Conviction

Hey, this is Mike Zwick from If Not For God Podcast, our show.

Stories of hopelessness turned into hope. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just seconds. Enjoy it, share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. Kingdom Pursuits, where you hear from ordinary people instilled with an extraordinary passion.

Together we explore the stories of men and women who take what they love and let God turn their passion into kingdom pursuits. Now live from the Truth Booth, your host, Robbie Dilmore. Darrell Bock How fun is it?

It's New Year's Eve, Eve, and so let me wish you a happy, happy 2024, our last Kingdom Pursuits of 2023. How fun is that? And speaking of fun, we have a really, really amazing man on with us today, Shane Flemons. He wrote the book Conviction, and it comes from a true conviction, right, Shane? Shane Flemons Yes, sir, it does. Darrell Bock And so, Shane, tell us a little bit about your story. Shane Flemons So I'm from Wenatchee, Washington, little farm boy. We had a little orchard and little fish pond on the farm, raised horses, cows, chickens, you name it.

We did. I didn't spend a lot of time in the house. I was always fishing, got in trouble many times for leaving before. Darrell Bock What kind of fish did you fish for in Washington, like trout and steelhead and stuff like that? Shane Flemons Steelhead, not in our pond, but there was a lot of trout. There was catfish, bluegill, crappie, bass. Darrell Bock Yeah, I'm with you.

I've been fishing, too. Shane Flemons Oh, I've been fishing. Darrell Bock Yeah, yeah. Shane Flemons I got spanked a lot, but I could not stop. So I would wake up before anyone got up, and I would come home when everyone was worried sick, and that's just the way it was. I don't recommend that, but... Darrell Bock I understand.

But anyway, and so at some point in time, you got convicted. Shane Flemons 2008, sir. I love fishing so much. I used to crabfish and long line up in the Bering Sea in Alaska, and it was rough. I mean, fishing's rough. And anyways, in 2008, my son, he was six at the time, said, hey, Dad, please don't go. And I said, kiddo. I said, I'll be gone 13 weeks. That was the fishing season in Alaska in Kodiak.

It's salmon. And I didn't make it home till 2015. Darrell Bock Wow. Wow. And so we're going to hear a lot about that and his story in his books. He's got one called Conviction and another one called Deep Conviction.

And certainly, I think you're going to be encouraged to listen to the show today. But if you know me, and it is, of course, New Year's Eve Eve, that we got to have a little convicted action here. So speaking of conviction, right?

And yes, it is time to play, as you well know. But anyway, so, Nick, here comes, this is a tough one. Do you know what happened to the fraction when it was convicted? Got any idea on that one, Shane? What happened to the fraction when it was convicted? I don't know. I was never good at math. I want to say it divided.

It's similar. It was drawn and quartered. That'll leave a mark.

I actually do love that. Well, this one's a little easier for you, Nick. And maybe Shane can get this one because this is low hanging fruit, literally. Do you know how the wrongly convicted banana, how the wrongly convicted banana, how did it go free? Think about it. It's pretty easy. Come on, Shane.

Come on, Shane, you can do this. He was ripe? He definitely was ripe, but, you know, he won on appeal.

It happened every time. I told you it was low hanging fruit. You know what I'm saying? So then I actually have a long one that I, you know, it's a little distasteful, but by the same taste, it's so funny, I could not not tell it. So here you go.

This is a little long for my normal one, but we'll see if we're going to jump in here and see if you know the answer. So in ancient Rome, there was a man convicted of murdering and then unfortunately eating his wife. The soldiers arrested him and brought him before Caesar. Did you have remorse for your heinous crimes, Caesar asked. The convicted man smiled and shook his head. He looked very happy. Caesar was shocked. He told the guards to commit such an act bad enough to be happy about it. As a punishment, keep him in chains every day, make him fight armed opponents using only the minimum of weapons.

Report back to me in a week. We'll see if he's still smiling. Right? So the guards dragged the man off. He was still smiling. As they were commanded each day, they made the prisoner fight. And on the first day, the arm with only a net and a stick, he fought off the opponent with a spear. On the next day, with only a small rope, he fought two swordsmen and so on. It was forced to fight every day. At the end of the week, the prisoner was in a real sorry state.

