About Me

My name is Vance. I became a prodigal and agnostic that had walked away from God. Taking the name Ronin, meaning “masterless samurai”, I focused on my own self-perfection trying to become my own ‘god’. Then everything fell apart when tragedy struck, and I had to face the realization that I was powerless and petty. Pride did go before the fall.

Like the Prodigal Son, I began a long, bumpy, journey back. Walking through the valleys of trauma, grief, introspection, and a heavy dose of self-hatred, I finally came back. My life changed, and with this second chance, I now help people rather than myself. Using all these experiences, along with my studies into the human personality, apologetics, and theology, I write to purposefully guide others from making my mistakes. Every post originates from my journal, every insight a hard lesson learned, join me on this journey into living for Christ.

This is my personal blog, which I retooled into a Christian Lifestyle blog, which has archives stretching back 12 years. I work with an editor, Nay Merrill. Nay has freelanced for over a year here. The blog’s focus is following my journey as I ‘seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness’, and what it means to follow Christ in the 21st century.

I write on life as a follower of Jesus; digging deep and communicating in-depth about Christ and living for him, answering questions with analytical insight that pierces deep. I also occasionally write about what I’m learning from my reading. For a list of past books that made a mark in my life check out my recommended reading page Equipping the Saints.

My goal is to teach and guide you from my experience and studies with the purpose to grow personally and live for something more every day. If you’re curious about Christianity, living it, proclaiming it, defending it, and growing in Christ then follow my journey in Christ.

I typically post on Mondays and Fridays. The content will steadily keep coming. So you don’t miss anything you can subscribe or follow my Twitter or Facebook page. To keep up with what I am reading then you can friend me on Goodreads. 

A Ronin’s Journey (The Cliff Notes)

I’ve always been an avid reader since I learned how. However, in 2010 the writing bug bit me after Thorin suggested a group-writing project. That project became Howls from the Wolfpack in 2011. A nineteen-author compilation that centers on the Wolf Mentality. To launch it I founded Abyss Press, my self-publishing platform.

This blog was the simmering brew of my thoughts on the wolf mentality, fitness, the Primal Blueprint, politics, history, and rebuilding oneself. From that, I put together my first solo book, Growls of a Wolf, the last copies of that are offered by Hardcore Clothing in the future. Then in 2013, tragedy struck my family, turning our world upside down.

This blog became my therapist in a sense after that. I would write in a grief journal, gather insights, and expand them in an essay on here. It became my current book project titled A Ronin’s Journey; the Road to Redemption. An introspective and analytical pattern that still holds today as fuel for my posts. In 2014, I gave my life to Christ. Since then I have explored what it means to follow him. During that two-year span I became a co-owner of Wicked Jester Clothing and retired from it in 2015.

In 2015 I released a short book titled Discovering You; How To Find Out What Makes You Tick. I looked at my introspective journey over the years and analyzed it; putting it into a systematic form those as curious about self-discovery as I am.

It’s a style I carry over into my Christian life. Using the knowledge from my search inside, I purposely use it along with in-depth analysis to help people. Whether it’s evidential apologetics, philosophical questions, teaching the practicality of following Jesus, sharing my own mistakes so no one else does the same thing; I try my best to help with penetrating advice and careful reasoning.

I’ve been married to my wife Casey for nine years and recently had two kids. We live outside of Little Rock, Arkansas.

In my free time, I enjoy reading, writing, and training with my kettlebells. On the weekends (before COVID), I worked with the homeless along with my wife with the church’s ministry. I help lead Reach Deaf Ministry and facilitate for GriefShare at First Assembly in North Little Rock.

Disclaimer

This is my personal blog. The opinions I express here do not necessarily represent my employer or FirstNLR.