Your Journey Never Ends

When I was 23 years old I witnessed something that changed my life forever. I was a very green rookie Chaplain in Las Vegas and I responded to the MGM fire in 1980 that resulted in 87 deaths. What I saw still haunts my memories. The smell, the visual, the pain, and the loss was overwhelming. Little did I know, that event prepared me for a life journey that I am continuing to live out. I knew personal tragedy as I outlived a suicide attempt at the age of 19 which led me to the arms of God. But, the ripple effect of 87 deaths in our community and the world was tragic. People were visiting Las Vegas from all over the world and the loss of so many lives effected every corner of the earth. Working with first responders, survivors, and witnesses drew my heart to a lifetime journey of helping people through the storms of life. At the of 60, I have devoted every breath and passion in assisting people through difficult times physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I studied and applied tools to help me manage my personal tragedies along with others. My incredible wife has stood beside me as we both live out our passions to help others get to a better place. We both have our Doctorates in Counseling as she focuses on kids and education in the school system and I focus on everyday struggles with others. My passions include first responders, as I have been with Police and Fire since 1980, and survivors of traumatic events. I retired from pastoring for 34 years a few years ago, and am now working full time for Cedar Memorial and Iowa Cremation in Cedar Rapids as the Director of Human Relations. I also work with the CRFD and CRPD doing traumatic intervention and training. I have been a Professor at Kirkwood Community College teaching Human Relations and assisting students with life skill training. All this to say that I am in a divine spot to serve and educate for the rest of my life. In my senior year at UNLV I was challenged to write a mission statement for my life. My mission statement has guided me and led me to opportunities that have kept me focused and driven. “Helping People Get to a Better Place” has captured my thoughts, emotions, and actions. GPS, Your Guide through Personal Storms, is a result of my mission statement. I have written thousands of sermons over the years and now my first book. I have intentionally kept it short to give people some tools to navigate their personal journeys. The book has personal experiences along with exercises that will help its readers to align their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors as they process through different storms of life. My second book. “Tools 4 Life” will offer a daily inspiration to its readers. I look forward to spending time with you all and learning more about your life journey’s.