An Angel’s Point of View

by

Mike Glenn

An Angel’s Point of View

Mike Glenn

Published by Mike Glenn at Kindle direct Publishing

Copyright© 2013

ISBN:  978-0-615-81494-0

Personal Websites- www.mikeandlesleyglenn.org, www.dandelion-wishes.org

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.  If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.  If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to vendor and purchase your own copy.  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1               Hell in the Basement

Chapter 2              Surprise, Surprise, Spiritual Eyes

Chapter 3              Creation of Saquerel

Chapter 4              Saquerel’s Call and The Shining One's Fall

Chapter 5              The Battle for Scott Begins

Chapter 6              Grandma's House

Chapter 7              Game Plan

Chapter 8              Hearing Father's voice

Chapter 9              Mrs. Honeycutt

Chapter 10              Burien Gardens

Chapter 11              Saquerel sees the real Scott

Chapter 12              Seeds of Addiction, Deliverance from Affliction

Chapter 13              Demons in Disneyland

Chapter 14              Scott's Early Years

Chapter 15              The Pike Place Market

Chapter 16              Another Bad Dad

Chapter 17              Junior High

Chapter 18              The Seesaw of High School

Chapter 19              The Rat Boys

Chapter 20              Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire

Chapter 21              Transitions, Gifts, and Open Visions

Chapter 22              Family Time in Texas

Chapter 23              Living in Center Court

Chapter 24              Faith Training Center Bible College

Chapter 25              Warrior Angel on the Sound Booth

Chapter 26              The Word vs. Experience

Chapter 27              Church Life

Chapter 28              Spiritual Connections

Chapter 29              Church Split

Chapter 30              Lisa or Leilani

Chapter 31              A New Adventure

Epilogue              Looking Ahead

Chapter 1 - Hell in the Basement

Kathy did not think twice about selling LSD to her fourteen-year-old coworker when they finished for the day because she was still high.  Scott bought two blue microdot stamps from Kathy for five dollars each, and the demonic spirit licked his chops, relishing the destruction of this potential thorn in the side of his master Satan.  The hate-filled spirit sent for backup and reinforcements to strategize for the kill. Scott felt the heaviness of their presence but ignored it. The stamps, smaller than postage stamps, featured a blue dot.  Kathy demonstrated to Scott how to place the dot under his tongue to get the poison in his blood stream, and then told him to wait about twenty minutes for the effect.

Scott could not wait to get home to tell his friend Stevie Lamboy about the acid.  Stevie, a serious pothead, lived with his sister and brother-in-law, growers and dealers of marijuana. They proudly featured a deluxe hydroponics system set up in one of the rooms of their house. On more than one occasion, Scott saw dozens of plants hanging upside down to dry so THC would flow into the leaves for a more potent product.

Stevie was different from most kids Scott knew, almost sinister. He was thin with sharp features and long rocker hair.  His Cheshire cat smile made you feel he knew something was about to happen that you did not.  It freaked people out to the degree they asked him what was up when they smoked out with him, but he kept smiling, unwilling to share.

Scott worked from six until six that day, similar to what he did every Saturday.  He earned five dollars an hour under the table or sixty dollars take home for one day’s work at Mike’s Produce in Seattle’s famous Pike Place Farmers Market.  It was good money for his age and that era and a big reason why he had easy access to drugs.  As Scott was leaving, he suddenly realized he had not eaten all day because he was so busy at work.  All part of the demonic setup; the demons distracted Scott from a meal in anticipation of getting him to Stevie’s house and completing his demise.  The dark spirits counted on the acid amplifying its effects on a tired eighty-five pound frame with an empty stomach.

Many adults took only half a stamp as a regular dose, especially if it was their first time, but Scott greedily took the whole stamp, which was equivalent to a double dose, if not triple. LSD was not akin to weed, in that it took a while for it to get into the blood stream.  Forty-five minutes after Scott had taken the acid, he was on his way to Stevie’s house.  Frustrated at not feeling the effects, Scott cursed Kathy for selling him faulty LSD.  Maybe he did not take it right or one of the stamps was a dud, like a bad firework, he thought.  The dark spirits timed everything perfectly, cuing him with directives he thought were his own thoughts. Right before the psilocybin kicked in, the demons constructed the thought in Scott’s mind. Maybe I should take the other acid stamp, since that one obviously didn’t work, Scott thought.

Saquerel, Scott’s guardian angel, fought a losing battle at that point, but knew it would get worse before it got better.  Scott did not listen to him or even his own conscience anymore, and tonight was a night of paramount, life-altering decisions.  As he approached Stevie’s house, Scott selfishly decided to take the other stamp rather than show the LSD to Stevie, who might want it. Within an hour’s time, Scott imbibed four times an adult dose of LSD and was minutes away from smoking several bowls of high-potency marijuana.

After all the dots connected, the spirit of death hovered even closer.  Another tragic overdose of an unsupervised teen seemed inevitable.  Saquerel could not keep the onslaught from occurring. Scott had invited the attack and the attackers.  The demons crowded around Scott in a spiritual lather, like chained junkyard dogs whose food was just out of reach.  The dark spirits did not hold back, knowing this boy who had the authority and potential to cast them out was about to die from a drug overdose, or if he was lucky, lose his mind becoming a vegetable, living in fear in some mental hospital.  Either way, he would never be a threat.

The resident and controlling spirits of rejection and anger had to find a new host, but at least they completed a higher calling in destroying a potential champion of the kingdom. Through manipulation and treachery, their end goal was to eliminate Scott's influence and expedite his judgment by means of his death.  The demons knew this resulted in greater judgment for them, but they were so far gone into evil and hatred, they were unable to change. A change of heart or mind was not an option for them, as they had neither.

Scott walked into Stevie’s basement bedroom accompanied by Saquerel. AC/DC, Judas Priest, Van Halen, and skateboard posters covered the walls.  Slapping high-fives, they lit up immediately.  Stevie turned on his black light, revealing hidden Satanic symbols only he knew about.  Scott never knew how much of Stevie’s cryptic references to the occult and macabre artwork were representative of his values or an image he portrayed.  Stevie knew plenty about hidden messages in the heavy metal music they listened to, and he relished sharing his knowledge about those messages, especially the dark, violent ones.

Stevie cranked up his Blaupunkt to level eight. The song “White Punks on Dope” came on and he said, “Hey, Scott, do you know what they are really saying?  It is code for ‘white power or death.’”  Stevie looked for a reaction to his statement to determine how much more to share.  Scott realized the LSD had kicked in when he actually saw the words pour out of Stevie’s mouth in a tangible, smoky substance.  The hallucinogenic effects of the acid were jump started by three tokes of potent Colombian pot, concentrated by the bong they used.

Scott felt the effects of the acid in a happy, elated kind of high at first and told Stevie the whole story.  Stevie reacted to it with impulses, the origins of which even he was not aware. Power and control offered in reward from the dark spirits for his quick response.  Stevie handed Scott a magic marker then approached a poster of a kid skateboarding down a steep hill. He wrote directly over the poster “sign your name here” with a space and blank line for Scott to fill in.  Stevie enjoyed his power trip, watching Scott react under the influence of this new drug experience. Stevie was under a demonic anointing, which felt quite natural to him.  He felt like something big was about to happen. He sensed the voracious appetite of evil in the room, ready to devour Scott, and that excited him.

As soon as Scott took the cap off the marker, traces of the ink flew all over the room as it spilled in a steady stream; at least, that is what Scott saw.  Stevie laughed as Scott tried to catch the ink and put it back inside the marker.  The whole room shrunk down in Scott’s mind, and a purple and black silhouette surrounded everything Scott looked at when the second stamp of LSD released into his bloodstream and attacked his sanity. Scott approached the poster, and under the hypnotic command of his demonized friend, he signed his name.  The skateboarder on the poster came alive and skated down the hill, freaking Scott out.  Stevie, with a fiendish grin, rushed over and tore the poster off the wall, rolled it up into a tube, and shoved it under his bed, all under a dark leading meant to induce fear and paranoia in Scott.

Scott’s mind entered a deep place of fear that it had never gone, questioning the symbolic actions of what just occurred.  Did he sign his life or soul away?  What did the skateboarder poster mean?  Why did Stevie roll it up and tuck it away?  Colors flew at him from every angle. The notes of the music coming out of the stereo were visible, and the amplified sound, along with Stevie’s laughter, grew more and more evil as the full dosage of LSD and marijuana dragged Scott in a downward spiral.  The growing presence of evil was so strong in the room that Scott saw manifestations of purplish hate and death with teeth and eyes. Scott experienced a depth of fear and terror that only occurred when a human being loses control of their mind. Few people experience it, and fewer ever recovered. Drugs were the vehicle Scott drove through to the thin place where the Spiritual realm overlapped the natural one, existing simultaneously. Saquerel wanted Scott to come to this place, just not this way. Scott could no longer pretend the spiritual realm he knew as a little boy was not real.

Looking forward to Scott’s death by overdose, the demons let go of all restraint and revealed themselves for one reason: they wanted Scott to experience fear, pain, torture, and misery as they would someday.  The dark spirits went into attack mode but were still slightly reserved with Saquerel and three large angels standing behind Scott, each with what looked like books and tools in their hands. The angels moved between Scott and the demons, daring evil to pass.  Scott could not see them. Because fear fixed his attention, all he could see were the dark spirits. The room spun out of control, and dizziness made Scott collapse on the bed.

Infuriated, the demons lashed out at Saquerel. “He is ours!” They cried.  They claimed rights and privilege to Scott based on Scott’s continuous rejection of grace and the decisions that brought him to this place and time.  Saquerel knew this was where it all became clear as he played possum with the evil spirits based on his confidence in Scott’s identity and the Father’s will.

Heaven had already revealed to Saquerel the necessity of this pre-determined, specific battle.  Saquerel removed his covering and protection over Scott. The whole room, including Scott, who was fading, felt the shift.  Saquerel knew human beings were virtually oblivious to the constant care and protection the messengers and the Spirit Himself gave them until the Spirit removed that protection, revealing their true existence without Him. The multiple dark spirits increased their frenzy when Saquerel and the other messengers apparently conceded without a fight.  The dark forces forced the little remaining light from the room, and even though Saquerel knew, it was for Scott’s ultimate good, his angel’s heart wrenched to leave Scott subject to the pain of total darkness.

Immediately, the cursed demons dragged Scott down to the depths of somewhere he could not identify and left him. In the earthly realm, in Stevie’s room, Scott appeared to pass out while Stevie frantically shook him.  Scott did not pass out; in fact, he was completely aware of ultimate reality for the first time in his life.  His spirit left his body, and technically, as far as human bodies were concerned, he was dead.  His spirit, now without the confines of the drugged-out body and mind, was acutely aware of what had taken place. Scott was in a smothering darkness so completely devoid of light, like a black hole in space, it sucked the life and light out of him.  Unshakeable panic radiated throughout whatever sense of consciousness remained. “I am in hell or waiting for hell,” he said to himself without speaking.  He was not sure what was happening, but he feared judgment. The immensity of the revelation and consequences of his life resulting in this present state created an excruciating sorrow and disorienting shock that reverberated in whatever was left of him. A feeling exponentially beyond grief assailed him.  All Scott knew was that there was no sensation of his body anymore.  His consciousness intact, waves of overwhelming dread and horror slammed him like relentless ocean waves that pounded the shore.  Saquerel could not be there with him but waited like an expectant father in a maternity ward for a rebirth. Although Scott was not aware of it, having been brainwashed by religious dogma and a warped image of the Father, Saquerel knew the judgment Scott was enduring was only temporary and not eternal. It was a self-imposed judgment that Father would use for Scott's redemption. All of Father’s judgments were redemptive.

When the horrible realization became clearer, Scott somehow made a declaration without speaking through his human mouth. Maybe his thoughts spoke in that place. In any case, he heard his own statement when he said, “I am dead, and my life is over. “Distraction did not exist in this place; it was Scott staring into the immensity of timelessness.  The enormity of the realization instantly gave him a true, however partial, revelation of God and himself.  Scott experientially and intrinsically understood the created world and the spirit world, at least this part of it. Scott knew the truth of the Father’s mercy and longsuffering for the world in general as well as his own rejection of him and disobedience in particular. Why didn’t he see it before? It was now so obvious and confronting.  Scott had pushed God away so hard that his presence left him, including the angel Saquerel that God assigned to him.

Scott realized it all too late; his hell was a lonely, isolated solitude in existence without God or any of His blessing and protection. Scott’s existence in that state was accompanied by a constant experience and awareness of separation from all things living; he never realized how important that connection was.  He was not sure how long he was there, since he was experiencing a timeless place. It seemed like a lifetime.  Scott knew that even though God’s presence was not there or accessible by him, God knew all things and was aware of his existence even in that place.  Without a human voice, Scott deeply and truly cried out for mercy and another chance to live his life differently, and that was all Saquerel needed.  The Father gave the cue for Saquerel to save Scott from death, physical and Spiritual, which in reality were inseparable.

No reply to his cry or instructions on how to proceed with a new chance at life came from heaven for Scott. The experience was all Scott needed, and it seared into his mind and heart as the source for his motivations for years. The experience led him and instructed him until he could respond in love instead of fear. Like Superman flying at supersonic speed, Saquerel pulled Scott out of the dimension he was in, back into the basement bedroom of the demonized friend. Scott felt like he was coming out of a deep, dark cave in an elevator traveling a hundred miles an hour.  The demonic horde camped out in Stevie’s room were celebrating until they were shocked and offended at this sudden burst of life in Scott and what they were sure was a vanquished enemy.  They could do nothing about the statement of justice and grace that God made.  Saquerel flexed his spiritual muscles, and in an act of devotion towards Scott and the Father, ripped the demons away. The dark spirits pushed too hard to destroy this boy, and because of that, God awarded and Saquerel distributed extra grace and a second chance at life for Scott. Scott had to experience the depths of his rebellion before understanding God's grace and learning to walk in it. Saquerel, in his wisdom and experience, let the demons push Scott to the bottom so that he could lift him up, exalting God and revealing identity and destiny to Scott.  Saquerel was highly skilled and an excellent guardian angel.

Chapter 2 - Surprise, Surprise, Spiritual Eyes

When Scott’s spirit and body were reunited, Stevie was still frantically shaking him and nearly in tears, fearing his friend had overdosed in his room.  Saquerel and his three bodyguard angels encircled Scott, pushed back the hordes, and got him out of there.  “I got to go man,” was all Scott said as he bolted past Stevie to get to his ten-speed bike. The acid trip was far from over, and the demons, cheated out of Scott’s death, were committed to salvaging as much damage as they could inflict.  Scott, back in the drug-addled body and mind, experienced hallucinations and paranoia at their zenith.  One thing was different, though, and remained different for the rest of his life.  Scott perceived and experienced the spiritual realm overlapping the natural realm more acutely and continuously than most people realized possible.  A residual effect of the basement bedroom experience was that once Scott had accessed the spiritual realm, it could not be un-accessed.  The angel Gabriel explained this strategy to Saquerel ahead of time as the reason why Scott’s destiny allowed him to go through what he did.

The dark spirits never relented; it was not in their nature.  If they did not kill Scott one way, they would destroy him in another. Humans were not a game to them, but the ultimate prize in the cosmic contest. Evil spirits were set on destruction all times, always in a curse of restlessness until their time came and they entered the abyss prepared for them. Their best opportunity was before Scott made it home.  Scott could regroup later when he was out from under the effects of the drugs, so they had to get him while still under the hallucinogenic haze. There was accountability for this failed attempt, and the demon in charge did not want to face his superior as a failure; even though he blamed the others, there was no grace or understanding. In this failed attempt, the demons revealed so much strategy to Scott that he became a higher risk and threat; they would have to move his case up a level.  Different levels, different devils.

Scott felt the heat of hate closing in on him as he fled. He also knew that Saquerel was with him.  The demons attacking his mind tried to convince him he was still in the bedroom and dead, that it was only his mind or soul that existed.  Scott understood more than ever; his mind was the battleground, and he cried aloud for God to guide him home.  Hallucinations created an obstacle course that could cause him to step out in front of a car and kill himself.  Nothing had changed in the spiritual realm, except that Scott was aware of it and that Saquerel led him home. He did not know how much of what he experienced was the drugs and how much was spiritual awareness.  What he thought was confusion was actually clarity. Saquerel took advantage of Scott's clarity to reveal the importance of Scott's role in the battle of good and evil (that good had already won). Saquerel knew Scott was never going to be the same; that he would see him through months and even years of healing, overcoming fear, and repercussions as he grew in the revelation of his identity.  What Scott didn’t know, but the demons chasing him did, was his new spiritual sensitivity would liberate multitudes of people in the years to come. As always, the Father turned Satan’s attacks and intentions for evil into blessing, both for Scott and those he encountered in contact with, in years to come.  From this point forward, Saquerel focused and refined Scott's spiritual eyes and ears, discernment with knowledge and understanding because of the basement bedroom experience.  For now though, he had to get Scott home.

The street signs spun, and the oncoming cars were alive with headlights for eyes and front grills of snarling mouths with jagged teeth that were going to eat Scott if he got too close. Scott’s bike sunk into the ground as he rode then popped up fifty feet in front of him.  He was almost afraid to pick it back up again, but he did as he kept telling himself, “Just get home; just get home.” Saquerel and his helpers yanked the evil suggestions out of Scott’s mind each time they clambered on like irritating flies, and the other angels reinforced Scott’s mind with enough ability to concentrate and make it home.

Scott’s mind raced with images, fear, and a new revelation of evil as well as grace.  In a moment of panic, Scott realized the horrible truth: evil focused on his destruction. Saquerel wished he could reveal to Scott that the Devil had already been defeated, but the time would come soon enough; Scott could not process it while being harassed. Scott digested the immensity of his reality as he paced back and forth in the empty house, random pictures of horror and fearful images of death flashing through his mind at record speed.  No one home yet, Scott could feel the evil closing in on him again, and death dragging at his feet.  Adrenaline and fear kept him awake for hours until sheer exhaustion took over.  The spiritual clawing at him was a real, physical sensation, so much so that he screamed “no!” many times.  “I will live and not die,” declared Scott, unknowingly quoting the powerful words of scripture that one of the three angels pushed through his temple to the spirit of his mind in the form of a scroll.  Every time the demons attacked, the angels countered.  The angels were specialists in this type of warfare; infusing truth, care and strength into Scott’s very spirit, enabling him to reject the fears.

The fear of death morphed into a paranoia of falling asleep. Eventually it came down to basic trust; if the God, who spared his life a few hours ago, wanted him to live, then he would live. Under Saquerel's inspiration, Scott found a Bible and turned to the book of Psalms. One of the psalms became as real to Scott as if he had written it.  Scott appropriated it that night, and it continuously gave him peace.  “I laid me down, I slept, and I awoke, for the Lord sustained me,” he said out loud, as if to tell the tormentors.

That night, Saquerel spoke to Scott more clearly than ever before because of the precedence set by the enemy. In the midst of the flashing images, Saquerel brought a peace to Scott’s mind long enough to share a vision of his future. It was more than just watching a movie reel in his mind.  Saquerel made Scott feel in his spirit how he felt in the vision. Scott was there in that place and time.  The peace and confidence bathed in joy going through his heart and mind in that different place and time of the vision was the polar opposite of how he currently felt. While pacing back and forth under oppression in his room in the here and now, somehow, that future was real and it was he.  In the vision, Scott stood on a stage in a third-world country, and he spoke passionately to a multitude of dark skinned and dark haired people that he could not make out. There was a shadow over the crowd, and he could not tell if they were Asian or Latino and the Spirit did that purposefully because Scott impacted more than one nation in his future destiny.  In the vision, he was a preacher or a teacher, sharing his experience, telling these people about the God he knew personally, and how good this God was.  This startled Scott, because he realized he did not believe this yet. He was afraid of God, but apparently, someday he would not be.

When Saquerel ended the vision, Scott spoke out loud and asked, “What does that mean?”  He did not hear words, but the answer spoke to his mind immediately.  It had a dual application, one of which was to let him know he was not going to die tonight, that God had protected him.  He would live long enough to see the vision happen.  The increased confidence overcame his paranoia enough for him to go to sleep.  The second application was that God chose Scott to speak for Him and to represent Him to groups of people that he did not know yet. Scott could not reconcile the fact that in the vision he knew God in such a way that he was full of joy, while currently he was in terrible fear of him.  Then the angel spoke the words into Scott’s ear so it was clear:  “You will make it through the night and the next day and the next.  You will declare the goodness of the God of the universe to a people prepared for you from the foundations of the heavens and earth.”  Scott almost chuckled in disbelief, but he did not want to be disrespectful, especially after the events of the night.  Why would God choose him, considering what happened?  He thought he was going crazy, that he had blown a gasket.

Scott could not see Saquerel, but he could sense his presence and heard Saquerel’s words in his spirit somehow louder than if Saquerel spoke in his ears.  Knowing he had a future and destiny melted the fear a few degrees, even though it still seemed bizarre that God wanted anything to do with Scott serving him in any capacity, and honestly, Scott was not interested in the slightest.  On the most painful and confusing night of his life, Scott received a vision of the Father’s calling on his life; that is usually the way it works.  He did not realize the fullness of it, or even that it was a call, and almost dismissed it as his own imagination.  In the recesses of his mind, however, he knew it was real.  Saquerel revived the vision a few times during the difficult transitional years following.

Even after the hellish night in the basement bedroom before his fifteenth birthday, Saquerel knew Scott would smoke pot again several days later.  The habit was so entrenched in him, and his severe pain needed a covering in the worst way. With the help of the demons who Scott was still faintly aware of, he rationalized that the LSD was the problem, and Scott still needed the weed to relax.  The blessing in disguise for Scott was the LSD remained in his system for several years along with the PCP-laced pot he smoked with Stevie that night, resulting in horrific flashbacks each time Scott smoked pot again.  Saquerel and heaven essentially and eventually eliminated the power of marijuana in Scott's life.  Saquerel's journey with Scott included many tears and fighting with the police, a trip to the hospital, and mandatory meetings with a counselor after two more flashback episodes, but eventually he was completely free of drugs.  Father had supernaturally protected Scott’s mind from the drugs, transforming it in an accelerated renewal process.

Chapter 3 - The Creation of Saquerel

It happened before time when the Lord, the most Ancient of Days, created angels. Saquerel was one of those angels, unique and magnificent, as were all angelic spirits.  Awareness and effulgence crowned in radiant splendor as Saquerel came into existence. Saquerel experienced an ever-increasing joy and surprise at his newfound life.  He was like a newborn baby, yet filled with an adult understanding of the awe and wonders this new existence held and to which he now belonged. Saquerel the spirit being was not, and then at a point in time, before time, he was.  He existed, and intuitively knew it would be forever.  He knew by more than knowledge or feeling.  His destiny and intrinsic nature glaring in that realm was in no way obscured or ever could be.  Saquerel’s innate understanding was that he would always love, serve, and declare the praise of the Almighty eternal Spirit who created him and others like him, fortifying his angelic resolve. The Father perpetually created life, breathtaking in its beauty.  The utter magnificence and bliss of Saquerel’s existence naturally resulted in worship. The continuous flow of revelation and understanding overcame Saquerel.  It felt like a pulsating joy, a heartbeat, permeating his entire being. At first he was unsure of his surrounding environment; he could however, sense the presence of the Father, the perfect Father.

In fact, Father created Saquerel out of that same Spirit of the Father.  He had a likeness to the Father of Spirits and a luminance that Saquerel would proudly mirror and reflect so all other creatures he influenced would know the Father’s glory revealed in Saquerel.

At the moment of his self-awareness, Saquerel was simultaneously aware of a profusion of other spirit beings, later called angels or messengers.  No need for introduction; he knew them already in the same manner that they knew him. Their natures, gifting, and functions were clear, even transparent.

There was no competition, jealousy, and envy among them; the only thing close to a sought after status was proximity to the source of life.  That Source, the eternal Spirit, meted out authority and power based on need for specific missions and functions, and there were many missions.  The missions themselves only engendered more awe of the Father upon completion, adding layers of luster to the brilliance of the Creator.  Saquerel eagerly did the Father’s will, experiencing more of Father’s essence via his relationship with the other messengers. Saquerel never hurried to return from the adventures either, since the Father allowed the spirits to take His presence with them wherever they went.

The nature of the Father was creative. Saquerel continuously discovered and uncovered a new facet of creation, resulting in a new manifestation of the Spirit’s goodness.  Blissful jolts overwhelmed Saquerel many times during the course of his countless adventures. His tasks varied, but always boiled down to revealing the goodness of God in some way, shape, or form. Most of the time, Saquerel moved in response to the Holy Spirit’s desire to assist or reveal Himself to one of His other created beings and shape their destiny.  Sometimes, these beings had an awareness of Saquerel, but most of the time they did not. On occasion, Saquerel revealed himself to creation, open to know the truth in a way that they could perceive strength, love, and the heart of the Father.  Saquerel lived in gratefulness for his creation and the extent of his participation in Father’s plans.  Even though Saquerel went to a different location, dimension, or even time, he never left the presence of God.

Saquerel assimilated Father’s polarization of his holiness and overwhelming love and desire for oneness with the creation, and worship resulted.  Saquerel never questioned the means or the methods of his assignment because of his abiding trust and confidence in the Father of spirits.  He saw countless times how his service ended up working out in the expansive tapestry of inter-connected relationships, and he worshipped in awe of the wisdom.

Saquerel’s basic nature was luminosity.  His predominant manifestation was a purity of brilliance that at the same time was attracting and overwhelming. Based on the nature of his assignments however, he could change shape and form to accommodate an understanding in the subject he was serving.  He was never able to maintain that other form for longer than was necessary to fulfill the task, and he never wanted to.  Completeness and satisfaction defined Saquerel; even ecstasy was not an overstatement.

His name explained his function and motivation like most created things.  Saquerel, meaning to “lift up” or to “take out,” as in lifting a fallen or trapped creature, perfectly described him.  Every time he was able to do that, he radiated brighter, his joy became fuller, his calling and destiny re-enforced. What he did was who he was.

Many times, Saquerel participated in a team or platoon of spirits with detailed information and specific time lines. Other times, his missions came with no instructions at all except to bring the presence of the universal kingdom and the freedom, peace, joy, revelation, wonder, and awe that defined it to a locale or assembly of beings. He found it strange to operate in both eternity and time, much like trying to translate a living, spoken language into a written note, or going from four dimensions to one.  He experienced the drabness and dullness of the other realms, sucking the life from him while trying to communicate the light, color, and life of the Spirit’s presence.  Like going from surround sound IMAX theatre to a black and white Charley Chaplin film, the difference was pronounced.  Even the most colorful fish in the clearest tropical sea or the most majestic snow-covered mountain was nothing compared to its spiritual counterparts in his own realm, and everything created had its spiritual counterpart and inevitably highlighted the glory of Father.

Saquerel and the other angels communicated in a way that revealed or relayed total transparency.  A reason did not exist for not being open and transparent.  Visually, intercommunication included a panorama with thousands of colors distributed back and forth.  Audibly, intercommunication revealed the most powerful thunder and most tender musical note and everything in between.  They shared deepest intentions and emotions like humans would share a pen.

Of course, Saquerel did not receive instructions directly from the source of life.  The brightness, power, holiness, and immensity of the Father’s light would overwhelm him, causing him to disintegrate upon approach, much like a helpless asteroid swallowed by the sun of a solar system. There were a limited few, extremely powerful spirit beings allowed to stand in the presence of the Father of spirits and they were protective coverings for the myriads of other angels.

The whole universe knew Michael was the chief Spirit, subordinate only to the Holy Spirit.  He alone was the captain of the Lord’s angel armies and esteemed as high as a created being could be.  No one questioned Michael’s authority and power as spokesperson for the Father. Saquerel, barely able to behold Michael’s glory, did not dare directly approach the Father of lights. The most supreme example of regal, confident, passionate, loyal, and brave defined Michael, and he reflected the Father’s protective, loving heart of justice in a way that no other angel could.  Whenever the captain went on assignment personally, Saquerel knew it was important.  There were even a few occasions when Saquerel and all other messengers knew that the Father Himself localized His presence in messenger form to personally tend to one of His creation, and Saquerel could only imagine what wonders the Father had planned.

Other great spirits lived before the throne of God also.  They reflected the Father in unique ways, responsible for other angels made in their likeness.  The wisdom and revelation of Gabriel astounded all the spirits, and yet who he was, was simply a created aspect of the eternal Spirit.  Gabriel revealed the mysterious intentions and heart of the Father and the strategies to achieve them.  His passion and consumption existed for Father’s will.  The whole universe lay on His planning table, and he made all the connections and interconnections.  Gabriel and Michael worked closely together.

If beauty had a spokesperson, it was Lucifer.  Every possible form of worshipping the Creator from every angle and every creature was his modus operandi and his expertise.  He cultivated worship out of the spirits and creation continuously and took worship to levels that no doubt pleased the heart of the Father immensely.  Lucifer extolled the greatness, majesty, and beauty of God and elicited that praise out of all creation.  Lucifer’s influence on all other creation was extensive and immeasurable at least by Saquerel.  Saquerel found it difficult to not fall and worship Lucifer himself, and yet he knew Lucifer contained and revealed less than a fraction of Father’s glory.  The unholy desire for more of that glory was Lucifer’s downfall.

The Father’s glory of unfolding self-revelation built the foundation of the universe and everything that existed.  Glory revealed itself in energy, substance, ability, joy, art, food, water, thought, and life.  All of creation came into being as the result of God expressing Himself and His glory.  The Father’s unsearchable glory revealed itself in new facets continuously, sequentially, and exponentially for eternity, never scratching the surface of the depth of his person.

Every revelation of the Father’s will and spoken creative word revealed glory. Everything created by His word had its own unique display of its ultimate value because of that same glory. From the smallest quark of an atom to the largest galaxy and all things in between, glory revealed itself.

Light continually revealing, fire continuously consuming, and love eternally giving the glory of God. Saquerel understood that glory was his basis for understanding and his relationship with the Father.  Like all other spirits, even a drop of glory overwhelmed Saquerel, but he always wanted more. The Father’s glory was not static or future, but for Saquerel, a continuous, marvelous, intoxicating present reality perceived and experienced in an ongoing encounter of the Father unveiling himself.  The angels were obviously more aware of Father’s glory than a planet or star (though they knew God’s glory too,) and out of all the angels, Lucifer, more aware than the rest, chose not to comprehend why Father created weak human containers able to hold more glory than he did.

From the inception of the creation of spirit beings, there was a unique unit of measure called time.  Time could not measure the Father of spirits, and the spirit beings were not able to grasp the depth of it, but they knew, at least Saquerel did, that events were sequential for all created spirits, even though sometimes the sequences were forward, backward, sideways, and non-linear. Father remained outside of that measure and any other attempt at measuring.

Saquerel had an inherent understanding of interrelationship within the essence of the Great Spirit that occurred outside of time, and it was between him and certain other of his creations. Saquerel did not look deeply into the mystery.  He had deep, abiding trust and comfort that the Father revealed and kept hidden certain knowledge.  One thing Saquerel did know and Father wanted him to know was that there was a desire in the Father to share his divine nature with His creation in union and relationship.  Even so, Saquerel had no sense of jealousy or desire to be anything different from what he was.  His existence was continual bliss and pleasure, divinely ordered, and functioning.  With experience and increased understanding of the glory, he learned more about the criteria for humanity’s mystical union with Father and sharing of the divine nature.  He never completely understood it all, but some of the answers revealed themselves when Saquerel transported creation from one stage of existence into a transformed other stage.  He escorted them into the presence of the Father or into the void where there was no light, but separation lasted for as long as Father purposed to accomplish his will for them.  Saquerel had no grid for that separation until eons later, when the Father Spirit created humanity, and the Great Separation of spirit beings took place in the eternal realm because of it.

Chapter 4 - Saquerel’s Call and the Shining One’s Fall.

Michael the captain summoned Saquerel. What an honor!  The afterglow of the Father’s Spirit emanated from within and outside of Michael, who had come from the Father’s presence, so much so that Saquerel felt as if he was having an encounter with the Father.  Lost in bliss and experiential glory, he almost missed the communication, but there it was again.  Pleasantly shocked by the communication, he did not respond.  Michael said with love, power, color, music, authority, destiny, and other ways that Saquerel could hear, “I want to assign you as a guardian angel.”

Of course, he accepted!  In a very profound way, this assignment provided the opportunity to deepen Saquerel’s own relationship with the Father Spirit.  His missions did not consist of coming down and swooping in for a singular event anymore, but he was now entrusted to care for one of Father’s own creations from the inception of its life until promotion to His presence.

There was no long-distance journey from the presence of God to Saquerel’s human assignment.  In fact, the elimination of the separation between heaven and earth accomplished by the Son created a tissue-thin passageway.  Saquerel entered seamlessly through to any realm of the universe or time his mission sent him.

The Father of spirits Himself reversed the curse that the liar brought on the human race with the spilling of his Son’s innocent blood, fulfilling all justice and eliminating every barrier into his presence and relationship. A man, THE man, accomplished and revealed the revelation of his glory and power in the fullness of time.  The highest revelation of His glory revealed in one of His own creation created a path back to Eden (pleasure and joy) and above all, relationship. What a day of celebration that was, watching the birth of the only Man who could contain all the fullness of the Father’s essence in bodily form. Father became one in relationship with His Son and joined with all human creation as their Father through the Son.  It seemed impossible, but there He was, the Man unmistakably one with Father’s Spirit and the clearest most glorious image that ever would be of the invisible God.  The Father gave the Son a name no one could know because of its glory, except for the Father.  Even the shadow of the name Yeshua on Earth held all power and authority. Saquerel marveled, watching this Man of flesh and blood expose and disarm all spiritual powers on every level, as well as take His position on the throne next to his Father.

Saquerel and countless other spirits then partially realized that the Father’s plan all along was union with this particular creation by demonstrating who He was through the human mode of experiencing His love through that expression of life.  It was an amalgamation and fusion of eternal divine Spirit and humanity, which angels never understood and humans tried to understand with their created minds instead of their spirits.  Humanity explained God to each other in theology without experiencing oneness with Him. All the angels, including Saquerel, were baffled by that, but knew the adversary was behind such deception, blinding human eyes to the connection that was available.

With the revealing of the Son to humanity, Saquerel could at least partially begin to understand why Lucifer rebelled.  The Liar was privy to Father’s plan that the height of Father’s glory revealed itself in the life of a Man made of flesh and blood.  His essence shared with His Son and, through His Holy Spirit in that same exact glory, shared with all humanity. The liar could not help but feel demoted.  This new expression of intimacy, glory, and pleasure eclipsed anything a spirit being could ever know. Lucifer, possibly the only being in the entire universe who understood what it meant for the Father to share His glory, went insane.  That is the only way to describe an action that makes no sense in any capacity.  Lucifer’s understanding of the depths of the Spirit’s glory, its life, and virtue through his access to all creation in the universe, became outdated. The Father made it clear that He would never share His glory with another, but then in Lucifer’s understanding, God did share His glory because of His oneness with humanity.

In the instant the foreshadowed preeminence of humanity stung Lucifer’s pride and the magnitude and extent of humanity’s oneness with the God essence clearly revealed a sharing of glory Lucifer could never experience, Lucifer lost his light.  He lost his light and became the dark one. Feeling pushed down, he exalted himself. He deceived himself with his own beauty. He could not fathom serving this creation, but instead, demanded worship from them.  He gave up his right to be in Father’s presence with just the thought, and on his way out of that presence, he summoned as many of the other messengers as possible and deceived many of them into sharing his fate; separation from the Father and for causing humanity’s pain.  Saquerel could not imagine it and hoped they were redeemable.

There was no redemption for Satan the adversary, the Liar, and none for those who followed him out of the presence of God. How could there be when faced with ultimate goodness, glory, and the presence of God Himself, then denying the experience they had been given?  Satan set his course and somehow or another, Saquerel knew Father planned to use it for good. There was a reason why Father allowed Satan and his minions to exist in their rebellion with access to His creation and not banished to their judgment immediately.  Instead, they sunk like rocks in a pond to a lower cosmic level of existence outside of God’s presence and blessing but still in a spiritual realm that was discernible by a minority of humans throughout history.

The great separation marked a turning point in Saquerel’s existence. There was now an enemy and casualties; this was war. The most clever liar and creator of all lies deceived and tricked large segments of humanity into worshiping him. Large segments of humanity also trusted in the Father despite all of the confusion and temptations and warping of his image; the enemy assigning his own actions and will to God in order to inflict pain on Father’s creation. Saquerel saw the Father’s wisdom in allowing the adversary and his dark angels to exist outside of His presence.  It provided a means for humanity to exercise the dominion and authority the Father had given them over Satan and increased humanity’s reliance and trust in the Father.  As always, the Father was multiple chess moves ahead, and he worked all things together for the ultimate good. The enemy’s action never limited the Spirit in executing justice and righteousness, since God was the one who determined what justice and righteousness was.

Saquerel did not concern himself with the adversary or his cohorts too much.  He received the strength, revelation, and tools to defeat them from the Father’s unlimited supply when battle was inescapable.  The precarious variable he could not calculate in accomplishing the Father’s will concerned the prayers of the sons of Adam.  The Father, in his wisdom, however, designed this pattern, and Saquerel trusted it. Some of the time, Saquerel acted on the strength of the prayers of those who knew and believed Father to accomplish His will.  Most of the time, Saquerel reacted based on providence and the sovereignty of Father.