He could barely even blink, let alone smile. So the guard came to Caesar. Oh, Caesar, I've come to report on the prisoner. We made him fight each day using the basic weapons like you said. You know, he was sort of like what you call, what would you call him, Nick?

What would you call somebody in Rome in a coliseum fighting, you know, with a stick and a net and maybe a sword or a spear? Famous movie, come on. I'm trying to think of it. There you go.

Because it was right there. All right, right. So the guard snickered and said, no, he actually quite regrets it. I like that. Yeah, I do too. It's worth the time it took to tell it.

So at the end of those shenanigans, you knew I'd actually have a chance for you to call in and win. And no, it's not a Bible riddle. It's just a New Year's riddle today, since it's almost New Year's. And since we're talking about convicted, right? Two men have been convicted of stealing a 2024 calendar. In fact, I have several raised body shop ones right here, you know, just to throw a shout out for raised body shop because they have the greatest calendars in the world. But two men got convicted of stealing one of these 2024 calendars.

If you can tell us what they got, Nick, tell them what they went. Yes, absolutely. You'll be winning Shane Feldman's books, Convention and Deep Conviction. And all you have to do is just call Truth Network. That's 866-348-7884, 866-34-TRUTH. There you go. You could win these books, the complete set of Conviction and Deep Conviction.

And I think you're going to want those. All you got to do is tell us two men have committed a horrible crime of stealing two. No, they just stole one 2024 calendar.

What did they get? 866-348. It does tickle me. 866-348-7884. So you can call in and join the fun. We would love to hear from you. Maybe a New Year's greeting of some kind. We would love to have that. Just give us a call. So getting back with Shane, I like that end music. That was nice. Maybe we need to add that. So Shane, you're off. And from what I understand, you've even fished, right, tuna fished with the, what do they call that, the greatest catch?

What do they call it? Not tuna fish, but king crab, deadliest catch. Deadliest catch. So you've done that? Yes, sir, I have. Wow. Matter of fact, I was on the last tour of the Gladiator tour when it was open for anybody. They just, it went out as it was all everybody on a fleet.

There was no quota. And I got to experience that too. It was different.

That's for sure. It was scary, but it was fun. And so, man, you like have been out in the water. I mean, when the serious seas, right? What is that like? I mean, for somebody, you know, I just can't even imagine because I've been in a boat when it was kind of rough. But that ain't anything close to what you've seen.

No, sir. It's, you know, you talk to Sig Hanson, and you talked to all the other guys on there. I mean, what you see is what you see.

There's a lot of behind scenes that you'll never know. But it's, I mean, the waters hit pretty hard, winds pick up real fast. A lot of times you're tied off to the boat if you're on deck. If you're long lining, I know when you see them, you're seeing king crab. But long linings is dangerous too. It's the same time.

Just a couple months later, usually king crabs, October, A season, cod, pot cod, dungeys, all that is A season during the middle of winter of January. And so you're out on the deck. And so have you ever seen anybody go over?

Not personally. We have saved a gentleman a couple times, different times. I was fighting an octopus one time, and I look over. Oh, we got to hear about this.

Well, we got to go to a break. We're going to hear about the octopus fight. And no, this is not 20,000. He did not write 20,000 leagues under the feet. He wrote conviction. But we also have Kerry has an answer for our Riddle in Virginia.

I'm very excited about talking to Kerry. And so we come back. Or you may have another answer. So you call us 866-348-7884. We'll be right back with so much more Kingdom Pursuits.

You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. So welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the kingdom. And today, how fun, man. I mean, I know of a few fishermen in the Bible.

It's a pretty good passion. I don't know if you thought about that, but just one of my favorite all-time, you know, you just thought the jokes were over, but for me, they're never over, as my wife will tell you. So when I think about fishermen in the Bible, Nick, you probably know this because I've used it on you before, but what musical instrument did the disciples that fish, what musical instrument did they play? Oh, you told me. You told me. Do you know that, Shane? You being the fisherman that you are? So, you know, it's just Peter, James, and John. They were all really good at it. The castanets. We have Carrie is in Virginia waiting to answer this riddle, so Carrie, you're on Kingdom Pursuits. Good morning.

