My name is Debbie. I have known the Lord for well over 20 years - at times, very intimately. I have to say, those were the best days of my walk with Him. God delivered me once from alcohol abuse back in 1995 - overnight, completely. I was as clean as if I had never touched a drop of alcohol. Like an idiot, after three years of freedom, I went back to it. It started slowly but, within two years, I was completely enslave to the sin of alcohol. This time around, I believed I could quit on my own. The more I tried to quit, the worse I drank. Many mornings I went to work with a hangover and probably still had alcohol in my system. Still, I continued to drink. When I would drink, it was like Russian roulette. Some nights I'd be nice and OK; other nights I would wind up starting an argument with my husband and hurt him deeply. Then the next morning I'd do the "I'm never gonna do that again" routine. I hated what I had become, and I would cry out to God in the middle of the night among the headaches, diarrhea, shakes, night sweats, fear and panic, that God had abandoned me this time for sure! That was a very scary place. In the morning, I would be nauseated and have the shakes but continued to drink. It was a vicious cycle. I could go maybe three days without drinking, and then, bam! I'd make up it. The deciding factor for me was I had my blood work done and my triglycerides had risen 96 points in nine months! Triglycerides elevate when there is an excessive amount of alcohol being abused. A friend of mine told me about Setting Captives Free. I thought about it for awhile, but thought, "I can do this on my own." So, again, I tried it on my own. The last time I drank was March 31st 2007. That night, I started doing things that I would NEVER DO, sober. April 1st 2007, I started the Setting Captives Free New Wine program and have not touched a drop of alcohol in 59 days! During the first three weeks of the program, I was very sick! Turns out, my body actually went through an alcohol detox. I wouldn't wish that on anybody. But now I feel better physically than I have in years. It has not been easy; so if you are here for a quick fix, it ain't gonna happen. It takes hard work and dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ. I know now beyond a shadow of a doubt alcohol is poison to me. It is only by the grace of God that I do not drink. Without God, I cannot win the battle. God has set me free for the last time. I have learned through the course that I can do nothing apart from God. My sin is against Him. When I began to realize how much my sin hurt Jesus, I really began to feel bad. I repented A LOT. I not only repented but turned completely away from alcohol. During the course I have had four MAJOR TEMPTATIONS TO DRINK. One being the suicide death of our next-door neighbor, my husband's best friend. My mentor, Carol Gorski, was instrumental during that time. I could totally feel her prayers. It was so good to have her to share through emails about the struggles I was facing. Together with the Lord, I was able to overcome every obstacle Satan would try to throw at me. I love waking up in the morning. When I was drinking, I hated looking in the mirror because I hated the person there. Now I look in and say "Good morning, Jesus!" God has given me a hope and a future! I'm enjoying my life not drinking and my relationship with the Lord is coming along. I'm hearing His voice again. My prayer life has become stronger and life all around is so much prettier. Thank God for Setting Captives Free, Carol Gorski, my mentor and her prayers and encouragement, Erin, my accountability partner, and the Lord Jesus Christ! God bless all of you! Debbie

