April 22, 2012

SUNDAY MORNING CHRISTIAN ARTIST TESTIMONIES


Nate Philips' Testimony


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I was born in Glenwood Springs, CO on April 5th, 1981. I lived in a little mountain town called Carbondale for 10 years until my family moved to Aurora, CO in 1991. I spent my middle school years trying to fit in get in good with the “cool” kids. By the end of 8th grade, I was in with a cool group of guys that enjoyed music and having a good time(partying). Several of the guys in the group and I decided to start a band to “party and get chicks.” By God’s grace, He allowed me to stay free from a lot of pain by messing up with girls, but I started partying. At first, it was a casual, social, weekend-party experience. Our behavior continued and grew in strength for 2 years. By the end of my sophomore year of high school I was heavily involved in drugs--smoking marijuana everyday, several times a day to “get through the day.” I was drinking a lot, and experimenting with other drugs as well. I was pretty irritable and unhappy. I knew what I was involved with wasn’t God’s best for my life, but I was in a powerful downward spiral that I wasn’t able to beat.

My wakeup call from the Lord came on July 3rd, 1997. I woke up that morning in an uncontrollable seizure that lasted almost 10 minutes. I was in a daze as I heard my mom in a panic on the phone with 911. Within a few minutes the ambulance took me to the emergency room for testing and follow up. After sitting in the emergency room all day, the doctor came in with the news, “you have a small, quarter-size tumor growing on your brain.” In shock we discussed the process of removing the tumor. We decided to operate as soon as possible, and scheduled a surgery for 5 days later. Although the surgery had a relatively small percentage for disaster, the five days prior to surgery gave me time to think about life--”what if I die?” I started questioning my life. What had I been living for, who is God to me, where would I go if I died in a couple days. I realized God wasn’t promising me tomorrow, and that He’s in control.

On July 8th, the doctors removed the tumor in an 8 hour surgery. The surgery went good, and the rest of the summer I was in recovery mode--bed and rest. I spent more time thinking about life and God, and in the fall I started going to youth group. In youth group, I met us with all the guys in Foolish Things, and started learning more and more about God. On a fall retreat with the youth group, I asked God to forgive me for my sinful life, and I made Jesus Christ the Lord of my life.

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