Andrew Whiskeyman is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army. Before retiring from active duty, he served as the Chief of the Information Operations Division (J39) within the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and several leadership posts throughout his storied career serving the United States.
During the past several years, while still on active duty, Andrew led multiple Exodus fraternities at his parish in Tampa.
“I was sold from the first time I heard of Exodus 90,” as one might expect from a man who spent his adult life living out a sacrifice for his country. “I had no difficulty saying no!
“The challenge drew me,” he says. “The challenge to push me beyond an otherwise minimalist approach toward prayer and fasting. I had been trying to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ and improve self-discipline.”
Even so, he admits he was surprised in some ways by how the disciplines of Exodus 90 impacted his daily life.
“I did not expect the challenges with the disciplines to be so intense at times — was I really having such a heated argument with myself over a snack? Was I really that weak — when I was supposed to be strong? That really stung my pride.
“I was surprised how weak my flesh (and willpower) were over seemingly simple disciplines and how my struggles changed week to week. One week I’d struggle with exercise, the next week with snacking, and the next with silent prayer. Each week I was tempted more with one discipline over another.”
After multiple years of taking on the Exodus 90 spiritual exercise, the Coloniel says it’s never the same. “I never know what the Lord is going to reveal to me! Each year I learn about a new blessing that I take for granted or a new weakness I need to work on. There is never a mastery of Exodus 90. Even though I have read Exodus many times, something new is revealed in scripture each year.”
And that newness each year offers him a deeper connection with the Lord in new ways.
“I am better about leading a more integrated Christian life. I notice blessings more — I’m more grateful. I’m also more sensitive to my sins and try harder to avoid them. But all of this is only by God’s grace. I have realized, too, that I simply cannot do any of this on my own (and that was a hard pill to swallow).
