The following program
discusses sensitive issues.
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Parents are
cautioned that some material
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may be too candid
for younger children.
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Today, we'll meet a young man
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that was in a
devastating car wreck
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but through it all ended
up giving his life to Jesus.
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Join us on today's New Journey.
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Welcome back to the New Journey.
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On today's program
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we have with us
J.Anthony Bulgin.
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J.Anthony Bulgin,
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thank you so much
for being on the program.
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Good to be
here, good to be here.
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All right. For the record
you look like a young man.
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I hope so.
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For the record how old are
you and where are you from?
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I'm 26 years old, and
I'm from Toronto, Canada.
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Okay. Okay.
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Now what's it like
growing up in Toronto, Canada?
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I've never been there
so you kind of fill me in.
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I mean, you
definitely wanna come there.
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Okay.
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It's a great place,
it's very multicultural.
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So from any place
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in the world people flock there.
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So you can find any nationality,
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any culture is in Toronto.
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Okay.
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We have a lot us, little
sects of different communities
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of different cultures and it's,
I mean, a great place to be,
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to be and just learn
about different people.
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I mean, you have to
be able to understand
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and, I guess,
relate to different people
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because, I mean,
they're all around you.
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Okay. Okay.
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Now, you grew up in a
Seventh-day Adventist home,
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talk about your early home life,
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your father is a pastor,
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give us some
details on all of that?
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Growing up in a
Seventh-day Adventist home,
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my dad, yes, he was a
pastor, my mom is a nurse.
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And they say pastor's kids
always the worst kids, now?
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I mean, I raise
my hand to testify.
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But I'm...
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Yeah, growing up it was
a interesting experience.
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I mean, I loved it. I
mean, I was really involved.
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My parents were great,
they really instilled in us
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like the values
and the, I guess,
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it's just the model
of what we needed to do
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as children growing
up in an Adventist home
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following God, they
laid the baseline very well.
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And, I mean, that is
basically what kept me
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throughout my whole life
the foundation they set for me.
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Okay. Growing up
in Adventist home.
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I also had two sisters
so, I mean, we all had...
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the thing is that
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we all had different
experiences growing up.
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I mean, my older sister,
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she went
through Adventist school
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throughout her whole life.
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I was the one, the middle child,
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who went through
public system for most of it.
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It was only in my later years
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that I had the
Adventist system experience.
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And it was just a different,
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it was different
experience growing up there
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and just getting
involved in everything.
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Okay.
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Now, growing up as a
Seventh-day Adventist
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as I myself did as well,
we're both parents in home.
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What eventually kind
of led to the parties,
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to the drinking, and
various things like that?
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There is a point in, I
guess, every experience
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where you have to
make a choice for yourself.
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Okay.
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And I guess being in a home
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where a lot of times
choices are made for you.
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You're only curious to
know what's on the other side.
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I mean, you wanna know,
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"Okay, what's on the
other side of that wall?
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And what's behind that door?"
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Okay.
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And I asked the questions
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and I started to
walk in the other way
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just out of curiosity
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and it wasn't anything
that I knew I should do.
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I knew I shouldn't be doing it,
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but it was just
that fire in you.
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I mean, you know,
when you think about trials
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and when we think
about being tempted.
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You're only tempted
by things that are fun
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or things that are good to you.
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I mean, if it's not good to you,
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you're not gonna
be tempted by it.
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'Cause you're not
gonna wanna do it.
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Not gonna wanna do it.
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So, I mean, I was tempted
by the things that felt good,
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the things that looked good.
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And, I mean and I guess
we all have this whole shift
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where we feel
that a lot of things
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that are in the church
don't feel and look good.
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So it's a kind
of like backwards.
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So we go look at
all these other things
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and feel that it's good to us,
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and it makes us feel
good, and makes us happy.
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But at the end of
it all it's temporary.
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Yeah. That is true.
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We sink back and we're like,
man, we're missing something,
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we're missing something.
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Okay.
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And, you know, that's so true
because the Bible even talks
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about it in Hebrews 11:35,
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where the pleasure
is a sin for a season,
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Moses choosing rather to suffer
affliction with his people
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than enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season.
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And you can testify to
the fact that, you know,
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sin is fun for a time,
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but eventually
when the fun wears off,
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you know, what is to happen.
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I mean, what is to happen is,
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you guys kind of recline
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into a space of like
depression, darkness.
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And, I mean, you just feel
like there is something missing,
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your soul is not at peace.
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Yeah. Exactly.
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You don't have a
feeling of peace in your mind,
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in your body,
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and you feel like you're
just going through the motions,
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and you don't
really feel fulfilled,
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you don't feel that
you're living a life of purpose.
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Oh, yeah. That is right.
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So that's the feeling
that I began to feel like.
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It felt like I didn't fit in.
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I was doing things that, I mean,
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I knew should be fun
that I thought were fun
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but it just wasn't
giving me the same gratification
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that it used to give me.
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Okay. Okay.
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Now, and growing
up in Adventist home,
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I know for myself,
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I started to have
a little resentment
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or a hate towards it
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'cause it seems like
it's kind of, you know,
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all your other
friends, they're Christians
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but they're in Baptist churches,
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various other churches.
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And it seems like they can
have a little bit more freedom.
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Did you growing
up in Adventist home
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had that kind of
resentment towards Adventism?
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For a long time I had. Yeah.
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For a long time,
I was real bitter
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because I'm a active person,
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I do lot of sports,
basketball, soccer, hockey,
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growing up in
Canada hockey was great.
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I mean, and
there was lot of things
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I wanted to get involved in.
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But couldn't,
because of that Sabbath rule.
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Yeah. I'm just thinking.
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Sabbath rule, I
mean, it sounds bad
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but, I mean, that's how it was.
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That's how we look
it when we were young.
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You know, we don't fully process
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exactly what it
is from the Bible,
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we just know we're grown up,
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we go to church on Sabbath,
and you can't do anything
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Friday night to the
Saturday night sunset.
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And it's like, man!
