Pastor Hanson graduated from Augsburg College with a double major in history and philosophy. Later, he attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN where he earned a Master in Divinity degree. He served a parish for a short time before he entered the army chaplaincy where he received training in counseling for two and one-half years. He left the chaplaincy after six years to return to the parish ministry until January 1983. At this time he entered into full time evangelism because he wanted to concentrate on helping people discover the joy that comes from knowing what it means to discover God's great love for them as well as God's answers for their hurts. People began to seek his counsel because his counselees told others how much they were helped by him. He worked with a broad spectrum, including schizophrenics, and he found that once the analysis of the counselee was clear, there was only one real cure; he or she had to learn that God's word gave them the key to a full, rich life. Now he has written Pruning with Love to share the same healing others enjoyed when God's word gave them a new direction for their lives. It is his wish that every reader will discover what it means to know Jesus as a close, intimate, friend as well as his or her savior and lord.