My Story

This is my attempt at the “Readers Digest” version of my blog, http://trapswildgoosechase.blogspot.com  I have moved my blog to this site but felt led to provide a shorter version for those who have neither the time or inclination to read my whole blog.  This is a story in which I play a supporting role.  The lead roles are played by the Father, whom I refer to as Abba, the Son- Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, whom I refer to as the Wild Goose.   I have not made these names up but have adopted them because they work for me.  I want to make it absolutely clear to you that I give all glory, honor and praise to these leading fiqures in my divine play.  Without them, my story would not exist!  I am a product of their creativity, power and love.  Any insight or wisdom I claim to have has come from them.  It is my prayer that you will be blessed in some way by my reflections on this encounter with the Divine.  I don’t claim to have understood all that has happened to me over the last 16 months, but I do know this much- I have been romanced by the Divine and this experience has changed my life forever!  I was recently dubbed by a 71 year old professor of literature, as a ‘Christian Mystic’.  I can accept this moniker only because I have been touched by the Eternal, Infinite and Wild Creator and Author of Love.  I did nothing to earn or deserve this.  I just fraily reached out through my pain and  thirsted for the Living God.  Peace to you. Jon

For those of you who don’t know me, I did not grow up in a home that practiced a faith of any sort.  After my parents divorced, I was 12 at the time,  my 3 siblings and I lived with my Mom’s Mom and her Step-Dad.  We traveled between CT. and Fl. until my Step-grandfather retired.  Then we stayed in Fl with them until I came to Christ after hearing the gospel when I was 15.  I finished High School at Westminster Academy and received a BS in Physical Education from Liberty Baptist College.  I have always had a heart for sharing my faith and after a brief teaching career, my wife, new daughter and I joined Campus Crusade for Christ.  After serving in the Corporate office of Crusades High School Ministry, we moved to Nashville to pursue one of my passions, Music.  I had caught the bug at Liberty when I started a Coffee House called “His Place”.  His Place offered an informal venue for the musically talented to sing  a joyful noise unto the Lord.

Dissallusioned with the “Big Egos” of the music business, I took a job in telecommunications.  We ended up moving to Conneticut, close to where I had some good memories growing up.  After 9 years in New England, most of them as a mortgage broker, we moved to Charleston, SC to be closer to family.  Note: I really wanted to move to Colorado but Sue, my wife of now 25 years, was not for it at the time.   While considering a potential move, I began to wrestle with the idea.  I am, by temperment, a very decisive person.  It is one of my strengths when I am listening to the Spirit.  Being “the man” in my mortgage business- the go to guy with all the answers that everyone is looking to, is very rewarding on one hand, but also very dangerous on the other.  If not careful, one can burn out emotionally.  In hind sight, I was ripe for a crash and burn.  I misread the doubts about moving as “signs of weakness” and not the Spirits promptings to wait. 

Starting over in Charleston proved to be a challenge but we were doing pretty well.  Then the trials began!  Sickness, financial setbacks, death of both of Sue’s parents, the suicide death of Sue’s brother, Michael, and the downward spiral of our eldest Son into drugs.  Coupled with the “letting go” of our eldest, who left for Bible College in Hungary during our first year in Charleston.  It is very important to note that during our time of troubles in Charleston, God gave me two scriptures to hold onto:

Romans 8:28 

More Than Conquerors

 ²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,^[a] who^[b] have been called according to his purpose.

Ephesians 3:20

²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

In the midst of all the “death” in our family, my best friends wife died from cancer.  We had all met while attending Liberty in the early 1980’s.  Being self-employed I had the freedom to go to VA to help Greg and kids through this major life event.  I would go up for a week and help out doing anything and everything.  After doing this every 6 weeks or so for two plus years, through a chain of circumstances, Greg invited me to come up and serve in his financial management business as his operations manager.  He was considering running for the US House and was advised to hire someone to oversee his business.

This invite came at the tail end of helping our Son get a firm foundation in Christ- equipping him to be sucessful in his re-entry to real life after his time at Hebron Colony- a wonderful place for men who want to overcome addiction through a relationship with Christ.  So, with some reluctancy, I accepted the offer and went up to Lynchburg on a test run.  Sue and our Son’s  stayed in Charleston while I investigated the opportunity.

It is important to note that during my time in Charleston, my desire for full-time ministry was re-emerging and I was seeking what God would have me do for the rest of my sojourn on this earth.  I had “burned out” on the mortgage business and it crashed along with the housing market shortly thereafter.

As I was getting aclimated to being in Lynchburg and in a new job, I was introduced to  Greg’s “political consultant” who was testing the waters to find out how serious I was about moving my family to town.  He lived in CA at the time and was considering moving to town to help Greg with his run for Congress and I became a vital part of his decision making process.  During this time, February of this year-2010, I began “running into” people with ties to Colorado.  At first I did not give it much thought but after many such happenings, I began to wonder what was going on.  I chose to keep this to myself and stayed focused on the job at hand.  I think it important to note that the political advisor I mentioned above  used to work as a major fund raiser for Focus on the Family, a Christian ministry headquartered in Colorado Springs.  He also knew John Eldredge of Ransomed Heart Ministries, also in CO.  They attended the same church in the LA area of California.

