Category Archives: My Life Story

Prayer Ministry

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Not long before we were divorced, we got a flier in the mail advertising Majestic Oaks Community Church. We decided that since it seemed like a very good church and was closer than where we were going, we would start going there. I really liked it, but she was skeptical. So, as soon as we were divorced, I stayed and she went back to where we were previously going.

Majestic Oaks was a very praying church, thanks to the pastor’s heart; and the church kept me in their prayers. I think it was just a few weeks into my divorce that I began to get a desire to do more in the area of prayer—like maybe organizing pray requests or something. One day, while helping the pastor build his house, I expressed my desire about a prayer ministry with him. And he immediately wanted me to take over and develop the church prayer ministry. So, I did.

I started by becoming a deacon. That helped me to bring my new ministry into view and to get the support of the church leaders.  I was encouraged to lead in all the activities that had to do with prayer. I led the pray meeting that met early Sunday morning before we started setting up for church. We were meeting in a theater and so we had to set up all the sound equipment, etc.

I was also encouraged by an elder to read a book by Wesley Duewel, Mighty Prevailing Prayer. It was just what I needed to really get me motivated in prayer. I also read all of E. M. Bounds’ little books, seven in all. I kept reading more and more books on prayer; I felt so encouraged that I decided that I would summarize and extrapolate what I read into a short teaching on prayer. And each Sunday I inserted that prayer teaching into the church bulletin. I think many of our people read it.

Soon I began holding a mid-week prayer meeting. We had singing with a guitar, a time of teaching on prayer, and, of course, a time of prayer and also a time of fellowship with treats. I loved it, and other did too.

We also had a prayer chain. My idea was to get people praying as soon as possible for each prayer concern that came up. I tried to encourage them to pray immediately and to pass the requests on immediately so that it would go all the way around the chain very quickly. Many didn’t like it and even suggested that it was a form of gossip; but I fought against it. We were not to talk about the prayer requests, just to pray over them.

The prayer ministry lasted as long as the church lasted—about six years after I got there. As I previously wrote, sin inflicted the pastor and his marriage and the church disbanded. But we don’t always know what happens in hearts and how God works. For those believers who love Him He will always work things out for good. That prayer ministry will, I’m sure, produce good fruit, as He intended. Sometimes we don’t know what we may have done or said to plant a seed in a heart. The war continues for all believers, good against evil. Some battles are won, some are lost; but in the end victory is won; and through it all we will discover that the incense of our prayers made a big difference.

Divorced: Disaster Hit Hard!

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I remember so well the day I went to see a divorce lawyer. It was the day of the big snow storm on Halloween, 1991. On my way there a car slid into my lane right in front of me—a head on collision. My truck was badly damaged, yet I made it to the lawyer’s office. I realize now that I should have taken it as a sign not to go—because I got a bad deal. I guess it was partly my fault, because I wanted to pay as much Child Support as possible—for the kids.

But the way it worked out, no way could I afford what was set up, because of the downturn in my business. The next couple years was a disaster. My truck was totaled and I had to get another vehicle. I decided to go out of business, and I went to work as a Union painter for a big company. But I was laid off after 60 days, because they didn’t want to start paying me union dues. It was a big scam.

Even though I was working out of the trunk of an old beater—all I could afford—I decided to go back into my business. Then the next disaster struck: one of my guys fell off a ladder and broke his arm. He was patched up, but my insurance when sky high. What next? I decided to get rid of most of my employees to save me the cost of insurance.

Anyway, it was rough for a while and I wasn’t able to pay most of my monthly child support bill. So, I went way into debt, owing Child Support a lot of money. After a few years I finely got a good lawyer and was able to reduce my payment to what I could afford. I was about $55,000 in debt to them, but eventually, even while paying my monthly regular payment, I was able to pay it all off.

During that rough time, though I felt discouraged, I was seeking the Lord. Not only was I attending a good church, I was very much involved in the prayer ministry. In fact, the pastor wanted me to take over the ministry. So I did, for the next seven years. It was a great experience. Then disaster happened in that church and I had to move on. I’ll just say that the pastor fell into sin and eventually the church disbanded.

I quickly found another church—Long Lake Community Church—and was there for the next three years. It was there that I was encouraged to get into the Billy Graham telephone ministry. That was so much fun, and I was privileged to lead many to Christ over the phone.

After that time, I felt led back to Grace Church Roseville. I had gone there a few years earlier and I knew a few people who were still there. The main reason I was drawn back there is because I had heard that they had a divorce recovery group, which they called “Single Again.” I really liked the group, and I became a leader. I was on the leadership team (four of us) for about 5 or 6 years. It was a great experience.

