Fundamental to my life is the fact that, no matter what I feel or how it appears to me, I am in Christ and he is in me. The conditions of life do not define who I am. Christ is who I am. I am in him, and I will never be moved from here, for it is my place, and will remain so in all environments, stations and conditions. He is my constitution. He is my station. He is the place I live in. Because he is - I am! My book is different compared to others for several reasons. First, it is based on a life-long study and a tried-and-true life application of God's Word, the single and most trustworthy and authoritative source of all truth. Second, I have had the privilege of serving God both in a full-time capacity and as a typical, day-in-and-day-out, nitty-gritty "common" citizen of the world, and I believe this book will impact the reader spiritually, intellectually and pragmatically. It will help him or her encounter God in the midst of the "stuff" of life. Third, I serve a real God. He is within every reality of my life. He makes sense where I live. Whether the season is adverse or calm, God is in it - to be there, to influence my decisions, to transform the way I view each situation and to influence each outcome. He is also beyond everything. His rule, authority and power astound me. He is the "bigness" in all of life. He is the limitless supply when I am overwhelmed with my limitations; the transformative power when I am unable to change; the delivering force when I am confined by my weakness; the resurrection and the life when I need to live! Fourth, I am a real person. I am nothing apart from God's grace, yet complete and free in it. Holy Spirit is current and relevant to each and every situation I may encounter. My life's experience and ministry have been real. I have seen cancer, failure, joblessness, poverty, suicide, sickness, and drug addiction. I have spent time with those in prison, the bereaved, the hospitalized and the dying. I am acquainted with people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and vocations and I know what it is to work hard for a living.