My Christian Testimony
by John Lutz
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Christian Testimony
- Opening Prayer
- Blessed
- College and Martial Arts Training
- Big Decision #1: Move to CA for Advanced Martial Arts Training or Stay on the East Coast
- Working in Hollywood at The Roxbury Nightclub
- Working in Los Angeles at Mrs. Gooch's/Whole Foods Market stores
- Natural Healthcare Research
- Natural Healthcare and Alternative Medicine Treatments for Cancer
- Naturopathic Medicine, Functional Medicine, Behavioral Optometry and Biological Dentistry
- Lowering High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure Without Pharmaceutical Drugs
- Additional Natural Healthcare Links
- Big Decision #2: Advanced Healthcare Studies or Continued Advanced Martial Arts Training
- The Cost of Travels and the Testimony
- Learning Computers, Web Design and Internet Marketing
- Big Decision #3: Move across country (again) to (1) attend naturopathic medicine graduate school in WA and/or (2) do web work for the top naturopathic doctors, or stay on the East Coast and continue working on my web skills.
- Here's Where the Christian Testimony Really Starts
- Housing in Seattle
- Work with Whole Foods Market in Seattle
- Internet Marketing Work at a Naturopathic Clinic in Seattle
- Problems with the Landlord
- Problems with the Doctor
- Working at a Top Natural Healing Center in Seattle
- Really Bad Landlord
- Court Case with the Landlord
- Moving Out of the House and Staying in the Car while Preparing for the Court Case Against the Landlord
- Challenges Experienced During the Court Case - Including the Car Getting Stolen!
- A Church, 150 Yards Away
- Things Got Worse and Better at the Same Time
- The Good News
- Blessings During the Challenges
- The Final Judgment of the Court Case
- So Many Challenges...
- What to do after the Wrongful Court Judgment?
- My Testimony - Acts 1:8
Opening Prayer
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Dear Lord, I pray that those reading my testimony may have their faith greatly strengthened. Thank you for all you have done in my life and all have yet to do. I leave the writing to you and I pray that you may be glorified. In Jesus' name, amen. |
My Christian testimony is related to my Internet marketing work, my natural healthcare research and training with many world-class martial artists. Mostly though, it's about listening to God for direction and seeing some great things happen.
Two big events were significant factors in my journey of becoming a Christian and accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Before I discuss these events, I'll provide some information about myself and my background.
Very Blessed
I have a big family - about 30 aunts and uncles and many cousins. It was great having the opportunity to learn all kinds of things from my immediate family and my relatives while growing, and it was/is always lots of fun seeing everyone at family events. There were also priests and nuns in the family. Not all family members chose Christianity as their religion, but all were influenced by positive Christian beliefs. I also played lots of sports: baseball, football, basketball, swimming, running, weight lifting and many other physical activities. I had many great sports coaches (including a few coaches of strong Christian faith) and I met many close friends while playing sports. There were nice neighbors nearby (Christian and non-Christian), and I have incredible, loving parents that were brought up Christian/Catholic environments. There were family and close neighbors that excelled to very high levels in the business world, engineering, marketing, art and other creative projects, and other family and friends that were just very loving people, incredible blessings in my life. So, I was around many positive influences while growing up. Honestly, I often felt like I was blessed more than anyone else that I knew.
- James 1:16-17 "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
This verse was always on my mind, before I even knew that it was a Bible verse:
- Luke 12:48 "...From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."
I mention these things because my Christian testimony is about using our gifts and blessings maximally, and not being distracted by lesser things.
- John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
- 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, 31 "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.' "
- 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 "However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him' - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."
- 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
College and Martial Arts Training
After growing up and high school came college - or rather, playing football in college (my primary interest at the time). I studied mechanical engineering and played college football for two years. After 2 years of school, I decided to take some time off. I began training in martial arts (Shotokan karate) and after 1-2 years away from school, I switched majors to nutrition (dietetics - learning how the body works vs. continuing to learn about physics and calculus and how machines work) and I returned to school. I did well in the nutrition studies, and I located some outstanding martial arts instructors that were 5-10 years older than me (and an older instructor who was a former Navy Seal). In school, I focused on studying sports nutrition. I was really interested in working out and learning how nutrition affects health and promotes optimal athletic performance.
As mentioned above, my martial arts instructors were outstanding - great people who were driven to attain highly advanced martial arts skills and achieve advanced personal goals. After about 2-3 years of training, we started attending seminars taught by some of the top martial artists in the world. Then, we would practice what we learned during our workouts. I ended up getting kind of bored with college. Not that it wasn't interesting and intellectually challenging, but I noticed that only the real world (including sports competition and martial arts training) was teaching me deeper things like how to deal with fear and pain (spiritual challenges). On the weekends, we would often train with world-class martial artists at various training seminars. During the week (in my college classes), I often had overweight teachers trying to teach me about health and nutrition! Something did not seem right! With martial arts, everything was instantly applicable, logical and very real. My martial arts teachers were definitely great examples of what they taught - great people, in shape, highly motivated and pursuing advanced skills and challenges.
