Learning Spanish Leads to Adventures

Posted on August 11, 2026 by Steve Simms

Years ago, my wife Ernie’s hairdresser told her about a friend who was developing property in Costa Rica. From then on Ernie wanted to go to Costa Rica, but I wasn’t interested.

In January of 2023, about the time Ernie and I got involved with Cul2vate, I felt prompted to learn Spanish. I began consistently watching Spanish-language videos for one to two hours daily. I also shifted my daily Bible reading into Spanish.

In the early fall of that year, two Spanish-speaking families from Mexico moved in next door to us. There were two married couples and 5 children. One of the husbands spoke a little English, but the rest only spoke Spanish. We weren’t excited about so many people living next door, but once we got to know them, we became great friends and learned a lot of Spanish from them.

About that time, a friend of Ernie’s attended a Spanish language immersion school in Spain. Ernie suggested that I go there to help me learn more Spanish. I checked into it, but they were booked for a year.

We have a nephew who lives in Panama, so I googled “Spanish language schools in Panama.” The first one on the list was Intercultura, a school in the city of Heredia, Costa Rica. I went to their webpage and loved what I saw.

Many years before, Ernie’s hairdresser told her about a friend who was developing property in Costa Rica. Hearing those stories made Ernie want to visit Costa Rica, but every time Ernie mentioned us going, I wasn’t interested.

Finally, in October 2023, I went to Costa Rica for two weeks of Spanish immersion. I stayed with a family that didn’t speak any English. My class was very small (a young German guy, a young American guy, and me). Everything was in Spanish. Our teacher was Jesús — who was an amazing professor.

Jesús asked us how we had been learning Spanish. I told him that I had been watching videos and reading the Bible in Spanish every day since January. Then Jesús asked me if I grew up in a religious home. I told him no and briefly shared my Christian salvation experience in my broken Spanish.

I ended by saying, “Then I met Jesús, but not you, the other Jesús.” Jesús looked stunned. Suddenly he started laughing uncontrollably from deep within. He couldn’t stop. After five minutes or so, Jesús left the room and closed the door. We could hear him in the hallway. A few minutes later he got control of himself and came back into the classroom. I’ve never seen anyone else experience such a powerful reaction to anything I’ve said. I knew God was up to something in Costa Rica.

During those two weeks in Costa Rica, I felt an amazing heart-connection with the other 20 or so students who were there. When we would ask each other how we had been learning Spanish, I would tell them about reading a Spanish Bible. That opened the door for me to talk with them about the supernatural Jesus. I think that those two weeks were the most I’ve ever openly shared my faith with people. When I talk about my two weeks there, I am so moved that I often cry.

After my two weeks at Intercultura, Ernie flew down and we spent ten days as tourists. We had a wonderful time, and we both fell in love with the natural beauty and the people of Costa Rica.

When we returned home to Nashville we couldn’t stop thinking and talking about Costa Rica. Every time I would share about it tears would come to my eyes. We wanted to go back, but we felt like we needed confirmation as to when and where to go.

Then in the fall of the next year (2024) Ernie felt inwardly nudged to attend a prayer meeting that she had heard about even though she didn’t know anyone who would be there. A woman she met there told Ernie about having recently taken a mission trip to Costa Rica and gave her an “info@” email address for the group she went with.

When Ernie told me about that, I sent an email to “info@ . . .” saying that we would like to volunteer to go on a mission trip to Costa Rica with them. To my surprise a woman emailed me back and said that she and her husband lead the ministry and they would like to meet with us.

When we met with them in their office, they told us that someone had given them some property in Costa Rica and that they wanted to make it into a Christian retreat center. As we were getting to know them, we asked them where they were from originally. Her husband said Nettleton, Mississippi (a small town outside of Tupelo). My mother was born just outside of Nettleton and grew up in Tupelo (next door to Elvis Presley). Her cousin was the Constable (Sherrif) in Nettleton and the woman’s husband actually knew him. She was amazed and said that in many years of marriage I was the only person she met who ever even heard of Nettleton, Mississippi. She told us that when they take another trip to Costa Rica, she might call us.

A month or so later in March (2025) we got a call from her. She and two other people were leaving in 6 days. After much prayer, Ernie and I booked a flight and went to Costa Rica with them. We flew into Liberia and went to their property high on a volcano overlooking Lake Nicaragua. (Previously we had flown into San Jose.)

After spending five days on the property we drove to the San Jose area and stayed in an Airbnb. We attended a church there on Sunday and all 5 of us were invited to testify. We were embraced with such love by the people there.

Our trip only lasted a week, so I had decided to stay and attend another week at the Intercultura language school. Ernie and the rest of our group flew home. The church invited me to preach on the following Wednesday night and to attend a gender reveal celebration for the pastor’s daughter on Saturday. They also arranged for me to preach at another church on Sunday. All three were amazing experiences.

That week at the school, the receptionist came and found me during a break. In Spanish told me to follow her. She led me to an American man in his 50s who had been a student there and lives in Costa Rica. As we spoke in Spanish, I asked him what he did there. He told me that he worked with a nondenominational mission’s organization called Vidanet, that trains young adults to be missionaries.

When I got back to Nashville, I looked up Vidanet’s webpage and read more about it. I was surprised to see that they were asking for an older couple to volunteer to serve as “grandparents” to the students for three months during the fall. I didn’t want to take the time to fill out their application, so I sent a message to their general email box.

