My story demonstrates the wonderful story of God's grace, mercy, and love. Growing up a preacher's kid, I was in church all my life, pretty much every time the doors were opened. I went to a Christian high school and was well-versed in the Christian faith. In November 1982, I realized I had never made a profession of faith, so I did. This profession was not unlike many professions that others have made. It included tears and sorrow of regret but not repentance.

My profession, although not being a possession, led me to do many things in the church - song director, Sunday school teacher, youth director, deacon, chairman of the deacons, a faithful tither, and even a fill-in speaker for the pastor a few times. It was all just a good job of white washing and a good front for anyone to see. (Matthew 23:27-28 ) In fact, I was so good at it that I even fooled myself sometimes. Satan had me exactly where he wants all church members and attenders to be - a dedicated, devoted, involved yet disillusioned person, far from having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Without the Holy Spirit to guide me, I became involved in online chat rooms and porn. I continued to the point that if you knew how involved I was, you would be dumbfounded because of all I was doing in the church. I realize that Satan is too wise to try and drop us in the midst of the sin. He starts small and then lets us continue on our own down that road by convincing us that we are okay because of how faithful we are in the church. All the while the lies he is telling us are enabling us to continue our pattern of lying to cover our lifestyle.

All of these actions led to several full- blown affairs, and finally in 2008 I was willing to leave the wife of my youth and my children to continue to pursue the ever-elusive dream of happiness and satisfaction. Yet, the amazing grace of God and the love of my wife, Lois, reached me. She had felt for some time that things were not right with us and had been diligently praying for God to work in our marriage and family. After walking and praying at youth camp, she asked me on Saturday night if we were going to make it. I responded, "I sure hope so."

She began praying even more for our marriage. Thanks to some amazing events that God orchestrated in my life, I ended things with the other woman. This cycle repeated itself at least three more times over the next four or five months. I started chatting and looking at pornography again, justifying that I was still married.

In January 2009, Lois told me point blank that she was concerned about and praying for my salvation. She showed me several scripture passages about the life of one that has a true relationship with Christ versus those who have been presented with a false gospel. Once we are truly born again and have placed our faith totally and fully in the completed work of Christ, the Bible tells us in 1 John 3:6 that "Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him." Again in verse 9 he reminds us, "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. When the darkness is presented with the light, it disappears or flees. This truth that I had heard all my life and had even memorized pierced my soul and the Holy Spirit convicted me of my need for salvation. February 1, 2009, I again shed tears, but this time they were tears of true repentance and not just regret. Jesus Christ freed me from my sin and the burden I had been carrying and created a new man.

God desires to be the Lord of our lives. When we die to ourselves daily, God releases us from the bondage of sin and renews us, making us what he wants us to be. He wants us to more than play church; He wants us to surrender to his Lordship in our lives.

Growing up, I don't remember a time when my family was not at church. Anytime something was going on at church, we were there. So quite naturally, at a young age, I joined the church and was baptized. I remember how happy this made my parents and the other church members. They were proud of me.

However, as time went on, I began to feel a restlessness or unease at church, especially if someone gave a testimony or the pastor gave an invitation at the close of service. I couldn't wait for church to end so I could feel more comfortable. It did go away until l the next time I was at church.

It took several years for me to understand what was going on. The restlessness or unease was actually God reaching out to me, trying to show me that I needed Him in my life. Yes, I was a church member and had been baptized, but I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. I knew all about Him – but I did not know Him. I believed He was God's Son and that He died for my sins, but I had never told Him how sorry I was for my sins and asked Him to forgive me for my sins and to come into my life and save me.

Once I realized the outward things, church membership and baptism, I had done were not enough to save me, I asked Jesus into my life. What joy I felt! A huge burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

I was so relieved that the unease I had felt at church for years would be gone. And it was – for awhile. But then I got a different feeling – an urging to tell my pastor and church about the change in my life. Instead, I kept quiet. I was already a church member. Everyone thought I was a Christian, so why bother? But the urging to tell others did not go away. I wondered what my family and friends would think. I didn't want them to be embarrassed. Mostly, I didn't want to embarrass myself.

After several more months of feeling an urging to tell my pastor I had become a Christian, I finally did. What had made it such a difficult choice was that the pastor was also my father. I was re-baptized and became a true church member. I was finally at peace. And my family and friends were happier and prouder of the courage it took to do the right thing. My only regret is that I spent years feeling restless, when God's peace is available TODAY!

In January, 2003, I came on staff at PCBC in the youth ministry. It was an exciting time for us a family. Our son was 16 years old and we wanted him to be part of a thriving youth ministry. My wife and I were excited to work in the creative arts of music and drama at 24k. We loved the challenge of producing the 24k morning show every Sunday and planning the youth worship service each week. It was thrilling to see the Lord moving powerfully in the group of young people.

After an exhausting summer of student events, during the first week of September, I remarked to Chick, my wife, "Babe, look at this lump on my neck." She became alarmed by its size and said that I needed to see a doctor. I told her that it didn't hurt, but she insisted. After three different doctors, multiple procedures and seven weeks, I was diagnosed with stage IV Squamous Cell Carcinoma with the primary site in the base of my tongue.

