Dan Dohman's Story - Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life

Like anyone searching for greatness, Dan had questions and wanted answers. When he discovered the truth he was seeking after, it changed his life forever.

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Matthew 6:33

Transcript

Welcome to the searching for greatness podcast. I'm your host, Michael Fleer. Now, I'm so glad that you're here today. I am joined by Dan Doman. Dan, how are you doing? I'm doing better than I deserve. Awesome. I love that answer.

Hear that from a lot of people. Uh, we are recording late at night. This is not the latest recording I've done. The first podcast I actually did was after midnight, but, uh, It's a late night recording for both of us. We are both fathers now. This is the first story episode I've done where I'm officially a father.

Uh, yes. Our son will be six months tomorrow and, uh, being a dad is just awesome. And I know we'll probably hear a little bit about that from you. Uh, during the course of this, but before we get started, have you found true greatness in your life, Dan?  I would say I have, um, because I know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and that is, you know, it's nothing of me, but true greatness I really feel lies in Jesus Christ and the God of this universe and having that personal relationship with Him. 

Absolutely. And why don't you just get right into it and start telling us your story, wherever you want to take it, starting in childhood, maybe later on, uh, everybody's story is different, but it all, like you said, uh, has that same source. It all ties back to that relationship with Jesus Christ. So Dan, go ahead and.

Share your story with us. Yeah. Um, so I grew up in a home that we didn't go to church a lot. Like, um,  we,  we grew up kind of going to, uh, part time to like a Catholic church. Uh, I'll jokingly use the term like Christmas, Christmas. We kind of went to church at Christmas and Easter and, you know, a handful of times in between and things like that.

Um, and we kind of did the, the normal check. points of like things that you're supposed to do in, in that, uh, Catholic church system, which is, you know, in like third grade, I went through like first communion and things like that. Um, and then when I was in high school, I was going through what those Catholic confirmation, which.

In high school, you're starting to kind of like think for yourself and things. And some, there were just some things that I didn't understand about the Catholic church. And so when I would ask questions, I wasn't getting the answers I was hoping for, like my, my church leader, uh, for our Bible study would be like, well, you have to ask the priest.

And so then I'd ask the priest, you know, certain questions like, well, why do we pray to Mary or why do we have to confess our sins? Yeah. And the answer was typically, well, the church teaches this and the church teaches this and the church teaches this. And I'm like, well, I have a Bible. Like, you know, can you show me from the Bible where that is?

And they, they never did. And so, um, I went through the Catholic confirmation process, but I was just kind of left feeling,  I don't want to say empty, but like, I still had questions that it didn't, didn't feel satisfying to me. So I went off to college and was. Kind of searching. It's not like I was on this great spiritual journey, but I have good conversations with different friends.

Um, went to Campus Crusade, um, and things like that. And we're a few times with some different friends who invited me. Um, nothing ever really clicked or stuck. Um, you know, in high school, I went to a few, um,  Trying to think of the FCA fellowship of Christian athletes. I wasn't an athlete, but I went to some of the events and then in college, I went to campus crusade.

Um, but really what it was, was I, eventually I met my now wife, uh, Lindy Dolman. She was Lindy Flair at the time, who obviously, uh, you know, and, um,  So it was her and I had some really good conversations and what was interesting about it was she,  we, we formed a friendship and then we started talking and things like that.

And it felt like we might be going down the path of wanting to date. And so she wanted to ask me a question about my faith. And so she said, okay, well, like what, you know, what are you trusting in and this and that? And I said, well, I'm not trusting in my baptism. I'm not trusting in this. I'm trusting, you know, like I believe Jesus died for my sins.

Um, but she's like, okay, well, he sounds like someone who is a Christian who knows the Lord. Um, but then as it was, I was, um, actually visiting family, um, at the, the church in North Fork there. And, um, it was resurrection Sunday, Easter Sunday, and they had an evangelist there. And I remember the message because he asked the question.

