There are times in my life where my path was changed or altered for the better and those stories are what you will find here.
This is a car accident that took place on a remote section of US 33 south of Lancaster OH when I was in college. I worked part-time for FedEx while I was in college assigned to the LCK ramp at the former Rickenbacker Air Force Base. Most of us were part-time employees and I work the late shift working something like 9pm-1am, longer during the Christmas season. One Friday night, early fall I think, after getting off late I headed south on US 33 to spend the weekend with my girlfriend who was attending Ohio University in Athens OH. It was late, and I was tired, but I was sure that I would have no problem getting there. So, I began my journey down 33 sometime around 1:30 am and was able to make it just south of Lancaster before I got really tired and pulled into the rest area. I got out, walked around a little and soon felt like I would be good the rest of the way to Athens. It did not take long for fatigue to set in again and soon I was having trouble staying awake, staying in my lane and I finally feel asleep. I woke up in the grassy area off of the right side of the highway headed for a bridge at 60mph+, now I was awake! I tried the brakes but the grass was wet and they seemed to have no effect, I was going to have to ride this one all the way in so to speak. When I left the roadway I was very close to the bridge and really had nowhere else to go except straight ahead. This type of bridge has support columns on both sides of the divided highway and the ground rises from close to the bottom of the columns to the bridge deck at about a 45 degree angle. My choices, both limited and unpleasant, were to try to veer off and probably hit the columns or just ride it out and try to go between the columns and the bridge deck. I chose the latter. My car and I went up the embankment, under the bridge deck and shot out the other side (airborne) and then fell back to the ground like the giant steel rock that we were. Miraculously, I did not hit anything and was unharmed. I can tell you that while airborne there is no need to steer (anyone seen Romancing the Stone? Same concept except in the air not the water). My car however; did not make it unscathed. Right away the only obvious damage was the blown out rear tire, unfortunately I had already used the spare a few months back and had not replaced it yet. It's somewhere near 2am, I'm literally in the middle of nowhere without a spare tire and this was 1990, long before everyone above the age of 8 had a cell phone.
Now, God has already spared my life by making this accident something that I could walk away from without any injuries but he was not done yet. As I'm standing by the roadside wondering how much more overdue I would need to be before my girlfriend called out the National Guard to find me when a small box truck pulled over. It was the Parkersburg Delivery Service truck that we loaded often at the FedEx LCK ramp and then would make his nightly run back to Parkersburg WV. Not only did God send someone to help me, he sent someone that I was familiar with. The driver offered to take me in to Nelsonville to a gas station that he said was open 24hr and thought they might sell tires. Now I've not given this much thought over the years but what are the chances of there a:being a 24 gas station in Nelsonville OH, b: them having a tire to fit my Hyundai and then c: them having someone at what would by then be at least 2:30am who would be able to mount the new tire for me? I was willing to give it a try so off we went. Sure enough, the gas station was open, they did have a tire that would work for my car and they were able, and willing, to mount if for me right then. Then the Parkersburg delivery driver took me back to my car (this would put him 40 minutes behind at least for the round-trip) and then he waited for me to get the tire installed and to make sure the car was drivable (the body was now bent from the crash landing). Who does that for someone they barely know out in the middle of nowhere? When God sends you a Divine Appointment, people will go out of their way to help you, I have heard this many times from listening to Joel Osteen and every time I hear him say that, I think "That's what I need, when will that happen to me?" Now, looking back at my life, I realize my whole life has been filled with these Divine Appointments or just outright Divine Intervention. This event having been one of many.
I did call my girlfriend when I was in Nelsonville and yep she was getting ready to call out the National Guard, call the hospitals, OSP... but my call averted all that. I did make it to Athens that night, very overdue, battered and with my poor Hyundai having a noticeable bend in the middle (that car was built like a tank just not an airplane) and with my girlfriend's nerves more than a little frayed.