My name is Sonya. I have been working on the New Wine course at Setting Captives Free for the last 59 days and Donna is my mentor. For 17 years I lived in bondage to drugs and alcohol. I was oblivious to the fact I was heading down a path of destruction and ruin. I was living in hopeless despair and I placed all my trust in cocaine as well as many other mind-altering drugs. I remember trying to convince myself that I was in control of the drugs rather than being controlled, but the countless poor choices I made proved otherwise. I pushed away loved ones, walked away from a rewarding career and overdosed on more than one occasion. I was sexually and physically abused from the age of four until age 17. I cursed God and I thought even if He did exist I wanted no part of Him in my life. How could a loving God allow an innocent child to be repeatedly tortured, and not intervene? This question was an ever-playing record in my mind. I had no self-worth and gradually drugs became my comfort blanket, my way of escape. They numbed my pain and kept everything suppressed for a season. This began my life of drug abuse. I had a cut-throat, selfish personality, and sin was rampant in my life. I was lured into any form of darkness that was made available to me. But God... little did I know that God had better and bigger plans for my life. In spite of my unworthiness, God rescued me from the pit of hell that I had been living in for so long. In August of 2003, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and He gave me a sense of peace and security that I had never known. Jesus saved me, not because I deserved it but because of His grace and mercy. After salvation, something changed on the inside of me and I slowly began to trust God and trust was an emotion that was foreign to me. After all those years of denouncing God, He still loved me and embraced me. Today I know that Jesus is my advocate and my vindicator and in Him I will place my trust. One assurance that scripture gives us is we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and, throughout the New Wine course at Setting Captives Free, I have witnessed this over and over again. I know that I don't have to live in bondage to drugs any longer. God wants me to walk in freedom and the last 59 days have certainly been invaluable to me. My mentor, Donna, has supported me wholeheartedly and it's comforting to know that God used others that share in some of my same struggles to help me. What a privilege to know that God uses unlikely vessels and unlikely situations for good. I have learned the protection that comes with accountability and I now know that I don't have to be an overcomer on my own. God placed me in the midst of good counsel and I am determined to walk in freedom from my drug addiction and I am devoted to helping others gain victory, too. I pray my testimony will be used to encourage others. God bless you. Sonya

First off, thank you Jesus! Thank you, Linda, my mentor, and Setting Captives Free. I have been a Christian for 20 years, but about seven years ago I bought into the lie that drinking a glass of red wine daily was good for your heart. The enemy knows I'm an all or nothing kinda girl. So I started down a road and thought I had control but, before I knew it, it had control of me. The more I tried to stop, the more I became rebellious. I continued to serve God through leading Bible studies and many other ministries. But I wrestled with the chains and the guilt of hurting God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. This year's study was the book of Ephesians. Well, when I came to the verse, "Don't get drunk with wine," I knew I couldn't teach it with truth. God led me to this program and gave me the power to stop. I went before the ladies at my table and I confessed. They were shocked, but very loving and proud that I would speak the truth. So now I'm telling everyone I know and hoping God will use me to bring others to admit and be set free also! I am forever grateful to God and this ministry for finally bringing me out of captivity! Rene

My name is Sherman and I'm 36. I was introduced to pot when I was in 11th grade in High School. I began drinking shortly after. For 18 years I abused pot and alcohol. Then I was introduced to cocaine, and the pot stopped. My life was a life of lies and deception. I was deceived into thinking that I could some day just stop. After all, I am a born-again Christian, and God can do anything. But I was continually abusing drugs and the grace of God. I got married in 1996 and, after a few months of my coming home drunk, my wife was awakened to my problem. I tried to hide it from her all the time; I was sneaking around to get high. She would confront me about it, but I lied about it and denied it for many years. Over and over again I would say, "You're right, I was using drugs. Please forgive me and I will not do it again" while I had a stash of pot somewhere hidden. I was selfish and not really taking life as seriously as I should have been. My sin brought me to jails and rehabs. Finally I died and realized my life is not my own; I need to live to glorify Christ. I was hurting my family and my God. I was living a double life for a long time. You see I was brought up in a Christian home. I was the so-called "Preacher's Son" and I held up that reputation well with all my wrongs. I have been going to church all my life. I was blinded for some time by Satan who wants my life. I would receive the seed of the Word and go out and do my own thing. The righteous man falls seven times in a day, but gets back up. I knew that I had to get back up. Come just as you are. A broken and contrite heart He will not despise. I'm free from drugs and alcohol now, by God's grace. My wife and two kids are enjoying life with a brand new me now that I've been clean and sober for two months. I stay in the Word of God and around the people of God. I pray and worship God all the time. I love and serve those around me. I think it's important for me to stay in a mindset that I need Jesus and He is the one who is going to satisfy all my needs.