Chapter 5 - The Battle for Scott Begins

At the precise moment the captain handed Saquerel the scroll of the child’s destiny, he became one with the glorious assignment. Saquerel’s compulsion was to give guidance and protection to Scott, to serve him and reveal the Father throughout his life.  Saquerel’s strength, faithfulness, and loyalty magnified until he felt he would explode as the destiny scroll in his hand transferred the Father’s unique love for Scott. Saquerel felt invincible.

Saquerel entered time, July 1964 to be exact, and rested down in a northwest city in the state of Washington called Kirkland. His assignment did not begin when Scott was born, but while Scott’s fifteen-year-old mother, Charlene, was pregnant with him.  She had missed her second period in a row and realized the magnitude of her impending life change.  She offered up a few halfhearted prayers in her Lutheran understanding of God, not expecting any answers, but Saquerel was one of the answers.  Saquerel interfaced with Charlene’s guardian angel, Volel, and they joined forces, mutually confirming the next step.  The immediate destination was Grandma Stallman’s house, the matriarch of the family.  Gertrude Elizabeth Stallman was the influence that tipped the scales so Scott lived instead facing abortion.  Gertrude’s word was always final in the family, trumping even Charlene’s own mother, Esther, who was Gertrude’s daughter.

The adversary stepped up his campaign of death in that generation with his dark understanding of times and seasons. In his own sick, twisted insanity, he frantically tried to eliminate the future kingdom warriors that generation was destined to become, and in addition, prevent his own coming demise.  He failed in the time of Pharaoh’s massacre aimed at eradicating God’s people through infanticide and abortion, and even though he was sure to fail again, he took consolation in the many destinies unfulfilled, at least on earth. Saquerel’s first order of duty, to make sure Scott lived.  He knew those who professed to love Charlene would suggest ending the life inside of her in order to preserve her own.

Saquerel was thankful for the girl’s angel Volel and the prayers of her family. He had a strong confidence in Scott’s safety.  Nevertheless, the Liar was tricky, and Saquerel saw many human destinies cut short by death through abortion. Saquerel knew that even though the aborted lives were a tragedy that defied explanation, the Father was not limited to what humanity understood as life.  The Father’s justice provided for each aborted baby to become a fully formed, complete spiritual being.  In His presence, they existed as though they lived a full life and reached their potential on the earth. They would reign with the Son when he summed up all things in heaven and Earth and presented them to the Father. The Father’s omniscience included all the “what ifs” and gave each little life the benefit of the doubt.  Saquerel smiled and thought to himself, “Many sons and daughters of Adam will be pleasantly surprised when they enter the next phase of their existence, reuniting with daughters and sons they never had a chance to know due to abortion, but they will know them completely in the next age and eternity.”

Charlene stepped onto the bus; the smell was like rotten eggs but worse.  It was the tangible smell of death, similar to when Charlene found the corpse of a decaying animal rotting for a few days.  As soon as she stepped onto the Metro bus from Kirkland to Bothell where Grandma and Grandpa Stallman lived, a stench assaulted all of her senses, yanking her mind and senses away from her plans to spend the weekend with her grandparents to her current predicament.

For a moment, she hesitated, but before she could step off the bus, the door closed behind her.  The bus quickly accelerated, forcing her to grab a handrail to keep from falling.  Since she resolved in her mind that it was too late to get off, she sat down in the middle of the bus, accepting the fact that she would have to endure the thirty minutes of offensive, rancid odor.  Still, she could not help but wonder where the foul waft originated.  She gazed around to find the source.  Only three other people and the driver sat quietly on the bus.  All of them seemed oblivious to the smell except her.

The first couple Charlene passed on her way to the middle of the bus was an Asian man and woman.  She guessed them Koreans in their mid-twenties. She wondered if maybe they had eaten some of that horrid kimchee and the odor was coming out of their pores, but no, that was not it; the smell was much stronger.  There did not appear to be anything originating from the couple, and the smell did not bother either of them. The couple focused attention on each other as they gazed lovingly at each other and spoke calmly.

As she glanced toward the back of the bus, she noticed a slouched over longhaired man. Their eyes caught each other in a stare, and Charlene quickly looked away.  The Korean couple pulled the cord to get off at the next stop, and the man from the back of the bus stood up at the same time.  Charlene assumed he was getting off too, but was surprised and became uneasy when he sat down directly across from her.

It became clear that the fetid odor was from him.  She tried casually to cover her nose and mouth to keep from gagging, but waves of nausea continued to sweep over her. She could not understand why the others in the bus had been immune to it.  She wondered if it was because she was more sensitive to smells now that she was pregnant.  She had very little spiritual discernment at that time in her life, but even then, she began to wonder if the smell was not natural, maybe even a supernatural thing.  It was hard to tell since he looked like he had not showered in a few days, maybe even longer.

The man was large, at least two hundred and fifty pounds on a six-foot plus frame that would have been taller if not for the slouching back and shoulders.  Dirty rubber bands held his hair together, and his face had about three days’ worth of stubble that hid the unwashed filth.

Besides his calloused hands black with grime, the thing that stood out to Charlene was the slits that formed his eyes.  He could barely keep them open, obviously stoned or drunk, but still the eyes penetrated her with his gaze. A hint of a smile gleamed in his eyes, but it seemed creepy to Charlene, not happy.  The next thing she noticed was his massive army boots and government-issued military jacket with the name “Miller”-- his name or someone else’s - embroidered on it. The stained khaki-colored jacket opened to reveal a soiled tank top underneath, and the jacket had oversized inner pockets, one of which guarded a bottle of cheap booze that peeked out toward Charlene.

Charlene started to get scared, even terrified after the creepy man moved directly opposite of her like a jaguar and she the prey.  Charlene’s mind raced as she considered he contemplated perversions unimaginable on the young pregnant girl.

Charlene could not see the evil spirits behind the actions of the man even though she perceived something.  He had opened himself up to and repeatedly welcomed these spirits in his life out of hurt, anger, and rejection, most of which he experienced upon return from the Korean War.  The demons of murder, fear, rape, and violence that tormented this man kept him at their beck and call for such a time as this through the medicating effects of the drugs and alcohol he’d become addicted to in an attempt to escape his pain.  Charlene’s angel heightened her spiritual sensitivity to their foulness via her senses, especially smell, so she would call or pray for backup, and she had.  The hairs on her neck and scalp stood on end as the dark presence of the evil spirits writhed over her like spiritual snakes in a triumphant, relishing, pre-celebration of the trophy they were about to take down.

The battle for Scott had begun!  Charlene looked away from the man and toward the big mirror of the bus driver in hopes that he was watching and would do something.  She began to pray silently the only prayer she could remember from the Apostle Paul Lutheran Church catechism.  “Our Father, who art in heaven… thy kingdom come,” she said, and that was all Volel needed to respond.

She hoped the evil man would leave her alone in between her prayers but knew better. His intentions were evil, and she sensed his plans to harm her forming in his sick mind.  The evil spirits behind his actions and ruling his life on orders from higher up screamed at him to not only terrorize but also harm the girl.  They planted pictures and suggestions in Miller’s mind of having his way with her and then stabbing her in the stomach repeatedly until she was dead.  The evil spirits knew, but Miller did not, that there was another life in her, and they commanded him to take it before anyone else knew about it or could protect her.

The enemy knew about and feared the extra angelic reinforcements all daughters of Eve who share in the life-giving process received, so the demons and Miller had to move fast. Earthly explanations include the maternal glow, but even the most spiritually dense person knew that pregnant women had an extra portion of peace and joy that manifested in a mystical glow. This was Charlene’s and every woman’s blessing from the Father for sharing in the process of bringing forth life and destiny.

Charlene projected three more stops before hers, about fifteen minutes and the terror began to grow as she played the tape forward in her mind.  He would follow her off the bus and rape and kill her.  Should she stay on? Should she talk to the bus driver?  Just then, in the middle of her panic, the bus stopped to pick up another passenger.  She hoped the new passenger was a police officer, but he was not.  He was a physical manifestation of her angel in human form, and what she could not see were the other warrior angels who entered with him.

Volel took the form of a tall, strong doctor dressed out in light green surgical scrubs.  His muscles rippled as he walked slowly past Charlene. They were a natural representation of his spiritual strength and authority. His hair and face were perfect, reminding Charlene of Clark Kent, but something was different about his eyes; they were super bright.  The foul smell suddenly vanished, overshadowed by a floral scent, but she could not distinguish the flower.  She burst into tears of relief and thankfulness as the young strong doctor who generated a glow, sat right next to her.

Saquerel had been there the whole time as well, but stayed invisible to Charlene. This was not his battle to lead, but he assisted.  Nothing would separate him from his charge of staying with and protecting the unborn infant.  The demonic spirits controlling Miller knew he was there, but the presence of the one guardian spirit threatened them very little until Volel sat across from them with his posse. The Father of spirits in his infinite wisdom and sense of justice and irony determined the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve who relied on him and accepted his gift of grace offered through the agency of his Son and Spirit would have access to his resources, including his angel armies.  This included humanity’s authority over all the dark spirits through him and the host of spirits he commanded.

The filthy spirits energizing Miller felt the atmospheric change immediately and regretfully realized the girl had prayed for reinforcements.  They were furious that they were not able to act out their natures of rape, murder, violence, and perversion.  They wanted to try anyway, but the swarms of warrior spirits that surrounded the young doctor bound the demonic powers with a strength and authority the evil spirits could not resist.  They had underestimated the importance of the target and her timing and prayer support.  The warrior spirits also imparted some of their essence and kingdom life to Charlene.  Strength and peace went into her like a spiritual IV drip.

Saquerel realized there were so many things happening in the unseen eternal spiritual realm that affected and changed the lives and destinies of people and nations in that twenty-minute time span, and he could not help but worship.  All Charlene could see in the natural world, however, was the creepy man scowling in disgust and frustration as the doctor’s steel gaze penetrated him with the truth and the force of his intentions to protect this girl at all costs.

Neither man uttered a word, but Charlene knew she was safe.  The special feeling she had was the first time she genuinely experienced the care and heart of God in a tangible encounter. She had no grid to measure it against but knew it was good.  The rising faith and joy in that understanding made her respond in gratefulness and thankfulness in her heart, which released even more angelic presence.  That was the final straw for Miller and the leeches attached to him. He got up and pulled the cord then scowled back at Volel as the rotten spirits who were bound to him made him exit the bus out of fear.

Volel had been waiting a long time for this opportunity to speak for the Father, to release destiny and direction, and before Charlene could say anything to him, he spoke to her with such gentleness, but at the same time supreme authority and confidence, that she could not help but absolutely believe him.  He said, “You are a young woman, but you are going to be a great mother.  There is no greater calling in life than to partner with God and bring forth another life and nurture that life with love.”

Charlene wondered how he knew she was pregnant, since she did not show yet.  Was it because he was a doctor that he could see something other people could not?  All she knew was that after he spoke those words that were more powerful than normal words, she did not feel so shameful and sinful anymore in regards to being a pregnant teenager.  God was somehow involved with her and the baby, and even though the pregnancy might not have happened under the right circumstances, God blessed the life within her.  This man’s prophetic words gave her permission and authority to be a great mother, and they empowered her to fulfill that call.

Charlene’s stop was the next one, and before she could pull the cord, Volel did.  Saquerel watched as they got up at the same time, and Volel allowed her to go in front of him down the steps to the well of the front door exit of the bus.  She could see the porch light on at her Grandma’s three-story house only half a block up from the bus stop.  Charlene wondered where the doctor was going since there were no hospitals nearby.  Maybe he was getting off work and going home, which meant he lived nearby. She hoped so.  As she exited the bus, Volel said from behind her, “Charlene, we are all proud of you and will expect great things from you and Scott.” As she turned around to ask him what he meant by that, the bus doors closed behind her.  He was gone!

“That’s impossible,” Charlene said in a mild panic.  She heard his voice behind her when they stepped out of the bus.  She checked the bus that was driving away and did not see him, then quickly scanned to her right and left where streetlights illuminated the sidewalks.  He had simply vanished.

Charlene did not realize it, but he was still right behind her and would be for the rest of her life.  She was more aware of him in later years, but would never see him again with her natural eyes.  Charlene froze on the sidewalk under the streetlight like a mannequin for several minutes in a partial realization that something important and otherworldly had just happened. How did he know her name?  She backed up the tape of her memory and did not remember saying anything to him.  Then her skin turned to goose bumps when she realized the impact of his last words to her.  “We are all expecting great things from you and Scott….” It was only in the last forty-eight hours that Charlene let herself begin to compile a mental list of names for the baby and she did not tell a soul.  She considered Alicia, Michelle, or Kristina if it was a girl and Jeffrey, Michael, or Scott if it was a boy. She ran like a jackrabbit to Grandma’s house with a grin a mile wide.  Grandma Stallman was never going to believe this; on second thought, maybe she would.  Charlene did not even know if she believed this, even though it had happened to her. One thing she did believe, she was going to have this baby, and it was going to be a boy named Scott.

Chapter 6 - Grandma’s House

Grandma Stallman was the matriarch of her extended family, and everyone did what she said because she was always right.  All Grandma’s children and grandchildren came to her for advice and direction.  Gertrude Elizabeth Stallman leaked wisdom and joy. She had a surprising zest for life given her aging body.  Her stories of her younger days kept everyone spellbound. Her seventy-two-year-old husband, Mike Stallman, was slowing down considerably, so he relied heavily on Gertrude and did whatever his young, sixty-six-year-old bride said.  She honored him and took good care of him.  He was her second husband, and they had been married thirty-six years.  Charlene never knew the real reason why the first husband left because Grandma never talked about it.  Whenever Charlene asked her mom, Esther, about it, Esther always changed the subject.  Secrets and shame were involved, but Charlene was sure whatever had happened was not because of her Grandma and certainly not her fault.

Grandma Stallman’s 1920s gray three-story home sat at the top of a hill in the middle of Citrus Street.  Since she was a little girl, something about that house had always made Charlene feel good.  It had a solid and stable appearance that comforted her in ways her own home did not. Maybe she felt that way because Grandma’s home always had a fun and creative atmosphere. Charlene and Gertrude Stallman made crafts and painted in one of the rooms.  Baking pies and cakes together with her sisters was also a special treat.  The only thing Grandma Stallman forbade Charlene to do was to go inside the room with all the boxes.  Charlene was able to capture a glimpse of the secret room next to the bathroom when the door was cracked open one day instead of padlocked. Charlene peered through the crack and noticed the room stacked to the ceiling with boxes full of papers and knickknacks. No one could enter the locked room, and no one gave an explanation why, it drove the grandkids crazy.  Nothing of intrinsic value was inside, but all the papers, letters and knickknacks, reminded her of people and other things that summed up Gertrude’s life.  Frankly, she was unwilling to be vulnerable and explain any of it to anyone but liked to go into that room and spend time with her memories every so often.

Charlene ran up the stairs to the front door with her carry bag, her pigtails bouncing against her back with every leap up to the next stair.  The door opened before she could knock to Grandma’s wide smile and big hug.  Grandma’s hug always melted Charlene into a puddle.  Love embraced Charlene there.  Even though her home life was better than most of her friends, she still wished she could live with Grandma.

As was her custom, Grandma Stallman pinched both cheeks then kissed one side.  As soon as that ritual was over, Grandma rushed Charlene into the kitchen with stern instructions to sit there and eat food that Grandma had prepared in anticipation of Charlene’s arrival.  Charlene burst at the seams but knew by experience that it was useless to begin a conversation until she had eaten. Charlene guessed pork ribs and sauerkraut by the smell, but there was also a wonderful competing odor she was sure was Dutch apple pie.

Since Grandpa Mike was already asleep at 8:30 PM, Charlene waited to visit with him the next morning. After breakfast, Charlene listened to him tell stories about World War II and how proud he was to fight the Nazis as a German/American captain in the US army.  He would pontificate often on the blessed privilege of being an American.  Grandpa Mike’s excitement caused spit to fly in every direction, and sometimes his false teeth fell out.

For now though, it was just her and Grandma.  Charlene had never met anyone who smiled and laughed as much.  Charlene was sure that if Santa Claus were a woman, he would be like Grandma. Gertrude Stallman was a husky German woman who walked bent over because of all of the weight she carried in her bosom, coupled with all the years of bending over picking fruits and vegetables as a child. She still had some brown hair, but most of it was gray by now, bunned up like she used to do in the 1940s, but it still looked stylish on her.  Grandma had amazing stamina and energy for her age and always served her guests before she sat down to relax and eat. Her parents named her Gertrude after German royalty, and that intentional naming somehow infiltrated her identity and formed who she was.  Gertrude learned how to work hard at an early age.  She saw war and experienced lack and difficulty that none of her children or grandchildren would ever know, but never talked about it.  She was a glass half-full woman and always turned all her experiences into positive, amazing stories.

Gertrude mesmerized Charlene and her siblings by telling them about living in Montana and, as a beekeeper, how she could walk through clouds of swarming bees and never get stung. The children visualized the scenes and wished they could have been with her as she went door to door selling the fireweed honey she made on her family’s bee farm.  The way Grandma told the stories about giving samples to people and their reaction to the honey made the kids’ mouths water, and usually Grandma made toast with honey immediately after the story.

Gertrude had a craft room in the house.  She made paper roses that looked and smelled real.  Grandma sprayed them with a special blend of perfume that Charlene always loved.  Even in her advanced years, Grandma traveled to Seattle’s famous Pike Place Farmer’s Market to the vendor stalls for artisans to sell the paper roses. Grandma did it more as a fun hobby and as an expression of her entrepreneurial spirit rather than need of money.  She transferred her adventurous and courageous explorer spirit to all of her children and grandchildren too.  They believed their lives would be as adventurous and exciting as Grandma’s was.  Gertrude always took time for every person, whether family, friend, or stranger who knocked at her door. She conversed with the Jehovah’s Witnesses who came with their literature as if long lost friends. She had uncanny insight and spoke with discernment to the potential each individual had.  She was prophetic without knowing it, speaking God’s heart and destiny into people.  Her generous heart and gifting attracted many people to her.

Charlene and Scott’s angels liked the atmosphere of this home and the love and encouragement that founded it.  Several other angelic beings in the home downloaded to Saquerel, details that would affect baby Scott through the family line of Gertrude Stallman. Most of the details were good (including a lot of love and respect,) but some were not, including the limitations and lack of fulfilled destiny this family had come up against:  alcoholism, poverty, depression, racism, religious intolerance, adultery, and divorce among other things. One part of Saquerel’s assignment and Scott’s destiny was to bring the next generations of this family tree to a place of restoration by overcoming the previous generation’s limitations. He and his older cousin by two years, Craig, were sons of promise that Gertrude had prayed into.  Saquerel saw Scott’s potential to spearhead a bold new direction both backward and forward in their family line.  The biggest and most powerful angel in Gertrude’s home was a spirit of joy named Gozalel. The other angels in the home were subordinate to his direction; he had been with Grandma for a long time, and Saquerel loved him.

Charlene could barely get the last bite of pie down and felt so full she might pop.  She could have told Grandma she had eaten already at home, but it would not have mattered. Whenever you went to Grandma’s house, you always ate until you could not move, and you did not even consider starting a serious conversation until the meal is over as a sign of respect and appreciation for the time she had taken to prepare the meal in your honor.

Finally, it was time to talk, and Charlene was chomping at the bit. Grandma could see the puzzled and confused look on Charlene’s face.  Charlene could not get it all out fast enough, and after repeating certain parts of the story repeatedly, Grandma understood.  All of the angels including Saquerel reveled in the faith and wonder expressed through Charlene’s story.  Now that the cat was out of the bag about both the baby and the doctor angel on the bus, all Grandma could do was smile out of genuine joy and excitement to know that God was involved with her family and that she would start seeing babies again.  With Grandma’s reassurance that having this baby was the right thing to do, Charlene breathed easier.

Charlene was comforted and encouraged in a powerful, assuring way by Gertrude. Charlene knew Grandma would smooth it out with her mom via telephone in the morning, so Charlene went to bed with a profound sense of peace, well-being, and excitement for the future. Grandma prayed a heartfelt prayer of protection over the girl as she lay sleeping and touched her belly, blessing the baby boy inside, which caused quite a stir in the invisible realm around her. Gertrude hid away in her heart the story of the doctor angel on the bus and told Charlene not to tell anyone else, at least for a little while. She believed her granddaughter, but she did not want to see Charlene labeled as a crazy person.  Gertrude’s wisdom was to wait and see if indeed the baby was a boy and if her granddaughter would actually name him Scott.  Charlene had always been truthful and levelheaded, and Grandma Stallman had no reason to doubt the details explained to her by her granddaughter.  Truth told Gertrude had experienced miracles of her own.

That prayer Grandma prayed that night with complete faith and trust in the goodness of God bolstered Saquerel’s efforts.  It had authority, and it released hundreds of angels over Charlene to apply eternity’s resources, expanding the heavenly realm into the lives of both mother and child. They were happy, even goofy angels.

Chapter 7 - Game Plan

It was too difficult to explain or understand for a natural mind, but Saquerel was at the same time always at the side and in service of baby Scott while carrying out duties and obligations outside of time in the heavenly realm.  This included his latest summons by none other than Gabriel himself.  The communication was crystal clear and beyond detailed,  having to do with coordinating spheres of human influence on earth and the projection of Gabriel’s last-days’ strategies set in motion.  Gabriel strategized everything upon the foundation of Father’s heart and intention to prepare a spiritual bride for His Son. The bride was a people with singular devotion and passion who operated in both realms.  Saquerel referenced no charts or diagrams at this meeting; instead, it was much like a computer interface.  Each spirit carried an open and transparent download of their collective missions and strategic directives that all other angels accessed as needed to help them fulfill their own missions, similar to a universal computer network.

The best analogy to describe it was that it was similar to an updating browser on a computer, as the billions and billions of pieces of data, decisions, and updated destiny and enemy strategy was collected each millisecond.  The angels accounted for and considered every possible variable before proceeding.  In this sense, there was rarely ever any need for direct command for Saquerel from a superior.  He received the download and manifested the heart of the Father based on the new information and prayer release available to him. If Saquerel experienced anything that resembled frustration, it was waiting upon humanity to co-labor or partner with the plan of God to release him and his counterparts through agreement and prayer.  Many times the strategy was set in motion, and it was simply a waiting game.  He could never violate the will of humans, at least not without getting permission first, but he did push the limit.

The enemy and stepdad, Virgil Green, jointly moved Scott to Texas by the time he was four years old.  Scott now had a sister named Shelby and a baby brother named Toby.  Virgil was a smooth-talking, well-mannered romantic cowboy, and Charlene had no defense for him. Virgil Green did contract work building airplane parts at the Boeing Company when she met him.  It might as well have been Timbuktu if it were not Texas as far as Virgil was concerned, and he could not wait to get back home.  Charlene was smitten with Virgil after he defended her from an overly aggressive advance by punching the hooligan grabbing at her and her girlfriends at Gazebo’s Pizza Parlor. Virgil was playing pool, surveying the scene, and Charlene was radiant and stood out to him as a young down-home girl he could take home to Texas. Virgil’s southern gentleman demeanor hooked Charlene like a fish.  He captivated the naïve and gullible eighteen year old with two children. They were married within a few months, and a little more than a year later when Toby was born, Virgil dragged the brood to small-town Texas, surrounded by sand dunes, saloons, and sagebrush.

At twenty years of age and in a foreign cowboy culture, Scott’s mother was still a child herself.  Virgil, on the other hand, was thirty-one years old and on his third marriage. A fact he failed to mention to Charlene until after they married.  He was the quintessential cowboy, a six-foot, four-inch beanpole of a man.  Scott could not read Virgil, who was good-natured and friendly sometimes and angry for no reason at other times.  He was never without his cowboy hat or boots and actually had a jar of Texas dirt with him in his truck.  His features were sharp and pointed, his eyes commanding, more like Clint Eastwood than John Wayne. Virgil vacillated between a victim in need of love and understanding and an angry small-town cowboy who wanted to take on the world.

Saquerel protected Scott’s heart in several instances of his father criticizing different nationalities with racial remarks.  Virgil picked fights with other men and humiliated them because he unknowingly felt bad about himself.  This usually happened after he had been out drinking. The Navy had helped round Virgil out a bit; he saw a different type of authority and received some healing, but not enough to be healthy.

Upon arrival in Texas, Virgil took a supervisor role over the derrick hands, roughnecks, and tool pushers at the oil company.  Sometimes Virgil operated as ballast control, and other times he was second or third mate in charge of cargo, fire team, and rescue craft when they drilled off shore in Odessa or Corpus Christi, Texas.  It was dangerous work that made everyone edgy, so much so that each day everyone made it home unharmed and alive was a victory.  All the senior oilrig personnel saw someone lose fingers or worse.  Virgil took out that stress and anger on his family.  All the sensitivity, training, care, patience, and love that Charlene put into Scott was challenged daily, some of it undone by the expectations, resentments, and anger that Virgil foisted upon young Scott.

At the beginning, it was an adventure for Charlene and her three little ones.  The Southern people were more friendly and hospitable than Northerners, she thought.  Virgil worked a week on and a week off for the first six months of their time in Texas, many times leaving the young family without food, money, or water in hundred-degree Texas heat. Charlene managed a brave front, but the stress and insecurity was getting to her.  The barefoot kids playing in the desert did not know any better. They lived in a mobile home with the poorest of the poor when Scott met his best friend, Jesse Moore.

Even though Scott’s upbringing was chaotic and insecure, Saquerel made sure kingdom seeds grew.  While the Liar hammered home the message of mistrust and fear of Scott’s stepfather, Saquerel countered. He coordinated it so that Scott was awake on Sunday morning and outside wearing his best clothes, the quarter in his hand for the offering.  The Baptists covered Texas like a mosquito net with an extensive bus ministry, especially for the poor folks.  Scott loved going with his best friend Jesse and his brothers and sisters to hear the amazing stories about God. God’s love seeped through, even with all the man-made and religious filters.  Father’s love, inclusion, and acceptance penetrated Scott’s little spirit.  The Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Busbee, had no idea of her rewards in the presence of the Father for her service to the least of these poor little children.  She masterfully drew out their hope and faith, providing a solid foundation the Spirit built on as adults.

His encounters with the Father through the Spirit who made real the Son deeply affected Scott.  Deeply planted seeds of truth were too deep for the birds of the air to steal, and they germinated and grew.  The story of the father who was happy to see his son, who came home after being bad, touched Scott in his core.  One Sunday, Mrs. Busbee looked straight into Scott’s eyes as she told the story about the man who built his house on the sand and the man who built his house on the solid rock.  Her own heart of compassion mixed with the relentless love of God’s Spirit invited Scott to build his house on the solid rock by inviting Jesus into his heart. Saquerel was in the heavenly realm, running up and down the angel-packed heavenly bleachers with lightning speed.  Saquerel pumped up his fellow angels and drew attention to his human Scott as he beamed with pride.  The bleachers were full of celebrating, partying angels like the most rabid football fans you could imagine.  Myriads of spirit beings, who understood the eternal significance and its importance to the Father of this five-year-old boy’s faith and love, hushed in complete silence to hear Scott say “yes,” and then erupted into such powerful reverberating sounds of music and celebration that it shook the foundations of heaven and made the Father smile.

Saquerel’s duties in Texas were mostly protection, from traffic, poison, snakes, and animals, which were all bigger than normal in Texas, but he also gave revelation, direction, and discernment to young Scott. Saquerel kept abusive people, including Scott’s stepfather at a distance.  Virgil was ready at a moment’s notice to paddle or belt Scott the way his father had punished him.  Even though Virgil hated his father because of it, it was the only model he had, along with the fact that he was immature, impatient, and selfish. Scott was fearful of his stepfather, and Saquerel did everything he could to combat the enemy’s strategy of instilling an image of Father God into Scott based on his experience with his stepfather.  Saquerel whispered deep truths about the care and greatness of Father’s love into Scott’s spirit at night.  A lot of it got through, and coupled with Charlene’s love, it gave little Scott hope for an adventuresome, exciting life.

Virgil traded in the truck for a Corvette and an airplane when the money was good, and they moved back down to the mobile home park and a broken down, rusted ’62 Chevy truck when the oil industry hit another low.  He was a big kid playing with toys and did not have care or concern for his young wife’s security. There were many fights and tears along with drinking and prayers in Scott’s family, and Saquerel was diligent with his charge, protecting Scott from most of it. Like almost every child around the world, however, Scott experienced nights full of fear and anxiety when he and his sister Shelby and brother Toby listened to their parents fighting, chiseling away at their security. Charlene was sure Virgil was unfaithful, and with the help of Volel, she bravely stood up for herself and her children.  The honeymoon was over two years after marrying Virgil Green and one year after moving to the middle of nowhere. She felt like a prisoner and was simply his homing beacon as he cruised the honky-tonks.  Charlene was still relatively young at twenty-two years of age, but after two years of marriage to a genuine redneck and her third child, the naiveté started to melt away.  Saquerel and Volel knew looking forward that this man would continue the cycle of violence on his young family that had been committed against him, and they moved things forward aggressively.  Virgil increased his threats of violence and had already kicked Charlene once when they were fighting, breaking her ribs.  He apologized profusely, but the mistrust, fear, and exit plan were already in place.

Saquerel knew Charlene needed her Seattle family, and he knew Scott required a healthy mom with a family support structure, so he and Volel solicited prayer from Charlene and helped to connect some dots.  A Mexican girlfriend named Dolores opened doors for Charlene to take a job as a waitress while Virgil Green was doing the month on and month off shift at the oilrig. She and the kids moved in with Dolores, whose husband had recently abandoned her for another woman. Dolores, with her own recent pain, had a soft spot for this young mom with three kids. Charlene did all this the day after Virgil left for Odessa for his one-month commitment at the oilrig so she could have a head start on getting away from him.  Charlene saved all her tips and minimum wages from McLean’s diner, working the graveyard shift so she could buy the Greyhound bus tickets to Seattle.  She had been in contact with her Grandma and sister Christina, and it was all set up; all she needed was time to save.

Chapter 8 - Hearing Father’s Voice

Before Scott’s family moved in with Dolores, Scott and his best friend, Jesse, at the age of six, decided to get themselves some girlfriends.  Jesse had older brothers (seven, to be exact) as well as four sisters, and he convinced Scott that having a girlfriend was the way to prove you were a big kid.

Scott and Jesse put on their best clothes, splashed some of Virgil Green’s Aqua Velva on their cheeks, and proceeded to leave the safety of the trailer park and go up to the main street, which was really the 18 Freeway, an arterial of interstate Highway 20 leading into Odessa.

On the other side of the 18 Freeway was a gas station with a combination truck stop, café, and convenience store all in one.  Scott secured his Chick-O-Stick candy there whenever Virgil filled up with gas.  Jesse convinced Scott that there would be girlfriends for them over there if they could get across the freeway. Scott hesitated, because Charlene had told him on more than one occasion, never cross the freeway on his own, and his conscience pricked him the closer he got to the road.  The fear and nerves led Scott to a real faith-filled and earnest prayer, which he truly believed God would answer because Mrs. Busbee told him Jesus loved the little children and always heard their prayers.

“God, can I go across the street like a big kid?” Scott prayed, assuming God could override his mother’s stated desire that he never cross without an adult.  Freckle-faced Jesse was going to do it and was waiting for a break in the freeway traffic.  The second youngest of twelve kids, Jesse’s parents probably forgot to tell him that rule out of sheer exhaustion. His only mandate was to get out of the house until dinnertime.

Saquerel, as the agent of the Father, spoke so clearly to Scott that he surprised himself.  It was louder than human language.  The words, feelings, and spiritual sensations spoke to little Scott’s mind and spirit with emphatic care and concern.  Scott was at once surprised and delighted that God spoke in this way, and, of course, he listened.  This encounter, imprinted Scott’s memory and spiritual experience and remained a marker for the rest of his life.  Saquerel was pleased that Scott had discovered the prayer of faith. Now Scott knew that when he believed and asked, expecting an answer, God spoke.  Later, Scott heard God speak in a multitude of other ways too, but in any event, Scott felt important that God (through his angel) would take time to talk to him personally.

Scott told Jesse, “God doesn’t want us to cross the road. He says we will be run over or bad men will come and take us away at the service station.” Jesse stared at him in shock and disbelief.  Saquerel had put deep in Scott’s spirit how dangerous it was and how much God wanted him to grow up and live, even revealing tidbits of God’s heart and joy in Scott’s existence.  Even at that age and at that point in time, Scott knew he would never forget that moment, and he referred to it each time unbelief challenged him. He had no concept that it was an angel speaking to him, and Saquerel did not care to explain that it was God speaking to Scott through the angel Saquerel, who carried an extension of God’s heart for Scott.

Saquerel was there for Scott and in a real way saved his life countless times in the two years he lived in Texas.  Sand dunes, desert, rivers, and prairies were a playground, but also dangerous.  Snakes were everywhere, literally and spiritually speaking, and Saquerel shut the mouth of more than a couple who’d tried to take Scott’s life as he and Jesse explored the creek, built forts, and caught horny toads.

Never mind the times when Jesse and Scott snuck into the back of the car of Jesse’s dad, Shorty, after he had been drinking heavily.  They were in the backseat lying low while Shorty drove to the store for more booze.  Saquerel assisted Shorty with driving on those occasions.

Chapter 9 - Mrs. Honeycutt

Father divinely placed Mrs. Honeycutt, Scott’s first grade teacher, into Scott’s life, as she not only taught him the ABCs but also held him and comforted him when he cried.  Her heart was Texas big, and she really meant it when she sang the state song along with her classroom. “The eyes of Texas are upon you, all the live long day, the eyes of Texas are upon you, you cannot get away, do not think you can escape them at night or early in the morn, the eyes of Texas are upon you ‘til Gabriel blows his horn.”

Charles, a sweet little black boy came into Mrs. Honeycutt’s first grade classroom with welts on his face and crying so hard he was hyperventilating.  When she finally got him to calm down to the point he was coherent, she found out that a second grade white boy named Russell whipped him repeatedly across the face with a small white rope.  Russell had been role-playing a plantation owner beating a slave, somehow disconnecting from the pain he inflicted on Charles. Scott was horrified to see his classmate and friend in so much pain, both physically and emotionally.  This was Scott’s first real direct experience with racism. He was confused and felt guilty for being white as the class polarized by race.

Scott’s classroom was an even distribution between Black, Hispanic, and white with one Asian girl in his class.  Besides her, Scott stood out the most because of his northwest accent. Kids came up to Scott all day long and asked him to say words like “cement,” and “pen,” and “wash.” They marveled at Scott’s pronunciation as if they were observing a zoo animal or a new scientific discovery.

Mrs. Honeycutt comforted and held little Charles until he was peaceful and relaxed, and she took time to talk with all the children in her classroom about respect, love, and diversity in a way children understood.  Saquerel was aware of the regional and territorial dark spirits of racism that manifested via hatred and violence.  For many reasons, including insecurity, greed, pride and control, they were strong in this part of the country, and their attachment to children as young as second-grade Russell was not an isolated event.

They were able to manifest in power because people continually reinforced their position. Saquerel fought with all of his strength to keep them off Scott.  It was difficult, though, as Southern society reinforced the racist belief systems in every sector.  Scott’s own stepfather, Virgil, proudly claimed racial superiority. He was a bigot and racist, and although Charlene was not, she did not dare stand up to Virgil’s statements and actions every time for fear of him turning his wrath on her.

Scott was naturally friendly and open to the new experiences that different races and nationalities routinely partook.  That is why he was happy when his mom told him they were moving to a house with some Mexican people.  Her friend and co-worker at McLean’s Diner, Dolores, had a little nephew named Jose who was in Scott’s class, so Scott would even have a friend to play with there.

Six weeks was all it took for Charlene to save enough money to buy the Greyhound bus tickets for herself and six-year-old Scott, four-year-old Shelby and two-year-old Toby.  She lived rent free with Dolores’s parents and so was able to save everything, except what they needed for food.  Scott enjoyed living with the Lopez family.  He loved their food, their sense of family, the peace, and lack of stress and genuine love for one another, which was quite different from what he had experienced culturally so far. Scott was particularly aware and drawn to the man of the family who loved and was patient with his friend Jose.  It was the Father’s heart demonstrated, and Scott was attracted to it, even ached for it.  Even at the young age of six, Saquerel made sure to speak kingdom messages and insert certain values to Scott’s spirit in regards to respect for different people groups, and the Latin culture and peoples were important to Scott’s destiny. As intelligent as Scott was, he picked up some of the language in that short time.  The Lopez family took Scott with them to the high school football state playoff game.  The Monahans’ Lobos were the local team taking on perennial powerhouse, Permian Odessa.  Scott never experienced such a buzz and excitement about anything in his life.  The whole two-horse town of Monahans shut down on Friday night, and everyone was at the stadium.  He was not sure what it was all about, but was happy to be part of the celebration before they left Texas and went to live in a place called Seattle that he barely remembered.

Chapter 10 - Burien Gardens

After a three-day Greyhound bus ride, Scott and family settled in Seattle with the help of relatives Scott did not remember. It rained constantly and was colder in Seattle than Texas. Scott could not go outside barefoot and catch snakes and lizards as in Texas, but somehow Seattle still felt good and right to Scott.  He could tell his mom was happy now, and even though she worked and they stayed with babysitters and his aunt Christina a lot, he did not mind.  He did not miss his stepdad at all.  In fact, he was ecstatic to have new cousins to play with, as well as aunts, uncles, and grandmas, even though his uncle Elgin was a big, mean-looking Harley Davidson motorcycle guy and kind of scary.

