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Eternal Impact

Eternal Impact - The Work Of Transformation

Please celebrate with us the new eternal life of a Lifeblood participant who accepted Christ this week during our Lifeblood women’s group inside the Shakopee women’s prison! We are grateful for our amazing volunteer group facilitator Tabatha Perry. Tabatha is a consistent positive influence for these women who are putting in the time and effort to change their lives while incarcerated.

The following article is an example of the kinds of discussion we have with men and women inside jails and prisons through our Lifeblood curriculum. Like all of our curriculum, Lifeblood is built on stories of shared experience. We simply capture and share stories of transformation to help people explore their own lives. Our mission is to use story to bring hope and healing for those in need of change. We thank God that he has used Lifeblood and Tabatha to help bring one more person into his family for eternity!

A Vital Question: Who Am I?

If we want serious change in our lives, there is one serious question we need to address: Who am I?

Why do we need to answer this question? Because if we answer it honestly, we will have a good idea if we are on the right track to a better, healthier life.

Maybe we have allowed others to define who we were with terms like ‘convict,’ ‘drug addict,’ ‘absent father,’ ‘prostitute’ and so on. Or maybe we try to be like someone else or affiliate ourselves with the environment we grew up in or the types of people we associate with, like a gang.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 (ESV)

How Do I See Myself?

If we want to change, we first need to view ourselves accurately.

It’s so easy to focus on the wrong things. Most of us allow our past or our circumstances to define the way we see ourselves. It’s important to face the past and deal with the damage we’ve done (or that’s been done to us). But our vision isn’t always accurate in the way we see our past or our circumstances. Where our vision is flawed, God’s is perfect. God sees you as His adored child. Rely on God’s vision to help you see yourself accurately.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Seek Input From Others

One helpful goal is to find a few trusted advisors who can help you understand yourself and to talk through the decisions of life. If you think back on your life you’ll see that who you are today is, in part as result of who you have been influenced by in the past. Most of us who have stumbled in life have allowed other people to influence us in negative ways, to lead us down the road to poor choices. Choose to surround yourself with a few people who will help to influence you sown roads to healthier choices. The right people can help you see yourself accurately too.

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” Proverbs 15:22 (NIV)

Work Towards Becoming Who You Choose To Be

Sometimes it’s hard to see the progress we are making in life. Take some time every day to reflect on the choices you’ve made and the people you’ve interacted with. Change requires time, but it also requires intentionality. Each of us makes choices every day that will either lead us closer to who we intend to be (and to who God intends us to be), or away from that life. Understand that all of us have days when we move the wrong direction. We need to understand that perfection is not a realistic goal to set for ourselves. No one is perfect, but we need to see ourselves as the goal. God has a plan for each of our lives and that is what we need to focus on. When we make a mistake, we need to get up and keep going.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Are You Ready To Step In?

We have ongoing opportunities for volunteers to join us as we reach men and women in jails and prisons. If you’d like to learn more about the Lifeblood curriculum or how you can be part of this rewarding ministry, reach out to steve@fivestonemedia.com

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Life Transformation

Life Transformation - Always Personal - Always Shared

Some people have a pretty accurate picture of who they are and have never felt the need to drastically change their life. But for some of us, life transformation is vital to the ability to move forward in life. There are many men and women in our world who reach a point when they look in the mirror and don’t recognize the person they see. If you’ve never faced a future absent of hope and choice, you can’t know how impossible real life change can seem.

Hopeless

A few years ago I reached a point when I didn’t know how to do life anymore because I didn’t know who I was. I had done everything in my power that I could do to fix my problems and it wasn’t enough. The country was in a deep recession, my business was suffering badly and our family was facing overwhelming financial losses. I had been led to believe that I should be able to deal with all of life’s troubles on my own power and overcome any obstacle that was placed in my path, this was impossible. After years of falling short of who the world wanted me to be, I ran out of hope and options. Every future I could imagine scared me to death. I had lost track of who I was and I looked for something to ease the fear. The answer I turned to was alcohol.

For a long time, alcohol allowed me to hide away from my fears and responsibilities. Of course, alcohol was a false solution to my problems and addiction charged a heavy price in terms of physical health, damaged relationships and feelings of worthlessness. Eventually alcohol stopped working for me and my world came crashing down. This time I was hopeless and out of options but now I was without answers. I needed a new answer for how to do life.

Transformation Requires Community

Through a few caring people, God led me to a recovery ministry where I found a group of people who shared my experiences, who demonstrated vulnerability and trust, and who would help me explore my past and my ideas of who I really was in God’s eyes. The hard work of self-exploration taught me that the assumptions I had about my identity were based on false information. These experiences also taught me that other people were essential to the life change I needed.

The Lifeblood Curriculum

The misunderstanding of self-identity is a common theme for people whose lives have gone in a wrong direction. For those in jail or prison, life has taken a dramatically wrong direction. Lifeblood, our first curriculum was created to support reentry from incarceration. Through programming inside jails, prisons, and community-based reentry facilities, Lifeblood gives participants the opportunity to explore their identity and to begin to transform their lives. Lifeblood groups provide safe spaces where members are free to share their experiences while they support and learn from others. These groups also give people opportunities to adjust their understanding of essential life themes having to do with family, relationships, decision-making, the future, and more.

The men and women who sit down together for a Lifeblood group make a commitment to the hard work of finding a new way to do life. We present the opportunity for participants to move off in a new direction for life as Christ followers and we love to see them recognize the plan that God had for their lives all along. That’s why we do our work, to help people see who they are and find a future they never imagined possible.

You Are Part Of God’s Solution

Just as life transformation can’t happen without the help of others, the work of this ministry can’t happen without the gifts, time, and resources of many people. We are grateful for the people who support the work of transforming lives. Whether you pray for us, volunteer in correctional facilities, share your expertise, or support us financially you are part of God’s plans to bring people closer to Christ and to transform lives.

Thank You!

If You'd Like To Help

If you have expertise, gifts or time that you would like to share with us please email steve@fivestonemedia.com

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Prison Ministry