Gary Painter

I was blessed to grow up in a home, where following Jesus was the first priority. I was taught that you should seek God in all of the decisions of life, and that he would guide you where you should go. With this commitment, I was blessed with a beautiful wife and a great career. I was hardly perfect, struggling with the same issues that most men struggle with, but things seemed to work out for good as I tried to follow God and was involved in ministry. What I did not realize is that my faith was largely untested and perhaps naive. As God led my wife and I to start to have children, we lost our first child through a miscarriage. This led me to realize that "the good" mentioned in Rom 8:28 was to become more like Christ, not necessarily good as I thought of it. To be like Christ meant to suffer. Five years ago, my oldest daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer, and after lots of ups and downs, she passed away on December 24th, 2006 (her story is chronicled on http://jennagrace.info). I can certainly say now that I do not understand why suffering surrounds us. Whether we try to follow God, or go our own way, there will be suffering. But as Simon Peter says in John 6:68, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." God bless.

My Life

Friends describe me

Loyal

My hobbies

basketball, disc golf, hiking

Fantasy dinner guests

Billy Graham, Mother Theresa, Magic Johnson

Best advice I ever received

Even a fool is considered wise when he holds his tongue - rough paraprase from the Proverbs of Solomon

My undergrad alma mater

University of Southern California, San Diego

My worst subject in school

Penmanship

In college I drove

1984 Volvo DL

If I weren't a professor, I would

Work for the Federal Reserve Board

Favorite books

The Bourne Series, Grisham

Favorite movies

Star Wars, it is fun to watch them again with my kids

Favorite city

Los Angeles, CA

Favorite coffee

I don't really like coffee

Nobody knows I

Love fried catfish, but I am getting too old to eat as much as I like