Sparring with World Champion Kickboxer, Bill Wallace at a Martial Arts Seminar in 1993
(a kickboxing demo for the crowd, not actual sparring)
Big Decision #1: Move 3000 miles to California to train at one of the top martial arts training centers in the world, or stay on the East Coast and continue to train and teach martial arts?
I thought about it and prayed about it. The message I received was to go - that things would be fine and I should not be afraid to try to take on big challenges.
- James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."
It was very hard, because I was very close to family, friends and my martial arts teachers on the East Coast. The type of karate that we practiced, Shotokan karate, was a striking martial art (vs. grappling, jiu-jitsu, aikido or other martial arts). We would practice traditional karate techniques (karate kicks, punches and attack drills) and non-traditional striking techniques, such as boxing punches and kickboxing kicks. I decided that if I was going to go further with the martial arts studies (including competing in kickboxing), I better make sure that I'm training with the best in the world so I'm fully prepared to do well in the ring and not get hurt. So, I moved 3000 miles to train with Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, at the Jet Center in Los Angeles.
Talking with World Champion Kickboxer Benny "The Jet" Urquidez after a sparring session at the Jet Center in Los Angeles.
Working in Hollywood at the Roxbury Nightclub
After arriving Los Angeles, I started working at one of the top nightclubs in Hollywood at the time, Roxbury (the movie, A Night at the Roxbury was about the club and shows scenes filmed in the club). I visited the bar during the week and talked with the manager, but I was not immediately hired. I came back later in the week on a Friday night dressed in black pants and a while collar shirt, and I said that I had just moved here from the East Coast and I'm ready for work! He ended up putting me to work that night, which was great! Here's the "VIP" room bar where I worked in Roxbury and a funny Roxbury link with Jim Carrey.
Working in Los Angeles at Mrs. Gooch's/Whole Foods Market
Smoking in bars was legal at the time (in 1993), and Roxbury had tons of cigarette smoke. There were health food stores in Los Angeles called Mrs. Gooch's (which was later bought by Whole Foods Market). They were big stores, full of organic food and all kinds of foods that I had never seen before. Back then, Whole Foods Market and the health food industry were smaller and pretty much nonexistent in the Mid-Atlantic area where I grew up. Whole Foods Market is now a Fortune 500 company with 300 stores throughout the US, Canada and the UK. The work in the night club was fun, but not very healthy. So, I applied for work at Mrs. Gooch's/Whole Foods Market and I was hired to work in the nutritional supplement section of the stores.
Natural Healthcare Research
From 1994 to 1999, I was extremely motivated to learn everything about the natural foods industry and natural healthcare, because I needed to excel in my work to be able to fund my travels and my martial arts studies. I worked and studied extremely hard to push my natural healthcare knowledge to very advanced levels so I could get hired for a manager level position at Whole Foods Market (for sufficient money to train and travel back East). I was a natural healthcare book buyer, and I regularly read all of the top natural healthcare and alternative medicine books sold in the stores. After reading many of the books, I realized that there was amazing natural healthcare research that was/is not be utilized to help people. Even worse, I found out that many of the natural healthcare therapies were direct competition to the pharmaceutical industry products, and much of the outstanding natural healthcare research was being actively suppressed to promote the sale of drugs rather than nutrition-based medicine. Natural treatments for cancer were/are a great example...
Natural Healthcare and Alternative Medicine Treatments for Cancer
From day 1, customers would come into the stores to research natural and alternative medicine treatments for cancer. Many customers doing this had either seen others die from the side effects of conventional treatments, or they had tried conventional treatments without success and the natural treatments were their last hope. I met the authors of many books on natural treatments for cancer and I regularly called the top natural/alternative medicine cancer clinics to ask about their treatments for the customers. I read many books on the subject. During 10 years of work with Whole Foods Market, I discussed healthcare topics with over 100,000 people one-on-one. (Whole Foods Market stores regularly received about 30,000 shoppers per week, with 15% of the sales coming from the vitamin aisles. I spoke with well over 200 customers per week about healthcare for 10 years = over 100,000 customers.) It was very clear that people were receiving benefits from the natural treatments. I met many people that were successfully treating their cancer with natural approaches (not using drugs at all, or using natural treatments in combination with drugs).
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Many of the top natural healthcare and alternative medicine authors lived in Los Angeles. They would regularly visit the stores for book signings and team member trainings. Whole Foods also flew me to other states for trainings on nutrition-based medicine, herbal medicine, homeopathy and other natural healing therapies with many of the top nutritional supplement companies. I asked all of the top experts my questions - thousands of questions.