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It's like
you're just on the wall
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just waiting, waiting
to, when can I, when I can?
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Sunset, "Yes,
you are gone." Yeah.
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Flying right into it.
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So, I mean, it
was just growing up,
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I mean, I would,
there is so many things
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I want to get
involved with like sports-wise
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and I just couldn't,
because of the Sabbath.
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And it made me kind of
bitter because, I mean,
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I was good and there
will be people calling for me
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to come play,
people calling for me
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to be a part of certain teams,
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and I couldn't be a part.
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My mom would answer
the phone and say, "Yeah,
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Jason's not able to do
this, Jason's not able to,
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oh, glad you called,
but Jason is not able to,"
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and sit in the next room
and hearing on the phone,
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I'd be like, wow, man.
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There is a lot of
opportunities but...
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Oh, yeah.
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I'm grateful, I
mean, there is still,
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now that I look back
there was still doors
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that were open for me
to enjoy all those things
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and there was still avenues.
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I mean, through the
church and outside of the church
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where I was able to,
I guess, get involved
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and be a part
of all those things
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that I thought I
was missing out on.
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Now, how do you
think a young person today
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in wanting to,
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you know, I wanna play sports,
I wanna do this but, you know,
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I have this
Adventism thing over my head,
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the biblical
Sabbath over my head.
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How can they possibly
balance all of that out?
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You got to get to a point
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where you have to
make a conscious decision
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to be consistent and faithful.
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Okay.
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It's not a easy
decision. Yeah. That is true.
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Because like we said,
sin is fun and then there is,
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just regular things
that, I mean, it's not sinful,
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it's something
enjoyable, it's something good,
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and it's fun.
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But there's
guidelines and boundaries
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that we have to
set for ourselves.
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And God outlines
them, He gives it to us,
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and we have to
be able to trust Him
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and embrace these things,
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and know that He's
got our best interest...
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in His mind.
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And He's gonna take
care of us regardless of
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how we may feel
the situation may look,
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He's gonna take care of us.
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So, I mean, in going
out and all those things,
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just be mindful
of who is in charge.
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Okay.
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We often wanna take the reigns
and say, "This is our thing,
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this is what we wanna do,
and this how we wanna do it."
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And we forget that, I mean,
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it's not our own
doing while we're here.
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And He has a plan,
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and the things
that we may want to do,
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may come full circle in His plan
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if we just follow it.
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To the T, just
follow it. Yeah. Exactly.
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Because they all
come back around.
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You know,
looking back on your life
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and then looking
into Bible with Luke 15,
00:08:50.39\00:08:54.06
you have several
parables in there.
00:08:54.10\00:08:55.96
I mean, I've gone through,
00:08:56.00\00:08:57.33
I mean, tried to
identify which one, you know,
00:08:57.37\00:08:59.40
I kind of and I found
myself as the prodigal son.
00:08:59.43\00:09:02.17
But you still have the
lost ship,the lost coin.
00:09:02.20\00:09:05.07
You have the prodigal son,
00:09:05.11\00:09:06.44
but also in that third
parable of the prodigal son,
00:09:06.47\00:09:09.41
you have the older
brother that has an issue.
00:09:09.44\00:09:11.78
Out of those
parables, which one do you think
00:09:11.81\00:09:14.28
you relate to the best and why?
00:09:14.32\00:09:17.29
When I first thought about this,
00:09:17.32\00:09:19.15
I thought about the prodigal son
00:09:19.19\00:09:21.02
and that's the,
"Yeah, I'm prodigal son,
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I left, came home."
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And, I mean, He
embraced me and, yeah,
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that was the fancy story.
00:09:26.63\00:09:28.50
But I also thought
of the older brother.
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Yeah. Yeah.
00:09:30.40\00:09:31.73
I also thought
of the older brother
00:09:31.77\00:09:33.10
and, I mean, I
knew what was right,
00:09:33.13\00:09:37.14
I was there the whole time,
00:09:37.17\00:09:38.97
throughout my whole experience
00:09:39.01\00:09:40.34
I was always
involved in the church.
00:09:40.38\00:09:42.34
I was always a part of
ministries at the church.
00:09:42.38\00:09:46.45
I was active. Okay.
00:09:46.48\00:09:47.95
And so I wasn't
really, I do my own stuff
00:09:47.98\00:09:50.49
but I'd still
make that time to do
00:09:50.52\00:09:52.55
what was supposed to
be done in the church.
00:09:52.59\00:09:54.26
But I just do,
I'd balance it. Yeah.
00:09:54.29\00:09:56.99
Trying to balance it.
00:09:57.03\00:09:58.36
Sitting on the face
and just trying to do
00:09:58.39\00:09:59.93
that balancing act
like, okay, if I do this,
00:09:59.96\00:10:02.80
then I can't be this,
00:10:02.83\00:10:04.17
but I need to be
this, so they can see that
00:10:04.20\00:10:05.53
I'm doing the right thing.
00:10:05.57\00:10:06.90
And so, you know,
you got to play...
00:10:06.94\00:10:08.27
Put on that persona. Yeah.
00:10:08.30\00:10:09.64
Put on faces and put on
masks, and put on faces,
00:10:09.67\00:10:11.54
and try and balance
it, and make it okay for,
00:10:11.57\00:10:14.61
make it seem okay.
00:10:14.64\00:10:15.98
Okay.
00:10:16.01\00:10:17.35
So I felt that
I was kind of more
00:10:17.38\00:10:18.71
like the older brother at times,
00:10:18.75\00:10:20.08
because I was
there doing the things
00:10:20.12\00:10:21.48
but then I'd see other
people who were consistent.
00:10:21.52\00:10:24.72
Yeah.
00:10:24.75\00:10:26.09
They were people
who would comeback
00:10:26.12\00:10:27.46
and they get all these blessings
00:10:27.49\00:10:28.82
and get all these
things and I'd get angry,
00:10:28.86\00:10:30.19
I was like, how come
I'm not enjoying this?
00:10:30.23\00:10:32.03
How come I'm not,
00:10:32.06\00:10:33.40
how come I don't
get to reap in this?
