For the Children

 "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."(Luke 6:45 NIV) So, I just sent a letter to my son via my Mom and Jpay. Why would I not send it to him directly? #1 he doesn't have a jpay account, #2 if I mailed it USPS, he more then likely would never receive it. My buddy Tim, has a son. They were very close before he got locked up. Did everything together. Then the Grandparents took physical custody of his son because of Tim's incarceration. They do not want his son to have a relationship with his Father. When he moved in, ( the son) he told his Grandparents he wanted to talk to his Dad. Yet, they refuse him the opportunity and continuously speak negative about Tim, in front of and to him. Sadly, I can relate. My son told me long before I got locked up ,( he's 12) Mommy doesn't want me to come over/ talk to you. Now, years later he has asked me why I don't talk to him more often. I tell him to talk to his Mom. I won't tell him what has been going on since I left her. How she is poisoning his mind against me. Why not if it's true? Because, I will NOT talk bad about his Mom. I have never done so in front of him, within earshot, nor have I acted in a negative manner when speaking about her. This kind of thing happens far too often y'all! It hurts us inmates! I wonder, is that the goal?! Let me enlighten you. It also hurts you, ( one's keeping the child away) AND your children! That verse in Luke, is a perfect explanation of why this occurs. Don't give me the " I'm protection my child junk!" If they are the victim, then you could at least monitor communication. They need time to heal before speaking with their abusers of course The issue is the heart! When you are hurt, you hurt others. When you don't forgive, anger turns to bitterness, and then resentment. It comes out in your daily life. Your actions, speech,reactions to certain stimuli. I know this from personal experience dangit! I was addicted to porn. Consumed with lust. It manifested itself with me allowing unhealthy and inappropriate things to happen in the house I lived in. The unforgiveness I held for my Dad ate at me and felt like a weight every day! Are you keeping your child away from their other parent because of incarceration or infidelity? If you claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I beg you in the name of Jesus, repent! Don't live your life like I did! Claiming Jesus as Lord, yet engulfed in lust, anger,resentment! It is a burden you don't have to carry! Jesus already bore it on the cross at Calvary! Please, think about your heart. Think about your children's heart. They may only tell you what they know you want to hear! Kids are more observant then we give them credit for and they don't want to make you upset. I've seen that too. We must watch and listen to our word's. Encourage a relationship with the other parent. My tone is not angry. It is imploring. This is a wake up call! Unless your child would actually be injured by the other person, the only real reason for keeping them apart is truly your own anger and hurt!

Please view this Ted Talk explaining what children go though being the center of Parental Alienation 

You'll See What You'll See

Jerri used to be driving down the road and then when she noticed I was watching her, cuz yes I did, she was beautiful and my wife...well, I'd see her right eye closed and she'd appear to be driving blind! We'd be coming up to a stopped car and she'd wait longer than normal to brake...she got me with that every single time! See y'all, to my eye and my way of thinking, she was actually driving blind! Since I can only really see out of my right eye it never occurred to me that she still had one eye open!! I'd be freaking out beside her while the kids played along with her from the backseat. Most the time our perspectives on people are only surface deep. We see how they talk or act and come to conclusions based on those facts. Do you realize many people are only acting like Christians just like Jerri acted like she drove blind? 1 Samuel 16:7 says" But the LORD said to Samuel ' Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance , but the LORD looks at the heart'." As we travel down the road of life, we may see many to our left and right who seem to have life all figured out, or maybe they're struggling just to get out of bed, yet we don't see their struggles because they put on a front. We can't see the secret sin, the addiction, lust, bitterness, or unforgivness that resides deep inside them. Be on your guard my beloved friends so that we don't pass judgment on the people we come in contact with daily! The moment we judge, is the moment we ourselves will be judged by the same measure! The Apostle Paul said to work out your salvation with fear and trembling ( Philippians 2:12). As I said in an earlier post, ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and root out any sin. We must be wiling to allow the sin to be cut off, torn out root and all! Stay in the Word y'all! And may the Lord our God bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you!

