I wanna say that I am grateful that Jesus is the son of God. If it was'nt for him I really don't know where I would be. I was born and raised in a church. North Highlands Assembly of God in North Highlands,Calif. I went to that church for early part of my life. It was in July of 1972 at the tender age of 9 I first asked Jesus into my life at a summer camp. I received a little New Testament and I felt great. I never really grasped the concept of Salvation at that age. The preacher gave the fire and brimstone sermon. I was actually scared into the kingdom of God. I think alot of us are. Well I went thru life thinking I was saved and could go on with my life as it was. I got in with a few bad kids and started shoplifting and lying. I skipped school a few times got my first taste of moonshine at 11. Just your typical kid in the 70's. I always thought if I did wrong Jesus would always forgive me which is true to a point. You don't keep doing wrong knowing that God will always forgive you. Thats like saying you can get away with murder. So as life went on for me I was dealt a blow I really never got over. Just after my junior year my father decided to transfer to Maryland. Let's regress a little here. I will talk about my father a little bit. I was verbally abused by my father all through my childood. I was always on the heavy side. I was constantly called overweight and stupid. His most popular phrase for me was that I was too dumb to come in from the rain. It was a very troubling childhood. My father was not saved at the time. I think he has gone through the motions many times but never really accepted him. Later in life we were at constant odds. When I was big enough the fights became physical. I have since then talked with him. It has never been the same to this day. he lives 30 minutes from me and I talked to maybe 2 times a year. Now back to moving to Maryland. I really felt I was being tormented. I had went to school with these friends since I was five. To be put in that situation really disturbed me. I went to a new school in my senior year never relly making friends and losing the ones I had. We did'nt have internet at the time and long distance calls was out of the question. So left a lasting mark on me. Moving onwards. I graduated high school and went into the work force. I decided not to go to college and learn from on the job training. I went thru a few jobs till I made a good decision in 1983. I got a job at a company that made me what I am today. I got a job with a company called LOWES. I started out pushing the broom in the front parking lot what I do now OUTSIDE SALES to Construction Companies. I worked at Lowes from 83 to 94. I made good money and had a good profit sharing when I left. I made alot of mistakes. I got away from the church. I got into drugs and alcohol. I partied every weekend. I will have to say that I did find one thing through the drugs amd alcohol. It was at a bar one night that I met the love of my life. I have now been married to my wife for 17 years this december. Some did'nt think we would last. My wife is a living testimony of strength,faith and courage. When I met her in 1989 she had already been amrried twice before and had four kids. Three girls from the first marriage and a boy from the second. This is the strength and courage part. Both her husbands were killed in tragic automobile accidents. When I met her she had just lost the second one a month before.The boy lost his dad at one year old. To him I am dad and always will be. He is my friend and always will be. His picture is on my profile and he is on jcfaith by the name of ford6693. Moving on down the road to another life changin event. It was 1996 I had been at another job and not happy. It was getting to the point that we could not afford to live in the hosue we had. We decided to sell it and downsize. When we could'nt find another house we decided to move to South Carolina. We knew that the cost of living was better. So we rented our house out and moved south in July of 1996. I had found a job back with Lowes Contractor Yard a subsidiary of Lowes. I spent 6 years there struggling like a fish out of water. A yankee in the south. I did get one thing from The Contractor Yard was alot of contacts. It would help me out later on in my career. Like I saide I was at The Contrator yard for 6 years till 2002 when it was closed down. You had the option of going to a Lowes retail store or quitting. I chose the former and transferred to store close to my home. I really was'nt happy. I tried different things. I got involved in online games. Our debt was rising. We were in what we thought was good church. We never really got over the move from Maryland financially. It was now the beginning of 2004 and my wife said we were really backed against the wall. Our credit cards were maxed and the mortgage payment was due. I did'nt know what to do. The only thing to do was really bankruptcy. That was the one thing I promised myself I would never do. Everyone in my family had done it at least once. I wanted to prove to my dad I was not a failure. So I called my pastor. I was literally in tears on the side of the road back against the wall. He did one thing that I will never forget. he paid our mortgage payment plus late fees and interest. It was at that point my wife and I committed our finces to God. We are still trying to grab ahold of it. We are whittling it down and will be erased soon. Still I felt like I was not in the right place churchwise and jobwise. I felt like my job was not right. The lord definitley had his hand in this. I had made alot of contacts the past 8 years and it paid off. Most of my clients were christians. I knew that if I chose to leave at the time they would follow me. Well Lowes decided to take my weekends away and make me work some Sundays which I had told I would never do. I felt Sunday was for church. I intended to keep it that way.So I made a decision to find another option. I went to another building materials company. I had talked to them in the past and the manager told me he would always keep the door open. Best decison I ever made. I got a company vehicle and three weeks vacation. My clients did follow me and gave me the sales base I needed to survive. Now that I had my job in control the church was next. I had just started at my new job in April,2005. I was not feeling good spirtually at my church. Remember this is the church that had bailed us out a few months before. I told my wife and she did;nt agree. Then a month later she saw the same things I did. We had put many years and hours into the childrens ministry there. We decided to leave the church. So in August of 2005 we left the church. Our daughter and son got saved in that church. Our daughter and her husband still attend there. We are praying that their spiritual eyes will be opened. When we left the members of the church told us that we would not prosper if we left the church. That is baloney. Since we have left my income has doubled and we are steadilly nipping away at the debt. We get a company trip every year all expenses paid. We went to Costa Rica in 2004. We went to Cancun in 2005. We are going to Puerto Rico on October of this year. We are so blessed. I am a spirit filled,tongue talking,bible toting born again christian. My wife and son ahare the same passion. I regret that I don't have the relationship with my mom,dad and brothers share the same relationship. I only see my family maybe twice a year and they live 30 minutes from me. I made my peace with God and he is okay with it. I leave it up to my family to make the next step. I know I kind rambled on a bit. I just wnated to put down in words my testimony. If you ever want to know more just ask. I am an open book. Until next time. Blessings to you in the name of Jssus Christ. I may come back and tweak this becauase there is so much more to tell. Thanks and much love to all my sisters and brothers here at JCFAITH. Jeffy