Good morning to you. I am excited to hear what happened to these poor men that were convicted of stealing these 20, 24 calendars. What did they get? Well, they got six extra months in prison.

I don't know. You're exactly right. They both got six months. Wow, awesome. It was at the end.

Split a calendar, you know, they each got six months. It makes perfect sense. I love it.

You're exactly right. And so I didn't even hear half of it because I was so busy trying to find the phone number to call. Well, you did great.

It's 866-348-7884. Have you ever wrestled an octopus? No.

Me either. I mean, they got little suckers on them and stuff, so I'm really excited. We're going to hear about that in a minute. So have you got New Year plans, Carrie?

I don't. I was not feeling well all week long. Today is the first day I'm feeling alive.

So I think I'm going to take it easy. Well, I'm so glad. I just want to tell you that you really inspired me this morning. I tuned in so that I could hear. I'm a friend of Shane's, so I tuned in so I can hear him, his thing on the air.

But I tuned in an hour early and I was listening to your broadcast. And I just want to thank you because you very much inspired me. I'm battling cancer and your story just inspired me. So I just want to thank you for that.

Well, thank you, Carrie. It's actually, it's God's story. I've been along for the ride all along, but believe me, like man, you know, it's really, and have you ever heard of survivor syndrome?

I have. So unfortunately, you know, there were several people diagnosed with cancer about the same time I had and they didn't make it. Yeah.

And I've often wondered, God, you know, these guys, they had three kids and whatever, but you know, maybe God knows or he does know exactly what's right and all those things. And so, you know, I'm so grateful because I, you know, got to see my kids grow up and actually had a child after those events that I was not supposed to be able to have because I was, after the chemotherapy I had and all that, it was not supposed to be able to have children. And so we had the miracle child come along who is now, are you ready for this? 24 years old.

She is, she got married this year. Wow. You know, I believe that's congratulations.

That's fantastic. And you know, I'm, I'm 100% in for whatever his plan is for me. And, you know, if his plan is for it's time for me to go home, that's fine with me. You know, um, I'm just a little scared of the journey.

That's all. Yeah, me too. Not fun and radiation is not fun and that stuff's not fun, but I'm 100% believe in his path for me. And, um, I'm in it 100%. And, you know, we all have moments. I, it's what I call them moments where, you know, we, we doubt and we, we are full of fear, you know, and I allow myself to have those moments, but then I move on and, um, so are you, are you fighting some right now?

Yeah, I am. I'm fighting. Um, I have lung cancer.

Um, it was stage three and I was in remission, but I just found out that it's metastasized, um, into my spine and my hip. And so it's stage four now. Okay. Well, we're praying right now. All right, Carrie. So Jesus, thank you. Thank you for Carrie's courage to call in today. And I thank you that you encouraged her, right? That certainly you have the power to heal her and, and you have what she needs in any regard.

I can hear her heart that she loves you and she's anxious to know what's going on. She, you know, Lord, we just pray that you would touch her body, that you would heal her in whatever way you see fit to do that. And if that means that she has many more years here or many more in eternity, we, we, we, we thank you for that. Lord, we pray that she would sense your presence like never before, that she would know you're with her on the journey either way, and that she would not suffer, that you would give her a supernatural ride on the highway. Um, and that, that again, that she would hear you, that she would see you, feel you and experience you like never before.

And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much.

Oh, it's my joy. And of course you're going to be on my prayers tonight, Carrie. Thank you so much for the courage to call in. Thank you. And I appreciate you.

Oh, same here. Have a great, happy new year. Okay. Happy new year to you. God bless you.

God bless you. Bye-bye. Wow.

So, and Shane. Yeah. That's a good friend who wants to listen to you on the radio. And, um, so getting back to, like, we got to, you know, it's hard to switch from that to wrestling an octopus, but you know, how big was this octopus? Like, how did you get up? You got to just tell us the story. We're heading out.

God bless you, by the way. Um, we were fishing out in the Bering Sea and we were, uh, getting bait for, uh, king crab. And we, we had enough. We started king crab the season open. We're fishing and octopus get into the pots.

It's just the way things go. And we're using cod for bait. And I'm, I'm on a boat where it has a processing plant. And we had quota for all this other type of fish. And we were selling this fish along with our king crab.