Married and Divorced

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This is where I live now, but seven years ago. It’s a little messy.

It all went by so fast. We were married in 1985 and divorced in 1991. Though it seemed like such a waste, I do have some good memories. One of the best memories were the times we rented a cabin for a few days and did some fishing. I also enjoyed dinner times when my wife would cook a big meal. She loved cooking and there was always plenty left. And then I remember the father-daughter dance. Justina, my daughter loved it. To tell you the truth, most of the marriage years were happy years—at least for me. It was those last years that kind of went downhill.

Anyway, as I said previously, out of the blue she asked me to leave. She suggested that I go live with my mom, but I couldn’t do that. I was too old for that. So, I looked for an apartment, and God supplied my needs almost immediately. It was a very nice two-bedroom unit, and right away I had plans to get some roomers to help with the rent—and I got three roommates. I put two in one room and one with me. Funny, I lived there for about three or four years, but I have no memory of the room mates, just that they were there helping me with the rent.  I guess that tells you something about who I am. I’ll leave it at that.

I don’t remember exactly what happened, only that I had to move. I quickly found another place with Gloria. She was a very nice older lady who was renting out a room, and I was welcome to use her kitchen and stove and fridge. Nice. I think I stayed there with Gloria for about four years and then she kicked me out for another guy; I think it was someone she knew. I didn’t ask any questions; I just moved.

I quickly found another two-bedroom apartment (pictured). I also found a roommate—James. He stayed with me for quite a while—about 7 or 8 years. I have many memories of James. He liked to sit and play his guitar. He also was quite a collector of Volkswagen model cars. Oh, he had boxes and boxes of model cars in his bedroom. He had hardly any room to walk around. He also would buy and sell and trade things at garage sales and flea markets. That was kind of his side business. I could tell it was fun for him, and I liked talking to him about all that stuff. Eventually, I talked him into moving somewhere else, because of some issues he had, and well, I just thought it was for the best. I guess he understood, because we are still friends.

Well, I am still living in that apartment. I have been there for 20 years now. I use the extra room for an office. Though I kind of miss having roommates, I like the freedom and the solitude. I don’t mind living alone at all. And I still work and get out and see people.

One of the great disappointments about the divorce is that I only got to see my kids once a week for a couple hours. I would usually pick them up and we would go out to eat at a family restaurant; and then we would spend the rest of the time at a park. They enjoyed running around, but I didn’t so much. They always wanted to play “monster.” That is where I would be the monster and would chase after them. They didn’t realize that I had been working all day and was tired. Oh well. It was worth it.

My Marriage: What Went Wrong?

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All I can think of when it came to our marriage is a maze. We were caught in a maze. And we couldn’t find our way through—at least that’s the way it was for me. We set the date for a wedding, and so there were definite things to do to get ready. For my part, I had to find a place to live. Where I lived just wasn’t big enough for the two of us, and for the baby coming. Eventually, I found a rental townhouse that we both liked, and I moved in early to get things ready.

For her part, there was the wedding. I can’t remember being into it that much, but she was, and so was her mother. So, I guess I just agreed to everything.

To get off on the right foot, I thought a surprise honeymoon would be good. So, I went and talked to a travel agent and planned the whole thing—to the Bahamas for a week.

Let’s see, what next? Oh yea, the wedding. It went off without a hitch. No problems—that I remember. I helped move the bride in with me, and then we left for the Bahamas. She loved the whole experience, but not me so much. I was sick the whole time. It was like the flu, but different. I just think my system wasn’t use to being married; and I wasn’t adjusting well to my new bride. She was so different that me—younger and more extraverted. Yet I was confident that things would be fine—just fine.

After we got back from the Bahamas, I was anxious to get back to a normal life—my life. (Interestingly, just after she announced that she wanted me out, she said that the honeymoon was wonderful, but everything after that was terrible. She couldn’t think of one thing about our marriage that she liked.) So, I gave myself to my work, house painting. And I found that the harder I worked the better I felt—about myself and about life. But my regular job wasn’t enough. I also took up woodworking. With the baby coming soon, I would make a few things for the baby. I made a changing table, a little desk and chair, and a few other things. I felt I could do anything, and the extra work was making me feel good.

Oh, there were so many things I was involved in. In the evening I took a class at Bethel Seminary. I intended to finish my Seminary degree, but it didn’t work out. Oh well. I also decided to teach a first grade Sunday School class at church. We both did that for a long time—about five years.

