2018 Year In Review

2018 was by far the most interesting and fulfilling year I have had in a long time. What started out in complete and total surrender to the LORD, giving over my job to seek Him full-time, has been a wild ride. Evan though every day is an adventure, and unknown in what His plans are for me, I am continuing to live by faith in what He has for me each day.

Mid January I gave up my job with a well known cash register company. I was tired of putting God last in my life, and I heeded His call to a life of ministry. Two of my goals this year was to love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength; to love my neighbor as myself. Though I don't know if it is truly possible to do that, I gave it my focus.  I was tired of always putting God behind my job, career, and other men who frankly couldn't care less about me, or the LORD. So I set out to do just that. I wouldn't turn down any ministry opportunities, and if the LORD wanted me to do it, He would see it through. So in great faith I set out to do this. What I saw looking back was a total miracle and a work of God that couldn't be possible if I had stayed in my career. Here is a list of what got done:

Ministry

1. St. Patrick's Day Parade Evangelism Outreach, Des Moines, IA
2. Pella, IA Tulip Time Evangelism Outreach
3. Manti, UT Mormon Miracle Pageant Evangelism Outreach. 
4. Gideon's International Des Moines, IA Bible Blitz and Evangelism Outreach. 
5. Working Gideon's Booth at the Iowa State Fair giving away bibles and doing evangelism. 
6. Answers In Genesis Evangelism Training. 
7. Evantell Evangelism Training in all certifications. 
8. Working Answers In Genesis booth at the Iowa State Fair. 
9. Helped Tony (mentor) while in hospital after he broke his hip. 
10. Took over Tony's inductive bible study while in hospital and rehab. 
11. Helped Tony while in hospital, rehab, and after return to his home. 
12. Traveled to Arizona to help mother-in-law in March with her home, remodeling, and repairing things around house. 
13. Helped Mother-in-law getting around after surgery in early December. 
14. Attended the Harvest Pastor and Leadership Conference in Chicago, IL
15. Published article called, Love In Action, in the Gideon Magazine. 

Other Things Accomplished

1. Fixed leak in kitchen ceiling. 
2. Repaired kitchen wall and cabinets. 
3. Painted kitchen.
4. Dad visited IA
5. Tom, a friend, visited IA twice. 
6. Visited wife's family in Indianapolis, IN area for Uncle's 80th birthday. 
7. Visited my family in NJ for 3 weeks. 
8. Downsizing and selling Ebay. 
9. Fixed and painted shed in back yard. 
10. Read 34 books. 
11. Continued focused work on writing my books on evangelism. 

Looking back, I am pretty encouraged and confident that I have achieved my goal of loving God, and loving my neighbor. All these things could not have been done if I had stayed at my job. My hope for 2019 is that I can continue to do this, with an increased focus on daily and event evangelism; spending more time with my family, and renewed love and commitment to my wife.

Goals For 2019

1. Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant Outreach. This will be the last year for this event. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is discontinuing the event after 52 years. 
2. Many Des Moines, IA events like St. Paddy's Day Parade, Ankeny Summerfest, and art festival to do one-on-one evangelism. 
3. Visit family again for parents 50th wedding anniversary. 
4. Iowa State Fair with Answers In Genesis and Gideon's International. 
5. Painting the garage and shed when weather permits. 
6. First draft in some of my evangelism books I am writing. 

Pray that the LORD will continue to lead and guide me in what He wants me to accomplish for 2019, and that it would be even more fruitful than this past year. 

My First Published Magazine Article

While I was visiting my family in New Jersey, I had the idea to write an article for The Gideon - an international magazine for the Gideon's International members. I contacted them and we agreed that I would write an article about love in the workplace, geared toward's the Gideon organization. Part of this article was an idea I had while working for a mail opening manufacturer, as a Field Service Engineer.

When I got back to Iowa, I finished the article, sent it in, and waited for a response for editing. I didn't hear anything back, and contacted them twice. To be honest, I just thought they forgot about me, and that they chose not to publish the article.

Well, December / January issue came, and I was elated to find that they not only published the article, but they published it almost word-for-word! I am completely blown away, and have been very happy with the responses I received so far. Though this may not look like much to the average person reading this, it has been a long time goal on my bucket list to see this come to fruition.

My prayer is that I will continue to write for magazines as well as books, and that the Lord will provide the knowledge He wants me to write about. I hope I can be able to do this again.