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Another of these "appointments" came years later, the girlfriend was now the wife and soon to be mom. I had been at the SO for almost 4 years and felt somewhat confident that I had a handle on how to do my job. Early in the shift one night (3rd shift) we had just cleared a domestic disturbance call in west side apartment complex. After the call the K-9 Deputy and I were in the parking lot talking with the complex security officer when I noticed a car pull into the lot and drive to the far side very slowly and come to a stop. As we continued our conversation, the passenger got out of the vehicle and started walking our way. The vehicle left the area and I didn't really think anything of it. The male passenger was still walking our way but I was sure that he must be headed for the apartments behind us and was intending to just go around us, and our cruisers. Looking back I'm still amazed that there was no red flag, no klaxon, no emergency flasher going off in my head. In that line of work, you're taught not to let people into your personal space and how easy it is for a "bad guy" to rapidly close a much larger gap, after you have worked the street for awhile it becomes second nature. But for some reason I still can't explain, I watched him walk the the whole way from where he was dropped off to where we were (about 250 feet) and it never dawned on me that something bad was headed our way. He just kept closing the distance, watched by me and unnoticed by the others, until he was right on top of us. He did not veer off at the last minute, instead he attacked me and the struggle for my sidearm began. I don't know how long the fight lasted it seemed to go on much longer than it really did. My attacker had managed to get his hand on my gun (still in its holster, thank God for Safariland) and was not about to let go. This seemed to go on for several minutes until I was able to use one of the weapon retention techniques that we had been taught in basic, now I graduated the police academy 4 years earlier and had been through yearly self-defence training with the SO yet this was the only technique that came to mind. Using this technique, I was able to get my attacker off of my weapon and finally get him on the ground at which point the K-9 and the security officer both seemed to come back to life and jumped in to help secure him. All through this fight both the K-9 Deputy (who was very experienced) and the security officer (also not new to this) both just stood there as if they were in a trance. It was one of the stranger things I experienced in that life, never before or since have I seen them react this way, they always were willing to "get into the fight" so to speak. This young man admitted to being on marijuana and to have been drinking earlier in the evening. He and his girlfriend had been in an arguement and she broke off the relationship that night in the car. He told us that he asked him to drop him off there because he had wanted to commit suicide and was sure that if he grabbed one of our guns one of us would shoot him. I could have used deadly force. I could have used deadly force to end the attack with my backup gun and I have no doubt that it would have been justified.
For the past 16 years I have always looked at this experience as something that happened to me, that I was the victim of. It occurred to me as I was writing this that I may have been this young man's Divine Appointment someone who knew there was a difference between being legally able to use deadly force and not having any other choice.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Crossroads
Our business is at a crossroads, either we bring on new business or we will fade away. Our preference is to bring on new business and to do that we attended an industry conference in Tampa, Fl last week. We have had success in landing a new client at this conference in the past and it was one of the first offered this year. The conference organizer also allowed us to present one of the concurrent sessions as long a we had a client co-presenter. This was not a problem as we had a contact in FL who was more than willing to be the co-presenter. As time for the show drew nearer, our co-presenter was forced to dropout due to the last minute scheduling of a corporate retreat at his company. Defiantly not good news, but the conference organizer still allowed us to do the session, however; the week before the conference date we get an email from him that said he needed to change both the time and the meeting room that we were scheduled for and asked "please tell me this is not a problem". We agreed, after all Gene didn't have to keep us on the schedule at all. Now, we had already done and email & postcard campaign to all of the scheduled attendees requesting that they attend our session at the original time. We did ask that he mention the change in the keynote address and post signage about the change and Gene agreed. Unfortunately, we have seen this movie before. Several years ago we attended a conference in New Orleans where our presentation session was left off the schedule entirely and was not discovered until we arrived. Even with posting signage we had a total of 3 people, including me, its very hard to generate leads when virtually no-one sees your presentation. It ended up being a colossal waste of money. All I could think of was that this was New Orleans all over again except now we really did not have money to waste. The night before we left was our weekly church group on covenant and at the end we asked Dr. Rod to pray for us and our business. We arrived about 10:30 the night before and got our booth set-up and checked into our room. That night we prayed, we asked that God bless our business, our presentation and that he lead people to our new location and time slot. The morning of we prayed for God's favor again before we went down to the exhibit hall. About a half hour before our presentation, we headed down to the meeting room to get everything set-up. It was a nice room, set-up to set about 80 people, although hard to find and set on the opposite end of the conference facility from the other, larger meeting rooms. After making sure we were ready, Deborah went to the room entrance to try to draw attention to the fact that there was a presentation about to start. When she went out there, I sat down in the front row and started praying and continued to pray until a gentleman asked me if the seat next to me was taken. I told him that he was welcome to it and took the opportunity to look around the room and I was shocked, it was about 75% full! I went back to praying and continued until it was just about time to get started. Now the room was packed, every seat was taken, there were men in business suits sitting on the floor at the front of the room and 30+ people standing in the back of the room! I've never been to one of these where it was standing room only and the people actually stayed once they came in and saw how packed it was. This was in spite of the fact the the two other sessions going on at the the same time, in far larger rooms, were being given by IBM and YAHOO! This was just the beginning of God's answer to my prayers.