About a week later, to my surprise, I received an email from the director saying that he and his wife would like to zoom with me and Ernie. We met online together for two hours and connected heart-to-heart. They invited us to come to Vidanet and spend a few days to get to know them and some of the students. So after being in Costa Rica in March (2025) we went back in May. We loved the spiritual environment at Vidanet.

While we were there, we began to ask God to give us a place to stay in the fall if He wanted us to come back. The last day we were there the leadership team invited us to come back for the fall. They also told us that a couple on the team was going to go to the USA for six months and that we could stay in their house. We were amazed and knew that we were supposed to come back.

That fall was wonderful. There were 18 students at Vidanet for three months of training, before going as 3 teams to serve as short-term missionaries in three countries. We spent about 30 hours a week getting to know the students, encouraging them, listening to them, praying over them, eating meals with them, doing outreaches with them, worshipping with them, and showing them God’s love. They truly felt like our grandkids.

When we weren’t on the base at Vidanet, Ernie and I would walk our neighborhood and visit various places in the area. People were curious about us “gringos” so we would tell them about Vidanet and about how much the people there love Jesus. We got to minister to a lot of people (including Uber drivers) and made several close friends that way. After three months it was very hard to leave and go home just before Christmas.

The students also went to their homes (half of them were Latinos and the other half Americas). Then they returned and were sent to three countries for five months. They returned to Vidanet in May (2026). Ernie and I did too. We had to see them again and hear about their experiences!

What a great trip. We were at the base as the students arrived. They didn’t know that we were going to be there, so we got many great hugs. We spent about 9 wonderful days with them hearing their stories and interacting with them.

We were also invited to come back to Vidanet in the fall 2026 and spend another three months with a new group of students. Once again, we prayed that God would confirm it by providing a place to stay. We had two places in mind but they both fell through while we were there.

One night we took dear friends we met last year (who speak only Spanish) to dinner. We were telling them about needing a place for this fall. They surprised us by telling us they are building an apartment behind their house as an Airbnb and that it will be ready soon. They said we can live there this fall and gave us a very good price.

Our last three days on that trip to Costa Rica we traveled with a young couple we had met during the fall and their baby daughter. They are new Christians and have been radically transformed by the risen Jesus. Ernie and I have been zooming with them every few weeks to help them grow in their faith. It’s such an incredible blessing to see people who have been deeply changed by Jesus, hungering and thirsting to grow closer to and strong in Him.

Then one day in June I suggest to Ernie that we go to Plaza Marichi in Nashville. It’s a big indoor Mexican market, plaza, and food court close to our house, but we hadn’t been there in a few years. While we were there Ernie wanted to stop at a small stand to look for a special kind of tea.

I was ready to leave but went along with her. The lady at the stand, Lucia, didn’t speak English, so I switched to Spanish. She found the tea and there was an immediate connection between us. Then she invited us to a house church that meets in her home.

If you’ve read my writings, you know that I am always looking for what the Greek New Testament calls ekklesia — a gathering of Christ-followers where anyone present is free to share as they feel prompted by the Holy Spirit. That kind of Christian gathering is extremely rare and almost impossible to find.

The following Tuesday, Ernie was out of town, so I showed up at Lucia’s house. There were seven adults and one toddler gathered in her living room. They were from four different countries: El Salvador, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Cuba. They all welcomed me like I was family.

Richard, Lucia’s husband, introduced everyone. Then he offered to have someone translate into English, but I told him that I could understand them.

They begin with worship. Richard played the guitar and Adriana played the ukulele. It was beautiful and heart-felt. The presence of God’s Spirit was deeply moving. The man sitting beside me looked up the Spanish words of each song on his phone for me.

To my surprise, after worship, Richard, quoted 1 Corinthians 14:26 that tells Christians what to do when we meet together. It says that each person has a psalm, a hymn, a revelation, or something else to share in the meeting. He said that they meet that way and that I was welcome to share as well.

People began to share Scriptures about the Holy Spirit and about how real He is to them. I could see the presence of Jesus in their faces and feel Him in the tender excitement in their voices. An hour and a half flew by. We ended in a time of powerful heart-felt prayer.

Afterwards they brought out food and drink. Everyone was inviting me to come back. When I left they all hugged me. I love how strangers who love Jesus can recognize His presence in each other when they come together to be led and prompted by His Spirit.

The following Sunay Ernie went with me. She had been actively learning Spanish for about a year and is getting better but needed someone to interpret which one of them graciously did.

We started meeting with them as often as we can. When I started learning Spanish, Ernie began to learn to play the ukulele and became very good at it. When the house church found out about that Richard and Adriana asked Ernie to play her uke with them and they began to practice together once a week.

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What Is Christianity Really?

Posted on August 11, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
If your future self could send you one sentence, what do you hope it would say?
View all responses

So, what is Christianity? (The conclusion of “The Misunderstanding of Christianity.”)

The New Testament is about the beginnings and the beliefs of Christianity. To read it with a humble and receptive heart is to notice a great difference between the persecuted Christianity of the first century and the popular Christianity of the 21st century.

When I, as a freshman at the University of Tennessee Martin, encountered, fell in love with, and was drastically changed from within by Jesus Christ, I started reading through the New Testament. I noticed several interesting things.