00:10:33.43\00:10:35.16
But when I really sat
down and thought about it,
00:10:35.20\00:10:37.87
I wasn't being consistent,
I wasn't being faithful,
00:10:37.90\00:10:40.04
I was bitter, and you
can't be bitter in love.
00:10:40.07\00:10:43.51
Yeah.
00:10:43.54\00:10:44.87
Bitterness and love,
they don't go together.
00:10:44.91\00:10:47.18
Don't go hand in hand.
Yeah. They do not go together.
00:10:47.21\00:10:49.24
So I had to lose
that spirit of bitterness.
00:10:49.28\00:10:52.48
I had to lose it
and just wholeheartedly
00:10:52.51\00:10:55.08
be committed to loving God
00:10:55.12\00:10:58.29
and to following what
He had set out for me.
00:10:58.32\00:11:00.79
Okay. Okay.
00:11:00.82\00:11:02.16
Now, let's talk
about your schooling years.
00:11:02.19\00:11:05.46
You have told me before
that you kicked out of school
00:11:05.49\00:11:08.00
and things like that.
00:11:08.03\00:11:09.36
Give us some details
on what was going on?
00:11:09.40\00:11:11.17
I was that kid with the
temper, going through school.
00:11:11.20\00:11:14.47
So I was very, very
smart child, very smart,
00:11:14.50\00:11:17.17
did my work diligent, I
always finished my work,
00:11:17.21\00:11:20.61
but then it came to that point
where after the work is done,
00:11:20.64\00:11:23.95
I'm gonna distract
somebody else get into wittier,
00:11:23.98\00:11:26.38
you know, and
that got to a point
00:11:26.41\00:11:28.78
where I
remember in middle school
00:11:28.82\00:11:31.52
where I was
going to school Monday.
00:11:31.55\00:11:34.19
Monday, Tuesday
get in the fight,
00:11:34.22\00:11:36.16
Wednesday get suspended.
00:11:36.19\00:11:37.69
Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday be at home and come back.
00:11:37.73\00:11:40.20
I remember there was a period
where that was just the cycle
00:11:40.23\00:11:43.06
whole month
where I was just angry,
00:11:43.10\00:11:45.03
just getting in fights,
00:11:45.07\00:11:46.40
and getting sent
home, and coming back,
00:11:46.43\00:11:48.17
and just going
through that whole cycle.
00:11:48.20\00:11:50.01
So I was getting in trouble,
that was in my early years
00:11:50.04\00:11:53.11
and then coming up
into the high school
00:11:53.14\00:11:57.45
that was when something started
to have something like breaks.
00:11:57.48\00:12:01.25
There was that breaking point
00:12:01.28\00:12:02.62
where I was doing
a whole lot of things
00:12:02.65\00:12:04.72
and that balancing act...
00:12:04.75\00:12:06.09
Okay.
00:12:06.12\00:12:07.46
It got, the rope
got wobbly and I fell.
00:12:07.49\00:12:11.46
I fell so hard.
00:12:11.49\00:12:13.13
So I ended up having...
00:12:13.16\00:12:15.20
and I think it was 11th grade,
my junior year, I had a child,
00:12:15.23\00:12:19.10
I had a
daughter best thing ever.
00:12:19.13\00:12:20.90
She is amazing Jordan Naomi.
00:12:20.94\00:12:23.20
I had a child but that
kind of, because of who I was
00:12:23.24\00:12:28.28
and whose I
was, who I belong to?
00:12:28.31\00:12:33.31
I had to...
00:12:33.35\00:12:34.98
Being a Pastor's son. Yeah.
00:12:35.02\00:12:36.89
I had to, I guess,
00:12:36.92\00:12:39.25
I thought like I
was set as an example
00:12:39.29\00:12:41.76
of you do this,
00:12:41.79\00:12:43.76
and this is what
will happen to you.
00:12:43.79\00:12:45.13
Yeah. That kind of thing.
00:12:45.16\00:12:46.49
So I was kicked out of
school, that's the year is
00:12:46.53\00:12:48.96
when I went to
the Adventist school.
00:12:49.00\00:12:50.33
I was kicked out of
the Adventist school.
00:12:50.37\00:12:51.70
Okay.
00:12:51.73\00:12:53.07
And that basically put me
a year off of my graduation.
00:12:53.10\00:12:56.04
I was bitter about
that, but one thing about it,
00:12:56.07\00:12:58.27
I definitely choose to
not let it get me down.
00:12:58.31\00:13:02.84
I chose to I guess
get back in that school,
00:13:02.88\00:13:05.28
incognito, they kick me
out, it was about maybe they,
00:13:05.31\00:13:07.78
twice, they kicked me out.
00:13:07.82\00:13:09.38
They said I could come
back and then they read tape
00:13:09.42\00:13:12.09
and said, no, we
can't have you back in
00:13:12.12\00:13:14.32
and I had to go back again.
00:13:14.36\00:13:15.69
So it threw off my
whole high schooling years
00:13:15.72\00:13:17.13
and I happened
to do a extra year,
00:13:17.16\00:13:19.46
not graduate with my friends,
00:13:19.49\00:13:20.83
a new set of people, I
had to go to different school,
00:13:20.86\00:13:23.20
afterward went to
a catholic school,
00:13:23.23\00:13:24.57
went to this
continuing education,
00:13:24.60\00:13:28.04
adult learning thing...
00:13:28.07\00:13:29.74
Just to get my
credits together and finish.
00:13:29.77\00:13:31.84
Okay.
00:13:31.87\00:13:33.21
But even in that, it was a trial
00:13:33.24\00:13:36.14
but it was a learning experience
00:13:36.18\00:13:38.51
knowing that I can
accomplish anything.
00:13:38.55\00:13:40.98
If I really wanted,
I'll go out and get it.
