BRIAN'S STORY

Daneille Snowden [Blog Editor]: Brian and I are friends from our high school youth group and had recently reconnected on facebook. Also, I was there when he first accepted Christ in 1982 at a Keith Green concert. I have been following his Facebook posts on his journey back into intimacy with God and offered to share them on a blog. Check out my blog: http://snowdenwiththefam-daneille.blogspot.com/]

 MY STORY

I had first accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior as a 16 year old kid attending a Christian concert with my youth group at Northview Christian Life (a church in Carmel, IN). I had been asked to go to see a performer named "Keith Green" by my youth pastors, Bob and Nancy Curry. I was so moved deep inside my heart, that I wound up asking Christ into my life that night at Market Square Arena. As a new believer I became zealous to follow God with all my heart . I was excited to share my faith with my friends and eagerly looked for opportunities to serve those around me (as Jesus taught). As I grew older however, I seemed to slowly forget my "First Love". I got distracted by all the things around me and my heart became hardened more and more. I still believed in Jesus and continued involvement in church--but my passion to serve God waned. I began to distract myself by pursuing success in business and by finding my identity in my material possessions.  As things in my family began to unravel--I medicated through overeating. This is when I  began to shut down emotionally and live vicariously through the TV shows I watched every night. I continued at this place for years thinking that was my life. Until one day the circumstances in life began to rip away everything I was deriving my identity from. It began with the failure of my first business and me winding up in tremendous debt. I had to sell all my "toys". The success in business that was almost like a drug in my life--got stripped away. However, instead of getting bitter at God for MY failures, I began to return back to the basics to seek answers. When in addition to everything else, my marriage began to collapse I felt like I was dying inside--and truthfully was. The application of learning to "die to self" was being applied. You see, in my "weakness" God was able to again soften my heart and show me He never left my side. The same God that called that 16 year old teenager to follow Him so many years ago--was again calling this 46 year old man to start following Christ again. I am so grateful for this fact. 

2 Cor. 12:9 "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Mark 8:35 "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.

                                         Keith Green - Draw Me