Restoring Our Hearts Women’s Conference

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Bethel Bible Fellowship, Chains or Christ, conference, Conviction vs Condemnation, Forgiveness, Getting Past Guilt, Jail Ministry, Jesus Christ, Live It Out, restoring our hearts, Walk Worthy, women's retreat

I have been “heads  down” preparing for a women’s conference hosted by my home church, Bethel Bible Fellowship in Las Cruces, NM.  The conference was this past weekend, and what a joy it was to see God moving and working in the lives of the women who attended.  Once again, God had me outside my “box”, learning to lean into Him even more.

The audio for the event is available, along with PDF versions of the workbook at this link:  restoringourhearts.com/conference-audio/

 

Letters to God #13 by Dana – Dinner With The Devil

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Addiction, Conviction, Dana C, Inmate Testimonies, Jesus Christ, Testimony

Dana has written several “letters to God” – you can see them here.

Dear God,

Thank you for this day and every other day You have been gracious enough to give me.  Thank You for getting me through this difficult season of missing my family and children.  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who comforts us in all our affliction.”  (2 Corinthians 3:4)

Lord, lately I’m confused as to who I am, who I’m supposed to be and who I want to be.  Am I the addicted criminal deemed a danger to society, or the lost daughter, sister, mother and friend from a day so long ago I can’t remember?  Am I inmate number xx-xxxxx facing a total of 43 years, turned Christian, who is trying to survive this cold place or am I a combination of all three; just looking for answers and trying to have faith that God will make sense of it all?  Lately I feel not only disconnected from You my God, but also from myself.

Letters to God #12 – The Light in the Dark by Dana

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Addiction, Dana C, Gratitude, Inmate Testimonies, Jesus Christ, Letters from inmates, Prayer, Restoration, Salvation, Testimony

Dana has written several “letters to God” – you can see them here.

Dear God,

I want to thank You for this day.  Another day alive, happy and full of the Holy Spirit.  I’m sorry that I haven’t written in a while, but I’ve felt like I haven’t been able to feel Your presence lately, and that has made me lonelier than I ever would have imagined, and also quietly sad inside.  Sometimes I sit down to write and the words come pouring out of me like some sort of ocean tidal wave washing over the shores.  But lately when I sit down to write, I stare at the blank page with all its plain void and it reminds me of my once spiritually depleted life.  So instead of touching the pen down to paper to try to release my written therapy for my once beaten and abused soul, I run and abandon the lonely lifeless sheet like I handled every other uncomfortable or bad situation in my past.  But I’m writing You now, my Lord, because I wanted to reconnect. 

Letters to God #11 – Collision Into A Beautiful Life by Dana

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Addiction, Consequences, Dana C, Grace, Gratitude, Inmate Testimonies, Jesus Christ, Letters from inmates, Testimony

Dana has written several “letters to God” – you can see them here.

Dear God,

Hello my Lord.  Thank You for this day.  Thank You for the life You’ve given me and thank You for the second chance I’ve been lucky enough to get.  For now my days are long with laughter, rather than short with burden, warm with friendship and faith rather than cold with pain and drug-induced despair.  Lord, thank You for letting me embrace each day with the glory of Your Word and for letting me grow in Your wondrous faith.  Praise God!

But my dearest Lord, lately I feel like I’m in a rut.  Like I’m stuck between who I used to be and who You desire me to be, which is whom I want to be. 

An Overlooked Miracle

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Animals, Jesus Christ, Sovereignty

The account of the Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem just days before His crucifixion appears in all four gospels.  However there is a very significant miracle that occurred on that day that is all too often overlooked.

Zechariah made the prophecy of the chosen mode of transportation for Jesus to make His entrance into Jerusalem:  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”  Zechariah 9:9

We Are Sheep… That’s NOT A Compliment!