00:13:41.02\00:13:44.29
And, I mean, he gave
me the support I needed,
00:13:44.32\00:13:46.55
there was key people
in my life at that time
00:13:46.59\00:13:48.59
that gave me the support
and wouldn't let me settle,
00:13:48.62\00:13:51.36
wouldn't let me just
give up and say, okay,
00:13:51.39\00:13:54.40
this is what I did
00:13:54.43\00:13:55.80
and just wallow in
the mess that I made.
00:13:55.83\00:13:58.83
And a lot of us tend to
wallow in the mess that we make
00:13:58.87\00:14:01.34
and we don't
choose to move forward.
00:14:01.37\00:14:03.54
Yeah. And it's a choice.
00:14:03.57\00:14:05.34
God has given us choices,
00:14:05.37\00:14:06.71
He's given us
the ability to choose
00:14:06.74\00:14:08.64
and a lot of us are just,
00:14:08.68\00:14:10.41
we get so down
in what we've done,
00:14:10.45\00:14:12.65
get so down in
who people say we are,
00:14:12.68\00:14:15.98
and people think we are,
and we forget whose we are,
00:14:16.02\00:14:18.79
and what He's called us to be.
00:14:18.82\00:14:20.16
Oh, yeah. Exactly.
00:14:20.19\00:14:21.52
And when we realize who we are
and how much stock He has in us
00:14:21.56\00:14:25.99
and the potential we
have through His power.
00:14:26.03\00:14:29.00
I mean, there is
nothing we can't do.
00:14:29.03\00:14:30.37
Oh, yeah.
00:14:30.40\00:14:31.73
There is absolutely
nothing we can't do.
00:14:31.77\00:14:33.10
So, once I started
believing that and, I mean,
00:14:33.13\00:14:36.34
there is people around,
there's gonna always gonna be
00:14:36.37\00:14:38.07
some key people in your life
who are gonna push you forward
00:14:38.11\00:14:40.11
or gonna get you over that hump,
00:14:40.14\00:14:42.04
and they may not
be there forever,
00:14:42.08\00:14:43.51
that's the one
thing that I learned too,
00:14:43.55\00:14:44.88
they may not be there forever
but they're gonna push you
00:14:44.91\00:14:46.45
through that.
00:14:46.48\00:14:47.82
They're gonna push you
through a season and, I mean,
00:14:47.85\00:14:49.98
once you get
through that season,
00:14:50.02\00:14:51.35
it's up to you to make
that choice to continue on
00:14:51.39\00:14:53.19
or just stay stuck at
the end of that season.
00:14:53.22\00:14:55.79
'Cause time is gonna keep going.
00:14:55.82\00:14:58.13
But it's your choice
to do what you need to do.
00:14:58.16\00:15:00.80
Oh, yeah. Oh,
yeah. And push forward.
00:15:00.83\00:15:02.53
Now, when you got
involved with the drinking,
00:15:02.56\00:15:05.10
and partying,
and things like that,
00:15:05.13\00:15:07.67
what do you
think was going through
00:15:07.70\00:15:09.04
your parents mind at that time?
00:15:09.07\00:15:10.41
When they started to,
you know, they raised you up
00:15:10.44\00:15:12.17
in a good Christian home,
00:15:12.21\00:15:13.54
they started seeing you
gravitating to these things.
00:15:13.58\00:15:16.14
What do you think
their feelings were?
00:15:16.18\00:15:17.81
Boy, I didn't
raise you to do this.
00:15:17.85\00:15:20.88
I didn't call you, I
didn't have you to do this.
00:15:20.92\00:15:23.89
I mean, this is not
00:15:23.92\00:15:25.25
what I did when I was in school.
00:15:25.29\00:15:26.89
They know how they grew
up, they know the standard
00:15:26.92\00:15:30.33
that they had as children
and as youth growing up,
00:15:30.36\00:15:34.86
and they tried to
instil that in us.
00:15:34.90\00:15:37.80
So, when they see us
deviating from what they did
00:15:37.83\00:15:40.94
and what they
were accustomed to,
00:15:40.97\00:15:43.17
it's just like
how did this happen.
00:15:43.20\00:15:45.04
Because I follow the
mould that was given me
00:15:45.07\00:15:47.78
and I turned out, okay,
00:15:47.81\00:15:49.14
so why are you
deviating from the plan?
00:15:49.18\00:15:50.65
I understand.
00:15:50.68\00:15:52.01
So they were hurt
but through it all,
00:15:52.05\00:15:55.82
I mean, they were supportive.
00:15:55.85\00:15:59.05
It's one thing you know
00:15:59.09\00:16:00.42
when see the
pain of your parents
00:16:00.46\00:16:01.89
like you could
see it on their...
00:16:01.92\00:16:03.32
You could see it. Yeah.
00:16:03.36\00:16:04.69
You can see, you
walk through the house
00:16:04.73\00:16:06.06
and you could see the pain.
00:16:06.09\00:16:07.43
I remember when I got a tattoo,
00:16:07.46\00:16:08.86
while I was in college I
got a tattoo, and I came home
00:16:08.90\00:16:11.90
and we had a
pool in the backyard.
00:16:11.93\00:16:15.27
So that I
walking through the house
00:16:15.30\00:16:16.64
and my wife would be
there, I was hiding it.
00:16:16.67\00:16:19.94
I had, I knew I
had to wear t-shirts.
00:16:19.97\00:16:22.08
One morning I just got up
and I had on the wife beating.
00:16:22.11\00:16:24.81
And the look my dad
gave me when he saw that.
00:16:24.85\00:16:28.72
Boy, why did you do
that? No. No. He leave us.
00:16:28.75\00:16:30.85
No words.
00:16:30.89\00:16:32.22
He was there in the
kitchen, it is a long hallway
00:16:32.25\00:16:34.32
and he just looked at
me and he was just like.
00:16:34.36\00:16:37.09
All those words,
all those starts,
00:16:37.13\00:16:38.99
was just in that look.
00:16:39.03\00:16:40.36
And, I mean, that
look of disappointment
00:16:40.40\00:16:42.16
and look of I mean just disdain,
00:16:42.20\00:16:45.43
it really plays on
you and those are things
00:16:45.47\00:16:48.00
that sit in your mind.