Do you know for sure if you were to die today, if you'd go to heaven?  And I'm like, well, I think I would. But he says, you know, do you know? And I'm like, I don't know. And so he invited, you know, he is like, okay, if, you know, every, had everyone's, uh, bow their heads and close their eyes, and he asked for a show of hands and I said, raised my hand.

You know, like, so you could pray for me. Well, then he said, um, well, you know, I invite every anyone who raise their hands to come forward and we'd love to show you from the Bible. And he had a great, great, like altar call, but this was my first time meeting, you know, my now future in laws, um, my, my wife's family, um, you know, her, her dad is a very quiet, um, farmer from Nebraska.

He can be somewhat intimidating to meet the first time. Um, you know, uh, I hope he forgives me if he hears that, but, uh, I was a little intimidated.  I raised my hand that I wanted to go forward, but I was too kind of scared and intimidated to go. And so I think that happens with a lot of people. But, um,  so, but what that did is it really prompted me to, to question and to ask those questions and things like that.

And so her, and I had a lot of really good conversations in the coming months. And  What was hard is coming out of the Catholic system. It's a lot of, you have to do this, you have to do this, you have to do this. And so I was like, okay, well, it's the sinner's prayer. Like what's the sinner's prayer. And, you know, but it's not just saying a prayer.

It's like, it has to be in your heart. And so I just remember getting to that point with different conversations. I'm like, I, I need to get saved. I've never had this point in my time where I've. Put my entire faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I've said, I believe in him. I've grew up believing in the Bible.

Um, but this needs to be real and I need to need to do something with it. And so then I, I just got down on my knees and prayed and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. It was June of 2006.  Um,  I don't remember the exact date, but that's, uh, that's what I, uh, asked Christ to be my, my Lord and savior and gave my life to him.

Um, and he's done great work in my life since then, you know, I'm, I'm still, I'm a sinner saved by grace, but, um, he has transformed my life in ways that I could not have imagined.  Wow. That is amazing. And I think the first time I met you, like you said, you married my cousin. I remember it was Christmas and I was pretty young.

So I would have been 11 in 2006. And I just remember you were a cool guy. Uh, we played games and stuff, but, uh, just how young and naive you were to think. Yeah, I know. To now, uh, hear your story. Wow. That's just awesome. And one thing that. I find more common now, uh, that I really liked you were asking the why of things.

And like you kind of said with the church, it was, well, that's the way you do it. That's the way it is. And I find that so sad. I even have, um, friends today, the same age as me and their church. They've asked me questions. Why about this? And they say, well, the church says that's just the way it is.  And like you said, it's, you have to kind of think, well, why?

Why is that? What does the Bible say about it? And if you're just going off of someone's word, and it's not the true word, the word of God, then you should be asking, okay, is this real? Do I actually know Jesus, or do I just know about Him? And man, I just love your story. That was awesome. Well, and it's an important transition for young people to understand, not just an authoritarian view of like, this is what my parents teach me.

And my pastor teaches me, you can go to a great church, but if that's all your view of faith is, and it doesn't become real, Like that's why we want, you know, in Sunday school or things like that, we want kids to open up their Bibles and see it in the Bible for themselves. You know, if you know, if you truly understand that that's God's word and that's the way you see it, that should change the way you look at it.

And it also takes way better authority than just, well, Well, mom said, and dad said, and you know, grandpa lived this way. So that's what I want to do. It's like, well, no, this is what the word of God says. And if it, if you truly accept that and becomes real to you, it becomes your beliefs, not just what you've inherited. 

Absolutely. And kind of like you said about the thought of, well, if I were to die, and I think for so many of us, we don't like that thought. We don't like the thought of death. I mean, it's not, uh, something that  is pleasant to think about, to say it in a very simple way. But when you think about that, if God was actually face to face with you, you've come to your end.

And he says, Alright, this is it. Why should I let you into my heaven? And if your answer isn't, well, I know Jesus, if it's not in that person, then there is going to be fear, there is going to be doubt there, uh, because you don't know the one who is the way to get you into that. And I guess, I was going to hit on this a little later, but one of your favorite verses is John 14, 6.