So we, we just brought an octopus up on the boat. I'm trying to, how big is this octopus? His arms are bigger than me.

Oh my gosh. His, his body's probably the size of my neck to my, my thighs is what you're describing. Maybe a little bigger. This is about a four foot body on this. Pretty much. That's a big octopus. Like this is 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Well, it wasn't very fun. And I'm in this orange gear and they, believe it or not, the octopus do suck to those and you have to literally pull them off and you can hear it. I mean, you can hear it popping. Well, I look over and at that time the octopus is already like trying to get away, which is, I mean, that's what they do.

They want to get away. I'm trying to pull him inside out and pull his little beak out so I can put them in the freight, you know, the plate freezer. Oh, people eat octopus.

Yes, sir. So you pull them inside out. I did not know that. I learned something today. See, by listening to King of Pursuits, Nick, the things you learn, that the way to catch an octopus is you pull them inside out.

Like their beaks, that, that, I bet this guy had a big bad beak that might've hurt you had he decided to land. They don't do it? No, sir. Oh, so 20,000 links to the sea was not what they do.

Nope. It's like a, it's like a, it's their mouth, believe it or not. But anyways, you got to pull them inside out, pull the mouth out, put them in this metal pan and then put them in the freezer plate and then shut it. But then they still try to get out. So anyways, I'm, I don't blame them and they got all those legs to do it.

They do too. One's going one way and going, one's going the other the whole time. Right. So I look over and the, the pot's already over the boat.

We are, we just launched another pot. The guy has the buoys, which one's for picking up and one's for another reason. But anyways, there's, there's, there's two buoys. The lead line is already in the water and it's going out and I look over and his foot's in the bite.

So I'm, I'm panicking. His foot, meaning the octopus's foot? Nope. The, me and him were already, I'm putting them in the food category and I'm trying to get money and he's trying to get away.

That's just the way it's working. Whose foot is in the bite? So my other deckhand. So it's called the bite.

It's the line that goes out from the pot to the buoys that goes down to the bottom of the Bering Sea. Right. And that thing has your leg, you're going down. He's, he's right in the middle of it.

And I'm, and I'm, I mean, that's one of the most important things you could ever do on a boat. Never, ever get in between the bite or get your foot. Just stay always out of it. I look over and his foot's in the bite and he doesn't know. I mean, we've been up for days and so he's exhausted. I can see it. And all I remember is taking the octopus and throwing it. He goes into the, and I can remember seeing my Vicky going up and I turn around and I slide. We hit a swell.

Water comes down. My other deck, the deck boss is running the crane, sees it and he grabs him, which is probably the smartest thing you could do because the guy was probably going to fight. And he was trying to fight. He didn't understand.

I grabbed the line and I rip it from it and the buoys, seconds later. So it was, it was one of those. I mean, we say, I mean, there's nothing. Why don't you use some terms I got to understand because it's such a story. No, no, don't apologize, man. This story is awesome.

Like, man, I wasn't expecting this. So, and we're going to get to your book. So you said your Vicky, you look up and you're, who's your Vicky. The Vicky is the knife that you use on the boats. It's you always have one or two on you because you never know if something happens. There's so many lines and.

Right. You need to cut the line because it could cut this guy's leg, but you never know. Did you Vicky the line? No, I, my Vicky flew out of my hand when I was messing with this dang octopus. Oh, because I was trying to get to him. Cause I knew, I mean, it was, I mean, right, right, right. So as I, as I slid on my knees, I'm in orange and I slide my, my other deck boss, the deck boss grabs him from up top and he sees it.

He's running the crane. And like I said, the pot's already over the lines going out. We're already past the lead line. We're into the, the other line.

And. What a story, man. Seconds later, the buoys, it hits the top of the boat and skims out and we look at each other and we're like. Yeah, that was it, man. And the octopus, was he still end up in the freezer? He did. He was, he was, he was down the, he was down the chute though. He was, he was out of the, the metal tank that I was fighting him and he was scooting on out and I grabbed him and we. Oh, we still got, there you go.

Plenty to eat. We'll be right back. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the kingdom. And so fun today, we've had Shane Flemons with us and his book Conviction, which we haven't got to that part, but clearly he is a fisherman. And I'm going to tell you, you know, oh my goodness, the stories he's told.