Over the centuries, Christianity has drifted away from being directly Spirit-led to being humanly programmed; from being spontaneous to being tightly controlled. It has shifted from “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” to “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.”

Most contemporary Christianity has lost the early Christian focus on active, never-ending surrender to and faithful obedience to “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” It has turned away from helping people have and maintain a heart-to-heart relationship with the ever-present, living Jesus. Instead, it puts most of its effort into getting people to regularly attend religious services.

Christianity has changed from continually expecting and relying on supernatural revelations, manifestations, and miracles, to doubting or even denying them. Rather than training people to listen to and to daily obey God’s “still, small voice,” it unintentionally shows people how to ignore, resist, and quench the Holy Spirit.

Modern Christianity has mostly abandoned the gifts of the Spirit and the New Testament commands to encourage, exhort, and minister to one another. Instead, it depends on the personal charisma of just one gifted preacher while the rest of the congregation sits idly by.

As you have seen, I’ve never been able to settle into and be satisfied by the formalized and controlled style of Christianity that is sometimes referred to as “churchianity.” From my first encounter with the living Jesus until this very moment, I’ve hungered, thirsted, and searched for a different version of Christianity. I want “the faith that was once delivered to the saints” — that gives people practical, hands-on training (discipleship) in how to listen to and obey God the Holy Spirit throughout each day and then sends them out to actively demonstrate Christ’s love and presence wherever they go.

Continually seeking to listen to, follow, and obey the living Jesus is an incredible adventure! I stand in awe of what I’ve see Jesus do! Christ can and will do even more than we can ask or think, if we who say we believe will simply step aside, let Him take the wheel, and obey Him throughout each day. I can’t wait to see what He is going to do in, though, and around me today.

Find one or two people who want to listen to and obey Jesus. Then obey Hebrews 10:24-25: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the day approaching.”

Posted in biblical Christianity, Christianity, counter culture Christianity, early Christianity, lifestyle Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Things I Do While Traveling Thru Life

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?
View all responses

The Misunderstanding of Christianity — More Spiritual Opportunities and Testimonies

One summer while I was in college, I was invited to spend 8 weeks in a discipleship program for young adults ages 18-30. It was called Disciplined Life in Christ. There were about 30 participants.

We spent 6 weeks living in community at the Inn of the Last Resort in the mountains of Franklin, North Carolina. The Inn was run by Jay and Sally Fesperman. Jay was a retired businessman who was very excited about Jesus. He and Sally had purchased an old mountain hotel, restored it, and turned it into a place for focusing on training people to be more effective at following and obeying the risen Jesus.

During the mornings, we would have worship, teaching, prayer, Bible study, sharing, and testimonies. Some afternoons, we would work together around the building and grounds, including cultivating a large garden. Other afternoons, we would go do service projects and/or ministry in the local area. Sometimes we would play volleyball or do other recreational activities. We also all spent one day a week in prayer, fasting, and listening to the Lord. It didn’t take long for a strong sense of Spirit-filled community to develop among us.

Most of the songs that we used in worship were Bible verses put to music. That helped the Scriptures go deep in our hearts and is one reason that I can quote many Bible verses. We even made a recording of numerous Scripture songs that was made fairly widely available.

The last two weeks of the discipleship program, we were counselors at Tennessee Georgia Christian Camp (originally called “Camp Farthest Out”), a gathering of mostly adult Christ-followers from the Southern USA who were thrilled about Jesus. The camp’s focus was on passionate worship. Well-known leaders in the Charismatic/Pentecostal part of the Jesus Movement led workshops to help people learn to flow more freely in the Holy Spirit. Those of us from the discipleship program were each assigned a cabin to stay in, where we led daily devotions. We were also available to pray over and counsel people. It was a life-changing 8 weeks!

Once during the fall, I dropped out of college to experience another powerful spiritual adventure. My brother Scott had been invited to travel throughout the Western USA with 5 other sold-out Jesus lovers in a motor home. He wasn’t able to do it, so I took his place.

It was actually a job working for a stationary company owned by a Charismatic Christ-follower. We took orders for personalized stationery in fraternity and sorority houses on college campuses. However, the company owner also wanted us to be missionaries who would testify about Jesus.

For three months we traveled through almost every Western state and visited all the major college campuses. We towed a Jeep behind the motor home. When we got to a college campus we would park the motor home, unhook the Jeep, and all 6 of us pile in. Then the Jeep driver would drop each of us off at a sorority or fraternity house during lunch and dinner.

We would set up a display of our stationery outside of the dining room and begin to take orders as the frat members came to eat. We would engage in conversation and talk about Jesus when we could. Sometimes we got to pray with a student. We had a large supply of Gospel tracts, brochures or pamphlets that told people how they could experience Jesus for themselves.

When people weren’t looking, we would hide Gospel tracts in drawers, magazines, books, and other places, praying that the right people would find them and by reading them find Jesus. We did that twice a day until we ran out of houses. Then we would hookup the Jeep and drive the motor home to the next college campus.

We took weekends off from selling stationary. Frequently on Saturday nights we found a full Gospel Businessmen’s Meeting (a Spirit-filled worship and testimony meeting that were being held all across the country). On Sunday mornings we would find a fired-up Jesus Movement style church to attend. It was wonderful to get to meet and connect heart-to-heart with Christ-followers in so many different cities.