My mentor is Brian Reif, to whom I am deeply grateful. As a 54-year-old man who started drinking in his teenage years, I am truly amazed at where I am at this point in my life. My father was an alcoholic who quit drinking before I was born because my mother had threathened to leave him if he didn't. From the time I was born to when my mom died when I was 17, my father never touched a drop of alcohol. After mom died, my father was totally lost. He managed to work hard every day, but every night and weekend would be devoted to burying his sorrow and sense of loss in a bottle. Dad died two years after mom. As much as he had loved mom and seemingly couldn't tolerate life without her, I know that if he had Christ in his life, his life could have ended much differently. I say all this because, for a long time, I realized that alcohol had turned from a fun pastime to be shared with friends to an addiction. I tried to conquer it for years, mostly in my own power, with on and off success. Although I have been a believer for a long time and also tried AA, it wasn't until I found Setting Captives Free that I finally found the freedom for which I was searching and yearning. The element that was taught in this course that made all the difference to me is the plain truth that alcohol abuse is a sin. It separates us from our walk with God and hinders our relationship with Him. Realizing this and knowing through experience that no matter how hard I tried and how honest my intentions were, I was helpless in my own power. I have totally surrenedered my sin of drinking to God's grace, repenting of it and thanking God for never giving up on me. I have abstained from alcohol for different periods before, but am now totally free of its grasp because it is now not I who live, but Christ who lives within me. People for all time have wondered what is the secret of life? It simply is to put God first. To love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your stenghth. In II Corinthians 5:17 it says, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." There are no possessions, or even a relationship like my dad had with my mom that can endure and bring joy forever outside of our relationship with our God. Praise and glory to Him! Bernie

My mentor is Linda Aulino, and I am so thankful to her for all her support and encouragement. I was 18 when I became addicted to meth. I was "just trying it once" with a couple of my so-called friends, but that’s not what ended up happening. About six months after becoming addicted to meth, I found out I was pregnant. I quit the day I found out, threw everything away and said I would never touch it again. I told my family I was pregnant and, after seeing how much I had already disappointed them, I didn’t want to add to that disappointment, so I didn’t confess my addiction. I had my baby in August of 2005, and was baptized in March of 2006. Because this was unconfessed sin, it was very easy for Satan to use it to get me back on his side. About four months ago, I started using again, never thinking about how much it hurt my family, my son, and all the people who loved me. But most of all, I wasn’t thinking about how much I was hurting God. I saw myself getting bad, and tried over and over again to quit gradually. I even asked God to help me to quit, but I would give Him guidelines like... "Help me to quit, but don’t let me get caught" or "Just don’t let me get hurt" or "Don’t let me get into trouble." Fortunately, that’s not how it happened. I finally broke down and asked Him to help me no matter what it took. My friend told my mom about it almost a week later and, instead of denying it, I broke down and confessed it to her and to the elder at my church. He recommended that I try the Setting Captives Free website and the New Wine course. I signed up that night when I got home, and have been clean for 63 days. Since I turned to Him, He took away my withdrawals (I only had a headache one day and was tired for a while), and I have not had the desire for it that I thought I would have. I thank God that He gave me people who love and care about me, for leading me to this website. Aubrey

I don't remember the first time I drank alcohol, but I was 14 or 15 years old. Of course, those first couple of times were "fun." I was with my friends, and we were just having a good time. Or at least, that is what I thought at the time. It was a lie. If only I had known that this would be the start of more than 20 years of alcohol and drug abuse. that it would cause me to lose my emotional capacity to truly love others and what a negative impact it would have on my life, those around me, and my responsibilities as a husband and father. It was a life of infidelity, drinking and driving, and overall risky behavior in every aspect of my life. By all accounts, I should not be alive. Unfortunately, simple words do not describe the absolute mental torture that alcohol abuse inflicts on a person. The best single word that can describe it for me is: destruction. I destroyed my life and wallowed in that life for years.

