What I Learned in the Valley: {The Keys to Victorious Living} (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780692629222)

I was born in Stamford, Texas in 1944 and shortly thereafter moved to Meridian, Mississippi where I grew up. I attended Highland Elementary, Kate Griffin Junior High, and Meridian High School and went on to four years at Livingston State Teachers College in Livingston, Alabama {now called UWA}. After leaving college I entered the field of retail management with F.W. Woolworth, then Woolco, then TG & Y, Wal-Mart, and finally Marvin's Home Center Stores. That career spanned over 30 years of my life. Early in my career {1966} I married my wife Pamela Smith Haynes from Shucktown, Ms. {that's right she was a country girl}. We have four children - Virginia, Tammy, Susan and Asa. Unfortunately, for me and particularly for my wife and family, I began a downward spiral over those 30 years that led me into behaviors centered totally on the lust of my eyes, the needs of my flesh and the pride of life that turned me into a dark and depraved man, husband and father. In June of 1996 two weeks before Father's Day, when my family could take it no longer, my wife asked for a divorce - my children basically disowned me and then ordered me to get out and don't come back. Only then did I become willing to accept how deep into depravity I had sunk. And just when I thought all was lost, I met a man named Jesus Christ. He has not only saved me, saved my marriage and my family but He has literally transformed me into a totally new creation. What I once thought was the end of everything, I now know was THE BEGINNING of everything. Because I am so grateful for His mercy and loving kindness, I have purposed along with my wife and family to spend the rest of my days on this earth sharing the Good News with hopeless and hurting individuals and families, that no matter how bad it seems - Christ can redeem it, heal it and restore it. Hence my wife Pam and I founded Righteous Oaks Recovery Center for Men in Chunky, Ms in 2001, Jacob's Well Recovery Center for Women in Poplarville, Ms in 2005 and Praise God this year we have founded our second Men's Recovery Center also here in Poplarville called Damascus Road Recovery Center for Men.