Moving to a new location, although I had visited there regularly, held its own set of challenges. Starting anew was appealing, but I was carrying the weight of knowing I was the primary breadwinner for our family, and it wouldn’t be easy getting back on our feet. I was on probation for five years, which…
Stuff that used to define us no longer has mastery over us. When you’ve relived those memories in episodic moments of healing through Jesus, it just doesn’t hold the same power over you. You don’t forget but you re-interpret. The healing journey is a series of discoveries. Discoveries of the lies that we believed about…
Unfortunately, we have an enemy who hates us, and he’ll use every resource at his disposal to intersect and derail our healing journeys. Including guilt. Guilt is an emotional response to wrongdoing. We should feel the Lord’s conviction when we disobey His commandments or even when we break civil laws that do not contradict God’s…
Saturday, December 2, 1995 – Awaken to the sounds of prison life—chains on belts with keys rattling. Doors slamming—slots opened and closed—doors being kicked for the CO (corrections officer) to come—inmates hollering—chains rattling. The sunrise over the compound and breakfast. We ate—I don’t remember what. Eggs and cereal, I think—it was OK. Passed through the…
The choices we make have consequences. That’s just the way it is. Good, bad, or indifferent, we’re subject to predictable and somewhat unpredictable consequences. Sewing and reaping. The principle applies to all choices. We reap what we sew, later than we sew, more than we sew. Astonished is the word that comes to mind right…
Venturing into the unknown, God has so much for each of us—way beyond our wildest imaginations. I’m living proof of that. Who knew, but God, how the experience of prison and the subsequent events of my life would lead me to a place of surrender. A different kind of surrender than to the U.S. Marshal…
It was December 1st, 1995, when I walked into the US Marshals office at 601 Market Street in Philadelphia a free man – and exited a prisoner. In handcuffs, ankle cuffs chained together and to two other men shuffling to a waiting van in an underground garage. ‘How the heck did I get here?’ was…
The Bible is very clear – in this life we will have difficulties. We WILL struggle through times in our lives that are often inexplicable. But there are also moments when we experience the consequences of choices we make, or others make around us that have a monumental effect on us and those we cherish…