VL-Issue 44- July 22
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REAL PEOPLE | REAL STORIES | REAL HOPE<br />
LAY YOUR BURDEN DOWN<br />
DAR VUELTA<br />
PARA VER<br />
EN ESPAÑOL<br />
NEED A GOOD FATHER?<br />
A magazine<br />
on a mission:<br />
see page 2<br />
Experience<br />
the Beauty of<br />
God’s Plan<br />
Moving forward when life<br />
looks different than expected<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong>
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PHOTO BY EDOVO
ISSUE 3, JULY 20<strong>22</strong><br />
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn<br />
you with unfailing kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3 NIV<br />
Publisher & Executive Director<br />
Kristi Overton Johnson<br />
Accounting Manager<br />
Carla Owens<br />
Cover Photography<br />
Margaret DeBruhl<br />
Editor<br />
Rachel Overton<br />
Spanish Editorial Team<br />
Karissa Anderson, Proofreader<br />
Monica Colangelo, Translator<br />
Creative Designer<br />
Lauren Jones<br />
Creative Content Team<br />
Kory K. Gordon<br />
Kristi Overton Johnson<br />
Christina Kimbrel<br />
Production Manager<br />
Christina Kimbrel<br />
Social Media Manager<br />
Sheridan Correa<br />
Digital Content Manager<br />
Roman Randall<br />
Director of Prison Correspondence<br />
Carla Owens<br />
Director of Partner Care & Development<br />
Pat Avery<br />
Church Liaison<br />
Melisha Johnson<br />
Hispanic Outreach Director<br />
Denise San Miguel<br />
Story Contributors<br />
Jay Bastardo<br />
Nate Carreras<br />
Sheridan Correa<br />
Kory Gordon<br />
Kristi Overton Johnson<br />
Melisha Johnson<br />
Amber Leason<br />
Kenny Munds<br />
Carla Owens<br />
Kyle and Bobbie Robinson<br />
Photography<br />
Mike Barber Ministries<br />
Raelyn Butler<br />
Nicholas Correa<br />
Margaret DeBruhl<br />
EDOVO<br />
Bill Hudson, 252Buzz<br />
Haley Manning Photography<br />
Joey Meddock Photography<br />
Steve Roos, Ashcroft Studio Photography<br />
Melisa Roszel<br />
Cheyenne Wilson, Arizona Portraits LLC<br />
Lyssa Yates<br />
Artwork<br />
Jared Emerson<br />
Victorious Living magazine is a publication of Kristi Overton Johnson Ministries, a 501c3<br />
organization. Copyright © 20<strong>22</strong>, Kristi Overton Johnson Ministries, all rights<br />
reserved. For permission to reprint or copy any material contained herein, please<br />
contact us at admin@vlmag.org.<br />
DISCLAIMER: The articles featured in Victorious Living are designed to inspire and encourage<br />
our readers by sharing powerful testimonies from people who, we believe, have been transformed<br />
by God’s grace, love, and power. The articles are focused on each individual’s testimony.<br />
Although we conduct some independent research, we rely heavily on the information provided<br />
to us by those we interview. Our articles are not intended to be an endorsement of the views,<br />
opinions, choices, or activities of the persons whose stories we feature. The statements, views,<br />
and opinions of those persons whose stories we feature are purely their own, and we do not<br />
control and are not responsible for any such statements, views, or opinions.<br />
HOW TO REACH VICTORIOUS LIVING<br />
General, Subscription, and Partnership Inquiries<br />
• Victorious Living<br />
PO Box 2801, Greenville, NC 27836<br />
• 352-478-2098<br />
• admin@vlmag.org<br />
All Prison Inmate Correspondence<br />
• Victorious Living Correspondence Outreach<br />
PO Box 2751, Greenville, NC 27836<br />
• hope@vlmag.org<br />
Scripture Permissions<br />
Scripture marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, copyright<br />
©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. | Scripture marked NLT is taken from the Holy Bible,<br />
New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. | Scripture<br />
marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version of the Bible, ®. Copyright © 1982 by<br />
Thomas Nelson. | All Scripture is used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.<br />
La escritura marcada NVI es tomada de la Santa Biblia, Nueva Versión Internacional®<br />
NVI®, copyright © 1999, 2015 por Biblica, Inc.®, Inc.® | La escritura marcada NTV es<br />
tomada de la Santa Biblia, Nueva Traducción Viviente, © Tyndale House Foundation,<br />
2010. | Toda la escritura usado con permiso. Reservados todos los derechos en todo<br />
el mundo.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
3
THE VICTORIOUS LIVING STORY<br />
One visit with an incarcerated friend in 2013 opened the eyes<br />
of Victorious Living founder, Kristi Overton Johnson, to the<br />
hopelessness of life behind bars. It also birthed in her a desire to<br />
deliver hope to the souls of incarcerated men and women.<br />
Soon after, God opened doors for Victorious Living magazine to<br />
be distributed in the prison system. He then led Kristi and the <strong>VL</strong><br />
team onto prison yards to share His message of hope in person and,<br />
more recently, digitally through prison tablets.<br />
Before that prison encounter, Kristi had<br />
spent 35 years water-skiing competitively<br />
worldwide, never considering those<br />
who had lost their freedom. But God<br />
had a plan for this world champion<br />
water-skier to go behind bars to<br />
encourage hearts with God’s love<br />
and His message of redemption<br />
and to equip people to get up and<br />
experience victorious living for<br />
themselves.<br />
Since 2013, Victorious Living<br />
magazine has impacted the lives of<br />
over one million incarcerated souls...<br />
and the story is still being written.<br />
BE A PART OF THE<br />
<strong>VL</strong> STORY<br />
Victorious Living is a great<br />
way to carry out God’s<br />
command to remember the<br />
prisoner (Matthew 25:34–40;<br />
Hebrews 13:3). Here’s how<br />
you can help us deliver hope<br />
to the incarcerated.<br />
SHARE<br />
Share <strong>VL</strong> with your local church,<br />
chaplain, jail, or prison. <strong>VL</strong> is a<br />
great mission to support and a<br />
good tool to use too!<br />
SUPPORT<br />
<strong>VL</strong> is partner supported. Your taxdeductible<br />
gift sends copies of<br />
<strong>VL</strong>Mag into jails and prisons, where<br />
it saves lives. And when you give,<br />
we’ll send you a copy too.<br />
SPONSOR<br />
Sponsor jails and prisons to receive<br />
quarterly cases of <strong>VL</strong>. It costs us<br />
$500 to supply 1 case of <strong>VL</strong> to 1<br />
facility, each quarter, for 1 year.<br />
SOCIAL MEDIA<br />
Visit our website and social media<br />
platforms. Like. Follow. Share.<br />
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PHOTO BY MIKE BARBER MINISTRIES PHOTO BY JOEY MEDDOCK PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
VISIT VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM OR CALL 352-478-2098
ISSUE 3, JULY 20<strong>22</strong><br />
CONTENTS<br />
8<br />
9<br />
13<br />
21<br />
32<br />
STEPPING FORWARD<br />
Know the Season You’re in<br />
BY KENNY MUNDS<br />
Declutter Your Heart<br />
BY CARLA OWENS WITH<br />
CHRISTINA KIMBREL<br />
Pass the Test<br />
BY KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON<br />
The Golden Rule<br />
BY SHERIDAN CORREA<br />
God’s Vision Has an<br />
Appointed Time<br />
BY KORY GORDON<br />
10<br />
Once owned by drugs and crime, Nate had<br />
nothing left when God knocked on the door<br />
of his heart. But that day, he found Christ<br />
and is now free from all chains.<br />
FEATURES<br />
Rebuilding the Life that<br />
Heroin Tore Apart<br />
THE STORY OF AMBER LEASON<br />
From childhood, Amber was aware<br />
of the dark, empty place inside her.<br />
For years, she tried to fill it with<br />
relationships, excuses, and drugs, yet<br />
every attempt left her feeling emptier<br />
than before. But then God showed up<br />
in an undeniable way, and Amber’s life<br />
was changed.<br />
18<br />
<strong>22</strong><br />
doesn’t come from accomplishment;<br />
it comes only from God.<br />
A Place to Belong<br />
THE STORY OF<br />
SHERIDAN CORREA<br />
All her life, Sheridan struggled<br />
with feeling unloved, inadequate,<br />
and lost. Her search for belonging<br />
led her through dark valleys of<br />
depression, drugs, attempted<br />
suicide, and jail, until she<br />
surrendered to the One who loved<br />
her first and loves her best.<br />
COVER STORY<br />
Embracing God’s Plan<br />
30<br />
TRANSFORMED<br />
LIVES<br />
God Always Makes a Way<br />
THE STORY OF NATE CARRERAS<br />
14<br />
Lay Your Burden Down<br />
THE STORY OF JAY BASTARDO<br />
A successful restaurateur, Jay worked hard<br />
to prove his worth, to himself and the world.<br />
Then the pandemic brought everything to<br />
a grinding halt, and in the stillness that<br />
followed, Jay had to learn that his value<br />
