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#258. Jesus > Drugs

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Photo by Free Spirit Photography by Kenya 

My name is Jordan Wilson and I am ten years clean and sober. I was raised in a good Christian household and I sprinted from a relationship with the Lord when I was about 18. I wanted to drink and party. Well that lifestyle took over and I quickly became addicted to pain killers. My life spiraled. I was in and out of jail and rehab until I finally surrendered my life to Christ on March 27th of 2016 and that’s my sobriety date. I kept my beginning short because I feel as if we spend too much time talking about the bad part of our stories and not enough time talking about the good part. 

The day that I gave my life to Jesus my life really began. I went to drug rehab for my seventh time but I knew it would be different because I knew I had changed! I thrived at that rehab and eventually graduated. I started working for them and started sharing my testimony. When I was one year sober I attended a revival and a preacher who had never seen me called me out of a crowd and told me God wanted me to write a book-my story. He said it would help a lot of people. Well I knew that was something I would eventually do to get obedient to God. I did that a few years later. I eventually got married, had a couple beauty children and then got my dream job where I now serve as the executive director of a Christ centered drug rehab called friends of sinners. We published my book in 2021 and it’s called “Jesus > Drugs.” My book is now in every single jail and prison in the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Wales, and Mexico. My second book is called “How to save a drug addict.” I now travel in and outside of the United States sharing my Jesus story! I now live a life I never could have imagined and it’s all because I was rescued by Jesus Christ. 

#257. When Doctors Pray and Patients Sing

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Artist: James D. “Skip” Werline

I recently visited the Ephraim McDowell House in Danville, Kentucky for a tour

with a friend. We both have an interest in Kentucky history and a heart for supporting

hospitals. I felt inspired to step into the story of what life was like in the 1800’s. We

learned the story of a pioneering doctor who included prayer with his practice and on

Christmas morning in 1809 performed the first successful surgery to remove an ovarian

tumor. And this wasn’t just any tumor. It was a 22.5-pound tumor.

My friend and I stood there in the room where the surgery took place, with its

rustic wood floors, simple white walls, and no frills collection of surgical instruments.

Kentucky was less than 20 years old at the time, doctors didn’t wear white coats and

anesthesia wasn’t even invented yet. I began thinking of the patient, Mrs. Jane Todd

Crawford. She was 45-years old, married with four children and living in a log cabin in

Green County. When she first noticed something in her body, she thought it was a baby

bump. As it grew and grew, she thought she was pregnant with twins. Her whole world

must have turned upside down when nine months passed and she discovered she

wasn’t pregnant, but was facing a diagnosis that no one had ever survived before.

Mrs. Crawford took a daunting 60-mile journey on horseback by herself through

severe winter weather and great suffering to have surgery at Dr. Ephraim McDowell’s

home. As the story goes, when the time of surgery came, she sang. The first survivor of

an ovarian tumor sang hymns to God. And the first doctor to ever perform a successful

surgery to remove an ovarian tumor prayed, asking God for guidance.

Dr. Ephraim McDowell went on to help other women overcome. And Mrs. Jane

Todd Crawford returned to her family as a survivor for other survivors. Standing in the

room where that surgery took place, I said to my friend, “I wonder what that moment

was like… when the family saw their mother come home.”

Mrs. Crawford lived until she was 78 years old, outliving even Dr. McDowell. I

wonder too what their relationship was like… both trusting in God and one another for

a miracle… walking through the experience from suffering to a joyful victory together.

After the tour, my friend and I walked across the street to the gift shop at

Constitution Square and found a copy of Dr. McDowell’s prayer, a take-home treasure.

Dr. Ephraim McDowell’s Prayer:

“Almighty God, be with me, I humbly beseech (ask) Thee in this attendance in Thy holy

hour; give me becoming awe (an awareness) of Thy presence (that You are with me),

and grant me Thy direction (of Your sight) and aid (wisdom). I beseech (ask) Thee, that

in confessing (my need) I may be humble and truly penitent (contrite) in prayer, serious

(genuine) and devout in praises, grateful and sincere, and in hearing Thy word (what

You say) attentive and willing and desirous to be instructed. Direct me, Oh! God, in

performing this operation, for I am but an instrument in Thy hands, and am but Thy

servant, and if it is Thy will, Oh! Spare this poor afflicted woman. Oh! Give me true faith

in the atonement of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, or a love sufficient to procure Thy favor and

blessing, that worshiping Thee in spirit and in truth my services may be accepted

through His all-sufficient merit. Amen.” December 25, 1809.

#256. The Whisper That Saved My Future Wife

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There are moments in life that forever divide time into before and after. For me, one of those moments came just a few weeks before September 11, 2001.

At the time, I had no idea what was about to happen. I only knew that God had impressed something upon my heart with an urgency unlike anything I had experienced before. It wasn’t symbolic. It wasn’t vague. It was startlingly specific.

“There’s something not quite right with Barb’s flight from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles. Change the date.”

There was no explanation. Only certainty.

To understand why I trusted that prompting so completely, I need to go back a little.

In January of 2000, my wife Gloria passed away after an almost two-year battle with breast cancer. Losing her shattered my world. Like anyone who has lost the love of their life, I wasn’t looking for another relationship. I was simply trying to survive my grief and somehow make sense of a life that no longer resembled the one I had known.

Then something happened that I never could have anticipated. Out of nowhere, I received an email from my very first high school sweetheart, Barbara. We hadn’t seen or spoken to one another in thirty-six years. Even more remarkable, only a couple of weeks before her email arrived, I had found myself wondering whatever had become of her after she had mysteriously disappeared from my life all those years ago. Now, suddenly, there she was. She had found me online and simply wanted to say hello.

One conversation became another. Phone calls grew longer. Laughter slowly began replacing grief. Looking back now, I can’t help but believe that God had already begun weaving together a story neither of us could yet see.

Eventually, I invited Barbara to visit me at my home in Los Angeles. She booked a flight from Washington Dulles International Airport. Everything seemed perfectly ordinary.

Until the whisper came. It wasn’t an audible voice. It was something much quieter—a gentle inner prompting that, over the years, I had come to recognize as one of the ways God communicates with me. Again came the message: “There’s something not quite right with Barb’s flight. Change the date.” I didn’t understand why. I only knew I couldn’t ignore it.

I immediately picked up the phone.

“Barb,” I said, “I need you to change your flight.”

She laughed. “Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did something happen?”

“No.”

