I thought I was retired. I have learned since that I simply changed professions again. How did I come to this conclusion? I am in the process of establishing a non-profit that will have a three-fold impact on foster care and adoption. The first arm, "Charity Steps", will allow me to continue to walk to support and raise awareness for foster care and adoption By becoming a non-profit I will finally be allowed to accept donations and distribute them to those who truly need them. The second arm, "Please Hear Me", will provide a venue for foster children to come together and talk about what they are experiencing with other foster children going through the same things. The third arm, "Rooted Anew", will help adoptees connect with their biological roots and have questions answered that plague most of them from the time they learn they are adopted (with many of those questions being medical in nature). I will ensure that someone also walks with them through the process because the reality is that half of them will be rejected a second time - either by their adoptive family or by their biological families again.

Stay tuned for more to come.

BTW: There will be a public open house on Saturday, Jan. 24, at the First Church of God in Hutchinson, Kansas, at 10:00 a.m.

It's been a while since I have been on here because of a very busy "retirement" schedule. Yes, I retired at the end of December but my life has become so much busier than it was. One of the biggest things that I am still working toward is a walk across Michigan in August (from Central Lake through Flint to Hazel Park) to raise statewide awareness for foster care and adoption. This, my friends, is the very reason that I walk... nearly 10-1/2 miles per day on average.

Anothrr round of winter weather has hit our area. Consequently, another round of school, work, and community closures are being announced. Please pray for rural Kansas.

For the first time in days, I was able to get out and walk at least 3 miles on the streets of Hutchinson. We were socked in by major winter storm over the weekend that brought below zero temperatures, 5-6 inches of snow, and a 1/2 inch of ice to central Kansas. Even though the sun is shining, we won't be above freezing until at least Saturday.

I have been overwhelmed the last 5 or 6 days. I retired from the ministry on Dec. 31, but didn't have to clean out my office before I retired. I did that on Thursday and Friday. I had more in there than I thought! Then we had a snow storm of epic proportions hit Kansas this weekend, which was preceded by 24 hours of freezing rain. I think I am caught up now. However, I still have to sort through and put away (in a proper place so I can find things) what I brought home. I also still have to shovel part of our sidewalk and all of our driveway.

Today is the first "working" day of my retirement too. I have to spend at least 4 or 5 hours working on my book that is due to the publisher by Jan. 14.

Yes, I am as busy as always... even in #retirement...

#Retirement The day is fast approaching when I will step away from my current "job" as "Associate Pastor of Urban Ministries" for the First Church of God in Hutchinson, Kansas. I have officially been in this role for 5 years now. My last day is officially next Tuesday. Sunday will by my last Sunday preaching in this role as I will preach at both the First Church of God and our LIFE Outreach ministry. I will occasionally continue to preach in both services but as a "layman" and not an official pastor. Things will be changing dramatically for us next week as my wife is also stepping aside as our church's administrative assistant. Stay tuned for the updates!

#Monday - Yes, it is the start of a new work week that will be shortened with time off for CHRISTmas. However, it's my last "full work week" as I will #retire next Tuesday (Dec. 31). I am looking forward to the changes that will happen!

Tomorrow will be another very interesting day for us. I get to preach at the Eden Valley Church of the Brethren in St. John, Kansas in the morning, but their morning is starting off with an all church breakfast first. After I preach there, we will head back to Hutchinson because our LIFE Outreach program (where I preach 3 times a month) is having their Christmas dinner. Tomorrow evening will be our "all church Christmas celebration" at the First Church of God. So, I get to preach once but celebrate Christmas all day long!

So, what else is there to know about me that I didn't share yesterday. I gave a strong hint to my passion for writing when I talked about my new endeavors after January 1 when I switch to full-time writing. However, I only talked about the books that I want to write. There is so much more to my writing...

One of the "careers" that I had (while simultaneously working in IT) was as a reporter for a variety of weekly Kansas newspapers. I covered everything from sports to community events to government meetings. What I also did was write a monthly column called "The Prairie Tattler," which appeared at different times in 5 different weekly Kansas newspapers (most notably the Harvey County Independent). I have also written monthly newsletters for various groups and churches I have been in and I used to publish a WEEKLY newsletter about my walking. What is neat about all of this is that I retained the copyrights to column / newsletter that I wrote.

One of the additional things I hope to do beginning in January is to restart some of those efforts.

* The Prairie Tattler will look at rural living through the eyes of a big city boy. I have always said that if I could live anywhere it would be on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, but my wife says that I would be going alone.

* Myriad Paths of Life will look at the various paths that different people have had to walk in life - and how it changed them. Believe it or not, I actually had a podcast at one time that featured some of these stories. I will definitely bring back the newsletter but I am also considering resurrecting the podcast.

* The third effort that I wish to bring back to life is "Walking to Forever" which will be a newsletter about my walking efforts and how we can all touch the lives of foster children and adoptees.

All of these have always been done "free of charge". Let me know if you want to be put on my mailing list or if you want to talk about your "path of life" and be considered for that effort.

Yes, I am going to be busy... but stay tuned... there's even more to come!

I'm new here (really, really new... as of yesterday). However, there are some changes coming very quickly in my life. Let me share about me... and then what I will be doing...

I am an associate pastor - for another 12 days. Then I will be retiring (since I will be 70 next August). My wife, however, will tell you that I am not really "retiring" but simply changing career paths again. I spend 40 years in Information technology before becoming a pastor in 2017.

When the new year falls around us, I will resume some things that have been low key of late.

First, I will resume my path of writing. My first book ("Life is a Long Story Short") was published in 2016. My next book is due out in January and will be my autobiography as a double adoptee (age 7 and again at 10). I have 15 more planned (and 5 of those are already in the early development stage).

Next, I will continue my involvement in several local ministries. I am chairman of the board for Young at Hearts, a non-denominational senior ministry in Hutchinson. I also serve as vice-chair for Revive Ministries, an addiction recovery program that helps people overcome ANY type of addiction and lead them to full discipleship in Christ. I will also be working to establish 2 new non-profit organizations: "Please Hear Me" (a ministry to give foster children a voice) and "Rooted Anew" (a ministry to help adoptees find their biological roots and walk them through that process because over 1/2 of them will be rejected a second time).

Third, I will continue to serve our LIFE Outreach program, an inner city ministry in Hutchinson where I currently preach 3 Sundays per month and serve as Chairman of the Board. We also run a food pantry through this ministry that I will continue to remain a part of through July.

Finally, I will continue my efforts to walk to raise awareness for foster care and adoption. In 2018-19, I walked from South Miami Beach to Westport, Washington (130 miles west of Seattle) - by way of Texas and North Dakota - to raise national awareness. This coming August I will walk from Central Lake (where I was abandoned at age 6) through Flint (where I was adopted a 2nd time in 1965) to Hazel Park (where I was adopted the first time in 1963) to raise awareness in Michigan. If my health holds out, I also have a trip planned from International Falls, MN, to Brownsville, TX - beginning in Canada and ending in Mexico - to raise international awareness. To stay in shape to continue these long walks, I average 10.4 miles per day. There are several other "less arduous walks" to raise local awareness.

If all of that is not enough, I continue to speak anywhere about foster care and adoption (and the church's needed role) and fill in for various worship events in central Kansas (The Legends Senior Living Center, Eden Valley Church of the Brethren).

Now you know a whole lot about "me" and what I do. May I add that I do none of this for my own benefit or recognition. I do it solely that the Lord may be praised!