When I was 17 years old I had a brief moment of clarity in my life. I had run into a bad situation due to drugs, and ended up moving away from home to live with my grandmother. I was introduced to church, Jesus, and given a chance to change my life, which I did, briefly. That foundation of truth stuck with me through my entire life. Once the seed was there, I could never forget. God was always in the back of my mind and seemed to be tugging at my heart. I simply chose not to listen. I was sure that I had all the answers I needed and I could run my life and be okay. Twenty years later, I now know this was the biggest misconception I could have imagined!

After about two years of drinking and driving almost every day, I finally could not take it anymore. Mentally, I was a wreck. I know there was something more to life than being drunk every day; that there was a way to be free from a life of unhappiness. Of course, I am talking about that pull that God has on one's heart. He never let go of me, even though I ignored Him. I knew it was time for me to give into that pull. It seemed like my only hope. I admitted everything to my wife. She wanted me to go into rehab or see a psychologist. She knew I was drinking, but did not know the extent of it until then. After so many years of drunkenness and unfaithfulness, she was at the end of her rope with me. Who can blame her? I told her that I needed God, and I am convinced God led me to Setting Captives Free.

As I write this I celebrate 59 days of no alcohol! If you are not someone living in the sin of drunkenness, that may not seem like much, but 59 days of freedom is pretty amazing. God is real; the redemptive power of Jesus is unmistakable. I think more clearly than I have in years. I look back at my life and am confused as to how I stayed married, how I maintained a job, and how I even stayed alive. God has made changes in my life that are astounding. My marriage is better; my life is easier - yes, in 59 short days! I see the love that Jesus has for me, the sacrifice that He made for me, the changes that He has made in me, and I can do nothing but be thankful. My life has been saved by Jesus. Every day I read the Bible; every day I pray, and every day I walk in victory over sin because God has rescued me. My old life is gone. I am no longer a drunk. I am a Christian. God has restored my family and my life - yes, in 59 days! My words may sound simple, but the words describe the difference between dying and living. I am finally living again, thanks to the grace of God. Jesus truly is the "living water." He provides something that fulfills you that you cannot obtain anywhere else. He fills that void that you tried to fill with alcohol. I now look forward to the rest of my life with God. Shawne

My New Wine mentor's name is Bill. When I came to this course, I was already saved but had let my sinful nature run rampant to the point where I thought I didn't want to live anymore. I had allowed myself to fall back into slavery to crack cocaine, spending $7000 in the course of three weeks, abandoning my wife and three children for days at a time. "It's all over; nobody will want you back" is what I allowed Satan to make me believe, driving me into a state of depression and self-pity. My wife said we were through and was talking to a lawyer. My employer was wondering where I was and wanted answers, and I was so ashamed of what I done that I just wanted it all to end. It was at this, my lowest point, that God's Spirit rose up in me just enough to remind me that He takes us just as we are. I grabbed this one moment of divine clarity and finally, probably for the first time, came to the end of myself. I cried out to Jesus to help me and emptied myself before Him of all the things I had done, sorry not just for the consequences of my actions, but also for sinning against Him. I prayed Psalm 51 (my favorite) and promised God that I would turn away from my sins and follow Him. Although I knew I didn't deserve it, I felt His hand on me again and was able to find the Setting Captives Free ministry and New Wine program with the help of a good man in Christ. The first days were not easy for me, as I had to confront many shortcomings in my walk with Jesus and perform many "radical amputations" in my life. I believe that by being completely open and honest about my situation with my mentor, Bill, he was able to guide me through these early moments of "white knuckling" my way through the course and allow me to begin to look forward to each new lesson. I was now back in the fellowship at my church, had asked many to be accountability partners, and had begun to repair my relationship with my wife--not by trying to manipulate the situation or making promises, but by being patient with her and letting her see the changes that God was bringing about in me. The days turned into weeks and now, as I near the completion of the New Wine course, my life is not only back on track but I am truly living as the "new creation" God tells us we are when we come to Him. My wife and I are not just back together, but are walking hand in hand in the Light of the Spirit, pursuing a depth in our relationship with God and each other that is awe-inspiring to me! I confessed to my employer fully of what I had done, and they love me, want to see me succeed, and are fully behind me. By taking the knowledge I have gained from this course and getting it into my heart and not just my brain, I now walk in faith of the salvation Jesus Christ gave me when He died for my sins. I owe a great measure of gratitude to the Setting Captives Free ministry and to my mentor, Bill. I am confident that by continuing to follow the principles described in this course that I will be successful in becoming the man God always has wanted me to be, able to disciple to others about the victory in Jesus that awaits any of us who come to Him humbly and repentant, willing to be led by His Spirit. I am the wretch described in "Amazing Grace," once lost but now found, once blinded by addiction, but now seeing clearly the path of ultimate victory that leads me to heaven and eternal life with my Lord and Savior. The Setting Captives Free ministry helped put me back on this path and will do the same for anyone else who will follow the teachings it provides. Thank you, and God bless the work of this ministry. Bob

