New Wine Testimony:

My mentor was Leigh Deacon at first -then Pamela Arnone...my thanks to both ladies. Where to start? It has taken me about two months to come back to day 59 and write my testimony! When I first saw that was what was asked for on day 59, I panicked. I was afraid I would let God down. What if I wrote how He has healed me then went out and fell off the wagon?? Of course, it was just the enemy throwing his arrows into my mind...and so as Ephesians 6 says, I am using my shield of faith to ward them off. And this faith does not come from nowhere. It is based on fact, not feeling. I have met God and He, the Creator of the Universe, is my best friend! I started smoking cigarettes when I was 12, and got drunk for the first time not long after. I have gotten suspended from school, slept with strangers, been in police cells, and have lain in the gutter many times, drunk and vulnerable to assault. God has been through all of this with me. He has protected me and kept me safe, event though He has hated what I was doing. About a month before January of this year, I decided to stop drinking. I binged the week leading up to the 1st of Jan. As it was I ended up going out New Year's Eve and got home at 2 o'clock in the afternoon the next day. On Jan 2nd, I gave up drinking. But this time was different. I did not go through the physical withdrawal symptoms I had in the past. I did not crave alcohol. I began the Setting Captives Free course (praise God for the course and the people who posted it on a Christian group site) and that helped me each day by providing me with SCRIPTURE...God spoke directly to me through this course. Today I am over 6 months sober..AND over 5 months smoke-free - and I never planned that! One day I discovered I no longer had any craving for cigarettes. The longest I had ever not smoked in 21 years was 2 months, 2 weeks and 2 days! All glory to the one who is carrying me on His mercy and grace...