THE STORY OF KYLE AND<br />
BOBBIE ROBINSON<br />
The Robinsons both grew up in<br />
church and lived godly lives. So when<br />
God allowed their firstborn son to<br />
be autistic, their dreams and plans<br />
shattered around them. But God had<br />
bigger plans than Kyle and Bobbie<br />
had ever imagined.<br />
PHOTO BY MARGARET DEBRUHL<br />
ON THE COVER<br />
In our cover feature,<br />
Kyle and Bobbie<br />
Robinson share how<br />
embracing their son’s<br />
journey with autism<br />
and choosing to trust<br />
God led them to<br />
experience the beauty<br />
of Samuel and the<br />
joy of helping other<br />
families with autistic<br />
children.<br />
26<br />
Need a Good Father?<br />
BY KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON<br />
Kristi’s father blessed her with many<br />
good things throughout her life, but<br />
the best was the example he lived<br />
as a good father. We might not all<br />
have had wonderful parents here on<br />
earth, but God, our heavenly Father,<br />
is the ultimate giver of good gifts to<br />
those who ask.<br />
IN EVERY ISSUE<br />
6<br />
Publisher’s Note<br />
Welcome Home<br />
33<br />
Want to Know Jesus?<br />
I’m Saved...Now What?<br />
34<br />
Ministry News/Resources<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
5
PUBLISHER’S NOTE<br />
Welcome Home<br />
Kristi and her father, Parker Overton,<br />
at the International Waterski and<br />
Wakeboard Federation Hall of Fame<br />
Induction in 2017.<br />
If you’d like to partner with<br />
our magazine to deliver God’s<br />
hope and to impact the lives of<br />
incarcerated men and women,<br />
visit victoriouslivingmagazine<br />
.com. Your gift enables us to<br />
send this magazine into prisons<br />
around the nation. Each<br />
magazine impacts many lives<br />
for years to come.<br />
L<br />
ife often goes differently than we<br />
envision or desire. I’ve never met<br />
anyone whose childhood dream<br />
was to end up abandoned, addicted,<br />
abused, or incarcerated. Nor have I met<br />
anyone who prayed for a pandemic, a war,<br />
or societal unrest.<br />
People don’t get married hoping for<br />
divorce. They don’t have children and<br />
dream that they’ll be sick or go astray.<br />
They don’t enter friendships hoping they’ll<br />
end in betrayal. Neither do they take a job<br />
hoping they’ll get fired.<br />
No, we dream of good things and happyever-after<br />
endings. But then life happens,<br />
and we find ourselves in turbulent situations<br />
that are not always of our doing.<br />
Our hearts hurt, but we cope. We put up<br />
facades, search for people who understand<br />
our pain, or turn to substances to numb<br />
our wounds. And then we wall up or lash<br />
out. We might say or do things that make<br />
our lives and others’ lives more difficult.<br />
When we find ourselves in these lonely,<br />
painful, challenging places, we often<br />
wonder, “Where are You, God?” Darkness<br />
can make anyone question the goodness<br />
and presence of God. Even Jesus,<br />
the Son of God, cried out, “Eli, Eli, lama<br />
sabachthani?” which means “My God,<br />
my God, why have you abandoned me?”<br />
(Matthew 27:46 NLT) as He hung on a cruel<br />
Roman cross. Darkness tries to hide the<br />
reality of the unfailing love of God.<br />
This issue is full of stories of people<br />
who found themselves in painful circumstances,<br />
struggling with the idea of God’s<br />
goodness. Some wrestled a short time<br />
before surrendering their questions and<br />
situations to the Lord. Others got up from<br />
their wrestling mats and ran. But God pursued<br />
them. And, as you’ll see, they were<br />
overtaken by His goodness.<br />
Friend, I don’t know the curve balls life<br />
has thrown you. Some of you have experienced<br />
nothing but pain from the day<br />
you were born. I am so sorry. Others have<br />
been caught off guard and sidelined by<br />
something or someone. Please know that<br />
God is not the source of your pain; He is<br />
the answer to it.<br />
In this issue, I felt led to write about my<br />
father, Parker Overton, to paint a picture<br />
of God’s faithful love for us as our heavenly<br />
Father. It’s important that we understand<br />
our identities as children of God.<br />
The devil has been after our identities<br />
from the beginning of time; it started with<br />
Adam and Eve (Genesis 3). He didn’t want<br />
them, or anyone, to have an intimate relationship<br />
with God, so he tempted them to<br />
question God’s trustworthy love and care.<br />
And then, when God’s first kids bit into<br />
the lie, Satan brought shame and confusion.<br />
Adam and Eve hid from God, naked<br />
and afraid. They were sure He would no<br />
longer want a relationship with them.<br />
But God hadn’t gone anywhere. He was<br />
still walking in the garden, calling out their<br />
names, just as He’d always done. Would<br />
there be consequences? Yes. But even the<br />
consequences of sin are governed by God’s<br />
everlasting, unchanging, never-failing<br />
love. It is the goodness of God that seeks<br />
to bring us to repentance.<br />
Friend, Satan doesn’t want you to know<br />
God the Father as your heavenly Father.<br />
He wants you to run or hide. He wants you<br />
confused and full of shame, anger, and fear.<br />
He knows his game is over the minute you<br />
understand the truth about God and your<br />
identity as His child.<br />
As you read these stories and dive into<br />
God’s Word, I pray that you’ll come to know<br />
God as your heavenly Father. He’s pursuing<br />
you. He’s calling out your name. Listen!<br />
Come out of hiding and come home to<br />
your heavenly Father. You can trust your<br />
life to Him. Unlike the world, He will not<br />
fail you. In God’s family, you’re safe, understood,<br />
welcomed, and valued. And that’s<br />
where you belong. Welcome home!<br />
Kristi Overton Johnson<br />
Publisher & Executive Director<br />
6 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
Through the stories of Victorious Living,<br />
men and women behind bars<br />
meet the God of another chance.<br />
PHOTO BY ASHCROFT STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE ROOS<br />
Testimonial: Melisha<br />
I was in prison when I saw my first copy of<br />
Victorious Living.<br />
I’d had no idea a magazine like this even<br />
existed. Every story amazed, encouraged,<br />
and inspired me. I would often read the<br />
same issue repeatedly; each time I got<br />
something more.<br />
<strong>VL</strong> was an amazing tool for me to share<br />
the love of Jesus with other inmates while I<br />
was incarcerated. It was proof there is hope<br />
for any life. And then, they featured my<br />
story—twice!—and even more doors opened<br />
for me to share.<br />
I’ve struggled with rejection, shame,<br />
and being concerned of what others think<br />
of me. The <strong>VL</strong> team encouraged me to be<br />
transparent in sharing my story. I found<br />
freedom in my authenticity.<br />
I am home now, and <strong>VL</strong> continues to<br />
help me share the love of Jesus. I travel to<br />
churches and use the magazine and my<br />
testimony to help people understand the<br />
importance of prison ministry. Millions of<br />
people behind bars need to know Jesus loves<br />
them. Through <strong>VL</strong>, we can reach them!<br />
I am grateful to Kristi, the <strong>VL</strong> team, and<br />
their partners for visiting me when I was in<br />
prison. I have gained a new family in this<br />
ministry. What they did for the least of<br />
these, they did for Jesus!<br />
SPONSOR A PRISON<br />
IN YOUR STATE AND<br />
IMPACT LIVES TODAY.<br />
Visit victoriouslivingmagazine.com.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
7
STEPPING FORWARD<br />
Know the<br />
Season<br />
You’re in<br />
I WAS ENJOYING MY FIRST CUP OF COFFEE ONE MORNING,<br />
when I read Proverbs 10:5, which is about living life wisely. Suddenly,<br />
I found myself in deep reflection about the seasons of life.<br />
I decided that I’m in a season of preparation.<br />
Some would say I’m in the “twilight years,” the time when<br />
people look back on their lives as a whole with the recognition<br />
that their journey, at some point, must end. Everyone dies—no<br />
matter how closely we walk with the Savior and how faithfully we<br />
serve Him, we will still pass through the valley of death before<br />
we reach our eternal home.<br />
What stirred me to this revelation? I had recently stood at<br />
the bedside of a friend who was nearing death. It had been a<br />
while since I’d seen him last, and he had withered dramatically<br />
in stature.<br />
The murderous effects of cancer had turned his skin and eyes<br />