00:16:48.04\00:16:49.37
I mean, there's
those good things
00:16:49.40\00:16:50.74
that sit in your
mind with your parents,
00:16:50.77\00:16:52.11
those experiences,
00:16:52.14\00:16:53.48
but those
feelings of disappointment
00:16:53.51\00:16:55.08
that you give
them and those looks
00:16:55.11\00:16:56.68
so when here your mom
crying and those prayers.
00:16:56.71\00:16:59.85
I mean you wake up,
you get home late at night.
00:16:59.88\00:17:02.02
Yeah. I know it.
00:17:02.05\00:17:03.39
And you would
creep into your room
00:17:03.42\00:17:04.75
try not to make the floor creak.
00:17:04.79\00:17:06.12
Yeah. I know.
00:17:06.15\00:17:07.49
Walking around the
corner and you hear
00:17:07.52\00:17:08.86
your mom in a room
crying, she on the phone
00:17:08.89\00:17:10.23
with her prayer partner crying,
00:17:10.26\00:17:11.59
"Jason, Jason where is Jason?"
00:17:11.63\00:17:13.53
And, I mean, it
tears in the heart
00:17:13.56\00:17:14.93
and those are things
that stick out in your mind.
00:17:14.96\00:17:16.30
Oh, yeah.
00:17:16.33\00:17:17.67
And, I mean, they draw you back
00:17:17.70\00:17:19.03
that someone
could love you so much.
00:17:19.07\00:17:20.40
Yeah.
00:17:20.44\00:17:21.77
I mean, even in your absence
00:17:21.80\00:17:23.14
they're pleading on your behalf.
00:17:23.17\00:17:24.51
And, I mean, Jesus came, left,
00:17:24.54\00:17:26.68
and he's still
pleading on our behalf.
00:17:26.71\00:17:28.74
Just like that mother's
love, that father's love,
00:17:28.78\00:17:31.25
and he is still
pleading on our behalf.
00:17:31.28\00:17:32.61
Oh, yeah.
00:17:32.65\00:17:33.98
So I know they felt,
they were disappointed.
00:17:34.02\00:17:38.02
And they went to those
phases of disappointment.
00:17:38.05\00:17:39.99
They were hurt,
and all those things,
00:17:40.02\00:17:43.06
but they love me throughout.
00:17:43.09\00:17:44.49
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:17:44.53\00:17:45.86
You know, it's
interesting like I say,
00:17:45.89\00:17:47.23
some things in our background
are similar and, you know,
00:17:47.26\00:17:50.77
I remember coming home late
at night 11:00, 12:00, 1:00,
00:17:50.80\00:17:53.34
2:00 in the morning trying
to, you know, creep silent.
00:17:53.37\00:17:56.34
My mom used to tell me,
she knew when I got home
00:17:56.37\00:17:58.74
because every time coming home,
00:17:58.77\00:18:00.11
I'm looking for something to eat
00:18:00.14\00:18:01.48
and I'm banging
pots and stuff like that.
00:18:01.51\00:18:03.75
So she knew every time
that I made it home safely
00:18:03.78\00:18:06.48
because she could hear the
pots are banging in the kitchen.
00:18:06.51\00:18:09.18
I'm trying to get sneaked
something under refrigerator
00:18:09.22\00:18:10.89
or something like that
00:18:10.92\00:18:12.25
and I make a whole lot of noise.
00:18:12.29\00:18:13.62
Right. But, yeah.
00:18:13.66\00:18:14.99
We definitely
share that same story.
00:18:15.02\00:18:16.96
Let's talk a little bit about
your book, "25 and Counting."
00:18:16.99\00:18:20.83
What motivated you
to write this book?
00:18:20.86\00:18:22.60
And let me say,
00:18:22.63\00:18:23.97
this is a very, very
fantastic book of your story,
00:18:24.00\00:18:27.04
but give us a
little bit of background
00:18:27.07\00:18:29.14
and, you know,
talk about the book?
00:18:29.17\00:18:31.57
"25 and Counting" was,
00:18:31.61\00:18:33.38
it start off as just
a healing process for me
00:18:33.41\00:18:38.31
with just notes.
00:18:38.35\00:18:39.68
In high school I
like to write. Okay.
00:18:39.71\00:18:41.75
So as my favourite
class is my English class,
00:18:41.78\00:18:44.72
creative writing.
00:18:44.75\00:18:46.09
Okay.
00:18:46.12\00:18:47.46
And I used to write from then
but when I got in the hospital,
00:18:47.49\00:18:49.26
when I got in this
whole accident experience.
00:18:49.29\00:18:53.16
I just started to
chronicle what I was feeling.
00:18:53.19\00:18:56.20
The whole recovery process
00:18:56.23\00:18:57.57
and it was kind of
like a healing this
00:18:57.60\00:19:01.04
and letting
everything go everything out.
00:19:01.07\00:19:03.57
And I found that,
00:19:03.61\00:19:05.97
it didn't start
off as a book though.
00:19:06.01\00:19:07.41
It's started off as just
me sharing notes on Facebook.
00:19:07.44\00:19:10.48
It started out as me just,
00:19:10.51\00:19:13.95
yeah, sharing notes on Facebook
00:19:13.98\00:19:15.42
and putting it out
there as a just testimony of
00:19:15.45\00:19:20.12
what's going on
with me, how I'm feeling,
00:19:20.16\00:19:22.02
how I'm looking,
00:19:22.06\00:19:24.03
and it grew into a
book of short stories
00:19:24.06\00:19:29.06
and short little thoughts of
how God just really blessed me
00:19:29.10\00:19:33.50
and how he took care
of me, and how he cared
00:19:33.54\00:19:36.57
throughout all my
trials and all my everything
00:19:36.60\00:19:40.24
that I was going through.
00:19:40.28\00:19:41.61
So it was a process
00:19:41.64\00:19:43.75
that I saw that help me to,
00:19:43.78\00:19:48.75
I guess, administer to others...
00:19:48.78\00:19:50.12
Okay.