Here's a few examples of innovative approaches to successfully treating cancer discussed in the above books and DVD's:
- Mammography: This "preventative" screening technique uses x-rays, which cause cancer. Thermography, a method of analyzing differences in body temperature, is harmless and it can detect cancer years sooner than mammography.
- Chemosensitivity testing: This involves testing chemotherapy treatments against a sample of a patient's blood to see if the drug will be effective against the cancer in the patient's body. Chemosensitivity testing is done by the innovative cancer treatment centers mentioned in these books and DVD's - but is is nowhere near being a standard aspect of cancer treatment in the US. Chemotherapy drugs themselves can be very harmful to a patient's health - especially for cancer patients (who usually need support for their immune system).
- Cutting-edge natural healthcare research is often 20 years ahead of common use and/or public knowledge or access to the treatments.
Naturopathic Medicine, Functional Medicine, Behavioral Optometry and Biological Dentistry
After working with Whole Foods Market for a few years, I realized that there were whole systems of medicine called naturopathic medicine, functional medicine, behavioral optometry and biological dentistry that were not being utilized significantly on the East Coast.
- Naturopathic doctors attend 4-6 years of graduate school, the same amount of training as medical doctors.
- Naturopathic doctors are licensed as primary care doctors (family physicians) in 1/3 of the states.
- Naturopathic doctors are licensed as primary care doctors on the whole West Coast - but not in any of the Mid-Atlantic states, where many pharmaceutical companies and their marketing departments are located.
- In Washington state, it is law that naturopathic medicine must be covered by insurance. In the Mid-Atlantic, it is law that naturopathic doctors are not even allowed to practice!
- See contrasting naturopathic and allopathic medicine and the body's seven primary healing systems.
There was (and is, for the most part) a night and day difference in acceptance and implementation of top natural healthcare research on the East Coast and the West Coast.
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Lowering High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure without Pharmaceutical Drugs
- Information on lowering cholesterol without pharmaceutical drugs (2)
- Information on lowering blood pressure without pharmaceutical drugs (2)
Additional Natural Healthcare Links
Big Decision #2: Advanced Healthcare Studies or Continued Advanced Martial Arts Training?
I realized that helping people with the natural healthcare/alternative medicine research was more important than furthering my martial arts studies (and competing in kickboxing). During this time, The House of Blues opened in Los Angeles. It became the top Hollywood nightclub (surpassing Roxbury). Their slogan was "ever help, never hurt." It sounds kind of simple, but the importance of helping people with my research on natural healthcare was always on my mind - more so that pursuing kickboxing competition.
So, I moved to LA to get world-class martial arts training, and I ended up receiving highly advanced training in natural healthcare, nutritional healing and alternative medicine, along with some great martial arts training.
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- For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. - Acts 4:20
- By academic freedom I understand the right to search for truth and to publish and teach what one holds to be true. This right implies also a duty: one must not conceal any part of what one has recognized to be true. - Albert Einstein
Moving Back to the East Coast
In 1999, after almost 6 years in LA, I returned to the East Coast to share the natural healthcare research with family and friends and learn about computers and the Internet (I did not pick up my first computer until 1999 due to financial challenges experienced while living in CA). My goal was to develop a natural healthcare web site to share the natural healthcare and alternative medicine research that I came across while living in Los Angeles.
The Cost of the Travels and the Testimony
OK...You're saying, "But where is the testimony?" Well..#1, that God guided me to a place to learn top natural healthcare research so I could help eventually many people (cancer was the #3 searched news term in 2006). From 2006-10, I working with one of the top cancer researchers that I met in California, Burton Goldberg, who has a healthcare documentary movie coming out in the theaters soon. #2: When I moved home, I began working in a Whole Foods store on the East Coast. Unfortunately, when I arrived, my pay was reduced by about 30%! This caused major problems. I was not able to pay the bill to get my belongings back from California, and I lost pretty much everything I owned, except what I brought with me on the plane. I lost my Black Belt (that I had trained almost daily for 6 years to obtain) , my notes from my training time in CA (martial arts training notes and healthcare training notes), lots of books and research, pictures, family belongings (including a coin collection worth quite a bit of money, which was passed down to me by my parents and grandparents). Really bad...really bad. But, at least I was home. I began to fully understand that the love of family and friends is what really matters. The quote "the most important things in life are not things" was definitely true. Also, I realized that the knowledge you attain and the confidence and faith that you develop by undertaking great challenges cannot be taken from you - powerful, intangible assets that are not affected by the economy!
There's more, a lot more...
So, I started working 35 hrs/wk in Whole Foods Market and 35 hrs/wk in CompUSA to learn computers and get caught up financially and learn computers, web design and Internet marketing. When I moved to CA in 1993, computers where not as common as they are today, and the Internet had not yet become popular. So, managing all of my bills during the move to LA (I moved about 5 times in 6 years while in LA) was very challenging (online bill payment systems were not available then). Also, the credit industry was evolving during this time and I ran into some financial challenges and credit industry battles during the move and after arriving back on the East Coast. So, I worked for about 8 months at both of these business (no days off) to get caught up on cash and start learning about computers.
