---
id: FlyingFreeBook
title: Praise for *Flying Free*
category: memoir
predicted_narrative_arc: Crisis through turbulence to renewed flight and purpose
sentiment: Inspirational
emotions:
- hope
- faith
- resilience
- gratitude
keypoints:
- Aviation metaphors frame crisis analysis, action, and recovery
- Life opportunities hidden in problems per Isaiah 40:31
- Dedication to wife Vickie as soul mate and accountability partner
- Endorsements from pastors, military, NASCAR, and business leaders
- 'Three sections: analyze situation, take action, land safely'
summary: Dean Rush shares his life story of navigating personal crisis using aviation
  metaphors and faith, drawing from his roles as fighter pilot, entrepreneur, executive,
  and pastor. The book is dedicated to his wife Vickie of over fifty years, family,
  and others who have endured turmoil. Endorsements highlight his wisdom, leadership,
  and the motivational value of his lessons on recovering to fly free.
tags:
- childhood
- family
- faith
- formation
- work
- military
- testing
- gratitude
- peace
- anxiety
- reverence
- warmth
- conviction
- washington
- life-after-crisis
- faith-journey
sycophancy: 2
truth_score: 8
entropy: 3
updated: '2026-09-08T20:49:29Z'
vault_stage: 07_CODEX
headwaters: COMPA
prefix: COMPA
enrich_status: ok
enrich_blockers: []
enrich_method: llm
pipeline_filename: COMPA_2026-09-08_praise-for-flying-free.md
proposed_topic: Wisdom
lane: Wisdom
corpus_topic: Wisdom
---

Praise for *Flying Free*

“Dean Rush is an angel without wings and one of the finest mentors in America. He has packed five lifetimes into one:  family man, fighter pilot, aviation entrepreneur, aviation executive and pastor. He is my friend and co-worker. I get to enjoy his grace, wisdom and common sense every day. And now, you do too!”

*—*Robert Emmitt, pastor, Community Bible Church, San Antonio, Texas

“This is a must read.  Dean’s description of his life, and lessons learned, is not only captivating, but will provide the proper motivation for anyone going through any type crisis!  I only wish I had read this book nine years ago.”

—Bobby Hillin, NASCAR driver and business owner

“Dean Rush is a wonderfully wise and skillfully competent leader and pilot.

In *Flying Free,* he provides us a rich reservoir to draw from as we learn to face personal tragedy and resume full flight.”

—Dr. Dave Earley, Director of the Lovett Center for Ministry Training,

Director and Chair of Pastoral Leadership and Church Planting, Liberty

Baptist Theological Seminary

**“**With a strong belief in God, Dean Rush shares his living testimony of faith and flies on an eagle’s wings above the darkest of storms.”

***—***Chuck Carroll, Major General USAF (Retired)

“Dean provides some excellent ideas about how God often uses specific problems to lead us to His very purpose for our life.”

—Norm Miller, chairman, Interstate Batteries

**Flying Free**

Life after Crisis

Dean Rush

Copyright 2011, 2022 by Dean Rush. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission from the author.

Library of Congress Control Number:  2010937364

This book is dedicated to my life partner of more than fifty years, Vickie, who has shared with me the numerous events outlined in these pages, accepted me for who I am, and loved me in spite of my many faults. She has listened when I needed a sympathetic ear, encouraged me when was down, and served as my accountability partner when I needed direction. Like so many other aspects of my life, God provided Vickie when I didn’t know I needed a soul mate. Her intelligence has been a shared asset of our partnership, her perception the guide for most of our good decisions, and her allegiance the key to my success.

I also dedicate the book to Ryan and Lana Rush, Holly Fulton, and four beautiful grandchildren, Ryley, Reagan, Lily, and Morgan, who have proven to be my inspirations for the future of our world. They have illustrated for me the reassurance that only God can make life as beautiful as it is.

Last, I dedicate this book to everyone who has endured a crisis and found the freedom of flying free from the turmoil to arrive at their dream. Thanks to all of you.

**Life’s Opportunities Are Often Hidden in Problems.**

*Isaiah 40:31*

*But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.*

## Contents

Foreword            ix  Acknowledgments      xi

Introduction              xiii

**Section I – Analyze the Situation!**

- 1 Steady as You Go – Unseen Opportunities       1
- 2 Maintain Control – Manage Chaos         6
- 3 Tell God Your Flight Plan for Your Life! Make Him Smile!     10
- 4 Check Your Instruments – Find a Reliable Reference   16  5     What Are Your Limits? – Faith Provides Strength in Life  19

6     Look for a Safe Place to Land –

When Things Are Bad, Use Faith                        24  7     Regain Control – One Step at a Time        29

- 8 Know Your Cockpit – Be Prepared for Crisis      35
- 9 Choose Your Weapons – Determine How to Fight    40
- 10 Check Your Gauges – Prepare Your Response     43
- 11 Refer to Your Checklist – Follow God’s Operations Manual  50
- 12 Prepare for the Crash – Right Reactions to Crises    54
- 13 Look Beyond the Horizon – Maximize Your View    57
- 14 Think Straight – Stop Anger Now!         61 **Section II – Take Proper Action**
- 15 Fly Inverted – A Different View        69
- 16 Use Time As Your Friend –

Determine Your Goal and Work Toward It      76

- 17 Find Calm Air – Fly Free of Turbulence!       80
- 18 Decide Where to Fly – Make a Decision      84
- 19 Trials Can Lead to Victory – Look Beyond the Horizon!   89
- 20 A Moment to Act – Use Faith         94
- 21 Check Ride – Testing Your Faith!        101
- 22 Level Flight – Build Faith into Life        103

**Section III – Land as Soon as Practical**

- 23 Finding a Place to Land – Seek Safety       109
- 24 New Objectives – Change Your Landing Zone      113 25  Share Your Experience – Help Others Land Safely    115

- 26 Perfect Touchdown **–** Examples in Good Landings     118
- 27 Use All the Available Runway – Trusted Advisors    122 28        Move Forward to Land – Keep Moving to Grow Stronger  126

- 29 Enjoy the Moment – Landing Brings Relief       131
- 30 Go Farther with Less – Stretch Yourself to Finish Well   133
- 31 Maximize Your Range – Convert Attitude to Altitude!   137
- 32 Fine Tuning the Touchdown          141
- 33 Post Flight Debriefing            145

Postlude       159  Bibliography       152  About the Author      153

# Foreword

You are about to embark on an incredible flight through the pages of a plan to recover from personal tragedy and unforeseen turbulence, a flight plan to return your personal life to an atmosphere of smooth air and clear skies with visibility unlimited.

Level flight is the foundation for sustained aircraft performance and forms the basis for advanced pilot training. Without the ability to sustain controlled flight, an aspiring aviator cannot hope to learn the skills necessary to enter combat, master the challenges of aerobatics, or survive the hazards of inclement weather. In life, we too encounter turbulence and challenging conditions that test our ability to maintain self control, analyze the situation, and then take proper action. Unlike a pilot who may be alone at night in the weather when an emergency situation develops, we have many resources available to help us to stabilize our crisis and return to level flight where new opportunities await.

Dean was my instructor in the advanced phase of Air Force pilot training. Although he was a lieutenant, he had just returned from a distinguished combat tour in Viet Nam. Beyond his extraordinary pilot skills, he is a man who exudes the power of positive thinking that formed the foundation of my own family’s beliefs. As my instructor he had the skills to turn aspiration into excellence, and he reinforced the high ideals of professional service to our country. Today, he continues to be my inspiration and my rock.

I commend the inspirational guidance offered herein by Dean as he takes you on a personal journey through recovery to free flight. He has served his country, his family, and his friends, and throughout his own personal tragedies, he has without question trusted his Lord. Dean is a man of God who has dedicated his life to others and now provides a flight plan from tragedy to victory roll.

— David Eberly Colonel, USAF  (Retired)

Author, *Faith Beyond Belief*

## Acknowledgements

Though many people contributed to this book, only the few I will mention here were the ones I can capture at the time of this writing. Many others took time from their lives to share with me, befriend me, and even pray with me about my desire to put these ideas into action.

My wife, Vickie, edited my work over and over again to the point of saying she was ready to see it go to print. Her ideas and edits gave me new perspective and positive reflections on the substance of this book. My administrative assistant, Diane Beavers, on her own time, poured over the content and the structure many times without complaining.

My father and mother influenced this venture by patiently putting up with my desire to fly when I was very young and teaching me that God would be there, even through turmoil, to pick me up when I was down. They instilled that point deeply into my character so that I experienced an inherent confidence, which often allowed me to endure the bad times.

I appreciate the time my friend David Eberly took from his life to read and edit these pages. His contribution was enormous and brought many ideas into focus when they seemed to have been perilously close to flying off into space. He has given so much good advice that, at times, I began understanding myself better through his eyes and words.

Additionally, the editors at Brandylane Publishers have performed a great service in putting up with this novice author who simply decided to relay some of his life experiences to others. The lead editor of the effort was Annie Tobey and her efforts are especially appreciated.

I also credit the great aviators with whom I have been privileged

to fly over the years. Many have gone on to heaven but I have learned from them, laughed with them, and even feared with them at times. We shared a bond beyond the space in the cockpit and for each of them, I will be forever grateful.

Last, I wish to acknowledge the great peers I work with, who allow me to work with the people we see daily at our church. The people who walk in the doors of the church are, like me, just people who seek to improve their lives. Their desire to be more like Christ inspires me, every day, to know Him better.

# Introduction

“*Never give up when life presents a problem,*

*for there is something to be gained from every challenge.*”

My Grandfather Rush

I’ve had a blessed life, but I am not a perfect person. My life has been marked with challenge both personal and public, yet immeasurably fulfilling. I believe that where I am weak, strength is provided through the God of the universe who created me. Seeking His guidance daily and understanding His plan, not mine, remains the cornerstone of my faith and serves as my flight plan through life. And I believe that working in tandem with Christ is the key for everyone who desires to move to a new level of satisfaction in their lives.

My life has been molded by dreams of flight and the rigors of the aviation industry. As a child I looked longingly to the skies at the sound of an airplane and then later followed that contrail to the U.S. Air Force. During my tenure in the Air Force I had some great flying adventures and I experienced the opportunity to serve my country as a forward air controller in Vietnam. I was gifted with some great educational moments during that combat tour and suffered exposure to Agent Orange. Exposure to the carcinogen has three times grown a cancerous tumor that resulted in surgery and ongoing rehabilitation. All the cancer episodes interrupted a career, my family, and the security we all value for stability. Ironically, the disease began to show up long after I exited the Air Force and entered the private sector. It, with surprising clarity, seemed to dominate our lives at a time when we least needed a diversion.

I experienced moments of depression during the first episode, which pointed to thoughts of giving up, but somehow the light at the end of those tunnels proved to be greater hope. Each episode resulted in a change that I would not have anticipated but the new direction seemed to be predestined to add fulfillment to my life.

The first lessons after my military experience came when I was involved in a start-up airline. Being too naive to know that you cannot just start an airline, I forged into the realm of commercial aviation, which eventually moved me from military processes to the civilian regimen in aviation. All of those lessons later combined to add credibility to the decision-making processes required as a career grew and responsibilities widened my ability to manage complex situations. Unknowingly, God was putting me through an educational process, which would be used later as new challenges arose.

After years were spent climbing the corporate ladder with challenges both mentally and physically, I began to search for the elusive satisfaction that comes with complete fulfillment. Only after being knocked off the proverbial ladder by economics (a business failure), health issues (cancer), and business circumstances (the company I was running was broken up and sold) I finally succumbed to a call to full-time Christian service that had come when I was only fourteen years old. The fifty-plus years in the interim were filled with lessons that added strength to my new vocation. Some of my trails led to dead-end canyons and some flights ended in crash landings, but eventually the education proved fruitful. It just took me more years than most to reach the peak of career satisfaction, and this book is intended to help others learn from some of my experiences. With a supportive wife, a great family, and a wonderfully sustaining church family, I have realized a dream that allowed me to use all those life lessons for the benefit of others. My prayer is that through the transparency of some embarrassing failures, both financial and physical, I can share experiences that might help others gain enough knowledge to avoid some of my pitfalls. The intent of this work is to have others learn from my experiences as a help in exiting their own uncomfortable situations**.** If you can follow a smooth pathway and avoid the rock-strewn roads, life’s highway can be much more satisfying, and lead to greater accomplishment. The following pages will provide insight that illustrates the fact that my pathway was not always smooth but always exciting.

Each new career impediment for me proved to be an opportunity

Introduction

to jump to a new experience that built a stronger foundation for future challenges. My last hurdle came when I had just signed a long-term contract to be president of a company building airplanes internationally and was called by our chairman to be told that the company was going to be broken up and sold in pieces after the tragedy of 9/11. He simply stated there was no way of seeing what the future held for aviation after that catastrophe in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania, where so many Americans died. The chairman was right, but it left me in the proverbial lurch over what to do next and led me to a lunch with our pastor who offered me the opportunity to use all my past experiences in life to help others in the church. Unknowingly, I had been funneled into an opportunity. It was a chance to experience a career that God had spent six decades preparing me to enter.

All the successes and even the failures were being piled into one event that I never anticipated. My new position with the church gave me more fear of failure than anything I had yet experienced because it was unfamiliar territory and required straight-up truthfulness about limitations. I had washed airplanes, fueled airplanes, flown over 121 different types of aircraft, tested airplanes, and run airplane companies, but never had I been directly asked to lead someone to Christ. Flying airplanes, even in combat, is a completely different experience than combating the problems of others who face life-altering decisions.

Finally called to serve Him, I began to realize I had been prepared to help others through lessons learned during my own tragedies and experiences. God had been preparing me all along with lessons from experiences. Now I could share what I had learned.

In addition to learning the basics of fair weather flight, a pilot learns how to manage an aircraft in emergency situations: how to maintain control, analyze the situation, take proper action, and land as soon as practical. As we experience emergency situations in life, we too must follow steps that lead to recovery. The steps used by a pilot for recovering a troubled aircraft can also be utilized by people piloting their way through life. This is the metaphorical journey the reader will take in this book**.**

## Section I

**Analyze the Situation!**

Luke 12:56-57

*Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?*

## Chapter 1

### Steady As You Go – Unseen Opportunities

Personal tragedy such as the untimely death of a loved one, an unimagined diagnosis, or the unpredicted loss of a job can put our lives out of control. Instead of leading to devastation, however, these challenges can often lead to unforeseen opportunities and result in a path to achieving long-sought dreams.

My intent in writing this book is to relay some of the lessons I learned as I have traveled life’s highway. Hopefully, the book will help you avoid some of the turmoil during the times you are in a free fall and possibly assist you to fly free of your problems. Perhaps it will help you avoid a crash landing when you finally come down to earth. We all find personal methods of recovering from crisis, but a crisis can also be a great opportunity for finding a new future.

The student pilot learns many necessary actions and principles to safely operate a plane during preparation to become a qualified aviator. In addition to learning the basics of fair weather flight, a pilot learns how to manage an aircraft in emergency situations. The objective for a pilot is to maintain aircraft control

Flight is best illustrated by the emperors of the air, the eagle. If you are enthralled with the freedom of flight, as I am, one of the most majestic sights in the world is to see a mature eagle drop off its nest high on a cliff or at the top of a tree. The eagle stands on the edge of the nest, stretches those majestic wings six to seven feet and then lifts above the surrounding tree and flies off on its mission.

Baby eagles (eaglets) are quite a different story as they spend their first days of life out of the egg waiting to be fed. They soon begin bobbing around the confines of the nest searching for a way to fly free and become independent. Eagles seem to be constantly searching for freedom as they grow and mature. They are very interesting animals because they are mobile, they are bold, and they are monogamous—they partner for life. Eagles protect their habitat in every possible manner and vigorously protect their young. Not too different from us as humans in many ways.

If you watch the nest as the young eaglets hatch, you would see them begin jumping up and down in the nest within a month of hatching. They begin standing at the edge of their nest as if to say “I am ready for the world” as soon as they can walk. They are obviously not ready for what awaits them in the world below, but they are anxious to show what they are made of. Their parents watch closely as the young birds begin to flex their wings and stretch to leave the confines of the nest. At about three months of age the eaglets have achieved the full growth of their wings but the wings are more down-filled than feathered, so flying would be tough without the full airfoil development in the wing. When the birds do leave in this stage of maturity some unexpected actions occur.

If the young eagle leaves prematurely, there is a moment when the bird falls free of the nest and it appears totally out of control while it tumbles through the air falling toward the earth.

**Photo by Michael Scott, San Antonio, Texas 2009**

Steady As You Go

Amazingly, this is not the end of the story because in nearly all the observed cases where the birds prematurely fall from the nest they do recover and almost always return to the nest. If you continue watching the eagle as it falls, an amazing phenomenon takes place. The bird tentatively opens its wings and rights itself; then it fully spreads its magnificent wings to fly; it works diligently to get back to the nest. As we watch, we begin to perceive the eagle will be able to achieve its objective and fly under its own strength. However, the young eagle doesn’t go far, as some instinct bids them to return to the nest where parents again take over until the feathers are fully formed and the hunting training begins.

The crisis turns into a learning experience and a strengthening incident in the life of the young bird. The eagles somehow grow stronger during their remaining period of development in the nest. They reach a point at six to seven months when they move out with their peers to newfound freedom. At that point in its development the eagle appears to have everything under complete control. The bird has the strength to fly away, pick the direction of travel and the height to which it wants to climb. How do we compare to this magnificent bird as we seek to find our freedom and mission in life?

Now the young eagle is completely free of all the encumbrances that bind it to earth. Prior to flying free there is a tie to the nest that restricts the bird to its immediate surroundings. The nest holds some security but it also restricts the eagle’s ability to search for food, drink from a clear stream, or glide on a stream of air that can carry it to new adventures and even a new life. When that bird leaves the nest it is free to fly and survey the world. It will have learned the necessary lessons through experience to deal with the world and the problems it will encounter.

Like the young eagle, I have encountered learning experiences when I least expected them. When crisis strikes your life and some cataclysmic event upsets your security, the first reaction is often to ask, “Why me?” You may feel like the out-of-control eagle for a time, and it would feel much better back in the nest with the security that you felt before the crisis appeared that upset your life. Throughout my life I often remember being in a comfort zone with everything rocking along, enjoying the good life. Suddenly things changed from no worries to crisis mode without warning. Some completely unexpected event turned the world upside down. In mid-life my surprise came from the Agent Orange cancer that had remained dormant for years after I returned from combat. For others it may come in the form of the death to a loved one, a devastating accident, or financial loss. Whatever the event, life often requires a change of direction. A new flight plan must be organized.

Why does tragedy strike when we least expect it? Why did that crisis happen to me? Did I do something wrong? Suddenly everything I had known that was a source of security became insecure. What seemed stable is now a cause for self-doubt. Everything you have known as normal seems to disappear. Nothing in the world seems normal. Have you been in that situation?

The more pertinent question is, are you there right now?

What is happening to me? What now?

Most of the tragedies that happened to me began to take on the aspects of terror just as they did to a young eagle. I felt the need a need to regain control and figure out how to maintain control so that life could go forward. Don’t you imagine that the first time that young eagle left the nest, that he was terrified?

Eagles, like humans, sometimes teach their children to fly by actually kicking them out of the nest and requiring them to fend for themselves as they develop the art of flight. The eaglet spends the first three to four months of life being taken care of in the nest. Mom and dad take turns flying to the area surrounding the nest to capture fish or fowl to feed the young babies. The parents each spend hours foraging for food and returning to the nest with provisions to strengthen the young birds so that when the time is right their eaglets are ready to fly on their own.

If the young eaglets never flex their wings and if they remain in the nest, they will never achieve independence. They must try new experiences and sometimes fail in their efforts to achieve. Eagles are majestic birds but can only realize their potential when they leave the nest and begin to fly on their own.

God gives each of us that same ability to grow and fly on our own and He expects us to exercise that gift. We may fall away from the nest but He does provide a means of learning and growth from the adventure, if we learn from His teaching. We have a choice. We can gain knowledge from the voyage or we can continue to hide in the nest. God sometimes may even give us a push to get us out and

Steady As You Go

into the purpose He has for us in life. Without that extra push it is difficult to get on with life.

My family had received the push when I was afflicted by cancer and had to accept a job and relocate to Michigan from our Texas home. I began to realize as we were driving northward that I was very much like the eagle. What had seemed too chaotic was now proving to be an opportunity.

We all enjoy the security of the nest but we never get very far in life if we remain in and around the confines of our home or a vocation that is not where God wants us**.** I believe God sometimes provides those extraordinary experiences in life for us so that we may prepare for our real purpose. Sometimes our lives are incentivized, and like the momma eagle pushing her eaglet, we are nudged to get out of the nest. We may find ourselves in turmoil. Life is always more tranquil when we are not being pushed out of our comfort zone or in upheaval.

If you haven’t been through chaos where you feel like you are free falling, like the young eagle, then stand by, because uncontrolled life happens to almost everyone at some point. Be prepared to take advantage of the turmoil because the change can either set you free or imprison you. The end result is up to you. The primary objective as you engage the problem is to maintain control so you can get to a satisfactory conclusion.

The prediction that we will all encounter some turmoil comes from my personal experience. I am not saying that to bring you down, but to the contrary, to prepare you for developing a method of getting through the problem.

The problems that arise won’t necessarily be a reflection on you personally**.** Challenges are a normal part of our existence because we are human beings and alive on the earth. This book is about how to handle those free falls or tumbles when they occur. I do not possess a degree in psychotherapy but could probably qualify for a doctorate in counseling if doctorates were awarded for having experienced turmoil. I have been fortunate enough to have lived more than six decades and had a wonderfully exciting life.

The ultimate goal is to find a way of flying free of the problems so that we may achieve the goal God has for us in life.

Psalms 55:6 says, “*Oh that I had wings like a dove, For then I would fly away and be at rest*.”

## Chapter 2

### Maintain Control – Manage Chaos

Usually when unexpected experiences alter your life, there is a reason. Often the rationale for those encounters may well be out of your control. Unforeseen or unwanted change can adversely affect your very existence in many ways, but it does not always have to end up being detrimental to your life. We like to feel we are in control of what happens in our lives. We love the security of our nests and the status quo. When turmoil strikes we feel there is no one in control.

For many years I flew airplanes for a living. One of the worst feelings in the air for a pilot is realizing that the normally stable machine you are flying has a serious problem. My first thought in an unexpected emergency was always, “Am I about to reel out of control?” I could be flying along in smooth air and suddenly encounter turbulence. The airplane might dive out of control or go into a wild gyration. At that point I always wondered what was happening. How did I get in this predicament and how do I regain control of the airplane? Like the eagle, it is necessary to maintain control if you are to go to the next stage and freely fly away.

There are some relatively simple methods of flying free from turmoil, but you must take control of the situation in order to progress towards freedom and stabilization. Rather than sitting back and saying, “I give up,” there are some simple antidotes available to stabilize your life. These ideas can be used even in the face of upheaval, when you are free falling and trying to stabilize yourself.

As a pilot, I learned early in my Air Force career that there are some simple actions that are to be taken in case of an emergency, and they work. They work in the air and in life.

Maintain Control

Our Air Force instructors taught us over and over again that we were to:

1. Maintain control of the airplane
2. Analyze the situation/take proper action
3. Land as soon as practical

Those simple actions are also good for overcoming problems in life. I have discovered that applying them to a crisis is a good start toward recovery.

Turmoil in life can come from many sources. It may be caused by a failed relationship, loss of a loved one, financial upheaval, the loss of a job, illness, unexpected change in life’s patterns, or all of the above. The key to growth and moving forward is to find ways to recover and fly away to a better destination. Maintain control, and life can go on and you will have opportunities to recover and fly away.

As a seventeen-year-old fledging pilot I was flying to a small airport in Southern Indiana to take my Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) pilot check ride. It was a gorgeous spring day and one that I had looked forward to since I was twelve years old. I had worked night and day for years to obtain the money to take flying lessons from our neighbor at the local airport in order to become a pilot. I was obsessed with the thought of being able to climb in an airplane, fly where I wanted to go, and see the world from above as I motored toward my destination. My mind was totally wrapped around the goal of becoming an aviator, so this flight was very important to me as a seventeen-year-old boy. I was intent on this being a perfect flight.

I left my home airport where I had taken lessons, with directives from my instructor, Bob Williamson, to fly directly to the destination airport where the check pilot would be waiting for me. I had fulfilled every requirement of the training syllabus, including cross-country flights, emergency procedures, and operating the airplane. I was excited and ready to become a certified pilot.

The flight plan had me flying for about forty-five minutes from the airport where I took off until the arrival at the smaller private field where I would be greeted by the check pilot. I was nervous and yet excited. This was the chance of my lifetime**.** I knew I wanted to fly for the rest of my life. My father had died suddenly the previous fall, but he had helped me achieve this goal by just allowing me the time to take the lessons before his death. It had to be done in secret because my grandfather was not in favor of any of us flying. I had honored the surreptitious arrangement and not even told my brothers because I was so afraid of losing the privilege. My grandfather would have deemed the flying a waste of time because he had never flown. I loved him but was intent to prove I could make my dream a reality. I wanted to be a pilot.

As I motored through the air on this beautiful day in Indiana I looked down at the terrain, dreamt about my father and how proud he would be right now, and even listened to the radio as a couple of pilots conversed with an air traffic controller. I was totally caught up in the entire experience. Wow, I was about to become a certified pilot!

Suddenly, my ears detected a miss in the normally purring engine. First there was one miss and then another, followed by a sputter. I looked at the map in my lap and also realized I had been day dreaming about my new license and did not recognize any of the terrain passing under my airplane. I had now been airborne more than one hour on this forty-five minute flight. I was lost.

I remembered Bob’s instruction, always maintain control. The miss in the engine went beyond a miss to a dreaded silence. I now had a bona fide reason to panic. This was not going to be an easy way to convince my check pilot that I should be given the right to fly airplanes.

I gripped the control wheel to maintain control, looked at my fuel gauges, and realized I had never switched fuel tanks**.** The engine had quit because there was only a quarter tank of fuel in that wing tank when I took off; I was supposed to have switched to the other wing tank, which was full after lift off. If I had followed the instructions I would have burned down some of the full tank to keep the weight balanced on both sides of the airplane for my check ride. I quickly reached for the lever to switch to the other fuel tank and the engine coughed a couple of times then accelerated to the throttle setting. Whew, I wasn’t going to crash, but now where was I?

I began to look around at distinguishing landmarks and finally surmised that while daydreaming I had over-flown the airport

Maintain Control

where my flight test was to have taken place. I had to reverse course immediately. A thousand things flashed through my mind as I tried to make up an excuse that seemed reasonable for being late.

What was I thinking? The answer came in the form of a stiff reprimand from myself a few minutes later when I recognized the airfield where I was intending to land just ahead of me. As I landed and taxied up to the hangar where my check pilot was standing and waiting, I didn’t have an opportunity to say anything or make an excuse. He looked at me and said, “Kid, I wondered if you were going to come back and fly with me after I watched you fly directly over our airport about twenty minutes ago.” He slyly asked, “Did you enjoy the sightseeing or were you really that lost?” It was an extremely embarrassing moment, but the truth came out. The man had watched me fly over, knew I was lost, and it was all on the table.

When I told him about the daydreaming and the anxiousness about reaching the dream of becoming a pilot, he laughed and told me to get in the airplane and prove I could fly it safely. I must have done exactly that because, miraculously, he passed me and told me he had done something similar when he was on the way to fly his check ride. I later got to know the man well and his experiences and training helped me long into my career. What had started as a problem swiftly turned into a blessing, which made me a better pilot.