The six of us talked about Jesus and prayed together for the entire three months. We also got to do some sightseeing. It was my first time out West. When we were in Southern California, we visited Melodyland Christian Center. That’s when I first heard about their seminary that I later attended. We also visited Calvary Chapel which was a key part of the early days of the Jesus Movement.

It wouldn’t surprise me if all these years later if there’s still a Gospel track or two hidden in a frat house somewhere in the Western USA. We got back to Tennessee just in time for Christmas. Then I went back to the University of Tennessee Martin (UTM) to spend time with my Jesus Freak friends (and to finish my degree). For more about that, google my college roommate’s and best friend’s book, “The Jesus Revolution Southern Style.”

One thing that isn’t in his book is what I did when people started streaking at UTM. For some reason streaking (rapidly running naked from one building to another) became popular on American college campuses, even on my small college campus.

Rumor began to spread that on a particular afternoon there was going to be a lot of streaking. When that afternoon arrived, a lot of people were hanging around campus, including nonstudents. Some people were even sitting on blankets having a picnic and waiting for the nude running to begin.

I saw that as an opportunity. I went to my dorm room and picked up a big stack of very simple Gospel tracks. They had a picture of a human hand with a nail driven through it. In big letters the caption said: “JESUS LOVES YOU SO MUCH IT HURTS!”

When the streaking started, I began to go up to people and say, “Isn’t it great that people can have so much fun watching people run naked?” They would make a rather puzzled response. Then I would say, “Well with Jesus Christ you can have fun when people are running naked and even when they aren’t” Then I would give them one of the Gospel tracts.

After a while I saw a huge crowd of people gathered outside the door of a dormitory. They had big speakers set up playing loud music, so I walked down a sidewalk toward them. When I got to where they were, the popular song, “Jesus is Just All Right” by the Doobie Brothers came on.

Without thinking, I spontaneously threw my hands up while holding a Bible and began to shout “Hallelujah, praise the Lord, Glory to God!” All heads turned my way. I was embarrassed and didn’t know what to do so I closed my eyes and started dancing. In a minute I started hearing a tinkling sound. I looked down and people were tossing coins on the sidewalk around me.

When the song stopped, I opened my eyes and the crowd of people were silently staring at me. Not knowing what else to do I opened my mouth and said loudly, “Isn’t it great that people can have so much fun watching people run naked? Well with Jesus Christ you can have fun when people are running naked and even when thery’re not.”

Then to my surprise I began to share my story about how Jesus radically changed my life. No one moved. After a couple of minutes my words stopped. I didn’t know how to exit gracefully, so I stepped over to a car and sat on the hood. The crowd slowly returned to normal. However, a few people walked over to me and asked me questions about Jesus which led to good discussion.

Eventually I moved on. However, I never thought to pick up the coins from the sidewalk. I was too excited about what had just happened.

I’ve always wanted to be comfortable talking with people about Jesus and I have had my moments, but for the most part I am intimidated to openly testify about Him directly to people. However, when it comes to writing, I can be very bold.

When I was a pastor in Mayfield, Kentucky I approached The Mayfield Messenger about writing a weekly devotional column for them. I called it “Christian Challenge.” They liked the idea, so during my two years in Mayfield I boldly wrote about Jesus. Then when I was an assistant pastor in Paducah, Kentucky I continued to write a column called “Christian Challenge” for a small weekly paper.

I love writing. For about 20 years I have been blogging, almost daily. My blog “Free Gas for Your Think Tank has more than 5,500 posts. I also write a lot on my Facebook page.

I have written 6 books. (This “The Misunderstanding of Christianity” series could turn into number 7) 4 of my books are available on Amazon. I wake up early almost every morning with words and ideas about Christianity flowing through and developing in my mind. I get up and write them down and they become my post for that day. It seems to happen in spite of me, and it starts off my day by stirring up God’s fire within me.

I have no other motive for writing. I don’t get paid for it. (Well, my books do currently together earn a total of about $300 per year, but the blog brings in no money.) However, I do get a good deal of criticism for what I write, and occasionally I get some encouragement. But none of that matters. Like Peter and John, I can’t stop speaking (writing) about the things I have seen and heard. Thank you for reading.

#memoriesmade#testimoniesoffaith

Posted in Christian spirituality, Christian testimony, discipleship, Jesus Movement, Jesus revolution | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Being Taught Gratitude In Painful Situations

Posted on August 9, 2026 by Steve Simms

The Misunderstanding of Christianity —
More Blocked Doors, Busted Dreams, and Heartbreaks

Christianity isn’t about getting what I want. It’s about surrendering my life and my desires to God and His will.

One day, when I was prayer walking with the Salvation Army Flag by myself in a Nashville inner-city neighborhood, I looked up and saw a huge picture of Dave Ramsey on a billboard high above Interstate 65. At one point, when I was a motivational speaker, Dave, two other speakers, and I put together a brochure featuring the 4 of us.

Dave has had the great success I used to dream about for myself. In fact, for years I used to say to myself, “I am a famous, wealthy, and dynamic best-selling author and speaker.” Dave even used to give away my first book, “Mindrobics–How to Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life,” in his seminars and helped me in several other ways. I’ll always be grateful to him for that. I believed that as a famous speaker I could use my influence to point people to the risen Jesus.