This goes along with that thought. So maybe explain to us a little bit about why you love that verse so much.  John 14, six, for those who don't know, or don't have their, their Bible, um, is Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father, but by me. And, you know, a lot of people look at life verses and it's like, well, help me in this, or, you know, for me, that's just, it's the gospel there in one line.

And it's straight from the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, you know, there's no one else. There's no, you know, Buddha, Confucius,  any of that stuff. It's, Jesus is the only way he's the only way to God. And the other thing, like. There's  people that have the belief that good people go to heaven. There's the belief that as long as I'm not bad or as long as I do, you know, I'm baptized and belong to the church and, you know, give my money.

And no, it's, it's, it's not all this stuff. Plus Jesus, it's Jesus plus nothing. And Jesus just says, I am the way. The truth and the life. No man comes to the father, but by me. And that's just to me, that's, that's the gospel in one short line from Jesus Christ. And so I, I just love that verse because when people ask me what my favorite verse is, it's that, and I, I love John three 16.

I love Ephesians two, eight and nine for, you know, for your saved. Not by grace, but, you know, um, and not of the, you're saved by grace, not of works, right? Um, lest any man should boast, but to me it's just the way, the truth in life. That's, that's it right there.  Absolutely. And praise God you found that one, you found that way, you found the truth, and realized that the truth is Jesus Christ. 

So, let's go back now. You come to that point, You realize you do know now. You know where you're going. You have this new purpose. How did God grow you in walking with you and grow your faith in him? Because it's usually not just Okay, I am saved now. I just know everything about the Christian faith. I understand the Bible completely.

So talk a little bit about your path of growth from that point on.  College at the time. Um, so there was,  you know, I was not a, a bad kid, but I wasn't necessarily squeaky clean at the same time. So there were different changes in my life that I had to make. And it was not a, hey, you know, I snapped my fingers and all of a sudden some of this stuff goes away.

It's a, I, I need to understand what changes I need to make. Um, one thing that I helped me Was it was hard because I was in a place in school where I didn't have a best friend that was saved and going to college Or you know, i'm going to church every week So it was uh set the set the alarm and that alarm goes off on sunday morning to get up and go to church It's like I have to you know There's times you didn't want to go to church, but you have to get up and go and and I Get in the habit of going to church because I knew it was good for me.

I knew it's what I needed, but it wasn't, I didn't have the accountability. So that, that, you know, it was a struggle, but God worked through that. And then, um, so I graduated in 2007.  I went to a good, um, Baptist church in Brookings where I was at college. Um, and God slowly kind of. Help me to get away from the taste of worldliness, you know, um, throughout school and stuff.

I recognize like, Hey, there's a lot of guys in my program. It was mostly male program in engineering, but they curse like sailors. And like, it was not just, Hey, I don't want to do this anymore. It was, I don't want to be around this. And I'm, I want to remove myself from the situation where I'm working in a room on a project with these guys, and guys are just foul mouthed.

So it's just some of that stuff that like God just put it on my heart. Like, hey, this is not, you know, where you should be or what you should be around. Not that I left school, but just trying to take those times of like, okay, if God's telling me, I need to remove myself from the room. Then I need to do it, you know, and, um, then got into a good church, uh, in Minnesota after graduation and just getting discipled, honestly, that that's one of the biggest things is Bible study, uh, things like that, just being discipled and, and growing because it has to be for yourself, you know, there's, you see things in the Bible and if it's what you're doing and what you grew up  And you have to have kind of a Bible reason to want to stop doing it.

And I don't want just a pastor telling me, Hey, you know, Christians don't do this. Well, why, you know, give me some good reasons from the Bible. And, uh, Pastor Ketchum in Minnesota, um, when we were there was, was very good about, you know, he didn't want you to just live by his convictions. He's like, well, here's what the Bible says.

And, you know, go study it and see what you come up with. Let me know if you have questions. And I think that was part of that growth process is the more you. love God, the more you want to serve God. And one of the big things with life is it's not, God doesn't want you just to take away all this stuff with like worldliness and things like that in your life.