What else? Oh, the kids. Yea, the kids were great. Four kids came to us: a girl, then a boy, then another boy, then another girl. I loved (love) all our kids, but she was tired of having them. And, as it turned out, she was tired of me. Out of the blue, even before the fourth baby came, she asked me for a divorce. What happened?

To this day, 39 years later, she still hasn’t told me why she wanted a divorce. She kept insisting that I knew and that she shouldn’t have to tell me. But whatever her reasons are, I have my own ideas of why the marriage went sour. Here are seven reasons:

1. I didn’t guard my purity. When I first met her and encountered her sexual advances, I should have been more guarded and backed away. If I would have done that it would have saved me from a bad marriage.

2. Too many differences. Our personalities are very different; our likes and dislikes are different; and I am 11 years older than her. The only thing that was similar was our natural attraction to each other.

3. Our spiritual levels were different. I had been a Christian for about 23 years and she had been saved for only a few months. My quiet times each day were (are) very important to me, but that whole idea was alien to her.

4. She didn’t leave her family. The bible instructs the husband and wife to leave father and mother and be joined to each other. I don’t think she did that.

5. I didn’t give her enough of my time. I didn’t try hard enough to know her and love her. I was too busy with my own stuff. I didn’t make her a high priority. Big mistake.

6. She didn’t know how to communicate. She gave up too soon. She kept too many things inside of her, and then once in a while she would let it out in anger, and I couldn’t deal with that; so I responded back in anger.

7. We didn’t know or understand each other. We didn’t take the time to develop that knowledge.

Okay, so much for the past. Here is what we should have done to get off to a good start. Rather, here is what any couple should do.

1. Wait for a natural attraction.  When you set out to find a mate in your church group or wherever you hang out with people, look for someone you are naturally attracted to.

2. Stay away from anyone who is only interested in a sexual relationship.

3. When you find someone you are interested in, ask them out on a date; someplace where you can talk. On the first or second date you should establish an understanding of what a date is, or what you intend to accomplish on a date. Set some ground rules, or guidelines, like, no sex, kissing or necking.

4. In your dating, set out to get to know each other and develop good communication skills.

5. Get to know what each other likes and dislikes.

6. Learn each other’s love language.

7. Learn how to work out your differences.

My Marriage Years: A Rocky Start

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It all happened so fast, but I will have to admit that it was all my doing. I mean, I didn’t let it happen as I should have. I pushed it; I made all the choices. I remember so clearly that I wanted to be married, and I very calculatingly went after it. First, I made a list of all the possibilities; a list of about ten young women. I analyzed each one and put them into their proper order: #1, #2, #3, etc. I remember that I couldn’t decide which one I would go for. There were two that were very close. Both of them were in the church singles group, so I figured that with further observation it wouldn’t be hard to make a choice.

Well, one evening at one of the singles meetings, I had a rather intimate encounter with the top one on my list—the one who would be my future bride (I won’t give her name). Now that I am thinking about it, it was at her house and it happened after the meeting was over. I won’t go into the details of what happened, but let’s just say that, because of her insistence and my compliance, we ended up doing the dirty deed.

I don’t exactly remember what happened after that, I mean why I kept seeing her. I must have accepted the fact that her loose lifestyle was just one of those things that she hadn’t dealt with yet in her new Christian life—but that she would deal with soon. Anyway, I kept seeing her and dating her, even though we did have sexual relations occasionally. I was stuck.  I didn’t want to have an immoral relationship with her, but at the same time I wanted her. I felt that I loved her. Yes, that’s what I told myself.  And even though I would get these terrible headaches whenever I was close to her, at the same time I thought that I loved her. So, I pushed through it. We would be married.

I can’t remember what came first, my proposal of marriage or the news that she was pregnant with my child. Wow, that complicated things, yet we pushed on—and yes, she accepted my proposal. After only six months of dating, and with a child on the way, we were married.

Thinking back on what happened, there were some definite signs that I ignored, that if I had taken the time and effort to analyze and pray over them, I would have made better decisions.

One. After the first sexual encounter that she made on me, I should have stopped the relationship right there. That definitely was a sign that I should not have continues the relationship. I knew better. What was I thinking?

Two. As I mentioned, whenever we were together, even just walking and holding hands, I would get these terrible headaches. I should have recognized that that was a sign from God (and from nature) that our relationship was wrong. But I ignored it. Now I know that headaches are a definite indication that something is wrong. It was a clear indication that my peace with God was missing. Why didn’t I realize that?