Saquerel was pleased to have Scott in his city of destiny again.  He and Volel and several other messengers with temporary assignments to Scott and his family, discussed, downloaded, and strategized often about how to accomplish the Father’s will in Scott and his family’s life. Most of Charlene’s family lived east of Seattle and in North Seattle, so she was not sure why she chose South Seattle near SeaTac airport as the place to raise her children, but Volel and Saquerel had a lot to do with it.  They knew there would be one large revelation and movement of the Father in South Seattle that would manifest in a few large, distinct congregations of worshipers—kingdom incubators within a few miles of one another.  Each had their pros and cons, but as far as Saquerel was concerned. Two were good choices to lay the groundwork for the life of faith Scott’s destiny required.  Both congregations had a role in Scott’s life, and Saquerel pieced the puzzle together.

The one congregation was safer, but shallower. They and their colorful leader were disparaged and criticized by other churches and the media for the “name it and claim it” teaching and cookie-cutter believers they turned out, while the other one proclaimed a unique sectarian understanding of oneness with the Father and cultivated a spiritual hunger.  The latter church had some serious flaws, including spiritual elitism, such as pride and extreme legalism resulting in false doctrine and fanaticism that could very well cause Scott to run from the Father altogether.  The media’s attack of this congregation (some of it with just cause, some of it demonically inspired) proved to embolden and enhance the spiritual elitist mentality to a cultic degree, but the pros outweighed the cons.

Charlene was in survival mode and had limited spiritual impact on her children in their early years, but she did love them, and that went a long way.  She did not have an intentional spiritual direction in mind for them, but the religious spirit that guilted her mind and emotions strongly suggested the Lutheran church for at least Christmas and Easter, to kind of check in with God.  She also allowed Scott to catch the van to the Evangelical Free Church on occasion, and Scott’s teacher was a peaceful, caring young man named Raul, who spoke life and encouragement for a season.

If this was all he got during Scott's preadolescence, Saquerel could work with it.  In spite of the lack of joy and freedom, but rather tediousness, law, pride, and arrogance displayed by religious figures in Scott’s life, Saquerel made sure that the critical snippets of truth got through and like seeds, grew later.  He battled for those nuggets, knowing how powerful they would grow to be later.  The church was not the only place God revealed himself to Scott, and Saquerel was quick to capitalize upon every opportunity to brandish certain ideas and concepts, whether through environment, circumstances, nature, and creation or the questions in Scott’s mind as he lay in bed at night.

Burien Gardens was the name of the “apartments” Scott lived in.  In reality, they were the “projects” for predominately-white people in south Seattle in the seventies, which morphed into multi-cultural, low-income housing in the late eighties, and there were no gardens.  Most of the occupants worked, but received welfare, including Scott’s mom who worked as a waitress. Linda Phillips babysat Scott, Toby, and Shelby for a couple years after school while Charlene worked swing shifts.  Charlene picked up the kids at about nine PM, just enough time to kiss them goodnight as she walked them home to the next apartment courtyard.  The kids hated the Phillips’ apartment and continuously complained about it to their mother. Gary and Linda were nice enough, and they would never harm the kids, but the depressing and overwhelming spirit of hopelessness and poverty hung like a wet blanket over the place and threatened to suffocate the life out of the kids. Linda made forty dollars per week watching the Green kids, along with two kids of her own, a daughter named Misty and their son Roy.  The Green kid’s chief complaint was the food.

Every night for over two years (700 plus weekdays in a row) it was one of two choices, either boiled macaroni with a thin mist of cheese, or macaroni with watered down tomato sauce and a few grains of hamburger. Scott forever associated macaroni with poverty and limitations and refused to eat it after third grade.

Scott kept Saquerel busy at this time of his life, deflecting the talons of spirits that tried to latch onto Scott, such as poverty, hate, violence, thievery, fear, sexual abuse, and rejection. Charlene was a conscientious mother and debriefed her kids when she read to them at night, making every effort to correct bad thinking.

Scott was a typical Heinz 57 white boy. His heritage was predominately German and Irish, but with slivers of Native American (Yakima nation,) Polish, and Jewish blood too. Scott’s super straight hair and eyes were dark brown.  He kept his hair long and fought against a haircut until people called him a girl too many times.  He was wiry thin and short for his age, resulting in other kids incessantly teasing him.  He was inquisitive, beyond curious, and too smart for his own good, challenging simple and incomplete answers from adults.  The freckles that covered his face had all but disappeared over the last year.

Burien Gardens was an all-inclusive community, but not in a vacation resort sense. Everything a society needed was within walking distance, and many residents became isolated from the larger community because of it.  There were tons of kids to play with, a lot more than Scott was used to in Texas.  Scott’s family lived in the generic apartment downstairs on the left side of the building as one faced it. The same building was exactly duplicated up and down each street, block after block, and in Scott’s little world, it was difficult for him or anyone to distinguish them apart.  Each unit had four apartments, with two upstairs and two downstairs. Four of the cloned structures, all with the same detestable, faded pea green paint, shared each courtyard.

The courtyard full of grass was Scott’s vantage point to see and learn from and his kingdom and territory to protect for the next three years or until some other kids moved in to challenge him.  Every day, Scott explored and reclaimed every square inch of his courtyard, as well as the one across the street bordered by the woods and leading down to Seahurst Beach in the body of water called Puget Sound where the rich people lived.  East of Scott’s courtyard was the busy arterial of Ambaum Boulevard South.  This was where the IGA store was located, as well as the dime store, café, and Rexall drugstore that served the Burien Gardens families. This little strip of retail allowed many tenants to remain in their private city.  Most of the tenants received welfare checks in the mail and many did not own a vehicle, so it was convenient.  Scott knew each courtyard by the kids close to his age that lived there.  Charlene learned his system quickly.

Scott, along with many of the other BG kids (some as young as four), walked the hundred yards or so to the IGA store with notes written by their parents they gave to the cashier that allowed them to purchase packs or even cartons of cigarettes and other groceries. Scott was glad to go to IGA whenever his mom asked, because she usually gave him some of the large plastic multicolored government issued coins (provided by welfare) he could use to buy candy bars for ten cents each, usually Snickers or Milky Way but sometimes Almond Joy.

Burien Gardens was a vortex that sucked in the vulnerable, weak, and frail people who lived there. It had many young single mothers like Charlene.  There were older retired people living off social security and those who were slow or disabled or who had mentally retarded children needing constant attention.  Asian immigrants fresh off the boat and simple, uneducated, hopeless people lived there because their parents did.  The halfway house channeled its graduates there and people recovering from other difficult circumstances of life all found their way to Burien Gardens to rest or hide and regroup.

Saquerel acknowledged that almost all of the people living in Burien Gardens were under the spiritual domination of an Orphan spirit, who reigned with cruelty and malice.  The local demon was not the Orphan spirit, but an underling that carried out his directives to the letter. The advantage of having all the disenfranchised, marginalized people together in one place was that he did not have to try very hard to convince them that a life of rejection was normal.  They saw it in their own lives and all around them every day; it was reality for them.  Few were unaffected by his control, and it usually did not take long to get the new people in line.

The malevolent spirit’s assignment was as branded and beaten into him as his nature.  He was a rejected orphan, and he would manifest that nature in the people of Burien Gardens to make sure they could not know the love of the Father either.  They could say they did, or even go to church, so long as they did not live it.  If any of them were to realize they could be sons or daughters of the most high, his superior would torment the territorial demon. For the most part, the natural existence of the Burien Gardens people reflected their spiritual reality.

The Orphan spirit was one of the most powerful princes, but one of the least known adversaries to humanity.  Truly, he was the best-kept secret in Satan’s arsenal.  The Orphan spirit was the most like Satan in the sense that he fought against God’s plans for oneness with humanity because of his own sense of pride and rejection.  The Orphan spirit was the one who told Cain he did not measure up to his brother Abel, who set Ishmael against Isaac and Esau against Jacob.  The lie was strong, if subtle: the Father has chosen someone to love, and it is not you.  On a spiritual scale, it was demonic rebellion against the Father choosing Adam (humanity) over Lucifer.  On a natural scale, it was the same animosity animating the Arabs against Israel (even though they Christ grafted them into the promise of Abraham.) On a smaller and more individual scale, the Orphan spirit defined its captives by creating jealousy and envy between the haves and have-nots, resulting in contention and violence.

Saquerel's observation was that people dominated by the Orphan spirit struggled and fought with everyone trying to claim a land they thought was given to someone else.  They did not realize they sought for acceptance, significance, and identity that the Son had already given them.  A person acting out of an Orphan spirit fought against everyone and pushed him or her away the same way he or she felt pushed away.

The Orphan spirit hated Scott in that way. Scott was born, competing against all odds to a mother sixteen years of age and he survived death by abortion because of a valiant concerted effort by people and angels alike. Since he survived, the next enemy strategy was to convince him he was unloved, rejected, and abandoned; enter the Orphan spirit.  Orphan spirit would do whatever it required, to keep him from being included in the blessing and inheritance already established for him. Saquerel could not let that happen.

Scott was too happy and full of life, and it made the Orphan spirit sick.  The Orphan spirit schemed scenarios and situations with the other spirits under his control so Scott would not feel safe, loved, protected or experience a sense of belonging.  The Orphan had a head start since Charlene worked long hours. Charlene hid herself, almost buried alive in a trailer in Texas for the last two years, not allowed to work or have a voice, and now she was celebrating her freedom. There was no father in the picture for Scott, and the Orphan spirit picked at those sores so Scott remained lonely, isolated, misunderstood, and striving for attention in fear and anxiety.

The Orphan worked hard and fast while humans were young to keep any intimate friendships or relationships from forming.  He accomplished this by one or two destructive relationships that created a fear for any more, or in the case of part time parents, the bond never formed.  The Orphan taught Scott to point the finger at someone else for anything perceived as wrong or weakness in him.

As long as the demon controlled Scott, he could not receive love or healing from all the offenses that rallied against him.  Orphan removed the trust that allowed Scott the ability to do it. There was a defining moment when the Orphan spirit knew he had Scott, when his basic trust was lost.  In Scott’s case, this was when his mother left him and his siblings alone with a sitter and did not come home one day. She needed a break, but did not have the heart to tell her kids that. Scott digested the garbage that Orphan spoon-fed him, namely that he had no one to care for him. No one could be trusted, and he did not belong anywhere.

Scott had little understanding of the strategy poised against him by Orphan or that it even existed, but he did know how he felt, and it was not good.  The demon highlighted how Scott stuck out with no father at the Cub Scout Father and Son Day.  Scott’s mother did everything she could to be both, but it was not her place, and she failed miserably.  The tormenting thoughts spoken into Scott’s mind amplified his lack: “Why don’t I have a dad like Jeff does?” “Why am I unloved; what did I do?”  Memories of how disappointing he was to his stepfather played in his mind, and the Orphan supplied the commentary: no one wants you.

Scott had to take care of himself; his experience already at age six was that no one comforted or encouraged him in any substantial way.  Once Scott bought into that declaration of evil, there was very little work needed to move him into finding false comfort and identity through possessions, addictions, and endless striving for acceptance.  The wicked messenger assigned to Scott considered his options and probable outcome based on his experience with humans of similar circumstance.  He was almost positive this one would become addicted to drugs and overdose at a young age.  The Orphan was certain he could turn that sadness and hurt into anger and violence, then complete rebellion. .

As long as Scott was made to feel rejected by a father, earthly or heavenly or both, it was easy to keep him under the Orphan spirit’s power.  Many years passed until strategic people properly affirmed and gave Scott the dignity that all humanity craves.  Like all fatherless children, Scott struggled with identity his whole life. This was the master plan of the Orphan, similar to the villains in Oliver Twist, never letting him realize who he really was and who wanted him to come home.

Scott’s Burien Garden apartment was basic and typical of the day and time.  He had dark green polyester furniture purchased from the secondhand store.  Aunt Christina donated the dishes, as well as a giant color television with rabbit ears that got all five channels available at that time. Scott had to use all his strength to turn the knob that determined the channel. When Scott watched Leave It to Beaver and The Partridge Family, he also had to adjust the antenna. They had the stereo set of the day too.  It looked similar to a large crate with legs and had a lid that lifted two-thirds of the way across, revealing a record player and a console that held the 33 and 45 vinyl records.  Scott easily memorized the Buddy Holly, Righteous Brothers, and Jefferson Airplane albums his mother played when she got home from work.

Scott was light years ahead of the other kids at Burien Heights Elementary.  It was in large part, due to the previous year’s instruction in Monahans Texas at Edwards Elementary, where he finished first grade and half of second grade.  The standards in Texas were much higher than Washington State.  Considering his previous instruction coupled with Scott’s high IQ and unparalleled thirst for knowledge and answers, he stood out both in good ways and bad.  He had excellent teachers at Burien Heights that were teaching because of calling and passion, not just a paycheck.  Mrs. Murray in second grade, Mrs. Hall in third grade, and Mr. Wallace in fourth grade all had a huge impact on Scott, but Mr. Wallace was by far the best teacher and Scott’s favorite.  Mr. Wallace was abstract and uncanny.  He resembled Felix from The Odd Couple, but with a relaxed and calm demeanor.  He was mysterious with a wry sense of humor.  He taught class with a mischievous smile, as if he were in on a private joke, but enjoyed watching the kids learn.  He incorporated art and games in his teaching, fully rounding out the instruction with a left and right brain presentation.  He charted an open-ended course for Scott with no limits.  He told stories, relayed riddles, played games and music, and tossed candy at the kids for correct answers, or for no reason at all.

Symptomatic of Scott’s unrelenting drive for attention, was a voracious quest for knowledge through reading.  At the end of the year for three straight years, he won every award for reading, including the coveted Science Research Associates self-paced reading booklet award.  Even as a second and third grader, he devoured everything thrown at him and surpassed the sixth graders with his amazing recall and comprehension.

Scott was always in the blue group, not the green or the red, which were the agreed upon distinctions concealing the intelligence levels the teachers qualified the kids for.  All the kids knew the blue group was the smartest.  Scott won a science set from his third grade teacher at the halfway mark of the school year.  She used the prize as a motivation and commendation for scholarship and behavior.  While she kept him in line, she only reinforced the Orphan spirit’s doctrine of self-realization, making his own way, creating his own future, his own grace.  Scott was responsible for what he received, which eliminated grace and inheritance.  Nothing was given unless earned, there was no grace but what you made for yourself.

Almost all the kids at Burien Heights Elementary were from Burien Gardens.  Only about twenty percent were the upper middle class kids from the Seahurst Beach area.  All of the Burien Gardens kids were recipients of the free lunch program, and it was the best meal of the day for most of them.  The school was on Ambaum Blvd., bordered by the Suzuki motorcycle shop to the west and the intersection leading to the IGA store on the east.  Behind the school was a parking lot for some of the courtyards of Burien Gardens.  The parking lot had a very high curb to protect the vehicles and people from the severe decline into the woods.  Scott spent countless hours in the summer pulling back the high grass and weeds that grew against the foot high curb where snakes and lizards inhabited the cracks, soaking the heat from the sun warmed concrete. He was not sure why he enjoyed it so much, but he was obsessed and caught many reptiles, which he kept in boxes for a few days and then let go.  Catching them was reminiscent of and connected him with the previous two years he lived in Texas.  The sand dunes and desert prairies he explored in Texas were teaming with horny toads, snakes, tarantulas, and scorpions. Scott had a pioneering and adventurous spirit that was encouraged by his young mom, and it took her mind off the guilt she felt for not providing more for him and his siblings.

Charlene was busy working, and her three kids never made a vital connection with her in the early formative years, let alone experience a real father.  In the natural sense, Scott was relieved to lose his stepdad like Virgil Green, who he could only remember as an angry punisher, always disappointed in him.  In the spiritual sense, however, the lack of a loving father was an aching need, dragging Scott down into despair.  Scott craved attention and connection, which resulted in his defiant, in-your-face behavior that resulted in trouble for years to come.  He was the class clown as well as the smartest kid in class; he did anything and everything for people to notice him.

Saquerel did all he could to reduce the Orphan spirit’s control over Scott’s life with the love of the Father.  Everyone at Burien Gardens received extra grace and resources from the heavenly realm in the form of angelic intervention to counter the Orphan spirit.  The angel’s power and effect was commensurate with the overkill the Orphan spirit and his underlings of addiction, hopelessness, despair, abandonment, anger, and fear poured out incessantly.  No mortal would ever know of the innocence protected and predators eliminated as well as divinely inspired outreach into the community from loving and caring people.  Some of the things Saquerel did according to the sovereign will of the Father, and at other times, his ability and effectiveness relied upon Scott’s openness, humility, and those that prayed for Scott.  He never realized until the Father redeemed him just how much he received via prayer from his family, especially his grandmother.

Chapter 11 - Saquerel Sees the real Scott

Saquerel was in awe whenever he considered the potential of his charge.  He had seen very few humans grab a hold of even a sliver of what the Father had made available to them.  He yearned for Scott to be one of those who took advantage of his help.  He hoped Scott might walk in the full manifestation of his new creation reality and that Scott would be more in touch with the eternal, supernatural realm than the temporal, earthly realm but operate in both with Father’s kingdom in mind.

There were already signs of a special calling on his life. Even at age six, he had not only a superior intelligence through both nature and nurture, but also an unquenchable desire to search things out, to find solutions and answers.  Scott routinely wore out adults who refused to collaborate with him in his exploration of all subjects and experiences, usually within minutes.

Charlene never baby talked with Scott and related to him when he was four, as if he understood in an adult capacity and with adult reasoning.  Although sociologically speaking was not the best thing for Scott, it gave him a big head-start in school and confidence to attempt anything his mind could think of.  He was a certifiable genius and was elevated from first to second grade after scoring a 140 on his IQ test, but that was not what was so special about Scott. Scott was highly sensitive to feelings, emotions, and the spiritual forces behind natural events. He had a gift of empathy and personally felt the things others experienced. Saquerel sometimes thought Scott could see him and was sure Scott could hear the revelation that he continually spoke in different ways to Scott’s heart and mind through dreams and other encounters.

Scott’s emotional sensitivity, coupled with the dysfunctional chaos of his childhood, led to a lot of heartache and pain in later years, but Saquerel knew Father God had a plan to use that all for good in spite of the attempts by the Liar to destroy Scott with tithe enemy Liar had a layered strategy for rejection (Orphan spirit was the catalyst) that crippled Scott in his later years at critical points.  Scott learned how to walk with that limp stronger and further than most after wrestling with God.

Saquerel endured Scott’s rebellion in junior high and in other stages of his life when Scott decided to turn off the voice of heaven and bury himself in his own mind, aided by medicating drugs, alcohol, and the other dark voices that always looked for an audience.  Saquerel was not frustrated, worried, or concerned about Scott’s behavior.  He maintained his joyful commitment to this human being, fully aware and confident that the Father could and would release and reveal Scott’s destiny at the appointed time, making beauty out of ashes.  Saquerel saw Scott differently than Scott saw himself, or his mother, or any human being for that matter.  Because the way Saquerel saw Scott was through the Father’s eyes, it was much more accurate.

Not only was it not a chore to look after Scott, it was a delight, even when he ran in the wrong direction and needed correction.  Saquerel knew when he took the assignment that this was an opportunity for him to share in and understand how Father’s joy and desire for His creation was demonstrated, how it was experienced and what it felt like.  Because of the privileged position of administering the Father’s will towards Scott, Saquerel was able to see him the way the Father did.

Saquerel partially comprehended that the same eternal life and nature of God that made His Son righteous, Scott received on the cross.  The Holy Spirit applied that life and nature to Scott when he accepted it with simple faith in Mrs. Busbee’s Sunday school class, really by foreknowledge even before then.  Saquerel was certain Scott walked in it as soon as he received the revelation of it, and his mind was renewed.  Saquerel did all he could to accelerate the mind renewal process so Scott walked in his inheritance on earth, not just in the age to come.  Scott was mystically, but in a very real way, made one with the Son when he stripped the Liar of all power and authority.  In the mind of the Father, it was as though Scott was one with the Son in all of the redemptive acts of the Son.  Saquerel understood the magnitude of Scott’s position and authority, and in many ways, it was his job to reveal that to Scott.

Saquerel was enthusiastically aware of the union and oneness that existed for Scott to know experientially.  He knew the reality of the mystical/spiritual union completely disintegrated all of the false understanding that the evil spirit of religion proposed to humanity that Scott or anyone else could possibly add anything else to the Son’s sacrifice.  That oneness was incomprehensible to Saquerel, and he wondered how much of it Scott would be able to participate in during his earthly existence. God’s grace and wisdom, even in executing his justice, amazed Saquerel.  When justice required a payment for sin, the Son provided it and united in oneness all those before the Son’s existence on earth and all those who came after. With sin and death eradicated, the Father gave to humanity His own nature, making man a new creation, more than just a recycled man.

Saquerel was blissfully enthralled by the concept of the Son expressing the Father’s will, that He would share His glory with creation and make them all one and partakers of that divine nature.  The very thing the adversary, Satan, could not take; the Father freely gave to Scott. Saquerel pondered that often and worshipped.

Again, because the concept or creation of time did not limit Father in executing his justice and administering His blessing, He mystically and spiritually joined Scott to the Son’s crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, and kingdom glory based on foreknowledge of Scott’s profession of faith at a point in time.  Father translated Scott from one kingdom realm to another, and all of the Father’s resources, riches, angels, and provisions were at Scott’s disposal. He just did not know it yet.  Saquerel saw, like the Father; all the Son did, Scott did.  All that Christ was, Scott was.

Scott was a new creation, no longer of Adam and mortal, but indestructible and eternal. The enemy could do nothing to destroy Scott; in fact, everything he did to harm Scott provided more grace for the Father to bless Scott.  Satan was very good at his number one strategy, however, and that was to talk believers out of their identity, out of who they really were.  He got them to focus on the temporary instead of the eternal and to listen to him when he or his demons whispered, “Hath God surely said?”  Scott received his identity the hard way, but eventually believed what God said about him.

Saquerel knew the Father’s chief desire for His spiritual children was that they realized their identity as part of his eternal family.  The adversary’s chief goal was to mar and destroy that identity with separation and rejection, which he did with sadistic intensity. The enemy was not a problem in the Father’s mind and therefore not a problem in Saquerel’s mind.  Father worked everything together for good, He always did; he was pure goodness and love, and Scott’s destiny, to eventually realize the fullness of the stature of Christ on this earth, experientially.

Saquerel looked forward to the day when Scott was more aware of the eternal spiritual realm than the natural physical realm, which was the shadow of the former.  Scott would then call things that were not as though they were, utilizing his co-creative ability given to him through the Holy Spirit, including creative miracles and healing, miraculous provision and speaking new life into many thousands of people.

Saquerel considered that the Holy Spirit introduced Scott to his kingdom through the filter of religion, and religion greatly misinformed Scott in regards to the nature and character of the Father. Saquerel anticipated with great fervor the true unfolding revelation that Scott would soon know.  Saquerel also knew Scott would eventually recognize the diabolical nature of the Spirit of religion (man’s efforts to produce relationship with God) and do damage to the kingdom of darkness in retribution for being bound by it.

Breaking through the barrier of religion into union, Scott’s destiny was to rise above the shame of sin that God removed and learn to walk in dependence and sinless perfection granted to him via the Son’s cross. Scott could be sinless through union with the sinless Son and perfect, by walking out the purpose and design of the Perfect Designer and Creator.  That was how Saquerel saw it, and he was right.

Saquerel believed Scott was one of those who recognized the Father’s glory and became overwhelmed with it at times.  Seeing and experiencing his loving, heavenly Father in a good mood and benevolent towards Scott resulted in Scott walking in a joy and peace not based on circumstances or his own performance.

That was how Saquerel saw Scott; he saw him like the Father saw him, and that was why he championed him and fought for him.  In a way, Saquerel was serving his very own creator, who was one with Scott.  In spite of the Orphan spirit’s lies that attached themselves to Scott, Scott knew God; he had a real encounter with God, who was real to him. Scott remembered God heard him when he prayed, so he prayed and talked to God in his mind and aloud when things did not make sense.  Many times Scott lay awake at night and tried to understand with his six-year-old mind the non-created creator, but then with a child’s humility and honesty, realized God was beyond figuring out.

Scott had the same dream every night for months courtesy of Saquerel.  He was only seven-years-old and had no grid for dreams from heaven, but knew these dreams were different. Saquerel administered the dream like medicine every night.  It was his right and privilege to counter the death-filled environment and circumstances the Orphan spirit contrived day after day.

In the dream, Scott walked toward the street from his courtyard with a sense of urgency, telling everyone around him he was able to fly and if he was able to fly, he thought everyone should fly too.  Different people in the dream looked at him either disbelievingly or full of shame and walked away.  Scott yelled Wait! Wait! Watch me!  He ran down the street with his hands outstretched and caught air lifting off the ground.  As Scott passed by each courtyard, he heard the thoughts and felt the fears and excuses of his friends who looked up at him in the air.  They all claimed reasons for not flying, but none of them were good reasons.  Scott was exhilarated in the dream, relaxed and free; flying had become natural.  The different pockets and currents of air sustained Scott, and he rode out their power much like an eagle, rising and turning, then coming back down.  In the dream, he did not understand why the other kids would not try it.  Some of them even ran and hid in their apartments.  The dreams were food for his spirit, nourishing him, fluoride for his soul, cleaning him from the filthy penetration of the Orphan spirit.

Saquerel was speaking destiny and freedom into Scott while he was sleeping.  Scott woke up, infused with faith, embracing his opportunities, believing in untapped supernatural ability and gifting.  All of this happened while he was sleeping, but it was no less real and effective. The Orphan spirit hated this happy little kid and was disgusted with his optimism and life. The demon re-doubled efforts to squash his enthusiasm after the normal procedures at Burien Gardens failed.

Chapter 12 - Seeds of Addiction, Deliverance from Affliction

Addiction was one of the Orphan spirit’s most effective tools to take human confidence away from the Father and create self-reliance.  It not only alienated people from God by their own choosing, but other people as well.  Those who lived at Burien Gardens received exposure to several addictions, all different cards in the same deck the Orphan spirit was shuffling.  The more he could get people to believe that God was not coming through, that he did not love them or was going to punish them, the more people met their own needs by medicating themselves with destructive habits.  The addiction itself was not the end game, but a means only intended to engender more dangerous addictions when the need wasn’t met, and, if Orphan was lucky, they might kill themselves or someone else driving under the influence, or go to prison (further exclusion and isolation) because of stealing to support the habits.  The bonus was that the addicts alienated everyone in their circle of influence, perpetuating the damage exponentially.

Once the addictive cycle began, it was hard to get out, even when someone wanted to. When someone wanted to leave the addiction behind in Burien Gardens, the Orphan spirit was quick to help them leave one addiction for another as long as it was ultimately more destructive. Anything to keep them running in the hamster wheel and away from their inheritance and comfort of having their real needs met.  The Orphan spirit fostered the lie that neither God nor any person would ever take care of them.  Everyone was out for his or her own selves.  They felt abandoned in their pain and if they were going to feel better and be better, they would have to make sure of it themselves.

Scott, at seven years of age, could hardly be tempted to do heroin, but first steps first. The Orphan tempted him with tobacco to get him on the addictive cycle, then the plan was to change the addiction later, increasing the danger level each time.  Even if all Scott ever did was smoke or chew tobacco, he might still get cancer and be sick and miserable and curse God, but the goal was that he would follow the prompts and escalate addiction until he destroyed himself; the earlier the better.

The enemy always targeted the poor and innocent.  It was no surprise, then, when the college-aged kids came through the projects working their temporary jobs for the tobacco company.  Several representatives attacked Burien Gardens like a virus from all sides.  They wore a strapped on reverse backpack that resembled something you would see the hot dog vendor wear at a sporting event.  It was full of little sample boxes that had three cigarettes in each box. This new brand called Lemon Twist, was a marketing promotion by an established company, who intended a new younger target age.  The temporary help never admitted it, nor did the big tobacco companies, but big tobacco instructed the workers to go to the projects and pass out the samples to the future consumers children.  Of course, anything that passed for free attracted attention and two dozen children asking for samples immediately surrounded the reps. The young men working in Scott’s courtyard dumped out their boxes on the grass, the scene resembling the results of a broken piñata.  Children clambered all over each other to get at the cancer sticks.

Two of the young employees snickered, watching the spectacle. They claimed no interest in the tobacco company or the white trash, project kids.  Big tobacco paid them by the hour, but they also received a bonus for piece count thresholds.  Scott scooped up several of the packs and hid behind the bushes. As soon as he found some matches, he lit his first cigarette.  He was not good at it, and it made him sick, but he kept trying for some reason.  After he used up the matches, he resorted to lighting the cigarettes on the stove burner when his mom was out of the apartment.  He could smell his hair and eyebrows burning as he did it, and that was how Charlene later found out what he was doing.

In Charlene’s attempt to teach Scott a lesson, she made him sit down and smoke two cigarettes in a row, inhaling and holding it in, so that he was sick.  Never mind that she smoked two packs a day and the hypocrisy of it.  The memory of the queasiness worked for now.  In the meantime, Scott decided (as per addiction's suggestion) he would be manlier and cooler if he chewed tobacco as they did on the cowboy movies.  Small for his age and very crafty, he wrote his own letter from his mother and went down to the IGA store when he had enough money saved.  He presented the letter to the clerk for a pouch of the big, moist, and leafy Redman chewing tobacco.  The clerk looked over at his co-worker in the next register and said, “Hey, Dan, read this,” as he passed the note.  They both chuckled as they looked at the note and then again to Scott.  The first clerk asked Scott, “Does your mom chew tobacco now instead of smoke?”  Scott was frozen for a minute while he nodded slowly yes and smiled.  As Scott exited the store, roars of laughter echoed behind him as the clerks pictured Scott and/or his mom chewing tobacco.  Scott was not privy to the part about having to spit out the tobacco-laced saliva, and after an hour of continuous swallowing, he became violently ill. Several years later, he tried tobacco again.

Burien Gardens had broken people in every courtyard looking for acceptance and love. The Orphan spirit convinced most of them they had to take whatever they could get.  Charlene and the kids joined another thousand people who knew her story before she told it. They had the same story with minor variations.

One of those broken people lived across the courtyard.  Kristy Owens was an attractive, curly-haired, thirteen-year-old brunette.  She and her two sisters, Dana and Cheryl, lived in the upstairs apartment to the right.  Kristy’s two sisters were older versions of her and already sexually active at ages fourteen and sixteen.  They had no father either and were under the Orphan spirit’s control for quite a while.  Kristy was currently experiencing puberty, and with the encouragement of the Orphan spirit and the example of her mom and sisters, was eager to experiment with her changing body.  She got her chance when Charlene asked her to babysit the two oldest kids while she took Toby to the baby doctor.  The first thing Kristy did was tell Scott and Shelby they were all going to take a bath together (an idea she got from an uncle) as she made them strip down naked with her alongside them.  Scott did not know how to feel at age seven.  She was the babysitter and seemed very nice, but his spiritual antenna went up; something was wrong.  The stimulus of arousal confused Scott. He experienced feelings of shame at being naked, and the sight of a young woman’s body for the first time.

Kristy was clever under the inspiration of malevolent spirits.  She used the guise of washing the two children to take advantage of them and touch them in their private parts and then, of course, they had to wash her all over too.  Scott never did say anything to his mom, and a tentacle of the Orphan spirit via sexual contact attached itself to Scott for future reference. Someone else touching his body felt good, and Scott was being lead down the path of controlling his body, feelings, mood, and pleasure that way thanks to the Orphan spirit.

The courtyard east of Scott’s and closest to the IGA store featured some unique family structures, but all equally orphaned and marginalized in one way or another.  Scott was like an empty hard drive, formatted with all of this new raw data.  He took it all in without making any judgments, having no grid or scale to judge.  He accepted them all and loved them, until experience and knowledge of good and evil forced him otherwise.

Clara’s light was bright in the midst of the project’s darkness.  She was a community grandmother of sorts.  She took in all neglected and abandoned children within her reach or sphere of influence.  She let them spend the night in her apartment if they ran away after abuse, beatings, or forgetfulness of a parent caught up in their own stuff.  Some parents had the habit of staying out drinking and did not come home, or if they drank at home, passed out on the couch without feeding or caring for the kids. These kids came to Clara.  It happened more than most thought, and Clara loved the kids without asking for details or reproving the lousy parents.

If a child came home from school and a parent was not home, they went to Clara’s apartment.  When Scott’s mom was in an emergency and had to go somewhere the kids could not, she dropped Scott, his brother, and sister off with total peace and confidence they were cared for. Clara never asked for a dime either. She sincerely loved all children, and it was payment enough spending time with them.  Scott could count on three or four kids staying at Clara’s if he was looking for someone to play with.

Clara was an average looking, short, plump, grey-haired granny that reminded everyone of Mrs. Claus.  She was single and had been for most of her life.  She lived with horrendous memories of her own childhood that fueled her passion to extend herself to any child in need.  It was more than her kind spirit or generosity that drew the children to her and assured parents of her trustworthiness.  She had a powerful angel named Vidalel always at her side.  She was a life-giving angel that captained the multiple other benevolent spirits assigned to Clara.  In the spirit realm, Clara was a covert operative, accessing the throne of God like no other person in Burien Gardens.  She was the only one willing to accept a very dangerous and difficult assignment: to diffuse the propaganda the Orphan spirit spread like fertilizer, namely that people are unwanted. Clara rarely spoke, but her smile was so welcoming and inviting that everyone wanted to be around her and talk to her.

Angels distributed peace and joy to her and showered the same to people around her, like throwing confetti during New Year’s Eve in Times Square.  The action created an invisible force field that preceded her presence so that it tangibly changed and charged every atmosphere she walked into.  Clara was one of those rare people who returned good for evil, prayed under her breath for everyone she met out of genuine concern, and who simply chose to forgive every wrong done against her.

Clara’s apartment was a spiritual oasis for those slaving under the taskmaster Orphan spirit.  The Spirit of God placed Clara in Burien Gardens through his angels twenty years earlier. She relished her opportunity to pass out complete and total acceptance to all children, the same acceptance she had received herself many years before, all with no strings attached.

The Orphan spirit’s underlings of despair, hate, addiction, and violence could not get anywhere near her. Heavyweight angels protected Clara.  The joy of the Lord really was her strength, and he was an angel.  Besides what joy did for Clara, Vidalel had a unique skill set of forcing hearts open that were locked down under the control of the Orphan spirit.  Any person, adult, or child within range of Clara’s smile and grace experienced it.  For some, it was extremely uncomfortable; others could not get enough.

Scott met Gordon and Elizabeth at Clara’s apartment. Gordon was thirteen-years-old, but eleven-year-old Elizabeth was his aunt.  They lived together with an assortment of adults whose relationships were hard to decipher.  Most of them were unemployed alcoholics with mean streaks, and that was why Gordon and Elizabeth went to Clara’s all the time.

Gordon was a thick, Fred Flintstone-like kid, except for his long brown hair covering his eyes.  He had pink skin and a beak-like nose.  Gordon stuttered badly, developed from the repeated beatings and berating he received at the hands of the adults in his life.  , miraculously, he remained very sympathetic, loving, and gentle.  It had a lot to do with Clara.

Gordon befriended Scott and Shelby out of deep need and desperation for acceptance, on the first day they moved in.  Scott’s mom was not so sure about a kid that age playing with her little kids until she watched them out of her apartment window for an hour one day.  He was big, but emotionally the same age as Scott, and Charlene knew he would not hurt a fly.

Elizabeth, Gordon’s eleven-year-old aunt, looked like Pipi Longstocking with her braids. She wore over-sized coke bottle glasses that almost concealed her crooked, home-cut bangs.  She was smart, friendly, and sassy, but not very personable.  She was not like Gordon at all, and Scott knew intuitively that she was afraid to get too close to anyone.

There were stories about Elizabeth that eventually everyone came to know.  Even at a place as warped as Burien Gardens could be, the twisted nature of Elizabeth’s story shocked people.  Scott heard a fanciful version, but the crux of it was true. When she was a little girl, her mother, in an alcohol-induced rage, punished her because she walked in on her mother in bed with a boyfriend.  Her mom decided to hold Elizabeth down and poke the corneas of both eyes with toothpicks for spying on her.  Of course, her mom was sorrowful and shameful later, but out of self-preservation, forced the young girl to tell everyone she did it to herself.  The damage was done.  Scott knew that was why Elizabeth never looked at anyone directly.  The Orphan spirit had branded her in an attempt to ruin her forever.  Clara’s love was the first to penetrate her shredded trust.

The weekends provided a different (healthier) environment for Scott.  Usually they would drive to North Seattle and visit his uncle Elgin and Aunt Christina.  The Richmond Beach area was not completely developed, and there were many oversized plots of land including, his aunt and uncle’s.  It was an oasis away from the control of the Orphan spirit.  Not in the sense, that Scott’s uncle was an especially great and loving father to his cousin Jeanine, but he was available, and he did love her.  Their property-showcased acres of fruit trees (cherry, peach, apple, apricot) and a play house that kept the kids busy for hours while their mothers talked about grown up things.  There was a safety and peace on that land and in the house that Scott did not experience back home.