Things got worse before they got better...
In 1999, learning computers and web design was a little like the Wild West! It was a new, powerful, emerging industry. I can remember working in the store one day and we were discussing whether people would actually go for the online purchasing of books and other products from Amazon! CompUSA was the largest computer retailer in the world at the time. We were paid bonuses for sales of computers, training classes and tech services. I did well in sales, and around Christmas time in 2000, I had earned about $3000 in sales commissions. The manager of the store (assistant manager, actually) only paid me $1500. I got behind on my car loan, and Honda came and repossessed my car!!!
With help from family, I was able to get the car back, and after many phone calls and letters to Honda, I was able to get the the repossession removed from my credit report.
Learning Computers, Web Design and Internet Marketing
From 1999 to 2003, I studied computers and the Internet intensely, and I worked less and less at Whole Foods Market - mainly, because the work there did not involve much time on the computer. In 2001-02, I took computer and web design training classes at a local computer training school in the Mid-Atlantic. It turned out that my primary instructor was a junior in college at the time who had previously worked for Yahoo. He ended up transferring to the University of Pennsylvania graduating first in his class, then graduating from Harvard with a Master's Degree and a 3.95 average! I had other web teachers that were also outstanding. So, I received incredible web training.
In 2001, I was able to put up my first web site - about one and a half years after buying my first computer. After school ended in 2002, I took the next 8 months off to fully learn the incredible information that was taught during web design school.
Resuming Work at Whole Foods Market
At the end of 2002, I returned to Whole Foods Market to build up some income again while I continued to develop my web skills. I ended up moving to work at a new Whole Foods Market store about 300 miles from home. I called the manager and said that I was ready for work (as I did in LA), and he said fine, see you tomorrow! I spent 6 months working with Whole Foods Market again, from 10/02 to 4/03. During this time, work was easy, as I had now been with Whole Foods Market for 10 years. I was again around good friends, as I was in 1993, before I moved to LA. It was lots of fun, but I noticed that I was also starting to lose focus a little...
(especially after taking a room for rent in a house with four female roommates!)
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Big Decision #3: Move across country (again) 3000 miles to (1) Attend naturopathic medicine graduate school in WA and/or do web work for the top naturopathic doctors, or (2) Stay on the East Coast and continue working on my web skills?
After thinking about it and praying about it some more, I figured that if I'm going to excel in the field of natural healthcare, I should probably get the doctorate degree or do web work for the top experts in the field. I decided to go to WA, again leaving close family and friends, which was very hard to do. But again, the message I received was to go, and not be afraid. So, I loaded up my car and drove across country to WA to train with some of the world's top natural healthcare researchers that I came across during 10 years of studies in the fields of natural healthcare and alternative medicine.
Here's where the Christian testimony really starts...
Housing in Seattle
Upon arriving in Seattle, I knocked on the doors of houses across the street from the school that I had planned on attending (or doing web work for top experts from the school), Bastyr University. I spoke with the landlord of the house directly across the street from the school. He said the place was full, but possibly he could get me in. He talked with the tenants and they made room for me...pretty awesome!
Work with Whole Foods Market in Seattle
I had now worked for Whole Foods for 10 years, and I had many good references from the company. I spoke with the manager of the Seattle store before traveling across country and it sounded like they would be able to put me to work. When I arrived (a few weeks later than projected), I was told that the position had been filled. They had a bagger position available (the lowest level position in the store). In my previous work with the company, I was third in charge of a store with 200 team members. I had helped stores achieve significant financial success, and stores where I worked had received company awards for achieving outstanding financial performance. I applied for the bagger position and I was not hired! 3000 miles from home - not good. What was going on?
Internet Marketing Work at a Naturopathic Clinic in Seattle
I had pretty advanced web skills at the time, so I began pursuing web work with top naturopathic medicine doctors. The top naturopathic doctor that I had hoped to work with was starting a new business and he was not hiring yet (he was receiving help from student volunteers).
After 4 weeks, I did not have work. I started talking with the landlord (who I was beginning to have some questions about, in regards to his character and whether he was a good guy or not) about taking over the whole lease on the house, and renting out rooms to students. At the time, he was acting as the house manager (making sure the rooms were rented). He said fine, and we agreed to a price. The lease would start in 1 month, after the current leases were up and four current tenants had moved out. The current tenants expressed some concerns to me, saying that the landlord was not fixing things in a timely manner. I figured that if I had a strong written agreement, that things would be fine. My decision to pursue renting the whole house was partially based upon financial concerns (if I rented all of the rooms out, I would stay for free) and partially based on my interest in staying in the house, since it was directly across the street from school and work opportunities.
