Joshua 24:15- "As for me and my horse, we will serve the Lord."
Howdy Folks! Come on in!
My name is Randy. I am a Cowboy and Minister of God's Word from Southern Oregon. I am also a Father, Grandfather, Auctioneer, Saddle maker, and I help my oldest son and his family on the ranch here.
I am building this website in addition to the one being made for my ministry, "I Ride For The Brand" Ministries. You can find more info there. I will soon be adding my testimony on the "FAITH WALK" or Pilgrimage the Lord took me on along with other stories of faith from people like YOU... at, www.irideforthebrand.org
My story starts several years back... I grew up in a large mid-western family. I have 5 brothers and 4 sisters. My parents raised the 10 of us attending a small town Nazarene church. When I was a young teen we were near the end of a week long Revival when I asked the Lord, Jesus Christ, into my heart and was saved. What a great evening that was, I remember my grandmother was very excited also. By the time I was 17, a senior in high school I was married and we had an infant son. After high school I went into the army and injured my back. At 19 I had the first major back surgery that put me out of commission for almost 2 years. I was in a body cast for over 6 months. I got a real bad attitude about how unfair life was. After that 2 year period I went back to work but my attitude didn't change much and within a few years I turned my back on God, my wife, and the church. I never quit believing in God, but I was angry and I just didn't see what He had to do with my life at that time. It was all about survival to me.. MY Survival.
My life was a roller coaster for awhile. I spent most of my free time drinking, running around, sleeping around and it always left me feeling the same... empty and hollow. Eventually I married again. That was short lived as it was never meant to be. After a couple years I married a 3rd time and we had a few more children. Then my back gave out again, requiring two more surgeries. This time it left me disabled but it took over a year for disability to kick in so I used up all of my savings to live on and pay bills. By the time that money was gone, so was the marriage. That same year my father died. Life just was not coming up roses but the one bright spot in my life, always, was my children.
Fast forward to 1999, between then and 2003 I had 7 more back surgeries and I was on pain medications and muscle relaxers just to function on a daily basis. Also, I couldn't walk more than 100 yards on flat ground without having excruciating pain in my lower back, my hip, or both. Not to many years later my life hit bottom! I felt life couldn't get any worse. Just when I felt no one cared... the Lord reached out to me. He did it using a 5 yr old child, my granddaughter. Within a few weeks I was attending church regularly and that fall I recommitted my life to the Lord and was Baptized on my birthday, December 8. Since then my life has been a series of glorious happenings, revelations, and events that can only be explained as God given. I witnessed no less than 2 miracles within the first 12 months. Our Lord blessed me in so many ways. I felt so unworthy of this kind of love and attention and at times I wasn't sure how to deal with it. But because of this my faith in Him grew ever stronger with the passing of each week...month... year.
Jesus had been wanting to get my attention, to tell me something else... something He wanted me to do. I was not listening as I should have been so in November 2008 My Lord took me on what I can only be described as a "FAITH WALK". Jesus wanted to get my attention and talk with me and He did just that in a way only He could do... in a way only He could make happen in some of the most rugged country in the Pacific Northwest. Then two weeks after returning home from that trip my brother, Mike, had a heart attack and died. He was just 1 1/2 years older than I am. I love all my siblings but Mike and I had always been very close. It was a devastating blow after such an awesome time with Christ Jesus...
Please, take a moment and visit my Ministry website, www.irideforthebrand.org and read more about this "FAITH WALK". Part of what the Lord put on my heart that day was that I was to share this exciting, miraculous event, and share His Truth, His Word of Hope, Love, and Faith in a most unique way.
Are YOU ready to Ride for the Brand?... Let's Ride for the Lord!
Philippians 1:21- "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
IF you need a Bible and cannot afford one please email me with your address and I'll gladly send you one for free
Here is the link to my ministry website and my home church
http://www.irideforthebrand.org
May God bless and keep you always!
Romans 12:1- "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."