He wants to replace it with good things. And I think the replacement idea is, is big because God doesn't, you know, he wants to give you a new heart, but you have to say, okay, I used to watch this program. I don't want to watch that anymore, but what am I going to watch on instead? You know, I used to listen to this music.

Well, I still want to listen to music. So what is good God honoring music? And so there's that kind of transition that you have to find good Godly music. You have to find entertainment that you can watch and other things that you can fill your time with. Not that we have to watch TV, but you know, you have to be able to find that balance of how can I not do the things that I don't want to do anymore, but still find enjoyment and find other avenues that are going to be God honoring. 

I think that's so true. And, uh, Like you said, uh, so often I think our American culture, uh, paints Christianity as God just puts all these fences and says, don't do this, don't do this. Don't do this. And I think we as Christians have kind of done a crummy job of saying no it's because  this is better I mean you look at married life.

Uh the world might say oh it's holding you back It's no marriage is much better when you do it the way  God intends a relationship Uh children when you do obey your parents when you love and honor them your life is going to be so much better So I think that's great what you're saying god offers so much more It's not just Cramming you into a little box and, uh, to go off of that,  how has God, uh, helped you in your relationship with Jesus and making crucial choices?

I can't really talk. Crucial choices are making big decisions in life and I guess how you arrive at those decisions and knowing what you're going to do.  The biggest thing honestly has been just praying about it and being in, you know, I use the term like prayed up, but you know, reading your Bible and giving God time to speak with you.

The Bible says that God speaks in a still small voice. You know, he doesn't speak in the thunderstorm. He doesn't speak in the earthquake. He speaks in a still small voice that you have to listen for him and, and really want his will. And for me, what that's looked like is Okay, God, like I'm praying about this.

I feel you leading me in a certain direction. I want to know if it's your will I'm gonna be reading my Bible. I'm gonna be you know, praying about it. Give me talking with my spouse about it  And what's been amazing about that is how God has opened doors and certain times a good example was we were living in, Minnesota  And I wasn't happy in the job that I was At, and so I talked with my wife and things like that.

And I was just like, I feel like my time at this company is, you know, that God wants to be somewhere else. And so I actually, uh, applied for and got an interview and got offered a job, um, in Minneapolis area. And we were living in Hutchinson, Minnesota at the time. And I was commuting to St. Cloud. And so it would be about the same distance of a drive and stuff.

I'm just told my wife, I'm like, she's like, you know, do you, do you Do you think this is where God has for you? And I, I kind of told her, I said, I don't feel totally at peace about going to this company, but I feel at peace that this is my time. You know, my time with my current company is done. I feel like I've kind of hit a wall there, um, with some different things and she's like, okay.

And so, um, this is before smartphones or at least we didn't have any, but, um, I went out to shut the computer down and for whatever reason, I just popped up my email. Address and I had an email from my old boss at a company that I used to work for and said, hey You know ever think about coming back to work.

Um, you know, let me know give me a call sometime Well, he had his cell phone on there. This was I don't know what time at night, but I was like, okay It's like 10 o'clock at night. I just called my old boss. I'm like, well, here's the thing Um, I would wouldn't mind entertaining this idea But I have a job offer and i'm supposed to let them know like they you know Asked him for 48 hours or something.

And I said, I'm supposed to let them know by noon tomorrow. And my boss says, well, here's, here's what I am interested in. He goes to basically be the job that you used to do same kind of, you know, thing, same company. In the town where you live and stuff like that. Uh, and I'd been laid off probably two and a half years, three years prior to that, from that job, when they downsize the companies, like basically you'd be getting your old job back because that person is moving on.

I said, okay, well I have this other offer and I need to let them know by noon tomorrow. So what he said is  give me till noon tomorrow. He goes, if you don't, if you've not heard something by 11 o'clock tomorrow, Go ahead and take the job. I said, okay, well, 11 o'clock rolls around and like 10 55, I get a job offer from this company that wasn't even on my radar that they had a position.

