Almost two years ago, my life took a major turn when I attended the Men’s Advance II, a men’s retreat that was hosted by a ministry called Heart of a Warrior. At the advance (real men don’t retreat), I witnessed the Holy Spirit move in the hearts of over 200 men, myself included. Since then, my walk with the Lord has been more exciting and richer than ever.

This year, the Advance III is being held September 26-28 at Big Sandy Camp in McGregor, MN. Information about the event, as well as how to register, can be found here. From the website, here are the feature speakers:

John Turnipseed

John Turnipseed is a product of violence on the streets and in prison, and his goal now is to instill a conscience back into society and in our culture. Currently, 30 members of his immediate family are in prison, 10 of those for first-degree murder. John’s work with Urban Ventures has made him a role model in the community, and a film is currently being made about his life.

Frank Bower

Frank Bower is a former enforcer for the Gambino crime family in New York. Money, power and business were the “norm” for Frank in his work for Mob boss John Gotti. After serving time in prison, God had a different plan and began to dramatically work in Frank Bower’s life. He is now pastor of the Family Prayer Center Rehab, helping hundreds of hurting people each year. Frank remains a “tough guy”, participating in the sport of Ultimate Fighting around the nation.

Greg Bourgond

Greg Bourgond serves as the Vice President of Operations and Strategic Initiatives at Bethel Seminary. His heart and passion are in the areas of leadership development, spiritual formation and legacy. He is founder and president of Heart of a Warrior Ministries. Greg has held senior positions in the navy, numerous independent businesses, several churches, and now in the educational field. Greg earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Chapman university, a Master’s of Divinity and a Doctorate of Ministry from Bethel Seminary, and an Educational Doctorate in Instructional Technology and Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University.

Josh Kessler

Josh Kessler is Senior Pastor of Good Shepard United Brethren Church in Huntington, Indiana. Formerly Groups Pastor at Eaglebrook Church, Josh has a heart for men’s ministry. Josh has such a devotion for helping men make changes in their lives that he is making the trip from Indiana to Minnesota just to be a part of Advance III

To all men: please consider attending this year. It will be a weekend of dynamic speakers and great competition, but most of all come to experience the call of God on your life.

It’s been a little bit since I’ve bothered to post something here. Mea culpa. It’s been busy at my work, and…Ok, fine, there’s no excuse.

So, I’ll try hard. At the very least, I owe it to Blogger, what with them making the easy-to-use software and all.

Anyway, we had a small house fire this week. I know, the word “small” doesn’t do much to negate the term “house fire” very much. “House fire” has a certain weight to it that you don’t brush away just because you tack on the word “small” in front of it. That’s kind of like “teeny cancer” or “miniscule chance of certain death.”

On Tuesday, I came home to find Ian in the yard. From the street, his demeanor seemed off. He wasn’t playing so much as just standing in the yard. When I pulled up to the driveway, he started yelling something, very emphatically. Then, Deb poked her head out of the house and was yelling. This wasn’t the “Daddy’s home!” type of yelling that I get, it was much more alarming.

As soon as I got out of the truck, Deb informed me that she had smelled smoke, and had called the fire department. As soon as the words sunk in, two police cars arrived. I don’t care what you say, having policemen come to your house is never a good thing. They never show up to say that things are fine, that you have been obeying the laws or that they’ve got ice cream for you. It would be nice if they would do that once in a while.

After I had gotten my head around the fact that there were policemen at my house , and they had no ice cream, the fire trucks arrived. Trucks. Not one truck, but a normal sized one, plus a hook-and-ladder. If I thought that the police were alarming, then I needed to redefine that word. Then, “alarming” got another upgrade when one of the firefighters walking into my home with an axe. While we were waiting for the firemen to come outside and tell us everything was fine, Ian got to get into the fire truck, which is cool no matter what age you are. Big kudos to the young man who helped take his mind off the notion that his home could be burning down.

The commander came out a little while later and informed us that the fire was in the dryer vent, and that they were going to try to get to it through the outside vent. If they couldn’t do that, then they would have to try to get to it through the ceiling in the basement. The picture of that axe back in my mind, and “alarming” leveled up again.

The alarming got it’s finale when we asked if we could go in and get a coat for Deb and our car keys. The fireman we were asking radioed in to the two that were investigating, and got a reply that no, we could not go into our own house. Let me state that again. We were in a situation where we were not being allowed into our own house. I’m not trying to insinuate that the firemen were doing anything wrong; I’m thankful that they came so quickly and that they were looking out for our best interest. I’ve just never been forbidden to go into my own home before, and it made me realize just how tenuous that ownership is.

Eventually, we were able to talk with the commander about the situation. It was a small fire in our dryer vent, caused by a buildup of lint, plus the fact that the dryer isn’t vented properly. Deb and I have noticed that the dryer isn’t always very effective, and that it tends to shut off on occasion. We had Minnegasco out a few months ago (January? perhaps). The “expert” looked at our dryer and venting situation, and after cleaning lint out of the dryer, proclaimed it safe and fine. I blew out the vent with a leaf blower, hoping that doing that would improve things. But, the fireman confirmed our suspicions: the dryer would need to be re-vented in order to be safe. Within a distance of 24 inches, there were four corners in the venting path. That, plus the fact that it goes down to get to the outside, instead of going up, was the main of the fire.

Also, the firemen noticed that there was a kink in the gas line to the dryer. If the line was bent again, there would have been a hole in the line, would would probably had been deadly.

Deb and I are very thankful. We’re thankful first and foremost to God, who was looking out for us. If we hadn’t had this small fire, we could have all died from a gas leak or an explosion. We’re thankful to the fire and police departments of Burnsville. They were professional, kind and did their job perfectly. We’re also thankful to our friends and neighbors. We had many calls and offers from people who were concerned for our safety, and who want to help.