2 weeks later (6 weeks after arriving in Seattle), after researching top naturopathic doctors and clinics in the area, I was hired to do Internet work at a naturopathic clinic.
Problems with the Landlord
2 weeks later (8 weeks after arriving in Seattle), I had located tenants for the house. On the day of the lease signing (when I had tenants that had moved in from very far away, and they were about to begin the school semester), the landlord came to the house with the rental agreement, and he attempted to raise the rate $200/mo. Also, he had obviously been drinking quite a bit. I did not have much of a choice, as the roommates and I had nowhere else to go. We signed the lease for about $150 above what we initially agreed.
There were problems with the house: both bathrooms had plumbing problems, and the basement was overflowing with waste water from the bathrooms. Not good. I added clauses to the rental agreement that covered all of the concerns, and I gave the landlord the money to start the rental agreement.
Problems with the Doctor
2 weeks later (10 week after arriving in Seattle), after 4 weeks of work for the doctor, a check was due. I had been working daily on-site in his office. Before writing the check, he decided that he wanted me to sign a crazy legal agreement: 1) not working for any other competitive business (all healthcare businesses could have been considered competitive businesses) within a 500 mile radius for 5 years, 2) full-time work not guaranteed, but I would guarantee that I'd be available for full-time and overtime hours. He was paying $10/hr...and paying my as a contractor rather than an employee (which meant that I would pay higher taxes). There were other clauses that were inappropriate. I told him to forget it, he could keep his check. I tried to leave, but he wanted me to do something on the computer, or he wouldn't let me leave his building...really crazy. I called 911 on my cell phone, and the police arrived. He ended up providing a check before they arrived, and I ended up telling them that the issue had been resolved.
Meanwhile, the landlord was not fixing the plumbing problems at the house.
Without much of a choice, I showed up at the naturopathic clinic the next day and told the doctor that I was here to work if we could resolve the work agreement issue. We resolved the issue, and I continued work. I had moved 3000 miles for a reason, and at that point, I had to work to obtain income. Also, the doctor was a former department head at the school that I was interested in possibly attending, and the top doctor that I had hoped to work with was on the Board of Directors for his business.
So...Whole Foods Market, the landlord and the naturopathic doctor all provided some significant challenges when I arrived to Seattle. It got worse, much worse.
Working at a Top Natural Healing Center in Seattle (another natural healthcare clinic)
I also started working at another top natural healthcare clinic during this time. This one was of the best in the country, if not the best. Unfortunately, due to the landlord problems, I arrived late and tired for work on multiple occasions and I was let go from the position. I probably could have resumed work at the clinic after the landlord issue was resolved, but I was doing Internet work for the first doctor (which was good) and I needed to focus on that work at the time. I was working on updating the business' web site so I could move onto other web projects (much higher paying web projects).
Really Bad Landlord
The landlord turned out to be a really bad guy. He would let himself into the house unannounced, he put padlocks on areas of the house (a large storage area and a gate that provided direct access to the school across the street), he parked a huge trailer in the parking area of the house, and he was always on-site doing work on the house...but the bathroom issues were never effectively resolved. It turned out that the plumbing problems were major (clogged underground lines from the house to the street) and he knew about this before signing the rental agreement, and he was not fixing the problems. I ended up withholding the second month's rent, because of the constant problems with the plumbing (including bathroom waste water on the basement floor). A significant concern was that he might let himself into the house (as he had done on many occasions) and steal my belongings. His goal was to keep the tenants that I had located and get me out of the house so he could receive more money for the rental property. He filed an eviction lawsuit for non-payment of rent. I had never been to court before, but I had confidence in the legal system and tons of clear evidence against the him. So, I began preparing for the court case.
Court Case with the Landlord
After some research, I found out that he had installed one of the house bathrooms himself without a building permit. Also, that he had taken downpayment and security deposit money from previous student renters and not returned the money. He had been taken to court before, and lost, for not completing building contractor work for a client (he was a construction contractor and realtor). We checked city records and found the original building plan for the house. He had done lots of work on the house without a permit, and some of this work was related to the problems we were experiencing with the house. I notified all of the tenants of the problems. The landlord made up lies about me and lied to the tenants, saying that I was causing various problems. For the most part, the tenants recognized that the landlord was the cause of the problems, because they were there on day 1 when he came over drunk to the house and he raised the rent on the day of the lease signing. A roommate and I who had done most of the work to get the house rented were particularly worried about the landlord becoming crazier by the day and possibly stealing our belongings, so we moved out.
Moving out of the House and Staying in the Car while Preparing for the Court Case
We put our belongings in storage (before he could do anything to them) and we stayed in the car. We purchased memberships at a local gym so we could shower in the morning. We ate out at buffet restaurants (it was a college town, with many inexpensive restaurants). We used the local Kinkos as an office in the evenings, preparing documentation to support our legal case against the landlord. Staying in the car and eating out all of the time wasn't too bad, but we were in a new town, and it was pretty challenging trying to find various city records buildings (this was before GPS was very popular for cars) to research all of the construction that was done on the house by the landlord without permit. Also, it was challenging locating the previous tenants that had experienced similar problems with the landlord.