The secret to the flight and the check ride had been to maintain control through the moments of panic. Over the years, the lesson of the first check ride never left my mind. Maintaining control is an imperative whenever you are piloting an airplane. It is equally important in life.

## Chapter 3

**Tell God Your Flight Plan for Life! Make Him Smile!**

Surprisingly, I have discovered that recovery from turmoil can end up being the most beautiful experience in life. Not surprisingly, that revelation normally is discovered after the fact. Recovery can provide the unique opportunity to climb to new heights and live out dreams in the freedom of the moment. You can go in a completely new direction and explore new possibilities during the mending process from a crisis. People often look at me askance when I make that statement, but it is true.

When you are flying, you file a flight plan that, if followed, will take you to your destination. A correctly prepared flight plan takes you to your destination. A haphazardly prepared plan may stop your life in its tracks. Which plan do you want to choose?

There is a choice for your life, but there is planning involved. You must be ready to accept the requirement for some investment of time if you are going to take a new path and develop a successful plan. The desired path is obviously one that will take you forward in a new direction when you are in crisis. Let’s examine that forward path in the following pages and attempt to determine how to mark a path for your life.

When I was learning to fly, I was blessed to fly with a very wise instructor pilot who convinced me that when there is an emergency, the last thing you want to do is complain about the problem. He always said if there is an emergency, slow down, look around, and “Don’t worry until you see the windshield crack.” If that sounds like a casual solution to an emergency in an airplane, think about the situation you are in when you are hit by tragedy. My instructor

said when you find yourself in a tough predicament, slow down, maintain control of the aircraft, and analyze what is taking place instead of spending your time worrying. Don’t hurry to an answer that may be wrong when you can take time and get the proper information to make a wise decision. It is more important to be right than to be quick.

- When you slow down you can keep your life and airplane on a steady state. You are maintaining control.
- When you take time to look around you can often find unseen solutions.
- There is no reason to worry about the situation.
- All the time you spend worrying can be better used solving the problem.
- Analyze the situation!

The instructor pilot who gave me those words helped me survive many emergencies in the air over the years as I flew various types of airplanes.

As stated earlier, we are all going to encounter problems in life. The method we use to handle those challenges may determine how we live the rest of our lives. We can build a plan that can get us to safety and a solid conclusion, or we can panic, senselessly worry, and do nothing. These are two distinct paths that are exactly contrary solutions that will carry us in opposite directions. Both options are final but have distinctly different results.

In the Bible, Peter says, “*Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you*” (1 Peter 4:12 NIV).

My interpretation of this little verse is, “Don’t be surprised at changes in life because we are going to be rewarded at the end of the trial with a new perspective.” I love this verse because it reinforces the fact that God is always in charge and in control, even when we fail to follow His directions. The verse does not say that there will not be problems in life. God will help you survive whatever you may encounter as long as you stick with Him. Often problems are grounded in difficulties that we do not understand. Those unknown circumstances become very real and very personal. Challenges and tragedy strike everyone, but with proper faith and preparation we can navigate through any storm.

How do you control the crises in your life? When a crisis strikes you need to regain control before you can make progress. As in any emergency, there are choices, and how you handle those choices will probably determine your future. In an airplane that is in trouble your choices range from doing nothing and riding the bird into the ground or choosing a method of recovery and continuing to fly in a controlled manner. Obviously, the desired selection would be to regain control and get to a predetermined destination, but it is the pilot’s choice. The same holds true as you experience a problem in your life.

As I have grown older, it has been interesting to look back and see how some of the events in my life that I deemed very tough and insurmountable were, quite often, just training sessions for what was coming in the future. I became tougher and smarter from those storms. I know now that those tough times when I was required to bite down hard and take guff that came with failure or illness were just preparations for the main event to come. Those events were preparing me to handle real tests later in life.

I remember the challenges I had in the small airline that two other men and I had started when I got out of the Air Force. We started the business with no cash for payroll or extra capital for operation. Financing came from a friend and pilot who I flew with in Vietnam. We started the airline with borrowed money and capital from a coal company we formed. Two other ex-Air Force officers were also involved and our only common aptitude was having no airline experience. Our intent was to fly a route around major Texas cities each night and carry freight from town to town. It was a tough business with little margin for error. Soon the operation grew to more than 100 employees and I was elected president. As president, I knew the employees would look to me to reward them for their work and they needed to be paid. When I looked around for an answer to the lack of cash, it became obvious that there had to be additional sales to bring in the necessary income to pay the bills and the employees.

We formed a team that constantly called our customers and potential customers to find business for our airplanes. The persistence finally paid off with a contract at Thanksgiving from one of the largest users of microchips who had to have an immediate shipment to avoid shutting down their factory during that fourday holiday weekend. Because we had been hounding them for business, they called us and asked if we could send two airplanes to California to meet a shipment of microchips sent from Asia and get them to Austin, Texas. The large airlines had cut back their schedules due to the holiday and could not respond. Our answer was a hearty “yes” when they called us, and we were rewarded by being paid double the normal price for the job (unexpected, but the flight saved the company—both ours and theirs). Nothing is insurmountable if you realize that resources are available.

We had been able to maintain control of the situation without panicking and the persistence was rewarded. Our plan was to succeed by flying reiterative routes around Texas on a daily basis. God provided an opportunity to succeed by becoming an on-call airline, which paid more per trip, required fewer personnel, and better utilized our resources. God had a different plan than ours but His plan worked much better than ours.

I could devote an entire book to discuss all that we encountered as we were getting that airline off the ground. It was a time of chaos and challenge. We had no money, very little knowledge about airlines, very little knowledge of how to run an airline, and almost no experience at anything other than flying airplanes.

My tenure at the helm of the little company was short but it was one of the most enlightening of my life. I learned more in three years of running that start-up airline than all the textbooks, graduate schools, and seminars I have encountered in a long life of corporate work. Because our most constant resource was originality (some might describe it as survival), we quickly learned to make the most of all available resources. If you called our company for information and I answered the phone (there were only three employees when we began), I would greet you, transfer you to the freight department, put you on hold, and answer the phone in a different pitch, and try to talk you into sending your freight on our airplanes.

Once, when we had just purchased our first DC-9 airplanes and an aeromotive directive (AD) from the FAA arrived about DC-9s, the AD stated that there might be a crack in the spar that held the wings together. It was a big deal and also expensive. When we received the directive, some concluded that this was the end of the airline because we called every shop who worked on DC-9s around the country and were told the next available slot to have our bird looked at was in three to four weeks and the cost would be about $250,000 for the inspection. Talk about a downer. We didn’t have $250,000 and we sure couldn’t wait three to four weeks to get our airplane back in the air. One of our guys who worked in the parts room came into my office and knew the gravity of the situation (everyone in our company was aware of the problem). He said we could do the inspection ourselves over the weekend. At first I ignored his idea but then began to realize we had no choice. It was a wild idea, but after discussing it with our maintenance personnel they became excited about trying the long shot.

We began to assemble the employees and tell them about the problem, the circumstance, and the need for all of us to work through the weekend. One guy was building a house so he supplied the beams he was going to use in his new home to shore up the wings and allow us to lift the fuselage and separate the wings from the airplane. Another group of employees prepared meals for the maintenance guys who were performing the inspection, and yet others took out the interior and later replaced it when the spar was determined to be safe with no cracks. The airplane passed the inspection, the employees became a team, and the airline developed an esprit de corps that helped every employee become a salesman for our company.

What could have been the downfall of the airline became the incentive for us to grow and develop into a really viable corporation. Because of the idea of that young employee, we successfully corrected the problem, and gained an appreciation of one another that helped us grow and flourish in a very competitive industry. I left the organization a few years later to start another company, but I could never forget the satisfaction of seeing the team that developed from that weekend under pressure. Controlling the chaos of the moment actually proved to establish a foundation for a great team.

The original plans for building an airline certainly did not include the panic of that weekend maintenance ordeal, but God used the time to show us how to build a team in the company.

We do not have the advantage of seeing into the future, so it is important to understand that your present dire circumstance may actually be an opportunity to build yourself a new beginning. The circumstance may eventually allow you to make lemonade out of lemons. The final execution looks nothing like the original plan but somehow God works it out.

The plans we make for ourselves often change. The plan God has for us never changes. The secret is to find out how to use the circumstance of a problem to our advantage.

When facing a storm the eagle does not fly away but stays on his perch and spreads his wings as the severe weather approaches. With his wings spread full and facing head on into the torrent he is taken aloft and soars above the storm.

Just as the young eagle must have faith that he can fly, the mature eagle knows that facing the storm (the crisis) head on, he will soar above it. He uses the power of the storm to rise above it.

God provides an opportunity to use His plan for our lives and, as with the eagle, we rise above the storm.

## Chapter 4

### Check Your Instruments –  Find a Reliable Reference

Many years ago, when I was on the way to an assignment in Vietnam as a combat pilot, I was doing some serious soulsearching for truth in my life. I had never been in combat and was doing a lot of self-examination. I wanted to determine who I was deep down. Life was a huge question mark for me.

My grandfather was always one of my heroes when I was growing up and I valued his wisdom, especially when there was a large question about my life. My wife, Vickie, understood my searching and suggested we visit him on his farm in Indiana as we traveled across the country before my departure to go into combat. A visit with him would allow us to spend some time with him and maybe sort out answers to some of the questions plaguing me.

It was a great visit. Grandpa and I talked openly about life itself. The central question for me was determining who I really was and how I would react in combat. The answer to that question became important for a number of reasons. It exposed me to how I was going to approach life and the stress of combat. Grandpa took me to the heart of the discussion when he asked me a very simple question. He said, “Dean, are you afraid?”

What a penetrating question! I think that is an important question for anyone about to enter turmoil of any kind. Are you afraid?

I knew I was going into combat and had been trained extensively to fly aircraft and operate the systems of the airplane. I was not certain, however, that I was trained to operate myself when I was not in control of the situation. I could never lie to my grandfather

Check Your Instruments

and my answer was simply, “Yes.” I admitted that I did not know what was coming in the future, even with all the training and all the support from my wife. I wasn’t necessarily afraid of death itself, but I was more concerned about not being in control of how I died and when. (I didn’t realize until years later that we are never in complete control of those factors.)

I wanted more time with my wife (I didn’t know at the time that she was pregnant with our first child or I would have really been freaked). I was simply afraid of not finishing life correctly. I was concerned about not handling the adversity that might ensue from the upcoming experience in this faraway place called Vietnam. The answer was tough for me to utter, but true. I knew that I was afraid but I had never before admitted it publicly.

I really didn’t know what was coming in the next year or whether I would again have the opportunity to sit and receive this wisdom from my grandfather. Grandpa looked at me after I answered his question. He then stood up and walked into his house. He came back out to the porch with his Bible and requested that I memorize a verse. I followed his instruction and that verse has helped me handle a number of challenging times in life. It also certainly helped me get through my time in the war zone. Since those months in combat and the years into maturity, the verse has helped me overcome many other adversities as well. It is a simple verse found in Deuteronomy 31:6. It says, “*Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.*”

That little verse has had many applications for me and I suggest you also memorize it. It applied when I was being shot at in combat. It applied when I was very concerned about just making it home in one piece after some of my fellow pilots had lost their lives. It applied later in life when I was fighting cancer and concerned about recovery. It also applied in my life when my businesses were in a mess and it became apparent that I could not save them. That Bible verse has applied to so many circumstances in my life that it has been apparent that God was right there. The verse made me understand that God has been there, no matter what the circumstance, and has instilled in me the fact that I should remain strong and courageous because He (God Himself) is with me.

God is with you in the face of an enemy or enemies (the “them” referred to in the verse). In fact, one of the greatest lessons learned from all of those combined incidents where I applied that verse was that God will help analyze what it occurring while it is happening. He is with you at all times.

Before we take a step in any direction we should determine our location. God will help clarify that position. Analyzing our situation provides a new orientation as to our location, especially in the time of crisis. When I went through pilot training, the instructors placed us in a room that was totally dark with absolutely no source of light and told us to walk around the room. It was a very disturbing experience because there was almost nothing on which you could place a relationship. After experiencing that total darkness for a short period of time, the instructor introduced a tiny beam of light from the top corner of the room. The beam shown across the ceiling from one corner to another. Once the very tiny beam of light presented itself in the room the environment changed completely. I suddenly felt a relationship to the environment. I had something that I could use to analyze my position relative to the walls, the boundaries of the room, the space in which I was operating.

The point of the exercise was to teach us how to use references so that we could analyze how to operate in the airplane when there was very little reference to the horizon. We had to use the instruments available to us in the cockpit. By using those instruments we could orient ourselves so that we would operate the airplane safely in clouds when the horizon was totally obscured. Those instruments provided the only reference available that gave an indication of what the real world looked like. God will provide that same orientation to you in the time of crisis in your life. With God there is input that can be used for an analysis of our position even in the bad times.

## Chapter 5

### What Are Your Limits?–  Faith Provides Strength in Life

When I entered basic training in the Air Force, I remember my drill sergeant berating us for not keeping our weapons spotless and oiled. He said over and over in

the training that the weapon we were carrying was our best friend. It was to be honored and cared for because it would become the way out of a dangerous situation in combat. He preached that we should know our weapon intimately and guard it with our lives. In times of trouble, I have found that faith is an equally valuable weapon. Faith is the key to finding that needed strength when everything seems to turn against success.

If you are going to enter an unexpected pathway in life, remember to keep your faith very close so you will have it available during tough times. Faith is an asset that becomes the finest equipment in your arsenal when you are fighting for survival. If you are going to take a new path to revise the direction of your life, then establish a plan based upon faith. Your courage will be more easily developed with faith in your corner. Many religious leaders often use the term ‘faith’ as reliance on a belief unsupported by evidence. When developed, faith provides the strength of conviction to build a confidence in the future when everything is upside down.

“*Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love for us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving*” (2 Corinthians 8 NIV). When Paul wrote those words he was telling the people in Corinth that they had to increase their faith if they were going to survive. Corinth was a bawdy port city that was not kind to the church in Corinth. The city didn’t want the judgment of God’s people telling them to calm down their lifestyles and the Christians were heavily outnumbered. They desperately needed encouragement if they were going to survive as a people in a very non-believing world. Paul says plainly that they have the very thing they need to survive, FAITH. That added element in our lives can also help us survive those times when we seem outnumbered and under the gun from whatever is our enemy in tough times.

I recall some very dramatic times in my life when about all we had was faith. Vickie and I have learned that the element of faith can make all the difference for us in surviving those trying moments in life. Those moments when we seemed to have lost everything required some of our greatest faith and gave us some of the finest rewards. Right after my initial bouts with cancer we experienced some of those challenging “How can I survive?” moments.

We were in the midst of one of those moments a few years ago as we were moving from Central Texas to Michigan in mid-winter. As we drove along the interstate highway headed north to our new home and job, both my wife and I joked about whether God was really telling us to move. Our family motored onward as we questioned the snow flurries pinning the windshield of our twentyfoot U-Hauls and remembered the warm sixty-degree winter weather we had left the day before embarking on this journey.

We had prayed for a direction from God after my long bouts with cancer. The illness had sent my small aircraft sales business into a tail spin. It seemed at times that all our faith was for naught because we were not seeing fruition for our reliance on God, as an endless chain of tough events seemed to encompass our lives and send us on this journey.

My bride of more than twenty-three years at the time was sitting in the passenger seat of our truck and joking about our move into the cold country. I marveled at her ability to find a positive bent to what we were experiencing but she even made me smile at our circumstance. We had gone from a fun aviation business that paid all the bills to now driving to a job that only promised to pay a small percentage of our previous income and in a completely different field of aviation than I had known. I would be managing a small part of a large and diverse aviation company and not just flying airplanes. Vickie was again demonstrating the faith that

What Are Your Limits?

encouraged me to go forward.

The dramatic turn of events was the result of cancer, which led to the loss of a business, the culmination of a bad partnership and bad decisions on my part. Those factors added up to an unexpected change in career and the long drive to Michigan. Like so many events in life, I realize that God was making us stronger by the day. “*I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world*” John 16:33 (NIV).

Only a year and half before, I had taken on a partnership that seemed to be a great addition to our business. I had accepted an offer to take on a partner from a customer who surprised me with the proposal to buy into our little business. It all seemed so easy and predestined, although Vickie had asked me a simple question when the offer was made as we determined whether or not to accept his proposal. She asked simply, “Why?”

We had built our business up from nothing to a relatively stable entity. Our children were involved in running the venture, our employees were like an extension of our family, we had a nice home, and although there always seemed to be a lack of capital, it provided an adequate living. My entrepreneurial spirit kept popping up and wanting more. I never seemed to be satisfied with what we had at the time. The opportunity for additional capital from the new partner seemed to be the major motivation for even discussing the joint venture. My thinking, although flawed at the time, was that if we could build the business enterprise from nothing with little capital then just think what we could do with some operating resources! The opportunity to grow the company seemed to outweigh my need to listen to Vickie so I had chosen to go forward with the new partner, larger bank credit lines, and new direction for the business. In my mind, we were headed for the American dream. I did not really test the limits of the faith that I had been commanded to accept from God that “He would be sufficient.” I chose to rely on worldly measurement and more money.

All of my thoughts and dreams about growing the business had come to an abrupt halt a few months after forming the new partnership. I began losing weight, feeling weak, and trying to keep the business on an ever-increasing upturn while both the economy and my metabolism were going the other way. One afternoon when one of our pilots did not show up for a charter flight, I decided I could replace him on the flight; but instinct and my wife told me to first visit my family physician who was also a good friend. I just didn’t feel right.

I walked into the doctor’s office that day and told him, “I need you to fix me so I can go fly.” He smiled and asked me to describe what had caused me to come in to his office on short notice. I quickly told the doctor that I had lost fifteen pounds in the last month without dieting, felt lethargic, was passing blood, and did not have time to feel tired (I am sure that really impressed him). He examined me, analyzed my symptoms and announced that I was not to fly and, instead, he sent me off for some tests. The results of those tests later turned my life upside down.

The tests revealed that I had prostate cancer and the disease had spread. It was later explained that glandular activity is much higher at midlife (I was forty-three at the time) than it is normally at later stages in life when this disease normally attacks men. I later learned that the cancer was probably the result of my exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam.

As the cancer spread it resulted in more surgeries and ever increasing anxiety about the business. I desperately wanted to beat the disease, but there always seemed to be a problem. When we would get close to a solution, another problem would arise. I began a reiterative cycle of surgery, therapy, and recovery.

Each cycle resulted in my diving further and further into a depression. It was a cycle I had not foreseen in all my life or business plans. I had heard of others who became depressed, but this was my first experience. About the time I could see hope, there was another dose of physical and mental trauma. Where was the faith that I so desperately wanted when I needed it?

During the episodes, there was also the reality that my business was slowly falling into the abyss of neglect. I couldn’t produce sales for the business while I was recuperating and I was certainly not satisfying the partner who had built me up as the great hope of aviation sales. Everything I was trying to accomplish seemed to be caving in on me.

During the time all this was occurring my mental state became so drained that I even considered giving up on life. The thoughts

What Are Your Limits?

passed quickly when I remembered that I had two wonderful children who needed to get through college and a wife who could not have been more allegiant to me. I will talk more about this period of my life in more detail later in the book.

My mind had gone from dreams of building a great business to that moment when I wondered whether life was worth living. I had trouble even looking at myself in a mirror. What a change, and how did I get into this position? For the first time in my life I could not pull myself out of the dive and I knew it. I could only exist if I could regenerate that faith that had seemed so real a few months earlier when the future looked so bright. I confessed to God that I had spent my life controlling everything and I now realized I was not in control. I prayed, “Lord, take control of my life because I cannot control anything. I am relying on my faith in you to change my course.” That faith provided the strength for me to go on.

Just releasing the problem to God seemed to make a huge difference and sometime shortly after that confession on my knees I began to recover. It wasn’t because I did something different or because I was a good guy. I just released the problem and it was like a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. The faith was making me whole.

It can also lift some of your burdens. Faith does make us stronger.

## Chapter 6

### Look for a Safe Place to Land– When Things Are Bad, Use Faith

All that was happening between the cancer and our business was about to become even more complicated. We had endured some of the toughest periods of our married life as the cancer attacked, surgery followed surgery, and life seemed to be accelerating in the wrong direction. Stress was an afterthought as the illness caused diversion from our ability to care for the business**,** which caused a constantly deteriorating income stream. There seemed to be no relief, but life kept going.

I had thought it was great when my partner brought some loan papers up to the hospital for me to sign during one of the surgeries. I surmised he really cared about me and still acknowledged my ability to contribute to the business. There was a problem, however, because some of the collateral for those loans had been sold. The missing collateral would later drive me even farther into a hole both psychologically and physically. How could life become more rigorous than all I was experiencing with the cancer? I quickly discovered how ridiculous that statement really was.

When I talked about going to the bank that had made the loans to discuss the missing collateral, my partner objected. The collateral had been sold to gain cash for the company but that meant it was sold “out of trust,” a factor that, according to my partner, would send me to jail since I had signed the loan papers in the hospital. The person who signed for the loan was responsible for any collateral associated with the loan**.** He said, “This can all be made well. The doctors have said you probably only have a few months to live so after your death the insurance will pay off the loan and

Look for a Safe Place to Land

there will be plenty of money for everyone involved to share.” In other words, I was worth more dead because the large insurance policy would pay off the bank notes and there would be plenty of money left over to split. His thoughts about the solution still ring in my mind, even today.

I determined that I had to be honest with the bank because I was responsible so I decided to drive to the bank and discuss the problem. I was too weak to drive, so a friend drove me. As I sheepishly sat across from the banker, telling him the saga and how sorry I was about the collateral dilemma, he agreed to allow me to pay back the money over time. The banker stated that he knew about the cancer and would work something out for me to pay back the loan.

In the midst of the conversation the phone rang and the banker handed the telephone to me**,** announcing it was my partner. As I raised the phone to my ear I heard my partner’s voice telling me I was fired for being stupid and going to the banker. The partner now owned fifty-one percent of the company so he had a legal right to say what he said. Reality quickly set in. I had just told the banker that I owed him over $200,000, which I promised to repay, and now I no longer had a job, had been given a dire diagnosis for life by my doctors, and with the loss of job also had lost my insurance. How deep could this crisis become?

In all the turmoil I began to recognize a stabilizing element that had somehow been overlooked: faith. Faith had been there as I built the business, but I suddenly overlooked the most obvious asset in my quiver. I had lost faith when I didn’t rely on God rather than on the large bank statement of the new partner. I had demonstrated a lack of faith when I did not simply trust God with all the odds against me with cancer. I realized that faith never left me; I was just not using faith.

It was after nearly a year of living with the facts I have just described that we found ourselves driving to Grand Rapids, Michigan on that cold day in December, smiling about becoming reacquainted with snow after our sunny Texas home. Our furniture was jammed in the two rented trucks. I drove one with Vickie, our daughter the other, and our son followed in the family sedan with our trusty dog. We were on the way to taking the only job I had been offered in nearly two years, at a salary which, ironically, equated to exactly ten percent of my taxable income the year I had gotten sick. One by one all those things I had wanted and worked for in the business we left in Texas became less important as we drove northward with our little caravan. The whole scenario seemed to make no sense, but in a very strange way, I realized all the turmoil we had experienced over the last year and a half was in the rearview mirror.

Somehow faith was taking hold of any doubts I had and shoving them into the background. Just as that verse in Deuteronomy stated, He was with me, “…even in the face of my enemies….” God was working me through this ordeal. I had begun my slow recovery from cancer because of God and not anything I was doing. Vickie and I were doing our best to maintain control of a life that seemed to have flown out of control. Without faith I had relied totally on my own strength and it was now obvious that my strength was not enough without faith.

I was beginning to sense someway, someday, we would try to laugh at this experience. I suddenly began thinking about the future and not relating to the past. Faith and hope began creeping back into my thought processes. Those words that my grandfather told me to learn so many years ago began to re-form in my mind: “…*Be strong and courageous….*”

Over the last few months as my health improved I had searched for work. It had not been a difficult decision to accept the offer in Grand Rapids because it was the only offer I received during that period. Not many people try to hire a guy who has been told by doctors he does not have long to live**,** is not fully recovered from cancer, and is desperate (though they didn’t know that part). It didn’t seem like the situation was as bad as it really was because I had been to the bottom—no job, no insurance, no money, and no hope—so anything that paid real money and offered hope for the future was a gift. If a job offered a paycheck and a future, it seemed like utopia. This job seemed like a new lease on life and was the key to regaining control of the situation. We were being given an opportunity to fly free and grow.

Yes, it was with that background we drove north and smiled as we talked about the timing of that moment. It seemed like we had a chance to start over and we were taking the job with great expectations.

Look for a Safe Place to Land

What could we do to make things turn out better this time? We began to realize we were flying free of those encumbrances that had held us so firmly in the past, encumbrances that somehow had enticed us to stop looking at what was really important. Funny how the view changes when you begin to see some hope. We were realizing that we could fly free into a promising future.

Some friends told Vickie and me they felt sorry for us as they saw all of our material security disappear with the business. We were forced to declare bankruptcy to separate from the key man life insurance policy with the partner. Over the years following, we were blessed to be able to pay back everyone, including the bank, all the money involved in the bankruptcy. It was, however, a very tough time on my pride, but there seemed be a new light in front of us.

Vickie and I realized this was a great opportunity to begin anew. It was a freedom to break from the upheaval we had experienced in the last two and a half years. We began to look forward to a new future. We had prayed for a glimmer of hope and now, somehow, we were seeing the reality of an answer. Faith was turning into reality.

The truck we were driving wouldn’t accelerate over fifty-five miles per hour, but my mind was going much faster as I attempted to think through the steps that carried us from the near-brink of extinction financially, the steps that had overlooked faith as the major weapon of hope.

We realized that God had put us on that highway and was moving us in the direction we were headed. He was helping us realize that real security in life comes from Him and not from the business we had just left or the house we had sold at a loss to be released from the payments. He was moving us toward a new goal and one that, we later could confirm, was much larger and more satisfying than anything we had yet experienced.

I love the freedom of flight, so those moments in that truck were inspiring because they reminded me of the advantage of being able to fly free with the gift of faith. Something was occurring far beyond my control and my capability. In some weird way I began to feel that I was being freed to fly in a different direction. By faith, we were being freed from the burden of a business that waned during my illness, a partner who really couldn’t have cared less if I lived or died, and a recent life that I now realized was empty and unfulfilling. Suddenly, there was an opportunity to fly away. What a wonderful concept, flying free of the past and being able to go in a new direction!

Things seemed to have gone from bad to worse but—were they? When we began looking around, we realized, the family was together, my health was improving, I had a job with the potential to establish a good solid future, and God was providing it all. There was no other explanation for what, to us, was a miracle. Suddenly, we determined that only God could have been the reason for what was happening.

## Chapter 7

### Regain Control – One Step at a Time

I began flying at twelve years of age with a flying farmer who lived on the farm adjoining ours in central Indiana. I washed the bottom of his airplane that he kept in a cow pasture (you can guess what I was washing off that little airplane) to take a lesson now and then. There was a reward to my effort because I began to see the world in a different way. Kirk began to show me the freedom that came with flight and my mind adopted many analogies from the voyages in the sky that we experienced in that yellow Piper Cub. I began to realize that the way an airplane flew was very similar to the way God wanted us to live our lives. If we were going to find stability in life there were certain factors that contributed to constancy. Stability in an airplane or in life takes place one step at a time.

When everything in life seems as if it is coming undone, it is important to find something that is steady and permanent. If you are the pilot of an airplane you search for stability. When an airplane is flying with sufficient airspeed it moves gracefully forward under perfect control. However, if you are flying an airplane and you reduce airspeed to the point that you lose stability, the aircraft can go into a spin.

