God has blessed me with the honor of being a member of our church’s safety and security team. Most of the 20-plus team members are either former or active Law Enforcement Officers, Military Veterans, Paramedics, or otherwise experienced armed professionals. That means we love to train, and especially on...

From the parking lot, it didn’t look like much. A sorely neglected mall, all but abandoned. The clientele was an odd mix of retired mall walkers and homeless people seeking respite from Florida’s relentless heat and humidity. Every now and then, someone with spending money would show up but...

Politics is not something I like to entertain myself with, but I do think that if I care about this country I need to be somewhat aware of what is happening out there. In the last decade, the political landscape has shifted dramatically in America but also throughout the...

Change is something that is easy to dream about, but rarely is something easy to walk through. But I have learned that change often comes with growth and improvement if a person chooses to see it that way. In fact the Bible teaches this is true: “And we know...

A plain brown envelope showed up today and inside I found a small plastic card and some paper. Life has taught me that getting a chunk of paper in the mail can mean nothing, or it can mean a whole lot. Today it meant a lot. A great deal...

Our church is located inside a mall, and the school attached to our church, along with the precious souls in it, are mine to protect from Monday to Friday each week. The school is located near an entrance to the mall, and just outside that entrance is a bus...

At this point in my life the things I did for a living over 40 years ago should be much harder to do. The creases around my eyes and the grey in my beard lend credence to that statement but I believe it’s a man’s heart that determines what...

Every three years, I need to re-qualify to retain my Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor credentials. The last time I did this, they said 1000 rounds was the handgun course requirement. I burned through 2000 rounds in the five days of the course. When you get an opportunity to learn...

Thirteen years ago, at an elegant hotel in Coronado, California, Ana Tigre gracefully strode into the resort lobby wearing a stunning red wedding dress. We walked hand in hand outdoors where a grand white gazebo awaited, and but a few very meaningful moments later, she was my wife. A...

Abagail showed up in my office about a month ago. She was leisurely stretched out along the top side of my podcast microphone. She appeared boldly unconcerned with my presence and didn’t even flinch as I came to investigate. She was molting, as lizards are given to do, with...