During my early days in Lynchburg I was re-introduced to hiking.  While at Starbucks one saturday morning a couple sitting next to me said, “you look like a hiker- we are getting ready for a day hike on the Appalachian Trail and wondered if you would like to come with us.”  As much as I love talking to new people, going hiking with strangers was another story.  In retrospect, I believe this was God calling me to the mountain through these nice folks.  I did go hiking with them and had a great time.  For the rest of my time in Lynchburg I made it a priorty to hike with God, just He and I.  It is an awesome way to get away from it all- to sing. pray and listen.  Hiking proved to be key to my heart awakening to “that Still Small Voice”.   One of my favorite places in Central VA to hike is called, The Peaks of Otter.  Chris, a guy who has since moved to Denver, suggested I hike the Flat Top trail near the Peaks.  On the 45 minute drive to Flat Top I focused my heart on the Lord through song.  The Christian band, Tenth Avenue North had become a big favorite as I prepared for my hike with the Lord.  As I approached the trail, the recent events, the “Colorado Happenings”, had been weighing on my heart and mind.  Their frequency had become such that I could no longer ignore  them.  As I started on the trail I spoke out in earnest to the Lord, “God! What is going on with all these Colorado Happenings?”!   Immediately, as if God audibly spoke to me, I heard three words- “Tim Tebow Foundation”.    Tim Tebow Draws Fans Like No Other

I must admit, I felt like Abram as He reacted to the idea of having a son in his old age.  I went on to say, “Ok, what am I suppose to do with this info?”.  After my hike I headed for Greg’s house and my laptop to find out more about this foundation. I must admit, upon reading the purpose statement of Tim’s Foundation  I could see how it fit in with the desires of my heart regarding ministry.  On the other hand, there was no way to contact Tim or someone at the foundation.  So, like Mary(the mother of Jesus), I hid all this in my heart and went back to work.  Four days later Greg asked me to dinner and I surmised that he wanted to talk about me moving my family to VA.  Boy was I surprised when Greg did not mention me moving but instead began telling me about my giftings and how God was going to use me to serve with someone I greatly respected who had a large platform of influence for the Kingdom.  Needless to say, I was in awe of what God was up to, thinking to myself- “Ok God what are you up to?”   As my time in VA passed, I became more and more privy to what God was doing and the “works I was to walk in” in VA.   As May progressed, I felt the growing need to spill the beans and tell Greg what was going on.  My “news” did not go over very well and Greg went so far as to charge me to ‘man up” and do the responsible thing- keep my job in a very uncertain job market. 

So, on one hand I was being told to fear the unknown and keep my job in VA.  On the otherhand….. my heart was saying………… Trust the Lord and your heart and go for it!  After Gregs challenge, I drove to Charleston for the weekend and pondered and prayed, working through the miriad of thoughts and emotions.  By Monday night I was resolute and knew what I had to do… put in my resignation.  I did this on June 7th and on the 10th I had a divine meeting  with the area Young Life Director.  Besides our mutual love for the Lord and kids it turns out that we had another commonality.  Both of our daughters now live in England.  His daughter with Young Life and mine married Tom, a young man from Bradford England in Yorkshire County.  Jen and Tom met and fell in love at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Hungary.

As we met over a cup of coffee I began to share my story with Allen and a big smile came over him.  He went on to tell me that his 7 o’clock appointment had canceled and now he knew why.  The book in his car, The Wild Goose Chase, was meant for me and not his first appointment!  I went to bed that Thursday night still praying about driving to Denver after work the next day.  Well, God awoke me at 3 a.m. and gave me my marching orders.  He told me I was to fly out of Raleigh, NC and get a rental car and that it would cost the same as driving.  It happened, all of it as promised!

It was an amazing trip and God gave me confirmations all along the way, letting me know that I was on the right path.  For greater detail you will need to read my blog post, “Let the Chase Begin! My Walk with the Wild Goose”.   On my last day in Denver, the Spirit prompted me to start a blog for two reasons.  One,  so that I would remember what God was doing in my life, and Two, to also share my story with others.  Thankfully, David, the guy I stayed with in Denver, informed me on how to start a blog! 

After my return to Charleston, the need to get my story down on paper was intense.  The Spirit definitely got me in the writing zone and the words  poured out of me.  This experience, I believe, gave me a taste of what it must have felt like for those who wrote the Bible.  Not that my story is “God- breathed” and infallable, but I have definitely sensed His power, presence and counsel as I have “walked out” and then wrote this story.  Remember; Jesus said….

John 14:12-14 

¹²I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Since returning to Charleston June 17, the Spirit has shown me so much.  He has walked me through many lessions of trust. patience, perseverence and obedience as I have sought to be faithful and follow His every prompting.  Thirty-five posts and several trips later, the Lord has me waiting on Him.  I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I do know that God is good and He has great things instore for me as I continue to trust and obey.  I love the imagery of a promise in Psalm 23 that says, ” ⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,  and I will dwell in the house of the LORD  forever.”

Think about it!  God’s goodness and mercy follow us everywhere.  Even when we mistep, His goodness and mercy are there! 

In closing, it is my prayer that you take the time to read my blog.  I have been told that it is an amazing story and very much worth reading.  It is about a simple man coming alive to the glory of God.  As one of my favorite quotes goes…. The Glory of God is man fully alive!  St Irenaeus

Blessings, Jon