The main components of airplane flight are *thrust*, *drag*, *lift* and *gravity*; all are forces that when controlled produce the magnificent experience of flight. Without the discipline of control and harmony these forces act upon the airframe and an aircraft may crash—each is critical to safe operation.

Similarly, these forces are at play in our lives to maintain control and move us forward on a steady and productive course. Without thrust (initiative) we are overcome by events (drag) in our daily lives. These events become overwhelming (weight) and we tend to fall down because the (lift) that we have cannot keep us going toward our goal.

The actions to regain control of the airplane are done almost simultaneously, but with each action you go back to the basics of what makes the airplane stable. Ofttimes we forget to take those basic actions when our lives are spinning out of control. The most stable aspect in our lives is faith, and it can help you regain stability even in turbulent times. The problem is often that we leave our faith behind when we get in a jam. It is much like saying that the airplane in a spin has no airspeed. Without airspeed the airplane cannot fly. Airspeed is essential to create lift and keep the plane in the air.

In my life, I found that each time I lost control it was usually because I put my faith in something earthly rather than looking heavenly while maintaining my loyalty to Christ.

Faith is the foundation of our lives that is essential to finding a solution for problems. We cannot hide from the need to have faith once we understand the essential nature of our being and our relationship with Christ. Accepting His grace is the first step to regaining control in our lives. “*For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do*” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV).

What Paul is saying is that God’s *grace* is omnipresent—always there for us; we simply must believe and have faith in His love to sustain us and to keep us on track. Our requirement is just to have faith; it is the major component in hope. You can’t buy it or earn it. It’s free—already been paid for through the death of Christ on the cross.

Where do we obtain faith?

Faith is available through the Holy Spirit and ready to help you take action in a dire situation. You can’t touch or smell faith, much like the air moving across the wings of your airplane, but it never leaves, and it is a necessary element to recovering from a life spinning out of control. You can use faith as an element to regain stability in every life situation. Faith brings hope to the hopeless

Regain Control

and help to those in need.

I can learn of faith from others but I am personally responsible for my faith. If I intend to regain stability, it is essential for me first to have faith. People can help you in situations, but the major ingredient in stability will always prove to be your faith. I have found that we as people are not perfect. People are vulnerable to making mistakes. Each of those imperfections is an encumbrance, and Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV) states:

*Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.\**

Christ was perfect, so when you are seeking stability, you need to search for the most established and firmest foundation available. I have learned from personal experience that if I seek Christ when out of control, good things seem to happen. Christ reacts positively to my faith.

Wise old Solomon said in Proverbs 28:5 (NAT), “*Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.*”

I found one of my greatest educational tools in life was to listen to people who are astute. Solomon is said to be the epitome of wisdom and he lays out some great stuff in his Biblical writings. Other people provided me wonderful lessons in how to go forward when I stumbled, but understanding that God was there outweighed all the good advice I ever received from mortals. If we seek God in a crisis, we can begin to understand what Solomon was relaying in his proverb. He was saying, even when we are beaten down by men or circumstance, we can understand how to survive by using our faith and seeking the Lord.

All survival involves faith in some realm. It is interesting to see that over time, all of our lives as human beings are pretty similar. The times in life that require the greatest attention to detail to

\*Or *Jesus, the originator and perfecter of our faith.*

recover from a problem are those periods that involve the greatest amount of fear. Interestingly, those situations usually come when faith is at its lowest levels.

Emergencies are not planned occurrences or they would not be deemed emergencies. Knowing what to do when encountering an emergency in an airplane comes from proper preparation; learning how to deal with the fear that inevitably comes in these moments involves faith. The same assumption holds true for the emergencies that attack us in life. It is important to utilize the tools available for us to regain control. We can prepare for our life emergencies if we can determine the available tools and learn how to use those devices.

My son Ryan and I were flying in a Cessna 172 (a small, fourplace single engine airplane) when he was a teenager. We were really just flying around our local airport and enjoying the time together. I was trying to take advantage of the time to give him some instruction on handling the airplane and, secretly, hoping to instill interest in him in becoming a pilot. Our daughter had jumped into flying with both feet, but somehow Ryan had other things on his mind, which kept his attention away from becoming an aviator until much later in life**.** Some of that nonchalant attitude about flying may have come about because he had to go to work at a young age at the airport, which wasn’t always a fun job.

Ryan had seen the rough side of an airport business, as he regularly swept out hangars, dug ditches, and washed the airplanes. Only seldom did he get to see the fun side of the business and climb in an airplane with me.

On this particular day, while we were flying around the local area, I told Ryan over and over again how safe the airplane was, as long as you prepared for emergencies. I closed the throttle to simulate the loss of an engine and was demonstrating a forced landing in an open field we had picked out. I allowed him to select the field and I instructed him on how to set up a proper glide to reach the field, how to configure the plane to land on rough terrain, and how we would affect a safe landing. All of this instruction was intended to end with my pushing the throttle back in and flying away. Never did I expect to actually make the forced landing.

All went well as we sailed down towards the field we were going to use for the demonstration until we reached about 500 feet above

Regain Control

the ground and I instructed him to go around. The demonstration was over and it was time to apply power and break off the glide or we would actually be landing in the emergency field. Nothing happened and this time I yelled at Ryan, “Go around!” Ryan looked at me and said, “The throttle broke.” He handed me the throttle knob, which had somehow become detached from the throttle cable and ended up in his hand.

We had a real problem and I am certain he was thinking, “My dad is crazy if he thinks this airplane is safe.”

Having watched our mechanics work on the throttles during annual inspections on the planes in our hangar, I knew to reach under the instrument panel to find the end of the cable that should have been attached to the knob in Ryan’s hand and screwed it back onto the cable. We pushed on the throttle and it worked correctly, accelerated the engine, and the airplane began to regain flying speed only a few feet above ground, and we flew safely away. While I was shaking inside, I heard my son say, “Dad, was that supposed to happen?” In a father’s attempt to remain calm, I acted like it was a normal occurrence but then the reality sank in. We could have ended up in a metal ball in that field had the knob not properly screwed back onto the throttle cable. The tool that God had provided us was a casual observation of a mechanic repairing someone else’s throttle cable a few weeks earlier. I had no idea at the time that the lesson would result in Ryan and I being able to safely recover from what could have been a very serious incident. We had the capability and the tool to use at the time it was needed. Our solution had been handed to us one step at a time.

God provides lessons both large and small to help us through life. He then relies on our faith to act and use those lessons for living. The Holy Spirit prompts us at just the right time to act. Knowing that there are capabilities and tools that can be used when the chips are down can make a big difference in being able to endure emergencies. In the midst of a crisis we often search for any possible method of extricating ourselves. We search for confidence/faith that we will correctly react to a problem.

I, like most of you, have always wanted to be ready for an emergency, but I believe that God prepares us in small ways. It may be watching someone else repair a throttle cable or helping someone involved in a problem in their lives, but we are preparing.

Learning how to fight a battle is essential if you are going to win in combat or business. You want to find the best way to be confident of the outcome. It may mean practicing how to fight the battle. Success is often the result of utilizing the lessons learned from everyday experiences. It comes one step and one experience at a time.

## Chapter 8

### Know Your Cockpit – Be Prepared for Crisis

In Vietnam, I quickly learned there were some guys I wanted to fly with and others whom I steered away from in heavy combat.

The guys whom I wanted to be in battle with were the ones who knew every aspect of the airplane they were flying and all of its systems. The guys who took time to know the capability of their aircraft could react automatically when something went wrong. Those pilots were the ones who spent time preparing for the battle. They were ready for the abnormal situations and unforeseen problems. The pilots who prepared and practiced developed the confidence and skills to do a better job in battle.

I remember talking to some of those trusted guys the night before a mission and discussing how we would handle various situations. I gained confidence from the shared knowledge of those great warriors. It was those times when I developed faith in the capabilities of my wingmen. That faith, at times, helped me endure the stresses of battle. I developed confidence in the assurance of knowing that I was putting my life in good hands when flying the mission. Faith in Christ can do the same thing for you when you are entering the uncertain periods in your life.

I owe my life to many people, but one person stands out because he was an instructor pilot who helped me prepare for combat by challenging me to prepare for real battle situations. I was assigned to the Special Operations Training School at Hurlburt Field in Florida as I prepared for my mission in Vietnam. He taught me how to fly as a forward air controller (FAC). I will call him “Ken.” Ken had just returned from a tour in Southeast Asia and his assignment was to prepare me and several other aviators who were going to a similar special operations assignment. Ken was very quiet but also very serious in his approach to teaching us what to do in combat. One of the important lessons in the school was learning how to fire the weapons on the airplane. I was not initially assigned to Ken, and the first instructor I had for the training told us to raise the nose of the airplane very precisely to ten degrees above the horizon, kick the rudder gently in the direction of the target, pull the nose of the airplane down to the target until we could see it through the pipper (firing scope) and then pull the trigger. It all seemed very simple and precise and I always put the rocket on target as it left the wing of my airplane. There was only one problem that became evident later in the school: my instructor had never been in combat.

A couple of days after my initial firing range missions, I was reassigned to fly with Ken. We flew out to the firing range as I had the first times with my other instructor, and as we approached the target, I carefully went through the procedure of raising the nose, pushing in the rudder and gently pulling the nose of the airplane down to the target (an old target ship anchored in the Gulf of Mexico). Suddenly, I realized that something was amiss because the airplane rolled inverted and I was staring at the bright blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico less than 1,000 feet below me. There was nothing gentle about the maneuver as there had been with the previous instructor. Ken had grabbed the control yoke on his side of the cockpit and pulled it all the way over, causing the airplane to flip upside down, and as I scrambled to recover, he announced to me that I would have been dead in combat.

He explained that if I had followed the same procedures I had learned from the first instructor in the combat theater, the mission would have ended in disaster. My desire to be so precise in rolling in on the target would have provided the enemy a full target for over a minute and resulted in my airplane being blown out of the sky. Ken understood the full scope of firing at the enemy in combat, and he passed his knowledge on to me. His lessons had been learned firsthand, as he had just returned from flying missions in combat in the same special operations group I would soon be joining in Vietnam.

Ken also told me during the training at Hurlburt Field that the perfectly rigged aircraft we were learning to fly would be rare

Know Your Cockpit

in combat. The airplanes in the combat theater had been pulled, jerked, bent, shot up, and repaired to the point that their wings might be warped, and their controls slow to respond. He said they would spin on a dime because of their warped condition. He therefore taught me how to recover from a spin when the airplane’s wings were fully loaded with armament, because that was normally the configuration which precipitated the entry into a spin.

Ken went way beyond the approved standard syllabus and he provided me knowledge of what was going to happen when I arrived in theater that others did not receive. Some of the guys got through the preparation training at Hurlburt in a much easier manner but then had difficulty in combat because they had not been tested during training. The testing we endure in training can save our lives, or at least prepare us for the difficult situations that follow us through life.

I was panicked when Ken started those lessons, thinking that I had enjoyed the steadiness and predictability of the previous instructor. It had felt good and secure to know that we were flying within the boundary of safety. The first instructor would always keep me comfortable and didn’t stretch the limits of my knowledge. There was a comfortable approach to each of the training lessons. Ken took me far outside that boundary and prepared me for what was going to happen later in combat.

A few months after the training in Florida, I was in the battle zone and out over Laos with a navigator who sat in the seat beside me in the airplane. His job was to plot a course to get us safely to and from the target, keep a keen eye outside for anti-aircraft bursts targeting our airplane, and help keep me alive as we traversed enemy territory. My job was to fly the airplane and get us home in one piece. This particular day I had a guy with me who shall remain nameless, but he may be described as a large barrel-chested Irishman with a furious temper. We were being shot at with 37 mm anti-aircraft guns, and when an airburst exploded under our airplane the aircraft almost immediately entered into a spin just as Ken had predicted. I did just what Ken had taught me. I pushed forward on the yoke to lower the nose and gain airspeed and then rapidly pulled the yoke back to recover from the ensuing dive. I did that three times and the trees on the mountains below were growing much too distinct as we spun towards the earth. The recovery was not working. Ken’s one step at a time plan for recovery was failing.

I pushed the yoke of the airplane forward one more time, just as Ken had said, when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw my burly flying partner fly forward in his seat. His shoulder harness was not locked and he was flying forward into the control yoke as I was jerking it back. When I took the next action to recover from the dive and pulled the yoke in front of him back rapidly, it was hitting my partner squarely in the chest. After striking him I was not getting the yoke back far enough to slow the dive and regain flying speed. As a result we were heading right back into another spin. I suddenly realized the spin had persisted because I hadn’t fully completed step one. If we were going to get out of the situation alive I had to take one more step. I reached over, grabbed my navigator’s shoulder strap and pulled him back against his seat as I pulled the yoke back towards my stomach and the airplane gently flew out of the dive. It recovered as sweetly as if it had done it on its own. The airplane recovered exactly as described in textbooks, and more importantly, as in the training Ken had provided.

My poor navigator was quite bruised and worn by the whole

**Photo taken over Southern Laos during the author’s tour in Vietnam- 1969 (photo prepared by John A. Messerly).**

Know Your Cockpit

affair but always kept his seat belt a little tighter when we flew together on future missions. I also became forever indebted to that instructor back in Florida who cared enough to go a little further in my training. He had equipped me to recover from an uncontrolled situation one step at a time. He had prepared me for that moment when we encountered the unexpected emergency and he had provided the knowledge of how to recover. He had helped me build faith in a plan that would get me back to base alive. The discomfort I had experienced in Ken’s realistic training for combat proved to be an enduring lesson for survival. Preparation for emergency situations provides great reward when the real situation arrives.

We are destined to be challenged, and if we prepare for challenges we can get through them by correcting the problem one step at a time. If we use our faith in God we will have the strength to handle any emergency. Recovery from problems, no matter how large, should include God.

## Chapter 9

**Choose Your Weapons –  Determine How to Fight!**

A few months ago I was working with a young man in his late teens who was very exasperated by his circumstance in life.

He had lost his job and was about to lose his apartment and his car. He felt unable to go forward. As he said, “What is the use, because there nothing for me in the future?” He had determined there was no way out of his dilemma and was at the point of total frustration with life. I wanted to help him in any way possible because he had no family, no mentor, and most importantly, no hope. For the sake of this discussion I will call him “Sam.”

I hired Sam to help me with some tasks that involved carrying tools and installing landscaping at my home. We had an opportunity to talk as we sweated in the summer sun, and he began to open up to me that he felt the world was coming down on him. Sam began to pour out his life to me, and it was amazing to see the world from his eyes. He had no cash, had dropped out of school, and had even survived at times by sleeping in his friend’s car. Sam was eighteen years old and had a record in juvenile court from an earlier offense when he was fourteen years old. His parents had kicked him out of the house when he was fifteen, so there had been very little support from his family. He painfully told me he felt his life was over. He could not go into the military because he had a record of court appearances and no high school diploma. Both strikes led to his attitude of desperation.

Sam was street smart and knew that he had to finish high school before he could progress to the next step in life. He was figuratively in a free fall, like the eagles we discussed earlier. We began talking

Choose Your Weapons

about how Sam could regain control and develop realistic objectives to achieve his primary target. As Sam could see each successive step resulting in a building block for his dream he began to become hopeful. His eyes lit up with excitement when he discussed the remote possibility of entering the United States Marines Corps. He felt he could excel as a Marine, but it had been such a distant possibility until he realized his dream was possible if he attacked the problem one step at a time. He was determining how to assault his problem and taking realistic steps to accomplish the goal.

Just a few weeks after our first conversation Sam began realizing he could work his way out of the past problems by setting some attainable goals. The attitude of hopelessness began to change to one of a creeping optimism. Sam had to find solutions that would realistically allow him to succeed, one step at a time. He chose each of those solutions to be a weapon in attacking his problem. Because he had developed a passion for entering the Marines, that became the primary goal for his future life. Sam would not give up because he wanted to climb out of his present circumstance. The military provided him hope for growth as a man and gave him potential to escape what had become a downward spiral in life. Sam expressed the desire to achieve his ambition. He had the desire and passion to concentrate on something that would develop his potential for the future.

Together we sat down and began to map out a route to get Sam into the Marine Corps. We knew it could happen because it was happening for others who had been in the same circumstance as Sam. We prayed together and talked about possible solutions. Together we determined how to attack his objective one step at a time. We laid out the plan that analyzed where he was currently located in his life and determined a desired new path that would get him to his future goals.

I asked him about his faith and he stated that he believed in Christ but wasn’t exactly sure how that applied to his present problem. After talking about how to improve faith by laying out a plan, relying on faith, and working toward a solution, we decided on a starting point to obtain the objective of completing his high school degree. We agreed that would be the first step toward being considered to be a Marine. We also researched how the Marines would look at his previous record in court. Amazingly to Sam, the law enforcement officials said that his record was only applicable to his service entry if it was an adult record. He had not been guilty of a felony, so when he turned eighteen his record would be erased if he kept his nose clean. One of the largest imagined hurdles had already disappeared for Sam.

We essentially laid out a map of the battle he had to fight to arrive at the desired destination. The plan involved going back to school, finding a place to live while he was in school, determining how he would act around authority figures to avoid future problems with authorities, and even how he would dress every day for school. He had to plan his life so it would succeed one day at a time. The plan was not built for months at a time but more like an hour-by-hour plan for living. We prayed about each phase of the plan and began searching for help.

Sam accomplished every objective we discussed that day by sticking with his plan. We prayed that God would give him the courage to stick with the map and the faith to know that he, Sam, could succeed in the plan one day at a time. He exercised his faith. As a result of his desire, his faith grew stronger. He was able to move in with a very generous couple who gave him a room, and they maintained a strict code of discipline on cleanliness, dress, and the operation of their home. He followed their rules and Sam completed the necessary high school courses and was rewarded a few weeks ago with an acceptance to join the Marine Corps. Sam now has a great attitude about the future and has already achieved a great objective, one step at a time. He has learned how to fight the battle of life as God has restored his ability to endure that battle. Sam relied on his faith and operated on the plan that allowed him to achieve his goals one step at a time.

William Jennings Bryan said, “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.” My friend Sam proved to me that if you determine how you are going to fight the battle that affects your life, and then follow the plan, there can be a great outcome.

## Chapter 10

### Check Your Gauges –  Prepare Your Response

I felt privileged to have served in the United States Air Force and to have attended the Air Force pilot training program. When

I attended, we were told the training was worth three million dollars, so there is no telling what it is worth today, more than forty years later. The government spared no money in developing the most professional pilots in the world and it was a joy to be part of the group.

As stated previously, I attended pilot training during the Vietnam War, so we were very serious about learning everything we could about flying airplanes, because the big test was coming when we graduated and were sent into combat. We were destined to go very quickly from being a student pilot to a combat pilot. We were in the “pipeline” to go to Vietnam, so “passing or failure” literally became matters of life and death.

As I was going through pilot training, there was a tremendous amount of emphasis placed on learning emergency procedures. It is always good to be prepared for an emergency but the Air Force seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time preparing us to crash or avoid a crash in their airplanes. Each airplane we learned to fly had its own unique set of emergency procedures. One of the first duties in checking out a new airplane involved hours of memorization of the emergency procedure for that particular make and model of aircraft.

The actions for an emergency were simple and easily memorized so they were the ones I learned to use whenever I encountered a problem in an airplane. The ones specific to any particular model of airplane always followed the same three guidelines. We were told the three to use first in an emergency were:

1. Maintain aircraft control
2. Analyze the situation/take proper action
3. Land as soon as practical

Those words were drummed into our heads until they became automatic reactions to a crisis. I mention them again here to drum them into your head. The three procedures were survival steps for taking action when anything happened out of the ordinary in the cockpit. If things began to go wrong in the cockpit we could refer to those life-saving steps to get the crippled airplane back on the ground.

The three emergency procedures work in non-airplane emergencies equally well. They work if you have a blown tire in your car, an emergency in your home, are laid off from a job when it was completely unexpected, experience the loss of a loved one, or find yourself out of control in a dire situation. When something happens that is out of the ordinary in life we often just react and never think about maintaining control or analyzing our situation.

My advice for acting under stress or solving a simple problem is simple. Use the advice of my old Air Force instructor pilots: *maintain aircraft control, analyze the situation/take proper action, land as soon as practical*.

It is obvious that you cannot get beyond an emergency if you do not maintain control of your life or your airplane during a problem. Maintaining control is essential in any situation if you are going to safely survive an ordeal. Regaining or maintaining control is the first essential element to surviving a crisis. Maintaining your life or your aircraft allows you to proceed to the next essential element of making it through that problem event.

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary says that the word “analyze” means to “to examine carefully,” and “to take apart and examine.”

Once when I was complaining about something that had happened to me, a close friend who knew what I was going through said to me, as only a friend can, “Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger.” Bad things can happen to anyone. You are not alone in this problem. He was saying that it is important to realize that we can learn from

others and all that you are experiencing. You can do that by analyzing what is happening and why.

Analyze the situation. What a concept!

One of the greatest examples of analyzing a situation in the Bible is the story of Gideon. Gideon’s story has a lot of application to what is appropriate when you find yourself in a crisis. When we face difficulties in life we need to remember there is always a time for evaluation.

Gideon had to make some very important decisions at a very stressful time. Stressful situations always seem to come when we think we do not have time to react properly. That is part of what makes the situation stressful.

You may find yourself in those situations as well. Have you just been laid off? Has something just happened to threaten your way of life or your lifestyle? Do you feel like what you are experiencing is threatening your existence, your comfort zone, your family?

In the book of Judges in the Bible we meet this biblical character, Gideon, at a tough time in his life. He was the military commander of Israel. Talk about responsibility! The security of an entire nation depended upon Gideon.

Gideon did what we are told in the Bible to do in times of crisis. He relied on God. Judges 6:36 (NAS) says, “God If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel, you will deliver Israel through me as you have spoken.” Gideon was verifying God’s promise. He knew he had to rely on God to be successful. He obtained a clearer understanding of his situation by relying on God. He was maintaining control and analyzing the situation with God. Gideon’s primary tool for solving the problem ahead of him was to rely on God’s promised support to accomplish the assigned mission. He intended to take the proper action the Lord directed him to take.

General Gideon was in charge of 30,000 soldiers but he was facing a force far larger that were bent on the annihilation of his people, his army, and his country. The enemy was a Midianite army 120,000 strong and they were camped only a few miles away from Gideon’s army on higher ground. The enemy on higher ground is something military tacticians would tell you is not a positive situation. So we find Gideon was not only outnumbered four to one, but his enemy was just around the corner. They were ready to pounce from an advantageous position. Gideon had been thrown into the circumstance without a quality plan, and yet he would have been a great pilot because he followed that first law of an emergency to a T. He maintained control while analyzing the situation.

General Gideon stopped, talked to God (he maintained control), and then analyzed his situation which resulted in a definitive plan. He gathered his men around a pool of water. “*So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, ‘Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink.’ Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink*” Judges 7:5-6 (NIV).

A few years ago, Vickie and I visited that pool in Israel (now called Gideon’s Pool). Our visit made the story of Gideon even more real for me. The pool of Gideon is simply a wide place in a small stream at the edge of a hill. The stream runs very shallow and trickles between mounds of sand so it is no deeper than three to four inches in any place between the islands of sand. The pool is about twelve to fifteen feet wide. I could see in my mind’s eye a legion of soldiers kneeling on the sand to drink from these tiny streams.

Gideon’s men were told if they wanted to go home they could, and 20,000 of them did just that and headed for the hills of home. He allowed two-thirds of his force to walk out because he didn’t want them around if they were hesitant to fight, so that was part of the test. As it states in the verse above, he then instructed the men to sip the water and he carefully watched the men drink. (His stress must have increased as he saw so many fail the test but he didn’t quit.)

He observed the remaining 10,000 soldiers and actually sent 9,700 of them home with the 20,000 who had already chosen to leave. He kept only 300 of the original 30,000 soldiers because he wanted men who would analyze their surroundings and follow his plan.

Gideon was coming up with a plan that would work with this particular enemy and this particular situation. He was also demonstrating faith in God with this plan.

Both establishing a plan and sticking with it are elements essential to your analysis of a plan for life and your situation. You must take time to analyze what will work in your life, structure a plan, and then take ownership of (have faith in) your solution. Faith in a plan becomes essential to proper execution. You must take time to maintain control, and then analyze the situation you are in, so that you can begin to see alternatives. Even in the case of an emergency there is time to stop and analyze the problem. Take time to analyze before you act.

The secret to success for Gideon was deciding to analyze who he wanted to have fight by his side, and how the battle would be fought. The plan God gave him to execute required faith to successfully implement. Gideon knew God had provided the diagram but he still required faith to execute the plan

If you haven’t read the rest of Gideon’s story I recommend spending some time reading the conclusion because it ends well. Gideon’s army wins the battle and he becomes the hero. I love happy endings. Sometimes to follow God’s instruction in our lives is stressful but there is always a favorable conclusion for those who listen to and rely on God. We are told to slow down and analyze what is happening around us.

The next step to success in renewing life after a crisis is to do exactly what God is telling you to do. Following God’s instructions can be difficult but we must remember those words we discussed in Deuteronomy 31:6. You need to be ready to be strong and courageous in your life. You need to slow down and use the strength you have in reserve to the maximum, especially in stressful times.

Following advice and instruction can be difficult when you are in the midst of a crisis and the world is saying, just react. Tutoring from God’s instruction book often goes against the standards of the world. The Bible provides wisdom that guarantees success. It is also very important, when in a serious situation, to follow the instruction provided because the information came from someone else who had endured the same circumstance. Why not learn from someone else’s experience?

It is essential to position yourself with people and situations where you can “practice” your faith. Crisis doesn’t normally occur in good times but usually shows when up it is least welcome. No matter how inopportune the timing, it is our responsibility to find the way out of a mess when it occurs. Remember, the most important element in discovering the proper solution is normally found within ourselves. When we prepare for the unexpected it is much easier to react to crisis.

Remember, the definition for the word “analyze” is “to take apart and examine.” How do we do that in a crisis?

The natural reactions when we are faced with an immediate problem may be to push, pull, fight, argue, destruct, or even worry, but those actions seldom solve anything. However, when we prepare ourselves to handle a problem by consulting God, we are more readily fit to take proper action. God can provide a quality analysis that is necessary to truly understand what is happening.

An effective self-examination requires objective analysis because there is no way to go forward if you remain hampered by false assumptions. In order to progress in your life you must develop methods of analyzing problems with objective analysis. Only then can you determine the cause of a problem and truly break away from habits or actions that lead to the same problem reoccurring. It is important to break loose from the bonds of the past that constantly obstruct progress.

To change your life it is imperative to find a method of flying free of old habits, habitats, and routines. Try to look at life through a new and revised lens. Establish why you made a mistake and then develop a new way of dealing with problems.

My wife and I enjoy traveling. In order to get a fresh perspective on life, we make it a point to take a mini-vacation about every six weeks. We sometimes don’t go anywhere or spend any money, and at times we do nothing except lock the doors, refuse to answer the phone, or maybe go out to dinner, but we separate from the our normal world. We intentionally change our customary routine.

You might be surprised to find that changing your environment, even for a short time, allows you new perspective. You look at problems differently and react to stress in a different manner.

In my present job as a pastor I often counsel couples wanting to be married. When I am counseling the pair I always ask them to tell me what they are going to do when they have a crisis in their marriage. Usually they look at me with starry eyes as if there will never be a crisis because their love will carry them through anything. I am not trying to bring them down with the question, but I do want them to prepare for what will probably occur at some point in their lives. They are going to endure some hardship and they need to prepare for that experience. I simply want them to be prepared.

