The Path To Victory

08/19/2025

Since retiring from our ministry, we have kept in touch with the dads in our class by utilizing the “Getting Out” app. It has been a great way to continue to stay in touch by sending monthly devotions to them. We also are sending money to put on their tablets each month. This is from funds we had left over and what better way to use it than to give these dads an extra blessing! Our hearts are full to overflowing!!! The following message is from one of our dads…

“Well thanks for the prayers and the 50 dollars always helps in the evenings and weekends. I have been so blessed in this prison sentence it almost seems a lot less like prison and a lot like time set aside to get me back on track with a new family, a new job, refounding faith, and rebound on everything o was starting to lack because of my decisions and my own way of life, instead of the purpose and way of life wanted for me by my Creator ! Thanks again and I'm praying for you guys and thanking God for you!

I want you to Know that I watched ( Show me the Father) on the tablet it had Tony Evans in it. I also want you to know I consider myself a "father of integrity" and I live by it when I am challenged with temptations and I first thank God but I want to thank you guys for the time and love you put into the mission you was given and succeeded at least with me I can say for sure!”

02/20/2025

This is one way Satan uses our faith-driven compassion for the world against us. As the saying goes, if the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy. If he can use the cacophony of bad news that swirls around us to distract us from the “good works” our Lord intends for us today, he’ll keep us from impacting our culture for Christ. And, over time, he may convince us to abandon the effort of cultural transformation altogether.

When the entire universe feels dark, your light may seem inconsequential. If you then “put it under a basket,” everyone in your “house” loses (Matthew 5:15). Including you.

So, to employ Locke’s assertion, let’s begin the day by reframing our “intention.” Leo Tolstoy observed: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

A Delta flight made a hard landing Monday afternoon in Toronto, lost a wing, burst into flames, and flipped onto its roof. Delta said twenty-one injured people were taken to local hospitals; nineteen were released by the next morning. Three had critical but non-life-threatening injuries, one of whom...

01/14/2025

Sending this to the dads in our class! Missing them but thankful for the GettingOut app that allows us to communicate with them!

To all dads! From my devotion today… (words in parathesis are mine)
God’s love has crowned you with success that has nothing to do with your achievements! You may hesitate to label yourself “successful.” But if you have walked very long with the Lord (as I know some of you have and some have just begun.), you can look at your history and be amazed at what God has done in you, through you, or even in spite of you! As a shepherd boy, David would have never imagined what God would do with his life. But as king, he looked back and said to God, “Who am I and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” 1 Chronicles 17:16. David saw his own success and was astonished.
Sometimes we measure our success by what we’ve done or where we came from or who our family is. And when we do, we can think that if we’ve not done much with our life or if our past (or our today) is marked by big failures or we have a dysfunctional family history, then we just aren’t a success.
But God who loves you has given you success that has NOTHING to do with your performance, your past or your pedigree! You may not be the king of a nation or the CEO of a company; you may not even be able to keep your house tidy or your children in matching socks! You may have a failed marriage or be unemployed (or incarcerated!) But like David, you have been granted success by your loving Father because He has brought you this far! When you can look deeply into your own soul and humbly ask, “Who am I…that you have brought me this far?”; you are beginning to grasp the kind of success you have been given.
When David considered what God had done in his life, he said, “You…have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men” 1 Chronicles 17:17. David got it! He understood that success isn’t something you achieve; success is believing the reality of who God is and what He says about you! Ask God today, “who am I that You have brought me this far?” And, then listen for His voice. He will reassure you of His love and remind you of all He has done in your life.
(This devotion brought me to tears for myself but also for each of you…don’t let where you are now or where you’ve been define who you are…you are HIS…that’s who you are!!!)

01/02/2025

Sent this story to the dads in our class as a New Year encouragement!

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

We pray this year you will work on “fixing” the inside of you. And we know then, that the “outside” and what’s ahead for you, will be much more bearable. Remember, Jesus loves you…and so do we!

12/23/2024

Spoke at our church this morning to share about the “Christmas Gift of Prayer” part of our ministry. Each year we ask God’s people to pray for a specific child and that child’s dad for one year. These are the children of our inmate dads that participated in our Christmas Gift program. This year we used ornaments that includes scripture to pray for the child they picked. On the back of the ornament is the child’s first name, age and s*x plus the date their dad is released from prison. What a blessing it is to know that these families are covered in prayer for 2025!

12/20/2024

12/20/2024

Our hearts were very heavy knowing that Tuesday was the last class that we would teach. Knowing that, we wanted to do something uplifting and fun. Sooooo, we watched the movie Elf and had popcorn, sodas, candy and brownies! Fun! But have to say there were some tears shed before we walked out the door 🥺😢. We are still hoping to work with a local church to keep our ministry going. Please be in prayer that God is not closing this door yet.

12/20/2024

A few more photos from our last Christmas program at NHCC. The Piggly Wiggly in Burgaw has catered the meals for the last 5 years. The food has been great and always a hit with the inmate dads. This year the bakery lady at the Pig went above and beyond…take a look at this years birthday cake for Jesus 💝The dads each decorated their own family table and are able to have these sweet moments with their children ❣️ And did I say the food was delicious!

12/15/2024

“Unless the power of prayer is supplied by God’s Word, prayer, though earnest, is empty.

The absence of power in praying can be traced to the absence of a constant supply of God’s Word to repair the waste and renew the life. He who wants to learn to pray well must first study God’s Word and store it in his memory and thoughts.

When we consult God’s Word, we find that no duty is more binding than that of prayer. No promises are more radiant, more abounding, than those that are attached to prayer.”

Father God, I know that I can only learn to pray well by studying Your Word and keeping it in my heart. I want to fulfill the great duty I have of being Your praying servant. Amen.

Taken from The Power of Prayer by E. M. Bounds

12/14/2024

Our last Christmas program took place at NHCC this past Sunday. Lynn and I are retiring at the end of this year. Our hearts are overflowing with love and gratitude for all your support these last 15 years! Here are a few pictures of the gifts the dad’s children and family received this year. We share these so you can see how God has worked in our ministry. When we first became involved in this ministry we were pour to say the least. We relied on Toys for Tots to provide the toys for the children. But over the years we wanted to give the children more than just a “toy”. We wanted their gifts to have meaning and point them to their Savior, or we wanted to provide a gift that had meaning between them and their dad. God began to provided those funds and was faithful in so much more! We pray that you and each dad that took our class stay on … the path to victory 📖