Is Your Heart Hard

Sitting here thinking about the past, I've failed so much it hurts! Watching the movie titled " Wonder" literally made me tear up. It reminded me of how I was treated in school, the hurtful things kids ( then adults) would say and do. I saw the family dynamics and was heartbroken at my failures as a Husband, Father, and Step Father. I can't even tell the ones I've hurt the most how much I regret my actions and inactions. The fact that I am sorry for putting them through hell . That nothing is the fault of anyone I've hurt but my own. I long to reconcile with those people I've wronged. How does one do that? I mean you can't just force your way into a persons life who don't want you there cuz of the wounds you caused! All you can do is repent, ask forgiveness, and seek reconciliation when the time is right. Just because you are forgiven doesn't mean it's healthy to jump right back into their lives. We, as followers of Christ are the ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18) and it is the love of Christ in us that compels us to seek it. We should point the way of reconciliation to God the Father and seek it out with the ones who've wronged us. Why is it that I should forgive ( insert name), they hurt me so much! We are in danger of our hearts becoming hardened and our ears deaf to the Will of God by allowing unforgivnesss to reside within our hearts! Oh yes, many will say I've forgiven, yet still they hurt and feel the weight on their shoulders! Hurting people, hurt people. I've seen it first hand. In the way I've reacted to certain situations and in the way the people I love act even to this day. I prayed daily for over 3 years that God would heal the ones I hurt the most (http://www.targetjesus.org/2020/06/to-all-ones-i-have-hurt-originally.html), for their salvation, and for them to live a victorious life in Christ. Yet all you have to do is ask God and you've received it! Yes, I seek forgiveness for my sins from the people I've wronged. I want to start a new chapter. We can't take back words or actions, but we can learn from and change who we are because of the Holy Spirit inside us! Final words: Seek the Lord to reveal any wounds you may be harboring, but be ready to allow Him to do His work and uproot those things! That is how healing begins!

Your Crime is Worse Than Mine

"It's sad to hear guys speak proudly about their crime compared to other crimes. It is no secret that many people feel that sex crimes are the worse, that those people should be dealt with accordingly, Wow how pious and judgmental some people are, like their crimes didn't affect people, whatever, there are no victimless crimes. What people don't think ( because it takes the spotlight off them) about is the wide spread effect of the drugs they sold and what those drugs did to families, the prostitution that happened to keep ones addiction fed, the disease that spread because of what they allowed their bodies to go through just to get that next high. The theft, hurt and alienation it caused their families. The damage is incalculable." As I read these words written by Chaplain Rioux, it struck me how true this statement is! Have I been doing this very thing? Do you? Let's take a moment to look at ourselves through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to show you any hidden sin, and allow the Spirit to deal with those sins. See y'all, this is where most people hit the brakes. We ask God to search our hearts and " Oh Father help me with this addiction or that problem" then we pick the reigns of our lives back up and try to control it with our own will power! My beloved friends, we must leave our sins at the feet of Jesus! Don't you think the One Who created the Heavens, earth, and you has the power to take you from a sinful rag of a human to a new creature with a robe of pure white!? God loves you! Yes we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God( Romans 3:23) But Jesus came and rescued us! He died while we were sinners! Jesus will meet you where you are. He met me in the county jail, even while I planned to take my own life because of the people I'd hurt. I guarantee putting your trust in Jesus will change not only your way of thinking, but your very life! Is there anything stopping you from giving Jesus Christ the reigns if your life?

Victory In Jesus!

"I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from Glory. How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me; I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood atoning, then I repented of my sins and won the victory." I grew up singing this hymn in Church. Never really thinking about the words. Sure, I got excited belting out the chorus" There's victory in Jesus, my Savior forever..." not knowing how true those words were to me. I figured, " Well since I asked Jesus into my heart I'll spend eternity with Him!" and that was it. Folks, do you realize there's more to being a Christian then eternal life? Jesus bled and died to atone ( make right, by paying the penalty) for our sins! He was beaten for our iniquities ( sin, wickedness). Isaiah 53:5 says " But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed." ( NASB) The Amplified Bible states " healed and made whole." Glory to God! Are you living a victorious life? You ask, " What does that look like?" No longer are you living in the past of your hurts and addiction! God died for all! For you and the people who hurt you! He forgave the very people who were murdering Him on that cross! Jesus says in Luke 17:3" Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." Verse 4 states " And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying I repent, forgive him." Now, this is just one of many things we, as followers of Jesus have victory over! We forgive, let go of the offense that causes you heart ache! Do you struggle daily with an addiction? Food, drugs, sex, porn. lying? There's victory in Jesus! How about your self image, depression, sickness or disease? There's victory in Jesus! He bore all of these on Himself while nailed to the cross, He then went to hell and overcame them all! If you've never given your life to Jesus, what us stopping you from doing so right this minute?! You are healed by the blood He shed on Calvary's Hill! Therefore, you don't need to hold onto those hurt, pains, addictions, or disease! Lay them at the feet of Jesus as you make the decision to follow Him the rest of your life! The one thing I've learned recently is that we really never know when our time is up. Will you spend the rest of your days living a peace less , joyless life? Or will you seek the abundant life Jesus promised in John 10:10!? Choose Life my beloved friends...choose Life!