“Are you getting cold feet?”

“No. I just know something isn’t right.”

She kept asking for an explanation. I couldn’t give her one because I didn’t have one. All I could say was, “Please trust me.” Reluctantly, she agreed. She changed her reservation to three days later.

Then came September 11. Like millions of people around the world, I sat in disbelief as the unimaginable unfolded on television. Only afterward did we realize what that one phone call had prevented.

Barbara’s original reservation had been on American Airlines Flight 77—the aircraft hijacked after departing Washington Dulles before crashing into the Pentagon. Had she remained on that flight, she almost certainly would not have survived. Instead, she arrived safely in Los Angeles three days later.

Barbara and I eventually married and shared twenty wonderful years together until the Lord called her home in September 2021.

People often ask me whether I can explain what happened. The honest answer is, I can’t. I don’t understand the mechanics of divine guidance. I only know what I experienced.

Looking back, I wasn’t surprised that God’s guidance had been so clear. By then, I had spent decades learning to recognize that gentle whisper whenever it came. That relationship with God didn’t begin in 2001. It began when I was three years old.

As a little boy growing up in Erie, Pennsylvania, I became aware of a quiet inner guidance that seemed to know things I didn’t. At the time, I simply accepted it as normal. Only years later did I come to understand that what I was experiencing was one of the ways God had been faithfully leading me from the very beginning of my life.

Sometimes His guidance encouraged me to move forward. Sometimes it warned me to stop. Sometimes it gently redirected my path. And on that September morning, I believe it saved the life of the woman I would one day marry.

Many years later, during a season of prayer and reflection, I felt God impress upon me the phrase The Invisible Architect. In that moment, I finally had words for the unseen Presence that had faithfully accompanied me since childhood. That experience eventually inspired me to write The Invisible Architect: How to Design Your Perfect Life from Within. The book didn’t create my relationship with God. It simply gave me a way to describe a relationship that had already been unfolding for a lifetime.

I’ve learned not to expect God to speak the same way to everyone. Sometimes He speaks through Scripture. Sometimes through prayer. Sometimes through other people. And sometimes, He speaks through a gentle whisper that quietly settles into the heart with unmistakable clarity.

I’m not asking anyone to believe my story simply because I tell it. I can only share what happened. For me, it became undeniable evidence that God is still present, still guiding, still protecting, and still speaking to those willing to listen.

Sometimes we expect God to announce Himself through thunder, or through dramatic signs and wonders. My experience has often been different. More often than not, He whispers. And every now and then, listening changes everything.

johnnovelloauthor.com

#255. How Jesus Changed My Life

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I want to start by giving ALL glory, honor, praise, and thanks to God for all things…


“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) 


“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ;” (Ephesians 5:20)

The year 2021 started like any other. Unbeknownst to me, my life was about to be transformed in the most magnificent way! That July is when Jesus Christ rescued me from the muck and mire and turned my life right-side up! His love has lifted me to new heights, triggering a spiritual awakening and igniting a sense of awareness in me that has intensified over the past few years. Being unaware of my lost condition or that I needed to be saved (born again), Jesus came knocking on the door of my heart, and I gladly invited Him in. (Revelation 3:20.) It was a pivotal, life-transforming year for me. He gets ALL the glory for it!

Since coming to know Jesus as my Savior, I have gone through many drastic changes. As I
started walking with the Lord, I began to find my identity in Christ. My spiritual growth since
then has been exponential, to say the least! Jesus is not just part of my life, He IS my life, my
center! I don’t know how I ever lived without Him or what I would do without Him!

My Life Before, Without Jesus
Throughout my life, I’ve done things I’m not proud of and have made some bad choices.
Although I was essentially a kindhearted person, I lived a self-absorbed, self-indulgent lifestyle, having little to no regard for those less fortunate. I’ve squandered time and money foolishly and lavishly, consumed alcohol excessively without restraint, was a mixologist and hosted numerous drinking parties, and uttered expletives shamelessly and frequently, among other disgraceful things.

Prior to October 2021, I never had a church family and didn’t associate with other church goers. My husband and I broke away from the Catholic church for over 10 years with no desire to return. I was devoid of a prayer life and never once read a Bible. I rarely praised, glorified, or worshipped God, seldomly proclaiming my love towards Him.

I accepted praises and compliments for jobs well done, taking credit. I held grudges towards those who treated me wrongfully, sometimes finding it difficult to forgive. I had lived for myself and always did things according to my own selfish will, rather than seeking God’s will…I didn’t know any better. I was clearly unsaved and unaware of my lost condition.

As bad as all that sounds, I’m guilty of worse. It repulses me to even think about it. But I’ve come a very long way, all thanks to my precious Jesus…He is my Savior in countless ways!

My Life Today, With Jesus ❤️
(Many of these changes didn’t happen right away. Some were more immediate than others, but it was an overall gradual process that took place over time and is still taking place.)


Seeking God First – I habitually seek God first for wisdom, guidance, discernment, and that His will be done in my life and in every situation. Once I expressed the desire to do God’s will, He started opening doors and setting up Divine appointments that continue to baffle and astonish me! Everything I am doing for Him can never be enough. I will never be satisfied and won’t stop until He stops me.

Prayer – I have become a prayer warrior and pray on a daily basis, throughout the day, praising, worshipping, and giving thanks and glory to God for who He is, what He has done, what He promises to do, and for blessing us immeasurably. God hears and answers ALL prayers. Whether it’s yes, no, not yet, or that He has something better in mind, He will answer! In His perfect timing, according to His plans and purposes. He always wants and does what’s best for us. Everything He does is for our good and His glory.


Bible Study – I spend time in God’s Word daily to gain wisdom and learn sound doctrine. These biblical precepts are essential and advantageous for living according to God’s way (2 Timothy 3:16). Even if we were to read through our Bibles cover to cover a hundred times, it is a necessary discipline that we are in the Word of God every day. Also, there is spiritual
warfare taking place every day that we need to be on guard against, and God’s Word is the most powerful weapon to equip ourselves. We need to put on the whole armour of God and be vigilant. It is my feeling that God reveals His truths to us at the appropriate time, when He wants us to know them. Again, everything in His timing.


Faithful Church Attendance – On October 3, 2021, my husband and I started attending Victory Baptist Church, a warm and loving family-oriented, King James only, bible-preaching, bible-believing, independent, fundamental Baptist church. We were baptized six weeks later on November 14 and are still attending all services faithfully to this day, continuing to learn and grow in God’s Word. We fellowship regularly with church family and enjoy doing things together. I also joined the choir, perform specials, and belong to a music ministry with three other church members.

