An Amazing Accomplishment!

My beautiful bride, sensational son and noble nephew were with me when I graduated on June 14 with the doctorate degree. That experience was a miracle!

I am not the scholarly type, but I had to become one during the last three years. My sixth grade teacher and my high school counselor told me to not even try to go to college because I was too stupid and would never make it.

This experience is not about a title or a degree. It is about overcoming many monumental obstacles. When it seemed impossible to keep going, my project mentor and my wife encouraged me with a radical revolution of empowering encouragement.

My beautiful bride had a dream a few months ago and saw me walking across the platform to receive my degree. I hung onto that dream like a cat hanging onto a limb stretched out over a cliff. My mentor told me that I needed to see myself walking across the line.

Several miracles happened for me to cross that line. It was the most difficult and demanding experience in my life. For me, it was like climbing Mount Everest without an oxygen mask and like learning Chinese in Hong Kong without an interpreter.

You may be facing an impossible situation. If I can do it, YOU CAN DO IT! Cry out to the Lord with your whole heart! He will give you faith that He will strengthen you to break through! He will give you people, resources, wisdom and all you need to make it!

Trust God from the bottom of your heart and don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go. He's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God. Run from evil. Your body with glow with health. Your very bones will vibrate with life. (Proverb 3:5-8, The Message)

Dare to Dream and Do the Impossible!

I just sent my first formal draft of my doctoral dissertation to my project mentor. The technical editor is editing it. I will defend my project in L.A. on June 12 from 1:00 - 3:00 PM. Graduation is June 14 at 6:00 PM! Earning an accredited doctorate is an impossible dream that has come true for me!

Dare to Dream and Do the Impossible! Only 20% of those who enter my particular doctoral program ever finish the Doctor of Ministry degree. It is highly demanding and difficult. I had an 80% chance of failure. But it was more than that. Keep reading and you will see why. :)

My tag line is: "Transforming Fear into Fulfillment, Hurt into Healing, Pain into Peace and Problems into Possibilities!" Another way to put it is: "Showing People How to Conquer Chaos and Transform Tragedy into Triumph and Problems into Possibilities!" I have been tested through the fire personally with this doctorate experience!

Dare to Dream and Do the Impossible! It's happening for me and it can happen for YOU!
Don't let anyone or any circumstance stop you. Settle it in your heart. You're going over and not under! You're the top dog and not the bottom dog!

In high school my counselor told me not to apply for college. He said I would never make it. Guess what? I did it! Don't let anyone talk you out of your dream!

After earning my B.S. in Wildlife-Fishery Resources degree from the University of Idaho (one of the finest programs in the nation), I thought I would never go back to school. My degree was extremely difficult and demanding. It was like a Pre-Med Science degree. Done. Finished. I thought :)

I couldn't get the dream out of my heart. After working as a research biologist for a couple of years, I kept feeling this deep desire to go for a masters degree. So I began to Dare to Dream and Do the Impossible! I did it! Not only did I meet the most beautiful bride in the whole wide world, I earned a Master of Divinity degree in two and half years. It normally takes three years.

On May 18, 2006, my beautiful bride asked me to apply for a doctoral program at a cutting-edge new school in L.A. Through a series of miracles, I was accepted.

I had no idea that this adventure would be like climbing Mount Everest without an oxygen mask! It was so challenging and treacherous at times, I thought I would literally fall to my death! It was far more difficult and demanding than I ever thought possible! I am not the scholarly type. It has been like learning Chinese in Hong Kong with no one to interpret for me. Talk about a whole new learning curve!

The Lord placed this dream in my heart. He gave me the strength and the courage to overcome every impossible obstacle in the adventure! I have been radically transformed and become a new man through this rich and rewarding experience!

Dare to Dream and Do the Impossible! My beautiful bride, Irene, and son, Chris and our other team members helped me. I did it and you can do it! We are in the people business. People need hope and encouragement. They need it and you need it! We all need it!

Dare to Dream and Do the Impossible!

An Encouraging Experience!

WOW! I just received an e-mail from my project mentor. He said that he forwarded the first formal draft of my doctoral dissertation to the technical editor for editing.

This is huge for my wife, son and me. My high school counselor told me to not bother applying for college because I would never make it.

If you have experienced someone tell you that you won't make it and you have a dream that you can, go for it! Take the risk! No matter what happens, you will learn from the experience!

Upward and onward!

A Miracle Moment!

My wife, son and I returned from a miracle moment in Mexico. Our good friends, John and Robin Mazariegos, missionaries in San Luis Potosi, Mexico invited us down there to do our Identity Formation Seminar as part of my doctoral research project.

On April 4 we had 135 eager participants engaged from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. They were so honoring and eager to learn. It felt like we were in heaven.

I just finished writing the results last night in my dissertation. WOW! It was far more than any of us expected!

Do you have a dream? Is it larger than you could ever do on your own? Ask your friends to pray for you and help you. You never know what kind of miracle moment you will experience!

Advancing with Encouragement

Everyone of us needs encouragement. We each need to know that we can accomplish the dreams that we have in our hearts.

My doctoral research project is an experience that is helping me accomplish my dream. My dream is to make a dynamic difference in our community. To be more specific, I have a dream of making a difference by helping to solve stubborn and very difficult problems.

What kind of problems? The problems that no one has been able to solve. Problems like confusion, addictions, violence and crime.

You may ask, "What makes you think you can solve problems that have been unsolvable?" I am asking the same question myself!

The solution to any difficult problem is half solved by asking a profound question! My question for my doctoral research project is: Will a grace-based and community-oriented seminar on the nature of identity formation for emerging adults in Boise, ID, facilitate an understanding and healing of their identity crisis?

Grace-based means that love, acceptance and value are initiated and imparted to people. I have personal experience in this area. I have been formed to be loving, accepting and valuing through my relationships in my doctoral experience.

I am almost half way through the process of finishing my research project. The final rough draft is due February 1, 2009.

What about you? What is your dream? What profound question can you ask to make your dream become a reality?