They never posted it or anything like that. Uh, he just sent me an email and I just happened to pull up my email. And so that was, I feel like that was a God thing in that God. Um, you know, I, I was just praying and being faithful to, you know, God, I don't know, like, I don't, I don't feel a hundred percent, but I feel this is where you're leading me on this.

And in  almost virtually the 11th hour, God says, Oh, I have a better plan for you. And he opens up a door that I didn't even know existed. Um, so that, that was a really cool opportunity there and just see how God worked in a way that you couldn't ever have imagined.  Yeah, that's amazing. And, uh, you used the phrase, like, A couple times open a door, uh, sometimes that is part of praying.

You're praying in faith, you're believing and you're waiting. And then when God does open that door, it's just all the better because you know, you've been praying about it and he is leading you. It's not just a coincidence, uh, that things like that happen. So I love hearing stories like that. And, uh, I don't know how old you are.

I'm not going to ask you your age, but I guess if you could go back and maybe even give advice to a younger version of Dan, uh, maybe when you are coming out of college or guys like myself, who's a young father or even young men who are.  and hoping to be someday start their own family. What kind of advice or even tips would you give to them? 

You know, the, the biggest thing for me was it was intimidating to be the, um, the head of the household and to have all these decisions, you know, where are we going to live? What job am I going to have? Am I, should I switch jobs? There's a lot of uncertainty. You know, we, Five years ago, moved our family from Minnesota to Iowa.

Um, but what I always go back to is, you know, make sure you're praying, make sure that you're, you're talking to God about it. Um, and, and really if you and your, your spouse, your, your wife, if you both know God, know the Lord, and you're in con, if you're in communication, pray about it, and you're going to be okay.

And if it's the Lord's will, he'll, he'll pull you both in the same direction. You know, I truly believe that if you're praying and seeking God's will, he'll make his will known to you and you and your wife will be on the same accord. Because I always felt this pressure of, I don't know what to do, but as long as I just kept following God, I guess one, one way that I looked at it is.

If God wants me to change this job and it ends up being that I lose this job in six months, if I feel like this is where God really wanted me, then I go, well, then God wanted me here for a purpose. He wanted me to learn a lesson. He wanted me to be able to reach somebody. And that's kind of what I would tell people is just, Pray about it and read your Bible and make sure you're in God's will in every area that you can, you know, try to be and obviously we're sinners, um, still saved by grace and still needing God's mercy every day.

So, um, but if you can pray and be doing all the things that you're earnestly seeking God. I truly feel like he'll lead you down that path of where he wants you to go and make it clear for me. It's a gradual over time thing of this is what God's will is. Um, if you got time, if we got time, I can tell you one other cool story about that.

Oh, absolutely. So moving to Minnesota or down to Iowa was another instance where we felt like for a number of months God was leading us to to move at the time We were trying to move to like Sioux Falls South Dakota area because it's kind of between My family in South Dakota my wife's family in Nebraska And so that's where we were searching But I didn't, I wasn't finding the right jobs.

Um, and I contacted a technical recruiter and he's like, I think you should apply for this company in Lamar's, Iowa. I'm like, okay, well, we'll see. And he's like, and he's like, I really think you should take this. This is a good job. I'm like, I know it is, but it's not where I want to be in like location. And he's like, well, you haven't had an interview in, you know, four or five years, so it'd be good for you to.

Kind of dust off and, and do that. And I'm like, okay, it's like, if you don't like it, you don't have to, but just take a phone interview. What's the harm? And so I did. And I just, I remember hearing stuff and being like, okay, yeah, I think I could do this. And okay, yeah, this is, it was a step up for me going into management, but I'm like, okay, yeah, I think, I think I could handle this.

Um, I get done with it. I'm like, yeah, I'd be interested in coming on site. I said, um, but my boss says, well, we can't. I said, if I can't do, you know, next, he says, well, we can't do next week. And I said, well, I can't do three weeks out because I said, my wife and I are in charge of, um, we help run our vacation Bible school and stuff.

