Welcome everyone to Family Talk. It's a ministry of the James Dobson Family Institute, supported by listeners just like you.

I'm Dr. James Dobson, and I'm thrilled that you've joined us.

Well, welcome to Family Talk. I'm Roger Marsh, and today we're bringing you a conversation

featuring Matthew Mayer, a man who grew up in a Christian home, excelled academically and

athletically, and knew all the right answers, if you will, about faith. But head knowledge

never made it to his heart. One night, a series of devastating choices led to a drunk driving accident that claimed the life of another man.

Matthew was charged with aggravated manslaughter and sentenced to five and a half years in prison.

But what happened in that courtroom and in that cold prison cell on his first night behind bars

is a remarkable testimony of God's

grace. Let's get into it now on today's edition of Dr. James Dobson's family talk.

What you're about to hear is a very inspirational story, and I'm not even going to tell you more about it.

I'm going to let them tell their own story. I'm speaking of Matthew and Sarah and Mayor.

Matthew, I'm going to start with you, and I'm not going to give much of a background because I want you to go back to your childhood and kind of tell us where

it all started. You had wonderful Christian parents, and they are still alive. You still are very

close to them, aren't you? Yes, sir. Dr. Dobson, first and foremost, thank you so much for having us

out here. We are humbled and honored. And yeah, my upbringing

was probably the picture-perfect American Christian family, as you can imagine. The youngest of four

boys, raised in a solid, biblically based household, watching my mother and father demonstrate

faith, not always verbalizing it to us, but we watched their example. I often say that

they didn't just raise us in church. They raised us in Christ. And just being part of that culture

in my home, it carried outside of my home. So I was a young kid really understanding what it meant

to be a Christian. And you are also kind of an overachiever, were you not?

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