I have been blessed with a wife who has never failed to stand with me, even when a trying situation enveloped our lives. We decided long ago in our marriage that we would trust one another to the point that if we failed, we both failed. In Air Force parlance, she has become my best wingman. We developed a faith plan. If we have a problem, we have developed faith in God and one another so we can endure whatever circumstance we encounter. I am sad to say there have been times when she could have easily backed away and abandoned the plan because of my bad decisions, but she didn’t and I am grateful. We have stuck with the plan through good times and bad. Our crisis plan was to remain together. We have prepared for the bad times during the good times. Just as Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NIV) states, “*…Two are better than one….*”

It is essential to develop a faith partner with whom we can share our problems, even in bad times. Don’t be afraid to share your problem with someone you can trust. In my case, I share the problems with Vickie. If you are not married, speak with a trusted friend, counselor, or pastor, but share the burden. There is someone who will help you. Outside viewpoints are usually more objective than your own. The key is to get someone to show you a different view of the problem.

Seek out someone with whom you can share your heart and who will provide you with truthful feedback. You want someone who will tell you the truth even if you don’t agree with their view of the situation. Listen to their ideas and, if you agree, begin to rely on their judgment. I do believe there is someone for everyone who can be trusted and relied upon in every challenging situation. There is someone who cares. Don’t be afraid to ask that person about their ideas for your circumstance.

A few years ago, we lived in Indianapolis and I met with three other guys who were trusted friends and operated as my wingmen in my business life. We met at Jo Jo’s restaurant each Tuesday morning. One was an entrepreneur and inventor, one president of a manufacturing company, one a great pastor, and I was just fortunate to be a part of the group. We shared our hearts on problems of both private and business matters. We had faith in one another to the point that we came to rely on the meeting as an essential part of our schedule. Later in my career I was transferred to Dallas and I would actually fly back to the city where the guys met every Tuesday to obtain their advice and counsel. The friendship paid dividends far beyond money. They helped me develop my faith in life. Those men were honest with me to the point that they made me accountable to everything I did personally or in business. The key factor for those three guys in my life was that they were trusted, we were mutually accountable, and we held each other to a high standard of following God’s instruction in our lives.

## Chapter 11

### Refer to Your Checklist –  Follow God’s Operations Manual

One of my most memorable tours during my Air Force career was an assignment flying with the Canadian Forces at CFB

Moose Jaw in the unrestricted airspace over the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada. My responsibility was to examine the Canadian pilot training course as a source to train U.S. and other NATO pilots.

Pilots like myself from other NATO countries were tasked to fly together and build a syllabus to train future airmen. Although we were a diverse group with mission experience in a variety of aircraft, we shared a common bond and a charge to develop a new generation of aviators who could fly and fight together.

It was truly an international contingent, but when we got together socially there was much good-natured ribbing about who were the best pilots and whose airplanes could outperform the others. One such incident occurred at an air show in western Canada.

The night before the air show there was a dinner for all the participants who were to fly in the show the next day. There were the usual discussions that go with a gathering of pilots about our flying prowess, and the stories grew as the liberal amounts of libation were consumed by some of the attendees. There were discussions of how a particular airplane could be taken to the edge of the envelope and how others could not perform in a certain parameter. Each group at the dinner represented the aircraft they were flying in the show the next day and each aircraft had its own unique asset value and operational capability.

One of the pilots was a young lieutenant I will call “Hector” from a

CF-101 outfit. The CF-101 was a Canadian Forces twin-engine fighter-

Refer to Your Checklist

type aircraft built like a “flying tank.” Hector bragged about how he could fly the bird and that he could take it beyond the planned flying envelope described in the operational manual for the airplane. He felt he could make it do even more than the performance manual depicted. The rest of us egged him on and asked him what the limits for the airplane were and he took the bait. He finally admitted that there was one limitation in the book he did not understand and was certain the book was wrong. He said the book limitation of not doing more than two consecutive snap aileron rolls in the airplane was too restrictive. He didn’t know the reason for the limitation but he felt the airplane could withstand anything so the published limitation must be incorrect.

No one really questioned Hector’s discussion that evening or took him seriously, but the next day he set out to prove the book wrong. He took off on the wing of another CF-101 in front of thousands of onlookers at the air show. Shortly after lift-off he and the lead airplane took up different headings to gain separation and we saw Hector’s airplane begin a series of snap rolls: one, two, then as the airplane entered the third roll there was a large fireball as the tail separated from the rest of the airplane. In an instant we saw the two pilots eject from the airplane. We stood in awe as we saw Hector and his copilot floating to earth beneath their billowing parachutes while the remains of the airplane spun to the ground.

We hurried to an emergency vehicle and said a short prayer for their safety. We commandeered a pickup and sped down the runway toward other rescue vehicles already on the scene. As we approached the ambulance that had picked up the two pilots, we saw Hector sitting in the back of the vehicle, parachute bundled on his lap, and we anxiously shouted, “Are you OK?” He smiled and said, “Yes, I am fine, but the book was right.”

This unfortunate incident could have been disastrous for two brave pilots, but it did teach us all a lesson that we carried through our lives. Sometimes it pays to follow the instructions set out before us. The airplane was a lot like our lives. We all have parameters and it is important to know our limitations. If we don’t follow the instructions God sets for us, we are likely placing ourselves in a time of unnecessary peril.

Remember those instructions from Moses. He said that we are to follow God’s instructions explicitly. Deuteronomy 6:1-2 says, “*These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.*”

Obviously Moses knew that God expects us to follow the rules. My wife is the “Rules Police” in our family. I tease her at times because she will never jaywalk between traffic lights, fail to turn her phone off in an airplane when she enters the plane, or unfasten her seatbelt after the airplane comes to a stop if the captain has not turned off the seatbelt light. Her favorite rule is “Follow the rules.” I love to tease her but I also know she is right. Those rules are made to serve a necessary purpose and if there is an unexpected situation, she will survive and others might not.

Are you willing to follow the rules that God has laid out for you?

Are you willing to follow His word?

It is all part of His plan to allow you the freedom to fly free.

Much like my Canadian friend, Hector, who was certain he was a great pilot, we begin thinking we can operate outside the boundaries provided us by God Himself and the result ends up biting us. The Word of God is the epitome of the rulebook for life because it was designed by God for man. We can rely on it, live by it, and use it to guide us through the daily challenges we encounter as we fly through this event called living. You can, as so many do, decide you are the one who can go outside the flight envelope that God provided but, just like the airplane that was designed for certain parameters, we will encounter a time when we exceed the limits for which we too were designed.

I believe the Bible was the inspired word of God Himself and should be followed as closely as possible. There will be some bad landings when we do not stay on the right flight path. There may be a time when we prang ourselves on the ground due to a misjudgment of our capabilities or when we stretch the envelope, but the Bible even allows for that with grace. All God asks in the Bible is for us to have faith that He is God. He sent His own son, Jesus, to die for us so that the grace can be ours for all those sins we encounter in life. He knew we would try to go beyond our human capabilities because we are designed in His image. That should be not only reassuring but also a confirmation that God empowers us to live for Him.

My prayer is that you can develop the faith necessary to live exactly the way God has designed you and remain within His specific flight

Refer to Your Checklist

envelope for your life. “*I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him*” Ephesians 3:16,17 (NIV).

Keep Up the Mach and Happy Landings!

## Chapter 12

### Prepare for the Crash– Right Reactions to Crises

During my flying career, I have had the opportunity to pilot a wide variety of aircraft and accumulate thousands of flying hours in aircraft ranging from small single-engine planes to jet fighters and advanced multi-engine commercial jetliners. Soaring through clear blue skies and passing through puffy white clouds can create **a** feeling of euphoria and reflect the wonders of God’s artistic hand. However, airplanes systems can sometimes fail. These emergency situations often require immediate responses by the pilot.

Training prepared me for emergencies and gave me the confidence to safely recover the aircraft when problems arose. Today military and commercial pilots spend thousands of hours in simulators practicing their responses ranging from simple and compound system failures to structural problems. Through technology and ground-based full motion simulators, instructors can stop the training in midflight and repeat the problem until the pilot performs the correct procedure. This repetitive capability allows mistakes and then reinforces the correct immediate reaction during critical phases of flight. Certainly pilots would rather be flying outside, but all appreciate the value of this training when they realize that in the actual airplane their mistakes could be fatal.

I still love the thrill of flying and have enjoyed those many hours in the air, especially when I was in control of the machine. The most memorable times flying were, however, when I was not in control. Those few moments stand out because of the lessons I learned.

When I reflect on my life, I realize there have been many times when I had lost control and was not in command of my circumstance.

Prepare for the Crash

Maybe that is where you are right now. You may be out of control if you encounter:

- The loss of a loved one
- The loss of a job
- The loss of your financial security
- Surprising circumstances in your life
- Something that upsets your life

When you are flailing out of control, are you going to fly headfirst into the ground with a painful thump or are you going to look for “a safe place to land”? If you are going to look for a safe landing place, you must first regain control, analyze your situation, and then look for the desired alternatives. It is necessary to take care of the emergency and determine the necessary action to help you land safely. I have found that there is normally an alternative to an impending crash, but it requires making a deliberate decision to find a method of controlling your flight path. Only you can decide to take that alternative flight path and take corrective action. Your decision on how and where to land your life is crucial. Once you regain control and stabilize your most immediate problem, then you can take a second step.

*Maintain control, analyze the situation/take proper action.*

Analyzing the situation you are experiencing from the eyes of the other person and attempting to learn from the experience often results in progress rather than regression. If you are in a stressful situation right now while you are reading this little book, just stop, pray, and analyze.

I can tell you from personal experience that when you lose a job or fail at an endeavor you are hurt, humble, unsure of yourself, and develop a very low ego so quickly that nothing seems real. The feeling of depression is natural.

The real key to getting back to normal is to determine how you will handle the time of crisis. One of the greatest inhibitors to getting back to normal after a problem develops is found deep within each of our beings. It is simply called “pride.” Solomon says in Proverbs 16:18 (NIV), “*Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.*” Carefully examine yourself to ensure you are not allowing pride to prevent you from taking proper action. It is essential to look for realistic and achievable solutions that take the proper direction to recovery.

“*Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man*” Proverbs 3:3 (NLT).

## Chapter 13

### Look Beyond the Horizon– Maximize Your View

The eagle sees the world from an untethered perspective as it soars above the earth. Conversely, our view is limited to an earthbound view, often limited by other people, trees, and buildings. The eagle is free in flight to turn, dive, or climb to expand its view to see a wider spectrum of the world around.

Consider what it must be like to fly like an eagle. Soaring in the air must be very gratifying, seeing the world from such a great perspective. The eagle’s life in the air is very satisfying because it sees the world from a higher viewpoint. The eagle sees the world from on top. We observe our environment from ground level. There is a freedom for the eagle that is unknown to those of us tied to the earth. They have the ability to turn, swoop and expand their vision to obtain the maximum perspective of the world. I envy their viewpoint because they have a more expanded perspective that allows them to see a broader view of the world.

If we can seek to expand our view of the world, our chances of survival also increase dramatically. By taking an opportunity to slow down, look at our alternatives, and determine a correct action to react to a crisis, we increase our perspective; similar to the eagle, we develop increased objectivity. When we do not attempt to enlarge our viewpoint on a problem, the solution is often obscured by our existing knowledge and point of view.

The eagle illustrates the ultimate example of the freedom that comes with flight, but their ability to look over their immediate horizon to determine the potential for the future is one of their greatest assets. The higher you fly the more earth you can see. The eagle depicts that freedom of movement and expanded perspective that provides them an added ability to survive and survey the earth below. The eagle has predators who would like nothing better than to see them as prey but somehow they seem to remain above the fray of the world’s chaos. In flight the eagle can watch for those enemies by examining their environment from the greatest advantage. They survive as the predator and not the prey.

When we are living our lives each day we are also attempting to survive, expand our vision, and adapt to our environment. It is important to take a step away or to another level to gain the best perspective regarding our situation and vulnerabilities. We survive best when we are aware of our surroundings.

After leaving the military, I was involved in wide-ranging aspects of private and commercial aviation. The aviation industry is relatively small, and aircraft operations are often a reflection of changes in the economy. Profit margins are driven by management’s ability to respond to consumer demand. One of my bosses, Robert Anderson, former president at AMR Combs, the general aviation division of American Airlines, once told us in a managers’ meeting that we were part of a survival industry. He described aviation as “the end of a dog’s tail.” It moves before the rest of the world’s economy even flinches. We often saw people move from one job to another in the business because of the economic variance. The industry reacted to economic matters before there would be change in the rest of the financial community. We in the aviation industry had to be ready to move our assets in a direction to preserve them until a monetary crisis passed.

If our company was going to survive it was necessary to maximize our view of the factors in our industry that would allow us to survive. We had to be proactive in looking at what was happening from the most wide-ranging perspective available. It required maximizing our view of the company by looking internally and externally at the markets and the operation. All of those details allowed us to make more objective and comprehensive decisions.

During the period when I worked for a large corporation, part of my job was examining the problems that existed within companies our firm purchased. Normally, we bought companies only when they had developed some internal problem that caused the owners to sell them off. It was always a challenge to drill down to find the problem that caused the company to be vulnerable enough to be sold. It was only

Look Beyond the Horizon

after discovering the weaknesses that existed within the corporation that we could make progress on developing a plan to bring the entity to profitability. Only rarely did we find we were able to purchase companies that were profitable to our advantage. We often found ourselves the owner of companies that were fighting for survival.

My mission was to go in with a team of people who examined the corporate structure, determine a direction that would be positive to allow the company to go forward (maintaining control), then analyze the situation that had caused the purchased company to be vulnerable to the market (analyzing the situation), and lastly, determine an action that would bring about positive change and survival.

In the case of nearly every corporation I entered there seemed to be a common theme. The company normally had not foreseen a change in the market or they had refused to make a positive change to follow the needs of their customers (similar problems). Normally, the first action we would take was to invite the largest customers to lunch or dinner and determine why they had remained patrons of the group we had just purchased. It was through their eyes we could really begin to understand the value of our new company. Once we understood the value, we could begin to restructure the group to make them again viable in the marketplace. We had to take a look from a different perspective if we were really going to find the true value of the company. Seeing the company through the eyes of the customers gave us the added perspective we needed.

When we, individually, are attempting to survive during a crisis, it is equally important to find a method of examining the problem from a different perspective. Maybe a friend, pastor, or counselor can provide that viewpoint, but it is essential to have your problem looked at with a different set of eyes to maximize the potential for survival and solving the issue.

Sometimes that survival mode causes us to find the courage to seek new goals and dream new dreams. The situation can provide an opportunity to experiment with an idea or dream that ultimately puts us where we are best suited. God’s plan for our lives becomes evident when we least expect it to manifest itself, during survival modes in life. In my life I have found I can gain more vivid thinking about where I want to go when I am enduring a state of uncertainty. When encountering those periods of dim objectives, we look beyond our dayto-day existence to something outside ourselves. By looking beyond our daily existence we often discover previously unseen opportunities. It is important to find the place where we are truly productive in life. Productive for me means satisfying for self and also useful for society.

Normally in a crisis the truth comes out because the facts of life are laid bare before you. Finding real truth helps us understand our true potential. Integrity is the key to a long-lasting survival and to progressing in life from any experience. We need to come to a place where we are truthful with ourselves and then truthful with others if we are going to really succeed.

Amazingly, analyzing a situation always requires you to come back to the truth. Integrity is the core of a good analysis and required as the standard to determine a solution. True analysis means simply reflecting on the spot you are in and figuring out how to make the situation become an opportunity for growth rather than a downer in your life. A problem can often create a focus for positive change rather than a disaster if we properly react to the crisis. As an eagle soars the sky in search of its prey, they are hunting for food to survive. We find ourselves often searching for a job or stability that will lead us to survival.

The attitude that something positive can result from a major problem is often overlooked. We must open our eyes to look for the benefits in a problem or even in the act of survival. If we are truthful with ourselves and others about how we got to the point of survival we can determine the good hidden inside the circumstance. Beneficial thoughts help to work for the future so concentrate on the positive aspects of your circumstance rather than stewing in the negative. Learn to use the truth as a foundation to cultivate a constructive outcome from the survival periods in your life. Maximize your view of life by looking beyond today.

.

## Chapter 14

**Think Straight – Stop Anger Now!**

When crisis occurs in life it can easily upset the calmest personality and often results in plain, straightforward anger. When I see that reaction I have learned to ask a very

simple question: “Do you even know why you are angry?”

Anger can result from the most benign, casual encounters or from the most extreme crisis situations. It can also unconsciously be directed at others without our intent. It boils up and presents itself at unexpected times—and sometimes we don’t even know why. Anger is normally a real part of crisis so we must learn to deal with it. If you have been laid off you may direct your anger at the boss who gave you the lay-off notice. If you have lost a relationship, you may be angry at the lost love or friend.

We have a friend we have known for many years who reacts almost violently when things do not go his way. Sometimes rather than simply burning bridges behind him, our friend blew them up. Burning a bridge and blowing them up both have the effect of destroying the return route. He destroyed any possibility of developing a route to calm the issue. This is his personal way of handling stress. Instead of maintaining control of the problem and analyzing the situation, he attacks the messenger. His usual reaction is saying the problem was caused by someone else. Solomon said, “*An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot tempered one commits many sins*” Proverbs 29:22 (NIV).

When you experience an emergency, it helps to stop, analyze, and realize there are going to be consequences for your actions. Our friend’s anger only complicated his ability to get back to a normal life. Determining ahead of time to stop and analyze is a good idea for anyone.

The Bible has some very sound advice for those times when you become angry with someone, a circumstance, or some company that, you feel, has torn your life apart. The Bible tells us to develop harmony rather than revenge. That is a tough assignment sometimes, but necessary if you wish to gain a new perspective. 1 Peter 3:8-9 (NIV) says, “*Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.*”

I have found there are normally three ways people handle the anger. One common method of handling anger is to determine that you are right and the person to whom you are directing your aggressive thoughts is absolutely wrong. That seems to be the easiest and most commonly used method of reacting with anger. That method is used by a person (sometimes me) who could not be more wrong in their thought process. The “other fellow is always wrong” reaction will only continue to exacerbate the issue, and is unlikely to solve the problem.

One day when upset about something that had happened to my retirement account I was fussing and fuming to my wife about the losses. She very calmly asked if I could have done anything to have stopped the slide on Wall Street that resulted in the deterioration of our retirement savings. I said, “Not really, but I guess I should have sold the stock before the drop.” She smiled and said, “You are right.” We agreed and laughed, but it didn’t restore the money we had lost.

Another common method of handling anger is to ignore the feeling and not deal with it. In a role as a marriage counselor, I am told that the “ignorance is bliss method” is normally disastrous. It seldom works because it only increases tension and does not relieve the problem.

“*In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold*” Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV). When Paul authored that statement in his letter to the church at Ephesus, he could have intended it for those who want to ignore their anger. It is better to get the problem out in the open than to allow it to fester. Anger stops progress, especially in problem solving, and festers. The advice applies to both business relationships and marriages.

The third common method of handling anger is to look beyond your irritation. Anger is a road that leads to nowhere, but moving focus from the angst of the moment to the future can change your environment. It moves your attitude from concentrating on the angst of the present

Think Straight problem to the possibilities of the future. By consciously looking at a goal beyond your present situation you can leave anger behind.

When I have experienced anger, the result is usually the same: nothing is resolved and my energy level for recovery diminishes proportionately with the level of the anger. It is important to get anger behind you.

My father died when I was in high school and he missed my senior year playing basketball. That year was something I had looked forward to throughout high school and I became absolutely absorbed by the events surrounding my father’s death. I was angry, but I really didn’t know whom to direct my aggression toward. It did not seem fair. It did not seem real and I asked myself over and over again how I could have ended up in that situation. I blamed his death on the stress of his life as a farmer. I blamed myself, thinking that if I could have only helped out when I was younger maybe he would have lived longer. I blamed my desire to play basketball, because I knew he had sacrificed some of his own pleasures to allow me to go practice and participate. In fact, I began to blame myself for the whole situation, and that turned into all-out anger at why I had been so selfish to allow him to be concerned. Wow! As I look back on the situation, anger overwhelmed me to the point that I stopped progressing in school, in my spiritual life, and even in basketball. I just wanted someone to pay and prove to me that I was not at fault for my father’s premature death.

As my high school senior year progressed, I began to receive advice from a number of people who really cared about me. These people all told me to go forward with life but I did not listen. They were saying, *Just get on with your life and try not to be so upset with what has happened. Your dad would have certainly wanted you to keep moving on with life.* It all sounded logical but it was difficult to swallow because my thought process continued to give me reflections of my father sitting on the sidelines at my ball games, laughing with excitement when I made a basket or giving me a hug when the game was completed, whether we won or lost. He had been there and now I missed that security and that love.

Eventually, a teacher pulled me aside and told me I was wasting the best time in my life. He knew my father and had never seen him angry at anyone. He greatly admired that trait and modeled his own life to be positive no matter what the circumstance. My father had set a positive example that helped him and he was now relaying that same advice to me: “Don’t waste your life being angry.”

That teacher could have walked away and never said those words to me. I would probably be still, decades later, thinking about how to get even with someone I could not even find to scream at. Instead, he took time to point out to me that I was angry with the situation and there is no reward in angry thoughts. If I really wanted to make my dad happy, I should look to the future and not the past so there would be hope for doing something good with my life. It was simple advice but great instruction for any bout with anger.

I love the words of Paul quoted in Romans 12:12 (NIV) that state, “*Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.*” Paul had it right. When you get angry there is only one way to handle the situation and that is to back off and do exactly the opposite of what the world tells you to do. He says to be joyful, have hope, be patient with the affliction, and then to pray. Look beyond the problem and concentrate on hope. I can attest to the fact that the recipe works because it takes away your inability to deal with anger. I began to realize that if I was going to find joy in life, I had to concentrate on positive rather than negative images in my mind. I had to develop a scenario that looked forward and not behind.

I did not stop thinking about my father and I certainly did miss him, but I decided to try my teacher’s recipe for joy. The negative thoughts began to be replaced by images of how Dad would have reacted to some of the things I was doing and I began remembering conversations I had had with him. My dad had already experienced a heart attack when he was young but he was looking forward to our lives and helping us plan for our future. How fortunate I was to have experienced that kind of love and caring from a man whom I admired so much.

As I began to reflect on those conversations, I remembered hearing him say if I really wanted to go to college I could, if I would develop my basketball skills and get a scholarship. That’s when I began to realize the third method of dealing with the anger I was generating in my life. My life goals began to change and I did not just play basketball to enjoy the game. I instead began playing it as if my life depended upon it. My dream was to get a college degree, fulfill the wishes of my father, and prepare for the future. Joyful goals replaced anger and my life became bearable and useful again. I could have easily continued my quest to find the culprit or circumstance that caused my father’s death, but when I began looking at a method of going forward, the reality of the

Think Straight situation became evident.

My advice to avoid being angry is simple: don’t waste valuable time. I had discovered the easiest way to address my negative feelings was to replace them with positive goals. After reading this paragraph it shouldn’t surprise you for me to say, “I can tell you from personal experience that anger is a waste of time and energy.”

Paul continued in Romans 12 to say a couple more things about being angry that are very pertinent to this discussion. He said in verse 17*,* “*Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.*” Again, if we spend our time doing something positive rather than being angry, we can be assured something good will happen. It saves our time, lives, and emotions.

A very good friend reminded me that God wants us to succeed through all the turmoil of life and one of the best means of doing that is to rely on Him. We can avoid being angry by simply meeting God. This poem by Helen Steiner Rice graphically illustrates that thought.

Meet God in the morning

And go with Him through the day

And thank Him for His guidance

Each evening when you pray,

And if you follow faithfully

This daily way to pray

You will never in your lifetime

Face another “hopeless day,”

For like a soaring eagle

You too can rise above The “storms of life” around you On the wings of prayer and love.

Helen Steiner Rice

### Section II Take Proper Action

Psalm 37:34

“*Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act!*

*Travel steadily along his path.*”

## Chapter 15

**Fly Inverted – A Different View**

Our lives often fall into a mundane routine, even after we experience turmoil. We develop a habitual method of ignoring those events that troubled our past and choose to hide in the day-to-day existence. Somehow, however, there is always a reminder that rises above our routine and lights up our memory with those trials that occupied us in the past.

When reminders come they can turn our world upside down in a hurry.

I remember vividly the first time I flew an airplane inverted. The world was wildly different and every feeling became a curious event. It was not just the visual changes in observing a horizon with the sun and the earth reversed but also the feeling that I had to think through every move of the aircraft’s control. If I pulled back on the control stick the airplane should climb. Upside down pulling back moved the nose of the bird quickly toward the earth and into a dive. Instead of sitting in my seat, I was hanging by my seat belt. I somehow began to realize that the airplane could be controlled, even in that unfamiliar condition, but it took some time. I had to understand that my environment was changed and then take the actions necessary to maintain control and analyze the situation so that I could take the proper action to exist in that setting.

Sometimes we just need look at our world from a different perspective. The next important step to fly free of turmoil is to face the truth. Somehow that will happen. Until you have that experience of completely facing the truth, a matter always remains lurking as if it might pop out and inhibit your progress in life. In Hebrews 12 (NIV), the Bible actually says to “…*throw off everything that hinders us….”* Many people look out the window of their lives and seem satisfied to just watch a problem without ever making progress on finding a solution. If no action is taken a problem never leaves and usually just gets worse. Those individuals seem content to remain immersed in the quandary of the turmoil or simply feel that their problem is too big to fix. When we are airborne and suddenly fly inverted, there is a time to realize you must think through the matter. No matter how specifically we plan, life sometimes surprises us and in ways we can never imagine.

When we left Texas for the new job in Michigan, I really felt I was headed away from the troubles we had experienced with the partnership that had caused so much turmoil in our lives.

I had visited with the bank again to tell them I did have a job, albeit low paying, and promised I would pay them what I could as the new job developed. I asked for their patience as I got back on my feet. They agreed to cooperate. There were months during that period when we sent only $50 per month to repay the balance of more than $200,000 that we owed the bank. Even if we couldn’t eat, we were determined to make a payment.

When I started my new job, Vickie was also working, and we both sent twenty percent of our income to the bank. We were doing everything we felt we could to pay back the debt.

As I look back on that time, there were some supernatural things happening as well.

My boss, Ted Ludlow, was the executive vice president and we had immediately bonded.  Ted helped me become oriented to the new company and gave me an opportunity to grow rapidly. I know now God had placed him there because he encouraged me, bolstered my confidence, and enhanced my effectiveness as a leader within the corporation.

After only a few months on the job, Ted called me in and announced that he was leaving unexpectedly to return to the family business he and his brother had started when they were kids back in Minnesota. He told me he was recommending to the company that I be given his position. There was no guarantee because I had the least tenure of anyone being recommended and some others in the company really wanted the position. Somehow, I was selected for the position and the operation was suddenly in my hands.

We raised the income of the company and my salary increased.

With increases we increased payments on the obligation at the bank back in Texas.

Earlier I mentioned that everything can be rocking along with no problems and then you are hit by a crisis. How soon we forget because I should have remembered that thought.

After one year in the company I was feeling very secure in the Michigan job. All was well with life. We enjoyed the home we lived in, made a number of great friends, joined a dynamic local church, and felt very secure. Our takeoff was working well in our recovery for life.

Then, one morning in early April, my world was rocked. My assistant entered my office and said, “Dean, the FBI is on the phone and they want to speak with you.” Sensing it was about the bank problem back in Texas, I quickly picked up the phone and the agent asked me to come downtown to his office. I got in the car and headed to his office.