After about 3 weeks of this, we had researched landlord/tenant law in Washington state very well, and we had tons of evidence compiled against the landlord: his e-mails stating that he would fix the problems (which were never fixed), the legal agreement which required things to be fixed that were not fixed, city housing records showing the structure of the house when he purchased it, statements and estimates from plumbers describing the extent of the problems, the city of Washington's building inspector's review of the house, copies of canceled rent checks that I had given the landlord, copies of the previous court case the landlord had lost for not completing the contractor work that he had agreed to complete. We also had statements from previous tenants regarding the problems that he had caused, and statements from a student that had been promised a room (and had left a security deposit and down payment) and that the room was rented and the deposit was not returned.
Challenges Experienced During the Court Case - Including the Car Getting Stolen!
The court cast went on over 2-3 months' time and over 4 court dates. During this time, my car was hit twice - the first caused minor damage, the second caused major damage. I received a $1700 check from insurance for the second instance, which helped. The car was parked when these events occurred.
I cashed out my Whole Foods Market 401K for funding to continue to fight the landlord in court (which included lawyer expenses and expenses for obtaining evidence against the landlord). I missed quite a bit of work during this time.
I picked up a traffic ticket (for speeding) going to the courthouse on one of the court days.
Seattle also had tons of parking meters. I quickly found out that parking tickets were a significant part of the city's income! Many times, when I was in Kinkos working (in a parking lot marked as free parking for customers), I would receive parking tickets! It seemed that they were playing an "over-ticket" game (if you call and tell them what happened, they would cancel the ticket). Other times, I would unfortunately receive parking tickets after spending more time than expected in city records buildings or at lunch buffets.
Then, before the final court date, my car was stolen (with many of our belongings inside)!!!!! I later found out the Seattle does not have very good laws to deter car theft. Fortunately, I never left any of the evidence and court documents in the car - I always took it with me to work.
One thing is for sure...it can definitely be challenging trying to excel when you're 3000 miles from home and not in your home court!
A Church, 150 Yards Away
So, with nowhere to go and no car, my roommate and I knocked on the door of a church, which was 150 yards away from work and the location where my car was stolen. I had never regularly attended church before and I was never deeply into Christian faith. I had been around many people of Christian faith growing up, and I did not realize at the time that their faith and their beliefs were the basis for their character and the good things that they had done in my life. I was into natural healthcare, and I was regularly around new age "spiritual" people. I was kind of halfway between "spiritual" and Christian beliefs and strongly influenced by Eastern martial arts philosophy, The 48 Laws of Power and The Art of War. So, we knocked on the church door hoping that they had a place to stay. They did not have a place to stay, but I met the youth pastor (who later founded his own church) offered to drive us where we needed to go. I noticed in talking with him on the ride that there was an inner strength or character strength about him (I didn't even know that churches had youth pastors!). My roommate (who I begun a relationship with while we lived at the rental house) was of strong Jewish faith. The youth pastor dropped her off at a Jewish place of worship which had rooms to stay on-site. I stayed in the building were I picked up my mail (a local P.O. Box type of place) with a sheet for a blanket from the Jewish house. In the morning, I picked up a rental car.
Meanwhile, the court case with the landlord went over about 4 court dates. One day, our case did not get called. Another day, I requested more time to gather evidence. Not sure about the other delay.
Things got worse and better at the same time...
My stolen car was located, but it had been stripped down for parts. Amazingly, some of my web top books from school (including notes from my primary web teacher, who was outstanding) were still in the trunk of the car, so I did not lose this information.
I eventually purchased another car (after having to battle with the car insurance company for a fair payout).
The new car was broken into 3 times before around the time of the final court appearance. My bills (financial documents) were stolen from the car twice. I had to close checking accounts and open new ones. The passenger windows were broken in the car, and we had to cover the window spaces with dark trash bags and duct tape - during the winter!
Three times (additional instances), people tried to break into the car while my roommate and I were sleeping in the car! I would honk the horn or bang on something to let them know that they should try to steal another car. The area in Seattle where we were staying looked like a nice area, but it turned out that there was quite a bit of crime in the area. The Seattle police said that Seattle has one of the highest car theft rates in the country.
Needless to say, on many days, I was very tired! Two or three times, I even locked my keys in the car!!! (I had almost never done this in the past!)
I had moved 3000 miles to pursue my goals of either going to naturopathic school or working for the top naturopathic doctors. I could have called home and requested help to get back to the East Coast. I had already moved 3000 miles before to CA, and though I learned a great deal (and tons about natural healthcare and alternative medicine), I didn't fulfill all of my goals during that move. So...I was not leaving Seattle until achieving my goals.
