I attend First Baptist Church of Thurmont

When I was 5, my parents divorced and I moved in with my grandparents. They didn’t have transportation and didn’t attend church. They were farmers, so Sundays were no different than any other day of the week. Work had to be done. So, they never went to church or spoke of God.

From the 1st grade to my 12th grade I was moved around a lot. In 12 years of school, I attended 9 different schools. My childhood was always unstable. My father re-married and there was no room for a stepchild. My mom remarried and could not afford a child.

My step-father died after several years of marriage and she never re-married after that. She did live with a man for 17 years. At the age of 15, I moved in with them for the next 2 years. This was the most stable that my life had ever been. In those 2 years my "step-father", as he’ll always be, taught me life in the real world. He was a Drill Sergeant in the army and a great father figure.

I came from a family of drinkers. The few short summers that I spent with my father and step-mother were mostly spent in a bar with them drinking and gambling. When I moved in with my mom, she thought it would be better for me to spend one night a month with her in a bar rather than I spend it with my friends. Of course, to a teenage kid that doesn’t know better, this was cool.

I graduated in 1976 from Frederick High School, and spent that summer with my father working in an Ole Time Sawmill. I met my 1st wife that summer also. I was the typical teenager that thought he knew everything and fell in love. She ended up pregnant the spring of 1977.

At the age of 19, I was married and had a son. Life was hard and we had to grow up fast, and we did what we had to do to make it.

When I was 26, my aunt started sharing with me about this church that she attended and the plan of salvation. I went to church for the next 2 Sundays and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. With no church background this made complete sense to me. My wife also came to know Christ. We spent the next six months, going to church. It was an exciting time in our lives, but neither of us had any background in going to church and with life hitting us; we soon slipped away and started living life as we had always known it.

We divorced in 1986, and my son lived with his mom. I spend most of my time working, drinking and doing drugs.

I meet my 2nd wife, in August of 2000. I meet her while working in Nashville, where she lived at the time. I still lived in Frederick, MD. Living 650 miles apart, you have attendance to spend a lot of time on the phone, and little time together. This worked well because it allowed us time to get to know one another and each others beliefs. When we decided to get married in June of 2001, we moved to Maryland. Sherrie insisted on finding a church to attend. We tried several before coming to First Baptist Church of Thurmont. Small in size, but large in church family. We have a wonderful church family.

I come from very little musically back ground. I played in the high school band and then played some with friends but nothing serious. Our church lost their drummer and I had a desire to try at the ripe old age of 45. It’s amazing how God uses something you love to do, to get you involved. Now, I am the regular drummer and Bill Offutt is the bass player in our praise band at church. The opportunity came up for me to play congas/bongos with the Promise Band ….. So here I am.

When you open your heart to God, he will use you in many ways. Feel free to ask me about how God uses me in other ways. I love to share how God has changed my life in so many different ways.

To God be all the glory.

Proverbs 3:3 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not of your own understanding"