{"id":25977,"date":"2022-01-12T21:37:58","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T21:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=25977"},"modified":"2022-01-14T01:24:46","modified_gmt":"2022-01-14T01:24:46","slug":"spiritual-mentors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=25977","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual Mentors"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The old joke in our family goes like this; \u00a0Sherelene says “I raised four children, Scott, Wesley, Catherine and Bill!” \u00a0It’s true. \u00a0My daughter Catherine often asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” \u00a0My answer has always been,\u00a0“I don’t want to grow up!’ \u00a0I did hve to grow up spiritually and Sherelene was a big part of helping me find the discipline to do just that. \u00a0She has been by my side through countless trials and \u00a0tribulations and has always mirrored for me Christian maturity, love and faith. \u00a0Thank you sweetheart for being the rock I needed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My brother Homer proved to me that a real conversion truly does make you a new creature. \u00a0For many years Homer was not a believer and I prayed for him for years, one day he called me and asked me if I was sitting down, I feared he was going to tell me he had cancer! \u00a0He told me he had found the Lord and it was the best news I can ever remember hearing! \u00a0He truly is a new creature in Christ! \u00a0He has become a mentor for me, funny how God works!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jim Haverstock lost his wife Sue several years ago and I have been in close touch with him ever since that day. \u00a0I thought I was going to try and help him through that terrible loss, but he changed me as he show me the strength of His faith and the gift of God’s resiliency! \u00a0He lives his faith in the most wonderful ways and is a blessing to so many, me included!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My son Scott witnesses his faith in a quiet but steadfast way! \u00a0His selflessness and love for others, family, friends and patients is a witness to the reality of his faith! \u00a0He deeply loved his brother Wes and submitted to a bone marrow transplant to try and help save him, his love spoke even louder and I know Wes is with the Lord today because of that demonstration of faith! \u00a0Rhonda, Sherelene and I, \u00a0all continued to lead him to the foot of the cross! \u00a0Wes deeply admired Scott and tried to emulate him!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dr. Charles Stanley, Charles to me, has been a wonderful friend, brother and guide for many years! \u00a0His teaching and preaching have helped me to form the foundation of \u00a0a moment to moment walk with my Lord. \u00a0We’ve enjoyed many days in the field shooting together and appreciating God’s beauty! \u00a0He is exactly the man you think he is, and a powerful servant of God!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When you are facing a critical question and need Godly advice who do you turn to? \u00a0For me one of my first calls is to Carl Turner. \u00a0Carl has become a dear friend and brother and a powerful source of wisdom for me! \u00a0I know of few men that are more committed to serving God and being a great friend to all who need them! \u00a0Warm and tender hearted he lives his faith everyday!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This image of Ricky Skaggs shot by one of our students at his and my wokshop in Nashville several years ago, captures the Ricky I know best. \u00a0You know him as one of the giants of Country and Bluegrass music and the winner of 14 grammys, but I know him as the deeply spiriual man of God that loves everyone he meets with Christ’s love. \u00a0Warm and outgoing and always having time for fans and friends alike. Ricky is admired the most by those that know him the best!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of course many other people inspire and encourage, but these seven keep me grounded and looking to my Heavenly Father for the strength to live each day!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blessings<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

the pilgrim<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The old joke in our family goes like this; \u00a0Sherelene says “I raised four children, Scott, Wesley, Catherine and Bill!” \u00a0It’s true. \u00a0My daughter Catherine often asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” \u00a0My answer has always been,\u00a0“I don’t want to grow up!’ \u00a0I did hve to grow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25977"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25992,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25977\/revisions\/25992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}