2013 Ended in Sadness... but, I am Blessed!

2013 started as any year with anticipation and hope for personal improvement. As time went on I found myself dealing with issues at work that caused much stress. These issues/ problems had nothing to do with the county I work in but ones that still had negative affects on the agency. After a few months the issues were resolved. Life is better...

Forward to October 15th (which by the way is the anniversary date of when I started my career working in emergency services ~ 34 years), my wife Carla had a risky surgery on her back (one of two needed). The doctors had a lot of difficulty performing this surgery. They decided against performing her second surgery and referred her to a neurosurgeon at another hospital. Then on November 20th she had the second surgery; she is still recovering. Carla suffers from many health related problems. I won't list them here but please pray for her. I will say this, Carla is a fighter. She exercises and continues to live life. If you didn't know she had health problems you wouldn't know by looking at her. She is a beautiful woman that loves her family and the Lord!

Forward to December 2nd, my daughter in law (Brooke) and granddaughter (Ella) were in a horrible accident. Shortly after dropping my grandson (Grayson) off at the babysitters, Brooke who is a school teacher lost control of her vehicle, hit a telephone pole and then a plank fence. Two planks of the fence went through the windshield. When my wife and I received the dreaded phone call it was the worst news possible. Praying on the way to the hospital, My wife, Jamie (my son, Brooke's husband and Ella's dad) first went to the room where Ella was located. Thank the good Lord she was OK, only minor scratches. Next Jamie and I headed to see Brooke. She had serious facial injuries and an injury to her right eye. As of today Brooke is doing but better and it is becoming less noticeable that she was even in an accident. She still has no vision with her eye but there is nerve damage and we are hopeful and praying. Thank you Lord for protecting my family.

Forward to December 6th, after breaking his hip my father (age 84) spent weeks in the hospital. In a lot of pain his health started to decline. He could not do his therapy much and after being transferred to a rehab facility eventually got pneumonia. We became encouraged because he started responding to the treatment for the pneumonia. Unfortunately my dad was not eating well. He was transferred to another rehab facility but it didn't help and he was dying. Per his wishes we brought him home. We had a hospital bed, oxygen and other equipment to care for him as well as home healthcare nurses. After a few weeks my dad went to see the Lord. I miss him.

So yes 2013 was a tough year; there were other issues but they seem like nothing compared to the end of the year. 

Forward to January 11, 2014, it is a new year. I thank the Lord because in spite of resent bad events I feel very blessed. Brooke and Ella are here and still in my life. Carla survived a surgery that many doctors had said was extremely risky; they were concerned because of her health problems that she could become paralyzed or hemorrhage and die during the surgery. 

Yes I am blessed!!!

Prayer Needed

Carla had surgery on her spine to help with the pain from a condition called Arachnoiditis. She is on her 4th day since the surgery. She is still in a lot of pain. She has 27 staples in her back that won't be removed until December 6.

My dad (84) who broke his hip a while back is not doing well at all. He is not eating and has lost a lot of weight. We have fixed his home living room like a hospital room. We have contacted home health. If he stayed where he is he was going to die. We are hoping coming home and eating home cooking will help; it is his only chance. This decision was made after talking to his rehab center's staff, his doctor's office and praying. He is very depressed where he is and wants to come home; today he is...

Please remember Carla and my dad in your prayers. God bless!

I Love Florida... I Love Kentucky...

We live in Kentucky and just returned from vacation in Florida. I really love Florida and have good reason to do so. I grew up in the sunshine state; I was about 1 month old when my family moved there from Kentucky. So, I had more sand in my shoes than clay.  I really enjoyed my early childhood years in Florida except for a major hurricane (honestly for me it was an adventure), the passing of my mother when I was 5 and the assassination of President Kennedy.

When I was 9 years old my dad, brother, sister and I moved back to Kentucky (my dad remarried). Most of the time I was in Kentucky I talked and dreamed of moving back to Florida. In 1977 a few months after I got married, we were living in Florida. So nice, so many palm trees... so HOT! We adjusted to the climate change, I eventually got a wonderful job on a great fire department in Sarasota, we had 2 beautiful children and met a lot of fantastic friends.

After 13 years on the West Coast of Florida we moved back to Kentucky. Now 24 years later I often think about what it would be like living back in Florida. Most of my friends live in Florida and the greatest fire department in the world is there but ... they are not looking for a few good (old) men.

So how would I like moving back to Florida? This year something has changed... when we flew out over Florida and I looked at the land below I saw a sparse dry flat terrain. Then as we were over Kentucky, everything was lush, green, hilly or mountainous and actually beautiful. Florida with the exception of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean has a man-made manicured beauty while Kentucky has a natural beauty.

Now even without this new revelation I would never leave my children and grandchildren and move to Florida. I realize just how hard to please I am sometimes. I know that even though I'm happy with Kentucky right now, come this winter when we have ice and snow I would love Florida more again. 

The Lord wants us to concentrate on important things, not where we live or what we own. These things are nice but our relationship with Him and our families is and should be number 1. When we put God and our families first everything else will fall into place and we will be happy no matter where we are.