My mind raced as I drove and recalled the situation: the notes that had been signed, my partner’s discussion about who would go to jail if I told the bank, and then the phone call where I had been fired from my job. All those memories whirled in my head.

Suddenly, I realized my takeoff on this journey really had not been as smooth as I thought. Apparently, I was about to reenter the world I thought had been left behind many months ago. I even thought about the fact that I had borrowed a friend’s airplane and flown to Midland, Texas to the regional office of the FDIC to tell them what had happened with the partnership, that I had signed the notes, and was intending to pay back the bank for the missing collateral. They had agreed, so what could this be about?

When I arrived at the FBI office, my fears were realized and the agent was very straightforward. He told me there was a white-collar crime task force operating in Texas and that I was under investigation for bank fraud due to some missing collateral for a bank loan. He stated that supposedly I had signed notes for the collateral and that, if so, I would be guilty of misrepresentation and could be charged. He asked me what I had to say about the matter.

I repeated the whole story and told him that I had signed the notes while in the hospital recovering from cancer. I added we had been advised to declare bankruptcy to separate from the partner who wanted the key man life insurance policy. Vickie and I had completed the bankruptcy in February and were working to pay back everyone we could.

After hearing my story the agent stated, “Mr. Rush, if you are telling the truth and were in my district, you would probably never hear anything else about this matter.” I left the office feeling very confident and went back to work.

One month later, I received a call from the same agent stating that he had bad news. He said that I had been indicted on five counts of bank fraud. He asked me to come down to his office where he formally arrested and booked me then released me on my own recognizance to go back to work. It was a surreal moment.

I was suddenly a criminal and completely at a loss to know what to do next. How was I going to recover from this free fall? Lord, what now? I felt the takeoff had failed, the world was inverted, and I was crashing hard into the ground.

I had, only the day before, been called by my boss at headquarters to announce that I was being promoted to senior vice president and would soon assume responsibility for the entire central region of the United States. In less than twenty-four hours I had gone, as they say, from the penthouse to the outhouse.

I went home, told Vickie what had happened, and prayed. I decided the company had taken me in when I had nothing so I didn’t want to embarrass them. They needed to be told. I called headquarters and spoke with the guy who had hired me and offered to resign. His words still restore my ego. He said, “Dean, you stay right where you are and just let us know if you need a character witness.” God was handling the matter without my help.

The next year was filled with trip after trip to San Antonio, Texas where the indictment had been served. We would fly down, meet with the attorney who graciously took the case to defend me, and talk to the investigators. They were trying to prove I had taken money from the company but that had not happened and finally was proven.

After those months of uncertainty we had to make many important decisions. The maximum penalty for the crimes I was accused of committing could mean as many as fifteen years in a federal penitentiary. Serving that time raced through my mind but somehow I could not fathom how this was all going to take place. I asked God why I had recovered from cancer and now been put in this predicament. It wasn’t God’s fault but I knew He had the answers. I was attempting to analyze the problem and yet did not know the proper action to take. I needed God’s help.

During two of the visits to the investigating offices in San Antonio, I was told, “Mr. Rush, if you cannot remember signing the loan documents, we might have a difficult time prosecuting the case.” The problem was obvious to us. I had signed the documents while in the hospital with cancer and I had told the bankers, the FDIC, and our family. I could not ethically deny signing the document. What would happen now?

Without money (the estimated cost of a federal trial was around $100,000) we did not have much of a chance in a full trial.

Our attorney finally negotiated a plea agreement, which meant I would acknowledge that I had signed a false document (it doesn’t matter what you know about the collateral). The charge could result in my serving between eighteen months and five years in jail but it was better than the original charges. I felt I was living an out-of-body experience.

Three weeks later, I stood in front of the federal district judge in San Antonio, Texas for sentencing. Our family had prayed the night before for a miracle in the sentencing because there was a federal grid the judge was to follow for guilty pleas. The reality began to set in that I might spend the next few months or even years incarcerated somewhere in a federal prison. I had attempted to live right, act right, and do all those things that you are supposed to do to be a “good person” but it was quickly coming apart.

When we entered the courtroom, it happened to be Good Friday, and I sat down to await my sentencing. I heard the judge sentencing second and third time offenders for drug offenses for up to twenty-five years in prison, a car thief for five years, and then I was asked approach the bench. I stood nervously and, along with my attorney, approached the speaker’s rostrum facing the judge.

My attorney told the judge that I had been the one to notify the bank, I had been afflicted with cancer obtained while serving in Vietnam, and I was paying back the business loan for my partnership. The judge looked at me and said, “Mr. Rush, you have been through a lot, and you are a rich man.” It was an unexpected and curious comment at that time. The judge then proceeded to hold up a huge bundle of encouraging letters he had received from friends and customers who had been contacted by our daughter, Holly. The letters apparently did some good because the judge then said that he could be in trouble for going outside the recommended sentencing grid, but he had decided to place me on probation for five years rather than put me jail. I did not know until later that I had been given grace far beyond my wildest imagination. Essentially, he took a chance on his reputation as a federal judge to give me another chance at life. I was suddenly a felon but not incarcerated.

The judge also stated that normally he would require repayment of the loan with every dollar available. He said, “Because of your military record, your attempts to correct this problem, even in the face of cancer, and your contribution to society, if you can pay us back one dollar per month it will be enough. Do what you can!”

Over the course of the next few years, I reported to a probation officer every time I left the county to travel. My job required that I travel extensively so there were a lot of calls, reports, and paperwork. I was also privileged to get to know a lot of understanding probation officers. God was with me, even on probation. I was blessed to receive a number of bonuses and those went to pay back the government when they were received. Each month, we tithed, we took out the money to pay the rent, and we used what was left to pay back the loan. In just over four years, with God’s blessing and a lot of hard work from both Vickie and me, we made the last payment to clear the debt. It was like lifting a huge weight off our shoulders. The takeoff had been a bit rough and we were inverted through part of the journey, but we had taken proper action with God’s direction. Our future began to appear normal. We were exiting a thunderstorm and flying into clear air. I realized just as the cancer had moved out of my body and healthy cells replaced the bad ones, I was being given a new opportunity to serve Him.

I served out the remainder of the federal probation reporting every move. Reading the Bible one morning, I came across a verse in the 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV) “*Do not be yoked together with unbelievers….*” In that verse Paul is talking to the church in Corinth and telling the members to associate with people with whom they are equally yoked, and it hit me that I had not done that in my business. I knew nothing about the partner with whom I had formed the partnership. He may have been a good guy but I didn’t look at his character. I had only thought about the money we would make with his bank statement. Being equally yoked does not just apply to partners in marriage. It applies equally to business partners and associates. The answer for analyzing the situation was found in the scriptures and I had overlooked a simple solution to my business problems.

Over the next years I began relaying that lesson to anyone who would listen. I told audiences that there is much more to life than just making money. The two main ingredients to real wealth are faith and family and if you are going to form a partnership in business, marriage, or any other relationship, it is essential to be equally yoked. If not, then be ready to pay a price that may affect your entire life. You can easily end up inverted in life and with an unexpected view of the world.

## Chapter 16

### Use Time as Your Friend– Determine Your Goal and Work Toward It

The Greek word *dunamis* (Δυναμις) means “power of time.” Time involved in a crisis can be a natural healer that develops the inherent power residing within a person to overcome adversity. We can grow in a crisis by relying on God as we experience the power He brings to us when we are in need. The time of uncertainty can become a powerful time for growth and renewal if we allow God to take control.

God’s plan for your life may be revealed during a time of personal tragedy when you accept His grace and through faith surrender to His will. If you are in a crisis mode, this may be the time to take advantage of finding out what you are really best suited to do in this life. God’s real expectation for you may be about to be discovered. You may find, as I did, that for the first time in life when a crisis occurs you may have an opportunity to investigate areas never before explored. You are truly free to move into something that you had always wanted to do but never felt was practical.

At the time of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, I held a prestigious position as the president of a large foreign-owned aircraft company. In response to the world-shaking event, the board of directors felt the future of the long-range aviation industry was very uncertain and made the decision to break up the company; I was suddenly and unexpectedly without a job. And yes, it was a bad time in life for me because I was almost sixty years old and I had expected this job to carry me to retirement.

Once again it was time to renew my trust in His way and accept that my plan may not be His plan, that my timing is not God’s timing.

Use Time as Your Friend

He led me to take a different direction in my career. Then one day our pastor asked me to go to lunch and, while we talked, he offered me a part-time job at the church. The salary was less than five percent of the salary I was making at the previous company, but it took no time to realize there was an opportunity hiding somewhere in the situation.

My wife knew of the desire I had always carried to work in ministry and she encouraged me to go back to school. I entered seminary for what would be my third master’s degree. I had prepared for my career in the corporate world with a Masters in Business and a Masters in Public Administration. If I really wanted to work in ministry, I decided I wanted to dive into a study that could help prepare me. I embarked on a master’s degree in religious studies. The degree would at least prepare me to make that fresh start in a new career. Admittedly, there were times I wasn’t sure my mature brain was ready for new study, but the classes were challenging and they grew on me. I suddenly found myself getting up at five a.m. to study and asking questions I had carried in my mind for years about the Bible. Suddenly life was fun. What had started out as a burden became an objective that was more satisfying than anything I had done in years.

In the fall of that year I entered Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) on weekends and found myself way out of practice on my study disciplines. I prayed diligently for the aptitude to pass those first courses and God rewarded me with a B and A. Those grades gave me the incentive to try another course and then another. After a few courses and a lot of prayer, study became more routine. To complete the degree with DTS I was required to attend a couple of classes on campus in addition to the extension courses I attended in my hometown.

I chose an intensive course on campus the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. I lived on campus and attended classes a full eight hours each day during the week. The professor, Dr. Stephen Bramer, made the Gospels come alive and what I had dreaded became a great week and a wonderful experience.

One indication to me that I was not the normal student occurred as I was carrying my suitcases into the dorm for the week. I had two students stop me to ask if I was bringing one of my children in for the classes. They were a bit surprised when I told them the student I was bringing to class was me. The comments about my age only served to make me more determined than ever to complete the necessary courses. Although I had to change schools in order to be available for my work at the church, I eventually did graduate with a Masters in Religious Studies from Liberty University Seminary. I found the work in seminary fascinating and fulfilling. With each successive course it became more apparent that I was in the right field and needed to continue. God has a way of encouraging us in the life He has chosen for us. That makes flying free even more rewarding.

Full-time ministry had always been in the back of my mind and for the first time in my life, it seemed now it could be a reality. I could now do whatever I wanted so it was time to make some decisions. It would have been difficult to make that change under previous circumstances. God set the stage and left very little choice for me if I was to be truthful with myself. It was time to stop talking about entering the ministry and time to do something about the opportunity.

I stated early in this book that God’s plans are always better than ours, but are seldom comfortable. In the past I had always felt the timing was inappropriate to make the changes that I knew in my heart were right for me. My inability to make a firm decision caused God to choose this tool to push me down the road and follow His path. It is tough to take that unknown path but very important to rely on God’s course. The concern is normal but the faith in following His pathway saves a lot of time.

Your passion may not lead you to full-time ministry but it is important to find out where your desire for success leads. It is imperative to follow that desire to the point where you find peace. I know there is some point for everyone where they feel satisfaction with accomplishment. That spot is probably different for each of us. Guess what? As my grandfather used to say, “There is no limit to dreams and if you dream, do it with a desire to reach something special.” Begin thinking about that goal you have always wanted to reach and then begin charting a course to take you there.

Use the available time as your friend. If you have a steady job but hate the time you spend working in that vocation, begin plotting a way to replace it with that profession for which you have a special passion. You can avoid the usual guilt found when you think about leaving a stable job by simply developing a plan to attain your desired position. Sometimes you are resistant to change because of the concern about the effect on your family, or your need of income to pay your bills. If you plan sequentially, you can overcome most of those hurdles.

It’s hard to just forget having lost a job but you can forget those

Use Time as Your Friend

concerns if you realize you now have an opportunity to fly free of the past. Life becomes much less restrictive. You are now given opportunities that were too dangerous before your layoff or your present circumstance occurred. Use your post-layoff time to your advantage. Analyze the situation and begin considering the action to get you closer to your ultimate goal.

Use effective time management. I am aware of a young man who was given notice in May that his job would end ninety days later. He would be paid, have the ability to go out and search for new work, and come and go as he pleased during those ninety days. He spent sixty days feeling sorry for himself, living on the salary he was receiving as if it were going to continue forever. and not working to find another job. With only thirty days to go before his job finally ended, he walked in to his boss and said, “My kids are in private school and I need another month to be able to pay the tuition.” Unfortunately, this is really a common story. This guy had all the tools to fly free and he used up the opportunity to find a new job and was not aggressively seeking new employment. He expected the new job to come to him and that’s not the normal chain of events.

If you have been laid off, forced out of a relationship, or forced into a new direction in your life, use the time to your advantage. You may have just been given an opportunity to follow a fork in the road that you would never have taken without this opportunity.

The key to taking proper action is to slow down, decide what is happening around you, and then go to the next step. Let’s figure out how to take proper action to rectify your situation. Determine your wish list for what you want to do with your life, determine how you want to live, then formulate your plan to begin the new trek. The timing of your crisis can become the opportune time to make a decision and take action to change directions in your life. It may be the long-sought opportunity to accomplish your dream task in life. Use the time God gives you, even in an adverse situation, to find His plan for your life.

“*Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the*

*LORD is near in the valley of decision.*” Joel 3:14 (NIV)

## Chapter 17

**Find Calm Air – Fly Free of Turbulence!**

As a young boy I was in awe at the powerful sound of thunder and the sight of lightning streaking from the sky in a passing thunderstorm. Later, as an aviator, I learned of the awesome power hidden inside those dark clouds. The extreme turbulence of a thunderstorm is much like the turmoil we face during a crisis in our personal lives. Just as an aircraft can be subjected to violent forces, we too, can be at the mercy of some astounding forces as we seek to *take proper action* to stabilize our situation.

The experience of flying into a thunderstorm is similar to riding a violent roller coaster ride without anything to strap you in because you are at the mercy of nature’s competing forces. The airplane is severely buffeted as it travels from an upward air chimney to downward drafts that are commonly accompanied by hard pounding rain in its fury. The difference in the airflow between those opposing shafts of air often exceeds more than 100 miles per hour.

Every instructor pilot warns a student to never fly into a thunderstorm. When you fly into a thunderstorm you are challenging the capability of the airplane to survive. One wing may be in one pipe going up while the other is being sent the opposite direction. Instantaneously there can be a resulting stretching or tearing of metal and extreme turbulence. It can be a most frightening experience. I did inadvertently fly into a thunderstorm and can attest to the fact that the warnings are correct.

It is no fun to be in the turmoil of a thunderstorm, and the instructor who told us to never fly into the storm also had another piece of sound advice that carries over to life itself. He drummed into our heads that the best way out of the storm was straight ahead. The instructor told us that if we stayed in aviation, sometime in our life we would inadvertently

Find Calm Air

fly into a storm, and if we did enter a storm the worst move was to try to turn around. Turning around only kept you exposed to the storm for a longer period of time with more time for the airplane to be subjected to the violence of the updrafts and downdrafts. He stated the shortest way out of a storm is straight ahead.

The most advantageous method for exiting turbulence is to find that direct course through the situation. Make that course a part of your plan for life right now. If you are in a storm, find a way to fly out to the safest calm air in the shortest possible distance. The quickest way through the turbulence is straight ahead. Don’t give up on life, just keep on plugging. Do not attempt to stay in the storm because it is full of turbulence.

The designers of airplanes intentionally design the wings with enough elasticity to flex enough to make it through thunderstorms. You are designed the same way. God knew that we are going to be tested in life and He says so over and over again in the Bible. Remember the instruction of that old verse in Deuteronomy, “*Be strong and courageous, even in the face of your enemy*” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV, author’s emphasis on ‘courageous’). Sometimes we need to be reminded that it is going to take strength to make it through tough times. The key is to fly straight through the turbulence so that you can get to the calm air. James writes in 1:2-3 (NIV) “*Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.*”

The necessary elasticity to get through a storm requires us to dig down to our basic design and pick up extra strength. We have the ability to weather a storm but it does require a little extra effort. It is no wonder that an airplane can literally be torn apart in a storm because there are limits to the ability of metal to stretch.

You might try to understand that the engineers have built into those wings the strongest possible alloys available to carry a huge load when it is needed. If we don’t build some elasticity into our lives, we can also snap. Life becomes much more satisfying when you realize that you too have the ability to stretch, much like the wings of an airplane. God designed us in His image and with His strength we can endure anything that comes along.

In a stressful situation, deciding what to do to get out of the problem can be one of your greatest challenges. What do you do when your options seem to disappear as you are being bounced by turbulence in every direction? Are your alternatives really disappearing or are we just guilty under the pressure of not seeing everything clearly? Slow down, look at your available options, and plow straight ahead to find clear air. The last thing you should consider at that time is to quit. Quitting is like flying in circles in the middle of the storm. You are only going to continue bouncing. Sometimes the answers to the future are right in front of us. Determine a proper action to get you through the storm.

The idea of taking time to think through a problem when the bullets of change are flying around you is tough. You have to discipline yourself to eliminate all those distractions that can prevent you from seeing possible paths out of a situation and then concentrate on what can make a difference. Certainly it is difficult to determine which direction is the safest opportunity, but you must examine your options if you are to make a decision that is worthwhile.

Sometimes you have to fly at 30,000 feet to get an adequate view of the alternatives available when you are in trouble. Get to a distance away from the problem that allows you to see the whole event. It is important to stand back and take a look from another angle.

One of the reasons my wife and I take time on a regular basis to change our routine is to change scenery. We get a better view of our lives by changing our habits and environment. We attempt to take a look at life from the 30,000-foot viewpoint. Amazingly on those outings, we talk about new things, get away from the concerns of normal work, and forget about cleaning the garage. We try to plan events we know are coming and decide what to do if we are faced with a crisis. It is just a great time to look ahead, evaluate the past, and decide on new paths.

Whenever we have had a large change in our lives, we intentionally take one of these mini holidays and find it great therapy. We take that time to slow down and talk about possibilities that can be used to stabilize life. The getaway helps us develop solutions. Problems are minimized if you are prepared to face them. Preparation requires looking at life from a different angle. Maybe it is yet another opportunity to fly free.

If you are piloting an airplane and there is an emergency, time becomes compressed and it is essential to slow down the situation, evaluate what is happening, and develop a solution. When you can slow down you can begin making decisions that will help.

When we have an unexpected situation arise in life the tendency is to hurry to a solution. The correct answer is often determined by slowing down and determining a new way out of the problem. Amazingly, we

Find Calm Air

are much more rational when we are calm and we can think. That normal first reaction that pushes us toward a knee-jerk solution may result in reentering the storm.

If we can just take a moment to determine where we are and the available alternatives, then alternatives often can become solutions.

You do have a great ally in this fight. Philippians 1:10 (NIV) says, “*We are in this fight together.*” Don’t forget your greatest wingman in the battle. God is there for you. You may be saying, God abandoned me and that is why I am in this situation. I will guarantee you that you are wrong in that assumption because God does not abandon us in our time of need. If you believe in Him, the Bible says, “*All things are possible for those who believe.*” God is the one who can lead you straight through the storm and show you the shortest distance to exiting the turbulence and turmoil of the crisis. He is there to navigate you through the problem. You do have to make the effort to express your faith and believe it but He is always there.

## Chapter 18

### Decide Where to Fly – Make A Decision

Many years ago during a routine flight from Dallas to Washington, D.C., I was the pilot in command of an Air Force

T-39 (Sabreliner) and we were carrying three VIP general

officers to a meeting at the Pentagon. My commander had told me to be very careful and get the passengers to their meeting on time and safely.

As we neared Langley AFB, our destination landing field, our instrument lit up with a red blinking light indicating we had a fire on the left engine. We confirmed the problem was real when the oil pressure began to fluctuate and our exhaust gas temperatures (egt) also began to vary. We had a valid indication there was a fire in the left engine.

I had a very alert copilot, Don Blasberg and he immediately began reading through the checklist on engine fires. I notified the control tower of the problem and told them we needed a straight-in approach so we could get the airplane on the ground as soon as possible. The control tower cleared us for the straight-in approach and I was able to land the airplane safely. We had attempted to fire a fire extinguisher into the damaged engine and it somehow fired into the good engine so as we rolled to a stop the control tower barked the news that we had smoke trailing our airplane and to get everyone out of the bird as soon as possible.

I told the three generals in the back of the airplane as we approached the field that we had a problem. As we received the news from the tower about the smoke I announced they were to exit as soon as we stopped. Don volunteered to go to the back of the airplane to open the door and assist the passengers as they exited. He actually opened the door while the airplane was still rolling to a stop. Don’s decision helped us all exit the airplane safely and possibly avoid serious injury. He correctly took

Decide Where to Fly

the action necessary to get everyone off the airplane. When there is a fire anywhere on an airplane, on the ground or in the air, it is a serious matter. Don made a great decision to get the door open and the people outside at the earliest opportunity. We had to act quickly to get all five of us off the aircraft at the conclusion of this flight.

Thankfully, our decisions were right and everything ended well. The key was that we made the decisions and then followed through with the action to finish the task. We had been trained to follow the emergency checklist and the training paid off.

After an investigation of the incident, we learned that the fire had been the result of a malfunctioning fuel controller. It was complicated by a fire suppression system that was incorrectly installed in the last maintenance inspection, which resulted in the fire bottle designed to put out the fire actually firing into the one good engine on the airplane. The fire was still burning in the affected engine when the fire trucks pulled up beside the airplane.

When there is an emergency, you want someone around you who can make a decision. We had been trained to follow procedures that would bring the situation to a safe conclusion. It was not luck but the training we had been given that brought the incident to a safe conclusion. We were all thankful for having the training to teach us how to make the right decision as an aircrew.

There are a number of methods to use to make decisions and we often do not use them properly. Interestingly, most people feel they shoot from the hip in their normal decision-making process, but if examined, they are using at least a part of the following methods to come to their final conclusions on how to solve a problem:

**Pareto Analysis** is one of the first actions in determining what you will do to make a decision. This action is simply a matter of determining what needs to be changed as you examine the problem. You then can choose what to change.

**Paired Comparison Analysis** can play an important role in deciding how to handle an emergency because it may be accomplished quickly and allows logical comparison of known alternatives. You can contrast factors involved in the event by simply comparing them to one anther in order to select the one that best works in the situation. This comparison allows you to determine the importance of different options.

**Grid Analysis** is another method of determining the importance of the various options. With grid analysis you can begin taking into account many factors that can lead to the necessary solution for the problem.

**PMI** is simply the process of weighing the pros and cons of a decision. You can assume there are going to be consequences of how you determine to handle a situation. The desired outcome will be determined by how you move through this process.

**Force Field Analysis** is simply a matter of determining the various pressures surrounding the decision. When you can analyze the pressures for and against change you can better decide how you want to move toward a decision. Determining how to satisfy the greatest pressures on the decision often provide an exit strategy to get to a desired conclusion.

Chances are that you are not intentionally using a scientific method to solve your problems. I can tell you for certain I have never found a singular problem-solving process that always works in a stressful situation. The process you choose during the time you are attempting to get out of a bad event in your life will probably be a combination of the scientific methods mentioned. The events around you are normally moving so swiftly in a crisis that you really don’t want to take time to analyze. It is difficult to slow life down in a crisis enough to scientifically analyze what is happening. If you could reduce the speed of your situation it is highly probable you would have used one of the methods outlined above to reach a conclusion. We usually begin to attack an analysis in the same manner either consciously or unconsciously.

In a crisis, I normally begin by prioritizing the available choices, then decide how those choices are going to affect my life. Prioritizing choices allows me to objectively begin to determine a direction for extricating myself from a problem.

About eighteen months ago I spent an hour with a young man, with two children and a supportive wife, who had been laid off three times in eight months after having a steady six-figure job for a number of years. He was in the mortgage industry and that business had become overburdened with too much inventory and declining numbers of current buyers. The mortgage financial market was dramatically affected by the economy at that time. The young man expressed the normal frustrations for a young successful professional who had lost

Decide Where to Fly

his security. My friend, Estavia, asked the typical questions:

- What did I do wrong?
- Why me?
- How can I get my life back?

Estavio stated that he had been in the industry for eleven years and had just been told he was being laid off. He felt he had done nothing wrong and was anxious to find a new vocation that would excite him. The young man had a future somewhere, was intelligent, and had a great outlook on life, but needed to expand his view of the world. Estavio finally concluded that he really wanted to change careers. He had felt trapped for years because of the security in his job but he really had always wanted to be a pilot or to work with computers. The desire for aviation and computers had been inside his head all those years he had been a banker, and he now had the opportunity to follow his dream.

Having come out of an aviation career before becoming a pastor, I was quick to point out the fact that it was time for him to make the move if he was serious about learning the aviation industry. He analyzed his ability to move rapidly and determined the certifications to become a pilot were not plausible financially in time to take care of his family. He chose to try concentrating on computers and set up a plan to make that happen. He enrolled in a local school that would allow him to obtain an associate degree in computer science. He applied himself diligently to the program, and has now completed a two-year degree in just over one year of study. He graduated with honors and is well on his way to a new, exciting career.

The loss of a job allowed Estavio to pursue and compete for an entirely new career and future. He is flying free.

An outstanding professional pilot friend, Don, had the job of lifetime flying for a Fortune 500 company and felt he was set for life. He had a great job, excellent pay, retirement pension and a great family. What could be better? Just when he was relaxing and enjoying life the impossible occurred. The solid company he was working for decided to move to another city. His boss called him in and told him the company was cutting back and his job was going to be eliminated. He was told that he would receive four months severance and best wishes for the future. Don could have become angry, hurt, and settled into a selfimposed pity party, but he didn’t allow that mode of thought. Instead of holding back and feeling sorry for himself, Don went to a scheduled simulator session with the company he was leaving. He did it on his own time and also volunteered to fly anytime the company needed a pilot. His priority was to become as professional as possible so that he would be competitive when the next opportunity for a command pilot job presented itself.

Don attended the simulator session while many of his peers felt it would be a waste of time. He met a man at the simulator who offered him a job flying for a small airline in Europe. Don accepted the job, thanked God for the opportunity, and decided to take his young family with him to Europe. His wife and son have now traveled throughout Europe, lived on the economy, educated their son by showing him historic places, and are enjoying their lives.

In a recent conversation, I was astounded to hear Don say his contract is coming to an end in Europe. He is contemplating renewing the contract but the really great news is that the company that laid him off is also discussing the possibility of bringing him back to work here in the United States. They recognize his worth, his positive attitude, and his leadership. They appreciated that he extended himself to help them when many of his peers had cut off ties after the layoff. By analyzing his assets in a challenging situation, Don had improved himself professionally and gained valuable international experience. He analyzed the situation, took proper action, and we will soon know where he is going to land. Don built opportunity for himself with his action to be able to make a decision that is best for his family and his future.

“*Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the*

*LORD is near in the valley of decision.*” Joel 3:14 (NIV)

## Chapter 19

### Trials Can Lead to Victory – Look Beyond the Horizon

We all have stories of how personal trials in life have led to stress. One of my personal trials was a diagnosis that I had a very serious form of cancer when I was forty-three years

old. The timing was terrible for me and my family. Poor timing for a crisis always seems to be the case, doesn’t it? When you are hindered by the loss of a job or a personal tragedy you never feel comfortable with the timing. There is little you can do to change circumstances so there is always a moment when you say, “What do I do now?” Rarely do we feel that we may actually be given an opportunity to change our lives for the positive when a crisis strikes. We do not expect positive benefits during those times so we often ignore the chances for change. I can now attest to that fact from my personal experience.

