DON'T JUST STAND THERE, PRAY SOMETHING!

  

As we are preparing to relaunch GTD in October 2026, we are recommitting to a ministry that is bathed in prayer. All of our Directors & Coordinators are reading a phenomenal instructional book on how to powerfully pray & the importance of prayer. Before I ever started GTD I spent 5 years praying & preparing over every aspect of its development. Then in 1996 when we started running events I would not run a trip without putting in 5 hours of prayer (usually about 30 minutes at a time over a few weeks leading up to the trip until I hit 5 hours of cumulative prayer time). Five hours wasn't a "magical amount of time". It was a large enough amount of time that it forced me to be thorough and cover every aspect and every mile traveled. Back then we were running less than 5 events per year so it was more achievable. But once we got super busy running 30+ events per year each trip was fortunate to get 5 minutes of prayer. I have found that if the devil can't stop you then he will try to use your momentum against you... to make you so busy that you begin to neglect the most important aspects of running a ministry >>> close abiding communication with God. Ministry isn't about "MANpower"; it's supernatural! A human being can't save a soul or even change a soul. That's all supernatural. It's a God-thing. "Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain" (Psalm 127:1). "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty" (Zechariah 4:6). "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing" (- Jesus from John 15:5). As a ministry our main objective is to glorify God by bearing much lasting fruit ("This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit... I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last..." - Jesus from John 15:8,16). The enemy wants us to think that prayer is either optional, less important than work, or it's for the spiritually elite. None of those are true. Prayer is possibly the most important tool in the toolbox. It can literally move the hand of God, and the absence of it can cause us to miss out on things God is willing to do if we only ask ("You do not have because you do not ask." - James 4:2). So we are recommitting to an effective prayer lifestyle so we stay in-tune and in-step with God's plans for this ministry and yield to the movement of the Holy Spirit instead of trying to do it in our own efforts from our own ideas. We are preparing for a God-awesome relaunch of GTD on October 20, 2026! Now is the time! Revival is here! God is up to something very special!

 

 

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PRODIGAL DUG HAS RETURNED! ...FROM SURVIVAL TO REVIVAL!

  

About 2 weeks ago all my remaining grief, depression, doom & gloom, despair, pessimism, discouragement, negativity, "chip on my shoulder", lack of drive, lack of enthusiasm, lack of motivation, over emotionalism, feeble mindedness, rebelliousness, resentment, dismantling & long-haul exhaustion - all of this utter defeatism - was instantly gone. I have progressively been improving incrementally since I bottomed out last May (maybe 40% better overall) and seeking God for a personal revival. I still had a long road ahead of me, but I was making consistent progress. Then, out of nowhere, that remaining 60% was instantly gone... like one switch had been turned off and another switch had been turned on. Instantly hope, peace, joy, enthusiasm, optimism, drive, motivation, eagerness, strong mindedness, less overly emotional... it all was instantaneously back!!! I've been "remantled"! Glory to God!! Thank You Jesus!!! Thank You Holy Spirit!!! Revival is happening!!! One of the main worship songs I have been singing everyday is "I Thank God", and 2 of the main verses are "The devil lost another one! I am free! I am free!" and "Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up outta that grave!" Wow, I'm living that song right now. The devil came inches away from destroying me, but "The devil lost another one. I am free! I am free!". I spent 5 years digging my grave with the shovel of exhaustion, but as I was laying down in my grave my spirit could hear God's Spirit saying, "Get up! Get up! Get up! Get up outta that grave!" Now I'm dancing on that grave!! Actually those are some of the lyrics of the other worship song I have been singing everyday (called Goodbye Yesterday): "Again and again and again and again You rescued me out of the mess I was in. I traded my sorrow for something to sing. Now, I'm dancin' on the grave that I once lived in." All I can say is that I was dead, and now I'm alive again. I had never experienced a "Prodigal Son" type of crisis in my life. I've always been more like the Prodigal Son's brother - the "good son" - that loyally & faithfully stayed by his Father's side. But after 5 years of being dismantled I "took my inheritance" and was inches away from squandering it all when the fear of God brought me back to my senses, and I relented & repented. I'm beyond blessed that God is slow to anger, quick to forgive, and abounding in love. His kindness leads to our repentance. PRODIGAL DUG has returned! God is turning my survival into my revival! PTL! I tried to do my best to communicate my "train wreck" last year as it was happening. Even in my mess I tried to stay transparent & authentic. For all those who reached out to me and, like firefighters, ran into a situation that most people are running away from (and there were so many who reached out to me & prayed for me) >>> from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You helped save my life!! And to all those who gave up on me... I totally understand... I gave up on me too. I get it... who voluntarily wants to jump into a dumpster fire!! I totally understand. But for all those who ran in with whatever water you had to douse the flames (whether it was with gallons or the few sips you had in your water bottle) >>> YOU DID IT... GOD USED YOU IMMENSELY TO PUT THE FIRE OUT AND SAVE YOUR BROTHER'S LIFE!! I'M FOREVER PROFOUNDLY GRATEFUL!! By the grace & mercy of God - PRODIGAL DUG has returned. Revival is here ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 