a pale yellow. The doctor had just brought him his biopsy results<br />
and informed him that he had somewhere between 30 and 90<br />
days to live.<br />
He looked at me through those jaundiced eyes and said, “I’m<br />
not buying it. God can still heal me. But if He chooses to take<br />
me, I’m ready to go.”<br />
BY KENNY MUNDS<br />
This was a man who had lived and breathed Jesus. I<br />
had learned so much from him throughout our years of<br />
friendship. He could hardly talk about anything other<br />
than his most recent revelations from God. He was a<br />
faithful Christ-follower, and his faith and wisdom profoundly<br />
affected me. It was tough to see him in such a<br />
reduced physical state.<br />
I had my guitar with me, and I sang a couple of his<br />
favorite songs. Tears filled his eyes as he listened to<br />
the words of “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” and “I Can Only<br />
Imagine.” Then, as if God had spoken to him, he turned<br />
to me and said, “We’ll be praying for you in heaven.”<br />
This man had seemed invincible to me. He was a<br />
solid, passionate disciple of the Lord Jesus who loved<br />
prison ministry and the men he had discipled behind<br />
prison walls. I had witnessed miraculous changes in<br />
countless lives through his teaching and training in<br />
the Word of God.<br />
Before I left, I kissed his forehead and told him I loved<br />
him. The tears flowed again. As I turned to leave, he<br />
said, “Tell our friends in prison I love them.” He went<br />
on to meet Jesus shortly after this visit.<br />
My friend was a wise man who recognized the importance<br />
of the last season of his life. He knew where he<br />
would spend eternity, but his heart remained burdened<br />
for souls that needed to hear the Good News of Jesus<br />
until his last breath. He understood that many people<br />
still needed to know the love of their Savior, Jesus Christ,<br />
who had died for them. He also wanted them to know<br />
He loved them.<br />
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “strip off every weight that<br />
slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us<br />
up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set<br />
before us” (NLT). My friend’s life was the embodiment<br />
of this verse.<br />
I’m 74 now. I’m in the later years, I know, but God still<br />
has a race for me to run. To do so, I must continually<br />
shed my earthly desires and pleasures. Thankfully, God<br />
offers His divine strength to help me shift my focus<br />
from satisfying my flesh to pleasing my Lord and loving<br />
His people.<br />
I pray that I will remain courageous in my faith and,<br />
like my friend, continue to fight the good fight to finish<br />
the race God has set before me (2 Timothy 4:7). I will remind<br />
people they are loved to the very end. I hope you’ll<br />
do the same, no matter what season of life you’re in.<br />
KENNY MUNDS takes the good news of God’s love and<br />
forgiveness into prisons across America. To learn more about his<br />
ministry, go to kennymundsministry.org.<br />
8 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
STEPPING FORWARD<br />
issues from those around us, there is no<br />
hiding from the One who loves us the most.<br />
God knew us first, and He knows us best. In<br />
Jeremiah 1:5, He tells us, “I knew you before<br />
No matter how hard<br />
we try to hide our<br />
issues from those<br />
around us, there is no<br />
hiding from the One<br />
who loves us the most.<br />
DECLUTTER<br />
YOUR HEART<br />
WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL, I had an<br />
old wooden chest where I stored my favorite<br />
toys and treasures. I loved collecting<br />
things, but I also loved holding on to them,<br />
sometimes for way too long.<br />
As the chest got full, many items got<br />
crushed. Soon the chest would overflow,<br />
and my room would become cluttered.<br />
Then my mother would make me go<br />
through the chest and get rid of stuff. I<br />
resisted at first until I realized that made<br />
room for exciting new items.<br />
This cycle became a familiar pattern<br />
throughout my childhood. To this day, I<br />
still hold on to things too long. And not<br />
only things but emotions too, and that<br />
is an unhealthy habit. I often hoard and<br />
suppress my feelings. When I do, my heart<br />
becomes crowded, and, like that old chest, I<br />
feel crushed on the inside, especially when<br />
what I am holding on to is unpleasant. The<br />
clutter within can be mentally and emotionally<br />
overwhelming.<br />
The more upset I am about a subject,<br />
the harder it is to open up and share<br />
my feelings or any details of that strug-<br />
BY CARLA OWENS WITH<br />
CHRISTINA KIMBREL<br />
gle. When friends ask how I’m doing, I<br />
muster the most cheerful and confident<br />
voice I can find and defer to the age-old<br />
nonresponse, “I’m fine!” That answer is<br />
usually the furthest thing from the truth,<br />
but I feel compelled to hold tightly to whatever<br />
is troubling me.<br />
I’m sure you can relate. Most of us don’t<br />
like to share the details of our lives with<br />
others, not even our closest friends. Instead,<br />
we keep the issue bottled up inside.<br />
There are many reasons we do this, each<br />
unique to the situation and the persons<br />
involved. We fear being misunderstood,<br />
rejected, judged, or worse. And so we isolate<br />
ourselves and our issues from others.<br />
I am so thankful that even though we<br />
sometimes feel alone in our struggles, we<br />
are not. There is always Someone we can<br />
turn to for comfort—and that’s our Lord and<br />
Savior, Jesus Christ. The Bible promises<br />
that He is the only One we need in times of<br />
trouble (Psalm 46:1; Psalm 91). First Peter<br />
5:7 says we can “give all [our] worries and<br />
cares to God, for he cares about [us]” (NLT).<br />
No matter how hard we try to hide our<br />
I formed you in your mother’s womb”<br />
(NLT). God knows our innermost thoughts<br />
and hurts, and He wants to comfort us.<br />
Second Corinthians 1:3–4 states, “God<br />
is our merciful Father and the source of all<br />
comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles<br />
so that we can comfort others. When they<br />
are troubled, we will be able to give them<br />
the same comfort God has given us” (NLT).<br />
Tears often stream from my eyes when<br />
I face difficulties, but I am grateful for the<br />
reassurance in Romans 8:26 that He knows<br />
our hearts even when we don’t have the<br />
words to speak. Psalm 56:8 tells us that<br />
God keeps track of our sorrows. He collects<br />
our tears in a bottle and records each<br />
one in His book. He knows, and He loves<br />
us despite the trials. Even the ones we’ve<br />
brought on ourselves.<br />
No matter what you’re facing, you can<br />
find comfort in knowing that the One<br />
who knows you best is the same One who<br />
will support you in your most vulnerable<br />
moments. Invite Jesus into your life. Open<br />
your overflowing storage chest and release<br />
your pain and worries, your fears and tears<br />
to the One you can fully trust.<br />
He’ll take your burdens and give you the<br />
peace you need to declutter your heart and<br />
mind. And you’ll be freed up to receive His<br />
beautiful blessings.<br />
CARLA OWENS loves the Lord and seeks daily<br />
to know Him more intimately. She is the director of<br />
Victorious Living’s Prison Correspondence Team.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
9
Rebuilding the<br />
Life that Heroin<br />
Tore Apart<br />
THE STORY OF AMBER LEASON<br />
“HOW DID YOU BECOME<br />
AN ADDICT, ANYWAY?”<br />
PEOPLE OFTEN ASK.<br />
Before I met Jesus, I would have given<br />
you multiple reasons. And, of course, none<br />
of them would have involved me. In my<br />
view, somebody or something else was<br />
always the cause of my downfalls.<br />
I blamed genetics because addiction<br />
runs in my family. I blamed exboyfriends<br />
because every one of my<br />
There was a dark space of nothingness<br />
inside me from as far back as I can remember.<br />
I tried hard to fill that space but<br />
always came up empty-handed. The more<br />
desperate I became, the more I grasped<br />
at the world around me. And everything I<br />
touched, I broke.<br />
I tried to fill the void in me with men. At<br />
13, I lost my virginity to my first boyfriend.<br />
My whole world revolved around that boy,<br />
and I let go of everything else to hold on to<br />
that relationship.<br />
He quickly became insecure and con-<br />
I’d call my mom from the pay phone outside<br />
the school in tears. She did her best to<br />
comfort me so I could get through the rest<br />