00:19:50.15\00:19:51.49
..in their healing
process and in their trials.
00:19:51.52\00:19:56.26
Then I figured that
when I started to share
00:19:56.29\00:19:58.96
what I was going through.
00:19:58.99\00:20:00.33
I saw that when
I started to share
00:20:00.36\00:20:01.70
what I was going through,
00:20:01.73\00:20:03.06
there were so many people
00:20:03.10\00:20:04.43
that were going
through the same thing as me.
00:20:04.47\00:20:05.80
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
00:20:05.83\00:20:07.17
Even though, all the situations
were exactly the same.
00:20:07.20\00:20:08.60
We were all going
through the same thing.
00:20:08.64\00:20:09.97
Yeah. Exactly.
00:20:10.01\00:20:11.34
And me actually being
able to speak up about it
00:20:11.37\00:20:13.34
and being able to share
my story gave them confidence
00:20:13.38\00:20:17.75
in what they were
going through that,
00:20:17.78\00:20:19.21
that they could actually make it
00:20:19.25\00:20:20.58
and my whole demeanour in
this whole experience was like,
00:20:20.62\00:20:22.88
I got to be happy
about this because,
00:20:22.92\00:20:25.92
I mean, He's
affirming what I'm doing.
00:20:25.95\00:20:27.99
It wasn't like, Jason,
you are on the wrong path,
00:20:28.02\00:20:30.29
you need to turn back
and go to the other way.
00:20:30.33\00:20:32.06
It was, "Jason,
you're on the right path,
00:20:32.09\00:20:33.56
the devil is coming to get you."
00:20:33.60\00:20:34.93
Yeah. Exactly.
00:20:34.96\00:20:36.30
He's is going to try
his best to turn you away
00:20:36.33\00:20:37.67
from what you're doing.
00:20:37.70\00:20:39.03
So he tried but I took at as,
00:20:39.07\00:20:42.64
okay, that's your first blow,
00:20:42.67\00:20:44.67
I'm gonna strike back.
00:20:44.71\00:20:46.54
I'm gonna fight too.
00:20:46.57\00:20:47.98
So I started to fight and
this was a way of fighting.
00:20:48.01\00:20:50.61
It was my way of
creating a team, team building,
00:20:50.65\00:20:54.78
putting people
on the side of God
00:20:54.82\00:20:56.58
and just putting on
the side of purpose,
00:20:56.62\00:20:58.59
side of we're gonna
make it through whatever we,
00:20:58.62\00:21:01.69
whatever you try
to throw it our way,
00:21:01.72\00:21:04.06
trying to put in our
path, we're gonna make it,
00:21:04.09\00:21:05.83
we're gonna be conquerors,
we're gonna be the greatest
00:21:05.86\00:21:09.30
because God is on our side.
00:21:09.33\00:21:10.67
Oh, yeah.
00:21:10.70\00:21:12.03
And we know the
end of the story.
00:21:12.07\00:21:13.40
We know how it ends.
00:21:13.44\00:21:14.77
So if we stay
faithful, there is nothing
00:21:14.80\00:21:16.14
that you can throw in our way
00:21:16.17\00:21:17.51
that we can't handle and
we just smile through it.
00:21:17.54\00:21:19.04
Yeah. That was one thing.
00:21:19.07\00:21:20.41
I had to smile through my storm.
00:21:20.44\00:21:21.98
Lot of us get
down and we look down.
00:21:22.01\00:21:23.95
It's okay to look
down at certain times
00:21:23.98\00:21:25.58
but you got to
smile through your storm
00:21:25.61\00:21:27.58
'cause you know whose you are.
00:21:27.62\00:21:28.95
Yeah. Exactly. And you
know who, He's got you.
00:21:28.98\00:21:30.55
He'll carry you
through it. He got it covered.
00:21:30.59\00:21:32.09
He will, He will. Yes.
00:21:32.12\00:21:33.46
So talk about the
devastating car accident
00:21:33.49\00:21:37.89
and that's what you
chronicled in the book.
00:21:37.93\00:21:39.76
Yeah.
00:21:39.79\00:21:41.13
Talk about that briefly
00:21:41.16\00:21:42.50
and how you could
have even lost your life
00:21:42.53\00:21:44.07
as a result of the accident.
00:21:44.10\00:21:45.87
So what happened was
00:21:45.90\00:21:47.24
I graduated from
Oakwood University, 2011.
00:21:47.27\00:21:49.70
I was on my way back
to Huntsville, driving,
00:21:49.74\00:21:54.04
I like to drive at nights.
00:21:54.08\00:21:55.41
So it was like
11:30, 11:30 at night
00:21:55.44\00:21:58.71
about an hour from the
Canadian-American border
00:21:58.75\00:22:01.08
on the Canadian side.
00:22:01.12\00:22:02.48
And I was just
listening to music, you know,
00:22:02.52\00:22:04.39
just getting in that zone
00:22:04.42\00:22:05.75
when you are on
those long road trips.
00:22:05.79\00:22:07.12
So, I was in this zone, driving.
00:22:07.16\00:22:09.56
Looking around the country
and, you know, all the trees
00:22:09.59\00:22:13.60
and the cows
00:22:13.63\00:22:14.96
and all that stuff late at night
00:22:15.00\00:22:16.33
and just relaxing.
00:22:16.36\00:22:17.70
Okay.
00:22:17.73\00:22:19.43
And when you are on the
road, I guess you deviate from,
00:22:19.47\00:22:23.71
you just get to places
00:22:23.74\00:22:25.07
you don't know how you got there
00:22:25.11\00:22:26.44
because you're
just in that space.
00:22:26.47\00:22:27.81
Yeah, in that zone, yeah.
00:22:27.84\00:22:29.18
So I was in this zone,
turned away, turned back,
00:22:29.21\00:22:31.48
Bambi shows up in the road.
00:22:31.51\00:22:34.58
A deer out of nowhere!
00:22:34.62\00:22:35.95
Deer out of
nowhere and I'm relaxed,
00:22:35.98\00:22:38.25
my feet are on socks.
