The choices of other people may interrupt our lives. We didn’t ask for it. And we certainly don’t want it as it doesn’t line up with our dreams. My son’s choices that led to his incarceration were not what I dreamed or imagined for his life. Like other parents, I imagined my son growing up, going to college, finding a good job, marrying a godly woman, and having children. But my dreams for life were interrupted. With that interruption a…
The following letter to cancer was written by an inmate and submitted to Fortress of Hope. As families of prisoners, we pray for healing and good health for our incarcerated loved ones and ourselves. If you or a loved one is fighting cancer, I pray the following letter encourages you to keep fighting the good fight of faith (see 1 Tim 6:12). This inmate held onto his faith in Christ, followed the doctor’s treatment plan, and is now in remission.…
Every year in the US on July 4th, we gather together for parades, fireworks, hamburgers, and watermelon. In 1870, the US Congress made the 4th of July a federal holiday. This holiday reflects our nation’s patriotism regarding our freedom. As Americans, we celebrate the anniversary date that the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, which was on July 4, 1776. Did you know that it was seven years after the Declaration of Independence was signed that Americans were actually…
My dreams for my family’s future shattered when my oldest son was sentenced to prison. His conviction demolished the good mother image I erected in my mind. With this image decimated, my emotions spiraled into a dark abyss. After my son began his life in state prison, my life of being held captive by guilt, shame, and condemnation started. Despair enveloped me like a heavy fog keeping the light from shining in my life. Proverbs 13:12 reads, “Hope deferred makes the…
Happy Father’s Day to you! The third Sunday in June is a day to pay tribute to the father’s. Fortress of Hope Ministries acknowledges you for a job well done. I understand that as a father who has an incarcerated child that you may not feel worthy of recognition. But you are worthy! My husband grieved for many months after our son’s arrest. It was heart-wrenching to watch him lament over this situation. Thoughts replayed in his mind about what…
For every month with 31 days, let us unite together and worship the Lord by lifting up praise—in our private times, in our work places, with our families and friends, and on social media. I use the book by Ruth Myers called 31 Days of Praise: Enjoying God Anew. I encourage you to order one from your favorite online book retailer or visit your local Christian book store. This book contains 31 daily prayers of praise based on Scripture. Of…
After my son’s arrest, I felt so much shame that I rarely left my home in order to conceal myself. The news of my son’s arrest hit the state news. Because of the media blasts, immediately my son’s identity became associated with the crimes he was accused of committing. Then the identity association hit my husband and I as his parents. We heard over and over in churches, “You’ll know what kind of parents people are based on the children’s…
When we say what the Word of God says, it renews our minds and we develop the mind of Christ. Daily confession of the Word strengthens our inner person (Ephesians 5:26). The spiritual battle is in the mind. When take captive the enemy’s thoughts that oppose the Word of God and replace them with the Word of God, the enemy is defeated. The enemy wants us to live defeated lives by not knowing who we are in Christ. In Christ…
My unexpected prison family journey began in 2011. It rocked my world when we received that middle of the night phone call about my son’s arrest. Then months later after his sentencing to state prison, the rocking gave way to shaking. Honestly, I felt like my life ended as I did not know how to move on with life. I secluded myself inside my own home—allowing the enemy to erect bars of despair and depression around my heart. As I…
Sometimes, we feel God moves at a snail’s pace. We pray a prayer. Get up, shower, and go about our day. We go to bed and get up the next day and pray for the same issue. Our God is not bound by time. He works from an eternal perspective while our thoughts and actions have been conditioned around time. Peter wrote, “Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a…