And he just instantly goes, well, that's where I'm going to be next week is I'm volunteering and helping with our church's vacation Bible school. And then he just offers, he says, and just so you know, I'm a believer and we have, you know, this other person who works at our company is also a believer in Jesus Christ.

And so it just like, Oh, wow. Okay. Like. And as I get done with the interview, I'm like, all right, well, maybe this is where God has for me. It wasn't where I was planning to go. Um, but then we took the interview and stuff and it just, it was just one thing after another where God just opened and was like, okay, God, like I'm listening.

If this is where you have for me, it's. Might not be where I think it's supposed to go. Um, and yeah, just God, God brought us to Lamar's and he has a lot of wonderful believers that we became friends with here. And it's just been, it's been amazing to see how God provided the right house, the right place, the right company.

And again, it wasn't where I was looking, but God provided. So that's amazing. That's an awesome story. And, uh,  You mentioned vacation Bible school what kind of ministries I mean, we know you have a job you're busy Raising a family, uh, being a dad, being a husband, uh, there's a lot of duties with that, but how have you and your wife been involved also with ministries either in your church or outside of your church and why do you feel that's so important? 

Um, we kind of started with a home Bible study that then transitioned to this church. This was up in Minnesota, local, our local, um, neighborhood kids. Fell in love with our puppy. And so they wanted to come and ask to walk the dog. Well, we started at a home Bible study because we got to know the kids. And, um, so I started coming to our house on Wednesday nights, uh, as the, the, our church, which was small at the time, we've got some more families and we transitioned  it to a church. 

club on Wednesday nights. And so that's really kind of where I started serving in ministry. Um, and then through that, God kind of refined me to where, um, we started a teen group at church. And so I got to, to be the teens at church. And then, Um, we ended up both being vacation Bible school teachers, and then we became the leaders of vacation Bible school at our church.

And, uh, eventually when we moved at a point, I was even a associate pastor up in Minnesota, um, under, uh, pastor Ketchum. So. And, uh, being able to preach and share the word of God, um, just that's something I enjoy. That's something that God's blessed me with the ability to do. Um, and then we transitioned down to, to Sioux city where we've, um, again, been involved with the vacation Bible school.

I would teach the teens on Wednesday night. My wife would teach a junior church on Sunday morning. And then, uh, right now we're serving the here in Lamar's at the Lamar's Bible Church. And we're teaching on Sunday morning, uh, Sunday school class for fourth and fifth graders. So  that's awesome. You have quite the variety there of ages too.

And, uh,  that's just wonderful. Um, I guess would you, what would you,  how do I want to phrase this? If someone isn't involved in any sort of ministry. But they've kind of thought about it, even if it's, uh, just dipping their toes into getting involved with a Bible study. I guess, what would be your encouraging words of, to why they should get involved and try to serve in a ministry? 

You know, a lot of people will say, like, I'm not  capable or I've never done something like that. And one of the greatest abilities that people can have for God is availability. Meaning, if you are willing, God is more than able.  Absolutely. You know, I, the first time I ever got up to, to give a sermon message when our pastor was gone, I never got up and give a sermon message before.

Well, you're never going to be able to have a first one until you do the first one. And, you know, um, so it's just being able to be used, um, being willing to be used and understand that. People don't expect perfection. People don't expect you to be a person who, you know, my wife went to college for teaching.

I never did, but just be relatable, um, try and teach, you know, and you don't have to have all the answers. The teacher trick is, if a kid asks you a question and you don't know the answer, that's a really good question. Let's, let's look in the Bible and, you know, Come back, see if you can read it next week and we'll come back and, you know, you can, or, you know, that's a great answer.

We should, we should ask pastor about that. You know, we don't have time today, but we can, um, you don't have to have all the answers. You just have to have a heart. Um, and it, you grow a lot when you are doing the ministry, because I feel like I grow a lot more what I'm doing. Lesson plans or preparing a sermon than if I just sit back and hear it because you you delve a little bit deeper you go A little bit deeper and there's just something about that study informing it That then you get to teach it you learn and retain it a lot more after you've taught it yourself.

