Eight Second: The Resurrection of Mickey L. Dennis

By Mickey L. Dennis

The resurrection of Jesus is the central doctrine in my belief. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:1920 that if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. According to Paul, the entire Christian faith hinges upon the centrality of the resurrection of Jesus on the third day and the hope for a life after our own death. We, Christians, annually celebrate the resurrection or Jesus on the third day and the hope for a life after our own death. Christians annually celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at Easter time as well as weekly by holding service on Sunday (the day of the week of Jesus's resurrection) or the Lords Day. The resurrection is further supported historically by the conversion of Paul. Not only was Paul a nonbeliever, but he was actually zealously persecuting Christians until his encounter with the resurrected Jesus (Acts 8:5, Acts 9:131). Moreover, Jesuss half-brother, James, was skeptical of Jesus until Jesus appeared to him too (Mark 6:34, John 7:35, 1 Corinthians 15:7). Indeed, James was so convinced by the resurrection that he became a leader at the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:1221). It is also attested in all four Gospels that women were the first to discover the empty tomb.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 10, 2009
• ISBN: 9781469107158

Mickey L. Dennis

It would in some measure relieve my embarrassment if I could even, in a slight degree, feel myself worthy of any honor for writing this book; yet I have been called from the deep black belt of the South, from among my humble people, and yet it may not be inappropriate for me to suggest that it seems to me that one of the most vital questions that touch our American life is how to bring the strong, the wealthy, and the learned into helpful touch with the very poorest, the most ignorant, and the humblest, and at the same time make one appreciate the vitalizing, strengthening influence of others. How can we make this mansion on yon Beacon Street feel and see the need of the spirits in the lowliest of American people? This problem Harvard University is solving, not by bringing itself down, but by bringing the masses up.

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Copyright © 2009 by Mickey L. Dennis.

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Unless otherwise identified, scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New

International Version. Scripture quotations identified NKJV are from the New

King James Version of the Bible.

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

Rejoice with those who rejoice:

Mourn with those who mourn,

Live in harmony with one another.

God of our weary years,

God of our silent tears,

Thou who hast led us thus far on our way,

Thou who hast by Thy might

Led us into the light,

Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee.

Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Sadly, too many of our feet have strayed. Too many of our hearts are drunk.

Some people are embarrassed by their disability.

I am not embarrassed when my legs or hands are trembling or even when I fall down. I am not embarrassed by my disability. It is just life. My life. And I would much rather have it than not have it. Some people are embarrassed by their disability, and I wish they weren’t. The fact is that every person on the planet has some level of disability. It is just that some are more obvious to the outside world than others. The truth is that everyone needs some help or assistance from time to time. Just happen to need more than most people. If you are like me and you listen to the news, almost daily we get some new medical statistic. Four percent of the population will get this disease. Six percent will get that.’’ Two percent will get another.’’ The list goes on and on. The fact is that if we are lucky enough to live long enough, the chances are that we will all have some health issue to deal with in the future. A few months ago, a survey showed that more than 50 percent of Americans would rather die than live with a disability that prevents them from leading an independent life. I can only assume that these people don’t know me or the more than fifty million people in this country who do live with disabilities. It is terrible, shameful, and a cry for more education and understanding. It also tells me that I and many of the other fifty million people who live with disabilities are not doing a very good job of being visible examples to the rest of the world of what it means to live a full life with a disability. My goal is to increase our visibility. I want to change those survey results. I want to be an example to all that even with a disability like PTSD, I am fully engaged out there, alive and living a full life among the more able-bodied. I want to show the world that life is worth living with an able heart and mind, even if the body has its challenges.

DEDICATION

This book and my life, I dedicate to my beautiful wife, Debra, and my family—Karla, Mickey, Rachel, Pete, Jody, Teyha. Without my wife’s help, I would not have accomplished anything in this life; I especially thank her for the strength to intervene while I was struggling with PTSD. For which I will always be so grateful to her for thirty-three years of devoted love. I want to give God all the credit for my family and children; raising them and sharing with their lives have been an incredible learning experience. It was because of them that I wanted to learn how to become a better person, able to responsibly and thoughtfully guide them through childhood and into adulthood.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to recognize my tremendous friends that I have been so fortunate to have had these many years. It is truly a blessing from God to come to love each and everyone. Dr. Gary and Pat Strauser, of Hot Springs, South Dakota, have been my friend and mentor for many years. From the first time we met, I felt the love this man had for others. Doctor is truly a man that never sees the color of a man’s skin. I have been strongly influenced by his faith in God and his tremendous passion for others. He and his family have devoted their lives working with others and improving the lives of others. He is a true disciple of kindness, love, care; and his protagonism adopts the gentle ways of his life. Doc, thank you for all your support you have shown me and my family all these years.

