As a child I was raised in a Southern Baptist home until I joined the military. Even though I "walked the aisle" I did not accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. It was what every good child did at my church, and I wanted to be a good child. As I entered my high school years, I experimented with all the world had to offer. As my friends and I would be out partying, I would occasionally see one of the members of my church partying also. This led me to believe that Christianity was a religion of hypocrisy even though I was a hypocrite myself.

At the age of 24 I met my future wife Deborah who was a Christian and in a backslidden state. We had a long distance relationship that had many trials, and after a series of events, it looked like we were going to break off our engagement. About this time I had totally decided in my heart that there was no God, but as a last resort, I was willing to try church out for her. One night as I lay awake thinking, I decided I should pray "just in case." As I got on my knees just as my mother had taught me, I opened my prayer with "God, I don't even believe You're there." The response was something that I'll never forget. God spoke to me saying. "The problem is not that you and Deborah are going to break up. The problem is that you have refused to accept my Son." It was like a lightning bolt of truth in my heart, and I knew at that moment that there really was a God in heaven. I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins and accept me as His.

That was 14 years ago. The God who I didn't believe in is now the God of me, my wife and our children. Praise the Lord!