Aunt Christina was the dutiful homemaker who canned peaches, made apple pie, pickled cucumbers, and was always cooking a roast or turkey.  She enjoyed it and was good at it, even if it was a coping device and a way to stay busy while Uncle Elgin ignored them all working on cars and his customized Harley Davidson chopper in the garage.  Scott did get to ride on the back of the hog once with his uncle and was hooked on motorcycles from then on.  Elgin was a frustrated artist who sculpted, painted, and created varnished wood tables and furniture in the workshop of his garage while he smoked funny smelling cigarettes.  For that reason and others, the adults had forbidden the children to come into the garage, which created a mystique about it, so sometimes they would quickly run by it and peek in.

One Saturday at his aunt's house, all four children were eating their tuna fish sandwiches on the patio steps and listening to radio station KJR.  Scott overheard his mom and aunt talking about him while singing along to the song, pretending he did not hear them.  Saquerel turned up Scott's volume on all levels, including heart and spirit.  Aunt Christina unknowingly prophesied, “Scott has something special about him that I can’t put my finger on.  He is going to be important someday and change the world.”  Her words amplified from the spiritual realm, and she did not know why she said them. The power of those words took root immediately.  Scott’s angel took the declarations and spread them like butter over Scott’s soul.  He had a destiny, value, and purpose.

Chapter 13 - Demons in Disneyland

Saquerel was skillful at deflecting the dark spirits that tried to attach themselves to Scott. He bravely and fearlessly led Scott through the gauntlet of attacks, of which Scott was completely unaware.  The fallen ones came in a constant stream from every angle, like flaming arrows in a battle.  They were desperate and relentless to find an opening or access to a host and would pick and claw at any possible opening, legally or not.  They found no rest until they manifested their nature through the Father’s creation.  This was their only temporary release and their ultimate rebellion.  That the Father allowed it and turned it back on them still puzzled Saquerel.

Through Saquerel’s experience with them over the eons, he had learned the nature and limitations of demons or evil spirits. There was a hierarchy of sorts, but it was chaotic, and there was no loyalty or honor.  They turned on one another in a minute, and because they followed orders based out of fear and not love, stronger spirits than themselves manipulated them.  The continual fear of their next mode of existence, the abyss, dictated their actions, causing them terror while at the same time hardening them.

Modern humanity (mostly Western culture) under the influence of Satan had written off the existence of demons and evil spirits as some kind of fairytale made up by primitive man, all the while being lead about by them like a horse with a carrot.  Satan was perfectly content with that, at least for now.  Eventually though, he demanded outright worship from humanity.  In reality, in supernatural reality, Saquerel knew the demons were personal beings with a will of their own.  They had intelligence and enough wisdom to work within a certain hierarchy.  Their knowledge was limited and varied, and they expressed themselves emotionally.  Like angels, demons had no physical body, but unlike angels, they longed to express their natures through a physical body, preferably a human one.  They spoke and lied when exposed, but behind it, all was the primary function of all demonic powers, evil spirits, and fallen angels: to serve Satan in his rebellion against God and those that were one with him. It was still difficult for Saquerel to consider that these creatures used to worship God and to realize how far they had fallen. There was no way for him to recognize who they used to be.  Their natures had completely changed.

Saquerel wanted so much to open the eyes of human beings bamboozled by Satan’s henchmen and, on certain occasions, Michael gave him permission.  Sometimes, humanity responded, but many times, they did not. One thing the evil spirits had in common was that they knew their end, which made them especially combative to fight for the little time they had left to torment and terrorize.  They always seemed to work together in groups or families.  Saquerel noticed the spirit of rejection that clawed at Scott had two other spirits attached to him in close proximity (the spirit of fear of rejection, and the spirit of self-rejection,) and all three of them worked for the Orphan spirit. They wanted to enter as a tag-team to keep any meaningful empowering relationships from forming. Saquerel was not surprised that the enemy formed this strategy against Scott at such a young age.  The enemy saw something in Scott that threatened him and pulled out the big guns.

Saquerel was easily able to fight them off by reinforcing identity through dreams and speaking to Scott through his spirit, through the comfort of his mother Charlene, and an infusion of angels of peace and comfort that were always on standby. It released the protection Scott needed to close up the chink in his armor.  The only time Saquerel failed to fight them off was when Scott gave them an official invitation, which he unknowingly offered by agreeing with and acting on the spirit’s statements, expressing their nature on his own accord.

It did not seem just or fair to Saquerel that the adversary’s spawn had a right to access, manipulate, and torment Scott, who was the Father’s creation. Saquerel knew better than to question the Father’s wisdom or justice, and really, Saquerel knew that ultimately the only reason for the demons to continue to exist was to reinforce humanity's dominion. That made it even more valuable when humankind chose the Father.

The demonic imps that gained access to Scott’s life early on were like strategic, carefully placed land mines.  The land mine effect was when the evil spirits erupted and manifested, sometimes many years later, waiting for the greatest opportunity to damage and destroy as many lives as possible.

The dark spirits of rejection, abandonment, and anger gained entrance into Scott’s life at the age of seven all in the same week.  It was a setup that Saquerel could do nothing to stop, at least not yet, because Scott had invited them. These same spirits motivated and manipulated Scott’s actions and relationships for years, and Saquerel worked within that framework and bade his time until Scott’s eyes opened, and he wanted to be free. At that time, Saquerel joyfully escorted them out.

Scott’s mother saved all her tips from waitressing in a couple of big empty whiskey bottles for over six months, and the young, single mother accomplished quite a feat in taking her three kids, Scott age seven, Shelby age five, and Toby age three on their first airplane ride to vacation in Disneyland.

All of the kids were excited. The heightened expectation coupled with exhaustion, the heat, and pressure to appease the cries and requests of all three kids put Charlene over the edge. Her fuse shortened after hours in the park, so when Scott, in a whiney, complaining voice cried to get his way, she lost it and said words she regretted for years.  She had no concept as to what transpired in the spiritual realm, but she did know it was bad by the look on Scott’s face. Saquerel did know what transpired, and it gutted him.

Scott stood next to a popcorn cart on Main Street where the parade took place daily and fireworks nightly. He negotiated hard for a different ride than what the rest of them wanted to go on. Charlene exhaled frustration by screaming and glaring with contempt, “Go ahead and do what you want, I am sick of you! You are on your own. I don’t care what you do.”  Although Charlene knew she did not mean the words almost simultaneously to the phrase leaving her lips, the wound opened a hole big and long enough that the tripartite spirits of rejection, abandonment, and anger, which had been hovering, gained access. Saquerel tried to swat them away even though he knew it was fruitless, because they had an official invitation allowing them entrance due to the hurt inflicted by a loved one, by his caregiver.  This was a real setback in a sense, but eventually Scott, Saquerel, and the Father overcame them.

Little Shelby and Toby teared up in anticipation of seeing their brother turn around and walk away.  Evil spirits of a different variety, namely fear, were attacking Shelby and Toby, and their angels were fighting hard too.

As soon as the spirits gained access and were inside, they formulated thoughts and directives, making them seem like they were Scott’s thoughts. “I don’t need you either; I will be fine on my own, and I don’t need anyone! I will survive on my own,” the spirits thought for him.  In survival mode, Scott’s little mind projected the next day, how he would eat from the garbage cans and sleep in the bushes at Disneyland.  Rejection set in, causing anger, and the Orphan spirit was set and inserted like a custom-made protection layer. Rejection from that day forward kept everyone except the most persistent out of his life.

Scott was, from that day on, no longer a little boy who needed his mom, but a guarded little soldier looking for a fight and pushed people away before they pushed him away. The ultimate goal of the family of spirits that gained entrance was to implant the concept of rejection by the Father.  The spirit of rejection was much more diabolical and insidious than most humans realized, Saquerel thought.

Charlene gathered herself and charged after Scott, who turned around and dejectedly walked away.  She roughly grabbed his arm and shouted, “Where do you think you are going?” She then realized when she saw the pain, glare, and spite manifested through Scott’s eyes by the spirit of rejection that he believed her words and emotionally digested them.

Guilt and shame tormented her at even deeper levels.  They were her daily demons to battle, accusation coming at her from her own mind and the enemy of her soul. Charlene realized she hurt her son, but instead of apologizing, which could take the power of the offense away (Saquerel watched Volel beg her to do it); she entrenched in her self-justification because she was right, and she was the mom.

Chapter 14 - Scott’s Early Years

Scott’s elementary years, for the most part, were uneventful, except for the fights he got into and the many adventures of exploration he went on, both of which underscored the control of the spirit of rejection and Scott’s need to prove himself.  Scott was short and slight, but quick witted, wiry, and nimble with a motor always at full throttle.  He was one of those kids who had to be the center of attention.  Eight-year-old Scott had the features of a large percentage of American boys found in most US cities in the early seventies and was continually mistaken for someone’s brother or son in large crowds.  He was skinny with brown hair and eyes and very light freckles. The smile of his round, Irish face featured buckteeth. Even if Charlene were not engrossed in her developing restaurant management career, she would not have known how to channel Scott’s voracious appetite for experience and knowledge into an academic vein.  She treated him more like an adult than a child.

The unclean spirits rubbed his face in his rejection continuously.  They taunted and tortured him with feelings of unworthiness, which manifested in different mischievous ways, including isolation, unwarranted anger and anxiety, violence to siblings or animals, and picking on classmates that the evil spirits knew they could dominate and damage through Scott.

Saquerel patiently infused and spoke identity to Scott in any way he could, but mostly through dreams during this period of his life.  A few good role models made an imprint in Scott’s life, like Mr. Lawson, his Cub Scout leader, and his baseball coach, Mr. Connors; they were people who took time to teach and train Scott, making him feel valuable.  Many times Saquerel called in angelic reinforcements when the enemy overstepped his bounds and tried to destroy Scott’s identity or even kill Scott. Demons did not fight fair.  In that in between place of sleep and dreaming, when Scott was about to wake up, he felt the weight of the demonic oppression on him and sensed heavenly help pulling the heavy, filthy spirits off of him.  Scott intuitively knew about the spiritual realm and remembered as a little boy feeling completely free to come before God, but now he was afraid of it, the dark spirits made sure of that.  The demons had no chance to reveal their filth through a believer who had confidence operating in the spiritual realm, so strategy and logic dictated that human beings should be convinced the spiritual realm and hence God, was scary.

Junior high was an eye-opening experience for Scott where the battle for his soul escalated in the spiritual realm. While the enemy worked overtime to eliminate any structures or meaningful relationships with the spirit of rejection, Saquerel coordinated different arenas of structure that reinforced community and acceptance like clubs and sports.  Rejection worked hard to make Scott another statistic of wasted potential sucked into oblivion.

Already experimenting with marijuana and alcohol in junior high, the enemies of Scott’s soul drove him to the edge of the cliff.  Saquerel dragged him back in the seesaw battle. Scott was so small going into junior high (sixty-nine pounds) that most of the kids or teachers thought he was a fourth grade sibling of one of the other students.  Scott’s sizing immediately worked to his advantage in one way for Saquerel, however, with the school wrestling team recruiting him as their lightweight. The team had a hard time finding kids small enough for the bottom two-weight classes.  Principles of hard work, being recognized for effort, and being considered part of a team poured into his soul’s need to belong like an ice cold glass of lemonade on a hot summer’s day. The spirits of rejection were furious watching the tightness of their grip slacken.  It was a serious blow to their control.  Wrestling continued to be a big part of Scott’s life for the next six years; he learned to push past pain, commit to a team, discipline himself in a number of ways, and above all, continue to fight and not give up.  Those lessons became part of him and saved his life.

Chapter 15 - The Pike Place Market

Scott’s mom was the general manager at Lowell’s Restaurant in the top tourist attraction in the city of Seattle, the Pike Place Market.  This was one of the most unique and diverse farmers markets in the country and certainly the oldest and largest continually operating public market. It first opened in 1907 and operated Monday through Saturday since then.  Charlene was naturally friendly and regularly conversed with the different farmers and vendors who came into the restaurant downstairs for breakfast, or came in for drinks at the bar portion of the restaurant upstairs with a view over Elliot Bay after six PM when the market closed. Charlene worked there for many years and even brought her sister Christina on staff, as well as other friends and relatives through her tenure.  The market people became Charlene’s family and friends, and the market to her was more than a job; it was her community and calling.  She transferred that familiarity and love of the market to her three children who all ended up working there in different capacities.

One of the regulars at Lowell’s Restaurant was Bartolo Costello, but everyone called him Bo.  He owned one of the many produce stands with shined apples and exotic tropical fruit, as well as other Northwest produce, displayed perfectly aligned and color-coordinated, drawing in many year round tourists who took photos. He was a second-generation owner, having inherited the stand from his father who came to Seattle from Sicily.  Bo told Charlene that Scott could work for him cleaning up, taking out the trash, and helping to unload the produce from the flatbed trucks when Scott was on summer vacation between seventh and eighth grade.  Scott’s wage was five dollars a day under the table and free lunch at his mom’s restaurant. That offer was a critical strategy of heaven that delayed the developing self-destructive habits introduced by the enemy. Although Saquerel was working the Father’s plan of spiritual formation in Scott through the understanding of teamwork and responsibility, as well as developing relationships with healthy adults through wrestling and employment, there were also more challenges and dark spiritual leaches trying to grab hold of him. The battle intensified.

Scott took the metro bus #20 from Burien to downtown Seattle every Saturday morning during the school year and every day except Sunday during summers and school vacations so he could get there at six AM, unless his mom happened to be going in at the same time, in which case he got a ride.  He felt perfectly safe (thanks to Saquerel) even though predators were on standby in every shape and form.  Scott passed the donut shop on the corner of First and Pike on his way to work and sometimes went in to buy donuts.  They sold more than donuts and a sting operation shut them down for selling drugs and fencing stolen goods several years later. Runaways and drug dealers hung out at the donut shop and of course, those who did business with them.  Every so often one heard of a shooting or stabbing inside or outside the donut shop. Charlene demanded that Scott stop going inside after one of those headlines.  Saquerel called in reinforcements every time Scott had to pass. Walking the two blocks from the bus stop to the produce stand past the donut shop, the dark spirit’s tentacles reached out to Scott to pull him in, in the form of demonized pedophiles completely and desperately sick with need.  The creeps often mistook Scott for one of the runaways who were forced into prostitution and offered him money for sexual acts as he walked by and when Scott and Saquerel exposed their sickness with a look of disgust, they were quickly driven away. It was a long shot, but one of the enemy’s plans was to get Scott in a car with one of them and take Scott where no one who knew him would ever see him again. He would become one of the silent multitudes of children stolen and trafficked to another state, destined for a life of imprisoned sex slavery.  Even in the seventies, the numbers were staggering in regards to kidnapped and trafficked children.  Saquerel extended his light and choked those evil spirits’ lives out of them as they approached Scott.  They scattered like cockroaches when exposed to the light.  Saquerel then led Scott to expose and shut down the solicitations that occurred on First and Pike by calling the police with descriptions.  Besides the danger, or maybe because of it, Scott loved Pike Place Market. It was a large stage and he always felt like he was the lead actor.

Pike Place Market was the soul of Seattle.  This surrogate community and family largely shaped Scott’s personality.  It gave him purpose and confidence, not to mention money, which equaled freedom.  The confidence he grew in weakened the power of the demons of rejection trying to manifest through him. The market was a template and microcosm of world culture.  It was a way of life for its participants, much as the Middle Eastern bazaars were for the nomads.  The market was full of good and evil, represented by rich and poor.  The common bonds of commerce, food, creativity, music, generational history, and the belief in opportunity, exemplified and demonstrated the experience of several ethnic groups and nationalities. It was the draw and excitement of all that activity that made the market the most popular tourist attraction in the entire Northwest.  Everyone who worked there, including Scott, ran into world travelers and different ideas every day.  The market people were extemporaneous actors who put on a show for the tourists. They hawked their wares, threw their fish, and barked for attention. Scott, like all of them, churned butterflies in his stomach every day in anticipation of the next performance.

Very few places better equipped Scott with a spiritual kingdom mindset than the Pike Place Market.  From a very young age, he learned how to work hard, be persuasive, and sell. Interpersonal relationships were developed and stretched.  Scott learned to accept and respect lifestyles and ethnic groups that were foreign and even offensive.  He experienced politics and justice issues firsthand and they indelibly affected him.

Since the market opened in 1907, it had survived several attempts at progress or modernization designed to demolish it with the goal of building condominiums or parking. The market formed out of an issue of injustice when corrupt wholesalers of produce row cheated and took advantage of the mostly Asian and Italian immigrant farmers out of fair compensation or commission.  Because of the increasing outcry, a Seattle city council member, lawyer, and newspaper editor all wrapped up into one man helped to designate tracts of land as public markets whereby the farmers could sell their produce and provide an opportunity for the public to “meet the producer.”  Up the hill from the Elliot Bay waterfront area was Western Avenue, which intersected First and Pike Street.  It was a wooden planked area inside of Western and Pike street, known as Pike Place where the commission food houses operated and soon became the base of the Pike Place Farmer’s Market.

Early on, the market was the place to go for local and tourist alike. It was the social scene where young Seattle locals went to see and be seen.  The Mosquito Fleet, which was the precursor to the Washington State ferry system, brought in shoppers and vendors alike from various islands in the Puget Sound, such as Vashon Island, famous for its strawberries and flowers sold by farmers in the market.  The scene resembled a giant canvas as the farmers and vendors spread out their rainbow colored quilts of produce including flowers, honey, mushrooms, meat, shellfish, wild harvested berries, bundles of dill, and other delights.  Next to them, the skilled artisans who dealt in leather goods, jade, psychedelic tie-dyed t-shirts, communist and socialist books, and antiques grabbed onto passersby to tell them about the unique qualities and skills or ideas behind their product.

The Three Girl’s Bakery was one of the first businesses to take root and become a centerpiece of the market in about 1912; it was located in what shoppers referred to as the sanitary market, on the opposite side of the street from the main row of produce, meat, and fish stalls.  This was where most of the “market people” who worked regularly would go to lunch and get an authentic Jewish deli-style sandwich.  The bakery featured Brenner Bros. bread delivered fresh daily.  Multi-colored and shaped loaves of heavenly smelling bread delivered every day about seven AM would draw people in like moths to a flame: black Russian rye bread, Kaiser Rolls, cream cheese Danish, onion bagels, and macaroons, still warm upon delivery.  Scott worked in the market in the summer during his teen years.  He took his half hour lunches there in the five-seat café bakery where Ruby managed the counter.  Scott could tell Ruby would have been quite a beautiful woman in her day; she was still striking in her fifties, but always with a veneer of sadness.  Scott quickly found out why when he saw the concentration camp numbers tattooed on her arm. She was a Greek Jew with a strong accent and made Scott’s sandwiches as if she were creating a piece of art.  He could purchase the rarest roast beef bought across the street from Brehm’s Deli and thick cream cheese with condiments and vegetables throughout the market. Sometimes Scott ordered salami and cream cheese on a bagel and other times tuna on a Kaiser with potato salad and a kosher dill pickle.  Ruby’s husband, Charlot, worked at Pike Place Fish and spoke several languages.  Scott came to know him well in his late teens and admired his ability to remain jovial after all he went through in the camps.  Charlot despised the Germans for what they did and allowed and the Arabs for what they believed and intended.  He pontificated on Israel’s right to a homeland often, letting his passion turn into hatred as he sat in the bakery speaking to anyone who would listen.  When Scott worked in the market, Three Girl’s Bakery went through several changes and upgrades, including more seats.  It was where everyone got their morning coffee until a new coffee store called Starbucks opened up.

In fact, it was the very first Starbucks, and then Stewart Brothers’ Coffee, later known as Seattle’s Best Coffee, came along to compete.  Scott remained faithful to the Farmer Brother’s brand the Three Girl’s Bakery served.  Scott was happy when he found out his friend and a former co-worker at one of the produce stands, Jack Levine, bought the Three Girls Bakery. Of Jewish descent, Jack maintained the ethnic distinctiveness as well as honored the history and culture that made the bakery iconic in the market, but added a little rock and roll to it also. Jack’s sisters, Sandra and Amanda, also worked with Jack at the bakery, and they were like surrogate aunts that poked and prodded into Scott’s life.

Scott’s first recollection of the Pike Place Market was the comic book store on the corner of First and Pike next to the New York-style newsstand with papers and magazines from across the nation and the world.  Before Scott’s mom even worked at the market, she took him there on Saturdays at least once a month.  It was the first stop so Scott could trade in two or three comics he had read and re-read over the previous week, or if he was lucky, his mom would buy him a new one.  The owner communicated with Scott about the superheroes as if they were real people. He knew what happened in every edition and planted excitement in Scott for upcoming editions, villains, and delivery dates.  Scott realized the man was a big kid.  For both of them, Superman would always be the best comic book hero.  Scott did not waste his time with Super girl, but Super boy struck a chord with him.  Scott identified strongly with the trials and tribulations of someone who was so powerful and coming to terms with how to use that power.  It was a spiritual truth layered deep in all of humanity, left over, not destroyed, even from the curse of the garden, that man was destined for something great and powerful. Saquerel used this medium to speak into Scott’s destiny as a currently inactivated superhero.  The development of creative imagination and the thematic fight of good versus evil filled Scott’s deepest thoughts and subconscious.

The main entrance for foot traffic to the Pike Place Market was at the corner of First and Pike and down a slightly graded, covered walkway. As one entered the corridor, which was the first part of the L-shaped section of the market, Delaurenti’s Italian Market was on the left, and the newsstand was on the right. Delaurenti’s market sold slices of pizza at a window that opened up into the street.  Inside was every type of pasta, cheese, and sausage you could imagine.  The smells were strong but good.  Mr. Delaurenti had breakfast in Charlene’s restaurant during the week, along with half of the other owners and managers of the meat, seafood, and produce stalls, the anarchist bookstore, and others in the market.  It was cafeteria style: bacon, eggs, hash browns, pancakes, and other breakfast staples along with a fantastic view of the waterfront and the ferries.

Scott was enticed by smells the moment he began the descent.  Just past Delaurenti’s was Moss’s hot dog stand.  For several years, Scott regularly bought three hotdogs for forty cents each from Moss himself.  Moss was a chipper, wiry, middle-aged Japanese-American man with a military style crew cut who sold his hot dogs, ice cream, and coke out of a space no larger than most hall closets. Moss retired when Scott was about fifteen-years-old.  After two summers and hundreds of hotdog purchases, Moss never knew Scott’s name, or at least chose not to use it. Moss called Scott “butch” as he did every male kid, even though he knew Scott was Charlene’s son.

On the left corner before the corridor opened up to the right, was the chicken place.  Scott never did know the official name; it was just the chicken place. The family that owned and worked the chicken place drew Scott in like a magnet. They were always so nice and friendly, and they loved each other, as anyone could see.  Stan and Rita Briguglio were in their early forties and had a younger son and a daughter Scott’s age, as well as various nephews and relatives working in the back.  Rita was in charge; she worked the counter and barked orders to everyone else, but in a nice way.  Whenever Scott came to buy his regular chicken leg and thigh with a roll and macaroni salad, Rita stopped what she was doing and took time to ask Scott about his life with a big smile on her face.  She asked about school and girlfriends and teased Scott with her strong Sicilian accent.  At least once a week for about seven years, Scott dropped by and said hello even if he did not buy chicken, until one day without any warning he stopped by and did not recognize anyone who worked there.

The Briguglios sold the business and retired.  Scott never bought another piece of chicken there.  To the left of the chicken place down a sidewalk lay the Market Spice and Tea Store that had been part of the market since almost the beginning.  Shoppers could go in and get a free sample of market spice tea every day and it was very good, almost like apples and cinnamon, but something else Scott could not describe at the time; maybe ginger.  The smells inside the Market Spice and Tea Store were outrageous, including strong tea, incense, and body odor from the hippies who worked there and the ones who loitered drinking free tea.

Several fragmented paths to the left led to restaurants like Place Pigalle and markets like Don and Joe’s Meats. The main stretch of the market continued to the right where there was another long corridor of covered stalls and permanent businesses including fish markets, produce, bakeries, and delis interspersed with temporary crafts tables and farmer’s tables that varied from day to day.  At the corner of the L shaped intersection of the Market and directly underneath the big clock was the world famous Pike Place Fish Market.  Scott eventually ended up working there after graduating high school and remained in the seafood business for most of his adult life.  When people thought of the market, they thought of the energy and craziness of the fish market captured by the overhead sign that read, “Caution, low flying fish.”  Scott barked to the tourists and passersby, “Fresh crab, shrimp, and lobster!”  He consulted with the customer to find out if they were a local or tourist and helped them determine how to pack and ship a piece of the Northwest home with them.

Several times a day, he tossed a salmon from the front of the amazing display of seafood to one of his co-workers behind the counter who filleted it and wrapped it up for the customer.  The environment was like a carnival, with the sights and sounds and smells and creatures like geoduck clams that most people had never seen before. The fishmongers were all performers and they loved what they did because they received payment to be crazy, loud, and rambunctious.  The owner was a second generation Japanese man named Jerry Yokohama, and his brother, Dougie, was the manager. They were intense, no nonsense men who worked hard but had big hearts too. They came up with a nickname for Scott almost immediately after Scot lost his bearings trying to find a supply warehouse. Everyone got a nickname; it was tribal and inclusive, and it meant that you belonged.  Derrick became Cave Dog since he was always in the cooler shoveling ice. Shawn Roe became Row Boat, because he was loco and only had one oar in the water.  Greg was from Hawaii so he became Pineapple. Instead of Scott, he was now the Scout in celebration of his ability to get lost. Even several years after not working there, Scott walked by and one of the fishmongers identified him and yelled out his nickname.

Scott worked there only after several years of working at the produce stands and the bakeries in the market, realizing the fishmongers made much more money. Between Pike Place Fish and the Tomich Bakery was a stairway that led down to several levels of shops that jutted out from the hill and lead down to the waterfront. One of them was the coin shop that Scott frequented to trade buffalo nickels with the old man who owned it and the head shop where he bought a bong or rolling papers for marijuana.

Directly across the street and almost parallel all the way down to the end of the block were produce stands, the Filipino store, frozen yogurt, a horse meat store, a juice shop, a Hum Bao or Mauna Pua store, shoe shine store, cheese store, and several restaurants.  About every two hundred feet, there was a street musician or performer too, like Baby Gramps with his ZZ Top beard and steel guitar, singing his raspy folk tunes that were scandalous and hilarious.  There was the blind auto harpist, Jeanne, with her angelic voice and her son who lead her around, Artis the spoon man, and the young, one-armed black man who sang his beautiful a cappella R&B songs. There were crazy people who were regulars in the market, and Scott came to learn some of their stories over the years.  Nathan was a big mentally retarded man and his legs were deformed.  He was heavy, and he was loud.  He squawked and laughed as he said “Hi!” to everyone in the market who would give him free loaves of bread or produce, just because.  Nathan was a product of incest; his mother was actually his sister, and he had an older brother named Ernie who was worse off and less able to communicate than he was who also hung out at the market. Edith, the bag lady in her polyester stretch pants and matted filthy hair, always had something new in her shopping cart.  She traveled through the market and everyone yelled hello to her as she mumbled and talked to herself.  She acted as if she did not care, but she loved the attention.  The strangest one of all—and Scott never knew the full story—was Ole Olson.  He was a tall, skinny, bald, old man who was twitchy as a bank robber, but very good-natured and lived in the low-income apartments on site in the market.  He lost one of his arms in World War II.  People always knew he was coming because he had a trigger point that many people in the market had figured out somehow. If someone yelled the name Harold Schultz at him, he went ballistic, screaming and cursing and grabbing things to throw at them. Many of the more immature people in the market taunted and tormented the poor old man by yelling “Harold Schultz” as he walked by, creating a gauntlet of cursing.  It was a daily event and one of the idiosyncrasies of the Pike Place Market that sometimes scared the tourists but made the market people snicker and smile.

For Scott, the market was more than an important place in his life; it was his way of life, and his angel used it foundationally for Scott, but so did the evil spirits that preached their doctrines through the rabble and rebelliousness that called the market home too. The market was where Scott accessed the acid that almost ruined his life, but also where he learned how to love all kinds of people.  The Pike Place Market was a multi-cultural, social, and spiritual experience and the part of Scott’s spiritual training that was most risky and most rewarding.

Chapter 16 - Another Bad Dad

Almost as a side note and hardly worth a mention as far as Scott was concerned was that his mother Charlene re-married when he was in the fifth grade.  She met Bob Boswell in a bar because basically, he lived there.  Charlene’s criteria for choosing men had not improved, and the marriage lasted for less than two years.  Bob Boswell was a serious alcoholic who, in his continuous, innocuous, vegetative state, had little to no interaction with Charlene’s three kids. He drank a fifth of Black Velvet Canadian whiskey a day, beginning on his drive home. He was a handsome man who could pass for a young Elvis, but Bob’s severely, emotionally, crippled condition, left him with nothing to offer or give.  Every day at 5:30 PM, he assumed the position in his recliner and slowly stoned himself into a whiskey coma as he watched the news.  Many times Charlene had to walk him into bed when he passed out in the chair by 8:30.

The only good thing about him was that he had a cool car.  It was a classically restored ’59 Thunderbird, and in addition to the car, Bob’s extended family had a cabin in the Cascade Mountains directly on a river.  The whole family vacationed there about a half a dozen times over the short marriage and Scott enjoyed it.

The message spoken to Scott’s spirit through this union was that in the Father’s viewpoint, Scott was not important.  A father could not be bothered, and he did not understand. The enemies fighting against Scott got a lot of mileage out of that, and it added another bricklayer of rejection on top of Scott’s already heavy load.  The father image was under attack from day one because it was so important for Scott’s identity formation.

Stepfather Bob was just gone one day without any explanation to the kids.  They all knew something bad happened because of the funk of depression hanging over their mom and her own drunken stupor lasting several days.  A man-hating demon gained access to Charlene’s life at that point, and she renounced men for several years.  Scott overheard a telephone conversation where Charlene described walking in on Bob and another woman, and Scott felt sorry for his mom.

The situation was another notch in the enemy’s belt for sure, and the exodus of Bob reinforced instability in that home.  It was an unspoken declaration, but a declaration nonetheless that Scott assented to and that his subconscious decisions were based on.  Fathers were distant, unfeeling, and cruel, and my mother cannot offer me any comfort; she cannot even take care of herself.  It was Disneyland part two.  Fear, rejection, and self-protection pushed Scott into his own lonely world where at least he would be in control.

It was at that time that Scott isolated himself in his room, listening to the hard rock music’s message of rebellion and anger.  The intense spiritual attacks came at him from every angle, urging him to retaliate in anger at his unfair world with violence toward his siblings, or to bury himself in a protective cocoon of activities that made him feel better.  The stepfather left behind a spirit of lust via his collection of pornography consisting of playboy and penthouse magazines. Masturbation became a favorite escape route from the pain, along with alcohol and marijuana.  The addictive patterns formed and Saquerel had to respond, because with Scott’s intense personality of all or nothing, it would be no time until one of the spirits took him out.

Saquerel swung the pendulum the other way again and Scott found freedom from the bondage of destructive addictive behavior (at least temporarily) by discovering leadership, teamwork, friendship, and team sports, including baseball, and wrestling.  Academic challenges posed by some good and caring teachers and the excitement of working his new job at the Pike Place Market all softened the blows of the dark spirits. This allowed Scott to move off the down elevator and at least begin to stabilize as he gained new skills and experience.  Saquerel inserted his own strategy that capitalized on the enemy’s lack of foresight.

Chapter 17 - Junior High

Scott’s friend Frank introduced him to marijuana.  Frank was the same age and size as Scott with similar backgrounds and demons.  Frank’s mom, Judy, was a step removed from a flower child hippie, very anti-establishment and extremely open about everything happening in her life. It was not a surprise that Judy kept a large wok underneath their living room futon full of pot as a kind of replacement for a cookie jar.  Apparently, it was community weed, and Frank grabbed a handful whenever he wanted and showed Scott how to smoke it when they were in seventh grade.

Scott turned off God’s voice through his guardian angel.  He did not pray or acknowledge God anymore but lived in almost constant anxiety and a state of rejection thanks to the dark spirits.  Once they got in at Disneyland, they were like a weed that kept growing back no matter how many times Saquerel hacked at them. Scott eventually cast them out permanently, but for now they had access and permission granted by Scott.  The spirits used every advantage to twist the knife as much as they could.  The demons were like a pack of hyenas anticipating the kill.  Scott always felt like he had to prove himself, and because of that, he did many risky things to get attention, such as stealing, fighting, and vandalism.  Because of his lack of accountability, he got away with most of those things.  His was a very polarized and paradoxical existence. He was an excellent student but always in the office getting swats for antagonizing substitute teachers.  He was on the wrestling team in junior high, but getting stoned on weed out at Hick’s Lake right before the match. He was involved in student government, but vandalizing the school after hours.

The spirits of rejection had him chasing his tail trying to fit in with every social group, and the stress of it drove him to medicate with drugs, which was the primary strategy of the enemy for Scott’s downfall.  They had to cloud his thinking and eliminate the strength of his mind.

Saquerel could see that strategy taking shape, but was limited as to what he could do directly to stem the tide, and he was losing access to Scott’s mind where the battle was taking place. Saquerel passed on his current strategic position via download to the heavenly realm as he did many times before when he was unable to move forward with the Father’s plans for Scott. Saquerel could not get Scott to pray and release him and other angels to do their job, so what the supportive spirits did then was rally those who were part of Scott’s circle of influence, and they prayed.  They received urgency in their spirit for Scott, and most thought it was just their concern, when it was actually the concern of heaven. This included both his grandmother and great grandmother.  Even those who did not know Scott, but were open to pray in the Spirit or for the impending move of God’s Spirit in the Northwestern United States, prayed for Scott whether they realized it or not. Scott was not a middle-of-the-road, on the fence kind of person; he was hot or cold. He was angry or happy.  You were his friend or you were his enemy.  Psychology called him a vacillator.  During his seventh grade year, the bullying spirit of rejection lined up critical comments from girls in his class, mostly commenting on how small he was, as well as taunting from older kids and cruel and mean statements from some of Scott’s teachers meant by the enemy to invalidate Scott’s identity and destiny.  Scott lost every single wrestling match his seventh grade year and his teammates ostracized him, which amplified the already playing broadcast taking place in his mind: Loser! Loser!

That is why when his friend Frank said, “Let’s get high,” it was an easy decision. Anything to escape the pain he did not even realize he was feeling.  The demonic assignment was to completely invalidate Scott’s life, incapacitate him, or kill him if they could.  He had a big target on his back in the spiritual realm, and there were several other demonic teams on standby ready to take him out if he progressed into their arena of activity.

Scott’s mind was dangerous because it was the gateway to renewal and transformation of body, soul, and spirit, and his was a very strong mind.  The set up was to dilute life’s details and manipulate Scott’s decision-making process through drugs.  Marijuana made him more open to destructive behavior and all the other drugs that followed in sequence.  Marijuana relegated him to a certain status socially, giving rejection even more ammo.  The kind of people he hung out with when he did those drugs were the source for more demonic bugs to attach onto Scott. They used LSD, cocaine, and PCP.  They were involved in theft and violence, and some of them who opened all the way up to suggestion were involved in Satanism.

The pot took the edge off, but it also robbed Scott of any joy or motivation, dreams or goals.  By the time Scott was in the eighth grade, he was buying sixty-dollar bags of Columbian weed and rolling up joints mixed with parsley to increase the volume so he could support and pay for his own habit of daily use.  Scott was still walking the tightrope between two worlds but was losing his step.  His grades diminished, he slept all the time, and he became antisocial with everyone except those who got high with him.  He became brazen and bold to the point of robbing even drug dealers who had plants growing in private fields.  He and his friend, Victor, were very lucky the growers never caught them when they harvested twenty mature pot plants out of a field in South Park. The drug dealers probably would have beat them to within an inch of their life, if not kill them. Scott loved marijuana so much he would have eaten it on a sandwich if the only choice of consumption.  It was truly an addiction, maybe not physically, but certainly psychologically and emotionally.

The compulsive, addictive habit patterns formed in those junior high years, even though Saquerel was there administrating God’s power to help him be free from it if he would cry out in pain and make his way back by opening up his heart to the love of the Father. Unfortunately, Saquerel knew Scott was like most humans and had to learn the hard way. Saquerel knew how Scott broke free, and paradoxically, it was by letting the enemy and his addictions push him to the very edge, and Scott was almost there.  Saquerel was there to pick up the pieces when they fell and relished the soon coming day when he helped Scott turn all of this pain back on the enemy. Hell in Stevie’s basement was that impending day, even though Scott could not see it, and it was right around the corner.

Chapter 18 - The Seesaw of High School

Scott regained his spiritual eyes and ears in Stevie’s basement, but just because Scott was aware of the battle for his soul did not mean the battle was over or even easier.  In fact, Scott’s behavior changed very little at first.  Both the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light fought for their existence in his life regularly, and sometimes at the same time.  He was spiritually bi-polar like many teens, just more of an extreme.  Scott was aware of the dark spirits existence in every decision he made and was disheartened more severely because of it when he chose wrong. The angels of light led by Scott’s guardian angel competed for Scott’s heart and allegiance in an ongoing seesaw battle.

