Praise

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…

31 Days of Praise

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Praise

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…

Our Praise Opens Doors for Others

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Praise

In a previous blog post, Freedom from Despair, I shared how we can fall into despair if we expect to have a fair life. Sadly, life is not fair. For families of inmates, we expect our loved ones to receive a fair trial, and when that does not happen, it has the potential to lead us into despair. In Acts 16, when Paul and Silas were wrongfully convicted and thrown into prison, how did they respond? Paul and Silas did…

Your Mightiest Spiritual Weapon

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Praise

What is the best weapon in your arsenal when the enemy comes against you? Daily we face battles from the enemy. We may be force to deal with health issues, financial issues, family issues, friend issues, job issues, and so on. But we must remember that any of the people involved in the conflict is NOT our enemy. The real battle is in the spiritual realm, not in this physical realm. Ephesians 6: 12 (NKJV) explains to us, “For we do…

What Can Praise Do?

Shonda Savage Whitworth

hope, Praise

Life has its ups and downs. We go through good times and bad times. Some times are really bad times. Those mind-bending, I can’t believe this nightmare is happening to me, this is the kind of stuff movies are made of type of bad times. Other times seem bad in the moment, but in retrospect we can say it wasn’t so bad. If most of you are like me, my initial response when bad times hit is to begin to…

Freedom from Despair

Shonda Savage Whitworth

hope

As a mother who has an incarcerated son, I’ve had the opportunity to met other family members who also have loved ones imprisoned. In my conversations with others, I’ve heard heartbreaking stories how these loved ones did not receive a fair trial. They may be guilty of the crime, but received a sentence that does not fit the offense. Or they may be innocent, but convicted and sentenced to prison. The common thread in my conversations with others is that…

Refill Yourself with the Presence of God

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Praise

When life crashes around us, the last thing we feel like doing is singing a “hallelujah” chorus. The problems drain our energy—physically, emotionally, and mentally. That is when we must refill ourselves with the presence of God. No matter where you are on your walk with the Lord, whether a new believer or if you are a seasoned veteran, if we’re not continually refilling ourselves with the Lord presence, we become weakened vessels. One of the most powerful forms of…

Find Hope When in Despair

31 Days of Praise

Our Praise Opens Doors for Others

Your Mightiest Spiritual Weapon

What Can Praise Do?

Freedom from Despair

Refill Yourself with the Presence of God