Witnessing – God has given me the boldness, courage, and right words to say when witnessing to people. I approach strangers regularly to share the Good News of the Gospel, telling them how they can be saved. I have a burden on my heart for lost souls to be saved. Even though I have apprehensive moments not knowing whether they will be receptive or dismissive, if they are the latter, I’ve learned to shake the dust off my feet and forge ahead. When I first began soulwinning with church family in February 2022, God showed me pretty quickly to not take rejection personally, because they are not rejecting us…they are rejecting my Jesus, which is beyond heartbreaking!!


Gospel Tracts – I always carry Gospel tracts with me, leaving them everywhere I go
and anywhere I can…they’ve made their way onto a multitude of front doors and into houses, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, stores, assisted living facilities, rehab centers, nursing homes, hospitals, public restrooms, signage, car doors, gas pump handles, beaches, airports, cruise ship terminals, cruise ships, and several ports of call in the Caribbean. I’ve also found creative places to put them such as placing a Halloween-themed one inside a wine glass held by a witch in a Halloween display and a “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” one in Santa’s hand in a store’s Christmas display. Hey, I gotta get them out there!

God’s Attributes – I have come to know many of God’s amazing attributes, which are
innumerable. There isn’t enough space on this server to contain them all. Our God is
omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, infinite, eternal, holy, divine, sovereign, majestic,
merciful, gracious, longsuffering, just, faithful, loving, true, perfect, righteous, wise,
unchangeable, independent, forgiving, caring, compassionate, trustworthy. He is the One and only true God who has ever been, who is, and who will ever be. He’s the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow…He never changes. He is faithful, having kept every one of His promises and fulfilled every prophecy so far, and the best is yet to come! His promises never return void. His mercies and grace abound and are renewed every morning, they fail not. God’s pure love for humanity is transcendent…unconditional…incomprehensible! What an honor and privilege it is to be loved so dearly by our Heavenly Father! What perfect love! True love. ❤️

Relationship & Faith – God wants more than anything to have a personal relationship with each one of us. Having faith in Jesus and a personal one-on-one relationship with Him is
the  cornerstone for healthy spiritual growth and maturity. I find that this relationship can best be attained by devoting time every day in worship, prayer, and God’s Word. Faithful church attendance is key to maturing in God’s Word and learning biblical truths that will keep us steadfast and on the right path. It is also important to surround ourselves with like-minded believers, enjoy healthy fellowship with church family, and maintain right relationships within the church, which is the “body of Christ”.


Life of Service – I make a conscious effort to help those in need and show compassion for those less fortunate than us. I am blessed to be able to serve the Lord by serving others, volunteering for our church’s ministries and other faith-based organizations, helping those in need, and ministering to the sick and elderly. Love dwells in my heart for all people, ever since the Holy Spirit moved in and took up residence. ✝️❤️

Prudent, Gratifying Changes – I am much more frugal, having significantly reduced spending on insignificant things. I’ve abstained from all alcohol since January 1, 2022 and have ceased using profane language altogether. I am quick to forgive all wrongdoings. I only listen to contemporary Christian artists and worship music, which is so inspiring, as well as preaching on Moody radio, and only watch biblical and uplifting spiritual movies. Nothing secular interests me any more… at all. Praise the Lord!


Joy in the Lord – No matter how dire the circumstances are in my life or with events that are going on in the world, I will always have joy in the Lord, true peace, and comfort knowing that God is in 100% control of everything. No one, or nothing, can steal my joy!


Constant Refinement – There are still many issues I struggle with that I continue to work on, and although they are difficult to overcome on my own, I know that with God, all things are possible. There is a continual “refining process” we must undergo as we allow God to “mold and shape us” into the human beings He created us to be. He created us in His image and formed each of us in the womb with gifts and abilities unique to every individual to apply to our lives, all for His glory.


In Conclusion
My life is a testimony to God’s amazing grace, mercy, love, and transformative power! He fills my cup every day in abundance! My resolve remains unwavering, and that is to love God wholeheartedly, glorify Him in all that I do, obey His commandments the best that I can, be used mightily for His purposes, and live a life that’s pleasing to Him.


It’s clear to see that living a Christ-centered life and walking with Jesus make all the difference in the world! He has given my life purpose, meaning, and a reason for being. All of these changes are a result of Him saving me and the Holy Spirit indwelling me. I have a fervent zeal and profound love for Jesus that is difficult to convey. He is precious to me beyond words, and He truly gives me peace that passes all understanding! My life belongs to Jesus completely, I am His, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Simply put, I cannot—and wouldn’t ever want to—live without Him…I don’t know how I ever did! Thank you, my sweet Jesus!! ✝️

#254. Spiritual Mothers and Fathers

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Photo by Angela Haar

I see something Beautiful.


There is a Promise through partnership in 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 that if we humble ourselves and pray, that God will heal our land. With that verse, I was inspired to write a 10-day devotion to celebrate the gift of prayer. And then send His Word out to people in hospitals that have been given a life-threatening diagnosis. People are offered a gift book, with photos of nature paired with His Word, and a note to value their role in the community with an invitation for prayer.

The first testimony that I saw as a result of that was in my own family. When I learned that a family member of mine was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, at the same time I learned that Kentucky was leading the nation in the c-word, my heart broke and I began writing. Thankfully, my family member overcame. And we are on a journey to help Kentucky overcome.

But I see something now that I didn’t see before. And it’s the Kingdom Way.


I see that the Lord, completely by Grace, has shared with me a ministry of Peace in partnership with Him. It’s like a loaf of bread. And in honor of Jesus, I wholeheartedly devote it to Him to bless. And then I have the privilege of breaking off pieces of this ministry and sharing with others, and together we get to be spiritual mothers and fathers serving Him. A verse highlighted has been, “Peacemakers who sow in Peace raise a Harvest of righteousness.”


There was a man named Michael, that was suffering with two diagnoses, (cancer and AIDS). He was longing to connect with God but had severe wounds of rejection from the church. He read through our Heal Our Land prayer devotion and sent me a message about a verse that inspired him, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21).