If you did not, if you're just tuning in for lots of reasons from what we just heard from Carrie, from all the stuff that went on in the earlier in the show, you got to go back and listen to the podcast, this show, what a story of the octopus battle that I had no idea we were going to get into that, but I got to know. So how did you end up convicted? Like you're out there swimming, I mean, fishing, excuse me, and, and, and, and, and doing all that stuff and you're away from your son or you're like, that had to be heartbreaking. And now what happened?

How'd you end up in prison? So after many years of fishing, I went back to Kodiak and my, I was a pretty decent, good fishermen. So I could get on all these highliner boats. Highliner boats are the boats that have, you know, ratings per boat because every boat that fishes has. Right. Even to make more money on the bigger boats, on the better boats.

Yes. And they're, they're over years of time that these boats have been, you know, certain amount. There's like a, a pie graph and each boat has a certain amount of, right.

You know, per capita and how many breads they caught and all this kind of stuff. Well, I was on one of the best boats on the fleet now. I fished enough. I know how to run the boat. I know how to run the skiff. I can run the deck. I can run the crane.

I can do all this kind of stuff, fill up. The skipper can leave, go be with his wife. I can take the boat. I can do whatever, you know, I mean, I can drive all the boats. So now I'm on a really decent boat and I'm going to be skiff guy.

So I'm per pie graph type. Right. You've climbed the fishing ladder.

Yeah. And so anyways, these guys come down and said, Hey, I don't want you on the boat. I'm like, well, too bad.

I said, I came a long ways. And they're like, well, we're local and we want the job. And I go, well, go talk to the skipper.

I mean, that's just the way it is. Well, one thing leads to another. There was some drinking and drugs at the beginning before we left. I was on the boat asleep. One of the guys comes in, says some harsh things. I say, Hey, you know, you got to go.

I'm trying to sleep. And we go out on the water and he continues to use drugs. And it's just, it led up to a fight on the boat and he was hurt real bad. One of the other guys, everyone else was okay.

Dan or, uh, I shouldn't use names. It's not in the book yet, but, um, one of the guys got cut in the year. Um, one, one of the guys had a knife, one had a pin and it just, it, it turns really bad. Yeah. I mean, it, it, it was real bad. Coast guard comes out in the middle of the ocean with the big helicopter. It was one of those, uh, um, discovery channel type moments, you know, like, right.

I mean, just real stuff. Coast guard gets his way down there. Me and him are talking on the deck. We he's like, can you help me?

I said, absolutely. So I help get one of the guys off the boat. They air lifted him up, take him to the hospital. We're on our way back. And I put my arm around the other guy and he's like, please don't say anything.

I said, I'm not. Anyways, the guy that got taken off in the new, the, the, the judge real well, him and his dad were best friends. And one thing led to another.

I got sentenced to quite a long time in prison in Alaska and from Alaska, they sent me to Colorado and from Colorado, they sent me back. And then was it for assaulting the guy? Yes, sir.

One guy got stabbed and the other one got his feelings hurt, which I understand. I mean, it was, it was one of those things. So, wow.

Yes. And so how long were you in prison? They gave me 19 years with nine suspended.

So 10 years. I could have done it all, but, um, the good Lord was looking out for me. And so what were those? I mean, were you a Christian when you? No. Okay.

No, sir. Then what happened? Ah, I was stuck in Anchorage. I got put in a smock on the floor naked for a few days. Then I, then I started realizing all sorts of different stuff in the world, you know, in the world. And I was scared. I couldn't make any phone calls. Every one of my phone numbers were blocked. I couldn't call my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister, kids, nobody, every single number that I called was blocked. Why were they blocked?

I have no idea. I couldn't get out. So six months later, I still haven't talked to anybody. And I finally met a Christian. It was in Cook Inlet and he, uh, we were visiting and little did I know at the time he was ranked number two in the state for wanted.

So he was number two wanted in the state of Alaska. Anyways, we start visiting, he goes, do you want to talk to your mom? And I go, please.

So anyways, he does this three way. I talked to my mom first time. It was definitely emotional. And then rest is history.