00:22:38.29\00:22:39.62
I'm on cruise
control, and I'm trying to,
00:22:39.65\00:22:41.66
I see the deer I
come back and I'm like,
00:22:41.69\00:22:44.59
first instinct is to
avoid whatever is on the road.
00:22:44.63\00:22:47.20
Oh, yeah.
00:22:47.23\00:22:48.56
And that's where, first
where I just lost me forever.
00:22:48.60\00:22:51.37
So, swerving goes
down into the ditch,
00:22:51.40\00:22:54.30
the middle ditch.
00:22:54.34\00:22:55.90
I remembered
torpedoing into the sky
00:22:55.94\00:22:58.97
and maybe spinning maybe twice.
00:22:59.01\00:23:00.88
Wow. And blacking out.
00:23:00.91\00:23:03.88
Yeah.
00:23:03.91\00:23:05.25
So if I see my
car after it's like,
00:23:05.28\00:23:08.32
I'm knocked out,
my car is destroyed,
00:23:08.35\00:23:10.82
I have a black car,
00:23:10.85\00:23:12.55
lights are gone because I mean
00:23:12.59\00:23:14.39
the impact knocks
out all the lights.
00:23:14.42\00:23:15.76
So the black car in
the middle in night,
00:23:15.79\00:23:18.03
I'm laying out on the road,
00:23:18.06\00:23:20.10
got thrown
through the windshield.
00:23:20.13\00:23:22.06
I'm lying on the
road unconscious,
00:23:22.10\00:23:23.67
my face is torn up,
bruised, I broke some ribs,
00:23:23.70\00:23:28.20
punctured my
lung, just shattered,
00:23:28.24\00:23:31.07
won't bit through my lip.
00:23:31.11\00:23:33.04
So whole bunch of injuries
00:23:33.07\00:23:34.84
and I'm laying
out there unconscious.
00:23:34.88\00:23:36.61
Okay.
00:23:36.64\00:23:38.11
Police officer
happens to be passing by
00:23:38.15\00:23:40.75
at that time in night.
00:23:40.78\00:23:42.58
I remember, faintly hearing
while I was in the ambulance,
00:23:42.62\00:23:45.22
he's like, I don't even know,
or when we got to the hospital
00:23:45.25\00:23:47.12
he's like, "I don't
even know why I was there.
00:23:47.16\00:23:48.49
I just happened to be there."
00:23:48.52\00:23:49.86
Yeah. Wow. Divine.
00:23:49.89\00:23:51.56
Simply got divine.
00:23:51.59\00:23:53.60
I mean, and I only remember
waking up in the ambulance
00:23:53.63\00:23:57.23
to give my phone number,
my parent's phone number,
00:23:57.27\00:24:00.10
and I just knock back out.
00:24:00.14\00:24:01.64
Okay. I mean, He...
00:24:01.67\00:24:03.00
God will give you
strength to do the things
00:24:03.04\00:24:04.41
that you need to do.
00:24:04.44\00:24:06.41
I mean He is not gonna give you,
00:24:06.44\00:24:07.78
He is not gonna overwork
you, I just thought, yeah,
00:24:07.81\00:24:10.31
just think of it now like
He only gave me the strength,
00:24:10.35\00:24:12.38
He woke me up to do
what I needed to do,
00:24:12.41\00:24:14.98
and then He put me back
to the sleep, back to rest,
00:24:15.02\00:24:16.48
back to heal.
00:24:16.52\00:24:17.85
Okay.
00:24:17.89\00:24:19.22
And, I mean, I was able
to, they called my parents,
00:24:19.25\00:24:20.59
my parents came and
they were like devastated,
00:24:20.62\00:24:23.29
they were like oh, my!
00:24:23.32\00:24:24.86
My mama is a
nurse and she came in,
00:24:24.89\00:24:26.43
she was
actually kind of relieved
00:24:26.46\00:24:27.80
that I wasn't as
bad as she thought
00:24:27.83\00:24:29.80
'cause, I mean, she
used to work in trauma
00:24:29.83\00:24:31.43
and see a lot of things.
00:24:31.47\00:24:33.03
So she was expecting like
tubes in my throat and stuff
00:24:33.07\00:24:35.10
but she was real
calm, my dad, I mean,
00:24:35.14\00:24:38.17
I'm the only boy so this is it!
00:24:38.21\00:24:40.81
This is the namesake.
00:24:40.84\00:24:42.58
So he took it tough, but I mean,
00:24:42.61\00:24:45.81
through the whole
process it was amazing to see
00:24:45.85\00:24:48.58
how God just came in and
just worked everything out.
00:24:48.62\00:24:52.32
Okay.
00:24:52.35\00:24:53.69
They couldn't
operate right way on my face
00:24:53.72\00:24:55.06
because it was just so swollen.
00:24:55.09\00:24:56.42
Okay.
00:24:56.46\00:24:57.79
And my lip was
out here and just...
00:24:57.83\00:25:00.20
And actually in your
book you have pictures of
00:25:00.23\00:25:02.80
how your face looked
00:25:02.83\00:25:04.17
and everything like that, right?
00:25:04.20\00:25:05.53
Yes, I have pictures
in there and it was just,
00:25:05.57\00:25:07.30
one thing from that day,
from day two in the hospital,
00:25:07.34\00:25:10.07
I started to snap pictures,
take pictures, and take video,
00:25:10.11\00:25:13.61
started talking, posting videos
on Facebook and just saying,
00:25:13.64\00:25:16.11
I'm okay.
00:25:16.14\00:25:17.48
Making jokes and laughing,
barely talk I had a lose lip,
00:25:17.51\00:25:20.45
my lip was just hanging
and I couldn't do anything.
00:25:20.48\00:25:22.78
But it was just letting
people know that, I mean,
00:25:22.82\00:25:25.92
even in the worse situation
00:25:25.95\00:25:28.06
I could be happy.
00:25:28.09\00:25:30.03
Even when I think all
the things are going wrong,
00:25:30.06\00:25:32.49
I could be happy.
