My name is Mark and I am 40 years old.  At the age of 23 I was introduced to a life of crime and drugs.  By 24, I was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama. This was the largest fencing operation ever to hit their city.  Looking at two life sentences, you would have thought that I would have straightened up, but instead, I got worse.  Cocaine played a major role in the destruction of my life as well as the lives of those in my family.  I was in and out of jails for next sixteen years with five of those years spent in prison and seven different rehab facilities.  God has been trying to get my attention for some time, but I would not answer the call.  I kept going back to my old lifestyle and continued to get the same tragic results.  I just would not give in until I lost everything that ever meant anything to me.  It took these painful things in my life to open my eyes.  The trust of my loved ones & the three businesses I lost did not compare to what I was losing with Jesus.  I knew the call of God was on my life, but like Jonah, I could not run fast enough.  After being in Gulf Shores and having someone try to rob me with a 45 handgun that miss-fired when they tried to shoot me got my attention. I knew I had to make a change in my life.  As I knew for years that God had a call on my life, I finally decided to answer that call.  I finally surrendered all & God has done great things in my life.  I now have seven months clean and a new outlook on life.  God has restored all the broken relationships in my life and much more.  Through the mercy & love of God,I am a new creation.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17). As Mel says , I am not recycled. And finally, I’m doing Mel’s arsenal prayer daily, dressed for the battles with the devil.  I now stand against the wiles of the devil. God bless you all.  Mark