The 10 Commandments changed his life—in 2025
Ed Van Buskirk wasn’t expecting a gut check that day.
A faithful Catholic, husband, and father, Ed had shown up to a men’s program like he had countless times before. But when a speaker casually asked, “Who here actually knows the Ten Commandments?” Ed went silent. His hands dropped under the table. He counted on his fingers. Five, maybe six?
That moment sent Ed on a mission that’s still going. a mission not just to know the Commandments but to bring them alive for men across the country. And in doing so, he’s discovered a power most men are completely missing.
For Ed, life had always revolved around the Church. He was the seventh child in a big Catholic family, served as an altar boy, and raised his own kids in the faith. But something shifted at a That Man Is You session when a presenter told the story of a group of guys challenging each other: “Are you a good man?”
One man shot back, “I’m a good guy, get off my back.” But then came the real question: What’s the measuring stick? The answer was clear: The Ten Commandments.
He went home frustrated—not with anyone else, but with himself. “I am never going to not know the Ten Commandments again,” he vowed. He wrote them out by hand. Rehearsed them at stoplights.
And then something strange happened. “The commandments started popping out of all different places—in sermons, scripture readings, songs. It was like when you buy a new car and suddenly see that car everywhere.”
As Ed dove deeper, something shifted in how he saw the Commandments—not as a list of “don’ts” but as invitations to freedom. “These aren’t restrictions,” he explained. “They’re God’s recipe for joy, friendship, fulfillment.”
But when he searched for a good Catholic resource to help other men go deeper, he came up empty. Again and again. That’s when the Holy Spirit hit him with another challenge: “Why do you keep looking for someone else to do your work?”
Eventually, Ed sold his successful IT business so he could go all in. And that’s how the ministry ‘If You Love Me’ was born—named after Jesus’ words in John 14:15: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
“I’ve learned so much about the love and truth of God. It’s drawn me closer to Him. And the best part? Seeing other people wake up to the beauty of the Commandments, just like I did.”
Ed asked for one commandment that has changed the game for men, and he doesn’t hesitate: “Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.”
“God gave us a divine day of vacation every week,” Ed said. “But we fill it with laundry, errands, last-minute school projects… everything except rest. We start the week with everything ready—except ourselves. Spiritually empty. Physically exhausted. Satan loves it.”
He tells men bluntly: “We were given this day to replenish and reconnect. But instead of being filled with God’s grace, we start the week on fumes—and it shows in our tempers, our relationships, our spiritual lives.”
That commandment alone, when honored, can heal marriages, restore energy, and re-center a man’s mission.
“Worldly wisdom says, ‘Put your kids first.’ But godly wisdom says, ‘Put God first and trust Him to take care of your kids.’”
Now, through speaking engagements, video studies, and parish programs, Ed helps men wake up to the fact that the Ten Commandments aren’t just a Catholic checklist for confession—they’re a daily roadmap to heroic manhood.
“When we see these as burdens, we miss the point. They’re not just warnings. They’re protection. They’re calling us not just to avoid evil but to pursue virtue.”
Ed Van Buskirk. Husband, father, grandfather, former business owner and life-long active Catholic. // ifuloveme.com