of the school day. But the next day, it would<br />
start all over again. The days and weeks<br />
dragged on until my broken teenage heart<br />
crumbled under the weight of loneliness.<br />
I was determined to end my life, so I<br />
took every pill in the bathroom medicine<br />
cabinet. Then, I went into my mom’s room<br />
and stood over her, quietly weeping as I<br />
watched her sleep.<br />
I wanted to wake her up, to tell her what<br />
PHOTOS BY CHEYENNE WILSON, ARIZONA PORTRAITS LLC<br />
romantic relationships ended in disaster.<br />
trolling and forbade me to go places and<br />
I had done. But I wanted to die more than<br />
I refused to take responsibility for any of<br />
do things with anyone else. Over time, I<br />
I wanted to live. Death was the only way to<br />
the messes I made.<br />
abandoned all my friends and school<br />
end my pain, I thought. So I went to bed,<br />
But the truth is, I had a good childhood.<br />
activities; I even shut out my family. The<br />
hoping to drift away forever.<br />
I grew up in a loving home with both par-<br />
end of the relationship shattered me.<br />
I was so disappointed the following day<br />
ents. No traumatic events can explain why I<br />
Who was I now? I had isolated myself and<br />
when I woke up. But I got up anyway and<br />
responded to the world around me the way<br />
had no identity outside of him. Because of<br />
forced myself to walk to school; I was still<br />
I did. The only person to blame is me. I was<br />
how I had treated them, my friends wanted<br />
under the influence of all those pills.<br />
the source of all my problems, and even<br />
nothing to do with me. No one would talk<br />
I had never been high before, and I liked<br />
worse, I created problems for everyone<br />
to me or sit with me at lunch. In fact, they<br />
how I felt. Suddenly, I didn’t feel any pain,<br />
around me.<br />
went out of their way to avoid me.<br />
and I wasn’t lonely. If I could stay numb, I<br />
10 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
easoned, I’d be okay. The trajectory of my<br />
life changed that day.<br />
I found a new group of people who accepted<br />
me. I hung out with the kids who<br />
got high. Somehow, I managed to graduate<br />
from high school, even though I was doing<br />
hard drugs daily.<br />
The party continued after high school<br />
until I discovered I was pregnant. I got married<br />
and stopped drinking and getting high<br />
for the sake of my child. In 2003, I gave<br />
birth to a healthy baby boy. I had a couple<br />
good years, but stress soon got the best of<br />
me again, and I returned to the numbness<br />
of drugs.<br />
When I turned 21, a whole new world<br />
opened to me. I could leave my son with his<br />
father and go out clubbing every night of<br />
the week. In 2005, I got a DUI. I spent only<br />
one night in jail, but that was enough to<br />
know that being locked up was not where<br />
I wanted to be.<br />
Soon, I divorced my son’s dad. After that,<br />
I cycled in and out of relationships, drinking<br />
heavily and fueling my addiction.<br />
In 2014, I hurt my back at work. The pain<br />
from the injury was terrible, and I relied on<br />
opiates to function. I was relieved to have<br />
a prescription for painkillers; I wouldn’t<br />
have to buy pills off the street anymore.<br />
I was already struggling to stay clean<br />
before the back injury, but now that I had<br />
opioids on hand, my addiction escalated<br />
quickly. A month’s prescription lasted only<br />
two weeks, so I had to rely on heroin and<br />
meth until my prescription refilled.<br />
By 2015, I was no longer a functioning<br />
addict. I began doing things I’d sworn I’d<br />
never do, like shooting up. I lost my job,<br />
my car, an apartment, and then my son.<br />
He had grown tired of how I was living and<br />
no longer wanted to be around me. I understood<br />
why he wanted to live with my<br />
mom, but it still hurt.<br />
Losing hope, I decided to try rehab.<br />
I started thinking about God as I went<br />
through the steps of recovery. I got up early<br />
to sit alone outside on the patio of the<br />
rehab center and talk to Him.<br />
“Do you know who I am, God?” I’d ask.<br />
I wondered if He even saw or cared about<br />
what was going on in my life. I didn’t know<br />
about Jesus or the magnitude of God’s love<br />
for me yet, but my heart was open to the<br />
idea that God existed.<br />
I came out of rehab determined to stay<br />
clean. I went home to my mom and son<br />
and did well for a while, but I began experiencing<br />
excruciating back pain. Turns out,<br />
shooting up had led to an infection in my<br />
vertebrae. Antibiotic therapy cleared the<br />
condition quickly, but I began using pain<br />
pills again. And that started the cycle of<br />
addiction all over.<br />
My mom requested a drug test, and I<br />
didn’t even put up a fight. I just left and<br />
dove headfirst into another dysfunctional<br />
and abusive relationship. My new boyfriend<br />
and I immediately began running<br />
the streets. We were homeless, and our<br />
There was a<br />
dark space of<br />
nothingness<br />
inside me from as<br />
far back as I can<br />
remember.<br />
entire lives revolved around our drug habits.<br />
I hit an all-time low, and a new level of<br />
darkness entered my life.<br />
By Christmas 2016, I was determined<br />
to pull myself together. I’d missed all the<br />
other holidays with my family that year<br />
due to my addiction; I didn’t want to miss<br />
this one. I was looking forward to spending<br />
the day with my son.<br />
I sobered up and waited anxiously for<br />
Mom to pick me up. But when she arrived,<br />
I was devastated to see that my son was not<br />
with her. Instead, she had with her a 7-page<br />
letter they had written together.<br />
In the letter, they asked me to choose<br />
them over drugs. “Your son is sick of sharing<br />
you, Amber! He’s so tired of you abandoning<br />
him for this life.” My mother read<br />
the letter aloud as I sobbed uncontrollably.<br />
My precious son was deeply hurt and<br />
traumatized because of my choices. It was<br />
painful to hear, but I knew it was all true.<br />
Somehow, I got the courage and strength<br />
that day to turn my back on my boyfriend<br />
and drugs and return to my parents’ home<br />
for shelter. I am convinced I would not be<br />
here to tell this story had I made a different<br />
choice that day. I never got high again.<br />
My troubles didn’t suddenly disappear;<br />
I’d be lying if I said they did. Instead, they<br />
multiplied as I confronted the broken relationship<br />
between my son and me.<br />
He was rightfully angry and did not<br />
believe that I would stay clean. It would<br />
be a long road to earn his trust, but I was<br />
determined to travel it.<br />
Knowing I needed help, I decided to start<br />
going to church. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt<br />
like I was supposed to be there. Once again,<br />
I found myself talking to God. “I need to<br />
know that You are real, God. I can’t face life<br />
alone. I don’t know what I am supposed to<br />
do to fix my relationship with my son.” God<br />
would soon answer me.<br />
Amber’s mother<br />
provided support<br />
and the tough love<br />
she often needed.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
11
God spoke clearly to Amber through a note she<br />
found written on the sidewalk.<br />
I struggled to stay away from my ex-<br />
boyfriend, who was still addicted and on<br />
the streets. He would call and beg me to<br />
return to him. Our conversations always<br />
left me feeling helpless. He promised he<br />
was not getting high, but I knew better. I<br />
also knew spending time with him would<br />
be dangerous. But I cared about him and<br />
wanted to help him.<br />
So, as any true codependent would, I<br />
started dragging my ex to church. On Sunday,<br />
February 5, 2017, we met at a fast-food<br />
place before the service.<br />
After breakfast, we stood up, and a syringe<br />
fell out of his pocket. An immediate<br />
flurry of feelings rose inside me, but ultimately,<br />
anger prevailed. “Get away from<br />
me and leave me alone,” I cried as I ran<br />
out of the restaurant. He followed me, and<br />
soon we were screaming at each other and<br />
physically fighting. It was a miracle that we<br />
did not end up in jail.<br />
I can’t explain how, but I knew that my<br />
life depended on making it to the church<br />
that day, so I kept running. Today I know<br />
there was a real spiritual battle trying to<br />
prevent me from coming face to face with<br />
the love of God. Thankfully, God won. In<br />
fact, He gave me a message that day that I<br />
couldn’t miss. It was written in chalk, right<br />
