General – Fortress of Hope Ministries

November 30, 2021 is Giving Tuesday. According to their website, this idea started in 2012. It is now “a global moment that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.” Will you prayerfully consider supporting Fortress of Hope Ministries with a contribution? Every dollar helps. (Scroll down to the bottom of this post to learn how you can contribute.) Here’s more information about Fortress of Hope: We are a ministry that supports families whose lives have…

No-Cost Resources for You!

Shonda Savage Whitworth

General

At Fortress of Hope Ministries our desire is to provide you with resources for your prison family journey. Our resources are scattered about in a myriad of locations, such as: the website & blog the closed Facebook group transmitted in emails shared on monthly Zoom meetings What we found is that not everyone visits the website and blog or has an opportunity to read every email that lands in their inbox. We have many members who are not on Facebook.…

Because He Does

Patricia Lefler

General

I used to be someone until I was someone’s incarcerated loved one. “Someone” this world thought more of, that is. In an instant, it seemed everything changed. I wondered, “Lord, is it because I couldn’t change myself?” The Bible instructs us to die to this world. I still have work to do, but if there’s one thing the drama in my life has taught me – it is how to die. Lord, may I learn to do it without always…

God Sees Me

Shonda Savage Whitworth

General, Prayer

Two months after my son was arrested, I attended Lysa Terkeurst’s She Speaks conference in North Carolina. This was a tough time to travel away from home, but this was a pre-paid trip. So I tapped into my reserve energy and traveled across two time zones to attend this conference. The staff informed attendees that they set up a prayer room that they used to pray over each person. No small task as there were approximately 600 attendees. We received…

Support Fortress of Hope by Shopping on Amazon Smile

Shonda Savage Whitworth

General

Do you shop on Amazon? If so, you can help Fortress of Hope Ministries by using the following Amazon Smile link. Just bookmark this link in your favorite browser, and select Fortress of Hope Ministries. When you shop, be sure to return to the Smile.Amazon.com link. Then Amazon will send a portion of the proceeds to Fortress of Hope! We appreciate your support by shopping via our Amazon Smile link below! Thank you & Blessings!

Resolve to Trust God

Shonda Savage Whitworth

General, hope

Joseph’s brothers despised him because he was their father’s favorite of the twelve. Because of their father’s open partiality, the brothers hated Joseph and would not even say a kind word to him. Then one night Joseph shared a dream with his brothers. “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!” (Genesis 37:7 NLT) Well, this stirred up Joseph’s brothers’ hatred…

How to Have a Relationship with the Lord

Shonda Savage Whitworth

General

In the last post, we looked at Daniel and his resolve not to eat the king’s delicacies. His resolve was much deeper than sheer willpower. His resolve was rooted in his love for the Lord. When we love someone, we want to know them and be in relationship with them. This week, let’s resolve to build a relationship with the Lord. Our God is a relational! How do we engage in a relationship with the Lord? We set time aside…

Resolve to Love God

Shonda Savage Whitworth

General

Have you kept your New Year resolutions? We start off with good intentions to change; however, after a few days or months, we return to old habits. These resolutions are unsuccessful. Let’s look at resolve from a biblical perspective to see if it moves beyond good intentions to something more lasting. There once was a young man who lived in the country known as Judah, which was the Southern Kingdom of Israel. Due to the country’s unfaithfulness to follow the…

Welcome to Fortress of Hope

Shonda Savage Whitworth

General, hope

Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here! When I received that middle of the night phone call that my son had been arrested, it was my next to the worst nightmare. Then following year, my son was convicted and sentenced to prison. After being in church for about 15 years, I turned to the first place I knew to turn to when there’s trouble–the church. However, my church, though loving and compassionate, did not know what to do for me. Then…