Michael received a Peace book. He messaged again with a verse that he liked, “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” He was encouraged to see photos in the Peace book near where his mother lived and wrote a blog post to his influencers about “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” I shared with him two “Peace Albums” by Bethel Music that he played on repeat and we prayed for him. “The Blessing” was his favorite… with lyrics, “The Lord turn His face toward you, and give you Peace.” He had mentioned communion. I sent him a voice recording about the Wedding Feast in Heaven and how God has a seat at His table just for him. That he is to come in his wedding clothes, in his rightful identity, in the righteousness of Christ… as a Beloved son.



Michael shared an amazing story that he calls “It’s a crazy short trip to Heaven.” He had ventured out of the house with a friend and when he returned home, his oxygen level plummeted to 57. Even with his oxygen machine, he couldn’t get the levels back up and they dropped to 47. As his body shivered, he said, “Here we go!” He went out of his body and had a beautiful encounter with the Lord. He saw the Light of heaven and God turn His face toward him. They had a short conversation that made him laugh, and then he returned to his body. Waves of peace like he had never felt came over him. He said he came back so happy… saying, “It’s a crazy short trip to heaven.” (The Lord fulfilled the lyrics of his worship song.)


Michael went to his heavenly Home last week. He sent a message just hours before.


“The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Revelation 22:21)
He encouraged to read the full chapter.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=revelation+21&version=NKJV


Sometimes people are healed here. Sometimes they are healed in Heaven. He felt strongly that it was his time to go Home. He went home a son. We have the most incredible privilege to stand in the gap. Grateful that the blood of Jesus covers us all.

#253. The Sparrow’s Song

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Tuesday is jail night. As a volunteer at my local county jail, I pray with and give counsel to female inmates. Most of the residents there are between twenty and forty, many have small children, some are pregnant.

We volunteers meet with the chaplain before going behind locked doors. One night, when I entered the conference room, the chaplain, usually smiling and joking around, was standing at a distance looking melancholy. I asked him if he was sad. He nodded. After a few minutes hesitation he told me he had given his daughter away in marriage on Friday. It was an emotional time for him, struggling with the finality of her leaving home. 

I tried to cheer him up with a bit of chitchat, then asked about the wedding music. He said, “Well, she had the usual songs, but at the last minute she decided to end the ceremony with ‘His Eye Is On The Sparrow,’ a song her grandmother used to sing to her.” (I was thinking that was a pretty unusual choice for a young bride.)

“Hmmm I’m sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the church,” I offered. His smile faded as he slowly turned away and sank into his chair at the end of the conference table. So much for cheering him up! I prayed the Lord would lift his spirits.

After a short devotion and prayer, we filed into the lockdown portion of the jail. For twelve weeks prior, I had been visiting the section called “Gen-1,” a dorm-like room containing eight bunk beds. I wondered how many of the beds would be occupied that day as I walked down a hall, turned right and pressed a button for access. The door slammed loudly behind me, announcing my presence, and I was welcomed with smiles and nods by several girls playing cards. One of them couldn’t wait to tell me about one of their new roommates who had a gorgeous singing voice. 

“Too bad, you won’t be able to hear her sing tonight, because she has laundry duty.” 

I expressed my disappointment; then asked if anyone would like prayer.  As usual, time flew by quickly and at eight fifty-five I checked my watch, ended the scripture reading with a prayer and said good-bye to my friends. I pushed a button and central security buzzed open the door allowing me to leave. I walked quickly to the next locked door and was buzzed out into a long corridor. Halfway down the hallway was the door to the chaplain’s office where the volunteers return bibles and check themselves out. As I reached for the doorknob I saw two girls coming my way. They were pushing laundry carts. Trailing behind them was the chaplain, still looking a little down. I decided to walk toward them, and when they were about to pass me by I spoke. “Which one of you is the singer?”

The second one raised her hand, “I am!”

“Please sing something for me!” 

She wasn’t surprised. She thought for a moment, then began to sing.

“For Jesus is my portion

 My constant Friend is He;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.” 

I pointed to the chaplain. Our mouths dropped. 

It was the same song—the one from his daughter’s wedding! 

Acoustics in the hallway echoed, providing perfect amplification. Her voice was rich, high and clear, as she embellished the melody. Oh, yes! She really was as good as her reputation. I began singing with her in a glorious duet, following a third away from her high notes, adding some jazzy twists as she led with a Rhythm and Blues style.

“I sing because I’m happy

I sing because I’m free,

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know He watches me.”

We soared effortlessly while joyous echoes resounded throughout the jail. It was a rare happening. Were heavenly voices choosing the notes and carrying the sound?

I didn’t want the moment to end. I asked if she knew “Just a Closer Walk With Thee,” and that became a duet as well. Several of the men on our team arrived just in time to breathe in the music. They later commented that we sounded like angels. “Bringing a bit of heaven to Earth,” one of them added. 

 The irony was evident. A convicted felon was singing about happiness and freedom, companionship and protection, ministering to a man whose purpose had been to bring comfort to others. The singer said she didn’t know why she had thought of that song. 

“I never sing that song,” she insisted.

Suddenly there was a loud slam from a door closing and we were jolted back to earth. A warden was coming down the hall from behind me. 

Still giddy, and not remembering where I was, I turned to him and said in excited tones, “Oh! You just missed the singing!”

He was not amused. His face was set in a disgusted frown. “NO, I did not!” he retorted, as he marched by us. I held my breath. No goodbyes from the girls. They straightened up, quickly pushed their carts down the hall and disappeared.

Back in the office, the chaplain was beside himself, grinning from ear to ear. “If I had left the men’s section at the time I usually do, I would have missed the singing. For some reason I was ten minutes early!” 

I told him we were probably going to get written up, and maybe even kicked out. He said he wouldn’t care. “This was one of the best experiences I’ve had in the many years I’ve been coming to the jail!”

Minutes later I drove home in silence, but the song lingered on. “I sing because I’m happy. I sing because I’m free. His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.” 

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

A week later, Amy, another jail volunteer, told me more about the singing inmate. Amy had been sitting in an open recreation area at a time when half the incarcerated women in that ward were in their cells; the other half were exercising, playing cards or watching TV. One was sitting alone with a bad attitude, frowning when the volunteer approached her. Amy  did her best to break down that wall of stubbornness. After a few short exchanges, she had an idea. She presented a challenge: A suggestion that singing might be a way of chasing the demons and taking charge of her drug recovery. 

Not wanting to comply at first, the girl was incredulous. 

“Sing? Here? Right now?”

“Yes!”

