As I request to add people to my growing list of friends, you may ask yourself (after my profile is viewed, of course), "Who is this guy, and what is he all about?" I would like to share with you some information about myself, my life, and how I became the person that I am today(On a personal note, those of you who have placed me on your list of friends, thank you very much).As I look at my life, I think of myself as the prodigal son (Luke 15: 11-24). I grew up in Christian home in Winslow, Arizona. I asked Christ to come into my heart in 5th grade, but as I entered into my junior high and high school years, I began to drift away. My downward spiral (as described in Romans 1:18-32) intensified while I served in the U.S. Navy and during my college years. I would attend nightclubs frequently, and in the process, I developed a dependency on alcoholic beverages. In 1996, a confrontation with a friend of mine (who is like family to me) occurred while I was heavily intoxicated, and I then realized the next day that my drinking was getting out of control. At the request of my parents, I spoke to a friend of the family who was the pastor of a church that I would attend on occasion. After an evening of counseling and prayer, I no longer had the desire to drink alcohol anymore. Although God had delivered me from alcoholism, I would still continued to live by the desires of the flesh. I would still continue to attend the nightclubs, and as one song states, I was looking for love in all the wrong places. As the years came and went, however, my parents would tell me that their constant prayer was for me to start going back to church and to come back to Christ. One Saturday evening in August 2003, I passed by East Valley Bible Church in Gilbert, Arizona on my way to a night job as a disc jockey in a nightclub. I attended EVBC for the first time that Sunday morning. For a few months, my mindset at the time was that I could pretty much do anything I wish, but as long as I attended church every Sunday I would be okay, however, things began to change. I started to become frustrated and depressed because my hopes of starting a D.J. business with a friend of mine was not happening the way I had hoped. In the process, my relationships with the friends I had at the time were starting to go sour. As the days came and went, I started to realize that the things that were important to me were starting to become unimportant. I was beginning to feel out of place at my D.J. job in the nightclubs, and more depression and frustration ensued. I had hit rock bottom. One evening at home in July 2004, I found myself on my knees asking God that He would surround me with people who knew Him (even though I was attending church regularly, I felt alone). God answered my prayer through Crosswork (our singles ministry). It had just been moved from Sunday evenings to Friday's, and I had just lost a D.J. account I had on Friday nights. The first time that I attended Crosswork was a night I will never forget. Even though I was a complete stranger that evening, people introduced themselves to me and let me know that they were glad that I had come. I don't recall what the lesson was that evening, but I felt like God was speaking directly to me with no one else in the room, and I was so touched to the point of almost shedding tears. After Crosswork ended that evening, I was invited to hang out with the group. I was supposed to meet a friend of mine at a sports bar afterwards, but I did not meet up with him. I had felt God tugging at my heart that evening. As the evening progressed, I saw the love of Christ in everyone that I had met. When I went home, I felt like I was walking on air. The next day, I was invited to hang out with some of the "Crossworkians" that evening, and I saw the love of Jesus through everyone in the group once again. As I got home that evening, I began to listen to a song entitled "Coming Back Home", by Bebe Winans. As I was listening to that song, I felt God speaking to my heart, telling me that it was time to come back home to Him, where His love was waiting for me. I then realized that it was my rebellion that kept me away from Him all of those years. I got on my knees that evening, asked God for forgiveness of my sins, and asked Him back into my heart once again. I said to God that evening, "I'm coming back home, but this time, I'm not leaving." Since I've given my life back to the Lord, I've never been the same. He has given me a new heart and new desires.As I look at my life up to this point, I've made some pretty amazing discoveries. Even though I had accepted Christ at a young age and grew up in a Christian home, I never fully understood what it meant to walk with Christ because I let my pride get in the way. Second, I realized that when I was in rebellion, I did the things that I did because I wanted to fit in with the crowd. As a result, I compromised everything I had been taught. Looking back at the night I first attended Crosswork (as well as seeing the love of Christ through everyone), I realized that that was the night God revealed to me where I really belonged. The night I gave my heart back to the Lord, I realized that He had been watching over me all of those years when I rebelled against Him. My parents prayer was answered!! If you are a Christian, I hope that you found what I wrote to be very encouraging. If you are not a Christian, I want to you to know that there is hope in Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). It is through His death on the cross, and resurrection three days later that I live, and in Christ alone, my hope is found!! He wants to forgive you of your sins, but you must come to Him in repentance and faith. If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10: 9-10)....and whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). Ephesians 2:8-9 (Amplified Bible) says "For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved ([a]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]Will you call upon the name of the Lord today?God bless you my friends, and future friends!!In addition, I'm a veteran of the U.S. Navy. I currently work as a Personal Cruise Consultant for Norwegian Cruise Line (it feels good to be back in the travel industry!!), and I am attending Mesa Community College. Working towards getting my Associate Of Arts degree in general studies. I am a HUGE fan of the Dallas Cowboys and the Phoenix Suns. When I'm not working or in school. I spend a lot of time reading, listening to music, and hanging out with friends.