Even after the amazing revelation of the spiritual realm, Scott did not go to church or a youth group except for a few times during high school.  A number of reasons he used to excuse himself were valid.  The church people were hypocrites, including his friends Dave and Larry, who were youth leaders but partied more than Scott did.  Religion seemed phony, stuffy, and arrogant in Scott’s narrow experience via the Lutheran church, and frankly, based on Scott’s understanding of good and evil, the church did not get it.  The people he talked to had no clue of the magnitude of the spiritual battle as they droned on about the golden rule, and he could not talk to anyone about it without them thinking he was crazy.  Honestly though, Scott liked his rebellious friends, and the spirit of rejection still had a small hook in Scott’s nose.  He was desperate to belong and decided religion would not alienate him.

One thing anchored Scott; he read his Bible as a spiritual discipline.  He knew by experience that there was some kind of mystical power in reading and believing what God said. He had proven it more than once since the drug overdose.  He read it, believed it, prayed it, and declared it over his life, and a supernatural peace and comfort ensued.  Saquerel loved it, because it allowed him so much more latitude to work in Scott’s life. There was no denial or shame of God at all.  Scott boldly declared the limited truth he knew and talked to anyone who wanted to know about God or the supernatural; no one would shoehorn him into a category of believer. Scott was clearly aware of both angelic and demonic activity in music and movies and raised the issues and questions to those who watched with him as they gave him blank stares. Later, he realized he was also acutely aware of angelic and demonic spirits that dominated an individual or were operating in a gathering like a rock concert or party.  It was unnerving at first, but he eventually learned how to put down his antenna and raise it again.

One night, as he and his friends Shawn and Rob were cruising Burien looking for a keg party, they rolled into a driveway to see Doug, the teen who lived in the house, trying to calm down and console his adult neighbor at the fence between both their yards.  A powerful presence in this man drew Scott to him.  Scott sensed a goodness that was rare and foreign, and walked straight up to him.  Doug thought Scott was there to mock the man and create more trouble so he told Scott to leave, but Scott did not budge.  The blonde haired, blue-eyed man’s name was Terry, and he was visibly upset and crying because of the debauchery and teenage drinking going on at the party next door.  Terry’s compassion and emotion for people he did not even know struck a chord with Scott that he was unaware even existed.  Saquerel saw the other angelic spirits around Terry and immediately joined them for a download.  “This man was the real McCoy,” thought Scott.  “He can see what I see, but he is doing something proactive about it.”  Doug kept asking Terry if he was going to call the cops, and Terry said no and locked onto Scott’s face, which had been staring and drinking in the conversation between Terry and Doug and said, “I know you are a believer. You have to get out of here, there is evil happening, and you have to leave and forget that you ever saw this place tonight.”

Scott thought Terry was a little melodramatic, but knew he was genuinely concerned for the kids walking down this path and for his neighbor Doug in particular.  Scott, Shawn, and Rob decided to leave knowing the party was not going to last and the cops would be there soon. Scott’s head, in a fog, contemplated his experience that night, so much so that he was oblivious to the conversation between Shawn and Rob. Scott ran into Terry again a couple years later when they ended up at the same church together, but at that point, he said goodbye.

Now that Scott was spiritually aware, the new team of evil spirits assigned to him worked more subtly. He made it through the drugs gauntlet, so they reformatted their plans to take Scott down in a couple different ways.  Primarily, it was to replace marijuana with alcohol as the mind-weakening agent to allow them more leniency and power of suggestion.  The timing was right, also, to introduce lust and sexual temptation more strategically too.  Saquerel knew by experience and revelation what was coming and the probable progression and he prepared himself for the next battle by calling in reinforcements, both human and celestial.  Scott’s mind was in the process of restoration and renewal even though he drank with his friends just about every other weekend. He only let himself get out of control a couple times. Scott still had a righteous fear of excess left over from the LSD trip almost two years earlier. Even though rejection’s grip weakened, it was still there.  The malevolent spirit drove Scott different directions in search of acceptance, being careful not to raise a red flag.  However, the dark spirit’s impatience and Scott’s angelic backup always exposed them.  A prime example was Carol Hoffstead, an attractive girl, but one with a reputation for being a lush and promiscuous.  She took a demonically enhanced liking to Scott and asked him out. She roped Scott in with her seductive smile and strong hint of sexual activity.  He partially saw the trap but still walked into it believing she was out of his league. She had amazing eyes, a long, thin torso, and was very busty, and she knew how to walk and wear her clothes so that boys could not ignore her.  She was on assignment for the dark spirits but did not even know it.  They pimped her to try to destroy Scott, but they did it way too impetuously and impatiently, allowing Saquerel to expose them.

Scott and Carol sat drinking beer in Scott’s white ’69 Camaro parked at the edge of a fence overlooking Boeing Field and the airplanes taking off.  Carol suddenly and out of sequence asked Scott a question as she extended her hand.  “Would you take this acid with me so we can both be relaxed and enjoy ourselves?” She asked as she slid off her top and bra, exposing her breasts. The message was clear: you do not get me without taking the drugs. She and the demonic spirits were going for the kill. This strategy usually worked, and they thought they had Scott compromised enough with the beer and the promise of sex that he would take the acid again, but they were not omniscient, and they were wrong.

Saquerel opened Scott’s instantly sober eyes to where he was spiritually, and he discerned the dark spirits as puppet masters using Carol as a marionette.  He was never going to take the acid, and for them to try and use this girl to get him to do it only reminded him of how much he hated them for what they did to him two years earlier and also how much they desperately wanted to destroy him.  The night was over for Scott, and he did not even answer Carol. He started the ignition and drove Carol home. Meanwhile Carol was frustrated with a puzzled look on her face and in an elevated tone asked him what his problem was.

After that fateful night of the LSD trip, Saquerel spoke more and more boldly to Scott and more specifically as the battle intensified.  One of those times was when Scott went to the store to buy some Copenhagen snuff or chewing tobacco.  The other wrestlers on Scott’s team exposed him to Copenhagen snuff and Kodiak wintergreen flavored snuff. They all “dipped.”  The baseball players all did it too.  Users were easy to detect if you knew what you were looking for. The coaches let the fat-lipped, mumbling wrestlers who spit every couple of minutes, slide and did not call any of them on it, most of the coaches being users themselves. Without Scott realizing it, he tried to fit in with his team by chewing or dipping, as they called it.

It did not seem like a big deal to Scott and certainly nowhere near as bad as smoking.  It had never occurred to Scott that it could have any spiritual ramifications either, so he was surprised when, at sixteen years of age and in line at the AM/PM Minimarket to buy, his first can of Copenhagen, his angel spoke to him.  Saquerel spoke so clearly that Scott turned around and looked for him when he heard the pleading command, "Please don’t start this habit.”  When he noticed no one was there, Scott realized who and what it was and let Saquerel speak to his mind and spirit.  "If you begin this habit, it will rob you of time, money, health, and a clear conscience before God for years and years. “Scott felt exposed, as if everyone else around him knew he was disobeying, but he stayed in line anyways and bought the chewing tobacco with his false ID. That day was like the one in Texas that Scott could go back to in his mind and always remember as an adult, a time heaven was concerned with his natural life. He wondered how often God spoke to him and he did not listen.  Saquerel’s advice was spot on, and Scott could have kicked himself for not listening at that time as the chewing tobacco later became a symbol of Scott’s self-will and rejection of God’s leading in his life, especially as tobacco became an ingrained habit.

Scott’s logic, persuasiveness, attention to detail, and sharpness of mind increased to the degree that his tenth grade English and speech teacher, Mrs. Roth, singled him out as a suitable candidate for Mr. Lien’s competitive speech and debate team. Saquerel involved himself in the decision.  Scott thought to himself that he fit in with those nerds and made them cooler, but even in that environment he still felt the heaviness of rejection.  Scott was as smart as Brian Chinn with his bowl haircut, horn-rimmed glasses, Star Trek fact book, and uncanny recall ability, but nowhere near as disciplined and determined (at least academically.) Scott had average study habits and tried to compensate with quick wit and intelligence.  It did not work in that class. Speech and debate exposed Scott as academically lazy, and he learned how to research.

Most of the students in speech and debate took it very seriously, and many saw it as preparation for a legal career.  The majority of them went to academic study camps in the summer and learned how to research and create file cards to summarize arguments and positions for the yearlong proposition.  They prepared both a negative and positive position on a specific topic that they argued in teams of two.  The structure was very similar to how a legal team operated.  At least Scott got Carol Van Gundy as a partner.  She was very much like Scott, in that she was a party chick, besides being smart and outspoken.

Scott and Carol researched and built a case around a yearlong topic and then researched to pick apart the same topic:  “Granted, the United States should greatly curtail its arm sales to other nations.”  Scott and Carol developed reasons and evidence to support that statement as if it were their case to defend, as well as organized arguments and evidence to poke holes in the same statement when they were competing on the negative side of the tournaments, using research and statistics to back it up. The debaters used periodicals and magazines like Time, US News & World Report, and Christian Science Monitor to make their points and poke holes in the inherency of the other cases.  There were several tournaments throughout the year, all over the state against other schools.  Carol and Scott even made it to the semi-finals of one of the prestigious tournaments with quite a large crowd of spectators watching.  The debaters were the future lawyers and political leaders in training, as well as sales people, actors, and preachers. Besides the partnered, yearlong topic, each student was required to do an individual speech that judges graded based on specific criteria.  The students, who performed Dramatic Interpretation, or D.I., mesmerized Scott.  Dramatic interpretations were timed, melodramatic monologues; individuals acted out displaying their ability to get in and out of several characters.

There were extemporaneous speeches based on world events and social issues, whereby the competitors had five minutes to develop a comprehensive talk demonstrating their knowledge and grasp of an issue.  Scott was watching one of those events when the topic was euthanasia, and one of the debaters faked it and spoke about young Chinese people.  Scott’s individual event was persuasive speech. He chose to do his on the dangers of addiction and de-sensitization through video games. The only time he ever came in first place was when his judge was a blind woman.  All the while, the other contestants kept on silently mouthing to Scott how unfair it was.

No arena was off limits for the angels of light or darkness.  Scott’s speaking and research ability contributed to his persuading people in the future.  Saquerel cheered Scott on and made sure that this part of Scott’s high school experience was enjoyable by under girding him with revelation, empathy, and a passion for excellent work. The predominant temptation for most of the kids in the tournaments was academic or intellectual pride, as opposed to learning, so they could serve.  They were in the whiz wheel, already starting in the rat race and feeling pressure from parents and self to make something out of their lives. Many of them, boys and girls, were not concerned about the latest jeans or hairstyle, and dating was not something they had time for, or even desired. Measuring up to the expectations of their parents and society, getting into the right colleges, and making lots of money someday took precedence.

Scott stood out from most of those in his debate class and at the tournaments, in that he did care about his appearance.  He was attractive and muscular from lifting weights for wrestling and unloading the produce trucks at work.  He had shoulder-length feathered brown hair like Keith Partridge and was sure to spend his earnings on the latest Britannia jeans for casual wear and the Sergio Valente or Oscar de la Renta dress slacks he wore at the tournaments.  He wore custom-made, one hundred percent wool, double-breasted Italian suits with silk ties and expensive London Fog overcoats in an attempt to create an image of success and to be accepted.  Scott had perfect skin that all the girls who knew him loved and an inviting smile to go with it.  He was still short in high school, but thanks to a growth spurt, Scott wasn’t the shortest boy anymore.

Many of the driven and focused girls at the tournament struck up conversations with Scott, who was friendly enough, thinking that maybe they had a chance to corral Scott, who was partially out of his element and on display in their arena.  During the breaks between rounds and waiting for awards, Scott scoped out the crowd, trying to find the foxes. Lust had pushed to the front of the pack of demonic tempters as of late and was methodically laying groundwork to hook Scott.  Scott had very little experience up until that point with girls because of his fear of rejection, but felt like he had better than average odds in the debate environment.  He never once had a girlfriend from the same school in case it did not work out and she told everyone what a loser he was (according to the spirit of rejection.)  He was not able to handle that and could not take the chance.

In the middle of Scott’s junior year, he attended a speech and debate tournament at Pacific Lutheran University.  Scott could get into character and risk facades in this environment since no one knew him. Saquerel was onto Rejection’s set up through the agency of lust, which was to damage Scott’s self-worth and spirit even more by reeling him in with the bait of a beautiful, but very needy and messed up young woman.  Saquerel kept Scott away from her eyes for a while, actually about half the year, but he knew the odds were against him, and he had to work through this set-up. The demonic links of rejection between Scott Green and Kristi James from Foster High School were like invisible magnets attracting each other out of their extreme neediness. The enemy's desired result was mutual rejection, causing even more fear of relationships later on in life. The spirit of rejection was going for the jugular.

From across the awards auditorium with about five hundred students representing twelve different high schools, he saw her.  She was in a black, form-fitting silk dress, black stilettos, and a black pointed hat.  She was dressed up like a witch, and Scott surmised that she was a D.I. competitor.  Many of the kids who performed dramatic interpretation dressed up according to topic, which added flair to their presentations.  The witch outfit should have warned Scott right off the bat, but he turned off Saquerel's voice and his own discernment as the dark spirits pushed him forward.  Scott found out later, the outfit was more than a costume for Kristi. She considered herself a white witch, if there was such a thing.

She sat on a green corduroy couch with a group of girls laughing, facing the aisle of foot traffic.  She was the obvious leader of this pack of wild girls, and she penetrated the souls of the debate geeks as they walked by with her powerful dark eyes. She and the spirits influencing her, dared them to come and talk to her. She emasculated most of them that did. Power was her poison.

Her beauty mesmerized Scott even though her witch’s outfit troubled him.  Scott proceeded against his better judgment and out of desperation for someone to receive and accept him.  She was petite but also curvaceous and delicate.  She had an elegance that was out of place at the tournament.  She and Scott both stuck out like sore thumbs. Scott absorbed her features one by one: raven hair and ruby lips (he thought of the CCR song.)  She had a dainty, pointy nose and tiny little ears, but her eyes were what he could not get over. Scott felt like she could see inside of him. It was scary and comforting at the same time.

He had seen her before at one of the other tournaments in Bellingham at Western Washington University before Saquerel distracted him.  Some older college guys catcalled and cajoled her. Scott quickly left thinking he did not have a chance with her. Kristi was a senior (a year older than Scott was was) and a product of recent divorce.  Kristi's mother abandoned and estranged her so she went to live with her father, who had no time for her or any understanding of her emotional needs.  She gave in quickly to many dark spirits because of that pain.  Rejection was certainly one of them, but fantasy, witchcraft, and cursing also fought for supremacy.  Kristi invited the spirits, allowing them in because of her strong desire to control her environment resulting from her lack of ability to control the people who caused her so much pain in her life up to that point.

Scott and Kristi’s meeting was similar to the old television show, Love American Style, where the fireworks went off and all other outside stimulus disappeared as Kristi caught Scott looking at her.  Tractor beams locked them both in which caused them to navigate and negotiate a path towards the other with big, wide grins on both of their faces. Kristi was oblivious to anyone or anything else and approached first.  Her friend, Dawn, followed her for back up, and she smiled, holding out her hand to introduce herself.  An impulse convinced Scott to kiss the top of her hand delicately and it fed Kristi’s melodramatic need for fussing and attention.  Scott was acting a part because he was afraid to be himself but could tell that she was soon going to see everything about him, and he decided to risk it.

The pleasantries were over in less than two minutes before Kristi boldly asked Scott for his home phone number.  They both knew they were about to board their separate buses, and for some reason she wanted this boy badly and was unwilling to let him slip away.  Scott never experienced pursuit like this before and he liked it, even though he had the sneaking suspicion it was too good to be true or that there must have been some catch or something wrong with her. Otherwise, as he viewed himself through the lens of rejection, why would she like him? Saquerel was simply holding steady and waiting it out.

As soon as Scott was home, his mother asked him who Kristi was with a disappointing tone and gaze.  “I didn’t like something in that girl’s voice,” she said as she gave him the message which simply said, “Call me.”  Kristi’s own feelings of rejection made her think Scott might not have given her his real number just to blow her off.  She was relieved when he called back almost immediately.

The couple talked all night and both felt the butterflies.  They had so much in common!  He learned how extremely intelligent and creatively gifted she was, especially in journalism and poetry.  She was a published poet besides an actor and screenwriter.  To top it all off, she was editor of her school newspaper and a kid's camp counselor.  Kristi James wore her heart on her sleeve and laughed or cried at the slightest emotional gesture.  “Where did she come from?” Scott thought several days later as he read the poem she wrote for him called “Fawn Eyes.”  She wrote it for Scott in purple ink and mailed it to him in a perfumed envelope.

Scott and Kristi dated two or three times before her neediness for physical touch and affection emerged and gave permission to Scott.  She talked a lot about a former boyfriend named Shane who was a Christian and had hurt her when he broke up with her because he blamed her for his guilt for having sex and corrupting him.  “Was that a threat?” Scott wondered.

When that statement came out, it was a cue and a clue for Scott at the same time.  The cue was to let Kristi know he was also a believer, but did not associate with Christians as he shared his spiritual experiences in a very vulnerable way.  If she was going to reject him, it might as well be now.  The clue was that she was indirectly stating that she expected to be sexually intimate with Scott.  Scott was perplexed because like all normal teenage boys, all he could think about was sex all day long, but something (someone: his angel) was helping him to put on the brakes with this girl.  He somehow knew in his spirit that entering into that intimate of a relationship with her was committing him in deeper ways than he probably wanted.

Scott liked Kristi and the attention, but his spiritual alarm sounded off a lot, too.  Saquerel leaked revelation to Scott about her motives, neediness, and demons (especially witchcraft,) as well as outright warned Scott in a dream that she was a trap from the enemy, another way of compromising and medicating his pain.  Scott thought it was his intuition, but it was a heavenly download, and now he had some choices to make.  Beyond all of that, she was involved in some dark arts.  The enemies of Scott’s soul were dropping breadcrumbs of affection to lure him into the dark arts, which was only a subtle shift for his spiritual orientation, and the breadcrumbs lead to a trap he might not be able to climb out of.

Scott had difficulty cutting the ties even though everything told him he should.  He was too busy having his ego stroked by parading his beautiful girlfriend at the basketball games and movie theaters, reveling in it when someone he knew saw him.  At the end of every evening together though, the make out sessions became more intense as they grinded their clothed bodies together.

Scott felt like Samson, toying with Delilah, until one night after the movies, he passed the point of no return.  No one was home at his house, and he took her down in the basement. They snuggled in a sleeping bag where he made promises to her in the dark as they joined body and soul.  Scott could feel the invisible claws on his spirit immediately after the act as Kristi instantly planned their next rendezvous and life together.  The emotional fear gripped him and threatened to trap him, dwarfing the feelings and promise of physical pleasure.  Scott formulated the breakup plan even as he was driving her home.  He felt horrible guilt and shame but knew he would have to fight past that and end the relationship.

She took it better than he thought she would, even though he wondered what kind of witch curses she declared over him.  Scott knew he dodged a bullet and felt a splash of water hit him in the forehead out of nowhere as he contemplated the last two months with Kristi James.  He looked up; it was not raining. Then he heard Saquerel in his spirit almost commanding, “Listen to me from now on.”

The enemy had missed another major opportunity to destroy, or at least debilitate Scott, underestimating his support and the call on his life.  The majority of teen boys would shrivel out of helplessness in the presence of a young woman like Kristi. Most boys would accept what the demons in her life offered them, but Scott got away… again.  Scott did not even know all the reasons he needed to get away, he just knew he needed to.  There were other girls and other tests, but none as potentially deadly as Kristi James, the white witch.  Scott felt like a fly that had broken free from the spider’s web right before the spider got to him.

Chapter 19 - The Rat Boys

It did not appear as if much was happening in Scott’s life during high school, but Saquerel knew differently.  All the events of Scott’s life up until that point were seeds, planted from both kingdoms, only recently showing above ground. The truth was there were both wheat and tares, but both had to grow up enough so Saquerel and the other angels could separate them, though it was not time yet. In the meantime, the root systems were deepening.

As with anyone growing up, the older one got, the less one cared about other peoples’ opinion.  Scott was no exception.  He considered his life and the effect of all the supernatural experiences.  As he came into his own, he boldly dialogued with people about spiritual things. This drove most people away and some questioned his sanity based on his drug history. Each month that went by, the spirit of rejection lost some of his grip in Scott’s life since the fear of man’s opinion was the basis for rejection’s existence.

Nevertheless, in high school Scott had an inner circle of friends he hung out with on the weekends when he was not working.  It varied from two to twenty people, depending on the event.  When they were not camping at Fish Lake or staking out Rat City, they were usually at Scott’s house.  Scott’s basement was a game room with Ping-Pong, foosball, and video games, but the draw was the lack of parental supervision and Charlene’s permissiveness to parties, friends, and alcohol (as long as no one was driving.)

The majority of the time there was a core group of four boys, including Scott, who called themselves the Rat Boys.  They called themselves that because they cruised the small city called White Center, nicknamed Rat City, which incorporated their high school.  It was not its own city as much as it was a subsection of the city of Burien, ominously regarded as low rent.  White Center was nicknamed Rat City for years and no one knew why.  There were several theories, and the truth was probably a combination of all of them.  Rat City was twenty minutes southwest of Seattle, full of low-income and small houses.  It had a reputation for high crime and violence, and even in the early eighties, there were gangs.  Some said the city founders built White Center on an old dumpsite and had severe rat problems because of it, hence the name.  More likely, the truth was more innocent, in that White Center was Rat City because of the local roller rink.  Rink rats frequented Southgate Roller Rink. Scott had been there many times. Rat City was a seedy area with a higher than normal number of housing projects, and those who didn’t live there called the people who did, white trash.  Rat City connected to the Sea-Tac airport strip with massage parlors lining the highway, but was also minutes to the upscale beachfront properties along the shoreline of West Seattle, Shorewood, and Seahurst.

Evergreen High School in Rat City was a microcosm of those two socioeconomic extremes. Evergreen had the projects feeding into it within walking distance.  The upper-middle class and wealthy families of the beachfront and surrounding communities made up the balance, but the school was devoid of any real middle class.  The school of fifteen hundred was overwhelmingly white kids, with a total of about half a dozen black students, who were celebrities due to their novelty.  There was a minority population of about ten percent Hispanic and ten percent Asian as well.  During Scott’s time at the school in the early eighties, a large influx of the “boat people” from Cambodia and Laos assimilated into the new ESL program, and several Samoan families moved in from California.

Most despised Rat City as just a freeway sign on the way to the airport, but Scott and his friends Shawn, Rob, and Chris were the sentinels that guarded the four corners of Rat City, protecting it from invaders.  It was probably only a four-mile radius and easily covered completely in less than three hours.

The four Rat Boys cruised in either Scott’s ’69 Camaro, white with black racing stripes, or Shawn’s 1970 bronze Mustang, or Rob’s ’72 powder blue Plymouth duster.  Half of their evenings were consumed with procurement of a case of beer, which most of the time they accomplished by hanging out in front of the 7-11 and finding a willing adult to buy it for them. That was until Scott figured out how to get fake IDs for everyone at the passport photo shop downtown.

They usually went back to Scott’s house after their restless drive around Rat City to drink until three in the morning, play cards or foosball, tell stories, sing, and always laugh really loud. Saquerel was there the whole time and Scott knew it, as one night he was driving too fast on a very windy, twisting road, and he lost control.  All four of them were witness to the same event and struggled for explanation when Saquerel pushed Scott’s hands off the wheel and initiated an incredible series of corrective maneuvers at seventy miles per hour to bring the car to a safe stop on the side of the road, avoiding guardrails, boulders, and oncoming traffic.  The Rat Boys looked at one another in astonishment with the knowledge that an invisible force had steered them to safety and even parked the car.  After gasps and expletives, the four of them discussed God and angels. Scott led the discussion since they all recognized him as a kind of authority based on his experiences.  Saquerel listened in and smiled, feeding scrolls of revelation into Scott’s mind for the benefit of his friends.

The Rat Boys restlessly wandered the hopeless and barren landscape of White Center all three years of high school without ever sharing much of whom they were with one another, and then after the graduation kegger at Scott’s house, they all scattered without saying goodbye to each other. Shawn was going to get a degree in business at Central Washington University whether he wanted to or not, Rob would join the military after six months of parties, and Chris just disappeared.  Scott continued working at the Pike Place Market and decided to go to community college until he figured out what he was going to do with his life.  The call on his life and the vision of standing on the stage preaching to multitudes stayed with him at some level, and he was waiting for something to come slap him upside the head and point the way.  Beside all that, there was always a nagging interest and curiosity in rock and roll music.

Genes and heaven gave Scott a deep voice. His enunciation skills were good too, but above all that he had an emotional need for people to hear him.  It just so happened that the second closest community college to his home had an established hard rock radio station, KGRG FM90 that the journalism class used as a launching pad to a career in radio for many of the students. Green River Community College was in Auburn, Washington, twenty-five minutes from Scott’s home, and none of his friends from high school went there. Instead, they went to Highline Community College down the street. Scott did not care, as the spirit of the fear of man was losing its battle to destiny.  Saquerel was involved in this decision because of the vital connection Scott would make at Green River CC with one person in particular.

Scott signed up for a few general education classes in the fall after graduation, including English, Poly Sci, Spanish 201, and broadcast journalism, which got him on the radio. Scott’s on air public service announcements were extolled by his classmates because he mimicked General Patton for the Army public service announcement and Rod Serling from The Twilight Zone for safe sex PSAs.  He also completed a demo tape, or kart, which were about the size of a modern day video cassette and contained examples of one’s work and ability to segue from live talk to the music. After getting the lowdown on the life of a disc jockey, Scott began to reconsider.  The hours pay, and boondocks locations for the novice DJ made him think twice; he already made more money working at Pike Place Fish.

It was kind of strange and funny to Scott that he and his friends, who he thought were close, just parted ways and that was that.  The separation really started Scott’s senior year as each of the four Rat Boys began to come into their own man and their values manifested.  What was happening in the other realm was that, thanks to Saquerel, Scott increased in confidence and faith in his call.  He understood his experiences and spiritual understanding were unique, and he had a destiny.

Chapter 20 - Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire

Saquerel looked forward to this day for a long time, and it came together just as he set it up.  March 7, 1984, was a day of deliverance and joy for Scott and a victory for the Father’s kingdom.  Structures of longstanding lies and rejection crumbled in Scott’s mind as the ultimate truth of acceptance and inclusion established.

Scott had political science and Spanish 202 in the morning with a two-hour break before his English class in the afternoon.  Whenever the schedule worked out that way, he headed to the cafeteria, specifically the student center and up the stairs that was full of video games and pool tables so he could kill some time.  He was in line and waiting for the Miss Pac Man machine, his absolute favorite game.  Scott had played it so many times he was an expert and could make one quarter last for half an hour.

Scott realized he did not have any money on him as he got up to the machine to put his quarter up for next game, so he resolved to study and went down to his car to read in silence. As he walked down the stairs, he saw a man set up his table in the middle of the floor next to the stairwell that led down either into the cafeteria or up to the game room.  Scott thought he must have been a military recruiter and almost disregarded him.  However, the blonde haired, blue eyed, thick man had intensity about him, as well as intentionality as he attached the Velcro signs and posters to the table that he was now sitting at.  Scott was frozen standing there watching this man, and he did not know why, but Saquerel was behind it all, having tuned Scott into the angels surrounding the man and the table.  There were several that always traveled with Arnold Turner, the unassuming Evangelist and Prophet. Arnold’s own guardian angel named Mesalel traveled with Saquerel in other missions before the creation of earth and humanity, but there were many other strong angels, too.  There was revelation, a harvest angel, a wisdom angel, a faith angel, and a joy angel that created a vortex of energy that held Scott rapt in attention. Scott did not necessarily see them, but he felt them.

The demons that had hooks in Scott knew the angels were there too and they sent a powerful flee directive to Scott.  All of a sudden, getting to his car was important.  Splash!  There it was again, a big splash of water hit him in the middle of the forehead. Scott was inside a building and there was no one anywhere near that could have done it. Scott quickly discerned it was some kind of supernatural warning or leading. He realized the familiar feeling of being in a thin place between the two realms, much like Stevie’s basement bedroom, but much more peaceful. Saquerel had done this to Scott before, sending a splash of water to wake Scott up and break into his natural realm with the supernatural. Scott felt like he was a magnet with two forces pulling him at the same time, but once he made the decision to go over and see what the man was all about, the tension eased.

Evangelist Arnold Turner did not even know why he was all the way out there in Auburn Washington; it was pretty far outside his usual pattern.  He did not have much faith to see any fruit, but he followed open doors that seemed to be a leading from God when Highline Community College banned him and suggested he try another school.  Scott approached the table and read the provocative questions that the man attached with Velcro to the table.  “Is there a rapture?” “Are angels and demons real?” “What is the mark of the beast?”  “What is the sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit?” Were some of the questions. Scott knew these were biblical questions and statements designed to generate dialogue, but he had very little conviction as to what any of the statements were referring to, except the one about angels and demons.

Scott approached Arnold Turner and said, “I think angels and demons are real. In fact, I know they are.”  Scott and Arnold had a ten-minute discussion on the supernatural realm that the angels of revelation and wisdom were spoon-feeding Arnold so he could present it in a palatable way for Scott.  Arnold discerned a strong demonic presence that controlled Scott’s relationships, trust, and openness.  He did not know the depths of the talons, but he knew he was supposed to do something about it at that moment.  In an effort to avoid an overt demonic manifestation and out of respect for Scott, Arnold boldly asked him, “Would you mind if I prayed for you in one of the empty classrooms out of the way of all this traffic?”

That caught the spirits of rejection off guard, and they could not prevail against this genuine invitation based out of love for souls. They were outnumbered and outmatched, and Scott reluctantly agreed. Scott felt slightly uncomfortable, not knowing what to expect.  As they walked to one of the empty study rooms with full glass windows and doors, Arnold silently prayed and asked for authority and discernment.

Arnold’s prayer was nothing like the canned prayers in the Lutheran church Scott recalled as this man put his hands on Scott’s head and, with pained passion, commanded evil out and God’s Spirit in.  Scott felt electricity and serenity at the same time as he agreed with his faith and heart with what Arnold was saying.  He realized this man knew God and had special ability and understanding that he did not. Arnold stopped praying and asked Scott how he felt.  Scott thought about it, and the only way to describe it was that he felt lighter.  A heaviness of spirit, a demonic spirit that Scott was not even aware of until it was gone, had left.  Scott felt happy and did not know why. Saquerel watched as oppression lifted.  Fear, anxiety, and depression left Scott too.  They would come again and try to regain entrance at a more opportune time. Rejection gave them up like an interrogated criminal, but being the chief demonic spirit, he remained like a boxer in the late rounds, and he felt the irrevocable damage.  Rejection hid and conserved its strength so it could fight later.  Saquerel invited some joy angels to witness Scott’s deliverance from fear and anxiety and, as per Arnold’s prayer; the joy angels came to replace the evicted dark spirits.  Arnold and Scott celebrated and laughed together for a few minutes, and then it was time to go.

Arnold Turner was a key component in Scott’s life.  He was a Norwegian Swede, a descendant of Vikings. He carried with him the aura of someone in charge or ready to conquer, and rarely was anyone aware of his disability.  His physical weakness became his greatest spiritual strength: the ability to hear the Father’s voice and follow the leading of his army of spirits.  At a very young age in Brooklyn, New York in the late 1940s, it was determined Arnold had about ten percent hearing in both ears, but his old-fashioned, indignant father didn’t allow for a disabled son, so Arnold had to exist in a world without sound.  It polished and strengthened his ability to focus his other senses beyond normal so he excelled at sports and any activity that required concentration.

Arnold had an opportunity to become a professional baseball or basketball player, but the opportunities faded away.  He remained melancholy about missed opportunities, but something better; something eternal became his focus.  He experienced adoption into the family of the Father of spirits before he could realize how it all fit together, and then he marveled almost daily, at how God used things like being deaf for his ultimate and eternal good. Arnold came from New York to Seattle by way of the Hawaiian Islands, where he did some serious soul searching. Healed and delivered from the alcohol that controlled him, he answered the call on his life.  It was a life marked by the supernatural and a life of living by faith.  He was the first one to call out the purposes in Scott when Scott was nineteen by casting evil spirits out of him on the campus of Green River Community College.  Arnold discipled Scott for a couple months, set him up to study God’s Word at a Bible school, and then he was gone like the wind, to a different city, to a different nation.  The early connection was important and necessary to accomplish the work Scott did with Arnold, the apostle of faith, some twenty-five years later.

Scott did not realize it, but he was now on the fast track to spiritual growth, revelation, the kingdom, and discipleship.  He had reached a pinnacle of sorts and now coasted down the other side, partaking in an amazing time of sowing and harvest. The enemy’s power and access in Scott’s life had been debilitated for a season but not completely eradicated.  At least Scott’s path was clear now.  Scott gave Arnold his telephone number and address. Arnold told him he was going to pick him up and take him to his church on Friday night.  Scott did not argue, and his fear was gone.  In fact, he was curious to see the kind of church this man went to after meeting this strange, but interesting man.  Scott was in for quite a surprise.

It was Tuesday when all that happened, so Scott waited three days until Arnold and his partner in evangelism, Greg Blundell, came and picked him up for church. Greg was quite the opposite of Arnold.  He was a small, mousy man, but his determination and persistence usually won people over.  Greg reminded Scott of the Hoover vacuum salesman that came to one’s door with the rehearsed speeches bedazzling naïve homemakers.  During those three days prior to going to church, Scott was in enough of a different frame of mind that his sister, Shelby, and brother, Toby, noticed and asked him what he was smiling about and what his problem was.

When Arnold picked Scott up, there was another person in the back of Arnold’s car named Mark Mintzner.  He was huge and muscular, but with a very soft voice and carried himself as if he was afraid.  Scott noticed that Mark, Arnold, and Greg were all dressed up, but he was not.  Arnold and Greg met Mark at the South Center Mall earlier in the week, and they impacted Mark much the same way as Scott.The four of them drove down Ambaum Boulevard South in Arnold’s Ford Fairlane towards the small city of Normandy Park five miles from Scott’s house.

When they pulled into the facility, uniformed security guards directed them to the correct area.  The place was gigantic with one educational building with a gymnasium caddy corner to the main building containing a theater-style, twenty-five-hundred-seat sanctuary.  Scott remembered the service started at seven PM and took note that the parking lot was full and people were running inside at 6:30 pm, a half hour early. He wondered what the big hurry was, not knowing they were going early to save a seat in the sanctuary that was maxed out every service.  They also came early to pray. The people seemed excited and eager to go to church. It was tripping Scott out. Another security guard drove off around the corner to patrol the other end of the forty-acre campus of the large independent Pentecostal church where Scott found out the Bible College, music-recording studio, and publications were located. Scott had no clue there was a Bible college so close to his house. He never heard of this place. Faith Training Center Community Church or FTCCC was now a part of his life.

Scott was in jeans and felt out of place with all of the men he saw walking in the building in starched white dress shirts and ties with dress slacks.  He noticed the men were all clean-shaven, too.  All of the women had some kind of commonality about them that Scott could not identify.  They were all very plain looking, reminding Scott of The Stepford Wives.  None of the women wore pants; they all wore large, baggy dresses in generic earth tone colors, nothing bright.  The dresses were not very complimentary either, he thought.  Their big hairstyles reminded Scott of TV episodes of Hee Haw or Lawrence Welk.  They seemed to be happy, though, as he watched them enter the foyer door alongside Mark, Arnold, and Greg.  Scott decided to reserve judgment until he saw what was happening inside.  It felt surreal, like an interactive game or a movie that he was playing a bit role in and not as emotionally committed as the other actors.  Later on, several months later, he accepted and even embraced the simplistic obedience that the “Center people” gave to their Pastor, but for now, he chuckled to himself.

Saquerel stepped up the details and directives for Scott.  He waited patiently for everything to come to fruition, and now he was going to run with it and get the most glory for the Father out of this part of Scott’s life. He figured he had about five years before Scott needed to transition out of this environment or before the environment was no longer kingdom friendly as he downloaded the strategies from heaven. In the meantime, Saquerel knew this Bible training and revival center was the best place for Scott.  He needed the support and paradigm of a Biblical worldview after having almost none his whole life.  Scott needed someone caring to speak into his life for a little while to break his self-will and to have a human authority and divine authority other than him.  The leaders and teachers of Faith Training Center were eager to be both.  Later though, Scott loathed the spiritual abuse and over-control he quickly discerned. The demonic strongholds that co-existed with the angelic strongholds at the Center were part of the deal, but there was more good than bad at the time. The bad was pretty bad, though: extreme legalism masquerading as obedience and an acute spiritual pride that claimed it was a commitment to truth dominated the mind frames and spiritual paradigms of the attendees as well as the atmosphere, perforated with the dark spirits. Naturally and supernaturally, this was because the over-controlled associate pastors and yes men espoused that word from the pulpit. The senior pastor had cultivated them with his flattery and exaltation over the previous fifteen years. It was not all of them, but the majority, and Scott was surprised at the elders who stood their ground in a showdown with the pastor in later years. Indirectly, the pastor’s flattery and exaltation of his staff only served to entrench Pastor Dave as the supreme leader, who those same leaders never questioned until the issues were too large to overcome.  Saquerel had seen it before and would deal with the effects of that in Scott’s life in the near future.

