Monthly Archives: September 2024

unrecognizable travelers exploring rocky mountains in picturesque national park

Lost in the Australian Outback: A Lesson in Justice

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The bus rolled to a stop. Dust settled in the heat of the Australian outback. “Wilpena Pound,” said Mr. Hughes, our teacher in charge. He didn’t waste words, just nodded toward the jagged peaks beyond. We were 429 kilometers from Adelaide, and this was our final school camp. A group of 100 students, all eager for adventure, surrounded by ancient mountains.

My friend Josh nudged me, his parents were staying at the motel nearby. “Dinner tonight?” he whispered. I nodded. We didn’t need permission. It was just a meal. A quick escape from the crowd. Little did we know, that one choice would change everything.

The camp setup was simple. Tents scattered on uneven ground, no amenities, no safety net. We’d begin a six-hour hike across the Pound at dawn. The Pound was no joke, known for its rugged peaks and thick scrub. People had gotten lost here before. Some never came back. But we didn’t think of that. We were young. Invincible, we thought.

Chapter 2: The Mistake

Dinner at the motel was quiet, private. Josh’s parents welcomed us like family. I felt relief, sitting in the comfort of a soft chair, the smell of warm food filling the room. Just as we started eating, the door swung open.

Mr. Hughes stood there. His eyes locked onto me. No words. He walked over, grabbed my arm, and pulled me from the table. Josh froze. I couldn’t speak. Hughes dragged me outside, threw me toward the tents.

“Camp rules aren’t suggestions,” he said. His voice was cold. “You’re responsible. Act like it.”

I didn’t argue. I knew better. But deep down, the injustice burned.

The night was restless. Thoughts of the next day filled my mind. The hike, the danger, and the heavy weight of leading a group. Yet, part of me was consumed by that moment in the restaurant. It wasn’t about breaking the rules. It was about dignity. And Hughes had stripped that from me.

Chapter 3: Lost in the Pound

Morning came too soon. We were split into groups, each led by a student. I was one of them. The path wasn’t clear. The terrain was wild, untamed. But I hid my fear. We set off, six of us, navigating the rough, unforgiving land.

Hours passed. We saw no one. No other groups, no signs of life. The sun was merciless, our water supplies shrinking. The thought of being lost started to creep in.

“We need to climb,” I said, pointing to the highest peak. From there, we could get our bearings. The others followed, silent. The air was thick with tension. We reached the peak, but what we saw was worse than I imagined.

Hills. Endless hills. The start of our journey was miles behind us, and the destination was nowhere in sight. My heart sank. The truth hit hard: we were lost in the Pound.

“Let’s head back,” I said, keeping my voice steady. But inside, I felt the weight of responsibility, the danger closing in.

Chapter 4: The Escape

We ran. No time to think. The scrub tore at our legs, the sun beating down. We retraced our steps, the motel and campgrounds our only hope. Hours passed, exhaustion setting in. The wind began to change. A storm was coming.

The first drop of rain fell just as we reached the motel. I stumbled into the lobby, gasping for air. Josh’s parents rushed to us, their faces a mix of shock and relief. The staff brought food. We sat down, shaking from hunger and fear.

As I ate, the irony hit me. The night before, I had been dragged out of this same place. Now, I sat there, safe, while Hughes was out in the storm, searching for us. The weight of what had happened settled over me. We had survived. Barely. But Hughes didn’t know that.

Chapter 5: Justice in the Rain

The storm raged through the night. Thunder echoed in the mountains. I imagined Mr. Hughes, soaked, searching for us in the dark. His arrogance and control, stripped away by the elements.

I slept soundly that night. In the morning, the smell of a cooked breakfast filled the room. I ate slowly, savoring each bite. I couldn’t help but feel that justice had worked its way through the events.

By the time Hughes returned, soaked and exhausted, we were gone. The storm had passed, and so had the power he had held over me.

In those moments, I learned something. Right and wrong aren’t always clear in the moment, but they balance out in the end. Hughes, so sure of his control, spent the night lost in the rain. I, the rule-breaker, sat warm and fed.

The Pound didn’t just test us physically. It tested our sense of justice, our strength in facing what’s unfair. In the end, I didn’t need to speak. The storm had done its job.

Podcast about Guardian Angels

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The Accident and the Unseen.

This week on the podcast, I want to answer one of my favorite questions: Do we have guardian angels? It’s something we hear about all the time. People make references, they talk about being watched over, but is there truth to it? Do we have angels looking out for us?

John never thought much about angels until the night his life was nearly taken from him. He had been on a football trip to Crystal Brook, a small town north of Adelaide, playing with his local team. On the way back, he accepted a ride from his friend’s father, who had been drinking all day.

