Good morning from the corner office of our warehouse here on the farm in Roanoke, Indiana.

I just finished signing a stack of handwritten Thank You cards that will go out this week to our newest first-time customers. But as I sit down to write this message, my mind is still on something that happened a few weekends back...

My oldest son Bryton and I traveled to Lawrenceburg, Indiana (just outside Cincinnati) to compete in our very first Spartan Race together.

Now, I’ve never been much of a fitness guy—but I’ve gotta say, that race turned out to be one of the most rewarding and special memories I’ve made with my son.

Honestly, it’s the kind of milestone I may repeat with each of my kids as they reach their teenage years.

But what really struck me was how grateful I felt just to be able to do something like this.

18 years ago, a doctor told me I had a lifelong illness that could make experiences like this impractical.

So today, I want to share that story with you.

My Unexpected Diagnosis

It was 2006. I had just married Charis, and I was throwing myself headfirst into getting Seven Sons off the ground.

Times were tight financially. I allowed stress to reach a breaking point. And eventually, my body let me know something wasn’t right.

I was in constant discomfort, and at times high pain. Finally, I went to the hospital for testing.

That’s when I got the diagnosis: Crohn’s disease.

I was only 20 years old.
The doctor told me it was incurable—and that over time, Crohn’s Disease could deteriorate the lining of my digestive tract. Some patients end up needing a colostomy bag.

I left that hospital crushed.

The meds I was prescribed helped relieve my symptoms at first but of course I knew this wasn’t the long term solution.

Even though my doctor told me that diet and lifestyle would have little to no effect, I knew this couldn't be true and took some additional steps.
 

First, I Took Stress Seriously

I kept hearing people say how stress was wrecking their health. And in my case, I could feel it. Stress wasn’t just uncomfortable—it was literally hurting me.

So I made a choice: I was either going to keep living the way I was and risk making things worse, or I was going to change.

I started by letting go of things outside of my control. I became way more intentional about what I focused my energy on.

And for anyone else dealing with stress and chronic illness, I highly recommend experimenting with therapy—especially somatic therapies like EMDR. I’ve found tremendous relief from both talk therapy and somatic-based approaches.
 

I Invested in a Holistic Practitioner

This was before Zoom and telehealth, so my options were limited back then. But thankfully, I met a holistic health practitioner in Fort Wayne.

I followed their protocol to a T. I took my supplements (which cost $400/month—same as the meds I was already on, with no insurance). At the time, our income was barely $35K/year. So yeah… we felt every penny.

But I kept reminding myself: my health and future were worth it.
 

I Changed My Diet—Big Time

For six months, I cut out all gluten, dairy, sugar, and processed foods. Cold turkey. No exceptions. If you’ve ever tried this, you know it’s no joke. But I stuck to it 100%. I carried food with me everywhere. I ate clean. I was relentless.

And by month four, I started seeing real improvement.
By month six, I was off my medication and symptom-free.

Over the next year, we slowly reintroduced foods to see what I could tolerate. These days, I mostly avoid gluten and sugar, and I eat dairy in moderation.
I’ve stuck with this lifestyle to this day.

Eventually, I realized I had a lifelong choice to make: I could either live to eat—or eat to live.

If you’ve ever been in my shoes, you know exactly what I mean.
 

A Full Circle Moment

This spring, even though I’d been symptom-free for 18 years, I went back to the doctor to get a full work-up—just to be sure.

Crohn’s can do hidden damage even if you feel fine.

But I’m happy to report: after every test he could think of, the doctor told me I’m in the clear. No signs of active disease. Clean bill of health.

It was a huge relief—and honestly, a big motivator to stay the course.

You can bet I’m looking forward to more Spartan races with my kids. 🏃‍♂️ And, in fact, if you want to join me, I’ll be running the Sept 20th Spartan Race in Attica, IN, in the noon wave time.) Come say hi!

Thanks for reading, and if this message struck a chord with you—or if you have questions—I’d love to hear from you.

Join the conversation below.