The good was extremely good too, as the silver haired pastor sincerely travailed in prayer to declare the straight, unadulterated Word of God and received nuggets that spoke life, healing, and deliverance consistently over the previous nineteen years.  There was openness to the spiritual realm and no limits of denominational protocol that intentionally hindered the Spirit of God.  The unique move of God’s Spirit brought together many hungry hearts that co-existed in a revival atmosphere together for years.  If it had been a sending movement, only God knew what could have happened.

The senior pastor himself designed the building. Scott later found out, he was an architect before he developed a neighborhood Bible study into the empire that existed on a ten million dollar piece of property that included the twenty-five-hundred-seat sanctuary, student Bible College facility, Bible College dorms, K-12 Christian School, full time printing and publications department, and a professional recording studio. Pastor Dave Bordeaux had a left-brain emphasis that all of the details of the building, as well as governance of the church, revealed with clarity. The people called him Pastor, but he was technically an apostolic teacher who set up systems and plans and created environments for growth and expansion.  More than twenty satellite branches of Faith Training Center throughout the United States were subordinate to the South Seattle Location, as well as several Canadian and European outreaches. Pastor Dave’s people skills were very poor, but he was an excellent vision caster and teacher.  His staff (which included ninety positions) took care of the hands-on pastoral ministry and because of that, the congregants did not know Pastor Dave well. He maintained an almost untouchable Papal status due to streamlined delegation.  He was 5’9”, medium build, and fastidious about his appearance, including his snow-white pompadour toupee. Pastor Dave always wore very sharp, double-breasted Italian suits with stylish silk ties and matching handkerchief. He appeared to be in his mid to late fifties, except for the premature white hair. Scott had seen similar styled preachers on late night TV, flipping through the cable channels.

The first time Scott heard Pastor Dave preach, he was not that impressed.  Not that Scott had any frame of reference or expertise to compare.  It was simply that he expected to see a more dynamic, powerful, and eloquent speaker behind all the buildings and people.  He could see in the countenance and posture of the parishioners a disposition much like a baby bird waiting for a worm when Pastor Dave spoke, and Scott didn’t get it at the time, though later he grew in his respect for the position and calling of the Apostolic leader.

Scott never heard the holy tones before either until that first time Pastor Dave spoke.  The center people called the almost melodic monotone emphasis of speaking under the influence of the Spirit, “the anointing.”  Scott was impressed at the confidence this teacher/preacher obviously had by overcoming an obvious speech impediment.  He was unable to pronounce the letter “R,” as well as some other minor speech issues. A toddler probably said it best when he asked his mother that same first night that Scott came, “Mommy, why does the pastor talk like Elmer Fudd?”

Over time, Scott’s respect for the preacher increased, and his impression was one of a man dedicated and disciplined to bring a thorough, compelling, logical, honest, and thoughtful explanation of scripture every time he came to the pulpit.  Dave was passionate and committed, but to any newcomer or churchgoer who had not completely bought into the mission of FTC, he came off as intolerant, defensive, and arrogant.

Pastor Dave’s wife, Bonnie Bordeaux, was petite, but had a huge presence at the church. She seemed to be a perfect complement to Pastor Dave, bringing exhortations to pray and speaking the messages of her prophetic dreams and visions.  Her intensity was off the charts, and she was a veritable icon in the church, even more so than the pastor was.  She had a glory, presence, and authority about her that caused the timid to be afraid to approach her even though she was one of the most humble women you could ever meet.

After the first few times of hearing Bonnie speak, Scott got over the dramatic Loretta Lynn wig that did not seem to match her and riveted his attention away from what she was saying at first.  Scott concluded the Senior Pastors were from a different generation, raised in a church culture he did not understand, and so he did not let their sense of style detract from the message they spoke.  Dave and Bonnie Bordeaux were his apostolic leaders, but not his spiritual shepherds.

Scott saw no ornate symbols or statues of saints anywhere on the premises, not even a cross. The building was very modern in shape and style and looked more like a movie theater than a church. It was very clean, and the crimson red carpeting was spotless as it flowed from the foyer into the sanctuary.

As Scott walked into the building, the music was already playing, and there was an ecstatic expression on most everyone’s faces, as if they were lost in some deep experience. Scott had never seen anything like it. A large open prayer room positioned behind the pulpit, contained people praying in all kinds of different languages.  Scott found out later that the people were praying “in the Spirit.” They were mostly prayers for the leading of God’s Spirit over the service that night.  Scott did not recall anyone doing that in any other church he had been to.  He heard one of the men in the prayer room praying in Spanish and walked up to him listening more intently, realizing that the white guy had no idea what he was saying, even though Scott did, and he took that as a sign.  A young man whizzed by Scott, appearing to be about his own age. He was spinning as he danced across the sanctuary. As Scott looked around, he saw other pockets of people dancing and started to feel some of the joy and expectation they were moving in.  He was not scared like many people in his position might be, since he had very little religious frame of reference to measure how strange dancing in church was to mainline churchgoers.

There was a huge, four-man sound booth in the back with a video camera set up and monitors that flashed room numbers and codes on the high walls.  Scott was over-stimulated to say the least.  He did not recall the message that night as much as the intensity, passion, and sense of mission the believers had, especially during worship with people dancing and hands raised.  There were tears of joy and exuberant shouts, complemented with hearty amen’s to the message. Arnold and Greg prayed with Scott at the end of service to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and a bubbling up of a spiritual language came almost immediately.  They told Scott this was a sign or seal of God’s infilling Spirit in a greater measure and connected him in such a way to God that, when he prayed with his spiritual language, his spirit had direct contact with God bypassing his mind and energizing him.  According to Arnold and Greg, Scott would now have greater power over sin and ability to receive revelation among other gifts and benefits. Scott was truly thankful for the supernatural experience.  He prayed in the Spirit often, realizing he could connect with the God of the universe spirit to Spirit wherever and whenever he wanted to.

The initial experience came in peaceful waves that washed over him.  Peace came and pressure and anxiety left.  It was so soothing and relaxing that he could have fallen asleep, but he did not want to miss anything.  Scott had praise pour out of him for a God that he was beginning to know and understand in a brand new way. He never praised before, but apparently, his spirit knew all about it.  He came to believe and understand that the Holy Spirit baptized him in His presence as the days passed.  He desired to do everything with a new obedience, empowered by the Spirit. Scott was excited and enthralled with all of this, but very shortly, found himself and his new found faith sorely tested, as counter attack and challenge to his new spirituality hit him swift and hard, and he failed miserably.

Chapter 21 - Transitions, Gifts, and Open Visions

Just as in a natural birth, in which the transition is the most difficult and dangerous part, so it was for the spiritual birth.  Saquerel and Scott made huge strides that opened Scott up to a series of increased enemy attacks that came after his initial period of baby grace.  Some of the attackers were from the usual suspects, such as lust and rejection, but some were new, such as dogmatic religious intolerance. The new attacks and stepped-up old attacks were out of necessity, since Scott staggered the enemy with his rapid spiritual growth.  The enemy stepped up their strategy by releasing bigger guns.  Scott was under the impression that everything was going to be easier now he was a committed believer filled with God’s Spirit.  The previous three months grace and protection made that thinking seem logical as Scott, with faith and a new joy, walked almost unmolested by the kingdom of darkness.  The slated enemies, however, were simply lying in wait, regrouping, and waiting for a more opportune season. They were defeated and exposed, but their lie to Scott was that they still controlled him.

The next three months at FTCCC closed the deal for Scott.  He spent a lot of time with Greg and Arnold, asking questions and happily getting them answered.  Scott met people his own age who were radically different from his high school friends, disciplined and committed to FTC as if it were a military institution, and they had recruited him for the cause.  For the next three months after his initial deliverance on March 7, 1984, Scott’s weekends consisted of Friday night service from seven until ten, working at the Pike Place Market all day on Saturday, and Sunday morning service beginning at ten AM that melted into Sunday evening service ending at around midnight, with some food and a nap in between.  During this time, Scott soaked in the messages of the center the pastor taught with such fervency and expectancy that they became almost a fever pitch.  It motivated many worshipers into ecstatic expression, which included spontaneous prophetic music and messages, dancing, tears, and laughter that lasted hours in some individuals as God’s Spirit was apparently dealing with some very deep issues.

All the messages had an underlying theme that appealed to Scott and all the people. They were at FTC by God’s sovereign will and chosen by God for a special, unique end time work culminating with the end of the age and ushering in the second coming.  It may have been somewhat true, but the underlying message was fear-based, as in, don’t leave or you won’t make it.  Destiny and identity grew into people even if it was off center with some severe overemphasis and under-emphasis of certain truths. This resulted in a zealous commitment that most churches did not have, but some sectarian groups did, and this caused some watch groups to classify center people as cultic.

Scott discerned some common themes, even as a young man, he realized as overemphasized and came from a defensive posture, but being young, he deferred to those who knew more than he did about the Bible.  One of those themes hammered from the pulpit continuously was the biblical concept of authority and obedience. Pastor Dave and others mentioned it so much that it felt like a parent scolding to clean your room. It was very sad to see people listed in the church bulletin every week as cast out of the church or “disfellowshipped” due to disobedience, and everyone felt sorry for them out there in the world without the protection of this special church and leader and by insinuation, forsaken by God. Church practice and theology blamed demons for many things over and above personal responsibility, but the role of angels was not mentioned, as if demons were somehow more powerful than angels or God’s will, and Scott thought that was strange. The pulpit defended spiritual experiences and end of the age doctrine, as well as Godhead doctrine that was unique and sectarian from the majority of other churches to the point it became ad nauseam.  Scott imbibed some of this overemphasis, but Saquerel kept him on track for the most part with the main goal of learning line upon line in the Bible College, which was a completely different environment than the church that the Bible College was a part.

Scott decided almost immediately to stop attending Green River Community College after visiting a few Bible College classes in late spring.  The teachers were amazing, and they made the Bible exciting, real, and living.  Scott locked into the environment and was excited to become a Bible College student the following September. When he thought about it, he laughed to himself, “Me, a Bible College student?”  He even registered to live in the on-campus dorms they called “Center Court” and moved in at the beginning of August.

Saquerel and other angels provided extra grace and protection at this time for Scott to secure him in his new convictions, knowing he would receive a sneak attack very soon.  It was early June, and Scott was nineteen-years-old, still living at home with his mother and siblings who realized Scott was changing.  Scott’s mom had a family meeting, and in an attempt to get Scott away from the crazy, religious nuts for a while, suggested one more family vacation before Scott moved out. They planned to go to Mazatlan, Mexico and visit Uncle Bob and Aunt Nancy and their daughters, Marla and Mindy, in El Paso, Texas on the way down.  There was even a chance that Scott’s stepfather Virgil Green would come up and say hi, and Scott was not sure, how he felt about that.  Charlene was going to pay for it all though, so Scott figured this would be his last chance for a vacation in a long time, and he was in.

Greg Blundell saw the setup clear as day and warned Scott he was entering a no-win battle by going to Mexico with unbelieving family members who were going to party. Greg emphasized to Scott that he was not ready to battle the temptation he would face outside the covering of the Center.  The enemy did not even wait for Mexico; the attacks began on the Amtrak train ride down to El Paso.  Scott was not going to turn down a free vacation, but was not completely at ease remembering Greg’s words and thinking about the temptation of women in swimsuits and lack of restraint magnified by the alcohol consumption.

Scott had been struggling to kick the chewing tobacco habit ever since he admitted to Greg and Arnold, his spiritual mentors, that he had it.  He was still operating under a legalistic sin management mind frame rather than a victory and freedom mind frame. Scott had not consumed any alcohol however for almost three months and was very (spiritually) proud of that. Scott continued to operate with a religious mindset in regards to holiness by sin management instead of devotion to a loving God that resulted in all of those things falling off for many years. Saquerel fought hard against the controlling, religious standards the Center foisted upon its new members, such as hair length and clothing styles that they emphasized above mercy and grace and restoration at times.  Scott walked in the life changing revelation only after leaving Faith Training Center that a unique, spiritual reality occurred at his new birth. Saquerel held onto it for him until Scott was ready, since the truth completely contradicted what ninety percent of the churches, including FTC, taught and portrayed. In essence, the truth was this: Scott was crucified, buried, and resurrected with Christ. His sin nature did not exist anymore; he was a new creation and his growth, maturity, even holiness was simply increasing in the revelation and understanding of who he already was by faith.  As the Son said on the cross, “It is finished.” There was nothing more Scott could do or not do to make him more acceptable to God. For the sake of the larger issue of kingdom training, Scott and Saquerel put up with FTC's man-made rules like having his Members Only jacket, classified as worldly and banned by the Dean of the Bible College, a former Marine Colonel named James Boucher. Scott’s early attempt at holiness was pathetic and shameful striving generated by the enemy to discount what Christ had already done in making him holy, but Saquerel undercut the lie at every opportunity.

The time for vacation arrived and the plan was to take the Amtrak train to El Paso to visit the relatives on Virgil’s side of the family.  For some reason, Charlene had always stayed in contact with Nancy, Virgil’s sister.  The itinerary included going to the Carlsbad Caverns in Las Cruces, New Mexico together and having some Texas beef brisket after which Scott and his family would fly into Mazatlan.

The train was a bad idea for overnight travel unless one got a sleeper car, but those were too expensive, so the Green family suffered with sore backs.  Scott hated the crowds and lack of privacy, including screaming little children running unsupervised through the train.

Scott woke up with a headache and sore back as they were loading passengers in Los Angeles.  Three Chicano-Tejano girls stepped on, and Scott scoped them out from habit, and his eyes connected with one of them who did not turn away.  They were cousins on their way to San Antonio, Texas for a wedding and decided to sit in the three seats directly across from Scott and his sister Shelby.  The one who eyed Scott sat on the aisle seat so she could talk to him.  All three girls appeared to be in their early twenties, and Graciela immediately introduced herself and asked Scott where he was going and how old he was. Scott’s mother, sister, and brother smiled as they watched the courting take place.  Graciela spoke at a volume level too high for face-to-face contact, as if she wanted everyone to know her business and either challenge or approve. She was not obnoxious, just overly friendly and needy and laughed nervously at inappropriate times.

The neediness in each of them connected to the other almost immediately, and they both knew the other was available.  The dark spirits offered Scott a bribe, but he did not understand yet.  The bad trade seemed appealing; trade in his love, commitment and intimacy with the Father for a cheap thrill. The slightly chubby but shapely, attractive girl was enamored with Scott’s gentleness and carefulness, and it only served to make her more aggressive.  Graciela was even bold enough to ask Scott’s sister, Shelby, to trade seats, so she could be closer to Scott and touch him “by accident” as they talked. The flattery and attention blinded Scott and opened him up to lust’s promise of pleasure.

After talking for hours into the evening, and, as people began to doze off around them, Graciela made the moves first and planted a big sloppy kiss on Scott’s neck. A make out session ensued.  Kissing turned into groping and before he knew it, Scott was dragging her down into the restroom so they would not wake up anyone.  They stepped into the water closet and without communicating in the natural, they both stripped naked.  Scott was beyond hearing God’s voice or fighting temptation.  Saquerel could not help him; he was past the point of no return, and when it was all over, he was aware of how much of a stronghold this enemy was in his life.  The partner spirit of condemnation came in and slammed Scott with condemnations, reciting Bible passages to him to pile it on.  Near demonized in the act, Scott felt full of shame as the enemy held the law up to his face and showed him how he failed.  Saquerel was right there, ready to pick Scott up and use the law for what it was intended: an instructor to lead Scott to the Son.  If the enemy rubbed condemnation in Scott’s face, then Saquerel received extra grace to apply.

Graciela and her cousins got off in San Antonio later that afternoon, leaving Scott with a reminder of their visit on his neck, along with her phone number, which he never intended to call.  Condemnation was working overtime, and asked him questions in his mind all day long. How was he, the soon to be Bible College student, going to explain a hickey from a random girl to his family he had been sharing his faith with, and to his aunt, uncle, and cousins he hadn’t seen in years?

Greg Blundell was right; Scott was not ready to face the onslaught and was now fearful of Mexico.  Scott had not even made it to Mexico before they let the dogs loose on him, and he failed miserably with seemingly no ability to resist. That evening, Scott went outside of his train car and stood, melancholy, considering the last two days’ events.  Saquerel assisted the sweet spirit of repentance that came over Scott to help him see circumstances and truth from God’s perspective instead of the condemnation the enemy tried to hand him. Prayer poured out of him as he pleaded forgiveness for what had happened with Graciela, not understanding that God had already forgiven him.  Many other angels assisted, including warrior, faith, and humility spirits, specifically tasked with bringing Scott out of the death coil of condemnation.  Scott began to pray in the Spirit and a soothing peace came over him that invalidated and eliminated the anxiety and condemnation from the enemy that was like a ball and chain around his legs. Those demons were furious but could not stand up to the peace of God and slunk away like coyotes under the glare of a flashlight.  Their strategy of getting Scott to give up before he even began because of condemnation was in serious jeopardy if Scott learned how to receive forgiveness this quickly.  The dark spirits were scrambling.

Suddenly, a phenomenon took place that Scott had no grid for or knew was possible. As Scott stood on the end of the train car staring into space and praying, an open vision of a different realm or dimension replaced what his physical eyes saw. This was the special grace that Saquerel had up his sleeve in response to the latest attack.  Scott was not dreaming; he was not even tired, his eyes were wide open.  He was not visualizing it or thinking about it, but it was as if someone or something had placed a giant movie screen in front of him in 3D, and he was also in it.  The feelings and emotions inside of him were the first things he noticed were different.  The lying spirit of condemnation could not be in this place and had to leave Scott. Anything that was evil or malevolent that had been haranguing Scott turned tail and skedaddled immediately. Scott was not afraid in this place; it was somewhat familiar, even.

Scott felt much like a little child felt on Christmas day, standing in front of the tree waiting for the presentation of the gift in the big box.  There was excitement, awareness, anticipation, and peace in this place, and Scott knew intuitively that this experience and vision centered on him. He was standing in a bright room without borders or dimensions in front of a window, and he knew the window represented the transition point between this world and the next. It was a window instead of a door because Scott was not supposed to go through it yet.  He could see through the open window an amazing variety of colors from exotic plant life that was foreign to him (both the colors and the plants,) trees bursting with fruit, and green fields that were finer and more lush than any golf course on Earth.  The brightness was not overwhelming, but energizing, and to say Scott was attracted to this place was a severe understatement.  He saw directly in front of him between the window and himself a sleeved arm that was twice the size of a regular man’s arm.  He knew it was the Son immediately, and shivers of real joy ran through his whole being. For some reason he was not allowed at that time to look at the Lord’s face. The giant hand of Jesus was holding a black rose and turned it over from side to side, as if he was looking at it and evaluating it in front of Scott.  Scott knew he was supposed to watch and learn something. Suddenly, the Lord threw the black rose through the open window, and it disintegrated as soon as it passed through.  Immediately a red rose appeared in the Lord’s hand in place of the black one that had burned up, and the Son handed it to Scott. In that vision, Scott had the experience that the rose was the greatest gift God could give. Scott knew God changed something in him through this vision. He was overwhelmed and wrecked emotionally beyond explanation.  Scott knew without having need of explanation that Yeshua was telling him the sin represented by the black rose could not come with Scott into the presence of God.  By inference, Scott knew the more he sought to be in the presence of God or realized he was already seated with the Son in this place and could come back any time, the less sin would be inviting or appealing to him.  In addition, the Lord replaced that sin with Himself, represented by the red rose.

Scott’s natural sight returned to him in an instant, but the lightness of being in that place ebbed away slowly.  Scott knew he was smiling a mile wide and hoped to keep some of that truth and joy with him as long as possible.  The Lord forgave him personally and experientially, not because the Bible told him he needed to be. It was a lot different from Stevie’s basement.

Chapter 22 - Family Time in Texas

The visit was nice and short at Uncle Bob and Aunt Nancy’s house.  Uncle Bob picked up Scott and his family at the Amtrak station in his black Ford extended cab F-350.  He was a former Vietnam helicopter pilot, now retired from the military and in advertising. He was a very normal looking man, average height, weight, brown hair, and brown eyes.  He seemed well adjusted and happy, but Saquerel saw the oppressive spirits that no one else did that kept Bob in a state of guilt, and a mild debilitating trauma that remained.  Saquerel let Scott see some of it in his own spirit, and Scott felt compassion for his uncle.

Like the majority of Texans, Bob and his family ate copious amounts of beef and had many BBQs reflecting their southern hospitality.  This required that there was a lay down freezer in the garage with a half side of beef in it.  Uncle Bob prepared the meat early in the morning with special top-secret spices. He pulled the brisket from that freezer the day before, and it had been marinating and tenderizing. Scott salivated even before he put it to his lips in remembrance of how good brisket was as a little boy.

Both of the girls, Mindy at thirteen and Marla at seventeen, were six feet tall, blonde haired and blue-eyed southern belles. They looked more like siblings to Scott’s brother, Toby, than he did, sharing the same blood of Scott’s stepfather, Virgil, via his sister Nancy. Their manners and etiquette shamed and outclassed Scott and his siblings.

As they were eating dinner, Scott’s stepfather knocked on the door.  Virgil and his new wife Leticia (his sixth wife) had driven out from Amarillo. Twelve years passed since Scott had seen Virgil, although his brother Toby had visited him and stayed with him one summer a few years back.  Virgil was nothing like Scott remembered.  He mellowed over the last dozen years and was nice and friendly, even conciliatory; as if he was attempting to apologize with his behavior for all he had done wrong and forgotten about.  It was a pivotal moment for Scott spiritually, and Saquerel spoke into the feelings and slowed down the reaction time to help guide Scott’s feelings and reaction. Scott could either blast Virgil with specific instances of pain and the weight of everything Scott had been carrying for years that he had endured from Virgil’s hands, or forgive him and move on.

Saquerel spoke to him in thoughts perceived as his own, “Your stepdad is human.  He is a big kid who, considering how he was abused growing up, is recovering well, but will never become the father you needed or need because he wasn’t fathered either. You have the ability to hold onto those offenses so you both carry the weight of it, or let them go right now and both of you will feel the release.”  Scott needed the freedom.

Scott and Virgil had a pleasant evening talking about the Dallas Cowboys and playfully arguing over who could fillet a fish faster and better.  That whole evening went a long way toward healing Scott’s heart toward Virgil and restoring his image of the Father God, a continual work in progress.  Saquerel loved the way it all worked together and marveled at the creativity and tenderness of the uncreated Father in working out this detail of healing.  Saquerel was good at being a guardian angel because the love of the Father for Scott was part of his imprint.  He enjoyed moments like this so much that he would go into momentary ecstatic worship.

The visit was good, but it was time to go.  El Paso to Mazatlan, Mexico was a secondary culture shock, including the humidity, as Scott, Shelby, Toby, and Charlene got off the airport transfer bus in front of the Costa del Oro Hotel in the tourist circle of downtown Mazatlan.  The six years of Spanish Scott took in school came in handy as he asked for directions and information.

Even after the epic failure and miraculous vision of restoration on the train, Scott was still sensitive to lust and rejection. The city invited Scott to go on the prowl.  The difference was that now he was more aware of his weakness and God’s ability in that weakness. The spirit of rejection that smothered him and colored everything Scott saw had resurfaced to take control during this trip, but the healing that took place in Texas weakened it.

On the sandy beaches facing out from Scott’s hotel, three different young women stood out to Scott during his stay.  The tempter revealed to Scott he could conquer them, and those same spirits lied to Scott, telling him that they would make him feel accepted.  Scott’s own conscience and will, along with Saquerel and the other angels who ran interference, kept him from precarious situations.  Scott was amazed at how those women came onto him and straightforwardly asked him out with promising smiles and eyes.  When he thought about it more, he was not that surprised.

The enemy stepped up the intensity of the temptation by connecting his weakness with the weakness of a provocative and needy young woman from the hotel beach named Anna, who boldly approached Scott and invited him out for dinner. It seemed to Scott’s mind that he knew things about her he should not know, including her concern for her baby back home, even though she had not told him that she had one (yet.)

Saquerel’s arsenal had grown into a veritable warehouse of weapons and gifts in the Spirit for Scott.  Because of Scott’s faith and zeal, Saquerel was now administrator so to speak, receiving the gifts from the heavenly realm from the other messengers sent by Father.  They sent things down at a rapid fire pace, and Saquerel helped Scott learn how to use them and revealed to him the wisdom of when.  Gifts of faith, words of wisdom and knowledge, discernment, and inspired teaching all poured from Scott in the rich, spiritual environment.

One of those gifts that most defined Scott's identity was a prophetic gift, immediately upon receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Scott had no idea he was operating in that gift as he told Anna her thoughts and dreams in Mexico.  He was reading her mail and blowing her away with the gift that God had given him and the enemy tried to pervert the gift and channel Scott’s motives to take advantage of her.  Even while Scott was doing it, he knew the information was beyond him, but did not have the maturity to use it for her benefit, but only to fill his own selfish need for attention.  Father did not take the gift away even though Scott used it selfishly. Scott later came to realize the purpose and use of that gift and call, and it took quite a while for it to feel natural.

Scott endeared himself to the young woman with the prophetic gift and revealed the secrets of her heart at the dinner table until she started to cry.  The vulnerability and temptation enhanced Scott’s feeling of power and control.  Anna felt understood and cared for.  Scott receiving the revelation from Saquerel and revealing to Anna that he was a believer and how God had revealed those things to let her know how much God loved her just as quickly broke the temptation.  Saquerel said it so clearly and powerfully that it seemed to freeze time for a moment as it connected to Scott’s spirit. He said, “You can use this gift to understand and feel God’s heart for people for yourself and take advantage of them, or you can use it for God’s purposes and reveal identity and purpose and bring healing. God will not take the gift back, but you will destroy yourself if you use it wrongly.”

Chapter 23 - Living at Center Court

The message got through and the last days at the beach, Scott contemplated his new life and dedicated himself as a man of God. Scott was antsy with anticipation to begin the next chapter and so was Saquerel.  Saquerel rejoiced that Scott was catching snippets of the foundational truth that sin no longer had power over him; that he was under grace and not law. As the train pulled into the terminal in downtown Seattle, he made a mental checklist of all the things he had to do before moving into the dorm in three weeks. There were only five more weeks of full time fish tossing at Pike Place Fish before school started, and he had to save as much money as possible to pay for tuition.  It was August 1, just after Charlene’s birthday party, when he packed his Honda Civic full of clothes and drove five miles away to the newly built campus student housing, cleverly called Center Court, utilizing part of the church’s name.  He smelled the paint as he walked in the door and saw the temporary registration table.

Center Court had twelve apartments upstairs and twelve downstairs accommodating six students each.  In each of the two-roomed apartments, there were three bed/desk combinations whereby a ladder accessed the bed above the desk the students were supposed to use for studying.

Scott moved in on a Saturday and met his R.A., or dorm head, named Dan Paxton, who was technically in charge of the other five roommates in regards to discipline and enforcement of rules, cleaning and duties such as buying the food.  Dan, twenty-five-years-old, just happened to be the brother of a girl named Sarah that Scott went to high school with, so they started off with a commonality.  Dan was so serious and by the book, that Scott was not sure if it was an act or not.  Dan relished the position of authority and was quick to pull out the list of freshly printed dorm rules that he made copies of and gave one to Scott. As Scott stood there halfway listening to Dan explain the rules, he realized Dan reminded him of someone.  With his short black hair, white shirt, black tie, and no nonsense approach to life, he was the spitting image of Sergeant Joe Friday from the old Dragnet TV series; he even talked like him.

Saquerel was there to protect Scott from the hard news demons that interpreted the good news for Dan and tried to preach it to Scott. Scott patronized Dan and made an excuse to leave as he quietly wondered what he had gotten himself into.  Scott secretly hoped that when the other guys moved in over the weekend and week to come, they were not like Dan.  Dan eventually let his guard down and dropped the façade, even acting goofy sometimes and laughing.

Morgan Carter was moving in the next day when Scott pulled in with the rest of his stuff from his mom’s house.  Morgan was from Alaska, and Scott wondered how he heard about this place.  Morgan always wore lumberjack-style, plaid, flannel shirts with Lee Dungarees when he did not dress up for church. Scott recognized an Eddie Bauer persona that emanated from Morgan.  He was friendly, even relaxing to be around.  Morgan served in the military (coast guard) for two years and was still in the reserves.  He had sculptures and photos of wildlife around his room and on his desk, mostly bears.  Morgan’s skin was pale like many Alaskans, even more so than the average Seattleite.  Morgan maintained his military haircut, which emphasized his strong jaw and blue steely eyes that were slightly bulging due to hyperthyroidism.

Morgan had a self-protected manner about him that warned people not to ask him too many questions or any personal information. Scott liked Morgan but rarely saw him, as he was engaged to a nice girl named Carol Stewart who had come to Bible College the previous year from Victoria B.C., where she attended one of the FTC satellite churches.

Three days later, two international students arrived from Sweden: Sven Carlsson and Magnus Andersson.  Sven was medium build, brown hair with glasses, and a kind smile. He did not speak much, probably due to language limitations. His fellow citizen, on the other hand, Magnus, was very vocal.  Magnus asked questions and confronted people easily, especially when he ended up disagreeing with some of the Bible College teachers.  He was emotional and confrontational about having his pet doctrines challenged.  He trusted and liked Scott and so confided in him quite a bit.  Magnus was tall, thin, and blue eyed, with blonde hair that cradled a baby face that was hard to take seriously. Sven and Magnus loved Scott because he was raw and real, not trying to represent the center as an ambassador since he was also new.  It did not hurt that Scott brought home fish from work for the three of them to eat.

The four of them lived in dorm #207 until Scott’s one-year contract was up and he moved out with some newfound friends, Randy Herring and Kurt McCombs. Center Court was the twilight zone for Scott.  It put all sorts of young Christian people from different backgrounds and upbringings in the same fish bowl. A considerable number of people came via satellite FTC’s from states like Montana, New Mexico, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Idaho.  International students included those from Canada, Greece, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, and Finland. There were some real characters and others that Scott had no idea where they were coming from. God had blessed the building, however, and for the most part people were respectful and walked in acceptance and joy.  All of them came for revival, personal and corporate.

There was a piano in the common area that Marty Michaels played, singing impromptu prophetic music in worship and adoration.  Scott was impressed with this young man’s freedom and boldness, vulnerability, and authenticity.  Marty devoured books of the Bible and regurgitated them into prophetic songs that became corporate musical prayers as the people gathered around and joined in.  Spontaneous singing erupted, while others immediately worshipped in dance.  It was as though an invisible force was choreographing all of it.  Scott soon understood the inner workings of that force as the Spirit of God.

Several of the older singles in Center Court believed the enforcement of rules and regulations belonged to them. Scott did not quite know why they rubbed him the wrong way, but they did.  He wasn’t trying to rock the boat, but he felt they concentrated on the minors way too much by keeping track of who was twelve minutes late for curfew, or reporting the person who needed a haircut, or that your clothes were too worldly or revealing.  He wondered where they came from, what made them act like that and then it dawned on him; the source was probably the church. Scott graciously listened to them explain why the rule was so important when they cornered him and tried his best not to fight with them or defend himself. Saquerel continuously spoke revelation to Scott, enabling him to navigate through their rule-laden obstacle courses without letting them weigh him down with their own junk.  Even though Scott did not have a name for it, legalism was obvious to Scott now, but the more legalism exposed itself to him, the more difficult it was to detect.  Legalism was a subjective substitute system, or personal set of rules, that made many of the Center people feel better about their eternal state.  Scott was beginning to see how diabolical this prince spirit of religion was in offering a counterfeit system to please God instead of the personal relationship that was available.  At the same time, he felt the pressure to conform instead of rebel.

Even so, God set many of these same Pharisees free in the next few years when he came in a wave of freedom.  The heavenly drain sucked the religious spirits down a vortex, but unfortunately, fanaticism replaced it in the lives of many.  One of the Pharisees named Mark Milner became Scott’s best friend and best man in his wedding.  Mark had a peaceable spirit about him.  He was a tall, dark-haired man who was very handsome but lacked confidence. Much like Scott, he came from chaos and felt like he needed structure.  His angel Kalil was carefully working the balance into Mark that would release his destiny and make him a thoughtful and excellent administrator with a gift of initiating justice in the lives of young people.

Saquerel spoke to Scott’s mind (just as the demons had tried) in such a way that Scott felt it was his own resolve when he decided not to date.  It seemed as if it would be a distraction while he was studying, and he was able to hold that resolve for about five months.  Regardless of how spiritual or worldly the Center Court students were, they were biological beings that established an imaginary pecking order and priority list of the opposite sex in their mind.  There was a lot of pressure on some of the older singles who all believed that their pool of possible mates was limited to FTC, since the calling of God was so unique there.

Scott determined to study and learn and not let women sidetrack him until he meshed into the whole system and learned the ropes.  Bible College started soon, and Scott did not want to have any drama before it got started.  He did not need his prophetic gift or discernment to read some of the more desperate women who blatantly made themselves visible, available, and friendly.  Their desperation was unattractive, even if they were not, but Scott tried to be nice about it, which sometimes increased the interest.  That resolve to not date lasted until Scott met a tall, dishwater-blonde girl named Carolyn who was the daughter of one of the founders of the church.  She was sheltered and looking outside the church for excitement, while Scott was from the outside and looking to establish relationships inside.  Her protected existence attracted him, and Scott’s rough edges attracted her. He was happy to let her smooth them, until she sanded too hard.  She planned their whole life out after nine months of dating, including having five children and living in the country.  They broke up after fighting at a Mexican restaurant when Scott became vulnerable and declared that if they got married, she should be willing to go to the nations.  She was not having any of that and the immature twenty-year-olds called it off.

Chapter 24 - Faith Training Center Bible College

Thirteen credits consisted of the following five classes:  Holy Spirit I, Foundational Doctrines, Study on Faith and Healing, Unfolding Revelation of God, and Spiritual Orientation. Each class was amazing, and Scott gulped it in like a thirsty man coming in from the desert.  All the classes contained juicy nuggets of truth.  Saquerel dislodged boulders in Scott’s mind where the enemy hid.  The biblical statement “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” was a daily and sometimes hourly experience for Scott.  The Spirit of God destroyed faulty structures and rebuilt thought paradigms as the dead pages of written words in the Bible became living, real, and personal.

Some of the teachers became Scott’s mentors and even heroes.  They were exalted as sages with superstar status in the school, and the congregation usually had a line of people waiting to talk to them.  Scott confided and shared with a few of them in particular, who served as the real spiritual leaders in the church.

The majority of the teachers at FTC had come during the late sixties and early seventies. They were the fruit of the Jesus People movement becoming concerned and reactionary over the excesses that epitomized the movement, including free love, chaos, and lack of organization. Dave Bordeaux was the father many of them were looking for when they began meeting in the basement of Dave’s home in the late sixties. He provided rules, guidelines and structure to those who never had it, but only experienced flesh.

Some were attending local Christian universities like University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University at the time and dropped out enthusiastically. Pastor Dave formed them in his image. Pastor Dave’s students of the sixties and seventies had become Scott’s teachers in 1984.  They had endured close to fifteen years of training that had qualified them to pass it on, though very few of them had any training or schooling (theological or otherwise) other than FTC.

Scott learned to respect a handful of them as he progressed through the unaccredited four-year Bible College program.  Most of the teachers were in their mid-thirties to early forties.  The school itself existed in a spirit of anticipation of the end of the age and the appreciation of a special endowment by God with special doctrinal revelations. The highest calling of the end time forerunner, the “man-child” that was the driving force of the spiritual bride of Christ.

Randal McFee was 5’4”, but not short, he was just compact so as not to waste time or space.  He was the epitome of efficiency. If he was not teaching at the FTC Bible College, he was researching. He had excellent skills on par with any lawyer.  He was the most extreme example of a type A (or driver) personality Scott had ever seen. Randal’s wardrobe was impeccable, and Scott noticed it was very similar to Pastor Dave’s with the three-pronged handkerchiefs that matched his ties. Randal was probably thirty-five and had jet-black hair that was super thin on top, almost balding.  He had coke bottle, silver-rimmed glasses and was always in a hurry; Saquerel pointed out to Scott the hurrying was because he was reluctant to engage with people and be vulnerable.

Randal was a champion for everyone to understand the Word of God, and he tirelessly dug down deep into every nook and cranny to find nuggets of truth.  He was a supreme apologist and approached his subjects from a defensive but confident posture.  It helped that he was brilliant and driven with almost total recall of dates and scripture references.  Scott and Randal became quick friends, although Scott noticed Randal seemed inept and confused in social settings or those in which he was not teaching or in control of. He taught Church history, Evaluation of Sectarian Doctrines, and classes on the theology of the Holy Spirit, as well as several others that broadened Scott’s depth of understanding.

Another of Scott’s teachers was Matt Schroeder, who was a thin, 6’5” man of faith with a heart that was even bigger. He had a big, round, Irish face with a larger than normal nose and wavy brown hair that was slightly graying as he neared forty years of age.  He was energetic, in excellent physical shape, alert, friendly, and authentic, which probably helped him and his wife raise their five daughters.  There were no airs about Matt.  Everyone who met him was the better for it and inspired to have his kind of faith. It was clear to everyone he knew God better than everyone else did and that his life’s purpose was to tell you about the wonderful God he loved so much.  Scott had never once seen Matt sad or angry or depressed about anything, even as he talked with him in non-classroom settings.  There were rumors that whenever cold or flu symptoms attacked Matt, he would lock himself in a room for an hour or two until healing manifested and the symptoms were gone.