My Painting Business: Customers, Part 2

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This is Mrs. Collins house. Sadly, just before I painted the house for the third time, the big tree in back had to be cut down.

I wish I would have kept records of my earliest customers—from 1981 to 1990. So many of them are long forgotten. Back then I never thought I would ever need those records. Those first customers were the most fought for, and, of course, they were all new. Mrs. Collins, for example, told me that her first impression of me wasn’t that good, because I came to do the estimate in shorts and a t-shirt. But after a while I guess she got to like me and the way I explained how I would do the work—and also, the page of references I gave her. She liked my work so much that I was called back three different times, every 7 years or so. The last time I painted the house it was up for sale. She was moving. So sad to see her go. But she did give me a lead on another house—her parents’ house. Of course, I got that job. I always get referrals.

This is Mrs. Hartill’s house. My crew is busy preping it for painting.

Another early customer was Mrs. Hartill. I can’t remember how exactly I got that job, either from an ad in a local paper, or she heard of me from a friend. Well anyway, Mrs. Hartill just happened to be the widow of my favorite professor at Northwestern College, J. Edwin Hartill. I was so surprised to find out who she was. The first job she had for me was the entire outside of the house. At that time, I had a crew of 3 or 4 of us—so we got it done pretty fast.

In the next few years, she also called me for some inside work, and those times it was just me. I will never forget her kindness and hospitality. At lunch break she always insisted that I eat with her. And she always had quite a spread—so many things to eat. But food wasn’t the only thing she offered me. Being the wife of Dr. Hartill, she of course was full of bible knowledge and good stories. I always came away from lunch not only with my stomach full but spiritually filled as well.

I think sometime in the mid 1980’s I met Jill Wilson. She had (has) a beautiful house on a lake. At the time, she was recently divorced and had three young kids and a pot belly pig that walked around inside the house like a dog. So funny. I think I painted that house about three times: in the 1980’s, and then about in 1995, and again about 2000.

I sort of lost track of her for a few years, but then her friend surprisingly knew me and spoke of me. I had painted for her too. So, Jill got a hold of me again. It was so good to see her again and paint for her again. Her kids now are all grown up, and one of her girls, now married, has also given me some work. She is also very friendly just like her mom.

I think I met Dick and Kate in the early 90’s just when I was going through my divorce. I think I have painted their entire house three times. I also did some inside painting and wallpapering, and even some painting at their cabin. Oh, I also have done quite a bit of painting of their many offices that they own. So, they have really kept me busy.

They are a little hard to deal with at times, and Dick for some reason likes to help out—he slows me down. On the plus side, they are so hospitable and always insist that I join them for lunch every day when I am working. Kate will talk my ear off with her stories, but I have grown to just love her—and Dick too.

Silvia Belmont is a real gem. She is in her 90’s, but still gets around and plays her grand piano every day.  She has a very heavy Norwegian accent, and I love to hear her talk. I’ve painted the outside of her house four or five times. I never get tired of working for her. Recently, she took a fall and had some brain damage. I hope she recovers, but I know God will take her soon.

I have done work for so many wonderful people over the years. Many of them have moved away or passed on. I wish I could remember them all, especially those early ones; I foolishly destroyed their files. I counted about 20 clients that I presently have that I have done work for, for over 30 years. It’s so good to have kept them for customers this long.

Since I am retired now (have been retired for five years), I think my business will soon be ending. But some of my memories of customers will always remain, and I thank God for them. At first my business was all about work, work, work—to make money. But as the years past, I have learned not to work so hard and not to be so focused on making money. It is better to concentrate on doing a good job, whatever it takes. A good reputation and happy customers are far better than earning a little extra money. And who knows what influence as a Christian worker I will have made on a customer—both for the good work I do and also for my conversation with them.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold (Proverbs 22:1).

My Painting Business: Customers

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This is one of the first houses I painted. I think I painted it three times over the years.

My business has always been primarily to homeowners. From when I started the business (in 1981) to the present (2020), I’m sure I have acquired over 1000 satisfied customers from over 30 localities in the Minneapolis area. I had a vision of really spreading out: I went out as far west as Minnetonka (you will have to look on a map), as far south as Burnsville, as far east as Oakdale, and as far North as Andover. But now, especially since I am retired, I see the wisdom in staying as close to home as possible. It saves on gas and it doesn’t take as long to get to work.