When you experience a tough situation, you need to realize there may be an opportunity for progress hidden somewhere inside the problem that can lead you to a new direction in life. Finding the path to take you to a new way of living is often a matter of timing. Your problem may be timed to allow you to fly free of the burdens of the past.

My experience has shown me that God has a way of surprising us with opportunities. Sometimes we recognize only what we can see or feel. He has a whole new life prepared for us if we will take advantage of the moment. Paul says in Romans 6:4 (NIV), “*We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.*”

Paul is talking to anyone who will listen that they can have a new life through Christ, and he is speaking to people who believed they were not qualified for a new life. The people he was writing to were so concentrated on the past that they were not looking forward. Christ offers an opportunity to rid yourself of the burdens of the past and move forward. It is really the last part of that verse that says, “*…we too may live a new life*” that really hits home. He is talking to all of us who believe that the secular world will help us out of a crisis. Christ, through Paul’s writing, is saying He will provide a new opportunity if we will believe. He becomes even more specific in Romans where it is further simplified. It is a two-part experience. First, we must have faith; and secondly, we must accept the new life. There is nothing complicated—it is the same whether for a pilot, teacher, or pauper.

When I was told about my cancer I was in the midst of expanding a business, being a father, and trying to make ends meet financially. I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. My health difficulties were also occurring as the economy was taking a downturn. All elements worked together to drive me deeper into a depression that essentially required me to understand I was not in charge. To be honest, I did not handle the whole situation well because I did not realize that God was doing exactly what that verse in Romans was all about—I was being offered a new life.

As a pilot, when you doubt your instruments it is easy to lose control. Faith provides the same assistance to us when we believe in God. Without it I was losing control.

One of the toughest assignments for a pilot in the clouds is to understand what is real and what is imagined when referencing the instruments in the cockpit. When you are flying in the clouds with no reference to your relationship to the ground, you have no choice except to rely on the instruments to keep the airplane right side up. You must maintain faith in the indicators that will help you safely move forward toward your intended destination.

As you concentrate on the instrument panel and there is no reference outside the cockpit, you can imagine all kinds of scenarios. To be a successful instrument pilot you must have faith in the instruments. To be successful in life when outside inputs are taken from your view and you feel completely alone, you have to have faith in God. He is your instrument to keep you on the straight and level through your bad times.

You must determine before a crisis occurs that your faith will be the primary instrument you can use to carry you through any problem.

Trials Can Lead to Victory

Faith is important if you are going to believe you can successfully endure your problem. In the airplane it is essential to develop that trust in the gauges because they provide the necessary information to get you home when you are cut off from the normal references that you use for maneuvering. The same trust has to be developed in your faith to help you regain a level of normalcy in life when you are in the midst of a problem. The feeling you have when going through a crisis may not be exactly one of high confidence, but if you rely on your training and your trust, you can safely get back to a secure life.

As a pilot I had to believe that the instruments were telling me the truth and then react to the information they provided to guide the airplane. My life and the lives of my passengers literally depended upon the correct interpretation of that information. When flying, it became necessary to understand what I could and could not realistically do as a pilot. There is always a great difference between what we want to do and what is reality. Your correct interpretation of the signals God is providing you in a crisis may also provide you with the ability to get to a safe landing. Your faith that Christ died for your sins is the primary instrument to verify the strength of your conviction. Paul actually says that it is simple. “If you believe in your heart and say with your mouth that Christ died for your sins, you will be saved.”

Many years ago I wanted to become an astronaut and fly in space. I tried to work through some of the required steps to reach that goal. I attended the schools, the training, and even sacrificed some other opportunities because of my desire to fly in space. It was a great dream but there was a problem. Most of the candidates who were kept in the space program (I was eliminated with a government budget cut) had scientific backgrounds, and I was a good pilot but not a scientist. NASA needed scientists in the spacecraft and not just someone who could fly the machine.

NASA determined there were better qualified candidates to fill the flying positions. My résumé did not say I would make the best astronaut. When I looked at the situation objectively rather than from my personal disappointment, it became apparent that there were others better qualified to fly in space. When I was objective about the situation I had to agree with their assessment. Later I realized that if I had remained in that program I would never have really gotten started in the aviation business that I have loved so much. God’s plan was for me put my faith in Him and His plan, not mine. Years later I realized that His plan was for me to use those experiences to help others reach their goals. Teach yourself to have faith that you are going to be able to use your experiences for God’s purpose and know that He is in control. His goals are much more real and greater than yours.

I flew more than 200 combat missions in Vietnam and realized early on that there was only one way to survive. I had to come to grips with myself and decide what I could and could not do with the airplane. I had to be totally truthful with myself and sometimes that was not easy to do. There were times when I wanted to do something that I may have seen in a movie but realistically knew could not be done in the real combat environment.

What is the truth and how do you come to divide truth from a dream?

The trials I experienced in combat were not too different than the ones I discovered were tormenting me later at home. There was a requirement to find the best method of working through the problem realistically and then gaining knowledge from the experience. The trials eventually provided experience, which I could use later to find a victory.

Let’s look at what you can do to find the truth so you can take proper action in your personal situation. You may feel like you are in combat with a situation you are experiencing right now. Just as in real combat, you must determine the truth about what is happening before you can resolve your situation.

A second and equally important action is to find opportunities to get out of the crisis. To do that you must accept help wherever it might be available. There are times when millions of Americans experience job loss due a downturn in the economy or their industry. They may be laid off or are involved in a failing business because of the business environment in their area of the country. Once you enter the crisis mode you must work on the quickest method of moving through it to calm air and a calmer life. God can help us do that and stands ready if you call upon Him.

When I was diagnosed with cancer, one of the first truths I had to accept was that the disease was present in my body. I had to deal with the problem. There were no billboards that appeared before me that said I was going to experience a downturn in my ability to operate as I had in the past. There was no immediate sign of any change except for a

Trials Can Lead to Victory

loss of appetite and weight loss. I knew the illness was present because the doctors said I had cancer and my body was displaying some of the signals that accompany the disease. It was then that I began to rely on something much larger than myself. I realized I was not in control of the situation so I placed my faith in the God, who I believed could pull me through the ordeal. He did exactly what I had prayed for and healed me. The healing did not take place overnight and involved the expertise of some great medical personnel who used their gifts of healing to provide me the opportunity to go on with my life. I believe God put every person in that chain of events in my life for a purpose.

I was not healed because I was a good person or more deserving than others. I believe I was healed because God had a purpose in providing the healing so that I could do what I am doing now with my life. The fact that God placed opportunities in front of me during this time of my life was evidence to me that He wanted me to go forward. Each step in the recovery process provided hope. When I realized there was hope for recovery I began diligently following every suggestion that the doctors provided to accelerate the healing process. Through the faith provided by God and the professional medical technology provided by the doctors I saw my life changing from hopelessness to an opportunity for a future. God was providing new opportunities to live and fly free of my disease and the health problems that had seemed so egregious. Through faith and His leading I was able to find new hope in the midst of the crisis. Later He used that faith to provide victory over the disease that entangled my mind, my body, and my business. All I had to do was follow His plan and use my faith. I strongly recommend you work on developing a faith that will allow you to take advantage of your moment of healing as well.

The trials of life can become building blocks that lead to an escape from turmoil**.** After escaping there will be a method of building for the future. God also has a purpose for your life.

“*‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.’*”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

## Chapter 20

### A Moment to Act – Use Faith

Each of us copes with stress in a different manner. Everyday family or financial pressures or simple environmental agitations of light or noise can become overwhelming when coupled with an acute crisis. Some people try to escape from the reality of life’s hardships; they fall into stages of depression. Some react to problems by self-medicating with drugs or alcohol or going to movies to immerse themselves in a fictitious plot. They walk out of the theater completely worn out from the story and their problem is still facing them.

Many years ago I saw the movie *Top Gun* and, as a pilot, I found myself so deeply immersed in seeing an inverted spin depicted in the movie that I felt like I was pulling on the control stick, kicking the rudder, and feeling the stresses of the airplane. I had experienced that maneuver in the air and the scene in the movie was done so well that I felt the real thing occurring in my mind. Later I found out that a great stunt pilot named Art Scholl had died filming that scene. The movie company was able to save the film from Art’s fateful ride and used it in the movie. It was truly a tribute to his artistry that the realism was transferred to the screen. I could imagine what that inverted spin felt like in real life because I had experienced a spin.

When we see a movie scene depicting something that we have not experienced, we do not get so caught up in the plot because the whole scenario may be far from reality in our mind. Sometimes we do that with real life. We just ignore the present circumstance because it is something that we have never before experienced.

When people experience a problem for the first time, they often try to ignore the situation and hide their heads in the sand. They may pretend someone else is going to repair the dilemma. If you

have not experienced something it is difficult to fully understand the ramifications of the event so we may try to ignore the consequence. The problem is ignored as if really didn’t happen. Maybe that is a defensive mechanism, but it does not serve to solve the problem. If we are going to solve a problem we must grasp it and make a conscious decision to act on it, just like recovering from an inverted spin. At some point it is necessary to accept the fact that we are engaged in the experience and then overtly try to find a solution that will help us escape to safety.

We live in a society where we are often told there is an entitlement to have problems fixed by someone else. People expect to have someone or something step in and help them recover from a problem. Our society often relies on government or an institution to take care of us when we are affected by a crisis. Whoever we hope may solve our problem, the only real solution can come from our involvement. Social programs may supply a temporary solution for people, but those same people often find themselves right back in the same mess. They become depressed, withdrawn, and even suicidal because they lose hope. Social welfare and other government safety net programs have taken away people’s sense of control and self-responsibility. The long-term solution can only be found when people are not dependent upon institutional solutions.

One of the lessons I have learned from watching people in crisis is that they seem to hope for outside influence to correct the situation. They often avoid taking the actions necessary to begin moving toward a satisfactory conclusion. People must make the move to take proper action when they are in a crisis. If they wait, then the crisis only continues to develop and worsens. If they act, however, there is a quicker solution to the problem, problem-solving skills are sharpened, there is an increased sense of self-assurance, and heightened selfesteem. Just like recovery from a spin in an airplane, there is necessary action to begin the process of recovery.

I once heard an analogy about a guy who said he wanted to learn to play the piano and became despondent about having lived more than sixty years on earth and he had never learned to play. He loved the piano and talked to people about his aspiration for many years. In one of these conversations with a friend, our guy again expressed his desire to be a great pianist. The friend asked a simple question that started him on the road to satisfying his dream of having musical knowledge enough to play the piano. He knew the man well enough to get to the point quickly and he asked, “Do you own a piano?” The answer was a very simple “no.”

How much practicing can be done to become a pianist unless we have the instrument to make the avocation a reality? We must put a plan in place and also obtain the necessary tools to execute the plan. Taking proper action to reach a desired goal requires preparation and preparation requires practice. You can sit around and worry, stew, and dream but none of that makes a difference unless you take action.

There is no progress when energy is wasted worrying about decisions gone wrong or pitying yourself for being a victim of the circumstance that brought you to your crisis. Rather than wasting energy on worrying about past problems, there is much greater efficiency in focusing on actions that will lead to a positive future. Sometimes it is good to practice looking ahead rather than behind.

One of greatest gifts God has given every human being is the ability to have faith in Him. Faith can be used to look forward rather than back in your life. Faith avoids waste when you are solving a problem. Faith provides the incentive to take action and develop hope.

When all hope runs out in the world it becomes apparent that we must go to a higher power. It is at that moment we often can realize that God is faithful and omnipotent. If you have no hope, you suddenly find yourself isolated from the future. God can provide that hope.

I am privileged to have met and known a great American hero by the name of David Eberly, who illustrated what faith can do in a very dire situation. Many years ago, after returning from Vietnam, I was assigned to be an instructor pilot in the Air Force’s T-38 Talon. During that assignment I was one of David’s instructor pilots. It was apparent even as a student that David was a special individual. He and his beautiful wife Barbara were leaders in that class of budding pilots and he had been an outstanding student pilot as well. I lost contact with David after I left the Air Force. During the first Gulf War, I saw that a pilot, Colonel David Eberly, had been shot down and was missing. CNN even mentioned on TV that Colonel Eberly was from Indiana, the same home state of my former student. I had a passing thought that the guy they were talking about might be the father of our associate because my student was a second lieutenant when I knew him. The guy who was shot down was a colonel.

Much to my surprise, when the war ended and I saw the folks who had been POWs in Iraq coming down the stairs of the former presidential aircraft that flew them to freedom, the first pilot down the stairs was our David Eberly. Years had passed and he had become a colonel and had been the ranking POW in the Iraqi prison. As Vickie and I watched that scene unfold on television, we both cried tears of joy. We were so proud of David and his family. They endured the pain of the separation, the unknown outcome, and the torture that David was subjected to for all of America. I later learned in David’s fantastic book about his experience, *Faith Beyond Belief: A Journey to Freedom*, that he had used his amazing faith in God to get through the days, weeks, and months that he was held captive. His example of faith is summed up in his interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer that he said he used to finish each day of his term in the Iraqi prison.

*As always, I finished my day with my own adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer:* “*Our Father who is here with us. Thank you for this day and for the food. Give us the mental courage and physical strength to get through the moment and please give them the courage to treat us fairly. Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done. For you are the real power and the glory forever. Amen.*”3

David Eberly’s story of endurance and faith should be an example to us all of what God will do if we maintain our faith in Him. David didn’t spend his time looking back. He relied on what was to come in the future. He didn’t dwell on feeling sorry for himself or his situation but instead maintained the belief that God was in charge, so his prayers reflected his confidence. He believed that God would bring him through the ordeal. There was no giving up or hiding from the truth of the situation. David built confidence in a future by relying on God to take care of the situation.

Many people thrive on pitying themselves in crisis and they remain reliant on their desire to look back rather than forward. They are satisfied to ignore the tools readily available to reach a goal. Often those people who thrive on self-sorrow expect someone else to fix the problem or never take advantage of finding the right tools to make their dreams a reality. David Eberly chose to take the high road and expected God to help. He placed his faith in the most stable foundation he could find.

He brought God right into his cell and God rewarded his faith.

Some people will wait for a long time to correct a situation because they will not allow anyone into the situation with them. Specifically, they keep God outside the problem. If they are waiting for someone else to solve their trouble then time often exacerbates the crisis. It is essential to begin the process of evaluating and working toward a solution sooner rather than later. The owner of the problem needs to become the primary actor in the solution.

When we rely on the processes of others rather than our own actions as the remedy to a problem, we are only asking for increased trouble. People who allow themselves to be totally reliant on someone else other than God have a difficult time solving any problem because they are always waiting. They wait on a solution that seldom arrives. God is the one available asset in every crisis. He can provide a timely and relevant solution. Waiting on other people often leads to more problems rather than a personal solution to the crisis.

It is very important to understand that the situation we are in is only a step away from the future. We need to evaluate the alternatives rather than waiting on the sideline for someone else’s answer. In the Bible David says, in 1 Samuel 22:19 (NIV), “*They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.*” Essentially, the biblical David was saying that he had actively sought support from the Lord and the Lord came through. David was asking the Lord to help him solve the problem earlier rather than later. He desired a solution and found a way to look ahead. King David was great at solving problems but made it a practice to consult the Lord. He did it when he was tested by Goliath. He wasn’t afraid to take on a giant when he had the Lord on his side.

1 Samuel 17:47 (NIV): “*And everyone will know that the LORD does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is His battle, not ours. The LORD will give you to us!*”

The bottom line is that my friend David Eberly came through the trials because he put his *soul in the hollow of God’s hand.* He trusted the Lord and followed God’s instructions. The biblical David did the same thing when he adhered to the direction that God took him. When David went into battles on his own accord, things didn’t go as well. Maybe there is a lesson there for us as well. Through many tests we will find strength because the tests provide the building of perseverance.

The Bible actually says that we are going to be stronger when we go through tests. James 1:2-6 (NIV) says,

*Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.*

I believe the ultimate plan of action for attacking a crisis is to consult God. He will show the way to escape the problems. The whole plan for recovery from a trying circumstance in life is found in the Bible. One of the prerequisites to using any plan is to find faith in the strategy you have developed.

Merriam-Webster defines faith as “Belief and trust in and loyalty to God.” The key to starting a positive recovery in life is to develop and utilize a firm faith in God.

I remember a time when I was starting the airline business and we were attempting to obtain financing for the first airplane that we would use to haul freight. We investigated sources of financing all over the country and found no one willing to take a chance on a start-up airline. That was the initial feedback from every source I investigated and I began to panic and feel we were going to be out of business before we started. I was willing to take any financing available. I just wanted the problem solved, and now. I never thought of praying about the situation or waiting. That seemed to be the solution for a weakling and I certainly wanted to avoid that classification.

Finally, a finance company offered us a deal and I jumped on it without hesitating. Shortly after making the initial acceptance, one of our finance guys suggested I evaluate the cash flow of the company. When I did that I realized that we could not afford to accept the deal. We could never make a profit.

I spoke with a banker friend and told him about the issue. This friend also was a Christian and he gave some very valuable advice. He was very professional but he stepped out of his normal banker role in this instance to tell me that I was making a mistake. He said I would not find the answer to the financing problem by hurrying the process. He said simply, wait on God. His premise was straightforward and something I should have considered all along as we processed the start-up of our new company. He felt that God was in charge, and if we acknowledged that control, good things would happen. My partners and I backed off, waited on an acceptable offer, and were rewarded with a reasonable deal a week later. The lesson was not lost in my life, as I began to realize that if God is involved things go much better. The solution may be not what we expect, but God’s participation allows us to follow His will. Again, faith is the key.

“*Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see*.” Hebrews

11:1 (NIV)

## Chapter 21

**Check Ride – Testing Your Faith!**

During recovery from my first cancer surgery, I was too sick to work and too depressed to be productive. One afternoon while

Vickie was at work and the kids were at school I sat on our couch and contemplated what I should do with my life. I was feeling sorry for myself and questioned if I should give up or continue to fight this deadly disease.

It sounds like a pretty basic question, but the answer at that point in my treatment was a matter of life and death. It was a very difficult afternoon; I was bombarded by doubts about my self-worth. Throughout my career, I had attempted to control every facet of my life and now felt I had failed. Now, with my illness, the businesses I was responsible for were also going to fail and my family would suffer. Other than trying to continue to work to take care of my family, it seemed fruitless to continue the battle for life. Besides, there was a large insurance policy for my family if I just gave up. It seems tough to even talk about it now but the answer became obvious. I determined that I could not change the situation without God’s help. I got down on my knees and said in a desperate prayer, “God, I have messed up everything and I am not in control. Would you please take control?” I actually prayed that He would take control of me, the situation, and my future. There is no verifiable timetable on how long it took but, I can tell you, it was not long before some very incredible things started taking place in my life. The obstacles that had seemed insurmountable were removed one by one.

I realized I was not making the good events happen and the bad stuff disappear. I was just an observer. Faith was allowing me to view God at work. The cancer that had been so debilitating and depressing began to dissipate from my body. The doctors started talking about when I would recover rather than if I would beat the cancer.

A few months after my intense session with God I was called and asked to interview for a job in another state. The job I was interviewing for was one that I was unaware of before the cancer. It paid ten percent of the annual income I had made before my illness but it was a job with potential for growth in a business that I enjoyed. I accepted the new job without insurance and in spite of the salary. I had lost my insurance with my old job and decided it was not a gamble because the new company was promising to provide health insurance for my wife. My coverage would be reinstated if I could demonstrate a full recovery from the cancer. Although it seemed like an incredible long shot at the time, the new job was better than any other opportunity on the horizon, so I accepted.

I decided I had to rely on faith if I was going to progress. I could not continue to just rely on me because that had not worked well. Vickie and I decided it was time to look forward and not backward. That is exactly what we did. God was in control and doing His thing. When I decided to act on faith, God rewarded my reliance on Him. In a few years God had more than replaced the money I had lost in the move to the new company. I was promoted three times in two years. I realized I was doing something that God had prepared me for, even through the failures of the past.

Remember that verse we discussed earlier from James, where he tells us that trials are effective for building perseverance? If you read just a bit further in verses 1:7-8 (NIV), it goes on to say, “*That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he (man) is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.*” We are expected to begin making a decision and move on. It is up to us to use faith in conjunction with action to result in accomplishment. God will reward your faith just as He did mine.

## Chapter 22

### Level Flight – Build Faith into Life

If faith is so important in decision making, then how do we develop that important element in life? We often hear the term, but it is certainly tough to determine whether we could pass a test of faith until we experience a trial in life. The middle of a storm is not the time to question your faith so it might be wise to prepare for those events in advance.

Let’s discuss faith from a biblical perspective. What is faith and why is it so necessary to maintain a devotion to a belief in order to live a satisfying life? If you are going to take proper action to get out of a crisis you must have belief in the plan or it becomes difficult to remain on course. Paul the apostle tells us that faith is the key to understanding life. The book of Hebrews defines faith very well and says in chapter 11, verse 1 (NIV): “*Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.*” That little sentence means that we have to believe in something we cannot see, touch, or smell. It is a tough request when we are going through hard times in life.

In my life I found that I had to put faith into practice. I had to inject faith in my life no matter what was going on. I had to understand that faith is an important aspect of my being. Faith is a too-seldom-used ingredient of recovery from crisis. Just as you need to exercise your leg muscles if you are going to run a race, you need to begin flexing your prayer muscles if you are going to get to know God. You must know God before you can develop faith in Him. To know Him you have to believe that He is an integral part of your life. You can simply request His participation in your life.

God made each of us unique and He knows you. You also need to get to know Him. The word “unique” comes from a French word that means “only one.” Do you think that God Almighty would have taken the time to create you in His image and make you different from all created beings if you had no worth? He is much too smart and much too omnipotent to waste His time cloning people who are not willing to decide they can believe Him. Our faith can open wonderful avenues to the world.

As we age in this life there is an element of awareness that begins to creep over our thought process about existence. The development of that consciousness begins to instill in us the ability to prioritize problems. The awareness is usually accompanied by the reality that we are not in charge of everything around us. As I mentioned my personal situation concerning control, I learned that having faith demanded that I let God take control. I became aware that I was not in charge of my fate and when I admitted the fact to God, He very quietly assumed command of my life. What I had attempted to control became secondary to allowing my life to be directed by the God who had created me. It is God, not us, who can direct our lives to the best conclusion. We cannot make real progress in life without faith.

During my years in the corporate world I was privileged to have several great experiences managing companies. The people I worked with and for taught me a lot about success. I once heard one of our respected directors say during a difficult financial period in a down market, “Believe in yourself and establish a standard of value for life before you have to stand on someone else’s.” That director was saying you have to establish a “faith standard” in yourself and your work. Your uniqueness is worth developing to its ultimate value. Let me state that another way: “Be the best you can be,” to use the phrase of the U.S. Army recruiters. God will reward your uniqueness. He loves the value that you represent. If He did that for me, He will do it for you.

Finding a method of discovering who you are often comes from the testing you experience in life. The crisis you are now experiencing or have recently gone through may be your test. Webster’s dictionary says that testing is “requiring maximum effort or ability….” Remember what James 1 said, “*Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.*” Drum that verse into your head because it reinforces exactly what we need to be doing when we say “have faith.” Whatever we are going through has a purpose. The purpose may be one that we don’t recognize at present

Level Flight

but there is a purpose.

I often like to remember a briefing I heard when I was in Vietnam. Our forward air control unit supported an F-4 unit on a regular basis, and I was invited to fly with that outfit on a mission with Colonel Chappie James. Colonel James had a stellar reputation from WWII, Korea, and now Vietnam. He was a Tuskegee Airman and the first rated four-star African-American general officer in the United States Air Force. The man was an icon of the modern fighter pilot generation.

Our mission would take us to areas that were very unfriendly. I was there as a guest of the unit because of my job. It was my first mission up to North Vietnam, and the squadron I was going to fly with had lost two guys the day before so I paid close attention in the pre-mission briefing. This was an orientation flight, but one that was important to me, and a mission that I long remembered.

The briefing for that flight told us two significant things, and they are entrenched in my memory for life. The director of operations for the unit stood before us and told us that when we walked out to the ramp where our airplanes were parked, we were not to climb into the airplane. He said we were to “strap it on.” We were being told to make the airplane a part of us. I have interpreted that instruction to mean that if I am going to do something in life I should do it to the best of my ability. Don’t take on a mission unless you are going to make the activity a part of you. My boss once said that if you are working at your avocation you have the ultimate job. You no longer must go to work. You are enjoying your hobby every day of your life.

If you are undergoing a separation from a job or the loss of something significant in your life right now, you are probably feeling a part of you has been separated from your body. I remember experiencing that desperate feeling when the business we had built seemed to float away during my bouts with cancer. It was like losing an arm or leg. What I had known as security and a great way of life disappeared in an instant. That job or spouse that is now gone may have felt like a part of you and now you both physically and emotionally feel the loss. When an element of stability suddenly disappears from your life you want to hold on to it. You feel anxiety at any loss.

The briefing we heard that day in Vietnam also told us that when we were under fire and in a stressful situation, we needed to be ready to use the situation to our advantage.

The second point in the briefing from Colonel James was equally important. He told us that if we climbed in the airplanes, flew the mission, lived through the anti-aircraft fire, got back to our base safely, and climbed out of the airplane without having learned something, we should never climb in another aircraft. We should learn from every experience in the mission. Every situation, even the stressful ones, should become learning situations in our lives.

The words of that briefer before our mission in combat have become firmly implanted in my mind. He was saying to use all those problematic life experiences to help get yourself to a safe landing. Gain knowledge from those trying times.

It is important to learn from every experience in life, even the tough ones. If you are undergoing stress right now, plant that lesson in your mind as a tool to use later in life. If you have made mistakes and they are costly, don’t forget them. Look at every trial as a learning experience and not a hardship.

### Section III Land As Soon As Practical

*“They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble.”*

Proverbs 3:23 (NLT)

## Chapter 23

### Find a Place to Land – Seek Safety

Our flight plan through Section I and Section II has prepared you for executing your recovery plan. As a framework we applied the three principle steps used by airmen who face airborne emergencies to a process for resolving tragic personal problems and for restoring harmony from chaotic crisis situations:

- 1\) Maintain/regain aircraft control
- 2\) Analyze the situation/take proper action
- 3\) Land as soon as practical

These three directives apply to our lives and our reactions as we seek conflict resolution—in airmen’s terms: *straight and level flight*.

- 1\) Get control of the situation—stop things from getting worse.
- 2\) Analyze the situation/take proper action. Use all available resources to determine not only what led to this situation but the steps and path toward recovery. Recognize God’s grace. Seek His help and through faith, trust His way.
- 3\) This is the *landing piece* that gets your life back on firm ground.

My flying experience over the years reinforced the fact that those procedures do work. The veteran director of operations who briefed us in Vietnam told us the same thing. It is imperative to determine who you are and work through the situation you are experiencing one step at a time. Use your experience by “strapping it on your body” during a crisis and then use it to bring yourself to a safe landing. Learn from it.

A safe recovery from an in-flight or in-life emergency does not just happen. If you are going to land safely and get through a problem you do it in a logical sequence. You must begin by understanding who you are and how you arrived at this point in your life. What brought you to this moment in time?

You are experiencing the part of the process of living that God calls life. That process involves both positive and negative experiences. The positive are easy and to be enjoyed. The negative times are the ones that seem to take forever. As we stated previously, take time to evaluate what you would do if you lost a loved one or your job today. What are you going to do if you enter a crisis mode during those down times? If you have already lost your job or are engaged in a survival mode, use this opportunity to determine what you yearn to do with the rest of your life. Begin making preparations to take your life in a new direction. Use the time to fly free of the old encumbrances and find a new path for freedom.

