The children of Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness. They were guided by a pillar of fire by night and an cloud by day. After complaining about the food, God gave them Manna to eat. He did not give them a year's supply but only enough for one day. In fact, if they gathered more than they would eat, it spoiled. Those that gathered enough manna for a day, always had enough. You see, God was teaching them to trust Him for the day and not worry about the next day. Many people feel that God wants them to do something big in their lifetime; however, they fail to realize that God wants to lead them toward the goal one day at a time. As I began writing the events of my life, I became keenly aware that God had guided me through these events, and many more. My desire for you is that you will look at the events that have happened in your life and realize that God was there helping you with his plan for your life, one day at a time.
More than 60 years ago, my name was written in the Lamb's Book of Life. One stormy night after returning from church, I was awaken in the middle of the night and I knew that I needed to accept Christ as my Savior or I was going to spend eternity in hell. Little did I realize where God's plan for life would take me. He did not show me some fantastic plan that He had prepared for me. He told me His instructions were written down in His Word. My task was to read His word daily and to put my faith and trust in Him. Every day I spent some time studying God's instruction manual, His travel plan for my life. Some days, I made a choice to live it my way and some days I made the choice to live it God's way. What I learned was that the result was always much brighter when I did it His way. One day God told me to write down the things that He has done for me and the experiences I have had following God's plan. This book is filled with snap shots that have been taken along the path as I followed God's plan for my life. His plan included my living in South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Viet Nam, Georgia, Kansas, and Tennessee. My spiritual training came from home, churches of various denomination to include IFCA, Orthodox Presbyterian, Cumberland Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Wesleyan, and Mennonite. It came from Sunday schools, Bible studies and from trying to do things my way. My elementary training started in a one room school house called Moore School, and a second one room school house called Midway School. My high school training was in a small high school in Colman, South Dakota. My primary college training came from South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota; Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska; Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas; East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee; and Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee. Many of these experiences are included in the book. God gave me every skill that I needed to fulfill his plan for my life. Never once did he give me an assignment but what he did not provide me with the tools to complete the assignment. The reality is that I am no different than you. God loves you as much as He loves me. You are one of the people that God gave His Son to be the sacrifice for your sins. God has a plan for you and he will show you the plans one day at a time as you put your faith and trust in Him.