Needless to say, we were stunned. I had always been a health nut, eating well and staying active. I prayed, we prayed, and warriors around the world prayed for me. I didn't know exactly what to pray. I thought that I had no right to escape illness when so many people around me were fighting battles of their own. I asked that the Lord would show me how to pray. I received assurance from Him that this cup (cancer) would not pass from me, but I would have to go through the fire. When I realized that this was going to be the battle of my life, I asked the Lord to teach me as I walked through the valley of the shadow of death.

From my diagnosis on October 22 through all the surgical procedures and treatments ending on February 4, 2004, God opened my eyes to the depths of His love for me, the riches of His incomparable Kingdom and His power to effect change in the lives of His people. What a rich spiritual time in my life! One day toward the end of the seventh week of what I jokingly referred to as "mis-treatments", I, just skin and bones at that point, lay in bed and remember saying to my wife, "Babe, as bad as all of this has been, I wouldn't trade one minute of it because of the time I have had with my Savior." The Lord showed me that life would go on without me, and that my life was given to me to invest in others. That was a significant turning point for me. Jesus carried me through that valley and I will never forget His abundant blessing of life - present and eternal.

My cure was miraculous, both to me and my doctors. God isn't finished with me. All praise and glory to Him!

I intimately know the dangers lurking and preying upon America's youth. Raised in a single-family household due to divorce, I fell into drugs and alcohol at an early age. Although I attended church regularly as an adolescent, I never understood what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ until late in my twenties. Today I am a living testimony of God's amazing grace in overcoming not only drug and alcohol addiction, but also suicidal depression, pornography addiction, and fear of failure. After accepting Jesus as Lord (leader) and Savior of my life, I met my lovely wife, Ashley, in a singles Sunday school class. We have now been married for more than six years and have one son, Noah.

It is the passion of my heart, in accordance with God's will, to bring hope, acceptance, and understanding to the next generation. Since responding to the call of ministry, I was licensed in 2007 by Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, and received two seminary degrees, the first, a B.A. of Religion, from Luther Rice Seminary and the second, an M.A. in Evangelism and Church Planting from Liberty University. I am also affiliated with the North American Mission Board as an MSC Missionary.

God has allowed me to travel around the US and the world to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been to Dearborn, Michigan, to work at the Arab Festival; Hungry Horse, Montana, three times; and the inner city of Charlotte, North Carolina, four times. I have been to Africa five times, Costa Rica and Turkey. I enjoy football and snow skiing. I also enjoy using my Culinary Arts degree to host gatherings at our home.

Amazingly, Ashley, my loving wife is in agreement with all of my interests. However, she loves Disney! Noah is too young to know all of my likes and dislikes, but our prayer for him is Genesis 6:9 . "Noah was a righteous man of his day and he walked with God." We pray for our son to be a mighty instrument for the Kingdom of God. We now see in him his love for God and people. After every prayer we say, he applauds and cheers. Nobody taught him to do this; he just started doing it on his own.Noah also loves to worship and dance before the Lord. Children are amazing blessings of the Lord, and we must teach them all we know about the love God has for them!

Shortly before I found out I was pregnant, God convicted me about sharing His Word with others. It wasn't that I didn't want to share the Word of God; I didn't know how I should go about it without leaving them confused, uninterested, and annoyed. In church one Sunday, the pastor said, "Share your testimony". After a week of pondering, I concluded, "Oh well, I'm off the hook because I don't really have a great testimony ... at least nothing that would interest anyone. It certainly would not be moving enough to lead anyone to Christ."

When I accepted Jesus at the age 10, I remember standing in front of the church with tears of joy running down my face. Throughout my life, God has answered many prayers and spoken to me through the Bible. I even witnessed a few "odd" things that surely non-believers would think I made up. I asked, "Who would want to hear that?"

When the topic of witnessing came up again, however, I asked God to give me a testimony. I was in no way expecting what I was about to receive. After having a very emotional week, I sat down to read the Bible. God spoke to me and told me "This is all within my plan." I had absolutely no idea what that meant. A few hours later, I felt the urge to take a pregnancy test. When I saw it was positive, I got so weak in the knees that I had to lay down. I was pregnant with baby #3! After the initial shock, we were very excited. At nine weeks, I went for my first doctor's visit which revealed that I was carrying twins.

At 15 weeks, a high-risk doctor told us that our identical twins were girls. I was so excited! However, he also told us that my twins may be developing signs of Twin To Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). Having already researched twin pregnancies, I knew what this meant. It was not good news. TTTS is a disease of the placenta that affects approximately 15-20% of identical twin pregnancies. When a single placenta is shared by the twins, abnormal blood vessels develop, essentially connecting the circulatory systems of the babies. The result is an unequal exchange of blood flow, creating serious complications that endanger the health of both babies.

I returned to the doctor weekly and at 17 weeks I was put on complete bed rest. At 18 weeks the TTTS had progressed enough to require a risky surgery, which occurred at 19 weeks in Miami. We were thrilled to see their hearts beating and legs kicking the morning after surgery. Although surgery caused contractions that were difficult to control, we were elated that our babies survived! Our goal was to control contractions and keep the babies incubated until at least 32 weeks. My never getting off bed rest was difficult for us with two young children and no family in the area, but I was willing to do whatever it took.