Job loss can be a devastating event in life that affects you, your family, and ofttimes, your community. It is detrimental to your finances, your ego, and your stability to the point that people forget about looking to the future. The natural reaction is to reflect on the void created by the job loss. Unexpected job loss can result in all sorts of dramatic life events including suicide, divorce, and other equally debilitating situations. The grim picture and those unthinkable events really do not have to occur.

The truth is that we, as humans, often take the quickest route to recover from the situation, which may not necessarily produce the best long-term result. Many of those knee-jerk measures are wrong.

I, unfortunately, can speak to the effects of a job loss because I have experienced the drama more than once.

A few years ago my wife and I were driving a couple who are good friends of ours to a church service outside our city to help them temporarily change environments. My friend had just lost his job with an organization for which he deeply enjoyed working. He was highly qualified for the position he held, had earlier served a distinguished career in the military, and his recent termination was an unexpected surprise. I just wanted him to get his mind off what had happened so he could analyze his situation.

As we drove along the highway, my wife and his wife were in the back seat talking and I overheard part of their conversation. His wife

Find a Place to Land

said what made the situation so uncomfortable for them was that the job loss was a new experience in their lives. They didn’t know how to handle what was happening because in his long and distinguished career her husband had never been fired. My wife Vickie, who is sometimes known for her directness, was heard to say, “Well, you should have been married to my husband because he has had a lot of experience at that.”

Unfortunately, she was right, because I started my career taking chances and also ended it with a few gambles. Those gambles did not always turn out successfully and my relationships with some of the bosses ended poorly as a result. Fortunately, there were more triumphs than failures.

As an entrepreneur, you live life a bit more on the risky side, which makes many people uncomfortable. Living that life can also sometimes make people uncomfortable if they are not accustomed to taking chances. Unfortunately, entrepreneurs also tend to make more mistakes in their quest to achieve. I found that both attributes were not always the best way to establish stability in a career. My bosses were often correct in finding that I was not performing to their expectations when I made risky decisions. As an independent businessman I was responsible for my own destiny, so it was a more comfortable situation for everyone. (I never had to fire myself!)

What I did experience with every change was that eventually the alteration to my life proved positive in some manner. It certainly did not always feel that it was a positive thing when we were going through the event, but each time I learned more about myself. With the new knowledge, I was able to grow from the experience. If you can use those troubling experiences as devices for learning, some great things can happen.

Life changes came in different forms for me. I was fired when I didn’t agree with the board of directors of the airline that I had helped found. I was fired by a partner in a company when he and I did not agree. Another job loss occurred when I had cancer and could not perform in a job running some small companies. Another time the job vanished due to the sale of a company that I was working in after it was shut down following the 9/11 tragedy.

All those events created additional changes in our lives. Each time there was a change we had to find a safe place to land. As in an airplane without power, there was no choice and we did land. The point is that we landed, and you will land as well. The key to finding a safe place to land is to control the landing and have God stay on the controls with you. Just as He is truly with you, even in the trials, the Lord will be on the controls to guide you to a safe landing.

## Chapter 24

### New Objectives – Change Your Landing Zone

Change is a reality of life is that always comes to us because we live in an ever-changing world, an unstable society, and within an environment that we do not control. Since there is going to be change in life, we should prepare for that likelihood. You cannot prepare for the unexpected by worrying, but you can prepare for change by training yourself to be flexible. Determining the landing fields that are within range of your problem as you go through life can save you great discomfort. A good pilot is constantly surveying the horizon for a safe landing zone.

Have you experienced those times in your life that were not static? In fact, I would rightfully depict most periods as exciting but certainly not static. My guess is that your life is pretty much like that as well, or you would not be reading this book.

In nearly every one of the crises Vickie and I have endured during our marriage, we did not foresee the impending transformations in our lives. Each of those afore described incidents, however, resulted in an immediate change in the lives of my wife, my family, and me. We determined that if our family was to establish a firm foundation for our lives and have some security in our home, we should prepare for the unexpected. We established a basic philosophy that has worked and decided that we should share it with others.

Our philosophy is that there are only two stable, firm foundations that endure crisis in our lives. Those essential ingredients for living a secure life are Faith and Family. If you use those as the primary elements for security you will have a head start on determining a safe place to land. It is imperative to protect faith and family no matter what is occurring.

That is the surest way to protect yourself in a tough circumstance.

I remember as a teenager when my father died very suddenly, how quickly my world changed. It was not only a change economically but more importantly, it was a change of my very existence. I missed the camaraderie and my father’s contribution to my life. I missed him and could not figure out how to fill the hole I felt in my heart. For our family there was no longer confidence in there being food on the table or a roof over our heads. We lived on a farm that we suddenly had to pay for and then also to rely on to feed the family. We had taken Dad for granted because everything was always where it was supposed to be. He worried about paying the bills and keeping us fed. My father took good care of our group. The insecurity resulting from his absence created a new awareness that I had never before experienced in my life.

My younger brothers began asking me for my opinion about everything. My mother searched for answers about how to take care of the family and, as a teenager, I was not prepared to handle the responsibility of answering those questions. Nothing in life seemed secure for us. I had to stop, evaluate who I was, and how I was going to approach the rest of my life.

All of those untimely experiences had a significant effect on my approach to problems today. I learned that you either attack problems in life or they attack you. I am aware that the statement may strike you as an egotistical approach, but think about it: there are times when you must act. We must be ready to endure hardship if it comes, no matter how unpleasant. In simplified terms, “Suck it up!”

Sometimes we find ourselves relaxing and thinking everything in life is perfect. When crisis strikes, confidence can very quickly turn to mush**.** The tests occur at varying ages and in different situations, but those unexpected events become significant and unforgettable experiences that affect our lives.

The secret ingredient in being ready for tests is often simply preparation. We must understand that change will occur and be ready to accept that it can be an opportunity for progress. Your test may be an opportunity in disguise to change the direction of your life. It is a chance to fly free of those encumbrances that slow us down. Those tests are great opportunities. My father’s death was hurtful and forced me to look forward. Your test may be the death of a loved one, a job change, or a lost relationship, but you too can make it through the event just as I did. God is with you.

## Chapter 25

### Share Your Experience –  Help Others Land Safely

A great way to grow your ability to handle problems is to practice growth by sharing your knowledge. The exercise of helping others can be sustenance for your life as you build confidence and positive experience. You must become proactive at being positive. Positive attitudes do not just happen. Share your knowledge and spread the wealth of your experience.

Some people begin to feel sorry for themselves and spend their time focusing on how difficult things are. Others, going through a similar circumstance, decide to do something positive. Vickie and I have been blessed with some great friends over our lifetime. It is amazing how they can inspire us when the chips are down.

When I was in my early forties, our businesses were doing well and our children were in high school, healthy, and enjoying life. One of my greatest joys was watching our daughter and son play basketball. We traveled to nearly every game in the season for both kids. One year during that time we attended over seventy basketball games as we ran back and forth between contests. In a few cases, we would watch half a game in one town, run to the little airport where our business was located, hop in an airplane and fly to the town where the other kid was participating in a game. There was a benefit to being a pilot.

We were dedicated parents but selfishly very proud as well.  Those were important and memorable times for our family.

Early in our son’s senior year in high school, we expected that this was going to be a great year. He loved basketball and we enjoyed being with the people involved with the community surrounding the kids. We enjoyed the other team members’ parents so we looked forward to a fun season of traveling to ballgames and fellowshipping with the other fathers and mothers at the games. Unfortunately, during this time I was diagnosed with cancer and our life stopped as we had known it. Instead of flying to basketball games, I was being wheeled around in a wheelchair, our business was floundering, my confidence in life was dwindling, and everything that had been fun was now a chore. I could see no enjoyment in life and also was not feeling that anyone could understand what I was going through. I was throwing a huge, selfimposed pity party. My life was one depressing event after another.

We had a great friend, Lonnie Ball, who had no reason to take his time to pull me out of my depression but he did. He knew about my love for watching our son play basketball and so he took it upon himself to help me. He drove to every game where Ryan played that year and videotaped the games. He would then drive to wherever I was located, even the hospital, where I waited for the scores of the game late at night, and played the video so that I could see the game. Lonnie will never know what a difference he made in my life by taking time to perform this simple service. I realized that he saw worth in me even when I was doubting my own worth. He invested his time in bringing joy into my life.

Our son is now a pastor and he uses our friend’s dedication to our family as an illustration for sermons about how to see Jesus in your life, because Lonnie depicted the caring of Jesus with his actions to help us. Lonnie did not just talk the talk about helping others, he walked the walk. This great man illustrated Christ to our family.

My friend left no room for pity during that period of my life and refused to allow me to feel sorry for myself. He demonstrated that he had full confidence in me and only talked about the future. He began to show me that there was something worthwhile in looking ahead and not behind. Again, there are two lasting qualities in our lives and they are Faith and Family. Just knowing that Lonnie and my family cared that much made me want to recover. God did the healing and I benefited. Lonnie shared his life and turned a negative experience into something very positive.

I determined that, if for no other reason than to pass it along to someone else, it was important to duplicate the deeds Lonnie had demonstrated to me. Somehow there had to be a way of repaying someone who was undergoing a similar crisis in life.

The lesson learned was simple. Taking time to help others or to allow

Share Your Experience

someone to help you gives incentive to find life after chaos. It is a great way of landing safely. Share your lifetime of experiences with someone. Your knowledge may be the lifesaver for someone who is experiencing their own crisis.

## Chapter 26

### Perfect Touchdown –  Examples in Good Landings

Three of my best friends in their sixties were successful in each of their respective vocations. All were leaders and had great families, but two were struck with Parkinson’s disease within a few weeks of one another. These two guys could have quit and determined that life was over, but neither took that path. Both men were told that they had to get rid of the stress in their lives. Stress is supposedly an accelerant to the effects of Parkinson’s to people who are affected by the disease. They adhered to the advice of their doctors and retired from their lifetime careers.

One friend, Richard Thomson, was very successful in insurance. He sold his business to his partners and moved on. Richard loved to play golf and had played golf right-handed all of his life. After being told by his doctor that he could expect to lose strength in his right arm and hand because of the Parkinson’s disease (it apparently concentrates in different areas of the body for different people), he chose to train his left arm and hand to handle the golf clubs. He was going to fight back against the disease and use the available strength in his body to play the game he loved as long as possible. Richard did not want to give up both his business and also the game he dearly loved to play. He asked the doctor what he could expect from his left-side strength. The doctor said the left-side strength should probably remain for a while.

Richard, when given the news about the disease, went directly to a sports store and purchased a new set of left-handed golf clubs. He practiced hitting the ball with his left-handed clubs until he gained confidence in his ability. He now plays about three to four times per week and shoots in the mid eighties—left handed. Not only did

Perfect Touchdown

Richard not have a pity party, he developed a brand new strategy for going forward. He set an example for all of us who know him, and that example has helped many people who might have otherwise been satisfied having pity parties. Instead of pity, Richard’s friends see courage and inspiration and want to follow his lead. He is providing an example of flying forward with his life.

Another friend, Howard Brammer, a pastor, reacted to the diagnosis of Parkinson’s with similar courage. Rather than quit his vocation completely, he followed the advice of his doctor, resigned as senior pastor and cut back in some areas of his work.

Howard had built a very dynamic ministry in a major Midwestern city with a great following. He had worked for years to build the congregation into a vibrant body of believers who were significant in the community. He had inspired so many people who had experienced crises that he determined he could not quit ministering in the face of personal adversity. Howard found a way to keep going and build a new vocation that would use his lifetime of spiritual skill building. He found new methods to contribute to other people’s lives and inspire people who were experiencing adversity.

Howard now fills the pulpit for congregations that need to restructure or are without a pastor. As he fills those empty pulpits and helps prepare the congregation for new growth, he teaches the congregation the necessity of developing a positive attitude where there is a lack of leadership due to a vacant pulpit. His experience pays dividends to those churches and allows Howard to impart his knowledge for the benefit of a whole new group of people.

He was aware of the need to develop a positive attitude because the timing for his diagnosis had not been good. The congregation he had ministered to for so many years had just built an expensive new sanctuary and were concerned about how to pay for  the pending debt without Howard. They needed to develop confidence in the fact that they could survive without Howard’s input. All the vision Howard had worked toward for his flock was coming to fruition and he was now being taken out of the equation by a disease that no one truly understood. The sickness was affecting him, but he didn’t let it stop his life.

Before leaving the church he spoke to his congregation about how to endure hardship and build strength during adversity. He talked to them about using their faith to endure hardship. The church began developing a plan that relied on God more than on themselves. The church has successfully moved forward. Their congregation has doubled in the last few years because God has blessed the plan they developed with Howard. Howard’s example and teaching is still being used by hundreds, if not thousands, of people who watched him endure this dire circumstance. He never quit trying to look to God for leadership and he demonstrated an exemplary model of analyzing his situation and taking positive action to move forward. His practical and positive landing now affects thousands because he showed them how to survive a severe crisis.

Howard began teaching young pastors at the Bible college where he had attended seminary. He was able to teach the students how to build and effectively serve churches.

Both men that I have described are wonderful friends who have set an example for me and everyone who knows them. When enduring crisis they decided to take a new course of action and that action has affected everyone around them. Neither of the men allowed themselves or their families to wallow in self-pity. They instead became examples that will continue to influence all of us who have the pleasure of knowing them. Truly, their perseverance gives many of us the courage to go forward.

Our third friend, Terry Parks, was the CFO of major Fortune 500 companies. He was at the height of success in the business world and renowned for his problem-solving prowess. He was suddenly struck with heart problems that stopped his career in its tracks. He went from being in charge of his corporate environment to having major surgery and a reduced lifestyle that would have sent most people scurrying for the exit. He moved from high energy to barely able to muster the ability to walk.

Instead of giving up on life, he determined he could contribute to the future of others. He accepted a job as the CFO of a large and growing church. The job required developing a growth plan for the financial resources of the congregation, monitoring the cash flow of the church, and developing a useable budget that could safely manage the resources available for ministry. He used all the mental resources he had mustered over the years in the corporate world to help the church. His appointment was absolutely a placement by God because the church has achieved fantastic growth that would have buried most without proper planning and maximum use of resources. Terry’s planning and oversight have been the foundation that provided a great church the

Perfect Touchdown

ability to properly develop and move forward with its ministry. He is a great resource and he is the first to say that he has never had such satisfaction in his life, because now he knows he is where God wants him. He didn’t quit when most would have, but instead he has flown free of what was encumbering his life to a completely new opportunity.

When faced with a crisis, often determining that you are not going to quit takes fortitude and a plan. Your courage makes a big difference to the people around you. The success of your example in handling a problem can help others find the fortitude to develop their own plan. It is tough to go forward when there is a crisis but it makes a tremendous difference to see progress through the challenges of others. All of us who are blessed to know Terry, Howard, and Richard are inspired by their courage and diligence in life.

It is inspiring to see people decide on an action and follow through with a solid landing. Are you going to quit dreaming about the future because of your crisis or are you going to find a new way of living and inspire others to go forward? You are the only one who can determine the course of your life. You can lean forward or be knocked on your rear end by a major challenge. Leaning forward is a good step and it makes it tougher to fall backward. You decide. You are the only who can make a determination not to pity yourself and to move forward.

“*However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.*” Acts 20:24 (NIV)

## Chapter 27

### Use All the Available Runway –  Trusted Advisors

I just spent a number of pages talking about how to avoid feeling sorry for yourself and the importance of moving forward with life.

Now I am going to relay another facet of decision-making that must be used if you are to take proper action in a crisis. One thing I have learned many times in my corporate experience is that there are usually people around you who are objective and knowledgeable about a problem that needs solving. They can be a positive influence in helping you make major decisions. Those people provide an added dimension to your ability to safely land in a crisis.

If you allow yourself to be blinded by your circumstance, there will always be a barrier to your landing. Find a way of getting someone else to take an objective look at the suggested solution for your problem. Maybe a wise friend can provide objective advice and accountability. Second Corinthians 8:10-11(NIV) says, “*Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started.*”

I believe in that verse Paul was trying to tell the church at Corinth to listen to his advice and the advice that was provided by others. He was suggesting that the Corinthians should ask trusted advisors around them to help with their problems. Advice from others was an available asset of the church and is for us today as individuals. He was also saying this to insure they were going to finish the project.

- Trusted advisors are not going to intentionally give you “harmful” guidance.

Use All the Available Runway

- Learn to trust people who are successful and keep them around you.
- Use those people to give you ideas.
- People enjoy helping other people under the right circumstances.
- Keep advisors informed as to your progress in your plan.
- Allow them to make you accountable.

No one likes to think others are begging, but asking for advice costs no one money, shows respect, and says, “I think you are wise.” The author of 2 Chronicles says in chapter 1, verses 11-12 (NLT), *“Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people—  I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested.*” The Bible is pretty clear here to say we are correct in requesting wisdom from others.

Use every resource available. Again, using old aviation parlance, you should never waste airspeed, altitude, or runway. One of the greatest illustrations of that fact was the superbly executed emergency forced landing in the Hudson River on February 4, 2009 by U.S. Air Captain Chelsey “Sulley” Sullenberger. He used every aspect of flight dynamics to find a place to land the airplane when both engines were knocked out by the ingestion of geese. There was no thrust available from either engine. The pilot had no choice but to utilize everything left at his disposal to fly the airplane. We now know there was a fantastic outcome to this drama.

Captain Sullenberger landed the airplane in the Hudson with expert accuracy. He landed the plane just above stall speed with perfectly level wings so there was minimal damage to the fuselage. If either engine had touched the water early it would have caused the airplane to cartwheel.

The landing of that airplane and the perfection of the touchdown in the Hudson is probably one of the greatest examples in recent years of maintaining control, analyzing the situation/taking proper action, and landing as soon as practical. Sully, as we have come to know him, humbly stated in a television interview that his landing was the culmination of years of being taught what to do in an emergency situation. Sullenberger decided to get the airplane on the ground using the best available options. He gleaned experiences from his vast background of flying different types of aircraft; he consulted with the air traffic controllers (ATC) and his copilot to gain the best expertise in the shortest amount of time to quickly make the right decision. (You can listen to the cockpit voice recording and a video depiction of this incredible flight by going to http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=gjXCulRjPas). I highly recommend taking time to listen to the cockpit voice recording. Captain Sullenberger consulted with all his available resources and experience to determine the best avenue to safety for himself and his passengers. This is an excellent example of what can result when we seek help from others.

Our personal life crises often demand similar actions if we are to survive. We, like Sullenberger, need to use everything from our archive of experience and all available advice from experts around us to land safely.

You may be going through an emergency right now in your life and, if so, use the example of Captain Sullenberger. He is a great pilot and a modern-day hero. Heroes do not come along very often, so when they do, they are worth studying. It is important to determine what makes a person able to make those instantaneous decisions that lead to success. The ability to make correct decisions often makes the difference that allows a successful conclusion to a crisis. Sulley had been a crop duster, an Air Force pilot, and was now a commercial pilot. Each of those vocational areas trained him to prepare for what occurred on the day he was forced to land his airplane in a river. Your life experiences can provide the same positive results if you use them to guide you through your present problems.

Usually, there are some common characteristics of people who are classed as heroes and one of the most important is their ability to make quick and accurate decisions. They utilize every aspect of their experience to find a safe conclusion to the problem.

If you are going to expect to have success in life, you must be willing to receive and use information from as many areas as possible. The decision-making process is often tied to the ability to listen to others, formulate a course of action, then follow through. In follow-up studies, the most successful college graduates were those who had listened to trusted advisors and developed the ability to decide what they wanted to do with their careers. Those two factors, willingness to listen and follow through, play a huge role in our ability to perform well when we

Use All the Available RunwayPostlude

are faced with a problem. Begin now to use all your available experience in an emergency. Listening to trusted advisors and implementing that advice are essential to moving forward with life after a crisis situation occurs.

The key to recovery from a bad situation is to think, act, and respond using all the available resources to gain knowledge and perspective**.** Wisdom provides additional room—runway—for you to safely land your problem and go forward.

## Chapter 28

### Move Forward to Land –  Keep Moving to Grow Stronger

In order to maintain airspeed in an airplane, you must be constantly moving forward. It is imperative to be constantly moving to progress to a new position. I discovered an entirely new perspective on life by observing, for the first time, the view from the top of the Empire State building in New York City. The experience caused me to move to advance to a new understanding of life.  I remember that experience as a senior in high school, when I had been fortunate enough to win a trip to the East Coast. Of all the things I experienced on that trip, the most memorable was standing up on top of that building, looking out at the magnificent metropolis, and experiencing the sight of the teeming humanity in the city spread below me. It was an awesome experience that motivated me to be a part of what was happening in our country. I was inspired by the intensity, the people, and the fact that there was so much activity. There is always something happening around us, but in New York it seemed we were part of the action. When we observed the people in that city they seemed to have endless energy.

I realized that I had been looking at the world from a very limited perspective and I had to move forward to see so many things that were new and remarkable. I looked down from the top of that building and observed the seething movement of life spread out below me in that metropolis. The people scurried around like ants and there was a constant flow of movement. Sometimes our lives are like that and we sit and watch the perpetual motion of the people; however, we lose some of the impact if we do not become a part of the movement. Sometimes it seems our lives are on a treadmill and we are in motion but go nowhere. We need to step off the treadmill, walk forward, and become

Move Forward to Land

part of the scene we are observing to really realize the full impact of the experience. Only then can we be moving to a goal that is worthwhile. We will never move forward just walking on the treadmill.

When I went back home to my Indiana farm after the eye-opening experiences in New York, I began to realize the gravity of what I had experienced. My perspective on life changed. On the farm the flat land seemed different. The difference was my perspective and how I looked at society. I began to realize that I was a part of the society in New York and in Indiana. I had limitless opportunities to become a part of the activity in the world around me. I had to choose my purpose, but there were endless possibilities. To really expand ourselves in life and move out of our comfort zone and taste life, it may be necessary to find a different observation point and proactively move forward to new environments.

Months after returning from New York I still wanted to remember that experience overlooking the city. I desired to learn more about the entire environment in that large metropolis. There was something that intrigued me about believing that those millions of people who lived in that teeming society were all involved in life. We, the people in my farming community, and the people in that big city, were alike in many ways and yet different as well.

Our worlds shared the experience of life, the good and the bad. I sought to learn about city life and felt people there should learn about my environment as well. If we could accomplish that objective we could begin to understand how we find solutions to the problems we encounter. It was necessary to learn more about the culture and the objectives of those people.

The common link for us all was that we were involved in life. Some were thriving and some struggling, but we were all clinging to life. We were living life one breath at a time and one step at a time. If we stopped breathing or striding forward everything would stop. Imagine what would happen in New York if for a moment everything stopped.

We are all destined to make something happen. If you are currently undergoing a crisis with your job or life, you may probably feel that everything has stopped. You must find a way of getting back into that motion of life. It is up to you to take the action to jumpstart life again. If your heart stops and there is a trained medical technician near, the technician will immediately begin to pump your chest or use a defibrillator to electrically shock your heart into action. If the heart remains unresponsive, then it will die. The heart must continue to the next beat for you to sustain life. It must continue beating and keeping the blood in our veins moving. There is always a need for the next contraction of the heart muscle to keep us alive. Your life is similar: if it stops due to a crisis it must be restarted or you die. The heart is constantly moving forward to take the next beat. You must determine whether or not to continue. There are those who give up on doing anything with life, and yet want to live. Their existence is pretty pitiful, though. They prevent themselves from moving forward.

God built us to go forward and to not stop. If we can move in a new direction, life is again constant. Moving water never becomes stagnant. I preach a lot of funerals and I have told many of the loved ones of people who have died that they should not stop being busy. Their loved one kept them busy in life and full of love. If that person were alive they would expect them to continue being busy. Fill up the time with activity. Move forward with life. Even if you are in crisis it is important to continue moving forward.

If you are flying an airplane and about to land, you try your best to touch down as softly as possible. You slow to land the plane, but you must continue moving forward or you lose lift and settle too quickly. If you are recovering from a crisis and trying to find a new direction you also have to attempt to land as easily as possible and cushion the touchdown. Be proactive in moving forward with life. Don’t just stop.

Remember,

- Maintain control
- Analyze the situation/take proper action
- Land as soon as practical

Medical studies on retirement are very revealing. People who retire and do nothing after retirement dramatically increase their chances of death soon after retirement. If a person, however, decides to find another goal in life and stays busy doing something purposeful after retirement the chances of a longer life increase dramatically. Retirees find that it is always beneficial to involve themselves in another job, active hobby, or a project that requires activity. I suggest using the talents you used in your vocation for a new mission or job. I have found it has worked for me.

Move Forward to Land

If you stop being productive in life, you wither up. If a tree ceases to grow leaves, it dies. If a river ceases to flow, it becomes stagnant. We are meant to grow and move forward.

Conversely, nothing in the Bible says quit. In fact, it says quite the opposite. In Judges 20:39, Benjamin actually kills the soldiers under his command who said they were going to retire from battle. He had no use for them. Certainly it was a dramatic action to eliminate those soldiers, but he had no use for people who were not contributing to the cause ahead. I am not saying that R&R in retirement is all bad**,** but I am, personally, convinced that we are supposed to continue living and contributing to society. It is important and biblical to make a positive influence on the people around you. They need your experience.

As I write this book I am well over sixty years old and enjoying retirement from my lifelong profession of managing people and aviation companies. I thoroughly enjoyed that work and all the great people whom I met during my working years around aviators. The Lord led me to another profession that I am now enjoying even more than the first career because it allows me to use many of the skills learned in my earlier experiences. Those learned skills now contribute to my present vocation as a pastor. I am now better able to understand what people are going through when they have a crisis because I have endured many of the problems they are encountering. It is much more credible to a person who is going through a job loss for me to offer advice from my experience rather than to tell them I am sorry but I can’t understand how you feel. I can now tell them how I got through that same event in my life. My purpose is to inspire them to not quit. They must move forward and find new purpose.

At a younger age I could not have provided that same credibility in helping other people with problems. It was necessary to have experienced some problems myself before I could help others.

You cannot take a step toward solving a problem unless you move your feet toward a solution. Only you can direct your life to go forward. We can become so engrossed in examining the problem that we forget the objective of the exercise is to move forward, to land the airplane we are flying, and eventually solve our problem. We need to extricate ourselves from a dilemma. Use your experience and share it with others by looking down at your life, utilizing your life experience, and putting it to work in a positive way to help others. When we help others we quickly learn we are also helping ourselves. Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 2:1(NIV), “*Come now, let’s give pleasure a try. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.*”

One of the most pertinent facts of the brilliant landing Captain Sulley performed on the Hudson River was that he correctly traded the altitude for airspeed with his airplane. He had to move forward at a positive enough rate to avoid a stall and not so fast that he would not be able to stretch his glide to reach the objective of the Hudson River. He accomplished those objectives by moving forward, not quitting, or giving up. He moved constantly toward his objective and it resulted in a safe landing which saved 156 lives. You need to move forward in your crisis and gain strength from the experience.

## Chapter 29

### Enjoy the Moment – Landing Brings Relief

When you finally make a decision to land your problem, you are concluding a process that has consumed all of your attention for a period of your life. Landing your problem

often brings to an end a stressful, attention-demanding period of your life, and results in amazing relief and satisfaction.

It is imperative for you to find that safe place to land in your life. It is up to you to take a step toward landing and moving your life forward. Determine a direction you want to go and then take the first step to move in that direction. Look for a place to conclude your ordeal and make that your objective. Just as an experienced pilot searches the horizon for a suitable landing field in case of an emergency, you should be scouting out alternatives while you are moving through your routine of living. When you are stalled in life it may be a great opportunity to analyze your surroundings. Decide where you want to land and then turn your focus in that direction.

