Boy does God work fast! And in His own special ways too! I think that God loves to surprise us with answers to our prayers in ways we don’t expect.

Shauna & I talked the other day about me needing some encouragement in here and she said she was going to pray that God send someone to build me up and get me back to where I need to be so I can keep going in here and be content with where I am! So I prayed for this – and Shauna did and I have a feeling that some of you readers did as well.

So, I was expecting some new inmates to be booked in or maybe for church on Wednesday – thinking maybe Brother Eric would have a word for me.

But God did something totally unexpected. Instead, He brought a new addition to our Bible Study. A new “baby” Christian who wants to know God better – and bam! – that’s all it took – and I was on fire! The 3 of us sat on the floor in a corner and prayed and flipped through scripture. What stood out to her was Galatians 5:22 – the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. She said, “I want to have that! How do I get that?”

I said, “All you have to do is ask for it. God loves to give those away!”

It made me so excited – I – all of the sudden – had an abundance of joy and it was ON from there. We flipped through scripture after scripture. And I know that God was guiding it because somehow every time I flipped the pages, looking for something specific – I found a different one that applied more to her than the one I was looking for. And it felt so good! She was so into it – probably because I am so excited about it and it is contagious.

As a matter of fact, I just looked over at her and she is diligently copying scriptures to start with!

The dorm is completely quiet right now…
because we prayed hard for peace.

I just sent a little “air mail” over to her saying, “Do you notice how quiet the dorm is? God is Good! Peace that passes all understanding.”

So, what I am trying to say is that God didn’t need to send a mature Christian to me. Instead, He put an opportunity for me to “shine bright” for Him…Do what I love so much to do…Cause that is what makes me content – sharing my faith – Expressing my faith – & Bringing people to know Him!

Instead of just helping these ladies learn how to cope with these “problems” in here, I am taking my own advise and I am able to cope with this place as well.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Philippians 4:13

Randi

My phone rang yesterday afternoon around 1:30pm. It was an out of state phone number (which I typically ignore and let go to voicemail)…but I decided to answer my phone. The woman on the other end of the phone says, “Hi Shauna, this is Kelly…”

I am at a loss…I know a few Kelly’s…

Then she says, “I wanted to see how Randi is doing…”

And, at that moment, I know which Kelly it is – It is Kelly KELLY - Formerly known as Anonymous. Kelly, who spent a few months of her life living in a large room with my little sister. Kelly, who is out of jail now and trying to get on her feet! We talked some about how Randi was doing and how she is doing now that she is out of jail. But the conversation quickly turned to her faith. She has a tougher road staying strong in the faith now that she is home than she did in WBRP. I was thrilled to offer up some reassurance and excitement about her walk!

I feel blessed to know that I can be a voice of hope outside of that jail. Kelly is living in Indiana right now – in South Bend to be exact – she is looking for a church in the area that will love her despite her past & encourage her in her faith…and really be a family to her there! Please be praying for her and the right church to be clear in her path. Also, if you have connections in that area and know a good place to send her – please let me know and I will call her.

It is amazing to see Randi’s time in jail having an eternal impact!!!