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David Payne
Male
Chilhowie, Va.
United States - Share
- Profile Apps (1)
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- Groups (28)
- Photos (27)
- Photo Albums (3)
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David Payne's Groups
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George Strait Fans
30 members
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Newsboys fans
27 members
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For Fans of Miley Cyrus
16 members
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Kelly Clarkson's Fan Club
34 members
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Lincoln Brewster Fans
11 members
Come on in and stay for a while!
Latest Activity
A place for Lincoln Brewster fans to unite and discuss his great music.
A great place for Christian motor-heads to get together and discuss the hobby of automotive customizing and hot rodding as well as share pics of their favorite hot rod, custom, or muscle car.
Profile Information
- About Me
- Hey everyone! My name is David, but all of my friends can call me Dave. Welcome to my profile! I have come here to be of service to all of you who sign up on this network. I am open to discussions about scripture, I am here to help with life issues you may be experiencing, and I am here to do God's will and join Him in whatever work he is doing and reveals to me. If you have yet to know the Lord and accept Christ as your Savior, feel free to drop me a line and ask any questions you may have. My heart and my mind are always open and I welcome questions or comments about anything you have on your heart. I also invite you all to request me as a friend. Who knows, we may have more in common than you think!
- Marital Status
- Married
- School/College/University
- United States Marine Corps aviation mechanics training/ The School of hard knocks/ Church of God Ministerial Development and School of Ministry
- Occupation
- Welder/ musician for Christ
- How would you describe your level of Christian faith?
- My faith defines me
- Share your testimony
- I spent the first 34 years of my life running from the Lord. I grew up believing in God, but never really knew Him. We never went to church while I was growing up, but mom always answered our questions about God and religion. As I grew older, I ended up hanging out with the wild crowd. All I cared about was riding bulls, girls and partying. Upon graduating from high school, I joined the Marines to become an aircraft mechanic. That was when the alcohol really took control of my life. Not long after I reached my permanent duty station, my wife and I were married. While we were dating, we drank and partied like it was going out of style. Every weekend you could find us at the enlisted club or a local bar or rodeo, drinking the night away. After we were married, she quit all of that craziness to focus on raising her two children from her previous marriage. I should have done the same, but the booze had me and I liked drinking too much to give it up. I slowed down on it, but it was still a factor in our lives. Time went on, as did the drinking, until we found ourselves free of the Marine Corps life and living here in Southwest Virginia. I had a good job making good money, but I was still unhappy. I hated Virginia because I had grown up in New Mexico and just couldn't adjust to the people or the area,and as time went on, I began to hate everything. My Job, my co-workers, my life and myself. I became a very angry person. You've heard the expression " he carried a chip on his shoulder", I carried the whole tree. People hated me because I was such an crude, bitter man. My wife and kids began to avoid me in fear of setting me off like a bomb. I was just a huge ball of rage and hatred wrapped in a shell that hardly resembled the person I used to be. The only thing that, at the time, I felt helped to ease the pain was alcohol. Being an avid guitarist, I joined up with two other musician and formed a blues band. I figured it would be a good way to get my mind off of my problems. WRONG! It only added fuel to the fire. We played in every shady joint, run down bar, night club, and party we could book. As some of you might know, some places offer the band free booze as one of the perks for playing and drawing a large crowd for the weekend. Not a good thing for someone like me, who had a drinking problem anyway, to be involved in. During the three years I played with the group, I began to develop a hatred for the church. Due to ridicule and harping about " Playing to drunken fools in the dens of iniquity" and "When am I going to stop doing the Devils work and give my life to God" , I really began to despise the church, Christians, and anything having any resemblance of religion. I even cussed the hair off of a preacher just for trying to share God's word with me. I continued to play in the bars and night clubs until things got out of control with our band. Drugs and alcohol were always present and we as a group had our differences about how things should be done, what songs to play and where to play. Tensions were at an all time high between us and fights were pretty common before and after a show. Some nights we got so wasted, I don't know how we managed to play anything. We were starting to lose potential venues due to our constant bickering and it was becoming something I hated doing. I loved playing music, but when it isn't fun and enjoyable for you, what's the point?! So after a week of deliberating, I quit the group.
Things slowed down after that, but the drinking was becoming more and more troublesome. I would go through 6 to 12 almost every night and then get up and go to work feeling terrible the next day. I had become what doctors and specialists in substance abuse refer to as a " FUNCTIONAL ALCOHOLIC" which basically meant, I could work and live my daily life like a sober person, but I had to feed my addiction to do so. About a month later, I was at work talking with some co-workers(who could tolerate being around me, YES I WAS THAT BAD) about wanting to play music again. The warehouse manager, who was and still is a pastor at a local church, overheard our conversation and joined in with his opinion on what I should do. He said , in a nice way, that "Now that I was finished playing my style of music, I should consider playing music that mattered and made a difference in peoples' lives." I FLIPPED OUT! I called that man every foul, unspeakable thing I could think of. "How dare he say my music didn't matter! Who does he think he is?! What does God have to do with playing good music?" I thought to myself as I stormed out of the warehouse yelling profanities at the poor, bewildered preacher. I stewed and fumed about the whole incident for the rest of the day. The next day, which was a Saturday, the incident popped into my head again. I felt angry all over again, but there was also a lot of guilt and remorse for what I had said and done. I had to get rid of these feelings, so off to the store I went for a "beer or twelve." As the night went on, I found myself drunk, out of beer, and still feeling bad about what had happened. My wife was at her sister's house, so I had no way of getting to the store to get anymore. Just then a neighbor, with whom I had gotten drunk with before, stopped by and asked me to come over for a beer. Of course, I joyfully accepted the offer and staggered over to his house. Things got pretty blurry after that, but what I can remember are bits and pieces of me sneaking into a house and stealing some things out of it, JUST TO SEE IF I COULD GET AWAY WITH IT. I had hit rock bottom and was too drunk to even remember all of it.