I realized, however, that God was not done with my testimony. I had been so strong, but I became physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted when a routine appointment a few weeks later revealed that the smallest twin had fluid around her heart. I soon realized that I wasn't the one in charge. God wanted me to trust Him. I knew he had my family's best interest at heart. I believe in the power of prayer and that God can work miracles. I knew He could save my babies if He chose to. However, the rational, human part of me remembered that God doesn't always choose to work miracles the way we humans see fit. God's answer to my prayers was simply "Trust me!"

I prayed, had hope, and knew that God could spare the life of Maren, my smallest twin but part of me wanted to remain cautious. I gave it to God and surprised myself in the process! I felt honored that He loved me enough to build my character and my strength. I witnessed the power of prayer the entire time. My original thought of what the power of prayer meant was that God would heal my children. Instead, I was now able to gain strength and see that my interpretation was not HIS interpretation.

Once I gave it to God and fully trusted Him and His plan, I was able to give my children back to Him. I've always said that God has a miraculous sense of humor, and Todd and I witnessed that on several occasions. We became so "at peace" that when we received disturbing news that things were getting worse, we burst out laughing. I distinctly remember saying "Wow, God, I asked for a testimony and You are really determined to make it a good one!"

Things did get worse. On Sunday, July 5th, 2009, the ultrasound showed that Maren's little body was shutting down. She was dying. The twins needed to be delivered at only 29 weeks. Their prognosis was not too great because of the TTTS. Payton was born first weighing 3 pounds 1 ounce and Maren, a minute later, weighing 2 pounds 6 ounces. They were in such poor condition that they rushed them by me so fast I didn't get even get a glimpse of a tiny foot. I had to wait 12 hours to see them – the longest 12 hours of my life. Again, I had to TRUST!

A week and several blood transfusions later, my girls were surprising the doctors. Not only were they going to survive, but they had no lasting birth defects!! Praise God!! Payton was in NICU for six weeks and Maren was in for eight weeks. Both of them left the hospital without any monitors or tubes. Amazing!!

I know that God now expects me to do something with my testimony. He loved us enough to strengthen us and then reward us with two perfectly healthy, beautiful girls.

Having a family. It's what we talked about when we were engaged and what we hoped and prayed for after we were married. Achieving that dream has taken a route we would never have imagined or chosen. However, God knew every detail. When we couldn't trace His hand, we could definitely trust His heart.

We took for granted that we would just have kids and never anticipated that it would be difficult. After more than a year of trying and a little help from the doctor, we finally were pregnant - ecstatic beyond belief! At near term, our dreams were shattered when our baby girl, Elizabeth, was stillborn - a cord accident. We were shocked, devastated and angry. Our Sunday School class and church choir family lifted us up and carried us through. By God's grace, we made it.

After another year of trying, we decided to pursue adoption. We spent the day on the phone with adoption agencies and hospitals. The agencies said they would send out their paperwork but told us to expect a two or three-year wait. It wasn't the best news but at least we were doing something. Within 24 hours of these calls, we received a midnight call from an area hospital that a pregnant woman in labor had come looking for a family to adopt her baby. We hadn't even received the paperwork let alone filled it out. At 5 a.m. our son Jonathan was born and home with us by that evening! Adoptions just don't work that way but God miraculously does.

When Jonathan was approximately 18 months old, we decided to try again to have a baby. We had to seek medical help and were in the process of starting injections when Jeff's mother, a labor and delivery nurse, called. She had a patient who was looking for a family for her baby girl. God sent us another miracle – our beautiful daughter Olivia.

Our family was growing. Not at all in the way we thought it would but God had other plans. When Olivia was two years old, we became pregnant. We were excited and terrified at the same time. Everyone assured us that what had happened the first time was a fluke and would never happen again. About six months later, however, our baby girl, Julia, was also stillborn – another cord accident. The devastation and despair all came flooding back. Once more, our church family gathered round us. They were truly the hands and feet of Jesus.

Jeff thought two children were enough. We took measures to ensure that the pain of loss would not happen again. However, Lisa had envisioned traveling to China and adopting a baby girl she wanted to name Audrey. Again, God had another plan.

Approximately six years ago, a friend sent us an email with the picture of a little three-year-old, visually-impaired boy in a Russian orphanage who needed a home. Unless he was adopted soon, he would be sent to a special-needs facility where he'd receive only food and clothing – no education. He stole our hearts. Jeff's "no" quickly became "yes" and Lisa's itinerary changed direction. Once again, God was all over the details. We proudly brought home our new son, Timothy, only five months after that initial email!

Our adoption experiences are not typical but then neither is God. He works on His own timeline. Jonathan is now a 19-year-old college freshman; Olivia is a 17-year-old high school junior; and Timothy is a nine-year-old fourth grader. Having a family is definitely what God in His way has done for us. And who knows - maybe He'll send us to China one of these days!