Member
In early April, 1983 I was sailing along pretty comfortably (or so I thought) drinking "a few beers" every night and a few more on weekends. I had money problems because bills kept getting in the way of supplying my alcohol. I was usually crabby or about to become crabby. But, of course, that wasn't my fault. It was always "their fault". It was always, "poor me, poor me, pour me another one".
Our son was born with some serious physical issues. One night they were holding a "Charismatic Prayer Service" at a local church. My wife bugged me and bugged me until I went, just to shut her up. She and I trucked our son down to the church. I found out when we got there that this meeting had been promoted in four or five states, not just our local area. The church was packed and it was hot in there. More than that, I was "hot" because I desperately wanted a drink.
I stood in line seemingly forever with my son and my wife so he could get prayed over. I only wanted my son to get prayer. I wanted to get it over and get home to my beer. God had other ideas.
I had my first encounter with the Holy Spirit that night. It was awesome! I came away from there with a raging thirst for God's Word - yes, me. I'd never owned a Bible in my life. My next payday came about a week later and, of all things, instead of going straight home after work to get a beer, I headed for a Christian book store and bought a Bible. After that, I went home to drink a beer.
What a sight I must have been for the next couple of months;Every night, me and my Bible and my beer.
It was literally "turn a page, take a drink, turn a page, take a drink" for hours every night. I dog-eared that old paperback Bible in that two months. I was so excited by what I found in that book. I didn't want to put it down.
The "turn a page, take a drink" went on until August 6th when God spoke to me and said that He didn't want me to touch that stuff any more. I asked Him to help me. That was twenty-two years ago and I haven't had a hangover since.
By the way, I still read the Word on a daily basisand it still blesses me. :thumbs_up :rainbow:
What an awesome God I serve!
Our son was born with some serious physical issues. One night they were holding a "Charismatic Prayer Service" at a local church. My wife bugged me and bugged me until I went, just to shut her up. She and I trucked our son down to the church. I found out when we got there that this meeting had been promoted in four or five states, not just our local area. The church was packed and it was hot in there. More than that, I was "hot" because I desperately wanted a drink.
I stood in line seemingly forever with my son and my wife so he could get prayed over. I only wanted my son to get prayer. I wanted to get it over and get home to my beer. God had other ideas.
I had my first encounter with the Holy Spirit that night. It was awesome! I came away from there with a raging thirst for God's Word - yes, me. I'd never owned a Bible in my life. My next payday came about a week later and, of all things, instead of going straight home after work to get a beer, I headed for a Christian book store and bought a Bible. After that, I went home to drink a beer.
What a sight I must have been for the next couple of months;Every night, me and my Bible and my beer.
It was literally "turn a page, take a drink, turn a page, take a drink" for hours every night. I dog-eared that old paperback Bible in that two months. I was so excited by what I found in that book. I didn't want to put it down.
The "turn a page, take a drink" went on until August 6th when God spoke to me and said that He didn't want me to touch that stuff any more. I asked Him to help me. That was twenty-two years ago and I haven't had a hangover since.
By the way, I still read the Word on a daily basisand it still blesses me. :thumbs_up :rainbow:
What an awesome God I serve!