Unbelief...

How are you today? We all struggle like the disciples did. One difference is they walked and talked with Jesus. They witnessed His miracles. So I guess it's OK to have some unbelief, right? Nope, we need to work on this. How? Our faith will strengthen as we trust the Lord. Sounds easy doesn't it? Not convinced, think of your relationship with someone you love. As that relationship grows and you begin to truly trust that person your "faith" in them grows. If either one of you hurts the other, the trust/ faith in them fades. One big difference with our Lord is He will never hurt you. So if the trust/ faith seems to vanish it can only be our fault. You are not alone, I struggle often. Let's pray for each other.

In life's journey, you are never alone...

In life's journey you are never alone. God is near; He will come as close as you let Him. There was a time when God actually talked directly to man.  There was a time when God actually walked among men. Now we live in a time where God's Spirit desires to live in man, to help him, to love him and to give him peace. Still we have a free will to accept or reject God. The troubles of this world are not God's fault but the results of our free will.

Burnout or something else...

After 33 years working in emergency services I've seen a lot, probably too much. I've seen people hurt from stabbings, shootings, abuse, assault... from minor to fatal wounds. I've seen people burned from sunburn to completely burned up. I've had brothers and friends serving the public who were injured or died and those who couldn't handle it any longer, commit suicide. I've seen tragic accidents be no respecter of persons by killing the young, old, rich and poor. I've seen mothers and fathers scream and cry from the death of a child and had to be the one to tell them they were gone. I've seen cars, planes, boats, businesses and homes destroyed. I've had people die in front of me. I have been there when there was one, two or many deaths at one time. I have seen hate in just about all forms. I have seen evil displayed in ways that I could not have ever imagined. I have been injured myself, burned, spit on, screamed at, hit, had to fight to survive, fought emotional and political battles. I have tried to explain to those that did not understand what we do or why we are even needed. I have had to justify my job and to be honest, it grows old. Most in emergency services if they are healthy retire somewhere between 20-25 years on the job. Some work longer or stick with it because they desire to continue beyond the odds and keep trying to help. Some are forced to work longer out of necessity because of the cards they were dealt in life.


I have been a been a paramedic, firefighter, fire officer, Emergency Management Director, worked in rescue, law enforcement and homeland security. I have worked in small towns and communities to larger cities and counties. I have been elated on my job and have been heart broken. I have been so excited for the future and burned out, ready to quit. I have been on call so long that I almost forget what it feels like to not have to make plans for someone to cover for me if I want to go somewhere or do something outside of work.


Now don't feel sorry for me because thousands of men and women do this very same job. But... imagine if you will how Christ felt and still feels because he did so much more than any of us. He loves the murderer and the murdered and the abused child as well as the abuser. He actually hurts more than the parents who lost their child because He is the father of both. He is fighting the evil in a fierce battle that only Heaven's elite forces can see. We are here for a short time. I want to do well while I'm here but I fall so short. I get angry, frustrated, I sin, I doubt, I just fail! One thing though, I will never be perfect even if mankind expects me to be. I am covered by the grace of God, the blood of Christ and that's all I need. God loves me and He's got my back!

Update on Carla...

I would like to thank those who have been praying for Carla. Her health has not improved but her desire to live life to the fullest is as strong as ever. She has applied for disability and has been denied twice which in itself boggles our mind. The ones that make the decisions ignore the opinions of her specialists and want her to go back to work. She is physically unable. With her numerous surgeries, her loss of vision, her inability to use her hands for more than a very limited amount of time and her not being able to sit very long at all, I just do not understand what they are thinking? Then we see so many on disability abusing the system that have not worked hardly a day in their lives. 

Please continue to pray for her. She is getting discouraged but even so fights her disease and the system that fights against her. I do not want her to work again and I would never ask her to do so; besides she simply cannot. It is too hard on her and she deserves to enjoy life. I know God is in control and these challenges make us stronger. Looking at Carla and how she deals with her personal issues sometimes I think I am the weaker one. 

Thanks again for your prayers. God bless each of you.

My Gift From God...

As I sit here typing before 5am I am thinking of my wife and how blessed I am. She has always been there for me. She is a loving mother and grandmother who would do anything for her family. She takes care of the home, cleans like nobody I know and works until she is ready to physically drop. But now she is in pain, she has many health problems that the doctors say there is no cure. It breaks my heart.  She has recently had to quit her job and I am glad she could. You would not know by looking at her that anything is wrong but I see her suffer. Please pray for her.

God I ask you to intervene.

Thank you for your prayers...

Christmas Time...

Christmas, families coming together, children laughing, a time of joy for many. Christmas trees, lights, presents, music, excitement in the air, yes it's Christmas. The birth of Jesus, the savior of the world, the giver of peace, the hope for a lost world, the reason for this Christmas season.

But wait... so many are sad, hurting, not feeling the excitement or the joy. They have forgot the reason for the season because we have forgot them. "We are the hands and feet of Jesus," but yet we wash our hands and walk the other way.

Show some kindness today whether it is just a smile, a helping hand, a dollar or a meal. God forgive us and help us to be more like you.