Yeah, I agree Uh when you teach oftentimes you're getting so much out of it yourself But also what I realize is just the connection with people. I mean, uh  You don't know who God's going to send through the doors and you don't know what they are needing. And oftentimes they just need someone to listen to them.

Uh, they just need someone to know that they care. And I think everybody who's a Christian, obviously they know Jesus cares for them and you can show that to some capacity. And, uh, I can just say personally, you and your wife, I look up to in that way. You can always tell you guys care so much about people.

And your role models for that. And my timer says we have four minutes and 20 seconds left on the zoom call. Uh, I guess I'll leave the floor to you. Uh, if you want to do another one, we can, but, uh, I guess the last thing I had was just, uh,  what is the importance of passing it on and, uh, Then you can take this wherever you want to go.

But when you think about how important it was for you to be discipled in Minnesota, now you're passing it on to others. And even in the Bible, you think about Paul. He passed on what he had to Timothy. He encouraged Timothy to pass it on to others. What is so, uh, important that we Christians don't just settle with the salvation we have, but that we look to pass it on to others? 

You know, I, I heard a great quote once that said, uh, you can pass the torch to the next generation, but every generation needs to get its own fire. Um, and I think one of the biggest things about just trying to pass God's truth on is God's given me so much and blessed me with so much and his, his word has helped me at so many different points in life that I want to share that amazing truth with other people, because I know that the way you weather storms in life is to be rooted and anchored in Jesus Christ.

Um, the,  uh,  passing it on, it's, Part of it for me is just the, I, I didn't grow up in a Christian home. I didn't have parents that, you know, that went to church and read the Bible. And I don't want to say my parents were ever, you know, bad and moral people. They weren't, uh, we just, you know, it wasn't a big part of our life.

So to be able to share that. And be able to reach into homes and lives. And my wife is very involved in a ministry called life wise, um, which teaches the Bible traits to kids, um, that are maybe go to public school, but don't go to church anywhere and things like, and, uh, also kids I do. But anyway, It's just having the heart for trying to help people wherever they're at and knowing that whatever truth that you can help them and that they receive is going to change their life and affect it in a positive way.

Um, I'm not sure if I fully answered that question. I'm trying to get it in, you know, the three minutes or so, but, um, yeah, no, you totally did. And, uh, life wise that I knew I was forgetting something in my sheet. To write down, uh, you talked a little bit about that and actually, uh, you can send me the link for that because that's a really cool organization.

And if some of you are wondering about what that is, I'll have Dan explain it a little more. I'll post the link in, uh, our episode description if you want to check that out for yourselves, but just go into that a little more in depth in case people are interested.  Okay. Um, life wise is basically something where. 

Elementary school students are able to leave, um, school, public school and go offsite and receive an hour of Bible teaching once a week. So it goes back to, there was a Supreme court ruling back in like the 1950s or sixties that protected this law against basically religious liberty. That said that, uh, as long as it's, uh, privately funded off school property and voluntary and, you know, and has parent permission, kids can go and receive, um, Bible education.

And so this was something that actually, um, school district in Minnesota had in place, but LifeWise is, was started in Ohio and it's kind of growing throughout the state. Different places, the United States. Um, so here in the Mars, my wife went to like the very first kickoff meeting for it and found out about it.

So it's, um, release time, religious instruction where they get to leave school, um, go off site, typically to a church.  And receive basically an hour of Bible training. Well, the way they do it here is the lunch recess time. They get dismissed, um, go off site and they have it for here in the Mars. They have it for first, second, and fifth grade next year.

They're going to try to expand cause our elementary schools go first through fifth. Um, but it's, it's teaching them the Bible, 

 All  right. So, uh, for those of you in the audience, I did. A poor job of planning the time so might sound a little choppy. I'll try to edit it smoothly, but Dan you can Uh talk about life wise again, because that's where we were when I cut us off  um basically, I just it's a really cool program because Kids are able to learn the Bible.