 

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"I'M COMMITTING TO BE A BETTER HUSBAND & FATHER"

  

As we launch into our 30th year of ministry we are evaluating what to keep, what to get rid of, what to add, & what to improve on. One improvement we have committed to make on EVERY GTD EVENT going forward is to give our participants an opportunity to ask Jesus into their hearts, rededicate their lives to Christ, and/or make any recommitments to better their lives or better their walk with God. Unfortunately we became inconsistent with doing this over the years. God convicted my heart to make this a regular part of every event we do. I grew up in a Baptist church where every week they gave an altar call at the end of the service for salvation and rededications. On February 4, 1979, at the age of 8 years old, I responded to one of those altar calls, walked down the aisle, and prayed with Pastor Hammond & asked Jesus into my heart! It continues to be THE BEST decision I have ever made!! Through my middle school years I "backslided" here & there and started drifting away from Christ. At a Christian coffeehouse in Savannah, Georgia my cousins gave a similar altar call at the end of their concert, and I walked down the aisle and rededicated my life to Jesus. Since that time I have rededicated my life to Jesus a few more times after seasons of drifting, and there have been many times through the years that I have committed and recommitted to a variety of Godly standards outlined in the Bible. Almost all of these - salvation, rededications, & recommitments - were a direct response to an altar call or invitation publicly given. As I reflect back as a believer in free will, I don't think I would have made many of those life changing decisions if I didn't have someone provide an invitation through some form of an "altar call". I'm a living result of God using an altar call. Because of this we are recommitting as a ministry to an "altar call" on every trip. On our swamp hike last week Pastor Justin supplied the altar call. A few of the men wanted to make recommitments to be better husbands, better fathers, and more consistent in their daily walk with Jesus. I know from personal experience that those kind of public recommitments often change the trajectory of your life towards good & Godly things. God is always ready to meet us where we are at - especially in the mess - and take us to a more abundant life in Him. The beautiful thing about camp ministry is that God uses them to cut through the distractions of life and quickly get down to the heart of the matter so that a sensitivity to spiritual things is authentically cultivated.

"for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'” - Romans 10:13-15

 

 

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COMING OCTOBER 2026... RELAUNCHING OF GTD!!

  

There are a lot of things in the works! God is up to something very special! Plan ahead to join us on October 20, 2026 in Pinellas Park, Florida for an Annual Banquet like no other as we RELAUNCH GTD into our next 30 years of ministry! New logo! New website! New Directors & Coordinators! New Programs! Aaaaaaaaand So Much More!! We are keeping everything and everyone that made GTD so God-awesome, and we are saying goodbye to anything that is no longer effective or has become so antiquated that it is holding us back (oh how I want to do away with email hahaha!!). We are in a 2 year process of passing the GTD torch of CEO from Doug (me) to Carson as I take on new roles & responsibilities within GTD and clear the way for the next generation of leaders to take us into the Promise Land!! This is our Joshua moment! I can sense it... God is up to something very special!! The enemy tried to stop it, but God is about to RELAUNCH IT!!! I'm so excited to see what the enemy was trying so hard to stop! The young guns are coming... Regulators, mount up!!

 

 

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"YOUR OLD MEN WILL DREAM DREAMS" ... MID 60's AND HE IS DID THE SWAMP HIKE!!

   

One of our participants on the swamp hike is in his mid 60's. To all of us, that's inspiring! Something inside of him wanted to do this hike. Life is often made up of little and big dreams. I've found that the more God-given dreams you can pursue over a lifetime only enriches the quality of your life even if some of those dreams fail. He had a God-awesome experience, and he had so much Godly wisdom & encouragement to share. We were so blessed to have him on this trip! I'm so blessed to be part of a ministry that cherishes kids, honors older adventurers, and cares about every age in-between. Thank you to all our encouragers, volunteers, and supporters that help make even older men's dreams a reality =) 

 

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." Joel 2:28

 

 

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SUNRISE IN THE EVERGLADES! ...AND GTD!