The next day, Sunday, found me in a world of hurt. I was hung over so bad, my hair hurt. On top of that, my wife was totally fed up with me and was reluctant to speak to me at all. She had been through all of the "drunkenness" while growing up with an alcoholic and abusive father and she made it loud and clear she was not going to go through it again. I was at the end of my rope and I was the one who had put it around my neck. Fear and guilt riddled my aching brain about what I had done the night before. I was a total wreck, afraid that whoever I had stolen the items from would report it and then press charges once the cops found out who had done it. The sad thing was, I couldn't return the items, I would be caught for sure then! "My wife would find out about it, I would go to jail, I would lose my job, my wife, my kids, my freedom..." just continued to play through my mind, over and over. As I sat in our driveway trying to work on my old 58 Buick, and basically going insane over all that had taken place in my life, an overwhelming power came over me. I couldn't move and my mind went blank, completely empty of all thoughts. Then, a huge booming voice began to ring in my ears and in my mind. " SON, YOU HAD BETTER RE-THINK HOW YOU ARE LIVING YOUR LIFE, BEFORE YOU HAVE NO LIFE TO LIVE!" At first, I thought I was going insane, but then it came to me again. " YOU NEED TO CHANGE YOUR WAYS BEFORE IT"S TOO LATE!" The next thing I know, I am in tears asking God for forgiveness, for another chance, and trying to figure out what had just happened. I began to think about going to church. I thought all kinds of crazy stuff like, "If I went to church, the judge would see I am trying to change, my wife wouldn't leave me, maybe they wouldn't press charges if I were going to church." The main focus was CHURCH, no matter what my reasons for going was and that was weird to me. Not five minutes before the voice came to me, I still hated anything religious. I hated Christians and "Bible thumpers" and wanted nothing to do with God. He was the farthest thing from my mind and now I WANTED TO GO TO CHURCH??????????? After a few minutes, I looked up into a clear blue morning sky and made a choice that would change my life, forever. I went inside and found my wife, who was busy cleaning, and told her to call her sister and ask her if she knew anything about the local churches and if so, which one would be a good one to go to. I told her that I felt it was time for me to start living right get myself into a good church. Completely dumbfounded, she said, " Okay, I'll call her in few minutes?" I told her to call now, I don't know why, but it has to be now. She did and we found out the when and where and then we decided on which one to go to. The very next Sunday, we found ourselves sitting in the back row of a large church, starting a new life with Christ!!!!!!!
Today, I am proud to say that I no longer drink. I have had a couple of slips with alcohol since that day, but December 20th will mark my one year anniversary of complete sobriety...NOT ONE DROP! I am now a Lay Minister, certified through Lee University and The Church of God Ministerial Development/ School of Ministry and plan on continuing to become a certified Music Minister. Right now, I am the music director, guitar player and one of the singers of our church's Praise and Worship team. I have NO words that can accurately describe how my life has changed. I am overwhelmed with joy when I see how far the Lord has brought me in just two and a half years. It has not been a smooth road and at times I have had my share of doubts. But Christ never said it would be easy, but that he would be by our side the whole way. I owe my life to God's saving grace and mercy. I love Him and thank Him for the cross and the blood that His only begotten Son shed for my sins. I will live my life for Him, to be used as an instrument of His power to do His will. I lift my life to the Almighty God and Creator of all things as a living sacrifice. I lay my heart at the altar of God, to be shaped and molded as he wishes. He is my King! I will worship Him forever! GLORY BE TO GOD, OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's a little side note that might surprise, shock, and ultimately show you as the reader of this, Just how ironic and powerful the God we serve is. That preacher that I work with.......the one who I cussed up one side and down the other.......the one who I treated like a dog every time he tried to reach out to me, help me, and love me..............................
HE IS NOW MY PASTOR AND MENTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!! He has been such a loving, compassionate man to me and my whole family! He has taught me so much and has been the key person in my ever-evolving ministry. I Love him like a father and I have the utmost respect for him and his relationship with God. It takes a big man to admit to doing wrong, but it takes an even bigger man to forgive those who have wronged him. Rev. Arthur Chapman not only did that, but he has taken me under his wing and shown me great things about myself I never knew existed. I thank the Lord every day for sending Arthur my way. He is a true example, a shining beacon of Christ's Love and I am blessed beyond words to know him.
- What are your interests?
- Music-Playing, Painting/Drawing, Theology, Military, Singing, Guitar Playing, Photography, Movies - Creating, Travel, Ministry/Callings, Worship Leading
- The most embarrassing thing I ever did was:
- Way too many to list!!!!!!!! Most of which I probably should not put on HERE!!!
- I believe...
- God is currently preparing His church for the coming of the Lord.
David Payne's Photos
David Payne's Blog
Reaching Out
Many people on this network have come here in search of something, something that they could not find on my space or YouTube. Some may not know Christ as their savior. Some may live alternative lifestyles. They may be here seeking a kind word and encouragement in a time of chaos in thei… Continue
Posted on January 13, 2009 at 9:22pm — 1 Comment
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How are you? I am great
greeting in Christ name.
i am milan from india. nice to meet with you in this website.
Seth
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