Then God used my severe voice problems (a voice specialist even recommended that I go on disability) and a completely unexpected opportunity from The Salvation Army to turn my life in another direction.

When I saw Dave’s picture and thought about where I was, I was tempted to be jealous. Then God reminded me of all the beautiful ways I was seeing Him work in amazing people’s lives. I suddenly realized that God had lovingly closed the door to speaking and writing fame and fortune so He could direct me to where He wanted me to be. With tears in my eyes, I thanked the Lord for using closed doors to keep me on His path, and I continue to do so.

I experienced other strangely blocked doors and disappointments in my speaking career. For several years, I was a regular writer for Zig Ziglar’s “Top Performance” magazine. Zig even wrote a great front cover endorsement for my first book. I also spoke to the staff at his company a couple of times. Finally, he signed me to a contract for his company to represent me as one of their featured speakers.

I was thrilled. I knew I was on the way to great success. Then the oddest thing happened. I never heard from Zig or his staff again. Every time I called his company, I couldn’t get beyond the receptionist. There was no explanation, no correspondence, no contact — nothing but a tightly shut door. It was so strange that I felt like it had to be God at work shutting a door to keep me in His will.

I live in Nashville and liked to dream about being the motivator for the Tennessee Titans. I imagined that they would hire me to speak to the players before every game and at the end of the season they would win the Super Bowl. I pictured other NFL teams having a bidding war for my services. (My ego can run wild.)

To purse that dream I went to several open practices to get player autographs. Then I would give each player two autographed copies of my book, “Mindrobics,” (one for themselves and one to pass on to head coach Jeff Fisher). I think that Jeff must have received several copies.

Then, unexpectedly and without any effort I came across Jeff’s home address. I wrote him several letters offering to speak to his players. One day Jeff wrote me back. He said that he would like to meet with me during the off season to talk about my proposal. Again, I was thrilled, but that off season I never heard from him.

The next year my daughter was hired by Life Way Christian Resources to be a child actor in that year’s Vacation Bible School video. Jeff’s son was hired to play her brother. They wanted a parent present at the filming so Ernie and I both had the opportunity to meet and spend time with Jeff’s wife, Julie. My hopes were high, but I still didn’t hear anything from Jeff.

A year or two later I answered my phone. A man introduced himself as Steve Watterson, the assistant head coach for the Tennessee Titans. He told me that he had talked to Coach Fisher. He said that Jeff told him he knew me and gave him the go ahead to bring me in to speak to the players. My excitement level went through the roof!

Then after a long pause, Coach Watterson said something like, however we talked to our legal department and there’s a technicality that prevents us from bringing you in. My disappointment level dropped through the floor. I was shocked and didn’t know what to say. The call ended rather awkwardly.

I was stunned. Why did I receive such a call? The only explanation I could come up with was that God wanted me to know how close I came to that dream coming true (well maybe not the Superbowl part) and how He closed the door to keep my life on His path. I’ve thanked the Lord for that blocked door many times.

When I was serving as an assistant pastor in Paducah, Kentucky, I went to a school to become a licensed realtor and took a part-time job with a top real estate company. I discovered that I was good at calling For Sale by Owner ads and persuading people to list their home with me. Because of that I soon had more listings than anybody in the Paducah franchise of the company.

My first three months I won a top sales award. It looked like I was on the way to real estate success. However, a few months later the manager fired me without giving me any reason. The firm kept all my listings and the clients I was showing homes to. That was a shocker and I had to work hard to forgive the manager. Gradually I began to see that closed doors are often a blessing from God. If I had made a lot of money selling real estate in Paducah, I might not have followed God’s leading to move on.

As a young man I had an unusual view of dating. I didn’t want to date just for fun. I wanted to find my soul mate — a girl who I could have an idealistic marriage with. That never worked out very well for me. Over the years I had my heart crushed several times.

I finally married when I was 33 and from day one it was a disaster. My new wife quickly shifted from being in love with me to acting like she hated me. Nothing I said or did would change her sour attitude and actions toward me. The marriage was basically in name only.

I was devastated. Within a few months I was in a different bedroom. I didn’t believe in divorce, so I endured and prayed and cried a lot. After 3 1/3 years of intense emotional agony, she divorced me. I felt like my heart was broken beyond repair. I wanted to disappear. I realized that if I didn’t change my attitude the result would be tragic. I started desperately listening to uplifting, motivational recordings day and night and I cried out to the Lord nonstop.

In my desperation and hopelessness, I began to see God’s light again. In my great pain, the risen Jesus walked with me, strengthened me, and comforted me. I worked hard to resist anger and bitterness and to forgive and to rely on the presence of Christ in me to heal me. That slammed door that almost did me in caused me to seek God presence more than ever before. Jesus led me back to hope. I fully surrendered my dream of a beautiful marriage to Him.

I wanted to help other people who are struggling through emotional and spiritual pain. As you know, I had been a misfit at being a pastor, so I decided to help people by becoming a motivational speaker. I moved to Nashville and started calling organizations and companies, volunteering to speak for free to their employees. I called a local seminar leader to ask for advice. Her name was Ernie and we became friends. I had no intention to date or remarry.

Once when we were talking, I told her the details about how my heart had been crushed. Ernie said something like, “I don’t think you’re healed.” I immediately collapsed and couldn’t stop deeply weeping. She put her hands on my shoulder and waited patiently. My sobbing eventually stopped and from that moment I was free from the great grief I was carrying.