My mentor is Jeff Perry

My testimony begins when I was in my twentys that's about the age that I started using drugs, etc., to help me overcome feeling and emotions though I never got addicted to anything until later in my life, however it was then that I started straying from the Lord and relaying on other things to help me... In 1998 I got seriously addicted to pain pills and after a family intervention I went into a rehab facility and after a 30 day stay there I went into a residential recovery center where I learned how the world views recovery from addiction. I stayed clean for about two years and then I started doing the pills again off and on... during this time I did attend church but I was determined that I would have it "my way" are no way... I knew during this time that I should be honoring God by doing what he wanted and not what I wanted but I turned my back on God... Then in March 2004 I lost my job of twelve years and that begin a down hill spiral.. Instead of telling others about my job loss and the extereme pain it caused and instead of turing to God to help me through this I turned back to the pills and in no time I was once again addicted... I spent all the money I had saved and in July of 2004 I found myself broke!! I went to my family, parents and sister who got me in contact with the director of One Way Ministries at our Church ( First Baptist WOodstock) it was then that I begin my journey back to the Lord..

It was determined that I would benefit from checking into the residential program that our church sponosors. However God had other plans.. One week before I was to move in the director of the program had decidede that they were not going to take in any new residents due to a restructing of the program.. I was not discouraged because somehow I already knew that it was not going to be... I was attending the weekly support meeting at church and had already begun to reconcile with the Lord.. It was at this time that I was on the internet and I went to the Southern Baptist web site and found Setting Captives Free. What a joy the new wine course was for me.. It taught me how to truly repent for my sins and how to stay close to the Lord. It also reinforced what I was learning from my weekly church meetings and that is that addiction is a sin and that it's only through a Christ centered program that one becomes truly free. I then begin attending Sunday worship service morning, noon, and night and was just beginning to taste what joy the Lord can give you...

Today I have never been happier in my life and can honestly say that I now know and have found where freedom comes from and that is the Lord.. I thank God everyday for what he has done and is doing for me and I now understand the scripture "Remain in me and I will remain in you.. How wonderfully true.. After all these years of running and trying to figure out what I was suppose to be doing in life I've finally realized that I'm suppose to be doing what God wants me to do and not anything else...

My name is Cindy Kennedy. I’m 48 years old and am free from the habitual sin of drunkenness and drug addiction. All the glory goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My story begins at a somewhat early age, as I was 12 when I first started to abuse my prescription medications and, from there, street drugs came into play. I have been trying to run from the hurtful past events of my young life – the death of a brother, sexual abuse, and physical abuse. I just wanted to feel anything other that who I was. What started out working for me ended up trapping me in a lifestyle of secrets and shame. I tried different programs to stop using, but always went back to the lifestyle that I knew best. But now, through this course, I have found a strength I didn’t know I could have. That strength comes from the one who lives within me...he is the reason I am free. By coming to Christ with a true sorrow for the sins I have done against him and his name, he has cleansed me and made me a new person. The forgiveness I have experienced has lifted the guilt and shame and is taking the pain of the past away. It is not an overnight thing; it’s a lifetime change. And, through him, I will be complete, and his plans for me will be done. Today, the relationship I have with Christ is a freindship that surpasses all others. He is my Friend and King. The love I have found in him can’t compare to any other. His words ring in my ears; I love getting to know him more each day. Thanks to this course, I have been able to get out of the chains that bound me. From this course and appling what I have learned and the mentor has suggested, I have been set free from the bondage, the trap the enemy caught me in. I thank God for guiding me to this site.

