BLAST FROM THE PAST - A letter from November 13th, 2015

Troy! Just checking in. This is an interesting experiment. I wonder if I can keep this going every decade for the rest of my life? I think at the end, it would be interesting to reflect back. Maybe this would be better accomplised in a journal? Who knows, but I'm doing this. Please don't lose heart. Here's the original from 2005, when I was 19. {Wow it's future Troy! You're not so tough, I could take you on. LOL. I feel like such a fruit emailing myself, but this would be pretty interesting to read when I'm like 29. Let's see right now it's 13NOV2005. You're in Iraq right now. Our battalion has lost 14 soldiers and taken over 100 WIA. I only have a couple of months left before I go home. Thank God. 1 and a half months left apprx. Im probably gonna go to Afganistan in 2007. Hopefully I'll be a Sergeant. Email me back an let me know how that works out. Haha. I wanna go to college, get my 4 year, dont care in what, then go active duty and become a helicopter pilot. Hopefully by the time you get this you'll be a pilot on the civilian side by now. How much are you making a year these days? 70,000? 90,000? You better break me off a piece. Share the wealth. Are you married yet? Well hopefully she's a fine piece of ***. Knowing you, you sly dog, I bet she is. LOL. Hah, I'm gonna go before I go ****** nuts talking to myself. Im a lunatic, I know, I know. Peace out dawg. I'll see you in ten years. -19 Year Old Troy} It's so amazing to reflect back on how much I've changed. For example, profanity is no longer in my life (mostly). That's due to my Lord Jesus Christ. It's pretty awesome, that in the spring of 2013, I opened my heart to Christ and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior. I hope in ten years when I get this message I've matured sipritually. I'm still stuggling with some presumptious sins, but I hope that you have truly surrendered to Christ by now. Either way, Praise Him for my salvation, thank you Lord! So, where am I in life? I think I'm doing well. I have a beautiful wife, Christie. She's amazing and more than I could've ever dreamed up for my bride. I now have 2 kids with one on the way. Elias, Caleb and soon Gracelyn. I'm a Project Manager at Buckles & Associates. Actually I'm writing this email at the end of work week from the office. I'm about to attend a Joshua's Men meeting this evening. I hope you're still in contact with those guys! I'm also a Platoon Sergeant in the National Guard. That keeps me pretty busy, but I like the challenge of shaping a platoon and mentoring new officers. At church I've been serving in Children's Ministry, Greeting, and once in Youth (teaching). I wonder how I'm serving the Lord ten years from now? Here's what I see in tens years. Still happily married to my bride. 4 kids? Maybe 5? Kids are in elementary school and hopefully all involved in extra-curricular activites. It would be cool to be serving the Lord by doing mission trips, and building homes or repairing them. Teaching has been fun, and it would be awesome to keep doing that too! Army-wise... You'll be out by now. You should've retired 2 years ago... as a First Sergeant? Right now I dont plan on staying in past 20. I guess we'll see what happens. Employment is a huge wildcard for me. I really have no idea what you'll be doing in ten years. Still working for Scott Buckles? Have you started your own construction company? Are you still consulting? Let me know where the Lord leads me for that. I hope by now you've completed your degree for Construction Engineering. What else? I'm not sure what else. I'll tell you though future Troy. Your life is blessed right now, and I know it still will be. Hopefully you've weathered all the storms of life with a foundation in Christ and this letter greets you in a season of happiness and prosperity.