I want to recognize each and everyone of my friends who have helped me through so many struggles in my life. Bennie and Big Johnnie Francis have been my friends for over thirty years, and they have never let me down when I needed help, not ever. John and I go back a long way, and let me tell you, we do have some stories to tell. John, thank you for all those special times. Terry and Margie Lee: Terry and I have been very close friends for over thirty years. All success in life begins with having a healthy attitude and a friend like Terry. He is a big source of my inspiration. Jerry Smith and his family: Jerry is an incredible family man; and he has all my respect, and he is one of the most positive persons I have ever met. I want to thank the Hansen family; Sigel Antuna; Alfred and Karen Pleasants, who saved my life at Bay-pine, Florida; Jerry and Karen Cunningham; Kevin and Kristi Couch; Rev. Peter J. Dahlberg and his family, who have befriended me and given me so much helpful advice through his support and his inspirational words; David and Betsy Foster; Herman Fennel, the greatest jockey in the world and one of the best friends a man can have (anything you want to know like horses, he can help you. He knows his business); Debra Legros and family; Manuel Wilson, from Denmark; Jim and Jami Sheridan family, from Faith, South Dakota; and a special man, a great family man, Jimmy and Bonnie Walker. (Jimmy and I went back to the seventeenth century. He and I fought in the Civil War together. Jimmy, I love you, man, and I hope you know that.) A special word of thanks goes to a very special woman. Words can’t describe the hard work, the support, and the love she has for all veterans. Mary has worked for the VA Medical Center in Sturgis a very long time. She tried to retire, but we can’t let that happen. Her name is Mary Cudmore, and she is a remarkable woman. Let me tell you, there has never been a day when she didn’t have a smile on her face or something good to say to you. No matter how bad your day was, she could make you feel better. Mary is a tremendous woman, and we love her. God bless, Mary.

INTRODUCTION

Back on August 3, I had a serious heart attack that left me for dead for eight seconds, which happened at the Fort Meade VA Medical Center. At this time, certain questions presented themselves to me with terrible urgency: Is it really possible for us to get in touch with God, who created our world and all life? Why does God allow so much hate, so much pain and evil, if he has the power to destroy it? Can God heal where man’s medicine fails? Can prayers affect the outward circumstances of our lives? Does God guide people today? The search for the answers to those questions has brought an adventure beyond anything I could have imagined. Eight Second is the story of that search.

CHAPTER ONE

If you are satisfied with your life and feel no need for any help in this life, you don’t want to read this book. The search for God always begins at the point of need, and we all feel this need either because of some problem for which we have no answer or because of a nagging consciousness that we should be getting more of a life or putting more into it. There is the realization that we are going through the motions of living. Surely our half-somnolent existence is not living as it was meant to be! We all yearn for something more.

I first felt this need for something more shortly after I was brought back to life at the VA Medical Center in Sturgis, South Dakota. People bustle and strive and hurry through life. Their eyes are mostly on the material considerations. They die, and apparently, it’s all over. What were we here for? There must be some purpose in this life, but I haven’t found it yet. All my life, I’ve thought that I was possessed with wanderlust. Now I know that the trouble is within myself, and I cannot escape myself. I’m restless and unhappy. Some of the restlessness may have been typical of the late adolescence, but not all. For this search for something that I had not yet experienced lasted up to this moment. I think of many of all ages that are on the same search. After ignoring God for these last ten years, I recently got a new look at myself; and believe me, I did not like what I saw.

So now I’ve been trying to change myself into what I want to be, but I find that I can’t make myself over. I have always known that I have needed God and faith. So now how do we help you, like me, an ordinary person, go about gaining an intimacy with God? This is an easy question to ask, and a hard one to answer. I puzzled for weeks, then months over it. In a way, this book was my answer. There is an abundant proof that vocational and material success fails too utterly to satisfy the inner hunger. Often the inner hunger catches up with those most immersed in materialism.

One day, I was talking with a friend whom I had known for many years; and over the years, his investment was paying off. During the last few years, he told me, "I’ve experienced a kind of restlessness that baffled me. I’ve tried working late at my office, even doing a stint in the stock market so that I would not have time to think about myself. I’ve gone out of the town many times, trying to