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My name is Tony. I was born in North Carolina and atthe age of 1 1/2 moved to the suburbs of Chicago. I was raised without anyformal teaching in the area of religion, quite the contrary. My parents werepretty secular in their views and also quite liberal in their thinking. Theybelieved in the Alderian concept of child rearing, which is to say they letme get away with murder.( not literally)... By the time I reached 12 or 13 I was pretty much classifiedas a juvenile delinquent. Though there weren't many repercussions becauseI never got caught. This activity ranged from stealing cars to burglary tovandalism. And most of the time I got away with it. At the same time I starteddrinking and doing drugs. Most of the escapades I pulled were when I wasdrunk, high or bored. Usually all three. I started drinking alcoholicallyfrom day one. One wasn't enough and neither were thirteen. I drugged thesame way. Starting out with pot then speed, downers, PCP, coke then LSD.Usage was recreational (or so I thought) at first, then I started dealingto keep my habit costs down. By the time I was sixteen I was dealing a poundevery two or three days and dropping six hits of blotter at a time just tocatch a buzz. At seventeen  I totalled my mothers VW and went throughthe windshield. I also was of  legal age to join the service. My thoughtwas they had better, cheaper drugs overseas, my parents thought it wouldinstill some responsibility in me. (They signed the papers.) After four years overseas, alot of busts and subsequent urinalysis,I was out. With two years to go in the reserves I went back home, a somewhatbetter person, but still having all the answers to my life. I got marriedmoved to Colorado to go to school. Still drinking as much as those aroundme (strange, huh?) and smoking alot of dope. After my first DUI I went to "AlcoholEducation 1" and caught my first glimpse of my problem, but I could takecare of that since I now KNEW. After two more DUIs in the next threeyears I lost my marriage, my house, two cars, two dogs and threecats. (the Lord knew better than to bless me with kids at this time). I was attending group therapy by this time pretty regularly, 2 or3 times a week. All the while knowing that I could handle anything else thatcame my way. I was attending AA meetings 5 times a week, but since I didn'tget arrested for DUIs when I was getting high, I figured that was still OK.Then I slipped and started drinking again. The Lord was swift in His interventionbecause I received my fourth DUI and was sentenced under Colorado law asa "Habitual Offender".This meant a MINIMUM of one year in the state penitentiary.Again I was blessed by God (though I had no idea). The judge said the timeframe of my offenses was over by TWO days. He sentenced me to one year incounty jail, suspended 275 days and I got 90. So here I sat in the ArapahoeCounty Hilton with nothing to do but make chow ( I was a trustee) and contemplatethe wreckage of my life. At this time I started reading the bible. I prayedalot but didn't have any idea what salvation was. I just knew I needed someoneto talk to. Time in jail is boring. So boring that I started respondingto personal ads as a joke. This was sort of in vain because I didn't realizemy out going mail was stamped "CENSORED INMATE MAIL ENCLOSED". The joke wason me..... Until I got a response. Some woman in Boulder had actually writtenback! We corresponded for awhile and when I got out I called her. She hadsince gotten engaged and had set a date. I drank again, but I had the goodsense not to drive. About a month went by when she called me. Her fiancehad threatened her with bodily injury, she had grabbed her three year olddaughter and left the house returning that day to remove his belongings akick him out. We decided to meet. We talked about moral values, ethicsand how each of us would raise children. She was a Christian I wasnot. She is now my wife of almost seven years. I knelt down with her, afterbeing with her for three months, to ask Jesus to come into my life. And Hedefinitely has. I've been blessed with my daughter and my son, who was ahome birth,(The LORD was there in force)and the most understanding and lovingwife I could ever have asked for. This doesn't mean that I don't make mistakes, still think I know everything now and then, get angry, sad or operate in selfwill sometimes.It doen't mean I haven't turned my back on the Lord at one time and drankand drugged again, when I didn't stay close to Him and His Word. It doesmean that when things don't go my way I don't have to pick up a bottle ora joint, I can pick up a Bible. It does mean that I don't have to go aroundmad at the world wondering why others have more(or different) things thanme. It does mean that I have everlasting life in Jesus and when things getbad I have that personal relationship with Him so I can talk. I don't prayenough or witness enough and I don't praise Him as much as I should. Butthat all doesn't matter because He died on the cross for my sins and I amforgiven through His grace and He KNOWS what is in my HEART.