The change in my life I will never forget!

In July of 2002 I got baptized one Saturday night at the 5pm service. Thanks Scott Irwin. Now let's jump forward to November 2006. Up to this point I had been leading Bible studies and attended church on a regular basis. I thought that I had it all. Then one service I saw an announcement for the Men's Encounter. I had heard of this from Kevin and Lloyd in my Mens group. I decided to go to the Encounter in November 2006 up in Frazier Park. WOW! That weekend changed my life like you would not believe. I don't want to share too much about the encounter weekend, in case you might want to go, but it brought me even closer to the LORD. I can share this with you. I had been struggling with chewing tobacco since I was 18. I was 46 when I attended the encounter. I had tried to quit on my own. Friday night on the encounter I threw my can of chew away only to dig it out of the trash can the next morning after breakfast. Sunday morning I got up at 6am and went for a walk in God's country. I starting praying to our Lord and Savior to please help me to quit chewing tobacco. It came upon my heart to open the can and dump it out while I walked in the woods. I did just that. After Breakfast I sat down by the fire place and opened my Bible to where ever it opened to and started reading. It opened to Isaiah 41:10 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." I knew that right then and there that the Lord would help me through this. I had never put my trust in the Lord this way ever before in my life. That was over 2 years ago and I have not had any tobacco since. I continue to put Jesus in the center of my life no matter what the storm is. He will guide us through all storms. More to come later. It only gets better as we trust in the Lord.