BOB’S STORY

Like many folks in the Bible Belt, I would have called myself a Christian for most of my life. I grew up in a home with family that loved me and wanted the best for me, but who lived a life far from the things of the Lord. I realized young that something big was missing and I tried all of the world’s many solutions to emptiness. At a young age, I began trying to fill that emptiness with companionship and conquest, success in school and subsequently in business, military rank and awards, alcohol, and a litany of other distractions only to find each of them hollow and myself living the lifestyle of those that I wanted least to emulate. Even failed marriages and poor relationships with my children weren’t enough to show me that I was living an empty life. Worse still, my life seemed doomed to repeat the same cycle of failure that had been the curse of my family for as many generations as I can trace. However, as the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 2:4-5…

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

In early January 2009 I found myself in a church I didn’t know, all alone and weeping for no apparent reason. I remember thinking, “I need your help God. I’m doing a terrible job on my own.” There was no blinding light or audible voice, just a peace. but that day I received the gift of His salvation and submitted my life to the Lord. It was immediately different. Not perfect, but different. In the coming months and years I wrestled against my sin, rather than simply submitting to the things I knew in my heart were wrong. It was as if he truly gave me a new heart. Philippians 1:6 says…

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.“

I believe that. And I trust that although I have been wretched in my life, that the Lord loves me and has a purpose for me. I have no greater desire than to fulfill what the Lord wants to accomplish with me and my family. He has blessed me with a godly wife, 7 children and a heart for ministry for those who don’t know the love, forgiveness and beauty of a life in Christ. Marriage is sacred, people are made in the image of God and are precious in His sight. And I want all those I meet to know the love of Christ that I have been saved by.