I think this photo is a beautiful metaphor of beauty and tragedy living side by side, even amidst and between each other. Full confession, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I am a committed Christian, a believer in the reality of God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. I am convinced that God will take our various afflictions and consecrate them, that is, make them holy, for our gain, if we allow Him to. I hope that my Christianity is not off-putting to you. I hope you will stick around to see if there is anything in this website that might be of value to you, or that might make you smile, or allow you to help someone else who may benefit from knowing this site exists.

The spiritual side of my journey thus far is significant and it would be dishonest of me to not share it. I am an imperfect disciple of Jesus Christ. For the last 50 years I have tried, with mixed results, to live a holy life by serving others, by trying to emulate and become like Christ, by inviting others to come to Christ and by having faith in Him. As Bob Dylan said in his song “Gotta Serve Somebody,” “…it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord, But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” I have chosen to serve the Lord and have faith in Him. Even in the midst of this disease my faith helps me regularly experience peace and joy.

Faith is a funny thing in that everyone has it. However, we all choose what we want to have faith in. For example, I have faith in my car that it will start each morning. Otherwise I would not even try to start it. You might have faith in your own intellect, spiritual forces in general, science, your kids, your employer or coworker, and on and on and on. There are an infinite number of things on which we can center our faith, but we all exercise faith every day. So don’t say you don’t have faith, because clearly we all do. A more accurate statement is to say “I choose to exercise my faith on … [you pick the thing(s)].” I think it is self-evident that having faith in some “things” or even oneself, other than the potential result, is not much different than having faith in deity.

This photo was taken at sunset in Yellowstone National Park in June of 2025. For me it contrasts the devastation that can come from something like a fire - or your disease, with the beauty of a sunset that also highlights part of the scorched area. God has provided us with many opportunities to see beauty on this earth, even when we feel scorched. We can use whatever has scorched us as we humble ourselves and try to grow closer to Him and show others, as well as ourselves, there is still beauty in our lives in spite of the burns.