John had fallen asleep in the car. It was late, and the soft hum of the road lulled him into unconsciousness. What woke him was not gentle. It was the violent impact of metal and glass. The father had veered into the wrong lane and collided with a semi-trailer.

John should have died that night. The side of the car he was sleeping on was smashed in. The doctors later told him it was a miracle he survived. And as he sat there, dazed but alive, he felt something strange. A calm, peaceful feeling, as if he wasn’t alone.

Some might say it was the shock. But John couldn’t shake the idea that something, or someone, had intervened. Was it luck, or something more? He remembered the words from a podcast he once heard, about how Jesus says in Revelation 1 that He has sent angels to watch over His church.

Could it be? Could there really be guardian angels?

Chapter 2: A Miracle or Just Coincidence?

After the accident, John found himself questioning everything. He had always believed in God, but angels? That seemed far-fetched. Yet, he couldn’t forget the peace he felt after the crash, like someone had been there, watching over him.

He shared his thoughts with Matt, his skeptical friend. “Do you really think you have a guardian angel?” Matt asked with a smirk. “I mean, come on, people get in car accidents every day. Some make it, some don’t. You just got lucky.”

“Maybe,” John replied. “But something about that night felt different. It felt like I wasn’t alone.” He hesitated before adding, “I heard this guy on a podcast once talk about how the Bible says angels watch over us. He quoted Matthew 18:10, where Jesus says, ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones. I tell you that in heaven, their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.’”

Matt shrugged. “That sounds like a stretch. But if it makes you feel better, who am I to argue?”

John didn’t push the point. He knew Matt would never believe without proof. But as he reflected on the podcast, he remembered the speaker had said something profound: Our hope is not in angels, but in the Lord who sends them.

Chapter 3: The Rich Man and the Reality of Spiritual Things

John’s work often took him to the homes of the wealthy. One of his regular clients was an extremely rich man, whose fortune could buy anything, even a French artist to paint gold leaf on the ceilings of his mansion. But despite all the money, John always sensed an emptiness in the man’s life.

One year, the man was diagnosed with cancer. His children began fighting over his wealth, and the house became a place of tension and anger. John tried to keep his distance, but one day, the man asked him to sit down for a chat.

They sat at the kitchen table, the man smoking a cigarette. “You know,” he said, “the doctors called it a modern-day miracle. They said I wouldn’t make it through last year, but here I am. My cancer’s in remission, and even my kids have calmed down.”

John thought back to the podcast. Do we have guardian angels? the speaker had asked. Could this man’s recovery be part of something larger?

“It’s funny,” John said after a moment, “I was just thinking about how Jesus said angels watch over us. Maybe you had some help you didn’t even know about.”

The man chuckled, but there was a seriousness in his eyes. “Maybe.”

Chapter 4: Signs in Everyday Life

Later that week, John was at the hairdresser’s when the conversation turned to Bill Gates. His hairdresser, a man from Cyprus, began telling him about a local tradition. “Back home, if someone wants to bless you, they’ll take a piece of your hair and nail it to a tree. As the tree grows, you’ll prosper. It’s like having a guardian.”

John smiled. “Like a guardian angel?”

“Exactly,” the hairdresser replied. “We believe the trees watch over us, just like angels might.”

John left the shop, his mind buzzing with connections. Could these old traditions, these stories, all point to something real? Something spiritual, unseen, but present? The testimony of Jesus Christ says He has sent angels to watch over His church, John remembered from the podcast. Was it possible that angels were watching over him, even now?

Chapter 5: Faith and the Unseen

The idea of guardian angels had become more than just a passing thought for John. He was beginning to see signs everywhere. The car accident, the rich man’s recovery, even the hairdresser’s story about trees and blessings. But doubt still lingered.

John found himself in church one Sunday, sitting quietly as the pastor spoke. His mind drifted to something else the podcast had said: When you’re gathered for public worship, you are not just in the presence of God, you are in the presence of the angels that the Lord has sent to watch over His church.

He looked around the room. Could it be true? Could angels really be there, unseen but present? It was a glorious thought, but also unsettling. What if they were real? What if they had been there all along, watching him, protecting him?

As the service ended, John realized that belief in angels wasn’t about proof or evidence. It was about faith. The Bible spoke of angels, not just as symbols, but as real beings sent to guard God’s people.

John walked out of the church, feeling a sense of peace, the same peace he had felt after the accident. Maybe, just maybe, angels were real. But whether they were or not, he knew one thing for sure: His ultimate hope wasn’t in angels. It was in the One who sent them.

person on kayak under blue and white sky

Motivation Coach buys a Kayak

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“Let me introduce myself for those who have not met me before.
My name is Andrew, and I am a new ideas coach.”