His closed eyes, grin and declarations and praise of God’s goodness took up the first fifteen minutes of his classes, and all the Center people looked forward to it as he basked in the glory of God. Scott was aware of other angels every time.  Matt would giggle and then full out laugh in class as the Spirit of God and angels of joy worked in tandem in his life. He was more than a teacher; he was a true Shepherd and poured his life out for his students.  Matt’s classes included the Gospels and the poetical books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes) minus the Song of Solomon, which was a single class.  There was a waiting list for Matt’s classes because every single class was similar to the best sermon one had ever heard.  It was Word-made-flesh revelation, instead of line-upon-line teaching.  Everyone applied the truths in class that same day.

Another of Scott’s favorite teachers was Larry Patterson.  Larry was maybe 5’ 9”.  He was thin and blonde with blue eyes and a strong extended jaw.  Larry was of Swedish and Norwegian ancestry, and like his ancestors, he was cerebral and conceptual. If Randal was facts and Matt was faith, Larry was concept.  Larry was married to Pastor Dave’s daughter, Christine, and they had two children, a boy of eleven and a daughter who was nine.

Scott found that out of all his teachers, Larry was the least dogmatic and allowed God to be exceptional, creative, and uncontainable.  Scott loved the way Larry taught the Historical Books class and paralleled the spiritual life of the believer with the life of King David.  Larry had a dry sense of humor and was passionate in his own way, but hard to get to know well.  He was not a big people person, but it was clear he was a God person and had given up quite a lot to be that person.

As Scott developed a daily routine, he changed so quickly that the culture around him became foreign and undesirable compared to the truth of what he was learning about the kingdom of God.  In the middle of his first year, right at semester break, he lost his job at the Pike Place Fish Market due to his bold new faith and sharing it on the job.  He got a new job closer to home, however, almost immediately, with better hours and more money that accommodated his school schedule.  There were five Harry’s Markets and they were all putting in full service seafood counters, and one of the stores was on Pacific Highway South, minutes from where Scott lived.  It was a union job with benefits as well.  This good fortune and blessing reinforced Scott’s boldness to speak out even more.

Scott’s normal weekdays consisted of a one-hour chapel service before classes beginning at eight AM.  Chapel served as a homeroom for announcements, but also for testimony time and worship and instruction.  It was required for all full-time students, but only about half went.  After Scott went to classes taught by dedicated and anointed men and women from nine AM until one or two PM, depending on the day, he went back to the chapel.  The chapel was dark and had peaceful worship music playing.  Scott generally lied down in one of the pews to pray and soak in the presence of God while intermittently napping until he had to be at work in the grocery store from five PM until closing at nine PM. He usually got home at about 9:30 and did homework or reading while eating. The pattern continued the rest of the week.

The most valuable and productive time for Scott from Saquerel’s point of view was the two to three hours he spent in the chapel each weekday after his classes.  As Scott emptied his mind of schedule and pressure and entered the music filled room, the positive and life changing truths from his classes penetrated deeper in several layers of both his heart and mind.  Scott did not know specifically why he always felt so peaceful when he left, but he was aware there was a spiritual deepening taking place.

When Scott sat still and emptied his mind of everything but God, it was as if he was being put under a mild anesthetic and laid out on a surgery table, having all the thousands of stickers removed that a person acquires from just living life. They were there attached to the soul, and the angels removed them one by one as Scott entered the presence of God by faith. This place transformed Scott’s life more than church or class, as life exercised his faith and his trust in God’s sovereignty. Personal interaction with the Spirit of God had no equal.

There were always a half dozen different people in the chapel doing the same thing as Scott, or sitting quietly reading, or pacing back and forth down the aisles in animated prayer. Kingdom culture incubated Scott and provided an incredible growth season that had far-reaching effects for years to come.

Chapter 25 - Warrior Angel on the Sound Booth

Thursday nights (if Scott did not have to work,) there was a spiritual warfare, or prayer service at the church.  The more Scott became a part of FTC, the more he realized there was a pervading warfare mentality that affected most of the people.  They had a strange mix of salvation, joy, and weariness from battle that defined them as “Center” people.  Anyone who had a major problem was fighting a demon of some kind that had to be “cast out” by a leader, according to teaching and practice.

The church took the application of this belief so seriously that they implemented the Thursday night deliverance service headed up by Ron Tuggman.  Scott knew Ron was on staff because it was widely recognized he had discernment and authority in the spiritual realm.  He regularly went up to the pulpit during church services to exhort the congregation to pray, take authority, and resist the devil.

Ron was an African-American man about 5’11”. His authority and presence caused most people to be afraid to approach him.  He was thick and muscular and had a no nonsense approach to everything developed from the military.  If his hair was any shorter he would be bald, but somehow he still managed to maintain a side part.  Ron was a running back in high school and two years of college.  He was one of the few people of color in the predominately-white FTC and was highly respected by all.

On Thursday evenings when Scott could attend, Ron led the congregation to battle against different strongholds corporately, and during the week in his office, he had individual counseling or deliverance sessions. It was during one of the Thursday night services led by Ron that Scott’s matrix changed forever.

Ron fired himself up much like an electric stove burner, and everyone knew that eventually he was going to get red hot, but it took a while.  Ron’s main message was that the church was asleep and needed to wake up.  In the tradition of many Pentecostal preachers, Ron was loud.  He used volume and repetition to get his point home.  He shouted a lot, apparently to wake the people up who he claimed were sleeping while the enemy stole from them.

Ron’s favorite book of the Bible was Isaiah, and that night he used it as his text again. He was dressed in his Italian grey charcoal suit with bright red tie and suspenders. He wiped his head every two minutes with an embroidered handkerchief to keep the sweat from falling on the suit.  He seemed to be looking straight at Scott, even though there were about a thousand other people in attendance (less than half of a regular service.)  Ron, almost angry, shouted that there was a spirit of compromise that was coming into FTC; that FTC had to fight and cast it out along with the spirit of rebellion.  He spoke with such conviction and spiritual authority as if God told him personally that it caused Scott to pray a very simple, honest prayer.  (Saquerel motivated the prayer as a means to release revelation and identity in Scott.)  “Father, if spiritual warfare is real and not some type of manipulative control then please show me,” prayed Scott as he sat by himself on the far right side of the sanctuary near the prayer room.

Saquerel, working in tandem with an angel of revelation, as bright as the sun together, planned to release destiny in Scott, and that evening it was going to happen.  The three of them (Scott, Saquerel, and Revelation,) along with several other angelic enforcers and restrainer angels, initiated the plan when the service was officially over, and Scott turned around to walk up past the sound booth towards the exit. The angels hit him with a supernatural sonic boom that temporarily split the thin curtain between the kingdom of heaven and earth, demonstrating the truth of the torn veil, much like an old-fashioned movie theater curtain at high speed.  As Scott put his first step forward, the heavenly sonic boom short-circuited his body senses as his spirit senses tuned into what was really happening.  Scott could not hear anyone talking anymore, and his vision went back and forth intermittently from dark to light shades as if trying to focus.  He experienced a déjà vu, as well as bending or folding of peripheral images.  Then he saw the giant angel.

Standing on top of the soundboard and reaching almost to the top of the cathedral ceiling of the auditorium was a fierce warrior angel.  Intuitively, he knew it was an angel, and a good angel, and that he should not be afraid.  Still, the size and presence of this foreign being was unnerving.  Scott’s first reaction was shock and surprise that caused him to almost fall backwards as he looked up. His next reaction was a desire to run, but his feet were like stone (Saquerel holding them in place.)  He wanted to stop someone who was exiting alongside him and ask if anyone else saw it too, but he could tell all of them were oblivious, and he did not bother.

Scott was aware of the other angels next to him too but could not see anything except the outlines of light that defined them. This was by design, as Saquerel and Revelation wanted Scott to drink in all the details of the warrior angel they were showing him without the distraction of who they were.  Revelation spoke the truth of this warrior spirit’s existence into Scott so that it was more than head knowledge; it was a real, personal Yada or knowing experience.

Scott stared at warrior angel for five very long seconds and must have looked strange or trance-like to people that passed him by on the way out.  The angel never even acknowledged Scott’s existence.  Scott instinctively knew the mission God sent the angel to do required complete concentration, as the warrior angel scanned the congregation for demonic activity. The warrior had all the wardrobe of an official roman soldier, including a silver breastplate that covered a crimson, blood red tunic.  The angel had on a silver helmet with gold extensions on the side and gold engraved symbols that meant a special rank of officer.

The angel stood there with an oversized sword in his hand, not in his sheath, at least twenty feet long by Scott’s estimation.  Scott knew intrinsically the angel was ready to move and would use the sword in a moment’s notice.  He had a golden belt and sash that held all the loose clothing tight to his body so that he was ready to run if necessary.  The spirit of revelation revealed all this to Scott while he gazed on.  The warrior angel’s face was steel, eyes surprisingly bright and sky blue, skin light, and hair dark.  His sandals stood out the most to Scott.  They were red leather with crisscross strapping that revealed his skin (if it was really skin) underneath.  The red leather sandals went all the way up to his calf.

While Scott was looking at the warrior angel, the angel faded and the natural realm took over again, and right before warrior disappeared, he looked at Scott and smiled as if to say, “I got your back.”  Scott knew he was still there even though he could not see him, and Scott stood there, wishfully hoping the angel would come back.  Scott wanted to see and experience more. Revelation had that effect on people.

Saquerel was pleased and confident that Scott put two plus two together and realized part of his calling was as an intercessor to declare God’s will in the spiritual realm.  Scott had an even greater discernment from this time and forward, to see and understand what was really taking place, both negative and positive in heaven and Earth. He prayed because he knew by revelation that this was real, and the supernatural influenced the natural more than the other way around.

Scott did not tell anyone what he saw or experienced.  He was not afraid or freaked out about it at all. His whole life prepared him for this; he did not know how people would view him, and fear of man was still operating in his life.  In fact, Scott realized the angelic encounter was an almost immediate response to his prayer to know if the spiritual battle Ron was preaching was indeed real and he felt honored that God would answer his prayer so quickly.

He knew certain people were bound to rebuke him for being super spiritual and living by experience rather than the Word if he told them.  Scott struggled with the issue of which phenomenon had more authority for the direction of his life, the experience (dream, vision, angelic encounter, and prophetic word,) or the written word of scripture.  There were people polarized on both sides of the argument, even at his same church.  This was important, and revelation stepped in again.

Chapter 26 - The Word vs. Experience

It was not a bull’s-eye revelation that came to Scott in one afternoon, but a position he came to after wrestling with “word vs. experience” over a couple years of learning the word and having experiences.  Primarily, it came during his second year of Bible College because it had to. Camps were forming, and Scott’s spiritual personality was taking shape.

Saquerel yanked the spiritual training wheels off by teaching Scott to recognize and follow the voice of the Spirit.  That issue then had to come to front and center.  Scott had experienced several supernatural events, and his own pastor, Dave Bordeaux, many times recounted his experiences in the heavenly realm.  Scott’s conservative friends who did not attend FTC accosted and challenged Scott.  Non-believers questioned his intelligence and sanity, not to mention the cult standing of his church.  Basic logic told Scott that if learning scripture was all that was required, then seminary professors and people with total recall would be the most spiritual and Godly people in the world, but even a simple person could see that was not true.

Scott worked with a man claiming to be an atheist named Derek who quoted the Bible better than him, so what made the difference? Experience was not in antithesis to knowledge or learning or the written word as far as Scott was concerned.  What it came down to for Scott was that experiences highlighted and enhanced the Word, and the Word added depth, substance and layers to the spiritual experience for him.  The written Word and spiritual experiences were symbiotic and incomplete without each other.  Scott clearly discerned the fear in the people that polarized the two concepts.  Fear of deception for some, and fear of restraint for others.

The angelic warrior episode Scott experienced earlier in the year supported and confirmed his understanding of the concept of spiritual warfare in a way that a Bible study on Ephesians 6 never could.  The Word needed to be experienced through the Spirit of God to understand the intention of the author (the Spirit of God.) “The word became flesh and dwelt among us,” was the template. Jesus was the word of God incarnate and gave life to the written words. The most commonly experienced example from scripture to support that for Scott was FTC’s emphasis on the Holy Spirit poured out.  Peter cited in the book of Acts an experience, in fact several experiences (dreams, visions, and prophetic utterances) that he and others were experiencing in that moment to explain scripture from the book of Joel written hundreds of years earlier.

This seemed to represent that experiences were a normal part of being a believer, and they further explained and illuminated written truth.  Scott, so far, had been the recipient of the initial contact from the Father via Saquerel but was learning and growing in his ability to enter realms of spiritual experience through faith by his own volition through practicing being in the presence of God or contemplation.

It was true, however, that the majority of the time Scott had an experience like a revelation or deliverance from oppression or anxiety, it came through scripture or a new revelation of scripture.  One of those times came when he was reading in Second Samuel 3:1. The scripture came alive to him and he saw through revelation the truth of the verse “the house of David growing stronger and stronger and the house of Saul growing weaker and weaker” was God’s Spirit telling him his flesh and the world was having less and less influence on him as his spiritual identity grew. That truth grew like a Chia Pet over the following weeks and months because he experienced it by revelation and did not just read it.

Sometimes he heard the still, small voice of God speak truth while he was praying or soaking in God’s presence at the chapel.  One time it happened after a service when Scott was praying that the Spirit of God interrupted him to speak a life changing truth, an answer to a question he did not know he was asking. It released him from terrible anxiety and pressure to perform.  Five simple words rang louder than if someone said it with a bullhorn. With divine and authoritative passion he heard, “I’m not disappointed in you. “There was no specific scripture to support that statement, although scripture certainly covered the concept. The impact was that it was personal and relational and magnified his faith that God was real and personal.  Scott was in Christ, fully accepted.  Scott healed and transformed when he experienced concepts from the Word.

The challenge for Scott and others was the excesses of those who tried to have an experience and did crazy things that Scott had to admit made people stumble and was a poor representation of the church and the Son.  As Scott wrestled with this issue, one day Saquerel invited the spirit of revelation to speak to Scott’s mind, and Scott suddenly saw it clearly. Humanity and specifically those in the church wanted to make a judgment on behavior before that behavior had a chance to work itself out.  Additionally, Scott realized that God did not view him or others by what they said or did anyways, but by what he said and did.  His spoken word was Jesus, and his action was the cross.

Scott was reading about the wheat and the tares and realized both had to grow up together before man or angel identified either one, and that was the kingdom way. The way Father wanted tithe further truth was that the Bible stated angels were the harvesters, not humanity. In other words, Scott was not going to worry about the fact that the enemy always seemed to join the bandwagon of what God was doing to sow a counterfeit.  Certain people wanted to root out what they identified as the tare even at the expense of the wheat, and Scott perceived that was missing the whole point of the harvest.

This revelation was a safety for Scott and allowed him to learn a great deal.  He later determined, however, that there were lines that people cannot cross, especially clear scriptural lines, but also lines that scripture did not account for.  If there was no fruit or bad fruit, better to avoid the experience, as it was probably creating bondage of some type.  On the contrary, Scott disagreed with the many who tried to persuade him that laughing, crying, and dancing under the power and impact of God’s Spirit was an excess.

Saquerel was pleased with Scott’s amazement at God and his consumption of this deep truth.  Speaking after the manner of men, the Father was not worried about the mess as much as the honest attempt to connect to him authentically.  Scott realized as long as people were involved, mistakes were part of the equation. The Father still was able to accomplish his sovereign will in spite of the free will given to man, and that put Scott’s heart at ease. The mistakes were what humanity concerned themselves with, but vital connection by grace through faith was what God was looking for. Scott received another revelation while reading John 5:39 that brought this point home. Scott read it and added his paraphrase, “Jesus speaking to the Pharisees said, ‘You search the scriptures because in them you think you will find eternal life, but it is those same scriptures that speak of me, and I am standing right in front of you and you don’t even recognize the day of your visitation.’”

Chapter 27 - Church life

Friday evenings at seven PM, FTC had a teaching service that Scott did not usually get to attend because of work, but on occasion, he went late for after service worship.  While Scott was attending that first year, the pastor taught two long series on the book of Acts and the life of Christ that covered several months. The service ended at around nine or 9:30, but the worship lasted sometimes until two AM.

On Saturday, Scott carted his laundry to his mom’s house in preparation for the coming week and so he could visit her and his brother and sister and watch sports, as there were no televisions in the dorms.  He discussed what he was learning with her in a bold impassioned excitement and was responsible for re-igniting a spark in his mom that caused her to seek God’s will in her life.

Sunday was an all day celebration that began at nine AM and sometimes lasted until three in the morning as revival or “the move of God” kicked into full swing.  For that reason, most people took a nap in between services.  On Sunday evenings, sometimes one of the other ministers on the staff of some ninety people preached, and Scott loved it when it was the young youth pastor Charlie Schumacher.  The wholesome Kansas farm boy was about twenty-five years old.  He was unrestrained and confident, fiery and vivid with wonderful illustrations that brought home the truth as none of the other preachers did as far as Scott was concerned.  Charlie always felt free to demonstrate powerful emotions, which allowed the people to relate to him more easily.  It was for that reason and other heavenly ones that Scott sought an intern position as an assistant youth pastor underneath Charlie.

The Kansas farm boy Charlie Schumacher with a million dollar, game show-host smile, and the passion to match it was Scott’s mentor and friend during critical formative years of his early adulthood.  Charlie gave Scott the clearest example of a man after God’s own heart.  His life and exuberance taught Scott how to love people and serve. It seemed unfair to most folks at first glance, all the intelligence, athletic talent, looks, charisma, and gifting Charlie had, but that was only because they did not know what he overcame, or the price he paid and kingdoms of this world he turned down. He was the real deal and could have been successful at any endeavor he set his heart and mind to, such as politics, business, professional sports, but the Father was so proud he chose eternal purposes, and because of that choice, his destiny was to save nations and change the world.

Charlie came to Seattle via his sister’s recommendation to come see what God was doing while Charlie was attending a Christian university in Southern California.  His and Scott’s eternal purposes intertwined in Seattle, but grew to fruition in Southern California.  When Saquerel finished his assignments with Scott in Seattle, Scott followed Charlie, his wife Penny, and their daughter McKenzie to southern California about a year later to serve as a youth pastor at the church Charlie pastored in Long Beach, California.

There were introductions and connections through Charlie in Southern California that were instrumental in Scott’s life, including their mutual friend, Fontaze Verner, who was a true shepherd and was pivotal in saving Scott’s marriage.

Saquerel was tying destinies together and planning for the next phase of Scott’s kingdom life training by putting this relationship together.  The most important thing that Scott learned from Charlie was passion and joy.

After a few months, Scott learned the lay of the land at FTC.  The doctrine and dogmatism of the Center was slowly infiltrating Scott’s life to the point that he felt radically separate from common culture, which he thought was a good thing at the time. Quite a few well-meaning people and dissidents had been disfellowshipped, or left of their own accord when they felt forced by the church to agree without question or pressured under a form of spiritual witchcraft.  Scott ran into them occasionally and listened to their venom or concern, depending on the person.  Many of them warned him and others that FTC was a cult and they embellished the practices and customs of FTC out of context to make melodramatic newspaper headlines.

It was incorrectly reported that members were “not allowed” to watch TV or read magazines or books not approved by the church in addition to the prohibition on listening to any secular music for fear of demonic possession.  In fact, the majority of Center people didn’t do any of that because they didn’t want to, and frankly had no time for it because of their radical pursuit of God’s will in their lives, but to outsiders it looked like brainwash.  They composed and produced their own worship music that reflected the revelation and the way God was moving at the time, and therefore there was no desire for the majority to listen to Christian pop music, although some did.  During Scott’s tenure at FTC, the emphasis on the love relationship between Christ and his bride, the church, resulted in song after song based out of the book of the Bible called Song of Solomon that emphasized the teaching and moving of the Spirit at FTC.  The same phenomenon of organically produced worship music repeated everywhere the Spirit of God was moving, and Scott was a part of two more moves or revivals like that in the future: one in southern California and one in northern California.

Joey Browner was the music minister at FTC and one of the most highly respected elders in the church.  He was slight of stature but a powerful man at FTC, over more people in ministry than anyone else was, as well as in charge of the music production.  He was the only one who Pastor Dave was fearful of in regards to challenging his authority, and it came out in a message as an example of rebellion against authority every once in a while. Coincidentally, that fear became a self-fulfilled prophecy some years later.

Joey came over from the Methodist University called University of Puget Sound with a crop of people to form the base of the newly formed church in the early seventies. Joey was in his mid-thirties with brown hair that was already balding, weighing maybe 150 pounds on his 5’9” thin frame.  He was conservative but passionate, with a commitment to excellence and detail. He was highly musically skilled, with the ability to play several instruments, and when he sang certain songs Scott grew chicken skin.  Joey had a special ability and desire to reach out and encourage all of the young men that came to the church.  He encouraged them, challenged them, and liked to hang out with them.  Joey had a well-developed sense of humor that was wry but gregarious at the same time.  He and his wife, Linda, and their two daughters were not super close to Scott during their overlapping time at the center, but several years later, after Scott was married, they reunited along with Charlie and Penny Schumacher in southern California and continued to be lifelong friends and ministry partners.

Joseph and Linda Browner were the rarest kind of people.  They were full of wisdom, loyal, faithful, and one hundred percent committed to the Father’s purposes, regardless of personal cost.  Scott and Leilani drew strength and wisdom from them countless times during their friendship over the years, but not in Seattle. The Greens and Browners came together in one heart in the work that the Father was doing in San Bernardino County, California.  The Browners were Apostles in the making, uniting those that society rejected into an amazing transformational force.  From the hicks and white trash to the hardcore Goths and punks, they all found acceptance from the Father through their spiritual father Joseph and his prayer warrior wife Linda.  Joseph had an amazing intellect that only slightly veiled his tenderness. His vocabulary demonstrated the depth and extent of his spiritual meditations and considerations.

In the Seattle mega-church, Joseph’s wisdom and guidance was a safety net for Scott as that ministry hemorrhaged and two sides polarized, with Joseph at the head of one side.  This all happened a few years before Scott met Leilani, his future wife, and she never knew the spiritual courage and faith Joseph and Linda demonstrated at that time.

Linda Browner was the stabilizing force in her family and came through so many attacks on her life through health issues that her faith galvanized in regards to all forms of healing.  She was a seer, meaning she felt, experienced, and understood the heart of God through visions, dreams, and experiences in prayer.  The depth of her ability to feel was a gift that allowed her Father’s compassion.  Together, the Browners were quite a team, and including their two daughters Anna and Jasmine, they were a veritable force.  The enemy threw everything but the kitchen sink at them because of it, and they rose to the occasion.

In an attempt to maintain Biblical integrity, many of the center people did not celebrate Christmas or Easter because of their pagan origins, but then again, many did.  The biggest danger sign that Saquerel saw for Scott was not the external differences between FTC and the rest of the churches, but instead was the alienation of the two entities, primarily due to the spiritual pride that reigned over FTC.  Sadly, in an attempt to hold fast to Biblical truth, FTC demonstrated a superiority and defensiveness that defeated the whole purpose of understanding truth by eliminating connection with the rest of the body.  The lesson learned was that the hand was not, more important than the foot.  FTC was committing spiritual incest by reproducing within itself and never receiving in, releasing to, or sending to the rest of the body.  As a movement and body, it was doomed to degenerate and, akin to a starving person eating its own members if it continued in the same vein.

Scott could see it more clearly than most of them, having less years invested.  The Center people systematically and methodically distanced themselves from both the rest of the church and society, and many of them were social misfits. It was not a pre-meditated plan, at least on a human level, but a natural or supernatural consequence of an elitist and intolerant theology.  If you do not agree with me, you cannot be my friend.  The structure for the controlling spiritual abuse was set in motion more than a generation earlier as Godhead theology and eschatology became the most important part of the banner under which FTC was marching. The fact that many had given up their rights to think for themselves to follow the Pastor’s narrow interpretation of the end time move of God became clear to Scott in 1988 when the church experienced a devastating split.

Saquerel had no misgivings about Scott being there at this exact time, and the pain and devastation was not a surprise to him either.  It was exactly what Scott needed to experience at this stage of his life and on this scale so he would learn and lead countless others out of the same types of snares and traps on a much larger scale. Scott was young and resilient and eventually saw the Center experience for what it was: training.

Scott loved FTC for the first three years he was there. He experienced a freedom of worship, depth of prayer, relationship with God, and sense of community and family that most people never get a chance to experience.  He formed lifelong vital friendships and his studies there deeply burned into his core, the foundation of his relationship with God.  There were some problems and idiosyncrasies, but the pros outweighed the cons, at least for a while.

Saquerel had as much fun as Scott calling in troops of angelic bartenders who poured the wine of the Spirit and joy of salvation liberally over Scott and the people of FTC every time they met.  Demons came to latch on, but found it difficult in that atmosphere of faith and expectation. That was, until the prince spirit of deception took center stage and opened the door wide enough for the underlings of adultery, fear, fanaticism, and compromise to make their way in. In the beginning, spontaneous songs and dance continued for three or four hours past the end of the services on Friday and Sunday nights with the majority of the congregation rearranging their lives and schedules to stay in ecstatic worship as long as possible.  The presence of God was so tangible and enjoyable, no one wanted to leave.  The logjam of pent up emotions loosed in people who had previously been unable to express themselves.  Laughing, crying, shouting, dancing, and sitting still God encounters became commonplace.

One of Scott’s favorite times was what FTC called body ministry.  Usually on Sunday nights, anyone from the congregation could share an encouraging testimony of what God was doing in their life, or a truth the Holy Spirit made real to them.  The leader of the service allowed about thirty minutes for that and the regulars lined up on the bench in front. Scott cringed as if waiting for a scratching chalkboard every time Crystal Bowery got up and with her extremely nasal whine, cried her way through five minutes, which was a release to her, but not encouraging to anyone else.  Ron Tuggman regularly exhorted the congregation to pray, and Lisa Hicks shared her mystical visions and dreams.  She was also the one who seemed to be the official spokesperson for God at FTC through tongues and interpretation.  Lucy Powers, a heavy-set intercessor who was serious as a heart attack, scared the crap out of Scott.  Lucy spoke and everyone grabbed the handrails, waiting for thunder and lightning, at least until it was time to dance.

There were special, anointed, impromptu songs born out of experience that Jerry Brewer, the brother-in-law of Joey Browner, played for hours after the service with a glint of faith visible in his eyes and determination in his heart to please God with his worship.  Scott also loved the deeply contemplative music of Crystal Walton, but did not care for the folk style music of the ladies he dubbed the Double Mint Twins, or the barber shop style offerings of the men’s group he termed the Ozark Mountain Boys.  Scott continued to sing many of those prophetic revival songs to himself for years after leaving, remembering the impact, revelation, and life change they brought.  When he did that, it reignited the encounter or union that he experienced with God’s Spirit at that particular time in his life, much as any other song might bring back a memory of a time or place.

Chapter 28 - Spiritual Connections

It was a subtle shift in worship for some and a not so subtle leap into gross negligence for others.  “Spiritual Connections,” or unions, were the move of God that was going to transition FTC into the ability to love people with God’s love, said the pastor. The regular expressive worship and dancing morphed into a shared experience.  Instead of an individual worshipping his or her creator in solitary devotion through dance, the dance evolved into a shared experience with two or more individuals gazing into each other’s eyes and experiencing God’s love for that person while holding hands or embracing.  It became an instant hit at FTC.  The pulpit endorsed the scriptural credibility of the experience.  The quick rise and strength of FTC had been due to its allegiance to the vision and mission of Pastor Dave, and now its downfall was the same, as the Pastor agreed with a spirit of deception and took a sharp left turn.

Angels and demons were both active in this move of God planting their seeds in all the fertile ground.  Saquerel’s viewpoint would have been shocking to Scott. God blessed those who were pure of heart and walked in a faithful expectation that God was in it with a supernatural love for their fellow man.  For others who had questionable motives, insecurities, and lust, this new expression hooked them by giving a religious or spiritual validation to worship false gods in the high places instead of cutting the idols down.

The majority of the church followed Pastor Dave down the rabbit hole, and it was, for many of them, their undoing.  Deception was, well, deceptive, and he was a big, strong spirit with authority, an ancient prince that brought down many strong men, women, and movements throughout the history of God’s people. Saquerel watched Deception move in and rearrange the place, positioning his underlings strategically, and Saquerel no longer felt comfortable at FTC; it wasn’t safe for Scott there any more with the advent of the new move. There was a tangible shift as Deception took the driver’s seat at FTC, replacing the spirit of Revelation as adviser to Pastor Dave.  Revelation could not say no, because Pastor Dave invited Deception; Deception’s silent partner was pride.

There was a small exodus of people from the first official declaration of the move and more left as Pastor Dave developed the structure of the move by picking out specific dance partners who the dissidents pointed out were all attractive younger women, most of them buxom. If it was truly a spiritual connection, the critics queried, then why weren’t the connections with the same sex as well?

Scott and many other intelligent and good-hearted people with pure motives listened and believed the presentation of scriptures and logic formed and twisted by deception through Pastor Dave to justify the new move of God.  The majority of the Center people had bought into the vision of FTC as one of, if not the spearhead for the end time move of God for years, and they were determined to follow the leader God specifically ordained to navigate the way.  Center people were fearful to do anything else but follow their leader, and he ingrained into them that they were spiritually lost without his leadership and had a very good chance of “backsliding” and forfeit being the bride. They might possibly even lose their salvation if they did not stay under his authority.  It was spiritual abuse and control masquerading as righteous authority.

The Friday night teaching became an incessant series with guidelines (rules) and principles to help navigate the new move of God.  He declared the right principles, but the actual practice was quite different. No one could argue with the premise. Its application, however, was shaky at best.  “It’s God’s plan to unite the body of Christ in Love,” preached Pastor Dave and others.  “A fervent spiritual love like Jesus commanded us to, as seen in John 13:34, when he told us to love one another even as Christ loved us.”  The proponent preachers argued the spiritual unions were the vehicle to make that happen. They emphasized many scriptural references above other imperatives, disciplines, and important considerations to emphasize pressing into the new move of God.  “The fruit of the Spirit is love.  Be constantly pursuing love. Be rooted and grounded in love. The body of Christ edifies itself in love.  Paul longed for his brethren with the bowels of Christ.  Hearts are comforted, knit together in love.  The Lord makes you to increase and abound in love toward one another.  Fulfill the royal law and love your neighbor as yourself.  Christians would be known by their love.”

It made sense to those who wanted to believe they were on the cutting edge of what God was doing in the earth.  Deception and pride made sure of it and blinded most folks to the rotten fruit falling all around them. The fact that the counseling ministry at the church quadrupled in size and demand in an attempt to speak to the confusion and struggle did not send off any warnings to the majority of the Center people that remained, including Scott for a while.  People said that those who struggled with the new direction of the church or releasing their mate to it were in rebellion and weak or had demonic problems, and the church forced them out by disfellowshipping if they did not leave of their own accord.  Those in leadership were going to ride the wave until it crashed.

There were suicides, divorces, mental illnesses, and abortions that inevitably surfaced on account of the practice of the connections spending so much time together and actually (albeit unintentionally) falling in love.  It was clear to many of the Center people in later years the move trained them to deny social, psychological, emotional stimulus, and needs as supposedly separate and subservient to their spiritual selves, rather than see themselves as holistic beings.

Scott was oblivious to a lot of what was happening behind the scenes, and it was Saquerel, his angel, protecting his mind and heart.  Scott did enter into the move and formed spiritual connections with two different women who were both at least a dozen years his senior. Scott drew them out of their own rejection of their connecting husbands with his youthfulness and naiveté.  They drew Scott due to his need for the acceptance of a mature woman who saw his worth and value and strength. It was kind of like drinking alcohol the first time.  It did not taste good and felt wrong, but with repetition and as his conscience broke down, the dancing and connecting became enjoyable.  The exhilaration medicated his mind to the objections that wisdom and his angel raised.

It all began with the eyes.  Eyes were truly the window to the soul and apparently the spirit, too.  Once Scott made eye contact and the encouraging atmosphere of upbeat music kicked in, the intimate dancing was an easy transition if there was no fence set in place or if damaged. Scott found he wanted to be with the women, and they wanted to be with him even outside of church, and it seemed to be OK with their spouses who were doing the same, which still somehow felt wrong.  The relationships included such practices as buying each other presents, sending cards and notes, frequent phone calls, going to the movies or even on dates to out of town places where they wouldn’t be known and could be more affectionate in public. This new bond was exciting and fun and had all the feelings of infatuation and falling in love, but it was also below the surface, destroying the original primary bonds of marriage because of lack of reinforcement, or in Scott’s case, eroding his future relationships.

Scott was not sure, if it was just him or if everyone else was experiencing the mental conflict of the draw of the flesh and sexual temptation that resulted from spending so much time with someone of the opposite sex.  His genuine desire was to please the Lord, but he was fighting the mental anguish of the struggle between flesh and spirit with the cards stacked against him. Twenty-one-year-old Scott was unable to navigate the pressure and speak to the emotional needs of a married woman who received precious life from every word of his encouragement, empathy, and pity, abandoned and rejected by her own husband for someone else; it was a mess. Saquerel used that mental anguish to lead Scott into a place of prayer so that the Father could pull him out of the wildfire.  When everything came to a head, Scott’s deep, honest prayers released angelic messengers of revelation that lifted Scott out of the deception so that he could see from heaven’s perspective.

Scott woke up one day and had understanding backed up by scripture and the leading of God’s Spirit as to how the experiences of spiritual connections were wrong and counterproductive to the intentions and heart of God.  From that point forward, Scott never took anyone’s word for what the Bible said without searching it out himself.  Even though Scott knew by experience that demons were real, he felt the overemphasis on demons as the cause of everyone’s problems and counseling the demons out as the solution seemed silly, even a copout, taking away the dominion out of union, God had given humanity.  The testimony of the Center people drove others away instead of drawing them in. The church had become more than self-absorbed, but even defiant to the rest of the body of Christ, including national leaders and prophets that condemned it, as both factions of the splitting church continued to pursue the spiritual partner emphasis.  Connections were clearly not enabling the church to fulfill the great commission in any way that Scott could see.  The connections destroyed families and repelled rather than drew people in, and that was the crux of the matter for him.

What was so difficult for those outside the Center to understand was the people at the Center were not complete lunatics, but experiencing real, genuine encounters with God, while at the same time entering deeper and deeper into deception.  The great Liar was able to counterfeit because God was there. God honored those who exercised faith.  Scott ended his connection experience and felt a release and a peace.  It was corporate revelation, as well as personal, as the intoxication of the move turned into a hangover and more sober minds tried to save what remained of the church.  It was the strangest three years of Scott’s life, and as he gained traction spiritually, he became angered, sad, even depressed because of the state of FTC and how he had been deceived.  God through Saquerel protected him, and the experience was vital to recall many years later, but Scott could not see it at the time; all he could see was devastation.  The repercussions stayed with him for quite a while, including fear of betrayal and a difficulty trusting any other person’s judgment but his own.  It took many years and lots of growth for Scott to forgive and pray for Pastor Dave.

Chapter 29 - Church Split

It was like experiencing a death in the family or a divorce, but on a grand scale and in a public arena.  Something that no one expected to happen in a church happened.  The church ripped in half.  Unbeknownst to the majority of the center people, the eldership and leaders of the church struggled with the pastor for over a year in regards to his behavior and impropriety with women in the congregation under the guise or premise of having a spiritual connection with them.  In effect, the elders were covering up for him in hopes they could reign him in.  There were secret meetings and several attempts by senior staff to get through to Pastor Dave, but the problems and complaints were not going away.

When the exposure was unavoidable any longer, the united eldership waited for the Pastor to go on vacation and announced to the church that they had to disfellowship the Pastor.  They shared some of the details and the extent of the spider web was shocking and certainly removed the pastor from icon status to common person.  Many people felt betrayed, but many in the congregation, including the eldership, were guilty of some of the same things, which explained the hesitancy to confront until the situation was irreparable.  It was an almost unavoidable result based on the overemphasis the previous four years. Many people invested their blood, sweat, tears, money, as well as ten to twenty years of their life to FTC, and they were in shock and denial at the news. Some of them wanted to hear the pastor’s side of the story and got up in the middle of the eldership presentation to leave, shouting their disapproval for the way the eldership handled things.  Others, with their suspicions confirmed, awaited further instructions from the elders who were running the church anyways. Scott watched the separation from one unit into two like the splitting of an atom or the multiplication of a cell, the two sides forming.  He was surprised at who was a pastor supporter and who was not.

Scott sat numb as reality set in that church was going to be very different from now on. He watched people he knew and loved like a brother or sister storm off with glaring anger, even hatred manifesting through their eyes. He never talked to some of them again after he had just hugged them the day or week before.  The sides were as polarized as the Union and Confederate armies were and just as angry and self-justified.  Scott struggled with the understanding that even though the elders took this action on biblical grounds and it was justified, some of the elders could have been disfellowshipped for the same reasons.