It's hard as far as the travel. So basically I got to talk to my family for the first time. I still didn't know Jesus, still didn't even think about him. Little did I know when I was going through all the corridors and the lock doors and all the feces and all this, I would see God on like a little tiny writing on the wall. Another room that I'm like going through all this have faith. So, I mean, I'm like taking all this in, but not understanding why. So I'm, I'm, I'm starting meeting some of their friends. So I, I'm in Kodiak jail. I'm looking at 230 years. All right.

First thing I did was soon as I got the paperwork, I'm like, okay, I'm putting it in my heart. So I'm looking at 230 years and I'm like, well, how is this possible? So where I come from in Washington, that's not the way it works. You're looking at, you know, 99, you know, you go on death row, all this kind of weird stuff. I mean, I didn't kill anybody, but I mean, the way this thing was written up, that's not how it works. So, I mean, I'm like in a whole new realm of all, and I don't know anybody. So when I first get arrested, I'm leaving.

This isn't my first book. I leave Kodiak. I'm in there for like a little month. They throw me in a little hole in the cell with a camera. They're watching me 24 seven.

And I don't realize that all their friends already know, and I'm an outsider. Well, anyways, I get, I fly. This was my first flight. They moved me more times than anyone in the history of Alaska. I didn't know that at the time.

Why? They said I did too good. So Alaska, if you look at the statistics, pie graph, everyone look at it, statistics will stick with pie graph. It's easy to understand what a pie graph is.

Kids can understand pie graph. So the statistics prove that nine out of 10 people that go to prison always end up going back to prison. So when I first got arrested, I was, I wasn't going to make it. That's just the statistics. The pie graph proves that this gentleman right here goes in and he's not going to make it. It's just, you're going to go back.

So I didn't know that they're ranked number two in the nation for corruption and recidivism and all this kind of stuff. I didn't know any of this stuff. I went in blind, but I get, I flow, I got flown from Kodiak to Anchorage and I'm in a state trooper's patrol car. He sticks me in the back.

I'm getting transported through the airport and I meet one of their friends for the first time. I don't know this, but he and I were handcuffed. I'm in the back with him now. He's getting taken back to Kodiak and I'm going to Anchorage where he just came from that. So anything that happened to Kodiak, you're going to go to court there. They just send you to cook in or pretrial for the preliminary. He's got a Mohawk and this is the first time I've been out of my cell.

I'm looking at 240 years almost. I'm not doing all that great. I don't know Jesus. I don't, I mean, I'm just dealing with whatever, you know, I mean, there's nothing I could do. He looks at me and goes, if I weren't in handcuffs, I would kick your backside.

I don't, and he didn't say backside, but more, you know, it wasn't very nice. So I'm like, this isn't gonna be fun. I don't say anything, but I'm, I'm in handcuffs. I don't say anything.

And I'm like, in my head, I'm like, okay, this is gonna be a rough ride. I mean, I'm like, okay, so all his friends think they know. And I'm sitting in the back of the cop car handcuffed with him. And now I'm going in with all the rest of his friends.

Wow. So when we come back, we will hear more of conviction. And you can see why you need to buy this book, because there's so much that we're missing out on that we need to hear deep convictions even deeper than that. So we'll be right back. And by the way, all this is at KingdomPursuits.com.

You can get to his website, orders, books. Oh, we'll be right back. Hang on. Welcome back to Kingdom Pursuits, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build the kingdom. Today, we are so blessed.

Here we are on New Year's Eve, Eve, to have Shane Flemons with us. He, amazing fisherman story up there in Alaska, the Bering Sea, all that. Wow, you got to go back and listen to these stories. His book, Conviction, Deep Conviction, they're both at KingdomPursuits.com.

You can see his website and so much more about him there. But to get, to kind of fast forward into the story, because we don't have a whole lot of time left. Shane, you ended up obviously without a whole lot, you're in prison, right? You got a whole lot to do and somebody gets a Bible in your hand.

How did that happen? I got transferred once again to one of the prisons called Kenai. And I'm downstairs. It's packed. Little did I know they're getting ready to ship a bunch of people to Colorado.

It's one of these money things, not ethical, but it's money. And I'm on the floor, which is illegal, but there was everybody laying out next to each other. And this guy named Kevin, he was in the faith pod. We still talk today. And he was like, hey, we met, we visited.