They have a different Bible story. It goes through, if it follows the entire curriculum, it'll go through the whole Bible in five years. Um, and each week they learn a different story from the Bible and they're also taught a different character trait. So from the school standpoint, the kids are learning character traits like compassion, friendship, uh, humility, um, things like that, uh, perseverance.

So they'll teach the, the story in the Bible about, Hey, this is somebody in the Bible that didn't give up and they showed perseverance. And then we're going to talk about what perseverance is and how that is, you know, a godly trait and how we can do that in the school. And so it takes the ability to Share awesome character traits that are biblically based and it uses the different stories of the bible to teach that to students So they're learning the bible while also learning different character traits that they can take back to the classroom so, uh, it's just it's a really cool program, um, and  Yeah, it's just it's it's been amazing to see um Last year they started the year At one elementary, um, one grade level at one elementary, which was about three classes, they had about 14 students sign up for the first week.

Um, and by the end of the last year, they, I think they had like 50 students because they had expanded to, um, all three elementary Schools at, at, on the first grade level. So they have about 50. And then this year they expanded to first, second, and fifth grade, which is the, the last grade. And then they started the year with I think about 72 students, uh, to start the year.

Wow. And we're.  March 1st, and I think they're at 133 kids. So they've gone in a year and a half time. They went from 14 kids the very first week up to about 133.  Uh, so God's just been blessing that it's been awesome to see, uh, how he's done that and one of the cool stories. And I don't want to, Give my wife stories away, but there's, there's kids that have never been to a church before that, you know, there's one kid that didn't even know what a church building was when they were pulling up to it.

And, uh, you know, at that same week, he's, he's asking, what is this building that we're going to? He's telling the bus driver, all the cool things he learned about, you know, God at, at the, at LifeWise that week. So, uh, yeah.  You know, you see a lot of, I think my wife, they did a survey and like over a third of the kids that go to life wise here in Lamar family said, like, we don't go to church anywhere.

Like that's not part of our regular thing. So you're able to reach kids that maybe don't go to a one or go to like a Wednesday night kids, Bible study program. Um, and be able to reach them because. You're taking away some of the barriers of entry of, well, I don't have to take the kids anywhere. They don't have to do this.

It's no cost. They just pay, you give up a recess and you get to go offsite and do these activities and learn about God. And it's just in that sense, it's, it's helping to reach and give the gospel to kids and homes that might not otherwise really ever seek that out. So that's really one of the awesome things about it. 

That sounds amazing, like if I could go to that, that sounds like I would enjoy that a lot. Uh,  man, that's awesome. I mean, kids,  like you said, you're taking the Bible truth, but also those, uh, either character traits or just some of a principle that they can take and learn. And  as you said, too, that might be some of them, the only opportunity they get to know Jesus or even get to hear about the Bible or.

Have someone invest in them and know that wow, they're taking time to care about me. Uh, That's awesome. That just sounds like a really cool program. I know I looked at it Uh when lindy shared it with me, but i'll have to look deeper into that. That sounds awesome So  well dan, I really appreciate you doing this with me Unless you have anything else I think we're good here.

Yeah, no, thank you for, for asking me. It's been a, it's been wonderful to share my testimony. I love being able to share what God, you know, God saved a sinner like me. And I always, when people ask you, do you want to share your testimony? I'm absolutely, um, you know, let me, let me brag on God for a bit. Cause it's, he's just been amazing.

Um, the grace, um, for not only salvation, salvation is the biggest thing, but then what God can do with a life, um, you know, and I'm, I'm not sitting here saying I'm this, this great super saint, but he, he's really transformed my life. He's guided me and my life with God is so much better than it was before.

And I'm, I'm just thankful for every day that he's, he's given me. So absolutely. There's such great power in a changed life that Jesus has changed such great power in someone's story. And today you got to hear Dan's. So toodles and happy trails until we meet again.