it’s where you began, after all. I would encourage you thank God for all the many blessings He has given you, including choosing you to be a part of His forever family, regardless of how dark or mild your past is.

I would love to hear your story. How did you meet Jesus? And when is your birthday in Jesus?

Dear Lord, We praise you for all you have done in our lives. We thank you for coming to save us from our sins, so that we might have a reconciled relationship with you and one another. Help us to guard our hearts against believing untruths about who we are and to focus on Who we are in You! Thank you for forgiving us, and loving us as your own child. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

What Do These Stones Mean?

Joshua 4:5-6 (New American Standard Bible)



5 and Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 6 "Let this be a sign among you, so that (A)when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?'


I was born into a Christian home, in fact I attended church regularly even before I made myself know on Jan 29, 1962. I had the real blessing of being raised by 2 Godly parents. We went to church every Sunday, on March 9th 1969 was promotion Sunday and I was moving up to the next department. On that Sunday I moved up to the department that my dad was the superintendent of. During the open the teacher explain the plan of salvation. That was the day it made sense to me. As we split up to go to our classes I stayed to talk to my teacher, Mrs. Rose. She helped me understand fully the decision I was making. She prayed with me that morning and I became a child of God.

From that day my journey continued. We continued to attend church and I grew through the Bible lesson and verse that I memorized. I was a member of Christian Service Brigade. When I joined the group at my church I made it my goal to become a Harold of Christ, which is the highest award you could attain, it is like earning the Eagle Scout with the added benefit of having Bible lessons and Bible verses to learn. The verses learned were just over 150. I am thankful for the verse I learned and the way God brings them back to me just when I need them.



After graduation in 1980 I attended Moody Bible Institute. I learned many lesson there. Many of the long lasting lessons weren’t in the classroom but living with Christian guys in the dorm. I remember one night 14 of us stayed up all night in the lounge not studying but praying for one of us that had a mother that was very sick. Another time we banned together with our sister floor to help bring a sick missionary home from the mission field that was very sick. Between my freshman and junior year my dad was laid off from Ford Motor Company. I decided that I was going to drop out of school and go home to work to help my family out. My dad told me “no” that God would supply. God did take care of our family, just shy of a year my dad was hired back on with Ford and he didn’t lose any time for the year off. During Christmas break of that year the Lord supplied 3 jobs for me to work. I made all but $79.00 that I needed so I could continue my schooling. Just as I was starting to get discouraged thinking I work all these hours and I still don’t have enough, there in my mail box was an envelope with just my name on it. When I opened it up inside was $79.00. God had completely supplied all my financial needs part through hard work and part from somebody that was faithful to what God had told them to do.



Back to our verse: Joshua 4:5 -6 Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Joshua 4:5 -6


Sitting on my desk I have a rock with March 9, 1969 written on it. I keep this rock at my desk as a constant reminder that I became a child of God on that day. I challenge each of you to write the date you became a Christian on a stone as a reminder of that special day that you can share with others.

Dear Lord we thank You for having us as your children. We pray that we would always remember that day and be willing to share it with those around us. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Jesus and the Shoes

It's one thing to TALK about Jesus, but another thing to show him. A reporter actually saw this following incident occur, and wrote about it in a New York newspaper:







It was on a cold day in December when a little boy about 10 years old was standing before a shoe store on the street, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the boy and said, "My little fellow, why are you looking so earnestly in that window?"


"I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was the boy's reply. The lady took him by the hand and went into the store and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with a towel. By this time the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, "No doubt, my little fellow, you feel more comfortable now?"


As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and looking up in her face, with tears in his eyes, answered the question with these words: "Are you God's wife?"


People may hear us chatting about God and what good things we OUGHT to do, but when we actually SHOW the love of the Lord, that's when people will identify us with the family of God. When is the last time you showed the love of God to someone?






9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.


-1 John 4:9-12 (New International Version)






Dear Lord we pray that we would be the testimony that you would have for us to be. We want others to see Jesus in us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Are We Saying What We Mean?

There's a story of the supervisor who was working in a huge corporation. He was called in by the big-wigs and told that a new project was underway. The supervisor's department would be given the responsibility of overseeing the project if they could get it down on blueprint plans. If the job was successful, the big-wigs said, the supervisor could be assured of a hefty increase in pay and a promotion as well.



The supervisor gathered his people together and with great enthusiasm, started to roll out the information needed to get the blueprints started. His staff, however, couldn't grasp the idea. He tried from another angle. No luck. His patience grew thin, but he just couldn't get his point across because he wasnt being clear. Finally, in exasperation, the supervisor yelled at them: "Dont listen to what I say. Listen to what I mean!"


Many times we get frustrated as we give the Gospel to others because we aren't clear about salvation. It may not be the resistance of the listener. We might try to yell out for them to understand what we mean. Let's check our presentation of the Word. Are we saying what we mean?






11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.


-1 John 5:11-12 (New King James Version)






Dear Lord we pray that when given the opportunity we will share the Gospel with others. Help us to study Your word so we will know what we are saying. In Jesus’ name, Amen.