Over the next few months, we became best friends and to my surprise, more than friends. She’s the Ernie you have been reading about. My dream of an amazing marriage came true.

I still don’t believe in divorce. I did all I could to prevent it. But God used the pain I suffered to draw me closer to Him. Ernie and I made the commitment to never consider or threaten divorce and we never have. I am so grateful for God’s mercy, forgiveness, and healing.

Ernie and I greatly love our parents. We lost all 4 of them over a period of ten years. It’s so hard to watch people you love lose their health and die even though we believe all 4 of them knew the Lord.

Blocked doors, busted dreams, and heartbreaks have kept me from getting satisfied and comfortable with life and settling in to do my own thing. They have helped keep my pride and ego from taking over my life. They have kept me crying out to God for his mercy and guidance. For that I am truly and eternally grateful.

Ernie and I want the remainder of our lives to radiate God’s glory and grace. As she says, we want to go out in a blaze of glory.

#blessedandgrateful #InnerPeace

Billboard with text 'Disappointment can be an appointment with God!' over a highway at dusk
A highway billboard displays an uplifting message about finding hope in disappointment.
Posted in depression, disappointment, heartbreak, mental health | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Misunderstanding of Christianity

Posted on August 8, 2026 by Steve Simms

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” –G.K. Chesterton

As a child growing up, I didn’t know Christianity existed. I knew churches did. I saw them all over town. However, I had no concept or awareness of Christianity. For some reason, though, as far back as I can remember, I’ve had a profound awareness of God. I talked to Him every day and would frequently ask my parents questions about Him.

That was shocking to my parents because they weren’t religious, didn’t attend church, and didn’t talk about God. They were both people of high moral character and integrity, but neither showed any interest or concern for spiritual things, so they didn’t encourage my curiosity about God. Yet I persisted.

After I learned that churches had something to do with God, I began to ask my parents to take me to one. They weren’t eager to do so.

The first time I remember going to church, we had recently moved from Little Rock to Jonesboro, Arkansas. I was about 10 years old. My mother’s new best friend and her children occasionally attended a Baptist church. My mother, my 2 younger brothers, and I went with them 2 or 3 times. To my surprise, I didn’t like it.

My mother dressed us in little sports coats and clip on ties. When we got to the church, she whisked us inside and had us sit for an hour on a hard wooden bench. The room was full of those benches lined up in perfect rows. (There was no children’s church at that time.)

We had to sit quietly and behave while a man upfront welcomed people, said a prayer, led some songs, and collected money. Then another man read from a book and gave a long, boring talk about something he called being “saved.” He ended by asking people to walk to the front while the first man led another song, so they can be “saved.” I don’t remember if people came down or not.

Sometime later my aunt, who had been a “Christian Science practitioner” (a minister in a religious group that claims sickness isn’t real) switched her religion to being a Presbyterian. She told my dad that he might like being one too. To my surprise, one Sunday my dad took the family to a little Presbyterian church not far from our house.

This time, however, it all began with something called Sunday school. Our family was split into separate classes according to our age. There were 5 or 6 kids in my class. An adult read to us from a pamphlet-style booklet. All of us kids were quite bored and squirmish throughout the process.

Then after Sunday school we were led into a big room with benches where we sat for another hour that was a lot like the Baptist church, except in that church nothing was said about being saved. They did however, have everybody stand up and say together a lot of words that they called the “Apostles’ Creed.”

My family went there a few times, but then one day my father took us to a big Presbyterian church called “First Presbyterian.” It also started off with Sunday school. My class there was even more boring than the one at the other Presbyterian church.

The program in the big room with benches was very formal and if a kid made any noise everyone seemed to give them and their family a dirty look, so my parents did what they needed to in order to keep my brothers and me quiet. Something else different about that church was that the man who gave the weekly talk wore a fancy black robe with a colored cloth draped over his neck and they had a choir of people wearing robes.

My dad was a dignified looking man. People used to tell him that he looked like a preacher. The people in that church really liked him. It wasn’t long after that he and my mom joined the church and they asked him to teach an adult Sunday school class. He accepted and all of a sudden my family was going to church every Sunday.

My dad still wouldn’t talk to me about God. However, one night he did take the time to teach me “The Lord’s Prayer.” I can still quote it today.

The church had a “junior choir,” and I was invited to join it even though I knew nothing about music. We practiced once a week, but the choir director never gave me any personal feedback or instructions.

A few times a year they dressed us choir kids up in robes and had us sing in the Sunday service. I didn’t know any better, so I loudly belted out the beautiful words about God, without paying any attention to the tune. I never knew that I was doing anything wrong. Years later my parents told me that I was way out of tune, and they had asked the choir director to pull me out of the choir. For some reason the choir director said he couldn’t do that because I sang with more enthusiasm than anybody else in the choir.

When I was about 12 or so, the church announced that they were going to have a “Communicants Class” for anyone who wanted to become a member. Most of the kids in my Sunday school class were going to attend it, so when I was asked, I said I would too.

The minister taught the class of six or seven kids about my age. He mainly read from a book called: “Covenant Life Curriculum.” It was written to make us good church members; however, it was really difficult to understand. The class was a mixture of history, religious ideas, and church government and lasted about 6 weeks.

