prison – Page 2 – Fortress of Hope Ministries

Holidays are a special time for families to get together. However, for some family gatherings they have someone they love missing. Some have lost loved ones who graduated to heaven. Others are separated due to other extenuating circumstances such as illness, finances, work, military service, or addictions. Then there are the families with a loved one incarcerated. When my son was sentenced to prison, I grieved. Hard. The life I imagined our family would have vanished with the incarceration. That…

A Lifestyle of Repentance

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Biblical Living

Jesus completed the will of the Father by being obedient to death on the cross. Then God the Father raised Him from the dead. All this was accomplished so that all people have an opportunity to be reconciled to the Father through Christ. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6 ESV) Jesus is the only way to the Father. In order to come…

Revive Your Dream

Shonda Savage Whitworth

hope

We all have dreams and desires. When we marry, we dream of the happily-ever-after life and all that comes with living with the person we love. When we have children, we dream of them growing up and becoming the next great leader, inventor, doctor and such. When life turns in an unexpected direction, what about our dreams? Did we miss God? In Genesis 37, we read about how Joseph dreamed that his brothers would bow down to him. Not just…

The Hole

Shonda Savage Whitworth

hope

Most readers of this blog attend church on a regular basis. Which is a good thing. But take a moment to think about the kind of programs your church offers to foster spiritual growth and development. Perhaps your church offers: Ladies Bible study Men’s Bible study Meals for the infirmed Mother’s Day out MOPS AWANAs Divorce care Celebrate Recovery Prison ministry About prisoners, according to the Prison Policy Initiative…. “The American criminal justice system holds more than 2.3 million people…

What’s Your Perspective?

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Freedom

As we live life, we naturally become accustomed to our ways. Habits form; routines set in. And frankly, we become comfortable with our lives. Even if we don’t necessarily like everything about our lives, we are used to it and any change will disrupt the pattern we’ve adapted to. We are focused on our present circumstances. The disciples were a lot like us in that regard. They had traveled the country side with Jesus. In Mark 9, as they traveled,…

Advocating for Your Loved One – Part 1

Shonda Savage Whitworth

Advocacy

Advocating for our incarcerated loved one at one time or another during their confinement is inevitable. I learned early on as a family member on the outside that I needed to learn to find a balance between when to call the unit on behalf of my son and when to leave things alone. On one hand, it may be beneficial for the prison staff to know that the inmate has family on the outside who care about their loved one…

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…

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…