  

"From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!"  - Psalm 113:3

 

It's a new day in the Everglades, and it's a new day in GTD! Each sunrise is a reminder of Thomas Fuller's famous 1650 writing, "It is always darkest just before the Day dawneth". That saying encourages us and reminds us that the most difficult or hopeless situations often occur right before a positive turning point or breakthrough. All I can say is God is up to something very special!

 

 

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THE ADVENTURE IS SECONDARY! ... SEEKING GOD IS FIRST =)

  
Adventure is what draws us together, but Jesus is what binds us together. If all GTD offered was adventurous activities we would be like a cup of sugar - empty calories with no sustenance. We would be sweet & give you an instantaneous boost, but leave you with a quick crash and a mouth full of cavities. One of the things I love most about GTD is that healthy relationships are the main objective... with God, others, & even ourselves. A lot of that happens around the campfire. On our swamp hike with Calvary this past weekend we all connected and bonded at a deeper level with God & each other (and even learned more about ourselves) as we read through Colosians 3, prayed, and had meaningful discussions & conversations. A supreme aspect of hiking is that you get to have so many meaningful conversations. Deep lifelong friendships are offened birthed. We came as friends, acquaintances, & strangers, but we left as brothers. That's the power of God working through outdoor adventures in His amazing playground called creation! That's what transforms a great adventure into a God-awesome adventure!

 

 

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OUR FIRST EVER PRIVATE SWAMP HIKE WAS AN OVERWHELMING SUCCESS!!

  
Carson, Stacy, and myself (Doug) lead up our first PRIVATE swamp hike over the weekend, and it was a big hit! We were blessed to outfit 20 men (including ourselves) from one of our favorite churches - Calvary Church of Clearwater - for this unique adventure to one of the rarest terrains in the world. God blessed us immensely in several ways (which we will share more about in upcoming posts). One of those blessings was the fact that on this trip Carson was the pilot, Stacy was the co-pilot, and I was the "flight instructor" which is part of our "passing of the torch" "building the plane as we fly it" 2-year plan. Carson & Stacy did a fantastic job! I couldn't be more pleased. (And this trip showed that for a 55 year old guy that God is reviving I still have many years of involvement remaining in this ministry in a variety of capacities as God allows... so for all our old school GTD'ers I'm not leaving... just passing on some key positions to the next generation of leaders as God expands GTD).

Special thanks to Kirsten (our Volunteer Coordinator), Andrew (our Equipment & Asset Coordinator), Laurie (our Missions & Prosperity Director), & Traci (our s'mores maker!) for all their help and hard work prepping for this event!! We could not have done it without you!!

Aaaaaaaaand, of course, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our supporters, encouragers, & pray'ers for all that you do to help us to do what we do! We love you!!

 

 

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PREPPING FOR A BACKPACKING TRIP WITH 20 MEN!

  
What better way to kick off 30 years of adventures than a backpacking adventure with the Men's group from Calvary Church of Clearwater!! Special thanks to Carson, Andrew, Kirsten, Traci, & Laurie for all the help & hard work that has gone into preparing for this adventure!! It takes a lot of prep work & volunteers to put together events like this... thank you so much God-awesome people!!

 

 

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GTD IS "GETTING STURDY" AS WE TURN THIRTY!

  

2025 became the worst year of my life, but praise God for our Heavenly Father's character of grace, mercy, and long suffering. As Jonah 4:2 says: "...I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity". I believe that the devil didn't want GTD to turn 30... he wanted this ministry to die at the age of 29. I believe he was on a 5+ year campaign to dismantle me so that he could ultimately destroy this ministry. It almost worked. Almost. I was so exhausted, grieved, angry, & depressed that I had many moments when I didn't think I had anything left in the tank to run this ministry. I became a train wreck. But I serve a God that fixes train wrecks! God opened my eyes and woke me up. Like the Prodigal Son I "came to my senses". And from that point God started turning my survival into my revival! I'm thrilled to share that on January 1, 2026 GTD not only turned 30, but we are now actively working on the next 30 years of ministry. God is turning the devil's plans to decrease into God's plans to increase! Happy 30th Birthday GTD!! I can't wait to see what the enemy was trying to stop!!!

 

 

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