The Good News
It turned out the the church that I visited was a great church! During the above challenges, I started attending the church (which was 150 yards away from my work).
Blessings during the Challenges
I had two people around me during the challenges that had very strong faith. One was a county inspector who encouraged me to read the Jonah story in the Bible about running from God. My thoughts were, "What about dealing with the bad landlord and putting him in his place?" The other was my roommate, who ended up helping me greatly (and praying with me and encouraging me to pray) during the court case.
The church gave me a Bible during this time, a NIV Bible (New International Bible), which was much easier to read than the King James Version (the only version that I thought existed up until that time). This may sound king of strange, but at the time, I thought that it was really cool that the church just gave me a Bible - no questions asked and no talk of payment for the book. It seemed like everyone else in Seattle was stealing from me!
The church was a protestant church. I had never known that there were Christian churches other than Catholic churches. The church had great music and meaningful services where great Christian messages were taught. They provided message notes to promote a learning environment and PowerPoint for song lyrics and other messages. The services were focused on learning about the Bible, developing a close personal relation with God, developing a strong faith and overall personal development. In contrast, my previous experiences with Catholic churches were primarily "stand up, sit down, repeat after me" type of services. After a while, I eventually read the Jonah story.
The Final Judgment of the Court Case
The landlord, lied, lied, and lied some more (while under oath - perjury, which is a felony). During the court case, I had a very hard time presenting my case well, because I was always very tired on the court days after dealing with the above challenges and often not getting very good sleep while staying in the car. So, I was always very tired on the court dates. I presented tons of very clear evidence against the landlord. The judge believed the landlord's lies and he ruled in the landlord's favor. The judge even added up the two cancelled checks that I provided as evidence wrong!!! I was totally dumbfounded, angry, frustrated and broke!
The evidence I had compiled against the landlord was extensive. I had researched and documented all of the clauses of landlord tenant law that he had broken. There were people that I would have liked to have had as witnesses against the landlord (other people from whom he had stolen or lied to in the past), but most of these people were afraid to testify against him. Also, some of the witnesses were students, and they would have missed school. One student came to be a witness (she drove 200 miles to be at the courthouse and I covered her expenses), but the court case was not heard that day and it was postponed until a later date. She could not make it on the following court date. I wrote the judge a letter after the judgment requesting that he "vacate the judgment" based on additional details that I sent with the letter and the evidence initially presented. This was denied. Important note: Bring witnesses with you to court - especially if you know that you'd be tired on the court date!
So many challenges...
I was totally dumfounded! All of the above challenges within my first 6-7 months of arriving in Seattle, moving 3000 miles (again), getting turned down for a bagger position at Whole Foods Market, the doctor not paying me, the crazy landlord, the crazy landlord lying in court and the judge believing him (even though I had 3-4 three ring binders full of clear evidence against him), sleeping in the car, the car getting stolen, traffic ticket, parking tickets, the insurance problem (getting reimbursed for the loss), buying a new car, having the new car broken into 3 times when I as not in the car and 3 times while I was in the car, locking my keys in the car 2-3 times, missing tons of work time (at $10/hr, while I was pursuing work in a new field, Internet marketing, after being paid 30-50K in prior years with Whole Foods Market and CompUSA) while preparing evidence and fighting the landlord in court, getting fired from a top natural healing center for missing work, cashing out my 401K money, so much time and money lost...on and on (there were additional major challenges not mentioned above). Totally crazy!!! After the wrongful court verdict, I was totally disgusted with the court system.
What To Do After The Wrongful Court Judgment?
James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
I did not know what to do next. I had not even considered that this could happen (the evidence against the landlord was overwhelming). My option was to continue fighting the landlord in court with an appeal (which would have cost more money), or somehow move on. Not knowing what to do next, I went back to the church to see if I could talk with the pastor about my situation (I had never requested pastoral advice before in the past). He had a doctorate degree in church leadership (and he was coaching winning sports teams - a great guy). He was not there that day, but the assistant pastor was there.
The assistant pastor was someone very close to God, with powerful prayers. He listened to my situation, and he said, "Do you mind if I pray for you?" I said OK, not knowing what to expect. His prayers were powerful. He prayed that I could forgive the landlord and that he knew that God had bigger plans for me. He prayed for God to reveal his plans to me. Then, when he was done, he asked me if I wanted to attend the men's group meeting the following night. It sounded kind of weird to me, like some type of men's bonding thing, but I went.
The lead pastor and the assistant pastor were there sharing a great Christian message. There were about 15 other older gentlemen from the church. We were sitting at three or four separate tables. When the meeting was finished, a few people at each table would close in prayer. One gentleman at our table was about 70-75 years old and very close to God. His prayers were very powerful and very sincere, from the heart. He prayed that God would watch over me and protect me, and that God would help me make the right decisions with the landlord situation (that God would show me the way).
