LIVING THE GOOD LIFE I know God better in pain than in prosperity. Maybe some of you are like that. My neighbor across the street, Bob, isn’t like that at all. He stays close to God in good times and in bad, in blessings and calamities, in sickness and in health. I had coffee with […]
A QUOTE FROM TYLER I’m using a new book this year when I visit county jails and drug rehab facilities. Right on the front cover is a quote from Tyler (but under the name of Carl Anthony Raines). You can find out more about this book on the following LINK. “When I’m with God, good […]
A TEST FOR TYLER Last week Tyler called me with the bad news that the motor on the car he had bought a couple months back had seized up and would never run again. A total loss. He calmly said, “You know, Pat, this is the kind of setback that would have driven me to […]
MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE A few years back, I was having breakfast with Myron, the person who led me to Christ back in 1982 and who continues to mentor me in my Christian faith. He explained to me then that his motivation for being involved in the lives of others is to advance the kingdom of […]
SAVING A LIFE I was on the phone several times with Tyler yesterday and once this morning. A friend of his from back in high school called him to announce he had downed a bottle of pills with a pint of whiskey and wanted to say goodbye. Tyler talked to Dan about Jesus and getting […]
TYLER GIVES BACK Tyler called me yesterday morning with the news that he’s been asked to help out the Metro Hope Center in Minneapolis, the rehab facility where he lived for 14 months. The staff member who was a counselor on call for the Friday and Saturday and sometimes Sunday night shifts left for some […]
EVERYTHING THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN DO The man, in his natural self, looked into his own soul first, then to the world around him, and finally to his God. In his spiritual self, he saw God first, then the world around him as a reflection of God, and finally the soul God […]
THE HOLY SPIRIT STRIKES AGAIN Last Tuesday, I visited Kennis in the Wright County Jail. I wrote a blog about him on November 11. He’s the one who said he’d rather go to Adult and Teen Challenge for 13 months than go free with no strings attached. He knows he needs a solid foundation of […]
TYLER PITCHES FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT TEAM I received a call yesterday from Tyler, the ex-inmate I’m mentoring. He was as excited as excited could be. I’ll let him tell the story. I reconnected with a guy named Dillon who I’d been good friends with in grade school until I started doing drugs and he […]
THE HOLY SPIRIT WENT TO JAIL TODAY The Holy Spirit shoved me out the door early this afternoon and hauled me off to jail to visit with two inmates. I say it that way because that’s out of the comfort zone for my natural self. If you would have told me two years ago that […]