adoptivemommy

Hello all

As you probably figured out by now, I'm not at a loss for ideas(You know... The "What's your dream thing...)! Case in point:

As I was reading and responding to WasLost's thread, I thought about starting a new thread, this time about everybody's "Damascus" experience. I am, of course, reffering to your salvation story! I'll start...

Long story short(Well, sort'a...), I was born and raised in Romania, a comunist country who's leaders, especially Ceausescu, taught us there is no God. There were undergroung Christian curches, but I didn't know about them untill after the revolution in Dec. 1989. I always believed there was a God, but I didn't know anything about Him personally. When I was 24 I came to America alone. Here I met a very sweet couple, close to my parent's ages, which took me to church and talked to me about the reality of Jesus. I was very blessed to be initiated by a couple who believed in relationship, not religion, which is why I was immediately attracted to Christianinty, especially to the idea of being loved unconditionally, something I had NEVER known. One day the woman I spoke of, whom I was by then calling "mom", came to my house and prayed the prayer of salvation with me. I accepted Jesus sincerely, but I did not start to change any of my behaviour until 2 years later when my then boyfriend took me to Reno for a thing his company had there. Because of the nature of the trip, I spent my mornings alone, so one morning I just went down stairs to the hotel lobby which was a casino. There I saw a bunch of very elderly people just sitting in front of those slot machines with their cigarettes hanging from their yellowed fingers and their ghostly pale faces and sunken eyes hoplesly watching for that winning combination which never came. It scared me and right there in that lobby I looked up and audibly said: "There has got to be somehing better that this to life! I don't want to be like that when I'm old". To this day I don't know why God chose that particular way to shake me. When I came back from that trip, I said goodby forever to my boyfriend and the life style I was leading, called my spiritual mom, went to church that Sunday, rededicated my life to Jesus and the rest, as they say, is history! That was in the summer of 1995! Because of God's grace, I haven't looked back! So, there you have it! My "Damascus" story. What's yours?

Laura

adoptivemommy

What, no takers? Chicken? L.O.L

Laura

Theophilus

My Damascus road trip took 16 years. I was persuaded into going to church in 1984. After about 4 months I felt compelled to get baptized. The baptism left me feeling nothing but wet. After about 6 months of trying realy hard to be the Christian they said I was I gave up. I became the defintave prodigal son for 15 years.

In the spring of 1998 the lord began calling on me. I got involved with a spring leage soft ball team . After a season of o for ten they were looking for a new coach. (Not that I had the least bit of experience) I had never coached anything and hadn't played soft ball since the 6th grade .
But their former coach was my nephew and he and they wanted me to give it a try. More to the credit of God and the team we took second place the next league season.
But that wasn't what got me. What got me was the one young woman on the team walked up to me during practice and said.(remember this like it was yesterday.) "Could you please watch your language ? We have christians on this team and they don't like hearing that kind of talk". It hit me like a rock!!! Man, like they sneaked up on me and got me when I wasn't looking.
About half way through the season a couple of them started inviting me to church. their reasoning and I had no defence against it was that a Christian soft ball team coach should at least be going to church. By the end of the season I was attending every Sunday. By Christmas I was having bible studies in my home and thinking of going to some bible collage and becoming a preacher or pastor.

It was in the Spring of 1999( April 16th I believe) that I got up one morning and all alone setting at the dining room table I deticated myself and all that I had to the Lord. The Lord took me at my word for in the spring of 2001 I lost my job and that summer we lost nearly every thing owned. Every door closed to me except Myrtle Beach South Carolina. Beach front in the Bible belt I guess if your going to do an internship with Jesus there are worse places one could be sent. Churches on every corner and more pews than one could set on in a life time. I was like a sponge ,soaking up the word from every where I could get it. Churches? in the 4 1/2 years down there I attended nearly 100 differant churches. Spent countless hours in bible studies and listening to radio pastors on One place.com. Christian radio, the only radio I listened to. Internet christian forums and websites. TV ministries on Sundays after church. In 2006 we moved back to my home town in the same old station wagon we moved down there in with a 5x 8 u haul trailer holding everything we had on this earth.
Since moviing back we have been blessed in sooo many ways. Jesus guides our lives now. We do what we can for who we can. I currently tend to a small group of believers and seekers that for what ever reason can't or don't go to the orthodox Churches and sometimes visit differant churches in the area.
This were I'm at and how I come to be here.

My (as you call it) Damascus Road
So. . . if seem a bit unorthodox at least you know how I got this way and why

Sincerely His
Cliff

adoptivemommy

This is really great! I love reading those true stories. Beats E "true" Hollywood stories any day! Thanks guys, I appreciate you 2 being the first to take the plunge. So, who's next?

L

Boanerges

HI MOM , I first met Jesus when I was a little boy as I prayed to receive Jesus as my Lord and Saviuor after watching a Billy Grahm crusade at a nieghbors house- I new nothing about church or God I only new He was real and He touched me- at 12 I was given a copy of Hal Lindseys's The Late Great Planet Earth and it stirred my heart to know God again-But my parents weren't into the "church" thing and I had nobody around to help me or teach me so I went my own way. As I grew up I found myself immersed in the whole drug scene and booze- I could drink a case of beer and not really get loaded- I lived for speed and that I was the greatest racer that ever lived- no kidding- my life was a wild ride-then I met Him again. I was feeling empty and alone (although I had plenty of friends) and I knelt down beside my bed that night to pray- God became so real to me- He was so beautiful I simply did not want to do drugs anymore-I haven't drank a drop of booze since and I did not have the "need for speed" anymore - in one instant all my desires were totally change.I was recently married but things were starting to go rough- my wife was young and was still into the "partying scene" and here I was a completely different person than the one she married. She started going out all night without me and I became very angry- I was a young christian and I didn't know how to deal with the emotions I was feeling- in fact one night I was so angry I took a hammer and nailed the doors of our house shut from the inside- no kidding- well thank God for God- we really did love each other (that's why it hurts so bad when things aren't right)- and after much pain and suffering things began to change- that was 23 years ago - my wife and I went to the local Baptist Church and togeather we commited our lives to Christ- I am married to the most wonderful and Godly woman the Lord has ever put on this green earth and I can now see the faithful hand of our God bringing us to a place of breaking- a place of total surrender and though life still has it's ups and downs I wouldn't trade one minute of it- God's love and joy are awesome, the more I look at Him the more beautiful He becomes and the more of His grace flows into my life- I honestly can't get enough of Him- the Lord has led us to a number of churches over the years and I can truly say we have learned something different at each one- we are now attending an awesome church and God is moving in incredible ways- wow what a rush- drugs, booze, speed, etc.- who needs any of that or as a wise man once said "there is no high like the Most High" : :