Archive for category: Blog

About a year ago one of my relatives had a major health problem that required a very expensive procedure. They set up some kind of online thing to help raise money, and even though we were going through tough times ourselves, I remember being so excited to donate and help. It was a “Family” thing, and a great blessing to be a part of it all.

Now, another circumstance is happening where funds are needed to help another of our family through a tough spot. And once again, the extended family has stepped up, blessing them beyond what we could have hoped for.

My mom had been having significant health problems, and just passed away two weeks ago. And once again, the family being there through the whole thing made all the difference.

A few months ago one of our Black Belts and his wife were involved in a terrible head on collision. As soon as I got word, the email went out, and our “Whole Armor Family” got rolling. Prayers, meals, visits, even helping to do a remodel so they could do rehab in their own home. Amazing and wonderful to see our martial arts family at work, blessing one of our own.

Ya know, God has a “Family” too. It’s comprised of those who have received Jesus as their Savior. And what a wonderful thing to be a part of the family of God!

When we run into troubles or struggles, our families can come to our aid financially, or with emotional support. But God created the universe! As part of His family, we have complete and total victory over anything we will ever face.

There’s an old hymn we used to sing that says:

“I’m so glad I’m a part of the Family of God,
I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I’m part of the family, The Family of God.”

Yes – I’m so glad for my earthly family, and cant imagine going through this life without them. But more than anything, I’m eternally thankful that I’m a part of the Family of God!

For as long as I can remember, this picture hung in my grandparents kitchen when I was a kid.

Interestingly enough I always thought it was a painting, and only recently found out that its actually a photograph called “Grace”. It was taken by Eric Enstrom around 1918, and was originally black and white, and later his daughter added the color by hand.

Anyway, it’s obviously a striking image on several levels. The aged prayer warrior, reliance on God after a lot of years, giving thanks for our food, our provisions, the Bible, and a lot more. Amazing how much you can think about just looking at a very simple photo.

As a kid it always made me think of prayer, and believe me, my grandparents were serious about praying. Every morning after breakfast my grandfather would read something from the Bible, and then we would all get on our knees at our chairs, right there by the breakfast table, and he would pray. About everything. He would pray for all the family, various needs or illnesses, calling on God “the Great Physician” to heal those we loved. He would thank God for His mercy and grace, the blessing and provisions. He would pray for missionaries, the church and pretty much anything else you could think of. And then we would get up and begin our day.

Now sometimes they got off the chair and onto their knees with great difficulty, and there were eventually times when one of them couldn’t do it at all, and would just sit to pray – but they would always pray.

And it showed me how basic and foundational God’s Word and prayer were to them and their faith. And it instilled in me a desire to have that same kind of unshakable faith in God that they had across a lot of years.

My grandfather told me a story once (or probably a bunch of times!) about someone he knew, it may have been a friend or a relative, I don’t recall. As best I remember, they skipped their morning prayer time to do some work out on the farm, and there was an accident and the donkey or some animal fell into a ditch or something like that, and had to be rescued, which took a lot of work and effort. And they always wondered after the fact, if they had not skipped their prayer time, if everything would have been OK with no incidents. A powerful thought.

Here’s another one: Psalm 4:8 tells us, “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; because You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Every night I pray that prayer, that God would protect our home and let us lie down in peace, and sleep. Now there are all number of anti-bad guy devices next to my bed, and there’s more than a few years of anti-bad guy training lying there too. And while I firmly believe that God intends for us to do our part in all of that – locking our doors, equipping ourselves, etc, etc, I also know that ultimately it is the Lord, and He alone, that protects us and keeps us safe. And prayer is the key.

I don’t have a clue how it works, but prayer is powerful, prayer can and does move mountains, and prayer is something we should never neglect. The apostle Paul tells us to “Pray without ceasing”, and that is great advice.

What a privilege, to talk with God anytime, anywhere, about anything, and to know that He listens, and cares. Blows my mind just thinking about it. As the old song says,

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer!

(Read more WAMA blogs here: https://wholearmor.net/category/blog/ )

Last week I turned 60.

It’s kind of a trip when you think about it. I suppose we all have ideas in our minds of what a 60 year old person is, and of course never imagine thinking of ourselves as “that.”

But, while somewhere, somehow, some counter clicking off the seconds like an odometer rolled over and recorded that Ron Hagelganz was now 60, the truth is – it was just another Tuesday.

I often tell students who are really nervous about an upcoming Exam, that it is really just another day. The hours and minutes will come and go, and either they will pass the test, or fail, but in the grand sweep of things, freaking out about what’s coming isn’t going to help at all. It will come, and it will go.

Time is a funny thing. We often act like we have all the time in the world, when in reality we don’t really have any time at all. All we ever really have, is now. The past is gone, and the future doesn’t exist yet, so here we are – now. Thats why making the most of every moment is so important.