One of the most valuable lessons I have learned over the years is to do whatever I can to please a client, and then do whatever it takes to keep that client. I would rather have satisfied repeat customers then to always have to advertise in order to get new customers. Don’t get me wrong, I like new customers, but advertising takes money. Also, if you have satisfied customers many of those will tell their friends what a good job you did, and those friends will call you for a job. I hate to brag, but for the last 20 years I haven’t spent a penny on advertising. I don’t have too; people just call me for work. Either they are repeat customers or they have heard about me from a friend. At the beginning of my business I had to advertise all the time. That’s normal. But you shouldn’t have to keep doing that.

Okay, what I do to keep track of my clients is this. As soon as I finish a job, I file the proposal for that client. Then at the end of the year I record all those jobs in my computer with their names, addresses, phone number, date of the job, and cost of the job. That’s fairly easy.  The hard part for me is calling them. I try to call every client I have at least once a year, to ask them if they need any more painting. Most of them don’t, but some do. And most of them are thankful that I called and will call me later—sometimes months later. But that’s okay.

One of the things I really love about this business is getting to know people over the years, and seeing them satisfied with the work I do for them. It’s extremely rewarding.

In my next post I will tell you about some of my favorite and most faithful clients—and maybe share some great stories.

My Painting Business: Employees

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In previous blog posts, I talked about the start of my painting business: my advertising, my biding on jobs, and buying ladders and a truck. Today I will talk about hiring help (employees). When I started out, in 1981, I just hired one guy—a friend. I suppose I could have done the work myself, since I didn’t have a great deal of it; but I went on faith that more work would come in and I wanted to be ready when it did.

As it turned out, each year brought in a little more work; and so, more employees were needed. According to my records, my best year was in 1987. And so, as I remember, I had the most employees then, about 6 or 7. Those were the days. It was fun having that many workers, but also hard keeping track of everything.

I’ve always done my own payroll and taxes, and I also have been the only one to train the workers and supervise them. I guess I never have been too much of a business man, or else I would have known more about how to grow my business. My main focus has always been on doing a good job at painting and making sure my workers had the same focus. For some reason, I could never just supervise; I had to always be working myself. And that made it extra hard, because I always had one eye on the work I was doing, and the other eye on watching a new worker—making sure he was doing what I wanted him to do.

After 1987, the workload, and also the employees, gradually decreased. But surprisingly, my income did not decrease. I learned how to make money having fewer employees. I learned that paying a few good employees more money was more cost efficient that paying many so so employees less. I also learned that I could get just as many jobs if I charged more. People were willing to pay more if I could convince them that I would be doing a good job. Since 1997 I haven’t had any employees. Wow! That’s 23 years without employees. And I’ve been doing fine. I don’t make quite as much money now, but its been easier.

One of the things that was always hard from year to year when I had employees, was having to lay off most (or all) of them in the fall, because of a lack of work, and then have to re-hire new employees in the spring. I really didn’t mind the hiring process, but I hated the fact that all, or most of the guys that I had to lay off were forced to get other steady work. So, all the training I did was just for one year, and then I had to start all over again the next year.

But there were two guys that did come back from year to year: Kevin and Dave. I hired both of them in 1985, and they lasted until 1991. They were by far the best workers I had—which says a lot about the wisdom of sticking with good workers, even if you have to continue to give them raises. I would rather pay a lot for good help then to hire a lot of cheap help.

Next time I will talk about all the great customers I have gained over the years.

My Painting Business: Places I’ve Lived, Writing, Dating

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During the first few years of my painting business, from 1981 to 1985, I lived in two different places. The first was in an apartment in south Minneapolis. The thing I remember about that place was that I got some of the cost of my rent taken off for doing some badly needed painting in a few apartments. I remember that I never felt pressured to finish a job—since I had an understanding with the landlord that I could only work a couple hours a week, because I was already working my painting business. I don’t know why I got such a kick out of it and felt so empowered to just walk away from a job half-way finished and to tell the people, “I’ll be back next Wednesday to finish up.” I would never do that today. But, part of me wishes that I could be more carefree as I was then, and not worry about finishing a job when the client wants it to be done. At the time of this writing I am semi-retired and I’m trying to be more like that—more carefree. I do try not to work such long hours and maybe take a few days off.

After a couple years I moved to a different apartment in northeast Minneapolis, What I remember most  about that place is that it was located right across from Zurbey’s bar, and quite often they would play loud polka music all night long; and they would always leave the front door wide open so the whole neighborhood could hear it. It was obnoxious, and it would keep me up when I was trying to sleep.