there on the sidewalk: “I am rebuilding the<br />
life that heroin tore apart.”<br />
Those words spoke straight to my heart,<br />
and I knew they were from God. When I<br />
needed Him, He had<br />
shown up (Psalm 46:1).<br />
It’s incredible to me that<br />
God would intervene in<br />
such a profound, personal<br />
way (Genesis 16:13).<br />
Determination flooded<br />
my heart. I snapped a picture<br />
of the message with<br />
my phone and ran toward<br />
the church. But my ex<br />
followed me, and we were<br />
fighting as we came in<br />
the doors. Members of<br />
the congregation quickly<br />
sensed that I was in trouble<br />
and moved in to help.<br />
They separated us, and a<br />
kind woman comforted me as I sobbed.<br />
I calmed down enough to join the worship<br />
service. Tears streamed down my<br />
face as the beautiful song “Good, Good<br />
Father” played. When the pastor presented<br />
an altar call, I fell to my knees and surrendered<br />
my life to God. Despite the evil<br />
forces that had tried to stop me, the Lord’s<br />
purposes prevailed, and I accepted Jesus<br />
Christ as my Lord and Savior (Psalm 57:2).<br />
I invited Him that day into the dark, void<br />
space in my soul. He responded by filling<br />
me with His grace, mercy, and forgiveness.<br />
I found in Jesus the acceptance and sense<br />
of belonging that I had searched for my<br />
whole life.<br />
You must know that getting saved did<br />
not free me from the consequences of my<br />
addiction and selfish choices. Jesus never<br />
promises that we won’t have to deal with<br />
those, only that we won’t have to do it alone<br />
(Isaiah 43:2; John 16:33).<br />
My life looked like a collapsed building<br />
that a wrecking ball had demolished—but<br />
God is in the remodeling and restoration<br />
business! He gives new life through the finished<br />
work of Jesus Christ on the cross to<br />
anyone who comes to Him. God has always<br />
been faithful to reconstruct and remodel<br />
the things that sin destroys. Knowing<br />
this strengthened my faith. Besides, I had<br />
nothing to lose by trusting Him to restore<br />
my losses.<br />
Since then, my life has been one big<br />
construction site. Jesus has been the chief<br />
architect and foreman, overseeing every<br />
repair, big and small. When I gave Him<br />
control over every detail of my life, true<br />
and lasting transformation began.<br />
It’s been an amazing experience to roll<br />
up my sleeves and be an active participant<br />
in God’s plan and purpose for my life. His<br />
blessings have been endless!<br />
Within a year after getting clean, a renewed<br />
relationship with my son began to<br />
bloom. He still struggles with the trauma<br />
he experienced during my addiction, but<br />
I get the privilege of consistently showing<br />
up for him as his mom. I now get to be an<br />
example of the life-changing power of Jesus<br />
and reflect my Lord and Savior’s love<br />
into my son’s life.<br />
He and his wife have made me a proud<br />
grandma. Even though COVID prevented<br />
it, they extended a kind invitation to me<br />
to be in the delivery room when my third<br />
grandchild was born. I praise the Lord for<br />
the miracle of forgiveness in my son’s heart<br />
toward me.<br />
I am also married now to a wonderful<br />
Christian man who is not only the solid<br />
spiritual leader in our home, but also my<br />
best friend. He has helped me navigate<br />
through sober parenthood. The Lord has<br />
used him to be a positive male presence<br />
in my son’s life too. I am blessed as well to<br />
have a church family that embraces me and<br />
helps me stay connected and accountable.<br />
Having the Lord’s presence and power in<br />
my life and a godly support system means<br />
everything. That dark space of nothingness<br />
is no longer inside me. Christ has filled it<br />
with His love, joy, and peace.<br />
And He can fill you too.<br />
We all have the same God-sized hole inside<br />
us, and only His love can fill it. Come to<br />
Him today. He makes a beautiful promise<br />
in Jeremiah 31:4 NLT: “I will rebuild you…<br />
You will again be happy and dance merrily<br />
with your tambourines.”<br />
AMBER LEASON works in special-needs<br />
education and enjoys sharing the love of Jesus with<br />
her students. Using her life experience, she serves<br />
with Thrive, a women’s ministry that facilitates<br />
a space for women to connect with God and<br />
encourage each other in their faith.<br />
PHOTO BY CHEYENNE WILSON, ARIZONA PORTRAITS LLC<br />
12 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
STEPPING FORWARD<br />
Pass the Test<br />
BY KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON<br />
FOR MONTHS, THE LORD HAD BEEN impressing<br />
on my heart the importance of integrity and being<br />
thorough. “Take no shortcuts, Kristi. Shortcuts open<br />
doors the enemy can walk through to wreak havoc in<br />
your life and ministry.” I had received these words with<br />
great enthusiasm. But then the test came, and I failed.<br />
I knew it was wrong the moment it went down. It felt<br />
secretive and was prefaced with the words, “If someone<br />
asks how you got this, just say _______.” There was a<br />
process I was supposed to go through, and I knew it. But<br />
the process was tedious and could result in a negative<br />
outcome, so when this mighty man of God offered the<br />
shortcut, I told the little voice in my head to be quiet<br />
and took it.<br />
It’s not that what was being offered was bad. It was an<br />
amazing gift. And if I were to reveal it to you, you might<br />
think it was nothing. But trivial or not, it was eating<br />
me alive!<br />
I wrestled with conviction for days. To make myself<br />
feel better, I cast blame: “I didn’t ask for what I got;<br />
he gave it to me.” I justified having the gift with, “I needed<br />
it. This is a good thing, a God-thing even! People will<br />
be so blessed by it.” And they were.<br />
The week went on and I tried to convince myself that<br />
God had provided it to our ministry. “Surely the Lord<br />
has given me the desires of my heart. I just prayed about<br />
this very thing, and now I have it! This is a blessing from<br />
heaven!” I thanked the Lord for such a beautiful gift.<br />
But the Holy Spirit continued to poke away at my conscience<br />
until the goodness of God led me to repentance<br />
(Romans 2:4). Repentance happened when I chose to<br />
set aside my justification, reasoning, and blame and<br />
ask the Lord for His perspective on the matter. There,<br />
in the quiet, God revealed His truth in love.<br />
I saw clearly that what I had done was wrong. I had<br />
skipped the proper process, ignored the inner voice<br />
of conviction, and put my reputation and the ministry<br />
God had entrusted to me at risk. Not only that, but I<br />
had credited God with answering my prayer in a shady<br />
way. I mean, come on! He is a holy God who does what<br />
is right. He doesn’t lurk around in the shadows to bring<br />
about what I need.<br />
Busted and exposed, I fell to my knees and repented.<br />
“Lord, You’re right. What I did was wrong. My actions<br />
set a terrible example to others, and I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” I<br />
felt sick to my stomach.<br />
You can believe guilt arrived on the scene quickly. But then I remembered<br />
that God’s conviction is rooted in His love for me, not<br />
anger or disappointment. He had revealed my sin to bring correction,<br />
protection, and promotion—not condemnation. God didn’t want me<br />
to waste precious time wallowing in shame; He wanted me to learn<br />
from my mistake and move forward better. If I was genuinely sorry,<br />
then God had already forgiven me (1 John 1:9).<br />
WALK FAITHFULLY, DO THINGS GOD’S WAY,<br />
AND TRUST HIS TIMING. DOING SO WILL<br />
PROVE YOUR LOVE FOR THE FATHER AND<br />
POSITION YOU FOR GREATER THINGS.<br />
Either I believed His Word and trusted His love, or I didn’t.<br />
I am thankful for God’s love, and out of my love for Him, I want<br />
to pass the next integrity test. I want to prove to the Lord I can be<br />
trusted in the smallest of details. I want to live a life above reproach,<br />
so no man can bring an accusation (1 Peter 2:12). God forbid I take a<br />
shortcut that gives Satan an opening to attack the work God is doing<br />
(Ephesians 4:26–27).<br />
Friend, there are blessings on the other side of integrity. Don’t take<br />
a shortcut. It’s not worth it. Walk faithfully, do things God’s way, and<br />
trust His timing. Doing so will prove your love for the Father and<br />
position you for greater things (Luke 16:10).<br />
KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON encourages and equips people for victory<br />
