Growing up on the streets of the South Bronx served as a harsh palate for my almost desperate search for meaning. In the poetry from Psalms of David, James Kavanaugh, Rod McKuen and the songs of Bob Dylan and Harry Chapin, I found solace and an expressive outlet to re-set my thoughts in the direction of beauty and a positive outlook on life. My life is a kaleidescope of variety from a not-so-good beginning in the South Bronx to my present home in Georgia. Like most of us, I’ve known pain and despair and yet experienced God turning ashes into beauty in ways I never anticipated. I've enjoyed the privilege of serving in missions with Youth With A Mission, Mercy Ships, Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, and World Vision. I've traveled the world making my small contributions to the lives of those less fortunate, turning my own background into a tool for good. Living on a hospital ship, in Romania, and yes, even in Switzerland, I've found ways to contribute to our world. On our own soil-and in more ordinary locations, add to that Hilton Head Island, Charlotte, NC, Van, Texas, Mt. Pleasant, SC.and Atlanta, Ga. I maintain a license as a Real Estate Broker (since 1980) and as a licensed Instructor since 2003 in SC. I do not practice at this time as I am retired. I am a Jewish Believer in Jesus. We call Him Yeshua. We Jews who are believers refer to ourselves as “Messianic Believers.” I'm a husband, a dad, and a granddad and if money was the measuring stick of my life's success, I'd be counted a failure. But if living every day in the fullness of its "relationship riches" and life adventures then I'm a success.   I have enjoyed writing my 3 children's books.  Where is Christmas?  A fun Childrens' book on Amazon.com http://amzn.to/hnhAD .  Expressons of Life: 40 years of words that paint a 1000 pictures:  http://amzn.to/2w6S6gT    SUPPOSE, A children's book about liking yourself,   http://amzn.to/2traMnb                 While "behind every successful man is a good woman" is a cliché, it is also the truth. 49 years of marriage to Arlene Bridges, the former Miss Florence, SC, have been the best years of my life. I sometimes wonder what direction my life would have taken without Arlene's love and support. She is the epitome of love, loyalty and dedication. She is my soul mate and my best friend. She is also a classic and consistent example of scripture's admonition to forgive 70x7. I've given her much practice.   Adoption has been a profund gift from God for Arlene and I. When he was 5 days old, we adopted our son, now 37. Several years later, we traveled to Romania to adopt a tiny, beautiful daughter, who was 28 days old, now 34. My life is rich in love.    My favorite short poem is: "The beauty of life is that every day we have another chance.” Author…. yours truly. Two of my favorite scriptures: 1Corinthians 10-13 NLT The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.. BTW: The way out is always prayer! (NIV) 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.