I stayed afterwards going over my notes, praying strongly (which was pretty much a new thing for me at the time) and trying to listen for direction. I was not sure if I should continue to fight the landlord, continue to work for the challenging boss at the naturopathic clinic (doing Internet work), somehow pursue naturopathic school, or return to the East Coast.
I received a few clear, powerful messages that evening:
- John 10:10 (Jesus speaking) "The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."
This was a verse that the pastor went over that evening.
- I realized that evil was constantly distracting me from the good that I could do with the skills and blessings I've been given.
- I received the message that I should pursue both of my interests: continue doing my Internet work and doing work in the field of healthcare (my roommate had previously suggested this too).
- If I were to go to naturopathic school, I would only be helping one person at a time vs. promoting bigger changes and helping more people by sharing top natural healthcare research over the Internet.
- At the time (late 2003), I did not even think of becoming an "Internet Marketing Director" and/or an "Internet Marketing Director for health web sites."
I had never heard of or thought of the the term "Internet Marketing Director."
- Internet people were either web designers (introductory to mid-level positions) or webmasters (leaders of web sites, working alone or directing a few other workers).
- In regards to my Internet work with the challenging doctor at the naturopathic clinic, the message I received was to continue to focus on excelling in my work on that project (which was about 150 yards away from the church).
- Everything I needed was within 1 mile - church, work, gym for showers, storage, mailbox, Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's for food and many inexpensive buffets (it was a college area, near the University of Washington).
- In regards to the landlord, the message I received was to try to forgive the landlord and focus on utilizing and developing my gifts to do great things with my work rather than continuing to fight the landlord in court.
- This was not easy. From my martial arts training and sports training, I had lots of training to compete, win and put evil in its place. I realized that he was not Christian (same for the doctor), so I should pray for him. I asked the elders at the church about forgiveness and trust. They told me that forgiveness is granted freely, but trust is earned (as Christians, we are instructed to forgive, but we do not necessarily have to put ourselves in bad situations with someone that has failed us in the past; forgiveness is granted, trust is earned).
- The John 10:10 verse (above) and other verses discussed in church sermons and the men's group Bible studies were very helpful.
My Testimony - Acts 1:8
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
2003-05: 22 months after arriving in Seattle and going through all kinds of challenges, the naturopathic web site was a top 100,000 site on the Internet - because I listened to the message I had heard in the Men's group to maximally use my gifts and abilities.
Attending church 2x per week and studying Bible verses help me get there: Sermon on the Mount and Bible verses by topic.
2006-07: Internet Marketing Director of a 23 million dollar business (a top division of a 300 million dollar business). Produced a top 50,000 site in 90 days. Received a salary well into six figures with incentives to almost 1/2 million/yr (after making 15-25K/yr in 2003-05).
2007: Filed a Patent for an Internet marketing invention with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
2007: Top Ranked Internet Marketing Director + a team of outstanding coworkers
2008/09: Began work on a new site, acts1.8ibs.org, for work on Christian projects, Constitutional government projects, and work on sites that are promoting positive social change. As of 8/1/10: we are current reformatting the site (taking out most of the political content, focusing on Christian content and healthcare content), and we've changed the domain to Acts1-8.org.
2009: The above cancer researcher is now highlighted in a #1 NY Times Best Selling book by Suzanne Somers.
2010: Managing 4 web sites on a non-profit basis that are regularly ranked within the top 10 million sites on the Internet (out of about 400 million sites being tracked):
- JohnLutz.com: Alexa Ranking
- Naturalhealthcare.org (marketing for this site is on hold right now): Alexa Ranking
- Calvarywilmington.org: Alexa Ranking
- Acts1-8.org: Alexa Ranking
2003-10: Great Internet Marketing Results
2010 Web Projects
Studying Christianity and attending church helped me understand my gifts and produce the items shown on my cover letter, resume and good to great web pages. These pages are attempts to objectively show employers reasons why they can have great faith to strongly support my work (allowing me to focus on the tasks at hand, rather than constantly having to fight doubt and prove myself on lesser projects) so great business results can be accomplished very quickly.
I'm interested in discussing Internet marketing projects with business owners who will say, "Go, and the LORD be with you."- rather than working on projects with business owners who will be constantly consumed with doubt. There's Rocky music, uplifting quotes and verses on my home page and world-class Internet marketing page because there's really not much more to achieving top level Internet marketing results: strong faith, character and a strong interest in achieving high very high level of business success.
The Real Message of My Christian Testimony
My testimony is not about Internet marketing or making money. It's about faith in God, fully understanding your gifts and using your gifts wisely, the greatest things in life are not things, great music, Christian testimonies (2), treating others as we would like to be treated, the truth in God's words, real healthcare information and the principles upon which the United States of America was founded.
Matthew 22:34-40 "Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'"
God bless,
John
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