I THANK GOD FOR THE PRAYERS OF MY MOTHER AND OTHERS

I am thankful that my mother prayed for me and asked many others to pray for me when I was addicted to drugs during the 1970s.

God supernaturally took away the desire for drugs and then dried up my relationships in the cult named Arica.

In less than a year I was living at home with my mother. She did not pressure me. But kept praying and demonstrated understanding as I was in transition.

I came to her and asked if she knew of a church that knew what they were talking about. At that church the Holy Spirit answered my deepest questions and convicted me that God loved me.

However these were sincere liberals. They did not understand the gospel of salvation. God used that loving setting for my drug rehabilitation. The LSD had scrambled my mind badly.

Later I was missing the beautiful music of the church and turned to Christian radio. There I received a surprise bonus. For the first time in 23 years and among lots of liberal church people, I finally heard the real Good News of the Bible. This came from the old time gospel preachers like J Vernon McGee and Jerry Falwell. It took months for God to get through my religious thinking.

I was born again on January 16,1977 in a church at a prayer altar.

This year I am thankful for my mother’s prayers plus the prayers of those anonymous intercessors back in the 1970s. Otherwise I would be in hell today. I was already starting to overdose.

If you pray for your children, grandchildren or some one else’s prodigal child then take heart. Do not give up. Believe God when you pray. Only eternity will reveal what your prayers did.

To read another summary of my testimony then click this link http://www.osuonline.org/files/Mktg_Summaries/Salvation_Testimony_of_JSO.htm .

Here is a list of my personal priorities in the order of importance.
This was first written 4/25/97

1. Take good care of my health and safety
2. Pay my bills in full and on time
3. Make my home office (and later offices) into an effective and efficient productivity center
4. Stay on a personal and professional budget
5. Make consistent progress toward fulfilling my vision
6. Gain the skills, resources, knowledge, assistance, etc. that can assist me in achieving these priorities
7. Work on projects that I enjoy
8. Work with people that I enjoy
9. Nurture a few close friendships
10. Save an appropriate amount of money
11. Become and remain debt free
12. Acquire a balanced and growing investment portfolio



These are also high priorities but they come automatically
A. Develop and enjoy my personal relationship with God
B. Practice charity in thoughtful and gracious ways

One paragraph of details version the OSU web site under founder behind the About OSU button.

God has given me a love for seminary students.

These are the factors that contribute to make them so lovable for me.

1. Committed to the Lord Jesus Christ and living out that commitment as the core of the preparations for their career.
2. They need have above average intelligence to be admitted and to continue to pass.
3. They are willing to work hard to keep up with the academic load.
4. They are in a very teachable phase of their life. They know that they do not have all the answers.
5. There is discomfort and pain to compete the assignments and deal with the thin cash flow.
6. The future is uncertain. There is no sure and secure income waiting like in other professions.
7. They are grappling with complex biblical and theological questions.

Note that the seminary students I refer to here are conservative and not liberal in their theology.