There’s a scroll that is often used in the décor of the Japanese tea ceremony that reads “Ichigo Ichi,” which roughly means, “every moment, only once.” It reminds us that we don’t want to waste a single moment, because each one is really the only “now” we will ever have.

I think that’s what Jesus was talking about when he said in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” And Paul in Philippians 4:6. “Be anxious for nothing…”

It’s so easy to get so concerned about what’s coming up, that we miss the only real now, the only real life we ever have. And God has so much more for us than that.

So whether it’s a Karate Exam, an unimaginable birthday, or whatever – and no matter how insurmountable, frightening or crazy it might seem – take it in stride, without worry, and with confidence and hope in the Lord. Because in the end, it’s really just another Tuesday.

Anyone who studies the martial arts knows that tradition is an important aspect of what we do. Now granted, there are some who throw tradition out the window in favor of whatever they do, but in reality they are just creating their own tradition for their students to follow too. So no matter how you slice it, tradition is something we all embrace at some level.

Recently we did a drill in class called Gohon Kumite. It’s a very traditional set of techniques that has been used for decades. Very specific movements both during the drill and when changing roles from one student defending to the other. And watching our students train, it reminded me of the tradition and history of what we do in Karate class. These same techniques and movements have been studied and practiced by other students across a lot of years, and it’s somehow inspiring to be following in their footsteps.

Of course many other aspects of our program have a great history too. The kata and etiquette come to mind, and are also very important parts of helping us learn Karate-do in much the same way as the founders taught. Some might say that its time for new ideas and new techniques, but I prefer to rely on the proven path as we train.

If you look at Proverbs 22:28 it reads, “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.” With that in mind, we don’t want to be so quick to toss aside the wisdom that those who have gone before have passed on to us.

And when it comes to our faith life, the proven path of God’s Truth from the Bible is also the only way to train. And just like in the martial arts, there are many who say it’s time for new ideas and new truth. But as we look back we see that people have been saying that for hundreds of years. And while all their “new truth” has come and gone, only the Bible has remained.

So lets all hold fast to those traditions both in our martial arts, and in our faith, that are so rich and meaningful, and let God’s Word guide us along His path to peace.

Have you ever felt pressure to keep up with someone else? We often call it “Keeping up with the Joneses.” And honestly, it just is real easy to compare ourselves to others, and feel like we need to somehow be like them, be as good as they are at whatever, have as nice a house as they do, and on and on.

Recently I had all the Black belts and brown belts partner up and work on some advanced kicking techniques. It was very interesting to see how wildly varying the performance was. And it became evident very quickly that many of our advanced students need a lot of work on these kinds of techniques. Truth is they are difficult, which is why its important to practice them and keep those skills fresh so they will work when needed. Some of the brown belts did much better at some of the techniques than the Black belts, and on some the opposite was the case. Few, if any, did them all well, and I think it was a bit of a reality check for many of the students. But then, that’s exactly why we train. If we only practiced the stuff we’re already good at we’d never improve at all!

One of the things that we all struggle with on some level is our pride, and so in this case many students had trouble with the realization that they were not doing better at these skills than the students below them in rank. Not a bad thing, as that will inspire them to train more correctly on those skills that really need the work. Truth is not everyone is even physically as able as others either. I know that I am not able do some of the things I used to be able to do with ease. Some of that is age and some is the old body parts not working as well as they used to because of various injuries. So I just do the best I can and don’t worry about it.

The bottom line is that one of the terrific things about martial arts training is that we really don’t have to keep up with anyone! We will want to of course, but we don’t have too. We simply train at our own pace, doing the best we can and hopefully have a blast along the way.

Faith is much the same. We can look at some of the amazing people of faith like Billy Graham etc., and by comparison feel like we’re pretty much worthless because there’s just no way we can keep up with people like that. Well, the good news is we don’t have too.

Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

We’re not saved because of anything we do, we’re saved because God chooses to love us and offers us the gift of eternal life. Period. Of course once we accept that gift it should cause us to want to do good things and live righteously for God, but that isn’t what saves us. St. Augustine said “Love God and do what you please.” I love that! When you truly love God, what you please to do, what you will want to do, is what He wants.

You see, God doesn’t want you to be Billy Graham. He already has one of those. He wants you to be YOU! He doesn’t want you to try and keep up with anyone else, do what they do, look, act, or even think like they do. He wants you to be you. Period.

There’s an old saying: “God don’t make no junk”, and that is so true. So you don’t need to worry about keeping up with the Joneses, the Grahamses, or the Hagelganzes (obviously!) just be you. And as you are sold out to God, living every moment for Him, just watch what amazing things He will do through your life!