Amy continued her story: “Much to my surprise, the inmate took up the challenge and began to sing. Immediately, ladies in the recreation area stopped in their tracks. Those in cells peered out their windows. Jaws dropped. Time stood still while they listened to the soaring phrases of a gospel message more powerful than any preacher. When her song ended, there was a loud burst of applause and cheers!”

In days that followed, I learned the singer’s voice often echoed throughout the entire maze of hallways, reaching the ears of other inmates, both men and women. The once disgruntled, sour-faced inmate, was now a gifted woman, boldly facing her demons—a songbird bringing light into darkness.

“And the beat goes on” as we say in jazz (meaning there is more to this story). Three weeks after our memorable duet, I visited the jail and there was the singer, sitting at a table with two other young women in “Gen-1.” She greeted me, waved me over, and we wasted no time to begin singing. 

At one point we stopped to pray. After prayer, the singer and I shared the story of our hallway duet. We told the two girls about the chaplain’s surprise and we explained the meaning of the song, “His eye is on the sparrow.” At that, the girl to my left broke into a huge, mischievous grin. I said to her, “You look like you have something up your sleeve. What’s up?”

 I was blown away when she said, “We both have sparrow tattoos!” 

What! She bared her left arm to reveal a large bird tattoo. I asked what was the significance, and she said the sparrow stood for strength and endurance. The other girl pulled her shirt aside to show a bird on her left upper chest. She said she had chosen it simply because she thought it would look good opposite the flowers on the right side. 

I was thrilled. With new energy, I pointed out how fortunate they were to have reminders that go with them everywhere—sparrows reminding them of how much God loves and values them.

Weeks later, I received a card from the chaplain’s daughter, who I had been told was an artist. It was a thank-you note for the wedding gift I sent her. While I was reading, something fell to the floor. Another surprise! It was a mini-sized, unframed artwork of a bird sitting on a tree branch. An arc over the bird’s head said “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” The bride’s painting now sits on my dresser—my own daily reminder of God’s abundant love for me!

I have read that sparrow tattoos have a place in prison culture where the birds symbolize freedom. I have also read that sparrows mate for life and so for some, sparrow tattoos symbolize love and loyalty. I have not read that sparrows are known for their singing. Yet, I happen to know of a county jail where a sparrow soars and sings a song of freedom. 

   Update:     2023

The songbird is no longer singing in jail. I’m thrilled to see her daily God messages posted on Facebook. According to her own words, she has been sober for five years and is enjoying her life of freedom with purpose. God is using her extraordinary gifts to uplift others and to glorify Him.

#252. Promise Keeper

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Photo by Jeff Rogers Photography

On a perfect fall day nearly 10 years ago, God healed me and gave me a promise. 

I was attending a women’s retreat focused on pressing into God and seeking to hear His voice. At that time, my husband and I had been married for eight months. He had a son from a previous marriage, and we wanted children of our own. I had yet to conceive, and I believed I was barren. 

The first day at the retreat, I walked to my assigned table. There in the center was a sign, “The Table of Hannah.” It was then I had a renewed hope that God was going to heal me. Over the weekend I began to pray, “God, open my womb like Hannah’s.” On the last night, as we worshiped and prayed in the chapel, the Holy Spirit was very palpable. I was standing in the prayer line and every woman before me had been slain in the Spirit as they stepped up for prayer — every one of them. I had never experienced anything like that, and honestly I was a little scared and freaked out by it! I thought, ‘That is not happening to me!’ I started praying again, “God open by womb like Hannah’s.” Sure enough, as soon as I stepped up, the woman praying touched my forehead and down I went! It was the most wonderful experience I’d ever had. As I lay there enveloped in God’s presence, I heard Him say three simple words, “It is done.” These words were loud and clear to me. I stood up and began to walk to the side of the room, so others could be prayed for. As I reached the side of the room, just a few steps away, the director picked up the microphone and said, “It is done. Ladies, it is done.” I knew that it was done! 

I went home excited and expecting great things. What I learned was that when God gives you a promise, the Devil gives you a war! A few months after that experience, in May 2013, we began the fight for our lives, the fight for God’s promise, the fight for our marriage. I can’t say I was unprepared because I am a child of God, and He fights for me. God equips me to fight the enemy. I can say I was naive and didn’t realize the magnitude of the battle ahead. 

My husband and I married in February 2012. When we married, my husband had been, for several years, properly taking an opioid pain medication, Lortab, by prescription for a back injury. In August 2012, he was prescribed Oxycodone, and in May 2013, my husband confided in me that he had started snorting his pain pills. This began a three-year battle with drug addiction that got much, much worse before it got better. That was the first of many detoxes and attempts at sobriety that failed. Each failure led to a deeper state of addiction. For about two years, as my husband’s pain pill addiction worsened, I slipped further and further into isolation and I did not talk to anyone about what was going on. I was right where the enemy wanted me, isolated and discouraged. One particular night, after my husband came home high and we had an argument, I left the house in a state of turmoil and high emotions. As I drove aimlessly, I remember feeling an overpowering sense of being totally alone. I asked myself, ‘Where are you going? You have no one to go to.’ I would pick up my phone and think ‘Who are you going to call? You Have no one!’ 

It was the enemy hissing lies that I was believing. Then a small truth whispered through those lies and I thought, ‘I have my life group leader. I could call her.’ I had just recently joined a life group, and I knew of these people but didn’t really know them. Out of sheer desperation, I pulled over in the parking lot of Kmart and I called my life group leader, Tiffany. That phone call saved me, emotionally and spiritually. I began crying to her and told her what we had been struggling with for two years, I spoke of my anger and hurt and I told her I wanted to leave my husband. Tiffany listened and let me release my hurt. Then she said, “You may not like what I’m going to say, but I have to say it. You can’t leave him. You are his wife and you can’t leave. That doesn’t mean you don’t fight it out with him, but you don’t leave.” Then she said, “This is just life. We’ll get through it together.” For the first time in years, I didn’t feel alone.

After that phone call, I went to McDonald’s and got a vanilla ice cream cone. I drove home feeling a thousand pounds lighter and a little more hopeful. I wish I could say that life got better after that, but it didn’t. It only got worse. Yet, Tiffany was true to her word, and she didn’t let us go through this alone. She and her husband, Tommy, fervently and consistently prayed for us and encouraged us. Even in my husband’s addictive behavior, they showed love to him. Sometimes it was tough love, but they never gave up. They never passed judgment, they just showed love. 