When I was on the observation deck at the Empire State building I had a secret that I should share with you. I have talked a lot about flying airplanes and used analogy after analogy involving flying and observing the earth from on high. My personal secret for many years (my wife knows it well) is that I have always been afraid of heights. If I get more than two steps off the ground on a stepladder my knees tremble and my hands shake. I know you may think it is a stupid thing to be nervous about being off good old terra firma, but heights affect me in different ways than most other folks.

When I first walked onto the observation deck of the Empire State Building, I felt the world was tilting and the building might suddenly collapse. Later when I stopped and thought about where I was, I began to enjoy the view. I had walked up some steps, climbed on an elevator, and walked out onto that deck. The building was connected solidly to the ground, the elevator that transported me was connected to the building, and there was a solid foundation under the whole thing. When I thought about the connections to the earth I stopped worrying.

Your life is much the same. If you are feeling that empty, not-incontrol feeling, and your mind is saying you are not connected to the world because of an out-of-control situation, then stop and think about the situation. The actions that occurred to bring you to your present position started with steps that transported you there.

When I finally left the observation deck in New York City there was a sense of sorrow because I was back to the real world. It was then I realized I was a part of that city that I had observed from above. I had taken a step back into reality and into becoming a part of what I had observed 121 stories in the air. You very well may be in that same position. Do you feel that you have walked away from a great experience and you have lost the thrill of looking at life through those visions? You are a part of the real world and that is a wonderful situation. The world offers multiple opportunities to find satisfaction in life. You have the ability to return to earth from your crisis with a safe landing.

Life moves from the high moments to the really low times and back again. The cycle is part of the process of life. It is the low moments in life that really count when you are trying to move forward. Remember that old Sunday School song from when you were a kid, “Jesus loves me, this I know…”? Well the words in that song are true. He does love us and because of that love we are always connected to the ground and on a firm foundation. He can make you go from the low point to the right place very quickly. There are many ways to find yourself back on solid ground but all involve you and your capability to find a place to land your problem. There is a noted relief when we first place our feet back on solid ground. It is the reward for enduring the times when we felt unsettled, unconfident, and, even, unfulfilled. There is gratification in the end.

Enjoy the landing.

## Chapter 30

### Go Farther with Less –  Stretch Yourself to Finish Well

During a crisis, we often must stretch ourselves to move past the ordeal. When people don’t like to stretch themselves they stay contentedly in the present problem. When things begin to heat up in the problem then contentment quickly turns to nervousness. People who do not stretch themselves to grow to a new method of dealing with a problem often become stagnant and inflexible. Change in routine or lifestyle requires stretching and flexibility.

About three years ago, at the prompting of a friend, I decided to try something that I had always wanted to do. It was an objective I had felt was just beyond my endurance and capability. The level of endurance required seemed unattainable for me, or so I thought. When I was in high school I ran cross country, which was a distance of about 2.5 miles. Later in life I participated in the Austin Capital 10,000 meter run (6.2 miles) and enjoyed it, but it stretched my endurance. A few years later we lived in Indianapolis, Indiana and I decided to run in that city’s 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, 13.2 miles (a half marathon). It would require stretching my endurance to what, I thought, was the limit. To run the distance it was necessary to train for many months. The training seemed to never end but it was worth the effort when I crossed the finish line and completed the test.

I must admit that in each of those competitive levels my aspirations were simply to train, prepare, and complete the race. Completion was to be a win for me. I enjoyed the competition but I really did not expect to win. When I was young I remember someone saying that I was not the fastest guy on the block. The comment was disheartening to hear as a young man but probably true. I relay that comment really to tell you that when my friends and I decided to train for the San Antonio Marathon about three years ago, I wasn’t certain I could even make the training regimen, let alone last for the full 26.4 miles in the competition. Without the inspiration of my two training partners and the understanding of my wife for the six months in the training program, I probably would not have made the run.

I am proud to say I did make it to the end of the marathon and even placed in the competition. (They have a category for folks over 220 pounds and more than sixty years old called the Clydesdale Category. Unfortunately, I qualified in both of those non-athletic ranges of weight and age for the Clydesdale group). I placed fifth in that obscure category out of 16,000 huffing and puffing participants (probably only 200 older “heavy folks”). I was proud just to have finished but decided that the next time I ran I would have to lose weight so the pounding would not be so hard on my legs and body. The major lesson learned during the training and the race itself was highly significant and worth passing on**.** Probably the major lesson for me was that the race required me to stretch myself.

Stretching takes you from where you may feel comfortable to where you step out to an entirely new, unknown realm in life. When I was training for the long run, I complained to my training partners one day that I wasn’t sure I had energy to take enough steps to finish the race. I began to think there was not enough energy to go the distance and complete the 26.4 miles of the marathon. I dreaded thinking of having to run that far. One of the guys I was training with told me to stretch my strides so I could take the same number of steps but go farther. I quantified that statement and attempted to change my stride in the following manner:

1. If my strides were 1 yard in length (36 inches long) and I increased the length of the stride by 1 inch it would be a three percent increase in distance of each step. That small increase would save me more than 140 yards/“steps” in each mile.
2. 140 steps in each mile x 26.4 miles = 3,668 strides saved during the entire race by stretching one inch. That translated to saving almost three quarters of a mile in strides for the 26.4-mile distance.

Go Farther with Less

I began to concentrate on training to lengthen my stride and develop a cadence in my running. It soon became automatic to stretch myself and suddenly going the necessary distance seemed attainable. Stretching a little bit when the tough times happen can translate into a lot of endurance.

One of the most important aspects of being able to fly free of what limited you in the past or has restricted you is to stretch yourself into a new realm. You can do it by taking one step at a time and just going a little farther. It is part of the process of flying free. When you decide to step out to do something different with your life you are intentionally reaching a new level of achievement. To reach the level of achieving a new goal takes practice, patience, and stretching yourself.

As a student pilot learning to fly, you learn the aspects of flying one step at a time, just like the marathoner runs a race. You become familiar with the cockpit of the airplane and begin familiarizing yourself with the new environment in order to feel comfortable in new surroundings. In an airplane, your instructor shows you what all the new dials and gadgets do, but really begins to show you the basic controls so that you can control the airplane. The idea is to begin relating all the new objects to something that you know and are familiar with in life. As you learn the layout of the cockpit you begin to feel comfortable and it is then you can begin to learn what to do to control the airplane. Each control input with the yoke or control stick in your hands makes the airplane react to your input. When you understand how the airplane reacts to your input on the controls, you begin to understand the various aspects of flight.

One of the most exciting memories of learning to fly is the first takeoff where the instructor allows you to handle the controls. You sit through the familiarization of what all the essential gauges and controls do in flight, but it isn’t until you are rolling down the runway that you begin making sense of the apparatus in the cockpit. The airspeed gradually increases as the throttle is pushed in for the takeoff. The airplane lurches forward and as it accelerates the instructor tells you to gently begin pulling back on the control yoke. As the air over the surfaces of the elevator at the rear of the airplane moves swiftly enough to pressure the surface, you feel the nose of the machine begin to rise. Something new and wonderful is about to happen. The instructor tells you to maintain that angle and the bird gently lifts off the ground and, suddenly, you are flying off the runway. You feel like a bird. You are free of the boundaries of earth and you can see the beauty of the terrain below from an entirely new perspective. You are flying free of all the perspectives you have relied on throughout your life and can now realize that there is much more to see and explore from this new vantage point. You have stretched yourself to find a new realm for life: the world of flight.

Never in all the years of teaching people to fly airplanes did I ever cease to enjoy the look on the faces of that new airman or airwoman as they realized they had achieved flight. There were many more steps before they flew solo, but they eventually were able to fly by themselves by attacking each task of controlling the airplane one step at a time. In stretching their environment the students were allowed to reach, literally, new heights and to fly like a bird. Stretching yourself in crisis can do the same for you.

As you learn to fly, you build your skills and confidence. You then begin to develop a rhythm for handling the steps involved in the process of flying the aircraft. When you train to run a marathon you undergo the same process. Each day you go a bit farther so that you are never far out of the comfort zone. You begin to realize even in this environment or circumstance you can handle the job and go the distance.

Reaching a goal involves a process that requires stretching oneself to accomplish an objective that you may have once considered unattainable. Flying free is attainable. Like the Nike commercial says,

“Just Do It!”

## Chapter 31

### Maximize Your Range –

**Convert Attitude to Altitude!**

One of the greatest assets to a pilot is altitude because it can be converted to gliding distance in case of engine loss. Altitude provides the greatest view of the terrain below, and it provides for the greatest efficiency for engine operation so you can fly longer distances. When we go through a crisis our attitude can provide the same advantages to us as altitude provides to a pilot.

A positive attitude can allow you to expand your ability to think clearly in crisis, look at a wider perspective for solutions, and think more confidently about resolutions that are meaningful. You gain endurance with a positive attitude.

People who use a setback in life as an opportunity to learn from the event often begin to reach new goals. Sometimes seemingly cataclysmic events can, in fact, become one of the great opportunities for growth and positive change. Again, maintaining control, analyzing your position, and reacting to it in a positive manner allow you to choose a proper direction for landing. It is important to prepare yourself to make that safe landing by determining your position and stretching toward the goal.

Your ability to land safely from a problem depends to a great degree on your attitude, your altitude (are you staying above the fray and looking around?), and, most of all, your faith. The secret to finding a solution and flying free of the past is often to obtain valid information from a reliable source.  It means asking someone who knows you best and will help you develop a positive attitude.

In the case of a crisis, the Lord is at the top of the list of those who care and know you best. Like the good customers in failing corporations, God will supply value to lives that have exhausted the earthly alternatives. God is there and more than willing to help. It is necessary only to ask Him to help. As a pilot the easiest method of obtaining altitude is to add power and climb. The most efficient method of developing a positive attitude is similar. You power through the problem and climb to a new perspective. Take a look at the great things in life that brought you to your present position. Use the information God has provided you to get to this point in life in a positive way. Convert attitude to altitude.

I quickly learned when I had used up my earthly alternatives that God was available, was responsive, and was helpful. As a strong Type A personality it took me longer than most to understand that I was not in charge, but it was absolutely emancipating when I realized that I did not have to carry the burden of my mistakes. Jesus gave His life to take on all my burdens and all I had to do was accept His forgiveness for my misdirection. He accepted my business mistakes (I had to take responsibility and help correct the problems) and He also accepted my personal deficiencies. When I finally began trusting that Jesus provided the forgiveness for me for past mistakes and took on my personal burdens it was a brand new world. My perspective changed for the positive and my attitude about the future followed the same track. I could begin looking for new goals and direction in life to find a positive solution to problems. I had to say, “God, I believe you.”

Don’t be afraid to fly free and live a life that you know God wants you to enjoy. One of the most pertinent verses in the Bible is Paul’s directive to the Philippians to “*press towards the goal….*” Paul told the Philippians in 1:15 (NIV), “*I press toward the mark of the high calling of Christ.*” Paul was not limiting his vision to his own calling but looking even higher*.* He was fixing his gaze on an objective set by Christ.

One of my favorite poems was written by an American pilot who was flying for the Canadian RAF in World War II. John Gillespie Magee, Jr. wrote these words and sent them home in a letter to his parents in the United States. Unfortunately, Magee died in a fatal crash a few months after the words were penned. The poem was read at his funeral but it says a lot about how he looked at life and the greatness of knowing God. Pilot Officer Magee wrote these words in 1941.

**High Flight**

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds—and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of—wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air….

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or ever eagle flew— And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod

The high un-trespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was straining forward to experience new things in his life with the ultimate goal of freely flying toward the Lord he knew. He never mentions landing in this poem but it had to be on his mind because that is the ultimate goal of any pilot. A pilot practices his landings over and over again to perfect the touchdown and gain confidence in safely getting back to earth. Magee was brilliantly describing the ultimate feeling of the experience in flying and that was to reach as high as possible and gain the most perspective as a pilot. John Magee referred to the experience as “touched the face of God.” His beautiful words have lived on far beyond his tenure on earth because he wanted to express his feelings about flying free. His poem depicts that element of our being that says we want to reach new heights and new adventures, even in the face of danger. Study his words and decide how you, too, can live them. As you are flying through life, analyze yourself and your options, and then decide how you are going to land your plane—you—safely.

When we become truly objective with ourselves, it is possible to realize that the time of crisis is an opportunity for change. Fly free of your failure and seek the face of God to lead you to great new opportunities.

**Chapter 32**

### Fine Tuning the Touchdown

S

ince the initial printing of *Flying Free*, the book has passed through thousands of hands. I pray that each reader learned some positive lessons from the content. If the readers were blessed by the book, it is strictly because God interjected His will into the manuscript.

During the intervening years since initial publication, I have had a number of the experiences that continue to teach me that there are new lessons to be learned. I am now retired but remain active with some unexpected opportunities. In retirement it quickly became apparent that I needed to rebrand myself. When I was a USAF instructor pilot I learned the T-38 was not only fun to fly but also a challenge to land. Every student I trained in the airplane practiced their landings over and over until the final approach and touch down became second nature. The training was intended to ingrain procedures that would always result in a successful arrival. When the airplane landed, the mission was accomplished. I am no longer an  Air Force flight instructor but attempt to maintain actions in my life that will SUCCESSFULLY enrich retirement as I conclude each mission.

I was privileged to have a very wise and intelligent friend, Dr. Virginia Moody, who is now in heaven. Virginia advocated some fundamental objectives for retirement that were much like those used in landing an airplane. She said, “Every event, good and bad, leads to the next phase and should be recognized as important. Sometimes there are some obstacles as we travel through life. Make the most of them.”

In retirement I often find myself remembering the days when I managed, made business decisions, took chances financially, and sought numerous material items. I have since found that all things material, rust, wear out, or become boring. The management experience was not always satisfying so I asked myself what was important? The answer to that question for me always led to **Faith** and **Family**.

At the suggestion of a close friend, I applied for and was hired as an adjunct professor in the school of business at a major university. I am now in my seventh year of teaching, and it has been an unexpectedly gratifying experience. I also serve on the board of another university and in both capacities, I am confident I am learning more from the students than they retain from me. Teaching allows me to relay a small portion of my life lessons to others.

When we make choices in the second half of our lives it is essential to evaluate the real value of each decision.  We need to select activities that stimulate our lives and define our purpose. My gratification comes from investing in future generations by relaying some of the lessons learned in my lifetime. Teaching has provided me with tremendous satisfaction.

We need to rebrand our future. Harley Davidson Motorcycles almost became a failed company when their stock and profits both plunged by 46%. They suddenly realized the world around them, and their clients had changed. Ten years ago, the average ownership age for a customer was mid-thirties. Surveys now show that customer age to be over fifty. The company began targeting sales to a different age group and the buyer’s purpose. Buyers were older and looking for recreation vehicle and not just transportation. The company was missing the entire age group that could best afford and own a recreation vehicle. Rebranding made the difference in success as it can also for us. In a world that is constantly changing we need to accept advice and respond, as we are able, to rebrand ourselves and reset our boundaries.

It is important for us to understand that we can make a real difference in the lives of others. It is imperative that we are intentional in providing time and attention to the lasting aspects of legacy. *“Seventy years are given to us! Some even live eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.*”[^1] Psalm 90:10. God gives us the ability during our waning years to build a legacy that truly makes a difference.

Fine Tuning the Touchdown

I was instructing in the USAF when the Wing Commander chose another instructor and myself to go to California and pick up two new supersonic T-38’s. Being two young and resourceful pilots, we decided to make the trip from California back to Mississippi something that would be “memorable”. We thought about attempting to set a new cross country speed record for the T-38, but someone had already done that. The airplane had a limit inverted fuel system of 35 seconds. With that knowledge we decided to be the first pilots to fly down part of the Grand Canyon inverted. We would make some adjustments for the fuel limitation. It all sounded good on paper. We would each fly our jet inverted for 25 seconds, then resume an upright attitude and the wing man would then go inverted for his twenty-five seconds. The maneuver would safely allow each airplane an extra 10 seconds to become upright and meet the necessary fuel parameter.

We were successful in reaching our goal for a short interval in the canyon. We flew out the east end of the canyon joyful and certain that we might become famous for the feat. However, we evaluated the reactions of people to whom we would announce the venture and came to realization that our feat was not a wise use of a multimillion dollar airplane. There were cables across the canyon which could have resulted in our being killed.  If our commanding officer found out about the flight, we would be court martialed for “conduct unbecoming an officer”.

Our legacy would not be positively memorialized, so we chose to maintain silence about the flight. I am now relaying the account of that voyage because our commanding officer is in heaven and I am confident the statute of limitations would now be in effect for any pilot who was so foolhardy. Sometimes legacy is something that is not decided on the spur of the moment. In rethinking those past actions, we realized our actions had negated the basic objective of getting the airplanes back to Mississippi. We didn’t examine the boundaries and purpose of that mission. Now in retirement, I have discovered that I need to reexamine my boundaries.  I need to rebrand myself to demonstrate the discipline to remain within God’s boundaries

In this last chapter of this book, you see my appreciation for the outcome of my flight through life.  I recognize that I am a sinner and have made some costly mistakes. I am not alone as we are all guilty. I am thankful for the lessons learned, the Grace afforded me, and the necessary preparation for the next landing. We can all experience that Grace. I have thought a lot about that flight plan and urge you to do the same. Life has been and continues to be extremely satisfying and challenging.

We often a take life for granted. I took my love and experience of flying for granted. In the last few years, I have experienced some major health issues which grounded me. It was an unwelcome surprise.  My boundaries have changed. It was necessary to re-examine every action.

**“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”**[^2] (James 1-4)

Everything written in the Bible demonstrates that through the endurance and encouragement taught in the scripture, we have hope. We are promised a life in heaven. It says that good can come from our tough experiences. (Give us the ability to Fly Free after a crisis or challenge.)  We need to reposition our boundaries. I believe there is life after death because I have faith in Christ. Because of that faith I will have a place in heaven. You also will have the new life in heaven with proper preparation. You can’t earn it with money, works, or legacy. It is available to everyone who simply declares that Christ died for your sins as a man and rose again to live as the son of God. The simple prayer stating your faith in the message of Jesus assures the perfect touchdown after life. I pray your journey ends with a smooth landing.

Thanks for taking this voyage with me.

**“So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord, you God will never leave you or abandon you, even in the face of your enemy.”**

(Deuteronomy 31:6)

In Him Dean

## Chapter 33

**Post Flight Debriefing**

I

n the course of writing this book, I have discovered there is not a way to completely separate myself from problems. Troubles are a normal function of life. The difference for me now is that I have learned to prioritize unexpected experiences and put God at the top of the solution list. I have learned through experience to overlook many hurdles that might have caused me to stumble a few years ago. I now examine the event and determine how it will affect my life then hand it over to God.

Your emergencies can be handled in the same manner. The three rules discussed for handling emergencies*, maintain control, analyze the situation/take proper action, and land as soon as practical,* are simple and straightforward yet must be acted upon to be effective. The last step in flying, safely landing after a flight or crisis, is the one that God assists you in handling. In many instances you might be unable to see the result of your decision making for many years, but nonetheless God will reward your faith.  He is in charge. If you follow the steps to fly free from a problem, you will eventually see a positive result.

You may say, how can this guy state there will be a positive end when he went through cancer, lost his business, was convicted of a felony, and had to pay back all the money from a failed partnership? Yes, it was a trying period for Vickie and me, just as you may be experiencing the turmoil of trouble yourself. We learned that we were not in charge. God was! The real secret we have discovered is that there is a great opportunity to learn from experience. If we allow God to help us, we will find new freedom to do exactly what we were intended to do with our lives.

Just as life was settling down for us, I learned the division of the company I was running in Dallas was being sold. I was offered a new CEO position with another aviation company. During the time I was considering the new job, my mind raced back to those minutes and hours when Vickie and I were driving from Texas to Michigan and how complicated life seemed during that period. Our kids were in college in Texas and we couldn’t help them with the cost of school. We were paying back the bank with very little money to live on and yet we survived. I was slowly recovering from my first bout with cancer. God had truly taken care of us through the entire ordeal and we had gleaned the knowledge that there was no doubt that “*He would never leave us.*” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV) continued to run through my thought process: “*Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”*

The years of probation could have been jail time. I had been blessed. No matter what we owed the banks from my partnership, we were never completely destitute. Although doctors had told me that Agent Orange cancer would likely end my life in a short time, my life had been spared. Everything that could have been bad actually made us stronger.

I was now being offered an opportunity to run another company and was excited. I looked forward to the change, but I felt compelled to share how God had touched my life. It was His way of telling me to witness to others.

Prior to moving to Dallas we lived in Indianapolis for a few years while I acted as senior vice president of the central region of the country for my employer. A few months after moving to Indianapolis, a friend, Curt Smith, walked into my office and asked me to drive his associate, United States Senator Dan Coats, around the state for some campaigning. I had the time and it sounded interesting so I agreed.

Somehow during that afternoon as we traveled around Indiana I was asked about my background and I shared the good, the bad, and the ugly. I told the senator about what had happened with the partnership, the probation, and the outcome**.** Senator Coats asked me if I would speak at a National Youth Forum event taking place the next month in Indianapolis and relay my story, including how I felt God had contributed to my life during that trying time. Senator Coats and others had formed the National Youth Forum to help college students in leadership learn from leaders in different vocations how faith affected their lives.

Post Flight Debriefing

That experience opened the opportunity for invitations to speak at numerous events about what had happened to me and how I was able to fly free from the problems that had encumbered my life. I told the young people that in life there are only two permanent measures on which to evaluate success: Faith and Family will endure when everything else disappears. I quoted Deuteronomy 31:6 to let them know God would not leave them and also 2 Corinthians 6:14 to tell them the importance of being “equally yoked,” whether in business or marriage. I told them to find people of like mind and principle when entering a partnership or relationship. I also confessed to them that I had been guilty of not following those rules. There was no one other than myself to blame for some of the circumstances I had endured. I had failed to use the tools God had provided to adequately evaluate my business. The message was simple, take your time and ask God for answers. Little did I know that God was using even that experience to help me fly free.  I thought and prayed about the job opportunity with the new company and decided to accept the offer. I determined that my vice presidents and staff with the old company needed to be told. They had really been the energizers of our company, were allegiant to me, and were, to a great extent, the reason for much of my success.

I asked them to meet me just before Christmas and arranged to have their year-end bonuses ready to hand out. I would make the announcement about my departure and reward them at the same time.

The meeting began at 2:00 P.M., and just after I started talking my assistant marched into the meeting and said my wife wanted me to call home right away. Vickie knew what I was doing and would only interrupt in an emergency.

I called home and she was very quiet but directed me to call a number in Washington D.C. She didn’t say why but it sounded urgent. I dialed the number and my mind raced. What was going on and why the urgency?

When I called a lady answered and stated, “Office of the President.” I announced who I was and she told me she had an official statement to read to me, and that President Clinton would have read it to me himself, except that he was now on another call. As I remember, the statement said that because of the work I had performed sharing my testimony with young people across the country, my record of combat in Vietnam, and the fact that my case had been reinvestigated and was deemed a misinterpretation of the law, the President of the United States was pardoning my conviction. Apparently, my friend, Curt Smith, Senator Coats, or both had suggested the president look at my case and the President had acted upon the request. The lady I spoke with explained that it was as if my conviction, trial, or problem had never existed.

I had been given grace on earth in the finest sense. My inequities were erased. I could now truly fly free of the past problems.

Wasn’t that what Jesus did for us on the cross? HE erased all the sins, the junk, and the guilt that we carry around. He pardoned us from all our sins and allowed us to fly free of those burdens. Just as with the gift provided by Jesus, I had not asked for the freedom, earned the freedom, or expected it, but it was there. I know God painted the whole portrait for my life and all I had to do was live it and give the credit to Him.

My prayer is that while you read this book, you have learned how you, too, can fly free.

The same freedom is available to all who believe.

*Romans 10:10-11 (NIV) “For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.  As the Scriptures tell us,  ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never  be disgraced.’”*

## Postlude

In the airplane, we always carry a checklist. It is to be used to ensure all the tasks necessary to escape an aircraft emergency are properly accomplished. Here is a suggested checklist items for handling the

crisis in your life:

1. **Broaden your horizons.**

Joshua 7:2 (NIV): “*Go up and view the country.”*

2. **Concentrate on possessions of real value, not worldly.**

Luke 12:21 (NIV): “*Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God*.”1

3. **Don’t waste time on the negative**.

John 16:23 (NIV): “*So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy*.”

4. **Grow the positive**.

Ecclesiastes 2:1 (NIV): “*Come now, let’s give pleasure a try. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.*”

5. **Maximize resources.**

Matthew 25:29 (NIV): “*To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away*.”

6. **Be obedient.**

Romans 12:1 (NIV): “*I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice*.”

7. **Don’t burn bridges.**

Proverbs 24:29 (NIV): “*And don’t say, ‘Now I can pay them back for what they’ve done to me! I’ll get even with them!’*”

8. **Call time-out when necessary.**

Matthew 11:28 (NIV): “*Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’*”

9. **Plan for long term.**

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV): “*‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’*”

10. **Follow God’s Direction.**

2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV): “*For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation*.”

11. **Maintain Control: Analyze the Situation/Take Proper Action/Land As Soon as Practical.**

Psalm 25:4 (NIV): “*Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.*”

12. **File Your Personal Flight Plan**

Romans 10:9 (NIV): “*If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.*”

Fly under God’s control!

Fly to safety!

Fly Free of Crisis!

### Bibliography

Barker, Kenneth, General Editor, *The NIV Study Bible*  (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973).

Dixon Terry, *Evolving Self Confidence*

(Grand Rapids, MI: William Tate Publishers, 2008), 128.

Eberly, David, *Faith Beyond Belief: A Journey to Freedom*  (Richmond, VA: Brandylane Publishers, 2002), 118.

Kirk, Paula, General Editor, *The New Living Translation Bible (NLT)* (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004).

Rice, Helen Steiner, *The Poems and Prayers of Helen Steiner Rice*  (Ada, MI: Revell Books, 2004).

Ryrie, Charles Caldwell, General Editor, *The Ryrie Study Bible- New*

*American Standard Translation (NAS)*

(Chicago: The Moody Press, 1976)

Wuest, K. S.. *Wuest’s word studies from The Greek New Testament:  For the English Reader* (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997, c1984), 287.

### About the Author

Dean Rush was raised on a farm in Indiana, learned to fly at an early age and followed that path throughout most of his life. He served an eleven-year stint as a pilot in the Air Force and in Vietnam in special forces operations. In combat he earned a Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and ten Air Medals for valor. After leaving the Air Force, Dean co-founded Emerald Airlines, a small cargo/passenger airline, has owned a number of small businesses, and served as president of a general aviation subsidiary of AMR Corporation. He was president of Signature Aircraft Sales and Fairchild Dornier Aircraft Company. He also served on an advisory committee for Piper, the NBAA, as a director of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, National Aircraft Resale Association, and other trade organizations. Following 9/11, Dean served on the Aviation Security Task Force.

Dean holds a B.A. from DePauw University, masters degrees in public and business administration from Golden Gate University, and a MAR from Liberty Seminary.   He currently serves as Executive Director Faith Breakthroughs in San Antonio, Texas. Dean speaks throughout the United States on the need for ethical standards in business and life. He and his wife Vickie have two children and four grandchildren.

[^1]: Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). *Holy Bible: New Living Translation* (Ps 90:10). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

[^2]: Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). *Holy Bible: New Living Translation* (Heb 13:25–Jas 1:4).

    Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.