Shortly after graduation from high school I joined the US Merchant Marines.  During this period, I commenced smoking cigarettes, drinking whiskey and cursing like the sailor I was. Several years past, then I met and married my beautiful wife, Lorraine.  I remained in the Merchant Marines, still smoking, drinking, and cursing.

Except for the long separations, Lorraine and I were doing fine.  Finally, because the hardships of the long separations were making life so difficult for my family, I retired from the Merchant Marines and accepted employment with Duke University.  Things were much smoother, but I kept on living my old 
sailor lifestyle. 

Five years later, life changed again, Lorraine accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior.  That didn't change me though, I still continued my old ways.   Lorraine changed.

 She would stay home and read her Bible while I was out with my buddies doing my thing. We lived like this for two years, finally a really dramatic change occurred.  During the last night of a revival at the First United Methodist Church in Morehead City, a Wednesday, I went down to the altar and accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.  After this experience, I had no desire to go out at night with my drinking buddies.  My cursing ceased and I began to read the Bible.  Now Lorraine and I had something in common again—She would read her Bible and I would read my Bible.
Shortly after that, I even lost all desire to smoke cigarettes.  Before I quit, I was smoking 2 and ½ packs a day.  I remember somebody once asked me “Hey Eric, did you inhale?” my reply “I would suck every puff slam down to my toes, but GOD took away that desire.”  Praise the Lord. 

When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I did not know who God was, I only knew about Jesus. I knew God exalted Him and freely bestowed on Him, the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father.  If you learn to make Jesus Christ Lord over your spirit, He will recreate it.  Make Jesus Christ Lord over your mind, He will make it peaceful.  Make Him Lord over your body and He will heal it, making it whole again for eternity.  Make Him Lord over your life and He will prosper it.

The Bible says that if you confess with your lips that Jesus Christ is Lord and in your heart believe that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.   Shall is one of the most powerful verbs in the English language.  Lorraine and I continue to read our Bibles, together and separately, in fact we each read through the entire Bible every year. We celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in just a few years, our children are all grown with children of their own, life is good.  Praise the Lord.