Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/1323250
hopelessness, he saw forgiveness and hope. Where I saw shame, God saw a beautiful daughter whom he loved. So many people have told me that my story inspired them that I decided to write a book about my journey and the lessons I learned on the trip. The book, titled Two-Wheeled Wind Therapy, is being published by Road Dog Publications and will be out before summer. I have also created a website where visitors can see photos of my summer trip and weekend adventures, read a humorous story about me failing my first skills test, read press articles about my battles and triumphs, and contact me. Perhaps the biggest lesson I have learned is that God's ability to bless us is beyond what we can possibly imagine. He can use all of our struggles, doubts, and fears to teach us to experience confidence, joy, and hope again. He can take what looks like broken pieces of a life and put them back together to form something more beautiful than what we started with. I hope that the pain and difficulties I experienced can somehow be used for good. That perhaps others will read my story and realize that there is always hope, that it is possible to overcome fears and triumph through adversity. That, with God, anything is possible. b Watch for more photos and Kathleen's new book https://kathleenterner.com/ "Come Ride With Me" Big Chris Berman Greater San Diego RD I grew up in the high desert with my mom, my stepdad and three siblings. We did not grow up wealthy. Some might say that we were poor, but I can tell you that my dad did everything for his family and not for himself and I can tell you that all four of us had a wonderful childhood thanks to our parents. Out of the four of us, I was the meanest among my siblings. It is only by the grace of God that they still talk to me today. My mom and my grandmother used to take us kids to a Catholic church where I was an altar boy until I was thirteen. After that I really can't remember going back to church unless it was Christmas. I never did well in school, but when I turned eighteen I decided I was done with partying with my friends. I knew I was on a course that would end up with me being in prison. I decided to call my dad who lived in Lompoc to ask if I could come and live with him. I needed to get away from everything that I was doing. I told him I did not want to end up in jail and so of course he said yes. After being in Lompoc for some time, I once again started getting into trouble and ended up going to jail off and on for a few years. That just goes to show, the things that were happening to me in the high desert were not because of the people I was hanging out with as much as it was just me and the willingness of others to go along with me. I wasn't the victim, it was the devil using me to drag other people down. While doing the devil's bidding, I met my wife in 1996 at a liquor store. Somehow, she has stuck beside me through all that I was doing. It was her that brought me to God and God brought her to me to straighten me out. The last time I went to jail, she told me "one more time" and she was leaving. She just couldn't handle what I was doing with my life. I'm happy to say that was a new beginning for me and I have not been back to the old ways since 1998. We started our family and after our daughter turned one year old, we moved to the High Desert for work. It was there that I ended up hanging around with an MC who spent a lot of time at the shop where I got my bike worked on. I became close friends with the guys there. During that time, I also started helping some guys in a motorcycle ministry. They didn't judge me or try to tell me how to live. They just shared their lives with me. Some of them started coming over to my house after work and one day they asked me I if I wanted to go to a church where they were going to support a "trunk or treat" for the kids on Halloween. I went, but on the way home I was riding my bike and I heard a voice in my head saying, "Come ride with me!" I had no idea what I was hearing. The following day (Sunday), my family and I went back to the church for their services and we all felt something pulling on our hearts. We began our relationship with God that day and even though it was not easy, we pushed forward and grew stronger and closer to Jesus. Things started changing in our lives for the better. Our finances increased, our peace and happiness increased and our relationship with each other increased! Life wasn't perfect but God was working in us and on us and things were definitely very different and better! For example, I lost my job. My boss did everything he could to keep me but it just wasn't happening. He felt horrible about having to let me go but I told him that I understood and that "God has this. He has a plan for me!" The following day, less than twenty-four hours later, he told me about a really good job offer in San Diego! Not only was this a fast answer to prayer, but an opportunity to share with my old boss how GOD had provided for my family's needs. b