Another thing I remember about living there is that it was when I decided that I would get serious about writing. So, I began setting aside at least an hour a day just to write—a book. Yes, I had a topic and a book title—but I can’t remember what it was. Sadly, after a few years I got frustrated with it and tore the whole thing up. Looking back on it now, I know I did the right thing. If you are gong to write a book it really should be inspired by God, not just something you think could sell or make you some money—which was the case for that attempt.  In a few years down the road, in 1993, I was inspired to write a book, and I never was frustrated with it. I’ll write more about that in a future blog.

From 1981 to 1985 was also the period when I was dating. Most people, I suppose, start dating quite early, from age 16 and continue until they are married. Not me. In high school there was a couple girls I liked, but I didn’t date them. Then after high school I went right into the Marines—no dating there. Then I was in the Navigators from 1971 to 1975, and they are notorious for not dating. In fact, they would keep the men’s ministry entirely separate from the women’s ministry. I hardly ever saw a girl. Then I went to Northwestern college and Western Seminary, and I was so dedicated to my studies that I hardly ever looked up from my books. So, after Western Seminary, in 1981, is the first real chance I had to start dating. I mean, I had nothing else to think about except my work—painting, and I didn’t really have to think about that too much.

I guess you could say, I was getting a late start at dating. I was already 30 years old. Good grief! Oh well. Better late than never. I really didn’t date a lot. There were actually only three girls that I can think of that I dated off and on. Elise was the main one. I was really crazy about her. Well, actually, she drove me crazy—because she couldn’t commit to me. Finally, I decided to break it off with her. I couldn’t handle it any more. Then in 1985 I met the girl I ended up marrying. I’ll talk more about that later.

Starting A House Painting Business

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After I resigned from Seminary, and put my ministry goals on hold, I determined to look to the future. I immediately thought of starting a painting business, because I had been doing that already and it seem like a logical step. My brother Jim happened to be thinking along the same lines, so we decided to do it together. But after the first few jobs, it was apparent that we weren’t thinking the same way. I wanted to have a legitimate business (which included paying taxes) and he did not. So, we went our separate ways.

One of the first things I did was to go and talk to a man (I think it was in the Minneapolis Federal building) about how to start a business. It didn’t take long. He asked me what kind of a business I wanted and he set me up. The name of my company would be Nielsen Painters. I felt good about it. I had a business name, a business tax number, and I was good to go. All I needed now was some jobs and maybe some help.

The year was 1981. I was off. I put an add in the Newspaper and also did my best at making fliers to distribute. The first few fliers didn’t look all that great, but they got better. Sometimes I walked around a neighborhood myself and put the flier just inside the screen door or under the mat. Sometimes I would pay to have about 5,000 of them distributed as an insert in a local newspaper. And sometimes I had my nieces and nephews (my sister’s kids) help me pass them out. That was great fun for them, and I paid each of them one stick of Juicy Fruit gum for the day. They thought it was a good deal! And you know what? After forty years they still remember that day and laugh about it.

Surprisingly, the adds and the fliers worked. People started calling me and I went to give them a bid. I did paint estimates (bids) before, but I had never been trained at it. Some guys go around measuring everything and use certain calculations. But I was never comfortable with that method. The way I saw it, it was easier to just walk around and try to guess how long it would take me to prep and paint each section of the house, then add all those numbers together and multiply that number times what I wanted to make per hour—which at first was about $15 per hour. Almost always I gave them a firm bid, which most people wanted; but sometimes, if the job was harder to estimate, I tried to get them to agree on doing the job by the hour.

Usually people got more that one bid, so I didn’t expect to get every job I bid on. Normally, I got about a third of them. But I have learned some tricks along the way, like taking time to talk to the client. People like that. They want to know who is going to paint their house. And if I give them a good impression—even charm them a bit—that always helps.

Right away, after I landed a few jobs, I knew I needed some help. I asked a friend from college and he was more than willing to help me; and he was a pretty good worker too. The first house we painted I had to rent ladders, but I knew that couldn’t continue.  I decided right then to use all the money I made on that first job to buy two 32 ft. ladders, two 20 footers, a 16 ft. plank and two ladder jacks. We were all set!

Not long after that I bought and little blue Mazda pickup truck. Those were the days. Whatever I needed for the business I found a way to do it.  The first few years were kind of scarce, but each year was better. I had no big dreams; I was just doing my best to live by faith. And He was moving me, each day, one step at a time. I didn’t know what exactly He was calling me to do—with a painting business, but I knew that if I stayed obedient to Him, He would show me.