I also met in our small group another couple who had been where we were. The wife helped me through many tough days and became very special to me. Being part of this group brought me out of isolation and connected me to believers who encouraged me. I hope that in some ways, I have encouraged them, too. It broke a hold the enemy had on me — isolation  — and put me in a family. I tell Tiffany that she saved my life. She always says, “No, God did that.” Yes, He did, but he used her to do it. Addiction creates a world of darkness, chaos, deception and lies. Living with an addict in his world made me seek God’s truth all the more. God is truth and cannot lie. That is a trait of the Lord’s that I cherish. 

By the winter of 2015 my husband had really spiraled. I knew that something more than pain pill addiction was going on. I began praying for God to reveal the truth. I had expended so much energy and wasted so much time seeking truth on my own terms, in my own ways. This always led to conflict and more lies, to cover up the lies I discovered. But when God reveals truth, there is no mistaking the truth for a lie. I began to learn that God can fight these battles I had been trying to fight. All I needed to do was ask Him, then give up searching and striving on my own. 

On a snowy morning in February 2015, God answered my prayer for truth. It hit me like a freight train. I walked up on my husband sitting in my car. He had a needle in his arm and a metal spoon and small blowtorch in the cupholder. I stood at the car window, in the snow — totally frozen in shock. Fury ran through me and I pounded on the window. It was like slow motion. He looked into my eyes, through the window with a needle in his vein. In that moment, every furious emotion I felt turned to extreme pity for this man before me. He didn’t say a word, but it seemed his eyes, full of shame, cried out to me, saying, “Help me please. I can’t help myself.” 

Even as he was staring straight at me, he could not stop pushing the plunger of the needle, coursing heroin through his veins. My knees were weak and, as I opened the door, I collapsed into the seat of the car. I began praying and thanking God for revealing truth, no matter how painful. I learned after that, though, to pray, “God reveal truth, and prepare me to handle it!” Soon after that encounter, my husband went to rehab for the first time. It pains my heart to say that my husband was a heroin addict. But addiction knows no bounds and is not a respecter of persons. My husband was a heroin addict. His first rehab failed. He was there for two weeks before insurance stopped paying and we couldn’t afford to keep him there. So, he came home, and relapsed the very next night. We were right back on the merry go round. For the next 13 months, my husband’s heroin addiction ruled his life. It attempted to rule mine. It is a powerful force, but my God is more powerful. 

Over these years of fighting addiction — the spirit of addiction — God showed Himself Faithful, True, Powerful and Enduring. God sought after my husband in his addiction. I saw God’s mercy time and again. He never stopped pursuing my husband, even if my husband had stopped pursuing Him. During this time, God never left me. He protected me in every way possible. I can’t even do Him justice in explaining what He did for me, for us. But I have to try, because He deserves it. He deserves honor and glory for what He did, and is doing. 

God used my pastors and people in our church to sustain the wife of a heroin addict. I can recall many times that the Lord used sermons that were preached to remind me of His presence and power. During this time of addiction, although I had been taken out of isolation, I suffered from depression. There was a particular period in the winter of 2015 that was very difficult. There were days when I would lie on the couch staring at the ceiling or the wall for 12 or more hours, with nothingness inside. I would lie with my Bible on the coffee table, an arm’s reach away, and could not reach for it. My antidote was within arm’s reach and I couldn’t grasp it. Those days were agonizing. I would want to pray, but I couldn’t. I didn’t have the energy, I didn’t have the strength. All I could manage during those times were three words, “Jesus, help me.” That was my heart’s cry, my prayer, that I couldn’t even say out loud some days. But God heard me, and He is my help. On one of these days, I had been lying on the couch all day, thinking about God’s promise of a child at the retreat. I couldn’t see a way for that to happen in the state we were in — the state my husband was in. 

I felt myself giving up on the dream, the promise was dying inside of me. That evening I pulled myself up and managed to drive to a hospital ministry meeting at church. I planned to sit in the back and leave as soon as it was over. As I was driving there, I asked God, “Do you see me down here? Have you forgotten about me?” I sat through the meeting and as I was turning to leave, out of nowhere, there was the pastor of hospital ministry right in front of me. I didn’t say a word. She put one hand on each shoulder, looked me directly in the eye and said, “God sees you in your secret place. He has not forgotten about you.” She pulled me into a hug and I sobbed on her shoulder for a few minutes. God used her to answer my thoughts and make it very clear that He had not forgotten me. In January 2016, my pastor preached a sermon, and I can’t even tell you what it was about, just that he had an altar call at the end for people who were sick and tired of being where they were in life. He asked people to stand and then told the people standing and only the people standing, to come to the altar. I was standing. I was sick and tired of being depressed. I went to the altar and I stood in line praying for God to free me of depression. My pastor came by and touched my shoulders, praying in the Spirit and I literally felt the heavy spirit of depression leave me. It lifted right off my shoulders and I have not had a single day or moment of depression since that day! Thank You, Lord. 

Nothing had changed in our situation at that point, yet my spirit was renewed and depression no longer had a hold on me! Another time, as I was driving, I was discouraged. I said in my mind, to God, “Are we going to make it through this?” I had reached into my purse for my lip balm (that’s my addiction). As I finished that thought, my fingers closed around a smooth stone in my purse. It was a stone my pastor had given us from a sermon called ‘If these stones could talk.’ It was meant to be a reminder of all the times God had been faithful in our lives. I held it in my hand and memories of God’s faithfulness to me flooded my spirit. God reminded me He is faithful, and we will get through this.

There were many other sermons that God used to encourage me, push me along one more step, remind me that He is always working, always seeking, always loving. Shortly after my husband came home from his first rehab, I found out we were pregnant. Within two weeks of learning we were pregnant, we had miscarried. My husband was using heroin during this time and it was a very difficult experience. He dealt with the loss in his way, by using drugs. And I was left to deal with my emotions alone, not as one in a marriage. It was difficult. 

I knew and believed that God loved me enough. I reminded myself that when He fulfills the promise to me, it’s going to be in all His glory and blessing. Having a child with a heroin addict in active addiction would not meet the standard of a promise from God. I still tear up when I think of losing our first pregnancy, but I knew God had made me a promise and He would see it through. 

In February 2016, it had finally reached a point where I had to ask my husband to leave our home. This was absolutely the most difficult thing I had ever done. This was so hard, because it involved his child as well. But he had done something that was a breaking point, and I knew it was time. We lived apart for a couple of months. We still spoke and sometimes saw each other, but we lived our lives apart. 