He's like, I want to get you in this faith pod. And I'm like, sure. Well, I had way too much time.

They said, hey, there's no way. I mean, you're looking at 200 something years. You've just been sentenced. You got 10 years to go.

And this was designed for shorter term, year two, maybe three max. Well, whatever happened, the good Lord said, hey, wait a minute, you're going to go. So they allowed me in this program.

From there, I became the chaplain assistant. A lot of things happened before this, I assure you. But I was reading the Bible. Couldn't understand it. Couldn't understand it.

Couldn't understand it. One day I understood— How many years into your sentence was this? It was roughly three-ish, three and a half-ish.

Okay. So three years in you get this Bible, and you begin to read it, and you can't understand it, and you can't understand it. And how many weeks, months were you reading the Bible before you understood anything? I bet you it was at least a year, year and a half. Maybe, it might have been four, four and a half.

I mean, I would have to like look at all my terms— Four, four and a half years? Before I found Jesus when I was inside. I was reading, but I didn't understand it, and I definitely was not doing it.

Okay. Well, I just got to know, because inquiring minds is I've listened to your story, and what a neat thing God did is that you obviously had a life without God, and then all of a sudden, he comes after you in a very interesting way. Like, for four years, you saw God on the wall, you saw this, you knew there was something there, but you really had no understanding.

For four years, you were trying to understand. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

That's what happened. Do you think that—and I hate to almost say this, but do you think that God knew the only way I'm going to get this guy's attention was I would have to give him enough alone time to spend with the Word until I could finally turn on the light? Is there a sense in that? A hundred percent. I mean, I think about it all the time when I first got arrested to all the little travels that I did.

Yes, a hundred percent. And I wouldn't say that except for, you know, I lost my dealership. I lost a lot of stuff, right, and I had all my illnesses, but I've often thought God just knew I'm really thick-headed, and he was trying to get through some messages to me through the cancer, through the brain aneurysm, all the stuff that I had, right, the abscess, all that stuff. He was trying to give me messages of love, of understanding that people would love me and inspire the fact that I didn't love myself or whatever all was going on in that. And I'm sure you felt that same way, because I imagine you didn't feel real loved while you were in the middle of all that shenanigans. Like, man!

Like, man! No, I didn't feel loved at all. I didn't even think about Jesus, like I said.

I didn't run to him. But here were these guys that were reaching out to you. The whole time. And you're like, there's something really different about these guys. That's the whole thing.

You're exactly right. It was when I went fishing for the first time, I met my first skipper that I actually fished with. Him and his wife were walking down on the boat with their hands held. And they prayed at every meal.

They made us pray. And it wasn't like that on the boats. That was the only boat that I was ever on. And it was my... And that was an impression you never forgot. I still won't.

No, sir. Because if other boats are not like that, I assure you. And so what neat stories. Again, Shane's book is conviction. And then he's got, of course, a deep conviction. And so he's got a beautiful website. But that's the link right there.

If you go to KingdomPursuits.com, you'll see his link. And by all means, okay, order his books. I mean, here he had been through this whole experience. And he had the courage to write the story.

In other words, God put it on his heart to write this story. So please, go get the book. And then after you get the book, go on Amazon, wherever you need to go, and send him a review.

Tell him how you liked it. It means so much. Encourages young authors like you would not believe when they get feedback from you on how much you liked their book. Because obviously, you know, I'm listening to a story and I'm thinking, man, this guy's got crazy courage, right? It takes courage to go out on the ocean like that. I'm going to tell you.

And it takes courage to write a book and to throw your faith out there when you've been through all the stuff that you've been doing. So Shane, I just think that, man, we got to have you on again because you got some stories. Nick's shaking his head like, oh, yeah, yeah, we're coming back, man.

We're going to find out about Finding Nemo or something. We got all this stuff. But Shane, thank you for being with us. And Happy New Year, my friend. God bless you. God bless.

Thank you so much. And now you guys listening. Wow, how much fun you're going to have because encouraging prayers coming up next with James Banks, followed by The Masculine Journey starts here now at 12 o'clock here in Winston-Salem. And for many of you, you will get to hear Nikita Kolov, The Russian Nightmare. It's time to man up at 1230. So much truth coming at you on The Truth Network.