00:25:32.53\00:25:33.86
Oh, yeah.
00:25:33.90\00:25:35.23
And be comfortable in who I am
and who God has made me to be.
00:25:35.26\00:25:38.13
I mean, a lot of us have
scars from different things,
00:25:38.17\00:25:40.44
a lot of us have issues,
00:25:40.47\00:25:41.97
and we feel that
we're kind of blacklisted,
00:25:42.00\00:25:44.14
we throw that word.
00:25:44.17\00:25:45.51
We're set apart
and no one wants us.
00:25:45.54\00:25:47.48
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
It's not the case.
00:25:47.51\00:25:49.94
God has a place for
each and every one of us.
00:25:49.98\00:25:51.75
He has a purpose for
each and everyone of us.
00:25:51.78\00:25:53.95
And in all of our misery
00:25:53.98\00:25:56.45
and all of our
mess He has a plan.
00:25:56.48\00:25:59.15
And one thing I
was thinking about,
00:25:59.19\00:26:01.56
as perfect as that
my mess is my ministry.
00:26:01.59\00:26:04.79
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:26:04.83\00:26:06.76
The stuff that He puts
me through is my ministry,
00:26:06.80\00:26:09.10
the stuff that He
allows to happen to me,
00:26:09.13\00:26:11.57
and the choices that I make
are essentially my ministry.
00:26:11.60\00:26:14.94
It's gonna help
me minister to you,
00:26:14.97\00:26:16.44
it's gonna help me
minister to the next guy
00:26:16.47\00:26:18.31
that comes after me.
00:26:18.34\00:26:19.67
It's gonna help
me connect with them.
00:26:19.71\00:26:21.04
So nothing that
He has put me in,
00:26:21.08\00:26:23.31
nothing that He is allowed
to happen to me is for naught.
00:26:23.35\00:26:26.75
It's all something
that I can pull from now.
00:26:26.78\00:26:28.68
Now that I know
what I'm here for,
00:26:28.72\00:26:31.35
now that I know that what
I'm, He's called me to do.
00:26:31.39\00:26:33.22
It's all stuff that I
can pull from to connect
00:26:33.25\00:26:34.96
with those people
00:26:34.99\00:26:36.32
who were once in
a situation I was.
00:26:36.36\00:26:37.69
Who were once where
I felt, where I how I,
00:26:37.73\00:26:42.36
once felt how I felt.
00:26:42.40\00:26:44.80
Yeah.
00:26:44.83\00:26:46.17
And I can connect with
them and encourage them
00:26:46.20\00:26:48.04
and show them
that there is light
00:26:48.07\00:26:49.67
at the end of the tunnel.
00:26:49.70\00:26:51.04
Now what real
briefly, what triggered
00:26:51.07\00:26:52.47
that change of heart for you?
00:26:52.51\00:26:55.81
Through the change of
heart with in terms of...
00:26:55.84\00:26:58.08
Change, leaving
the drinking alone,
00:26:58.11\00:27:00.15
the partying alone, and
giving it all to the Jesus.
00:27:00.18\00:27:03.35
It was just,
wasn't fulfilling. Okay.
00:27:03.39\00:27:05.62
You go through
life and you have that
00:27:05.65\00:27:07.26
just that void that
we talked about earlier,
00:27:07.29\00:27:09.02
there is just that void
and you're just not at peace.
00:27:09.06\00:27:11.79
Okay. So I just wasn't at peace.
00:27:11.83\00:27:13.76
So that what really
triggered the change.
00:27:13.80\00:27:15.90
Now what I wanted you to do,
00:27:15.93\00:27:17.27
I want to real
briefly talk about
00:27:17.30\00:27:19.70
how people can get
into contact with you,
00:27:19.73\00:27:21.67
you're a musician and artist,
you do motivational speaking,
00:27:21.70\00:27:25.64
an appeal to that
you found a few seconds
00:27:25.67\00:27:28.08
that wants to
experience the partying,
00:27:28.11\00:27:29.98
and drugs, and things.
00:27:30.01\00:27:32.18
It's fun, it's fun
finding that, and, I mean,
00:27:32.21\00:27:35.28
I'm not gonna lie to
you and tell you that,
00:27:35.32\00:27:37.55
you're not gonna want to do it.
00:27:37.59\00:27:39.15
But at the end of the day
00:27:39.19\00:27:40.52
you're gonna be
left feeling empty,
00:27:40.56\00:27:42.12
and that feeling of emptiness
00:27:42.16\00:27:44.26
can only be filled by one person
00:27:44.29\00:27:45.69
and that's Christ.
00:27:45.73\00:27:47.16
And going through all
that, it's not worth it.
00:27:47.20\00:27:50.73
So those who have come
before can use their testimony
00:27:50.77\00:27:53.57
as something that
you can pull from.
00:27:53.60\00:27:55.27
I'm excited to
share my testimony of life
00:27:55.30\00:27:57.24
with you all,
00:27:57.27\00:27:58.61
"25 and Counting" is
an awesome testimony of
00:27:58.64\00:28:01.04
how God
restored me and saved me.
00:28:01.08\00:28:02.94
To get your copy
00:28:02.98\00:28:04.48
or just to get in touch with me,
00:28:04.51\00:28:05.91
you can visit me at
www.janthonybulgin.com.
00:28:05.95\00:28:09.92
That's janthonybulgin.com,
00:28:09.95\00:28:11.99
and find all my
information there.
00:28:12.02\00:28:14.06
All right.
00:28:14.09\00:28:15.42
Jason, we like to thank
you for being on our program.
00:28:15.46\00:28:17.53
It's my honour. Praise the Lord.
00:28:17.56\00:28:19.09
Praise the Lord.
00:28:19.13\00:28:20.46
Viewers, we encourage
you to go to the website,
00:28:20.50\00:28:23.77
purchase his book,
and we also encourage you
00:28:23.80\00:28:26.13
to tune in next time
00:28:26.17\00:28:27.50
for an exciting
program of the New Journey.
00:28:27.54\00:28:29.60