"My mentor has been Henry. My story of addiction began at the age of 13, when I smoked my first joint of marijuana. It ended a few months ago when I injected my last dose of dialudid into my veins. In between those 31 years, there is not one of God’s commandments that I have not broken. Even with that said, and all the pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, sexual promiscuity, two broken marriages, the violent death of our son in our home, my diagnosis of leukemia, and a host of other things that have been allowed into my life, God is still relentlessly pursuing me with all of His heart. I found myself turning to God for my salvation while living in the midst of a drug culture that consumed my every thought. I lived for drugs of almost any kind. But on March 18, 1983, Christ came into my heart and changed me from the inside out. What I once loved passionately, I now despised. Within two weeks, I was married for the second time, and we packed everything we had into a U-Haul and moved from the city to the mountains. Cutting ourselves off from the lifestyle in which I had lived was the only way I could possibly survive. Several years went by, only to find myself diagnosed with Leukemia and on narcotics. Wow. That was my passion a few years ago. Now I have easy access to them, even from a "Christian" doctor in my church. Sliding right into my unprotected back door, was Satan himself. I let my guard down and took my focus off God. Very quietly and discreetly, Satan began to tear down my life. Months and years passed without my recognizing the bondage to which I had become enslaved. Even as my wife struggled with alcoholism and drug addictions, I didn’t see it in myself, but denied it. I was in control - or at least that is what the drugs led me to believe. Today, I know that I truly was not in control. The enemy of all, Satan himself, was at the helm of my life, and I didn’t even know it. September 11, 2001 is a date that our country will not soon forget. However September 12, 2001, has such greater significance to my life. It was on this day our 14-year-old son, Morgan, died from a fatal gunshot wound. That took my breath away, and all that I had inside of me seemed to disappear. It never got better after that. I watched my wife struggle with her addictions while still denying my own. Our communication became almost non-existent, and the atmosphere in the home was cold with hardly a kind word ever spoken to each other and no intimacy whatsoever. We grew farther and farther apart as we both allowed Satan to influence the choices in our lives. It reached the point that we didn’t care anymore about anything except ourselves, rather than each other. Last year, I was kindly asked by the court to leave my house. I was all alone and miserable, but still abusing the drug. ‘What else will it take to break this man,’ Satan wondered. Well that was it but, when I was finally broken, I turned to God instead. Thankfully, He was still there and, with His arms opened wide, He has received me back. He is nourishing my heart and my soul and transforming my life into something pleasing to Him. I was introduced to this ministry of Setting Captives Free by my pastor, a trained biblical counselor whom God has used as we see Christ living through him in his daily life. I may have lost my marriage, my son, my health, and many years of my life, but I am here to tell you that if you feel the tugging of Jesus on your heart, let Him have it. There is nothing else worth living for. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, knowing that you do not want to deceive yourself. Believe me, for I have tried all that this world has to offer, and there is no lasting satisfaction from anything except for the love that God our Creator, our Father, and our Lord has for us. If you are considering enrolling in one of the courses at Setting Captives Free, don’t hesitate. Another day wasted on a life without Jesus is truly a day lost and wasted. The lessons will go by fast, and with Jesus at work in your life, you will be transformed into a new creation. Once I started feasting of God’s Word, and the enriching, soul-searching and revealing lessons of this ministry, I could not stop the change in my life. May God truly set you free, too." John

I began drinking alcohol when I was quite young. My parents drank frequently, often partying on the weekends. From the time that I was thirteen or so, I began hanging around with older teenagers and others who had access to alcohol. Alcohol had been pretty much a continuous part of my life, without being much of an issue, until I was about 35 years old. At that time, I began drinking with greater frequency and getting drunk more often. This alarmed both my wife and me, so I started attending AA meetings. It was suggested to me there that treatment was a good option for me. So, I attended an outpatient clinic for several months and stopped drinking. At the end of that period, I was convinced that I had the "alcoholism" gene. I became active spiritually, received Jesus as my Savior, and attended church. But I still secretly longed to drink.