through her writings, speaking engagements, and prison ministry. To learn more,<br />
go to kojministries.org.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
13
Lay Your<br />
Burden<br />
Down<br />
THE STORY OF JAY BASTARDO<br />
Who is Jesus to me?<br />
Jesus is my everything.<br />
At every stage of my life, whether I realized<br />
it or not, God has been exactly who I<br />
have needed Him to be—my Savior, healer,<br />
and friend; my protector, provider, and redeemer;<br />
my comforter, strength, and refuge.<br />
And lately, Jesus has been revealing<br />
Himself as my source of peace and identity.<br />
It took a scary trip to the hospital in<br />
2020 to begin to know Him this way, but<br />
you need to know more about me before<br />
I tell that story.<br />
I started life in the Dominican Republic,<br />
where my family worked very hard for<br />
what little we had. My grandmother was<br />
the first entrepreneur I ever met, and man,<br />
was she a hustler! She always had creative<br />
ideas, and I was right there by her side.<br />
Grandma was poor, but she never complained<br />
or focused on what she didn’t have;<br />
she just went to work. We did all sorts of<br />
things to make money: we bagged the charcoal<br />
we found on the ground. We cooked<br />
beans. We made hair products. And people<br />
came to our home to purchase these<br />
treasures. Grandma’s work ethic sowed an<br />
enterprising seed in me that thrives today.<br />
My mother was a hard worker too. She<br />
came to America through a government<br />
program in 1994 and worked three jobs to<br />
make a better life for us. She fought hard to<br />
take me with her to the States, but it wasn’t<br />
possible at the time. She was forced to leave<br />
me in the care of my grandmother.<br />
Being away from my mother was incredibly<br />
painful, and my heart still hurts<br />
when I think about it. No matter how much<br />
love my grandmother and other relatives<br />
showed me, nobody’s love ever felt like<br />
Momma’s. I lived with an enormous hole in<br />
my heart. It was difficult knowing she was<br />
so far away, and even as a young boy, I felt<br />
an urgent need to protect her.<br />
Thankfully, God made a way for us to be<br />
reunited five years later. On May 26, 1999,<br />
I arrived in Newark, New Jersey. I came<br />
armed with five dollars that my aunt had<br />
given me. She told me, “Go be a man and<br />
make your mark on this world!”<br />
And that’s what I set out to do from that<br />
day forward. I was 15 years old.<br />
I had dreamed about this moment and<br />
my life in America for years. I was so happy<br />
to be reunited with my mother, but the<br />
perfect life I had imagined was not to be<br />
found. I hadn’t seen her in five years, and<br />
we’d both changed. She was now married<br />
and had another child. I hadn’t met her<br />
husband or my half-brother before the<br />
day I arrived. I felt very out of<br />
place and alone. Not to mention,<br />
I was a teenage boy wrestling<br />
with deep emotions and<br />
raging hormones.<br />
And then I had to start school<br />
in a new place where I didn’t<br />
speak one word of English and<br />
I had only one pair of jeans that<br />
I wore every day. It was a cruel world.<br />
One incident haunted me for years.<br />
It happened on the first day of school. I<br />
entered a classroom to ask a teacher—in<br />
Spanish, of course—if I was in the correct<br />
room. When he answered “no,” I assumed<br />
he spoke Spanish and continued speaking.<br />
No is, after all, a Spanish word.<br />
Suddenly, a young Latina burst out<br />
laughing. I’ll never forget her mocking<br />
voice. “Are you stupid? Don’t you see that<br />
man doesn’t speak Spanish? You’d better<br />
learn the language!”<br />
The way she spoke ignited something inside<br />
of me. I didn’t appreciate being called<br />
stupid or being challenged. I turned to her<br />
and replied in Spanish, “I promise you that<br />
I’ll be speaking better English than you<br />
before this year is over.”<br />
I went home and got to work. I grabbed a<br />
14 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
If my motive for doing something is for<br />
myself and not for God’s glory, then<br />
accomplishing it will come at a great price.<br />
PHOTOS BY HALEY MANNING PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
dictionary, turned on the television to FOX<br />
and CNN, and put on the closed captions.<br />
Every day, I highlighted a new word from<br />
the dictionary and used it in a sentence as<br />
many times as I could.<br />
All that work paid off. Six months later,<br />
the teacher in charge of the English as a<br />
Second Language program came into the<br />
classroom and promoted me to a regular<br />
English-speaking class in the presence of<br />
that girl. It was a very satisfying moment;<br />
her words had hurt me.<br />
From that point on, I was determined<br />
to prove my worth through what I could<br />
accomplish. I would show the world who<br />
Jay Bastardo was and what he could do.<br />
And I’ve been working to prove myself<br />
ever since.<br />
My story really is one of immigrant success.<br />
I arrived in the US at 15, worked crazy<br />
hours through high school, and went on to<br />
various jobs. I met my wife, Eridania, in<br />
New Jersey, but we were from the same<br />
hometown in the Dominican Republic.<br />
God brought us together in the land of<br />
our dreams.<br />
I always knew I wanted to own my own<br />
business, be my own boss, and pursue the<br />
American dream. We moved to Greenville,<br />
NC, and eventually we bought a food truck<br />
on Craigslist. We called it Villa Verde—to<br />
honor our Dominican hometown and our<br />
new hometown, Greenville. God blessed<br />
that business, and today we have two<br />
beautiful brick-and-mortar authentic<br />
Dominican-food restaurants and a third<br />
restaurant serving good old Southern food.<br />
We’ve worked hard to get here, and I continue<br />
to be driven by a need to succeed. I’ve<br />
accomplished much in life. Accomplishing<br />
things isn’t bad. The Lord wants us to reach<br />
our fullest potential and make the most of<br />
the opportunities He brings. But no matter<br />
how much I accomplish, it’s somehow<br />
never enough in my mind.<br />
What I’m learning now is that if my<br />
motive for doing something is for myself<br />
and not for God’s glory, then accomplishing<br />
it will come at a great price.<br />
As far back as I can remember, I’ve felt<br />
this incredible responsibility to be successful,<br />
not just for my sake, but for others—my<br />
grandmother, mother, wife, children, staff,<br />
community, and more. This need to prove<br />
myself means I am in constant motion. For<br />
years, I have defined myself by what I do<br />
and how busy I am.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
15
So you can imagine what a shock the<br />
worldwide shutdown of 2020 was to my<br />
system. The COVID-19 pandemic rocked<br />
my world. Always before, I could handle<br />
crisis. I worked harder so we didn’t lose<br />
what we had. I never backed down from a<br />
challenge—no matter how high the odds<br />
were stacked against me, I overcame<br />
them with commitment, determination,<br />
and hard work. I had started from nothing<br />
before, and I’d always found a way.<br />
But COVID was different. People were<br />
dying. The disease came like a murderer in<br />
the night; it wasn’t a respecter of persons.<br />
“But I’m responsible for all these people<br />
and their families. Some have left their<br />
countries to work for me. If I don’t open<br />
back up, they won’t have money to pay<br />
their bills or send back to their families.<br />
Everyone will suffer because of me!”<br />
Back and forth I went. I wavered so much<br />
that my mind became filled with chaos,<br />
doubt, and fear.<br />
For the first time in my life, I couldn’t<br />
see the way forward.<br />
And that’s where the unexpected trip<br />
to the hospital came in. I experienced so<br />
much inner turmoil over these business<br />
And then my beautiful wife, Eri, spoke<br />
up. “Why don’t you let the staff decide, Jay?<br />
Find out how they feel about this.”<br />
Well, why didn’t I think of that? We gathered<br />
everyone together to discuss the situation.<br />
Their response blessed me. “We<br />
want to come back to work,” they said.<br />
“The community needs us, and we need<br />
to be here too.” They even told me that if we<br />
didn’t have the money to pay them, they’d<br />
still be there for us. That night, we decided<br />
to move forward as a team, and we all<br />
rolled up our sleeves and got back to work.<br />
My family and our staff pressed forward<br />
