Hello, DAB Family! My name is Chris and I live in Logansport, Indiana (aka Berry Country). I just started listening to the DAB last month after finding it on the Bible Gateway website and I have been hooked from the first listen. I cannot imagine my day being without listening to Brian and hearing and absorbing God's Word, along with all your stories and prayer requests. It has amazed me in only a month how tight-knit this community truly is and how we all pray for each other. I am now praying for you all every morning and that God gives you whatever you need to get through each day.
Let me share my story with you all. I was only raised by my mother as my mom and dad divorced shortly after I was born. I never understood the reason why that happened, but as I grew up and got closer to the Lord I realized it may have been part of God's plan all along. My dad apparently was not involved in the lives of his children, nor did he want to be, so he was very unfaithful to my mother. But my mother did an amazing job keeping me on the straight path and teaching me right from wrong while keeping me focused on school. But I didn't really start having a connection with the Lord until elementary school, when we started attending Amana Baptist Church in Monticello. I was okay with it for a few months, but I never felt fully comfortable or welcome, so it simply fell out of favor with us, especially when the pastors moved.
However, I still had a longing because my friends in school were also Christians. They knew what kind of a heart I had and they knew that God could sort out the lost life I was going through. A few books and inspirational messages later, one day during Summer of 2005 after I graduated high school, not knowing what direction my life was going or what I was going to do in college...my knees hit the floor and I gave my heart to the Lord.
DAB Family, ever since that moment, God has taken the wheel and has led me to His will. The work He is doing in my life and the blessings he has bestowed on me...I could not have even imagined happening several years ago.
*I got a four-year college degree in elementary ed from Purdue University - and I regret nothing that happened there - but after applying to nine different school corporations and hearing nothing back, along with one horrible substitute experience, God said to me "I have something different planned for you, my child."
*Once again, I was in a desperate place, but I started applying anywhere I could find in the local ads. I saw that Walmart in my old hometown of Monticello was hiring, so I applied through their computer system. After two weeks of hearing nothing back, I also started applying in the nearby locations. Lo and behold, Logansport reached out to me right away. I got a phone call, then two interviews, and then I had a job as an electronics sales associate. I was at the old store for two weeks before being moved to a brand new, 150,000-foot supercenter. I had been part of a mass hiring for the new store. That's NOT coincidence - that's God at work!
*I've been at my job for four years now and God has made every day there relevant and important. He has placed me there to impact people and be a light in this world. He always reminds me, even on the tough days, why He has put me there. I have an amazing support system of family, friends, and co-workers.
*I own my own home at 28 years old, and get rent from my neighbors next door, who are amazing.
*I am very involved in my church in Monticello, which my best friend of 20 years got me into when I was still looking to find a church to be grounded in. Ever since the first service, I've served running the computer, worshipping to the kids, and now am a permanent member of the main worship team.
Family, I owe it all to God. Had I not realized on that summer day back in 2005 that I needed a Savior, I don't know where I would be right now. Certainly not in the blessed situation that I am in. I thank him EVERY SINGLE DAY for the work He has done and the work He will be doing for my future.
Now that I've shared my story with you, I want to give a quick praise report. I had called in to the DAB hotline about two weeks ago (it didn't get played on air so I'll share it here) and asked for prayer for my best friends and myself.
*My best friend of 20 years, Nate, is battling with several issues in his life. He's very stubborn when it comes to his smoking and drinking, mostly due to stress from his mother who he has constant fights over. Nate does live on his own but he gets disability each month and his mother is still in control of his finances and wants to know where he is and what he's doing every single day. So he needs continued prayer for those issues BUT things are looking up...he finally has a girlfriend that is a Christian and seems like she's going to be loyal to him. Nate, to me, is so much happier and stable when he has someone in his life who won't break his heart (and that has happened countless times). Plus, he's going to church with her so that is always a plus as well.
*My other friends, Matt and Erica, have been married for a few years now but they sometimes have issues over minor things like who does housework, etc. They are living in Lafayette after being unjustly kicked out of their Monticello rental but praise God that things seem to be going much better for them right now. Both have good jobs and sound like they are much happier than they were, so continue to pray that their marriage and situation stays strong.
*As for me, I asked for prayer about stable finances. God had directed me to take my friends and I on a trip to Fort Worth, TX to visit TCU, a Christian university that we strongly support, so I had been starting to save up some money. But then things started to get a little tight, and I found myself for days staring at my budget wondering how this was going to work...but my friends and I prayed about it and with the recent news about Ebola affecting the Dallas area, we have been led to a new direction and we are simply going to take a tour of the campuses around our general area in March, 2015. I also got a better grip on when to save money each month from my paychecks and realized I could save less than projected, so God was a big helper in seeing through that.
Thank you all for letting me share my story and my praise report. It is so awesome to be a part of this community and I thank God for Brian and all of you. God bless you all! ~CHRIS, Logansport, IN :-)
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