After 5 or so years of abstinence from alcohol, I took a job in another state. Part of the reason I did this was because I wanted to start drinking again, and knew that I couldn’t do that and keep the lifestyle that I had. So I moved, and returned to daily, heavy drinking. I tried as much as possible to conceal the amount I was drinking from my wife. This continued for another 10 or so years. Several years ago, I got drunk, and became verbally abusive to my wife. This alarmed me, so I started going to AA meetings again and pretending that I was not drinking, although I was. I travel constantly for my work. So, despite telling my wife that I was abstaining, I would just get drunk when I was on the road. And, whenever she was working or not around, I would sneak drinks on the weekends. This abruptly ended when I passed out behind the wheel of a car and smashed into a parked car. Thank God no one was injured, but this was a new low for me. Yet, that wasn’t enough, and I continued to drink. This pattern of drinking while away continued until Christmas Eve of last year, when I visited the local tavern and got really drunk again. When I got home, my wife was really upset with me and disgusted. I agreed to get counselling and abstain. I was really sick, and suffering with this at this point. So, on Christmas day, I stayed sober.

The day after Christmas I visited a Christian counselor who I have been seeing on and off for the past 15 years. He recommended Setting Captives Free. During my visit to him, I felt very strongly the Spirit of God both encouraging and convicting me. That was now 62 days ago. The first or second lesson, the one that required getting rid of hidden bottles, was, for me, the decision point. I had a perfectly good bottle of relatively expensive vodka that I had purchased prior to Christmas. I (reluctantly) poured the whole thing down the sink, said a prayer, and finished that day’s lesson. Since then, I have had a few bouts of temptation to drink, but I have not done so. Instead, I have had the overwhelming experience of the presence and grace of God, for which I am so grateful. I am thankful that I no longer have to live a secret life and I am learning to enjoy drinking "living water" rather than the poison to which I was enslaved. I want to thank Bryan Reif for his counsel and encouragement during the course. Should this testimony wind up being read by someone who is struggling with addiction of any sort, I want to say, "Our God IS an awesome God. He has more than enough power to deliver you from any bind in which you find yourself, and He wants us to be free. I am certain that following these lessons honestly, and applying the recommendations given, will lead you from whatever has you enslaved." Steve

May I open with giving praise to my Lord for his saving grace and mercy. I do not deserve his forgiveness. I would like to thank my mentor, Debbie, who has faithfully supported me in her prayers. My friendship with alcohol began forty years ago. It started with just an occasional drink, but over time became a habitual daily routine. It did not cause me any guilt until I accepted the Lord as my personal Savior nine years ago. Understanding that heavy drinking was sin in God’s eyes gave me the desire to quit, but not the determination that I needed to accomplish it successfully. I failed miserably with every new attempt to quit. Two years was the longest time that I was able to abstain, but then it crept back into my daily routine again. I knew that I was headed for destruction and condemnation, but did not know how to use the Lord’s strength to rid myself of this sinful lifestyle. Satan had this stronghold in place for forty years. The Lord led me to Setting Captives Free through doing one of Charles Stanley’s online Bible studies. The direction that I received from the New Wine course and the encouragement from Debbie set me on the correct course toward Jesus. The Lord has broken the chains of alcohol. His blood has provided me with the means to crucify this sin once and for all. My life has been changed and all of the glory goes to God. The Lord had sent light into my life after living in darkness for the better part of it. Jesus said "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12. Carol