Jay (right) with his chefs, John and<br />
Linda, serve excellent food for the<br />
glory of God.<br />
A fear-based, performance-driven<br />
life is not what God intends for<br />
His children to experience.<br />
PHOTO BY HALEY MANNING PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
I couldn’t work harder to fix it. I couldn’t<br />
implement a solution. I had no control. And<br />
people were dying! That terrified me.<br />
As a business owner, I didn’t know what<br />
to do. Should I keep the restaurants closed,<br />
or should I open them for take-out? But<br />
if I opened them and one of my staff got<br />
COVID, was that my fault? And what if they<br />
died?! Inside, I condemned myself: “You’re<br />
a greedy pig, Jay. You only want to open to<br />
save your business and make money. It’s<br />
all you’ve ever cared about!”<br />
Satan knew just how to push my buttons.<br />
I’d been hurt by those exact words in the<br />
past—from people I loved. So I decided to<br />
keep the restaurants closed. My inner self<br />
tormented me with that decision too.<br />
decisions that I thought I was having a<br />
heart attack.<br />
Turned out my heart was fine—I was<br />
“just” having a panic attack. What? Me, a<br />
panic attack? No way! “Only weak people<br />
have those,” I thought, “and I’m not weak.<br />
I’m a doer, a man of faith who overcomes<br />
obstacles. I mentor other people. I’m a<br />
provider and protector for my family and<br />
friends. I help the people of my community.<br />
I can’t have a panic attack. That’s just not<br />
me!” I felt so much shame and condemnation<br />
when I heard those words. (I think<br />
I’d have been happier with a heart attack!)<br />
But I went back home and kept worrying<br />
about what I should do. Finally, I decided I<br />
would keep the restaurants closed.<br />
daily after that. But I couldn’t ignore the<br />
ele phant in the room—I had gone to the<br />
hospital, crippled by fear and anxiety.<br />
Those emotions were still tormenting my<br />
heart and mind. Why was this happening?<br />
The story I’ve told you so far has been<br />
about me—but my faith is also a big part of<br />
my life. In the middle of all my worry and<br />
indecision, I began to sense God inviting<br />
me on a journey to discover the answers<br />
to these questions and to better understand<br />
my true identity as His child. I’ve<br />
since stepped out into this journey, and<br />
the deeper I dive into my past, examine<br />
my belief patterns, and let God reveal His<br />
truths, the more freedom and peace I find.<br />
I’ve lived under pressure so long that I’m<br />
16 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
not sure I would know how to live without<br />
it. I am well aware that my choices today<br />
impact people I will never meet on this side<br />
of heaven. I strive daily to live a life that my<br />
kids will want to model. The funny thing<br />
is that no matter how hard I try, I usually<br />
feel like a failure at the end of the day. And<br />
these failures taunt me. My response is<br />
to work harder and try to do better. It’s a<br />
weighty burden.<br />
When God and I set out on our journey<br />
together, I remembered Matthew 11:28–30<br />
(NIV), where Jesus says, “Come to me, all<br />
you who are weary and burdened, and I will<br />
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and<br />
learn from me, for I am gentle and humble<br />
in heart, and you will find rest for your<br />
souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden<br />
is light.”<br />
These verses helped me understand<br />
that the pressure I live under is not from<br />
God; it is self-imposed. His purposes for<br />
my life will never weigh me down, nor will<br />
they create anxiety, self-condemnation,<br />
or pressure. They also won’t invoke fear,<br />
doubt, or confusion.<br />
If I am under these things, then I must<br />
be under something other than the will of<br />
God. There is freedom, peace, and order<br />
wherever the Lord is—not bondage, fear,<br />
and chaos. (See 1 Corinthians 14:33; 2<br />
Timo thy 1:7; 2 Corinthians 3:17.)<br />
I’m not responsible for everyone’s life<br />
outcome. Each individual is accountable<br />
for their own choices. I’m also not responsible<br />
for being everyone’s provider and<br />
solving their problems. That’s God’s job.<br />
And my taking on these responsibilities<br />
is me trying to play God.<br />
Here’s a fresh revelation: I’m not God! I<br />
can’t tell you how freeing it is to let go of<br />
that responsibility.<br />
That doesn’t mean God doesn’t want me<br />
to care for others. I am His hands and feet<br />
on this earth, and I am called to serve and<br />
give. But He is teaching me that I’m not<br />
responsible for people; I am responsible<br />
to them. My role is to live a life of integrity<br />
and to operate in my giftings as I serve,<br />
love, and honor those around me.<br />
To put it simply: God is calling me to<br />
focus on being, not doing.<br />
The greatest thing I can do for others<br />
is to be a surrendered child of God; the<br />
rest will take care of itself (Matthew 6:33).<br />
He calls me to trust Him (Proverbs 3:5–6)<br />
and release my loved ones to His care. God<br />
loves my family and staff more than I do,<br />
and His plan and provision for them will<br />
not fail.<br />
I’ve already told you that my motive for<br />
doing has been to prove my worth. But the<br />
Lord has also revealed the driving force<br />
behind that motive: fear. Deep down, I need<br />
to prove I am somebody because I am desperately<br />
afraid that I am nobody.<br />
If I fail, I’m afraid I’ll prove that what my<br />
classmates, a former boss, and even some<br />
family members said about me was right.<br />
They said I’d be poor and never amount to<br />
anything, that my ideas were stupid, and<br />
that I’d fall flat on my face. I strive because<br />
I’m terrified that what they said will become<br />
my reality. I also fear I’ll fail my wife<br />
and children.<br />
But a fear-based, performance-driven<br />
life is not what God intends for His children<br />
to experience. That’s Satan’s desire.<br />
God has never asked any of us to prove<br />
our worth.<br />
Before we accomplished one thing in<br />
this world, He exchanged His Son’s life for<br />
ours (John 3:16). The Lord’s love for us has<br />
never been based on what we do but on<br />
who we are—His children. And what we<br />
do isn’t what pleases Him either. It’s how<br />
we trust Him that matters (Hebrews 11:6).<br />
I’m thankful for these revelations and all<br />
the others. And I am committed to allowing<br />
the Lord to work in my life. I do want<br />
to experience His freedom and rest, but<br />
I’m finding that a learning experience too.<br />
Like I’ve said, I work nonstop. I have for<br />
years. I don’t understand people who don’t<br />
want to work or who give excuses why they<br />
can’t work. But God is teaching me that<br />
working nonstop isn’t His intention either.<br />
Rest is good, and God commands us to do<br />
so. It’s the fourth commandment. Even God<br />
rested from His work (Genesis 2:2–3).<br />
Still, if I’m not working, I wrestle with<br />
feeling guilty, lazy, and unproductive. I feel<br />
like I’m not being a man and providing for<br />
my family. The Lord is helping me work<br />
Jay and his wife, Eri,<br />
stay busy working<br />
but often sneak away<br />
for fun.<br />
through these patterns of wrong thinking.<br />
He is teaching me to find balance in<br />
my life—not just for me, but for the sake<br />
of my family.<br />
My constant going keeps my loved ones<br />
on the move too. And the pressure I’m<br />
under seeps into their lives whether I intend<br />
it to or not. We are all weary. My wife<br />
and teenage son work ridiculously hard<br />
and long hours. Our family bounces from<br />
restaurant to restaurant, event to event.<br />
As you can see, I am learning much<br />
about myself and the why behind my what.<br />
And I am sure God will have a lot more to<br />
show me in His time as He helps me become<br />
who He created me to be. I’m excited<br />
for God to transform me into a new person<br />
as I change how I think. Then I’ll be able<br />
to experience His will, which is good and<br />
pleasing and perfect. (See Romans 12:2.)<br />
Perhaps today, you are under heavy<br />
burdens and being attacked by fear. Like<br />
me, you’re afraid that people’s words and<br />
thoughts about you will come true. God<br />
wants to help you be free of your burdens<br />
and escape the turmoil. Jesus’s promise of<br />
rest is for you too. Lay your burdens down,<br />
my friend. Right here at Jesus’s feet.<br />
JAY BASTARDO is on mission to discover his<br />