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Jesus Christ, Sheep, Shepherd

I just finished putting together a study for jail that includes John 10:1-21, where Jesus gives an illustration using sheep and shepherds.   God’s intent was for the shepherds (religious leaders) to feed the people with the truth of God’s Word, provide spiritual nourishment, care for them, help them when they are sick or injured, and warn and safeguard them from danger.  The word pastor is related to the word pasture (pastoral), and means “to feed and care for”.  Pastors are to shepherd the people.  God’s design is that the religious leaders are to be like good shepherds, who care for the sheep, love the sheep, and put the best interests of the sheep above their own needs.

Letters to God #10 by Dana – “Forgiveness for 4 counts of attempted murder”

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Addiction, Consequences, Conviction, Dana C, Forgiveness, Grace, Inmate Testimonies, Jesus Christ, Letters from inmates, Repentance, Spiritual growth, Testimony

Dana has written several “letters to God” – you can see them here. 

Dear God,

Thank you for another beautiful day in such an ugly place.  How ironic that I had to come to the “concrete jungle” of chaos and noise to find joy and inner peace.  Because it’s true, O Lord, I’m happier than I’ve been in a long while in one of the most unhappy places on earth.  For I laugh more than I have in years.  I smile almost constantly, and I wake up without guilt or sadness from the turmoil of my once lethal life.  Don’t misunderstand me Lord Jesus.  I know why I’m here and I haven’t forgotten my journey or just how many miles I need to go on my road trip to eternal life.  I just mean that finding You, the peace of the Holy Spirit, and accepting You as my Lord and Savior has done wonders for my soul and has made it easier to enjoy the simple things, see the big things and know what’s important.  So even though I’m fully aware that I’m incarcerated facing 40+ years, housed with other women deemed dangers to society just like me, I can appreciate that I’m happily sober, relieved to be safe and alive and sometimes overwhelmed with the beauty of Your love and enduring forgiveness for sinners like me.  So as my pod-mate says, “Lord, you really do have a sense of humor, and You work in mysterious ways.”  Praise God!

Dirty Tables by Erika

Tags

Conviction, Erika, Forgiveness, Jesus Christ, Testimony

This was written by one of “my girls” who gave her life to Jesus Christ while she was in jail.  You can read her testimony here.  I love this story, because of her humble heart and willingness to be obedient in a situation where most of us would have probably ignored God’s prompting and had a long list of rationalizations.  I am so blessed to count this beautiful young woman as a friend.

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DIRTY TABLES

I was working as a hostess at a restaurant.  It was late, and we had three tired servers and one sleepy hostess, me.  We were just finishing up with the late night rush, and we were relieved that the flow of people was finally over.

Then a large group walked in. They pointed to a large, round booth that they wanted to sit at.  It was open and clean, so I had no reason to object.  I seated them and let them know their server would be with them shortly.

Erika’s Testimony – All Things Are New

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Addiction, Erika, Inmate Testimonies, Jail Ministry Musings, Jesus Christ, Restoration, Salvation, Testimony

My name is Erika.  I was born to a single mother in Texas.  Growing up, my childhood was very difficult for me.  Roughly from the age of two to eight years old my mom had a live in boyfriend that would regularly molest me.  I reached out to my mom, but she was unable to help.  He would physically beat her, and I think out of fear she felt powerless to do anything.

A New Year… A New Beginning by Christina M.

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Christina M., Jesus Christ, Letters from inmates, Salvation, Testimony, Thankfulness

“A New Year… A New Blessing”
By Christina M  01/2015

I woke up in this freezing cold prison cell, socks to my knees, and a rough wool blanket issued to me by the New Mexico Department of Corrections.  I can hear the sound of other female prisoners hollering crude obscenities to one another, cell doors being slammed shut, and a grumpy, round, pink skinned prison guard announcing that it’s time to “eat chow”.  There were no big, shiny balloons.  There weren’t any party whistles being blown.  I didn’t have a sparkling Happy new Year headband on my head.  There was no champagne.  No New Year’s kiss.  When I really think about all that glitz and glam… I can’t help but acknowledge how over rated all that show girl stuff truly is.  God knows I’ve had my fair share of wild festivities!