The Devil set up this destructive domino collapse many years earlier.  It was not that the Pastor, or the elders, or the move of God was to blame for what happened as much as the foundation of the church was faulty from the beginning.  The lack of accountability and spiritual pride opened the doors wide enough for deception to push right in.  Pastor Dave had personal areas of weakness that he never fully dealt with, and that made it easier for the enemy. Others who knew about it did not boldly walk the journey of restoration with him, but he did not let them either.  Scott saw and felt the spirit of rejection and fear on Pastor Dave and knew that was why he walked in insecurity and defensiveness, blaming others, self-justifying, and what made him afraid to let go of his need for attention from other women and in fact turn it into a religious experience. Saquerel seared these understandings into Scott's memory as a precautionary tale. Saquerel considered that Pastor Dave had a Disneyland experience too.  Scott kept fresh in his mind, the enemy set up of Pastor Dave, and it was a sober reminder to him that he needed to deal or let Christ deal with his own demons, too, before he ever considered public ministry.

Within forty-eight hours, the first of several pieces of mail came in from both camps of the split.  Each group condemned the other side and justified their own position.  Scott felt like a courted voter in a two-horse town as the letters poured in day after day.  The logic and rhetoric of their arguments could not fill his hollowness.  It was over for him and Saquerel.  He had been praying for clarity and direction like never before, and after a couple of weeks of the carnival atmosphere and newspaper headlines, he exited for good the church he had learned so much at over the previous four years.  It was a sad, but necessary decision.

The pettiness of court battles and carnality of the two wounded factions and, in Scott’s opinion, still deceived factions, was overkill.  The fight for control over the corporation, facilities, and finances dragged on for months and wore out most people on both sides of the battle. Within a year of the split, eighty percent of the people that attended three years prior were gone.  Two small separate entities now existed, which still believed in the destructive connection doctrine that promoted dancing in church with someone else's spouse, and they formed two distinct churches.

For those like Scott that left FTC and regained some of their natural and spiritual equilibrium, reevaluating everything was critical. He put every doctrine and practice he learned at FTC under a new microscope and that was a good thing.  Like the clocks of a dandelion, the center people scattered, strategically blown about by the Spirit of God locally and far away, placed by the wind of the Spirit for healing and blessing and re-assimilation. Many former members were so disillusioned; they blew a gasket and went haywire, walking away from God and church altogether after that experience. Scott understood the hurt, but he would not be one of them.  His union was with God who could never hurt him, not the man-made institution that did, and Scott was able to separate the two.

One of the more noble acts by one of the ministers who left the Center was the creation of a Para-church organization for the youth neglected and damaged during the previous three years. Charlie and Penny Schumacher, along with little daughter McKenzie, created Youth Leaders for Christ, or YLC, to transition and minister to the approximately one hundred and fifty teens that were disenfranchised, hurt, confused, and abandoned, or going to new churches with a stigma attached to them.

Scott grew leaps and bounds as an associate youth pastor and intern under Charlie for two years at the center. He cherished the relationship and empowerment Charlie gave him, and he did whatever he could to support and encourage his friend and mentor who was now without an income and stepping out in faith and risk to start this new venture.  They had meetings, ran camps, and spoke into the destinies of many of the young people who knew that someone loved them enough to walk this out with them.  Scott and Charlie formed a powerful friendship bond during that time.  The relationship remained even after Charlie and Penny moved to southern California to pursue a new ministry and further education.  Charlie opened doors for Scott to be a part of his new church there, as well as put in a good word with the dean of a reputable Christian graduate school and seminary to allow Scott’s unaccredited bachelor’s degree from the Center to be accepted.

Before any of that happened, though, Saquerel made sure that Scott met Leilani Kainoa first.  She was almost ready for him but not quite. Scott stayed in the general area of South Seattle for three years following his departure from the Center and occasionally ran into a former Center person at the mall or a restaurant.  Some pretended not to recognize him because of their shame and guilt or not wanting to remember they had been deceived after they had moved on. Others embraced him like a long lost army buddy, neither having to say anything about the war they had just come out of, but appreciating that the other person understood their pain, struggle, confusion, and anger.  The Center people all walked with a spiritual limp for the rest of their lives, having wrestled with some of the deepest issues of humanity.  Some prevailed and become Israel walking into their inheritance; some turned around and served Laban, tormented by what could have been.  Ten, twenty, and thirty years later, some center  people still dealt with FTC issues, while certain others seemingly moved on without a hitch, becoming healthy vital parts of the body.

The most liberating thing for Scott upon departure was the freedom to immerse himself into the whole body of Christ.  He devoured books and magazines, listened to teachings, and visited many ministries to see what God was doing.  It took so much pressure off him to realize the whole end time move of God did not revolve around what happened at the Center.

For the first year and a half, he attended the Word of Truth Church near the Sea-Tac airport.  The fiery passion of the young, redheaded preacher Scott watched on TV drew him in. He had a keen ability to communicate and apply practical truth to everyday living.  Scott quickly learned the emphasis of that church body was pleasing God by walking in faith.  Its members demonstrated faith by their ability to prosper financially and believe for supernatural healing in praying for the sick.  There was a pervading spirit of faith that resided in that body, and it was tangible and real every time Scott entered.  The teaching was slightly controlling and geared towards changing behavior and sin management rather than creating lovers of God.  Image and performance seemed to be the criteria.  Saquerel’s purpose for Scott’s attendance was transition into a broader, more genuine faith, having incorporated new principles of operating in faith that he did not learn at the Center.  Scott was part of the youth ministry there while working with Charlie and YLC also. There was something missing at Word of Truth Church, though.  After a year and a half, he felt like he had rounded the same mountain two or three times.  The decision to leave was eerily similar to deciding not to continue in a multi-level marketing business.  Scott felt as if the attention, pressure, and relationships were shallow and not in his own best interest, but based on what he could produce.

Scott’s roommate, Mark Milner, who also left the Center at about the same time as Scott became his best friend and roommate.  He attended a foursquare church in Federal Way along with about fifteen other Center castaways.  It was Spirit filled but low key and very controlled. The teaching was deeper than Word of Truth, but the order of service timed to the minute and predictable.  Scott remained there for the next year building relationships feeling safe and still healing.  One of those new relationships at the foursquare church was with his Italian friend, Richie Tomasello, who introduced him to his future bride, a flight attendant who worked with Richie’s wife, Sally, at Hawaiian airlines.

Chapter 30 - Lisa or Leilani

Saquerel knew the time was near for Scott to leave Seattle.  He had learned what he needed to in this phase of his training and next was cave training.  Saquerel looked ahead in Scott’s destiny scroll and saw that cave training lasted fourteen years, since God had called Scott to be a Prophet.  As per the adage, “A Prophet is not without honor except in his own country,” Scott had to move to unfamiliar territory where he would be a square peg in a round hole, or a Prophet trying to be a Pastor, until he realized his call, and the church was ready to receive prophets again. Scott completely relied upon God during that time of “hiddenness.”  The primary skill and discipline of a prophet was to hear the voice of the Spirit and because of that, Scott was misunderstood, feared, and rejected.

Two years passed since Scott had left the Center, and at twenty-five years old, he felt the need for and lack of a mate.  Scott's prayer for a partner reached a crescendo with tears and passion over the previous six months, but he was discouraged.  Each dating situation disappointed and ended in disaster. Scott felt like God was working against him, when in fact the opposite was true. Saquerel drew out of Scott the prayers that molded him and shaped him into a husband instead of a hunter looking for a trophy.  Scott's prayer for a wife turned him into a husband with the ability to appreciate her as a gift.  Scott was frustrated and wondered what was wrong with him. He entertained thoughts of going to foreign lands to find his bride.  He was anxious and restless at the delay and wanted to go see the world, but this need for a mate magnified itself to such an extreme he could not ignore it, and he did not get a release from God to go. Saquerel used this time in Scott’s life to teach him a kingdom principle of perseverance and trust as Scott prayed night after night in tears for a spouse.  One night after several months, the revelation Scott’s angel was waiting to hear from Scott’s lips and heart finally came.  The prayer changed from “God bring me a wife” to “God make me a husband,” and Saquerel knew Scott was ready to meet Leilani Kainoa, who was at the same time transforming into a wife in her thinking.

Leilani was a brave single mother of twenty-four-years-old who moved to the mainland from Oahu with her two-year-old son Daniel.  Daniel was the gift that saved her from a life of self-indulgence and pain that she moved to escape.  She committed to raising the boy away from her family that had a hard time letting her make her own decisions. In simple trust and faith, she believed God's provision included a believing daddy for Daniel who loved God and Daniel too. She attended the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Renton, Washington.  The small church lavished her with attention right off the bat; too much attention, in fact.  Before she left the islands, a woman in her church there spoke prophetically over her and said the color green would change her life.  It was a word she hid away in her heart, but put on the middle shelf.  She had no idea that the green was a person named Scott Green, entering her life a short time later.

Saquerel worked in conjunction with Leilani’s angel Lael and Sally Tomasello’s angel Mariel to work the concentric circles of Scott and Leilani’s lives and interrelationships into contact and an ever-nearing orbit.  Saquerel and Lael rejoiced like drunken rugby players knowing that these two were both part of the other’s destiny.  The union set in motion when the Tomasellos confirmed the blind date, but it almost did not happen.

The enemy of Scott’s soul feared and hated Scott fervently and continuously. He was anxiously looking for a new trap to derail this potential threat. Compromise approached with his plan. He was a very subtle, but deadly officer in the Liar’s service who usually got his man. He decided to answer Scott’s prayers for a wife before God did and offer Scott a substitute remedy for his current loneliness, and a trap of epic proportions long term.  Compromise was happy to throw a wrench in Saquerel’s machine. They battled before.  Lying spirits and self-pity were the companions of Compromise who continuously emphasized and blew out of proportion Scott’s emotional need for a companion and mate.

Scott saw a lot of old high school friends and Center people at his grocery store, but he was surprised to see Lisa Talmadge, who he knew from several years earlier working at the Pike Place Market. He was still the seafood department manager at Harry's markets, but now at a different location in the West Seattle store.

Lisa was an impressive woman.  Not only was she tall and exotically beautiful, but extremely confident, intelligent, and friendly.  Years earlier when she worked next to Scott at the Market Bakery, she had a boyfriend named Carlos who was an employee at the infamous donut shop on First and Pike in downtown Seattle and Scott assumed they had married.  Lisa had jet-black hair and dark pools for eyes with high cheekbones. Lisa’s slight Asian look was due to some Alaskan and Native American blood, but she was often mistaken for Hispanic. Both Scott and Lisa froze and then laughed upon seeing each other for the first time in eight years.  They chatted for a few minutes, but Lisa had to hurry and get in line with her mom who was already checking out.  She had just enough time to tell Scott she recently moved back to Seattle from San Francisco after finishing up at law school and breaking up with her boyfriend.  Scott took note of the hint, but did not act upon it.

Lisa ran down the aisle, waving goodbye as her mom called to her again.  The “chance” meeting intrigued Scott.  He kicked himself for not asking for her phone number.  As he was daydreaming about it, suddenly there she was again right in his face.  She wrote her number on a piece of paper up in line, ran it back to Scott, and squeezed it into his hand affectionately while smiling intently.

Scott began sliding down the slippery slope of compromise almost immediately in his mind.  He would go out with her and see where she was. “One could never know, this could be an answer to prayer,” he told himself while at the same time not believing it.  The spirit of Compromise grabbed a hold of Scott and put a hook in his nose because he opened the door and Compromise was trying to reel him in quickly before his angel could change his mind. “I have been patient long enough,” said Scott to himself and Saquerel.  “God helps those who help themselves,” he self-justified.

Scott and Lisa went out together three times in ten days, and Scott liked Lisa. In fact, he could not find anything wrong with her.  She was compassionate and liberal and wanted to be a public defender instead of prosecutor after taking her bar exam because of her big heart, and that impressed Scott.  They talked about spirituality of course, and Scott was very happy to hear she had a background in church even if it was the Catholic Church. His Center training warned him against the Catholic Church as being the great harlot from the book of Revelation.  He could work with that, he told himself, or Compromise told him.  As things moved along at a kinetic pace, Scott considered only briefly before pushing the thought from his mind that the enemy could use Lisa as a trap for him.  The potential relationship progressed rapidly in Scott’s mind due to the enhanced timetable and pushiness of the spirit of compromise.  “Maybe there is no perfect mate or God’s perfect will for an individual,” Scott told himself.

Lisa came over to Scott’s apartment for dinner for their fourth date on an evening when Scott knew his roommate, Mark, would not be home until one in the morning.  She walked in with a bottle of wine and a revealing outfit while Scott was making his famous Mexican spaghetti with Polish sausage and green salsa as the secret ingredients. Lisa was as intrigued with Scott as he was with her, but for different reasons.  She had never met a person that had not made a move on her by now in the dating relationship.  Her pride wondered if there was something wrong with Scott that he was hiding, or if he was not as into her as she was him. Finally, out of frustration and false expectation, she came right out and asked him, “What would you do if I said, ‘let’s go upstairs and get naked right now’?”  Scott was tempted and could see how Compromise had set him up, but instead replied with an answer that locked her in his grip and him in Compromise’s grip even tighter.  “I like how we have developed our friendship over the last couple weeks, and I think we have potential for relationship that I don’t want to confuse with sex right now.” They kissed a bit and she left satisfied with the answer, and even more determined to make him her man.

Scott had to reconcile her standards were different from his, illustrated by her willingness to sleep with him that evening.  Lying spirits tried to convince him he was strong enough in his faith to change her.  He was on the pinnacle of his decision to pursue her or end it and feared she might cause him to compromise, but he did not want to lose her, so he remained in turmoil.  She went home and Scott stayed up late trying to be honest with God and himself.

Saquerel whispered into Scott’s mind and spirit the ideals and characteristics of a woman of God, trying to draw out prayer in Scott so he could set up structures in the heavenly realm. This caused a deep struggle in Scott, as he had to admit Lisa did not have those characteristics, but he was unwilling to let Lisa go. In hindsight, Scott saw this situation was like so many in his life.  The enemy wanted to provide a shortcut, a counterfeit, or a substitute that avoided trust. It did not even have to be completely bad or evil, just second best and enough of a deviation to take him off the path of his destiny.

Scott struggled with it for a couple of days and was intense in his contemplation and prayer. Finally, he cultivated an earnest desire for God to put his two cents in. As soon as he prayed the words, “God show me clearly if Lisa is right for me or not, and I will do your will,” Saquerel jumped into action.  Scott knew Lisa was waiting for his intentions as well and needed to honor her with that soon.  It was lunchtime on Monday and Scott left Harry’s Market and headed to his mom’s house since it was close to work, and he knew she would not be home.  She would not mind if he ate her food.  He threw a Tony’s frozen pepperoni pizza in the oven.  Scott made a conscious decision to stop thinking about Lisa and distract himself with the television while he was waiting for the pizza.

He was surprised when he turned the television on and saw that the last channel his mom had been watching was channel 40 TBN, the Christian station.  She was searching, and that made him smile.  Normally Scott would have turned it to Sports Center, but he noticed the segment on TBN was John Jacobs and the power team.  They were a group of young men that were big, muscled, former military, bodybuilding, and martial arts specialists.  They chopped bricks, boards, lifted tree stumps, and ridiculous amounts of weight for Jesus.  They used their experience and platform to speak to the younger generation about teamwork, honor, real strength, and courage.  Scott had seen them at a live event before and decided to watch the show while waiting for his pizza.

John Jacobs announced they had a special guest that day who was a college campus minister and counselor who was going to say a few words.  Scott noticed the guy was a longhaired, fiery, passionate man who was sincere and dedicated to his message of honoring people, especially in dating relationships.  Scott’s ears perked up as that message was right up his alley and spoke to his current situation.  He almost wanted to turn the channel out of conviction, but Saquerel sat on his hands.

The buzzer rang and Scott grabbed the pizza and took a bite. The sizzling pepperoni burned his lips as he stared at the screen, listening to the young preacher who was getting more intense by the moment.  Saquerel was biding his time and letting the struggle work its way into Scott.  Now, however, he showed Compromise what he had up his sleeve, trusting and knowing Scott’s heart.  There would be no denying this answer to Scott’s previous six months of prayers and current compromising situation.  Saquerel spoke directly to Scott through the preacher on TV.

The room got larger and the peripheral items dimmed as Scott zeroed in on the preacher who, inspired by the Spirit of God, began to speak specifically to Scott, or so it seemed.  “Listen to me young man; you know the relationship you are in is not right.  Why are you compromising?  You know you are settling for less than God’s best.”  The weeping preacher dragged Scott in emotionally. Then the miracle happened.  Scott was not sure, if God’s Spirit through the preacher made the statement to the millions of people watching for Scott’s benefit, or if he was the only one who heard tithe preacher regained his composure and said, “I need you to listen to me, put down your pizza right now, and listen to me.  The Spirit of God is telling you to end the relationship and wait for his best; it’s coming soon.”

Scott was numb.  He dropped the pizza on the floor and got up to run, but did not know where to run to. He felt how Adam in the garden must have felt and wanted to hide.  He knew God had zeroed in on him more clearly than ever, and he was sure there was a presence in the house.  He wanted an answer to his prayer and he got it, no interpretation necessary.  Disoriented and stunned, Scott stumbled like a drunken man with extreme goose bumps on his neck and scalp that seemed to be electrified to the point of making him sweat.  He resigned himself to sitting back down; he could not run from God, and really, he did not want to.

The television returned to normal and frozen Scott slowly thawed out.  Scott smiled as joy entered his soul.  All he could do was grin a mile wide as he considered what had happened. “Did that just happen?  Did God tell me to put down my pizza and listen?”  Indirectly, God was responsible, but Saquerel was directly responsible. If Scott could see and hear him, he would find him laughing with great joy.  Scott thought about it repeatedly and wondered if his angel, the one who had been with him over the course of his life, had anything to do with it.  Scott knew the angel was probably right there, and feeling courageous, Scott said aloud, “You think you are pretty funny, don’t you?  Thank you though, for speaking to me that way.  I know now what I have to do.”

The television preacher felt the unique anointing come and go and he wondered why he felt led to say put down the pizza, but figured it was important.  It was important to Scott, Saquerel, and to the heart of God. Saquerel loved the Father so much and was so jealous that Scott loved him too.  The angel was ecstatic every time Scott said yes, moving closer to Father, including this time.  This was a very big yes and destiny released Saquerel to set up the blind date.

One week later Scott’s friend Richie invited him to his house for dinner so he could meet a young, shy, scared, pretty, single mother.  Scott almost said no to the blind date, but Richie’s wife Sally twisted his arm. Scott was not going to be in a hurry anymore.  He had forced his hand and would now wait for God to make it plain, but he did not have to wait long.  Because of his newfound assurance and confidence in God’s provision of a mate, he was relaxed and felt no pressure the whole evening that he was with Leilani.

He had fun and wrestled with her son Daniel, who was almost three years old.  Scott told stories and laughed, but fully expected that when the evening was over that he would probably never see Leilani again.  He was prepared to wait for someone else, but God had other plans. At the end of the evening, he walked her to the car, said goodbye without asking for her phone number even though he thought she was pretty and nice, and had a great heart.  Scott went home and, after a few days, started thinking about this girl with the assistance of his angel.  He prayed and asked for a clear direction, and he got the green light.  Meanwhile, Leilani was confounded as to why Scott did not pursue her in the first place and was excited when she received the call from Sally, who told her that Scott had asked about her.

Leilani Kainoa was a hoppa (half Hawaiian and half white) who broke free from controlling spirits after accepting the Son to build a new life in Seattle with extended family. Scott was instrumental in inspiring her to become all she was destined to be by encouraging her heart for justice and the marginalized.  She believed in him like no one else so he could become what he was born to be, a prophetic voice to the few and the many. They were opposites in many ways and both very needy, but life’s experiences shaped and formed them, and they eventually learned how to dance in step and perfectly balance each other.  They experienced tremendous pain, betrayal, and heartache in their marriage. They also experienced incredible deliverance, discovery, and promotion, even favor as a couple.  Leilani was physically stunning.  She was curvaceous with jet-black hair and medium dark skin.  Her Polynesian features were softened by the Caucasian blood to create what Scott thought was the perfect combination.  She was slow and deliberate in all of her processes, whereas Scott was quick to jump and impetuous.

On their second date to the zoo, Scott knew he would marry this woman and be Daniel’s father, but he did not tell her so as not to scare her, but he thought she might know too.  He took note of how close he had been only two weeks prior to completely missing out on meeting her because he was with Lisa.  He began to receive God’s heart for Leilani and her little boy Daniel, almost like a burden, and was thankful that he was being trusted with them.

The love bug bit Scott; Leilani consumed him and he her.  They spent every spare moment together from that second date and forward.  Scott could not eat or sleep and lost several pounds.  She needed him, and he needed her to need him.  She surprised him with her generous heart.  Scott cried a tear of joy and thankfulness when Leilani took him to the old-folks home on Easter Sunday and gave out Easter lilies to the old people who did not have any relatives come visit that day.  She had a keen natural and supernatural ability to connect with the left out and forgotten people. She drew them to her and made them feel loved. The Spirit of God highlighted that act to Scott as the heart of his bride and Scott’s bride.  Saquerel sent a thought to Scott’s mind, “Aren’t you glad you waited?”

The enemy got in and tried everything to separate them after Scott asked her to marry him.  The Pastor of her church grilled Scott because he had gone to “that church,” and he had to defend himself theologically.  Leilani opened up to fear and got cold feet, changing her mind. Meeting the parents in Hawaii did not go well either.  Scott surprised himself however and her too by fighting through all roadblocks with persistence and prayer because he knew that God intended her as his bride.  He remained loyal and loving, even when she pushed him away out of fear.  Others in her life had given up on her when she reacted that way, but Scott’s steadfast commitment to Leilani healed deep places in her and allowed her to give him more of her heart than she had ever given before. Seven months, seven days and seven hours after they first met, they were married in a beautiful outdoor garden on the island of Oahu. A covenant was sealed and blessed.  Saquerel stood at the altar next to Lael, beaming like proud parents and if angels could cry, they did.

Chapter 31 – A New Adventure

Two months after Scott and Leilani married, Charlie Schumacher called Scott and told him to come on down to southern California to join him and Joey Browner to help them grow the church in Long Beach.  Leilani was trying to nest and Scott did not push her, but he prayed that if it was God’s will, the door would open for employment and Leilani would want to go without having her arm-twisted.  Saquerel went to work pulling it all together.

After Leilani had a dream that told her to follow Scott, they sent out resumes all over southern California on January 1, 1992 and Scott had an interview on February 1 in San Pedro, California at a seafood importing company.  Leilani sent him off with the charge to “Go change our lives. “Scott hit it off with the owner Darren Halverson who hired Scott on the spot.

Seattle was in the rearview mirror as Scott, Leilani, Daniel and Saquerel drove toward their destiny in the Budget rent a truck to Long Beach, California. Raised faith and expectation fueled their hearts during this transition toward a new adventure. Scott had a new wife, new son, new job, new city, new church, and a new lease on life.

The enemy challenged Scott’s right to exist from the point of conception and continued to challenge him relentlessly throughout his young life. Every attack and challenge up to this point only advanced Scott more into his kingdom purpose. The challenges were not over; they were just less overt and more sublime.  Driving down the I-5 from Seattle to Long Beach was not only a geographical transition, but also a spiritual one. California tested foundations established in Seattle to see how strong they were.

Saquerel opened Scott’s destiny scroll and skimmed a few pages as they passed the city of Redding. Not yet, but someday this city would have a profound effect on Scott's life too, maybe twenty more years.  Saquerel thought to himself, “If Scott knew what lay in store for the next fifteen to twenty years; he might turn around and go back to Seattle.”  Scott was a marble statue, shaped and formed with deep, blunt cuts during his kingdom training in Seattle.  The carving details began in southern California. Uncommon Precision tools formed and detailed Scott so his identity became clearer.  God the consummate artist was making a masterpiece.  He did not care how much time it took, time did not limit him, neither did what anyone else thought of Scott in his unfinished state, his thoughts were the only ones that really mattered.  Like Michelangelo, God saw the result, trapped in the block of marble and he could not refrain from releasing Scott.

Saquerel knew Scott ultimately would not take the easy way out, the life without faith, risk, or reward.  He knew Scott better than that.  God’s wisdom provided for humanity’s lack of ability to see beyond their next choice and the awesome responsibility of people’s interconnectedness with the rest of humanity.

Saquerel knew rejection was hiding.  He was waiting for a more opportune season to cause mayhem for Scott and his family.  As Saquerel looked even further towards the middle of the destiny scroll, he saw the role that rejection unknowingly and unwillingly played in creating in Scott a redemptive ambassador in the body of Christ.  Rejection caused misunderstanding and was directly and indirectly responsible for addictive behavior that affected Scott and his family, including abuse of alcohol, food, spending and sexual infidelity.  The result of Rejection’s exposure was a deeper ability and commitment to include people. Destruction was rejection’s ambition, but salvation, redemption, and justification were Scott’s position and provision. Misunderstanding and rejection by the people a prophet served was the normal path for those called to be prophets like Scott was and the Father trusted him to overcome.  Scott revealed the accepting, inviting, and healing love of God to Asian nations and Latin nations who were his calling, only after rejection drove Scott into the accepting arms of God. The only way Scott fulfilled the calling to be a prophet was with the supernatural ability to mete out those facets of God’s grace by receiving them first.

Saquerel skimmed through the destiny scroll past the majority of Scott's pain and disappointments, the years of believing lies and living in hopelessness even and especially as a believer, until Saquerel found the juicy part just over half way through the scroll.  Scott was in his early forties before he heard in his spirit the Father say, “you are mine, you are my son.” When the Father liberated him with the truth of adoption into eternal sonship, Scott stopped relating to the Father from a performance standpoint and everything changed.  Scott gave up on his own ability apart from God.  He took a detour from cattle drive Christianity; the self-realization that preachers preached to herd their flocks into the pastures of individualism and independence.  Instead of trying harder, Scott trusted more.

Finally (thought Saquerel,) Scott realized he was powerless to live the life God intended for him.  First Scott had to fail miserably, blowing his own guidelines, his misunderstanding of God's expectations and his own self-inflicted mini-commandments, crossing lines he told himself he would never cross (and lines God never intended.)  It was then when he saw what a mess he made, that desperation, humility, and brokenness entered in, bringing the living word that Scott was the son Father was looking for.  Scott was shocked when the grace of God grabbed him and he realized the Father still desired him even after his very best was not good enough.  After the sin and pain was finished, grace flooded in, overwhelmed him.  The hard news became good news and life-giving joy replaced the driving taskmaster of religion.  The comforting truth was that Father embraced him as his own in Christ before time began.  That left nothing for Scott to prove; it was finished.

The violent passionate Spirit of God cast the spirits of religion and rejection out of Scott's temple like the Son cast the moneychangers out of the temple courtyard.  The Father’s passion for Scott won him over. Scott boldly came out of his cave to live in shameless joy and confidence.  Sonship replaced Comparison, performance, and ability as the point of reference for every opportunity or relationship.

Scott reversed his understanding of the Father as cruel and demanding and unfair when he realized by revelation that the Son was the express image of the invisible God.  The Father was not an angry God of justice to be appeased, but rather sent his Son, the messiah to destroy everything that kept the rest of humanity from oneness with him (the Father.)  Christ was the Father's passion demonstrated, heart revealed, word spoken, and fulfillment of everything done for humanity.  Father did it all for Scott through the Son and was not interested in what Scott could do for him; he wanted him to enjoy the life of the Son he provided.  The more Scott knew the Son, the more he knew himself.  It was not just that Jesus died on the cross for Scott; it was that he lived his life through Scott. Scott lived the type of humanity that Father intended, a humanity that partook of the divine nature.  The Son was not a vehicle to get Scott to heaven, he was heaven, and so were the Father and the Spirit.  That was the greatest treasure, that God himself in all his glory is our inheritance.

All creation and history was working toward that one end, for the generous Father to share all the treasures of heaven with his children and specifically Scott.  Saquerel was so excited reading ahead, but knew his work was important to get Scott to that place where the baton was passed, so to speak, and Scott invited the Spirit of God to take control.

Scott knew God loved him, and everything else was a minor detail; everything the enemy weaved together over the years blew apart in a short period.  Scott learned how to love when he appropriated the finished work of the cross.

Epilogue - Looking Ahead

Saquerel looked up from the scroll for a while in contemplation of what lay ahead.  It was too much like a good book, except it was interactive, and he was in it.  He could not wait to go back in and read some more even though he knew most of what was to happen.  He jumped ahead to just past the middle of the scroll to when Scott and Leilani were in their late forties and enjoyed a small section.

Coincidences do not exist for a son or daughter of God who walks according to their destiny.  Scott’s ability and desire to learn foreign languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian mixed with Leilani’s multi-cultural foundation growing up in the islands was part of their destiny.  She lived in the land where East met west and flew the world as a flight attendant for years before meeting Scott.  These factors were no coincidence in their call to the nations.

If Scott had lived in the 1400s, he most certainly would have been an explorer.  Cultures and traditions enraptured him, and he was obsessed with what made certain people groups tick. It did not occur to Scott that his travels as an international businessperson were laying a track for him to re-double as a minister in later years.

Saquerel loved this part. When healing and health manifested in Scott and Leilani, Father released them with their story of God’s passionate love, redemption, acceptance, and joy, which they gladly declared over one person or one thousand.  They did not care about the platform, but simply loved to give God glory and release his blessing, love, and angels over whoever came into their sphere of influence.  They looked for every opportunity to be God’s ambassadors for healing as a team and helped to breathe new life into many marriages displaying the miracle of their restoration and oneness.

It was not an individual calling, but he and his wife operated in tandem since it took both man and woman to reflect the image of God that he wanted displayed on the earth.  Seemingly, random connections became very providential, and Scott found that when he was not concerned about the results, they came.  The Holy Spirit and the angels connected Scott to people who added more ingredients to his destiny in such an obvious way it was funny and faith building.

Scott and Leilani poured into, spoke to, prayed for, and gave generously to simple people God loved in the nations that became leaders of apostolic ministries affecting many other nations, but they were never known or famous except in the kingdom of heaven.  The wild fire started in El Salvador, Central America and then spread north to Guatemala and south to Nicaragua from there.  A friend of a friend invited Scott to speak at Iglesia Pan de Vida, or Bread of Life church in San Miguel, El Salvador.  The preparations for this meeting began years earlier for Scott and a young man named Alejandro he was about to meet. This strategic evening, Scott made possible by his continuous “yes” to the Spirit of God and the Father’s desire to place an apostle’s calling on the life of Alejandro Luis Miranda and impart to him the same acceptance and love that Scott had received.

There was a parallel between them, a connection that transcended the earthly realm that both were aware of as soon as they made eye contact.  Heaven sent so many angels to that small open-walled building that Scott was keenly aware of them, giddy with the joy as they poured out from heaven.  There were hundreds and thousands of angels, and Saquerel was one of them, preparing the way for God’s Spirit to come in and do a significant work in the lives of many, but none more significant than Alejandro, Scott was there for him.  Scott’s discernment received in the furnace of affliction (Stevie’s basement) and through divine blessing revealed to him that there were certain sections of the building where physical healing would take place and other sections, where liberty from demonic oppression could occur and strongholds broken.  To the front left of the pulpit, a contingency of warrior angels were posted, blockading a space that Scott sensed would be occupied by the person or persons he was sent there for that night.  Lightness replaced heaviness and many Salvadorans experienced supernatural joy for the first time and laughed for hours under the influence of the heavenly wine as the chains of religion broke off them.

Scott savored times like this, when he joined with God in bringing freedom. He counted all the hardships he endured at the hands of the enemy as nothing compared to the glory that he got to experience.  He also took immense satisfaction in watching rejection leave; he could see it in their faces when the unconditional acceptance penetrated their spirits.

Alejandro Luis was a rejected and desperate man of twenty-five years who had been wandering without purpose since he finished school.  His father, Manuel, died in the country’s civil war twenty years earlier, and that event severely cut and scarred the thin, skittish Alejandro in spirit. The Catholic Church had a slight influence in his life, but he had not attended since he was nine.  He only came that evening to appease his father’s sister, Sandra, who continuously prayed for him.

It was not so much the words Scott spoke as much as the authority, passion, and power he released it in. The complete acceptance of an available Father that Scott proclaimed is what everyone desperately needs, but some like Alejandro needed even more. The angels of revelation sent those words into the hearts of the Salvadoran people like arrows of fire.  Scott shared his life message with power and authority because it was real and not a story or some Bible study. With personal examples and endearing vulnerability, Scott explained there were two realms that co-existed: one was eternal, and one was not. God was good and loved everyone. He sent his angels to help everyone, but the enemy who hated everyone hides that truth from people for as long as he can. He fills their mind with lies to keep that love from penetrating.

Scott stood on the wooden platform with joy and love for the people standing in front of him; it emanated out of him in anointed revelation and extended through an inviting, accepting smile. He suddenly had a déjà vu experience, which was a memory from over thirty years earlier. In reality, Saquerel was showing him he had come full circle.  Scott saw himself as a fearful, paranoid, drug addled teenager with demons tormenting him as he came off the LSD trip. In the memory, he recalled the heavenly vision of clarity in the future; in fact, the vision was about who he was and where he was today, and he laughed when he realized it.  The vision did not make sense to him at the time, because he did not know the Father then as he knew him now. At that stage of his life, he was terrified of God, and joy was a foreign concept.  Now the opposite was true, Scott could not relate to that fearful, paranoid teen he used to be.

Ironically, as much as he could not fathom then how he was today, he could not relate to his former self now.  Joy and peace was a part of him and teenage Scott was a distant memory that seemed like a dream or someone else's story.  Scott knew the demons that tormented him were real, but did not care anymore.  He ignored them, and they lost their access to him when he accepted the embrace of Father, drifting away like wisps of smoke. Scott realized his authority and their defeat, and he would not deal with them on their level ever again. He only gave them power over him when he focused on what they were doing instead of what God was doing.  He sat with the Son in a heavenly place of authority and as long as he stayed there, they could not touch him.  The truth of Scott's acceptance and oneness with the Father, Son, and Spirit, eroded any of the demonic arguments that used to play in a loop in his mind so many years ago.  Scott's experience of hell on Earth that night in Stevie’s basement was the catalyst in his search for real life, and he found it.

Alejandro had been fatherless long enough. He heard the words and by revelation and encouragement of his own angels, knew it was truth, and responded.  For the first time in his life, he boldly moved in a specific direction and destiny instead of wandering.  He walked with confidence to the front left pulpit space the angels opened up for him upon the invitation to make his commitment public.  Scott received words of knowledge from the Spirit of God and stepped down to lay his hands on Alejandro’s shoulders in an embrace.  Scott took authority in his mind and, under his breath over the Orphan spirit of rejection all over this young man, commanded it to leave so his words and God’s words penetrated Alejandro’s soul.  In Spanish, Scott said, “God has shown me that you are a son without a father and the sadness of that lack has affected you your whole life.  He wants you to know that tonight he will reveal himself to you as the Father you have been missing all these years and it will so radically change your life that you will become a father to many in this nation and others.”  Scott looked for his wife and saw her in the back with some young women; she was crying with them, a good emotional release kind of cry.

A chain reaction began that night.  Scott made a mental note, “I need to come back here and walk through some life with this young man.”  Nothing Scott went through was without redeeming power.  Glory washed him in waves as Scott realized God’s incredible providence.

Saquerel closed the scroll, he knew he was going to be busy over the next twenty years or so keeping Scott in the path of grace until all of this happened.  He put down the scroll, looked at the young family with big dreams, and experienced an angel’s contentment.  Saquerel sat there, invisible to Scott and his family, but knew Scott was sublimely aware he was there.  He suddenly spoke in the ancient tongue of angels, feelings, and worship more than sounds, and Scott felt the presence and comforting message immediately: “I am going to do everything in my power and with God’s power to make this scroll of your destiny a reality in your life; I love you, Scott.”

Table of Contents

Copyright

Chapter 1 - Hell in the Basement

Chapter 2 - Surprise, Surprise, Spiritual Eyes

Chapter 3 - The Creation of Saquerel

Chapter 4 - Saquerel’s Call and the Shining One’s Fall.

Chapter 5 - The Battle for Scott Begins

Chapter 6 - Grandma’s House

Chapter 7 - Game Plan

Chapter 8 - Hearing Father’s Voice

Chapter 9 - Mrs. Honeycutt

Chapter 10 - Burien Gardens

Chapter 11 - Saquerel Sees the real Scott

Chapter 12 - Seeds of Addiction, Deliverance from Affliction

Chapter 13 - Demons in Disneyland

Chapter 14 - Scott’s Early Years

Chapter 15 - The Pike Place Market

Chapter 16 - Another Bad Dad

Chapter 17 - Junior High

Chapter 18 - The Seesaw of High School

Chapter 19 - The Rat Boys

Chapter 20 - Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire

Chapter 21 - Transitions, Gifts, and Open Visions

Chapter 22 - Family Time in Texas

Chapter 23 - Living at Center Court

Chapter 24 - Faith Training Center Bible College

Chapter 25 - Warrior Angel on the Sound Booth

Chapter 26 - The Word vs. Experience

Chapter 27 - Church life

Chapter 28 - Spiritual Connections

Chapter 29 - Church Split

Chapter 30 - Lisa or Leilani

Chapter 31 – A New Adventure

Epilogue - Looking Ahead