Afterwards we all were assumed to be fit to be full members in good standing. All the other kids had been sprinkled as infants. Of course, I hadn’t, so I was told I would have to be baptized on the Sunday I was received as a member.

That Sunday morning, the minister had all of the kids from the “Communicants Class” come forward and stand in front of all the people sitting on wooden benches. The minister asked me some questions, dipped his hand into a brass bowl full of water, held his wet hand over my head, and let it drip water on my hair while he said words about being baptized.

Afterwards as I was standing there with a few drops of water running down my face, the minister asked us all a question or two about being church members. When we answered yes, he said a prayer and then welcomed us as new members. He assured us that we were now Christians. The experience was interesting to me, but it was done in such a systematized, matter of fact way that there was nothing profound or emotional about it.

From that moment own I assumed that I had understood and been inducted into Christianity. But boy, was I wrong.

When I was going into the ninth grade my family moved from Jonesboro, Arkansas to Jackson, Tennessee. One of the first things we did was find another Presbyterian church. This one wasn’t just “First Presbyterian,” it was “First Cumberland Presbyterian,” however, the routine was so similar I couldn’t tell any difference. We settled into regular attendance.

The Presbyterian sermons I heard over those years were mainly read aloud in a dull voice. The subject matter was often about what seemed to me to be obscure Christian beliefs that had little to do with daily life. And there would be an occasional “message” about social justice.

One day when I was a junior in high school, my mind was wandering during a message. Suddenly this question came to my mind: “If you were born a Hindu, what would you be today?” As I pondered it, I realized that if my parents had taken me to a Hindu temple instead of a Christian church, I would have been a Hindu.

Then the question “Why do you think you are a Christian?” promptly entered my mind. It was a moment of revelation. I realized that my only reason for thinking I was a Christian was because I was taken to and eventually joined a Christian church. I had no other reason than that to believe in Christianity or the Bible.

Later that day I rejected Christian beliefs and the Bible, however, I couldn’t reject the God I had talked to and been aware of since my earliest memories. I was confident that He, not time and chance, had created this amazing world. So, I prayed, “God, whoever or whatever you are, I don’t have any reason to believe in Christianity or the Bible. Will you please show me the truth?

I continued going to church with my family at First Cumberland Presbyterian. Yet, from that point on I knew that I had misunderstood Christianity. I understood that although I faithfully attended church and sincerely tried to be a good person, I wasn’t in any way a Christian.

My freshman year of college was at The University of Tennessee Martin (a small southern town). It was there I begin to gain some understanding of how incredibly amazing and profound Christianity can be.

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Go Beyond Misunderstood Christianity

Posted on August 7, 2026 by Steve Simms

Blindly accepting the religious status quo, inherited traditions, and hand-me-down beliefs traps many people in misunderstanding. The present-day power and reality of the risen Jesus is often buried under the weight of religious misunderstanding.

It’s no fun to be misunderstood. But that’s the cost of continually listening to and obeying Jesus. If you aren’t being frequently misunderstood, there’s a strong possibility that your Christianity is off track.

Misunderstanding is much easier to live with than truth is. People misunderstand Christianity because to understand it is to be thrown out of your comfort zone into God’s radical truth and transformation zone.

Much religion is based on misunderstanding. Jesus promises inner rivers of living water. To settle for an illusion of water glimmering on the pavement of your hardened heart is to misunderstand Christianity.

The more we obey Jesus and faithfully do what He says, the better we will understand Christianity. (John 8:31-32) If you have never personally read and pondered with an open, humble, obedient heart the parts of the Bible written by the earliest Christ-followers, you most probably misunderstand Christianity.

If you want to understand Christianity, humbly contemplate, meditate, ponder, and listen to and obey God’s still small voice in your heart. Read the New Testament as though it is a love letter from God to you. It is.

Go beyond information processing to revelation accessing. Allow God to open your eyes until you clearly behold Jesus. Then you won’t feel the need to merrely analyze theology. Show consistent, warm-hearted kindness to all people (both friends and foes). Then you will begin to truly understand God’s love.

Man in white robes holding a cardboard sign reading 'I'M BEING MISUNDERSTOOD!' on a park walkway
A man dressed in robes holds a cardboard sign saying ‘I’M BEING MISUNDERSTOOD!’ in a park setting.
Posted in biblical Christianity, Christian spirituality, Christianity, early Christianity, Mere Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beyond Worry!

Posted on August 6, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What’s something you used to worry about but don’t anymore?
View all responses

I misunderstood Christianity until I discovered that . . .

Christianity is:

* Listening to Jesus, “My sheep hear My voice.”
* Doing what He says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
* An ongoing awareness of the presence of the risen Jesus living and working within and through me as He leads me throughout each day. “I am with you always.”
* An inner flowing of the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit that pour out of my innermost being like rivers of living water. “Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”
* Joy beyond words. “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
* Inner peace that can’t be rationally explained. “Peace that passes understanding.”
* Christ living in me who is greater and more powerful than anything the world or the devil has to offer. “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”
* Jesus being far more than my hope to cope and merely get by. Christianity is my hope of glory as Christ leads me from glory to glory every day of my life. “Christ in you the hope of glory.”
* God working everything out for my good — even closed doors, disappointments, and heartbreaks. “All things work together for good for those who love God.”
* Connecting heart-to-heart, in interactive community with other people by loving, encouraging, exhorting, serving, teaching, confessing our sins to, and praying with one another as we obey the 50+ one another commands in the New Testament. “Spurring one another on to love and good works. Don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together.”
* Humbling myself, taking the lowest place, considering others ahead of myself, blessing those who criticize me, and even loving my enemies. “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you.”
* And so much more.