Standing before the crowd, Andrew paused. He scanned the room.
His voice was steady but reflective, shaped by years of self-discovery.

“I coach people into believing they are about to get inspired by a new idea. This motivates me the most. I love the power of new ideas.”

The audience listened closely. Andrew had their attention.

“This is the story of how I got myself motivated. It took me more than three years. But here I am…inspired and motivated. Because I found the secret.”

He paused again.

“Well, it was a secret to me. The key to believing was what I looked for all my life.
It’s like losing your car keys and finding them again. I lost my way, and then I rediscovered the path.”

That path, Andrew explained, had started unexpectedly. When he turned fifty, he found himself in a crisis. It wasn’t dramatic; no single event triggered it. He bought a kayak, designed a sail, and spent his Sundays on the peaceful waters of Moreton Bay.
For a while, it worked. The early mornings were soothing.
The ocean stretched out before him, silent and still. But then, one day, that feeling left.

“I WAS LOSING INTEREST IN EVERYTHING,” Andrew said, raising his voice slightly to emphasize the depth of that moment. “WHAT AN ANTI-CLIMAX.”

The crowd nodded in understanding. He didn’t need to elaborate; they’d all been there at some point—when the things that once brought joy lost their spark.

“I realized I needed something more. A project. A purpose.”

He let those words hang in the air, then quietly added, “It only took me five years to figure out what that was.”

Chapter 2: The Turning Point

Andrew explained that it was February 2011 when everything began to shift. At fifty-five, he knew he had to change, to break free from the slight depression that had gripped him for too long. That was when the experiment began.

“I started waking up happy,” he said simply. “I realized that people around me were changing their circumstances by committing to something they believed in. They enrolled in university courses, studied hard, and emerged transformed—teachers, dentists, accountants. All because they believed.”

The audience leaned in. Andrew’s voice was calming but firm, as if each word was carefully chosen for impact.

“That’s when I decided I needed to find my ‘believing switch,’” he said, pausing. “And turn it on.”

He spoke about the plan he created. He watched a friend immerse himself in books during a university course and noticed how the act of reading transformed him. That’s when Andrew had his own epiphany: books and words had power.

“I thought, if universities can use books to change people into professionals, then I can use books to change myself.”

Chapter 3: The University of Believing

Andrew’s “university” was unconventional. There were no lecture halls or professors, just shelves filled with books on motivation, self-esteem, believing, wisdom, and relationships. He spent three years studying them religiously, reading the same ones over and over.

“I became a student again,” he said, smiling. “Except my classroom was my living room, and my lectures were the words on those pages.”

He shared how his plan was simple but powerful. He wasn’t just reading for the sake of it; he was absorbing each word, letting the ideas sink in. He treated every book like a stepping stone, every motivational speaker he listened to like a guide.

“For three years, I immersed myself in positivity. And something shifted inside me.”

The audience was quiet, the weight of his words settling in. They could see it—this wasn’t just a story; it was a blueprint for change.

“I found my believing switch, and once it was on, everything made sense.”

Chapter 4: A New Identity

By the time Andrew had finished his self-imposed three-year course, he was a new man.

“Alright, I admit,” he chuckled, “I’m a self-appointed ideas coach. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m happy, I’m motivated, and I’m helping people.”

He recounted the first time someone had reached out to thank him for his insights. An email from someone named Bobi Jo had landed in his inbox. It wasn’t long, but the impact was huge.

“She said my book, ‘I Love Your New Idea’ was invigorating. She said it removed all her doubts. It made her believe in herself again. And that, my friends, was when I realized something: I was no longer just a student. I was a teacher.”

The audience erupted in applause. Andrew stood tall, but he quickly motioned for silence.

“The reason I’m telling you this isn’t to boast. It’s to remind you that this power—this switch—it’s in all of us.”

Chapter 5: Believing and Becoming

As the applause died down, Andrew took a deep breath. He’d been waiting for this moment—the climax of his story.

“After three years, I learned that believing isn’t just an idea. It’s an action. It’s a choice. It’s a switch that we must turn on and keep on.”

He spoke about the importance of persistence. Just as a student doesn’t give up after the first difficult class, we can’t abandon our journey to believing after the first obstacle.

“Belief,” he said softly, “is the foundation of every new idea.”

And just like that, the path Andrew had walked became a map for others to follow.

“I hope you’ll join me,” he concluded. “In believing, in becoming, and in discovering that new idea waiting inside of you.”

The room was still. Everyone was captivated by Andrew’s wisdom, knowing they’d just witnessed a man who had not only found his way—but had unlocked the key for others to do the same.