The presentation itself had not been finalized until that morning and she was a little nervous about how it was going to go. In short it was amazing, I have never seen her do a better job. The presentation flowed smoothly and she was able to keep it within the allotted time (I was to serve as her timekeeper but I gave up my chair so that an attendee could sit down. I ended off to the side and behind her). She came to the last slide just inside the time limit. I of course told her what a great job she did but she did not really buy it as I'm a little biased. However, several people came up after the presentation to tell her how much they enjoyed it and what a great job she did. The rest of the day and all of the next we had people who saw her presentation stop by our exhibt booth to tell her what a great job she did the presentation, and some of them where from our competition! We made many contacts and several good leads at this conference and we are working on turning them into clients as I write this.
I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
The presentation itself had not been finalized until that morning and she was a little nervous about how it was going to go. In short it was amazing, I have never seen her do a better job. The presentation flowed smoothly and she was able to keep it within the allotted time (I was to serve as her timekeeper but I gave up my chair so that an attendee could sit down. I ended off to the side and behind her). She came to the last slide just inside the time limit. I of course told her what a great job she did but she did not really buy it as I'm a little biased. However, several people came up after the presentation to tell her how much they enjoyed it and what a great job she did. The rest of the day and all of the next we had people who saw her presentation stop by our exhibt booth to tell her what a great job she did the presentation, and some of them where from our competition! We made many contacts and several good leads at this conference and we are working on turning them into clients as I write this.
I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Bible Verses
Daily Readings
These are Bible verses that I read daily for comfort and to help reinforce my faith. All are from the New Living Translation.
Luke 11:9-10
9 "And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Mark 11:22-25
22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth. you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too."
Galatians 6:9
So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.
Luke 15:7
In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!
Mark 12:17
"Well then," Jesus said, "give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God."
Matthew 18:19-20
19 "I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven wil do it for you. 20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them."
Isaiah 41:9-10
I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, 'You are my servant.' For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:13
And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you.'
Psalm 50:15
Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.
Psalm 34:4-6
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Matthew 6:33-34
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."
Isaiah 54:17
But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I the Lord, have spoken!
Proverbs 3:5-8
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 7 Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, dear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.
Psalm 91:1-16
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety: he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in the darkness, nor the disaster that strikes in midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. 9 If you make the Lord your refuge, If you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. 13You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! 14 The Lord says, "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation."
Ephesians 3:20
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Deuteronomy 4:31
31 For the Lord you God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.
Romans 10:9-11
9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be discraced."
Colossians 3:13
13 Make alloowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Psalm 32
A psalm of David.
1 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude5 Finally, I confess my rebellion to the LORD." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude6 Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgement.7 For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude8 The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.9 Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control."10 Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD.11 So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!
These are Bible verses that I read daily for comfort and to help reinforce my faith. All are from the New Living Translation.
Luke 11:9-10
9 "And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
Mark 11:22-25
22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth. you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too."
Galatians 6:9
So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.
Luke 15:7
In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!
Mark 12:17
"Well then," Jesus said, "give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God."
Matthew 18:19-20
19 "I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven wil do it for you. 20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them."
Isaiah 41:9-10
I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, 'You are my servant.' For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:13
And I say to you, 'Don't be afraid. I am here to help you.'
Psalm 50:15
Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.
Psalm 34:4-6
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.
Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Matthew 6:33-34
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."
Isaiah 54:17
But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I the Lord, have spoken!
Proverbs 3:5-8
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 7 Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, dear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.
Psalm 91:1-16
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety: he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in the darkness, nor the disaster that strikes in midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. 9 If you make the Lord your refuge, If you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. 13You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! 14 The Lord says, "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation."
Ephesians 3:20
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Deuteronomy 4:31
31 For the Lord you God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.
Romans 10:9-11
9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be discraced."
Colossians 3:13
13 Make alloowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Psalm 32
A psalm of David.
1 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude5 Finally, I confess my rebellion to the LORD." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude6 Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgement.7 For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude8 The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.9 Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control."10 Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD.11 So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!
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