On May 13, he came over to our house for dinner. At about 10 p.m. he said he had to go to Walmart. I knew what he really meant. He left and by midnight I had not heard from him. He wasn’t answering my calls or texts. So, again I was home alone, upset, angry, starting to get wrapped in that cycle of emotions that I hadn’t had to experience for several months. Then I realized I didn’t have to let these emotions rule me, that’s why we weren’t living together. So right then, I stopped pacing and prayed, “Lord, if my husband is doing something he shouldn’t, I pray he gets caught. I don’t even care what happens, just let him get caught. And if I’m overreacting and he’s not, then get him home safely. Amen” I went to sleep peacefully, and I got up the next morning to get ready for his sister’s wedding. 

That morning, May 14, 2016, at 9 a.m., my husband called to tell me he was going to jail. I just sat the phone down, said, “Thank You, Lord,” and went about my day. After a few days passed, he called from jail. Even then, sitting in jail, having lost seemingly everything (most importantly his wife and son), he continued to lie about his drug use. Still. At that time, I knew it was over. I couldn’t do it anymore. If he could not be honest here and now, he never would. I told my husband he was the worst thing that had ever happened to me, and I hung up the phone. 

Over the next two weeks, my mind was plagued with thoughts of divorce. It seemed the only answer. I could not see another way, and honestly at that point, I did not want another way. I was ready to be done. I wrote him a letter and told him I would be filing for divorce and wanted him to know from me first. I went to a divorce attorney’s office. That lawyer was good at his job and was selling me a divorce, telling me why my husband needed me to divorce him. I sat at that desk with pen in hand, but I could not do it. I could not divorce my husband. I did take the lawyer’s card, just in case. I went home and went about my day. I was in my closet hanging clothes, and everything just hit me like a punch in the chest. I dropped to the floor, unable to breathe for a moment. I began begging God to release me from His vows. I was asking God to release me from the marriage vows I made to Him, not to my husband. I couldn’t break vows to my husband without breaking them to God. I needed his permission and I begged him to give it to me. As I lay there on my side, crying and begging, I felt the Lord wrap me up and say, “Be still. Let me finish what I have begun.” I said, “Okay, God, do what You do.” 

I got up off that floor and never thought of divorce again. My husband spent three months in jail, during which time he got sober  and began thinking clearly again. God worked on him in that jail in a way that only God can. He brought deliverance from shame and guilt that kept him trapped in addiction for years. Only God can do a work like that, and only my husband can explain what He really did for Him. But I know, he saved my husband’s life — quite literally. My husband would not have lived much longer in heroin addiction. It would have killed him. In fact, he did try to kill himself several times by overdose, but God had a promise to fulfill. 

After those three months in jail, my husband was furloughed to an inpatient treatment facility. We didn’t even know it at the time, but the facility that took our insurance was ranked in the top 5% of recovery centers in the nation. This place really helped my husband recognize his disease and helped him address underlying issues that led to addiction. He was able to get therapy for things in life that he had never addressed before. We were able to receive marriage counseling together, and we reconciled and forgave one another in a way that is only possible with God. My husband lived at a recovery house for six months, during which he became the house manager and helped others going through addiction recovery. 

Today, my husband is more than six years’ clean! Praise God! God has since restored every breach of trust, renewed every destroyed relationship, and returned life to us. We have a deeper sense of who God is and how deeply He desires a relationship with us. God very quickly restored the years that the locusts destroyed (Joel 2:25). 

In January 2018 God opened my womb and blessed us with our first baby boy! When we were praying for a name, God told us Josiah. It means “healed by Jehovah or supported by Jehovah.” What an appropriate tribute to what God has done for us! When I was pregnant, I prayed for a red-headed baby with blue or hazel eyes. When Josiah was born, before I even saw him the nurse said, “Oh, we have a red-head!” And, yes, he has hazel eyes. God answered my prayers in every detail. When I became pregnant with my second son, I told God I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful boy and just asked Him to give me whatever he desired. He did just that! In July 2019, we delivered our second son, Isaiah. He has blond hair, blue eyes and gorgeous bouncy curls! In November 2020 we delivered our third son, Caleb. He has blue eyes and brown hair with a cute little swirl of hair on the crown of his head! And in April 2022 we delivered our fourth (and final) son, Titus. He is a round-cheeked happy baby who fills my heart with joy just looking at him! God has brought us from a dark barren desert land to a place overflowing with life, love and blessing beyond measure. 

And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[a]considered him faithful who had made the promise. – Hebrews 11:11

#251. Do You Have the Faith of a Fisherman?

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Photo by Jeff Rogers

I was raised in the Nazarene church. I had a wonderful Sunday School teacher. Some of my earliest and fondest memories were in that church in Sunday School.

As I got older, I struggled with the doctrine of sanctification as it was taught in the Nazarene church our family attended. The way I understood it, once you became a Christian you would not fail. I struggled with that for years knowing that I could never live up to that “Christian perfection.” Because of this, I was never baptized in the Nazarene church. In fact, every time there was an invitation, I got anxious and tightly held to the pew. 

I stopped going to church during my teenage years. Then, when I was 25, my wife and I started going to a Baptist church. The pastor came to our house and talked to me about giving my life to the Lord. After he left, I prayed, “Lord, I really want to be saved but I don’t think I can live up to what I have been taught.”

It was like He spoke to me, “Just have faith in me.”

I answered “Lord, is that what it is? Just have faith in You?”

“Yes.”

I finally realized it wasn’t anything I could do, but what Jesus had already done that saved me. 

I got down on my knees and said, “Lord, I want to give my heart and life to you.” That is how my Christian walk began in October 1985. 

I decided I needed to be as close to the Lord I could. So I went through a period of studying the theology of different denominations. I had been studying the Bible since I was nine years old. Southern Baptist was as close as I could find to the Scriptures. I began going to a Southern Baptist church, which was the church of the pastor who had come to our house to talk with me. Eventually this pastor asked me to take over the Sunday School class he taught for the adult men. I said, “I’m awfully young to teach a class with 70-year-old men.” But the pastor had confidence and faith in me. I took over the Sunday School class, although it felt quite intimidating to me. 

A year later we had a revival. A man preached a sermon that hit me so hard it made me want to preach. I prayed, “Lord, I know there must be a church out there somewhere that needs a preacher. I don’t want any money. I just want to preach.”