Meditate don’t just calculate. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Instead of trying to figure God out let Him straighten you out.

When people and churches interpret Jesus’ commands in ways that ignore their intent, blunt their force, and twist their meaning, they create much misunderstanding about Christianity. Christianity is misunderstood when it is seen as anything other than an ongoing heart-to-heart, Spirit-led relationship with the risen Jesus, faithfully demonstrated through obedience to His Spirit and compassion for all people.

#christianliving #christianlife

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Posted in inner peace, joy unspeakable, stop worrying, true Christianity, worry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some Misunderstood Quotations

Posted on August 5, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What’s a quote that perfectly describes your outlook on life?
View all responses

A Few Reasons Why I Believe Christianity Is Misunderstood

Christianity is misunderstood because:

* “Love one another” doesn’t mean ignore each other.
* “Love your enemies” doesn’t mean to try to get even with them.
* “Seek first the kingdom of God” doesn’t mean to put your country or anything else first.
* “Humble yourself” is the opposite of self-centeredness and self-righteousness.
* “Judge not” means don’t condemn people. It doesn’t mean to approve of their wrongful behavior.
* “Speaking the truth in love” means be honest and be kind in what you say.
* “Forgive one another” means don’t carry a grudge.
* “Serve one another” is a command to focus on others rather than on yourself.
* “Repent” refers to stopping your wrong thoughts and behaviors.
* “Quench not the Spirit” means don’t refuse to be led by God’s Spirit.
* Being “led by the Spirit” refers to noticing and obeying God’s inner promptings instead of your own desires and opinions.
* “Bless those who curse you” means to say good things about people who say bad things about you.
* Pray for those who despitefully use you” means to ask God to do good things for people who do bad things to you.
* “Draw near to God” refers to opening your heart to Him and allowing Him to fully have His way in your life.
* To make the word of God of no effect “by your traditions,” means focusing on an outward “form of godliness” more than on ongoing surrender and obedience to the risen Jesus.
* “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel” doesn’t mean to go to church once a week and then do whatever you want to with the rest of your time.
* “By grace are you saved” doesn’t mean that you can ignore God’s will, do whatever you want, and still go to Heaven.
* “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature” means if you haven’t been truly born again and supernaturally transformed from within, you aren’t in Christ.

When people and churches interpret Jesus’ commands in ways that ignore their intent, blunt their force, and twist their meaning, they create much misunderstanding about Christianity. Christianity is misunderstood when it is seen as anything other than an ongoing heart-to-heart, Spirit-led relationship with the risen Jesus, faithfully demonstrated through obedience to His Spirit and compassion for all people.

Young man in green sweatshirt gesturing while talking outdoors
A young man animatedly talks with a friend outdoors on a sunny day
Posted in Bible quotes, Bible verses, Mere Christianity, normal Christianity, religious quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Let Your Heart & Life Travel With God

Posted on August 4, 2026 by Steve Simms

Do you misunderstand Christianity?

To misunderstand Christianity is to miss out on the life-enriching fruit and the life-empowering gifts of the Spirit. It is to set aside the Holy Spirit’s inward leading for following your own opinions, desires, and feelings. It is to shift from “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” to you in church, the hope of Heaven when you die.”

Christianity is not understood by the proud mental analysis of religious information, but by ongoing heartfelt surrender and obedience to the risen Jesus. Stop trying to figure out Christianity and begin to live it out in your everyday life.

When the Bible is misunderstood, Christianity is misunderstood. The Bible contains the writings of Christ’s earliest followers. Church history clearly shows that we Christians have consistently chosen and continue to choose to obey our own opinions, feelings, desires, beliefs, and traditions rather than the commands in the Bible.

Here’s a challenge. Read the New Testament. Every time you see a commandment you aren’t obeying, put a checkmark by it. Be prepared to do a lot of checking. Then ask yourself: “Could my ignoring of these commandments be causing me to misunderstand Christianity?”

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Let God Take Control

Posted on August 3, 2026 by Steve Simms

Here’s another way to say Jesus’ main message: God is present to take control. Let Him. (“Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.”) Actively and daily surrender your will to His will.

Inner leadings, promptings, and nudges that align with Scripture are often the voice of God speaking directly to you. Notice them. They are very easy to overlook or ignore. If they are good, free from evil, and don’t contradict or misrepresent the Bible they are from God. Obey them even when you don’t want to and you will experience God doing astounding things both within you and through. Instead of resisting or quenching the Holy Spirit train yourself to be Spirit-led and let God take control.

Dissatisfaction that is unable to be satisfied with the status quo isn’t rebellion. It’s a calling to get to know the deeply satisfying reality of Christ in you, the hope of glory so that you can let God take control.

Too many Christians are satisfied with simply hearing a sermon at a Sunday service, but the Bible tells us to draw near to God, to seek first His kingdom, to hunger and thirst for His righteousness, and to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. I’ve always been dissatisfied with satisfied Christianity. I want to see Christians let God take control!

Posted in Let go and let God, Let God take control, repent, repentance, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment