A Dedication to My Mother
Mother, Mentor, and motivator
My mother fought cancer twice. For eighteen years after her second battle, she lived with a fragile immune system that eventually could not withstand a virus I unknowingly carried home. But through every season of suffering, she clung to one book:
“Run With the Horses” by Eugene Peterson.
The line that carried her — and later carried me — was Jeremiah 12:5:
“If you cannot run with the footmen, how will you contend with horses?”
It taught us that the Christian life is a long endurance, not a sprint.
It taught us that obedience is daily, not occasional.
It taught us that spiritual fitness is the only way to withstand the world.
We watched Peterson’s teachings together during her treatments.
We prayed.
We studied.
We endured.
Her faith shaped mine.
Her endurance became my theology.
Her legacy is the foundation of everything I build today.
The Remnant
During those years, I was part of a Bible study group called The Remnant — a circle of elderly women, a few younger ones, and me. I never felt out of place. I felt at home.
Our teacher, Jan Parish, was a retired missionary who had served in Kenya. She carried the warmth of that nation in her voice and the wisdom of decades in her eyes.
She told me my spiritual gift was encouragement, and she asked me to pray at the end of every class. That group taught me how to listen, how to speak life, and how to walk with others through suffering.
The Remnant wasn’t just a study.
It was my formation.
Music Ministry
A Voice for God
During my years in The Remnant, I also served on the Praise and Worship Team at my church. I wasn’t a professional musician, but God gave me a voice through the guitar — a way to encourage, uplift, and lead others into His presence.
When I first began, our old Yankee church — a congregation that had just celebrated its tricentennial — didn’t believe modern worship music belonged in a sanctuary. The Praise and Worship portion of the service started with just my pastor and me, two acoustic guitars, and one or two simple songs offered to God.
But something happened.
Over time, the music grew.
The participation grew.
The spirit in the room grew.
Young people began joining the ministry — the pastor’s son, an elder’s daughter, and others who felt called to offer their gifts. The service expanded to include solo performances, poetry, and even a ten‑year‑old girl who glorified God through traditional Irish clogging. What began as two guitars became a movement of creativity and worship in a predominantly elderly, traditional congregation.
The spread of this ministry was profound.
It reached across generations.
It softened hearts.
It opened doors.
It brought the whole church — young and old — into the praise of Jesus through the talents God had placed in us.
When my mother died, I smashed my guitar in grief. For years I had no instrument at all. But in 2025, living in Moyer Carriage Lofts, I saved every spare dollar to buy a Yamaha performance guitar — not for nostalgia, but for the day I will lead worship again in Kenya.
Gaming Ministry with Bud's Village
The Wizard and the Witchelf
After her second battle with cancer, my mother began spending her days in my apartment, sitting with tea and a book while I played games. She told me she saw me as a hero in those worlds — not because I was the strongest, but because I encouraged others, built community, and lifted people up. In the game ArcheAge, I became the Nuian Alliance Hero for three months — not through PvP dominance, but through constant participation, leadership, and encouragement.
My mother saw that I had found a place in the world, a voice, and a community that loved me. When I began streaming as “YerBud” on Twitch, she joined the community as “Witchelf,” and the Villagers loved her. She saw me not as a patient, but as a leader. Her presence in that community was a gift, and her passing was a loss felt by many. Still today Witchelf remains in our hearts as the matron of Bud;s Village. She is still the all-time leader in minutes watched,, bit's given, and gifted subs for my channel on Twitch.
A Brother on the Road — Mike “Kozy” Koziol
One of the greatest blessings in my journey has been Mike “Kozy” Koziol. When I began streaming as YerBud, he was a 24‑year‑old recent graduate working remotely for Best Buy’s Geek Squad — exhausted, overworked, and spiritually drained. He would fall asleep in his gaming chair watching my streams because it was the only place he felt he could breathe.
He and his college friends, two of whom studied game development, once invited me to join a gaming network they wanted to build. Instead, I told him the truth he didn’t want to hear: quit the job that’s killing you, move somewhere you’ve always wanted to live, and build the life you were trained for. Don’t waste your future trying to become another “Bud.”
He hated me for it. But he listened.
He moved to Seattle, rebuilt his life, and began working for Paycom as a tax consultant. Two years later he returned home to Oak City, still working remotely, financially stable, emotionally grounded, and spiritually strong. He sold his gaming rig and never returned to gaming, but he never left my community.
Today, Kozy remains one of my closest brothers — a daily encourager, a steady presence, and a living testimony of what happens when someone chooses the narrow road. His Polish heritage even mirrors my own father’s half‑Polish Jewish lineage, a reminder that no connection in my life has ever been accidental.
A Theology of the Narrow Road
Eugene Peterson’s writings — especially Run With the Horses and A Long Obedience in the Same Direction — became the backbone of my faith and the spiritual lifeline that carried my mother through her second battle with cancer. These books taught us that the Christian life is not a sprint but a long, demanding journey that requires endurance, obedience, and daily spiritual fitness.
In Run With the Horses, Peterson reflects on God’s challenge to Jeremiah:
“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?” (Jeremiah 12:5, ESV)
For my mother, this was not metaphor — it was survival.
For me, it became formation.
Peterson’s companion work, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, deepened that truth. It taught me that the narrow road is walked step by step, season by season, through hardship and hope alike. It taught me that resilience is not stubbornness — it is faith in motion. It taught me that obedience is not perfection — it is perseverance.
And it taught me the truth that carried me through my own valleys:
“For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10, ESV)
Because strength was never the requirement.
Endurance was.
These books shaped my mother’s courage.
They shaped my resilience.
They shaped the way I walk with God today.
This is the heartbeat of Telegram Road.
This is the heartbeat of My Daily Walk.
This is the heartbeat of my ministry.
Endurance.
Obedience.
Faithfulness.
The long road.
A Vision for Kenya
Jan’s stories of Kenya planted something deep in me — a longing to serve in a place she described as warm-hearted toward the ministry of Christ.
My dream is to one day retire there and build a coffee plantation that provides:
- stable work for refugees
- a home for those seeking safety
- a community rooted in dignity and discipleship
- a sustainable way to fund ministry
- a place where people can learn, grow, and find belonging
Kenyan coffee is among the finest in the world.
Its excellence mirrors the excellence I want to cultivate in the lives of those who work the land.
This dream is not a fantasy.
It is the long-term direction of my obedience.
THE ROAD GOD HAS ME WALKING NOW
The Ministry I’m Building Now
Today, my work takes the form of: Telegram Road — a year-long spiritual journey told through story My Daily Walk — unscripted reflections filmed during my 3-mile walks Bud’s Village — a community built on encouragement and hope Devotional writing and visual storytelling.
A ministry of presence, endurance, and encouragement
Everything I create is shaped by the same truth that shaped my mother: Endurance is the foundation of obedience. Obedience is the foundation of faith.
Faith is the foundation of life.Sleep is essential for your health and vitality. We will help you develop healthy sleep habits and provide tips and resources to help you improve your sleep quality. Wake up feeling refreshed and energized every day.
Closing Benediction
My life is a long obedience in the same direction — toward Christ, toward endurance, toward the narrow road that leads to life. Everything I build, write, or share is an invitation for you to walk that road with me.