A small Baptist mission church needed a pastor at the time. I gave a sermon for their church and then was asked to become their interim pastor. I was there for a year. While I was the pastor, a man came from out of town and told me that the church was going to receive a donation but would not receive the money because I was married to a divorced woman. I stepped down from serving as their pastor. This was a very difficult period in my life. Leaving the pastoring position at this church was one of the most heartbreaking things that has ever happened to me. 

During the time I was interim pastor, I was manager of a Goodyear tire store. One Saturday, the guys and I decided to go out and shoot trap. Later, I had a bruise come up on my bicep area. It changed color and I put a heating pad on it. The bruise became an odd color and streaks were going up and down on my arm. My wife told me that I needed to go to the hospital and have it checked out, but I wanted to wait and see if it got better. Later that night, I said “I’m going down. I guess we’d better go to the hospital.” The doctors told me if I had waited one more day I would have died. They put me on some strong antibiotics, but my temperature got worse and my arm got as big as my thigh. I had pus coming out of my skin like sweat. At 8 a.m. on a Saturday, five doctors came in and said, “We are sorry. There is nothing else we can do for you. We have called the University of Kentucky Medical Center and there is nothing they can do for you.” They meant they couldn’t save my life, but I thought they were meant they couldn’t save my arm and would have to amputate.  

I was a big outdoorsman and a competitive shooter. I prayed, “Lord, everything I do in life I do with my right arm. Lord, if you can’t see fit to heal me so that I can keep my right arm, I am ready to come on home.” My arm was hanging in a sling at the time and, as soon as I prayed,  I felt something that felt like static electricity flowing from my fingertips down through my arm into my chest. This happened three times. I began to feel much better. At 5 p.m. one of the doctors came in and said, “I know what has happened for you and it was not any medicine.” He knew it was a miracle from God. He was my doctor for many years after that.

I have often thought that prayer is like a man I saw fishing years ago. That fisherman had a bucket with him. Before he ever cast his first lure, he filled that bucket with water. He believed he was going to catch fish. Time after time when he cast out, he caught a fish and put in that bucket. He expected that he would catch fish, he prepared for it and it came to pass.  

I don’t know why, but the Lord chose to heal me. The biggest thing in my life now is to lift up my fellow brothers and sisters. We all go through trials and get beaten down. I’ve been through a divorce I did not want. I gave up the opportunity to preach and pastor in a church that I loved. I have been in places of trial and tribulation. This helps me be empathetic and compassionate for others going through hard times. I always just encourage them to ‘stay the course’ and put their trust in Jesus Christ. There is no other place to go but Jesus and God the Father to uphold us. 

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. —Romans 8:16

#250. When God Speaks — Listen! 

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Maybe I should have known it was a Godsend from the beginning, but I didn’t.

I was pleased with the new painting I had done of a barn in Texas, for I had created paintings of lots of barns before. Most of them were in Kentucky or Iowa, where I had lived and knew many people. Only four of my barn paintings hung in the homes of people in other states. So when the thought came to me — seemingly out of nowhere — that I should see if I could paint a picture of a barn in all 50 states before my 90th birthday, it made me smile. I thought it unlikely because that birthday was less than six years away. Besides that, where would I get photos of barns in the states where I had not traveled or was not likely to know anyone? At age 84, the chances of me traveling and taking photos was very limited. I would have cast the thought aside quickly, but it simply wouldn’t go away. So for several days I prayed about it, and asked God for guidance. 

Then I mentioned the barn-painting idea to my four adult children. All were very supportive, and their comments often seemed to say, “You will never know if you don’t try.” That line of thinking had been a strong influence for me at difficult times earlier in my life. So my decision to see if I could do it was made! I began by telling a few friends and family members of my new challenge. 

I was very surprised by the sudden encouragement I received. It seemed nobody had ever heard of anyone anywhere ever doing such a project, and they felt sure I would get the job done before I was 90. Almost immediately I had folk in far away states sending me photos of barns. Some were photos of barns near to them, others were old barns that had a family history to preserve. Soon I found I had been given a brand new reason for getting up each morning, and I loved what I was doing. 

At the beginning, I had thought each painting would one day be owned by the person who sent the photo. But it only took creating a few paintings for me to become aware that each painting was a major part of a unit or a single series; therefore, should not be given or sold to anyone until my task was completed. After all, each painting (new or old) when added to the others, helped me feel that I really could do the rest of the states. 

Having this big project going on during my elderly years had become a terrific personal bonus, for I had been connected again with people of my past, even people I only knew for a short time, or some far distant relatives. Part of the overwhelming support I received came through friends of friends, or friends of acquaintances, or others who simply seemed to be impressed with my challenge and wanted to help me reach my goal. Some were from organizations that had heard what I was doing or had seen and admired some of my work. It seemed strange that so many learned of my endeavor so quickly. Or that they went to so much trouble taking pictures to send my way. 

Once I got started, there was nothing that could stop me from finishing. Even a heart attack, in late 2020, slowed me down for only a short time. For I believed this task was sent from above, and was a project given to me for a reason. I hope the reason is to bring enjoyment and pleasant memories to all who view my work. I also hope, in some way, it encourages others in their final years not to be afraid to set difficult goals. 

All the wonderful things that have come about, since I chose to follow the challenge, continue to amaze me. They are things I never had dreamed of before, so God is still in charge. 

  • A book of my “Barns in 50 States” has been published, and sales are good. 
  • A totally unexpected connection of a first cousin I had lost contact with for over 50 years has been renewed. 
  • One of the paintings my mother created probably 75 years ago that I had never seen, has been given to me.
  • The county history museum displayed all 50 of my barn paintings during a three-month exhibition. The exhibit has drawn visitors from as far as 2,000 miles away.
  • Since visiting the museum, a stranger has commissioned me to paint (from his memory) a painting of his family’s barn. 

So if you hear the quote, “Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be,” frequently attributed to folk artist Grandma Moses; consider changing it to: “Life is what we make it, when we ask daily for and receive, God’s guidance.”  

God always listens. He knows the desires of our heart. 

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. – Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) 

#249. Meghan’s Story

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After 30 years of being trafficked, Meghan experienced the authentic Jesus when a group of friends simply received her into their lives. The Chosen, particularly the story of Mary Magdalene, played an impactful part in her journey.

We are grateful to The Chosen for allowing us to share Meghan’s God story with you through the video below.