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Click Here to Contact Todd and Marie
Marie
and Todd's Personal Testimony
September
2001
Five
years ago, I was married to my husband Todd. Neither
one of us had studied the Bible or knew much about living
Christ-honoring lives. Just out of college, I continued
to party with friends while Todd found those things
tiresome and usually stayed home. Our lives grew apart
quickly and it didn't take long before our marriage
could be summed up as one ongoing argument. We argued
so much that I started taking notes to remind me what
we were arguing about. One night I realized that I had
an alcohol problem and I needed to change. As a challenge
to myself, I decided to be a "good person".
I stopped drinking and started going to church.
For
about two months I'd raise my hand in the services to
say I'd been saved for the week. I could usually mold
the message to fit my homemade plan of salvation which
was to be a good person and go to church. Then, a life
long friend who'd recently become a Christian invited
me to go on a ski trip with her Sunday school class.
On the last day of that trip, the teacher asked me if
I knew for sure if I was going to heaven. I said
I was pretty sure because I was going to church and
trying to be good. They showed me from scripture where
it says you do not work your way into heaven--that God
is not going to weigh your good and bad works to see
whether you'll go to heaven or hell. He showed me in
the Bible where it said Salvation is a gift of God not
of works lest any man should boast. I confessed to God
that night that I was a sinner (even when I tried not
to be a sinner) and asked Christ to save me. Then I
asked Christ to save my husband Todd. That was a little
over 4 years ago. Daily life was not perfect after salvation,
but eventually, I learned through studying the Bible
how to live a Christian life and be a good wife.
In
January of this year, Todd's Father was suddenly scheduled
for open heart surgery. We prayed with him before he
had the operation and my church family sent the prayer
list to almost everyone. Todd's Dad pulled through his
triple by-pass very well and Todd was so relieved. The
next Sunday, he wanted to go to church with me! He was
overwhelmed at how many people greeted him and asked
about his Dad. He continued to go to the services and
many in my church family continued to pray faithfully
for his salvation.
A couple
weeks ago, Todd and I decided to sell our home and move.
As I cleaned out old drawers, I came across those notes
I'd written in anger when Todd and I would argue. I
didn't read them or hesitate to toss them in the trash.
I knew what they said and praised God that I didn't
feel that way anymore. We also cleaned out the kitchen
and when I saw all the bottles of alcohol, I asked Todd
if I could pour them out. He agreed! It felt so good
to finally get rid of those! About a week later, my
husband couldn't sleep. He was thinking about all the
things going on in his life and felt completely helpless.
That night at around 1 am on May 7 he asked Christ to
save him. I'm so humbled that God gives us what we don't
deserve. It's incredible--Praise God! Christ's plan
works--I've seen it over and over, but this answer to
prayer is huge and very personal! God continues to work
in Todd's heart and it's exciting to see my husband
want to learn more about his new heavenly Father.
November
9, 2001 Update!
Shortly
after Todd's baptism on October 14 we found out that
we are expecting our first child! We are both so excited
and praising God for giving us this special gift!
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