identity in Christ. He and his family serve their<br />
community through authentic Dominican food and<br />
heartfelt service while living out God’s agape love<br />
to the world.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
17
A<br />
PLACE<br />
TO<br />
BELONG<br />
THE STORY OF SHERIDAN CORREA<br />
I grew up in a large, religious family—the<br />
seventh of nine children. At first glance,<br />
you’d think we had it all. My father was a<br />
successful businessman who provided us<br />
with a large, beautiful home. My mother<br />
stayed home and managed the household.<br />
They raised kids who excelled in music,<br />
aca demics, and sports. We attended<br />
church together regularly.<br />
But we were dysfunctional. Dad worked<br />
long, hard hours and was often away from<br />
home. Mom stayed home and was responsible<br />
for raising all of us—a stressful job to<br />
be sure. Our home felt unstable, and toxic<br />
stress brewed all around us.<br />
Periods of separation created a great divide<br />
in our family. When they’d split, some<br />
of us kids would go with Dad and the rest<br />
with Mom. I never knew where I belonged<br />
or which “team” I was supposed to be on.<br />
It didn’t take long for feelings of inadequacy<br />
to surface. As one of many kids, I felt<br />
like a number rather than an individual.<br />
It’s remarkable how alone and unloved you<br />
can feel, even in your own family. As far<br />
as I knew, I mattered to no one, and I was<br />
ready for life to end by the fourth grade.<br />
One day at recess, I rushed to the top of<br />
the monkey bars, fully intending to throw<br />
myself to the ground, break my neck, and<br />
end my misery. Tears streamed down my<br />
face as I prepared to jump.<br />
Before I could, however, teachers managed<br />
to get hold of me. They took me to the<br />
school psychologist, but nothing ever came<br />
of the incident other than an assessment.<br />
I coped as best I could with the dark<br />
emotions brewing inside me for the next<br />
eight years. Every day, I put a smile on my<br />
face and performed. Performance and<br />
achievement were my jams. God forbid<br />
anyone would discover my imperfections<br />
or insecurities. I became a master at wearing<br />
a mask, and no one knew a frightened<br />
little girl was hiding within. Two very different<br />
people were living inside me, and<br />
not even I knew which one was the real me.<br />
I graduated high school and set out to<br />
experience a happier and more stable life. I<br />
attended university on both music and athletic<br />
scholarships. I achieved great success<br />
for the first few years and was emotionally<br />
sound. And then I went off the rails.<br />
Desperately seeking happiness, security,<br />
and a solution for my miserable life, I<br />
turned to men. Marriage seemed to be the<br />
next milestone of accomplishment. I was<br />
young, vulnerable, and immature when<br />
I said “I do” for the first time, and within<br />
months, the relationship ended in divorce.<br />
My failed marriage only added to my<br />
pervasive sense of inadequacy. I felt great<br />
shame and entered a deep emotional and<br />
mental darkness. I had experienced the<br />
lows of depression before and had even<br />
seen counselors, so I had coping mechanisms,<br />
but this time, nothing helped.<br />
I finally sought psychiatric help. I recounted<br />
my life and the inner turmoil I had<br />
PHOTO BY LYSSA YATES<br />
18 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
felt since a child. I told the doctor of the<br />
short reprieve when I became a mom to<br />
ers and washed them down with rubbing<br />
violent mood swings, recurring thoughts<br />
two amazing little boys, but the cycle of<br />
alcohol. But just like on that playground,<br />
of suicide, how fear ruled my life, and our<br />
hopelessness soon returned. I grew tired<br />
my suicide attempt was unsuccessful. I<br />
family’s history of mental disease. Before<br />
of trying to feel normal and be happy.<br />
was admitted to a psychiatric facility until<br />
I left that office, I was diagnosed with bi-<br />
I called crisis hotlines, cycled in and out<br />
I was stable.<br />
polar disorder.<br />
of psychiatric hospitals, and experimented<br />
Released from the hospital, I found my-<br />
Relief washed over me. I had always<br />
with multiple psych medications. But noth-<br />
self homeless. I felt a weird camaraderie<br />
known something was “wrong” with me.<br />
ing gave me lasting emotional and mental<br />
with all the other lost and broken people I<br />
Now I had the answer to all my problems. I<br />
stability. Years of inner turmoil took their<br />
encountered on the street. I deluded myself<br />
eagerly accepted my diagnosis, along with<br />
toll and began to manifest through my<br />
into thinking that I could help them.<br />
numerous psych meds. There was hope<br />
body: I experienced chronic debilitating<br />
It wasn’t long before I entered the world<br />
for me after all.<br />
pain. Old sports injuries were also now<br />
of hardcore drugs. Once I got a taste of<br />
I took my meds consistently and soon<br />
requiring surgeries.<br />
that life, I turned completely away from<br />
felt more stable. I returned to my comfort<br />
I began using painkillers. At first, my<br />
PHOTO BY NICHOLAS CORREA<br />
zones of performance and achievement,<br />
sure that my meds had fixed me for good.<br />
Three years later, I remarried. It didn’t take<br />
long for that marriage to unravel too.<br />
I hadn’t felt loved as a child, so I didn’t<br />
know how to love others or myself, nor did<br />
I know how to receive love as an adult. A<br />
rejected, isolated little girl lived inside me,<br />
and until she was tended to, nothing would<br />
ever be right in my life. I had no idea how to<br />
help her, though, so I continued doing the<br />
use was legitimate, and I took them only<br />
as I needed them. But then I discovered<br />
that opioids numbed my emotional pain. I<br />
finally felt normal and could deal with life<br />
circumstances. And I liked it. Not only that,<br />
the constant emotional stress and all the<br />
voices in my head were gone.<br />
Pain pills were controlling my inner<br />
monster. And although I knew I was developing<br />
an unhealthy dependence, I denied<br />
and ignored the problem.<br />
As far as I knew, I<br />
mattered to no one, and I<br />
was ready for life to end.<br />
my family, church, and community, and<br />
didn’t look back. I became an overachiever<br />
in addiction and crime. That worked…<br />
until it didn’t.<br />
I was numb and ignorant of the damage I<br />
My descent into addiction hell escalated<br />
was doing to myself and the people I loved.<br />
God blessed Sheridan<br />
with a godly life partner<br />
in her husband, Nick.<br />
after a traumatic motorcycle accident left<br />
me unable to walk for months. My injuries<br />
required major surgeries, and I experi-<br />
My children were becoming memories that<br />
only haunted me.<br />
I soon became a “frequent flyer” at the<br />
enced much pain. My addiction to opioids<br />
Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix, Arizona.<br />
increased.<br />
At first, it was for minor things like shop-<br />
The next three years required the con-<br />
lifting and outstanding warrants, but then<br />
stant assistance of pills for me to tackle<br />
came more severe crimes like criminal<br />
even the most mundane task. I began<br />
damage, domestic violence, and drug pos-<br />
drinking daily as well, sometimes until I<br />
session and sale charges.<br />
blacked out. Alcohol, drugs, and my sense<br />
After each arrest, I was confined to the<br />
of unworthiness were a deadly mixture. My<br />
psych ward. Emerging from my drug coma<br />
mind became the darkest, scariest place I<br />
and facing the reality of my life was always<br />
had ever known, and my memory was my<br />
more than I could bear. Knowing who and<br />
worst enemy.<br />
what I had become was terrifying.<br />
In the middle of this downward spiral,<br />
Finally, stripped of everything, I hit rock<br />
my husband filed for divorce and received<br />
bottom. Desperate to end the insanity and<br />
temporary sole custody of our boys. I felt<br />
despite being in solitary confinement, I<br />
more rejected and abandoned than ever,<br />
found a way to inflict serious harm. The<br />
and I became bitter and resentful.<br />
guards, however, discovered my bloody<br />
With my identity as wife and mother<br />
self and placed me on suicide watch. Still,<br />
stripped away, I felt I’d died, along with<br />
under their watchful eyes, I tried to end my<br />
everybody I loved. If I wasn’t a mother and<br />
life again, but to no avail.<br />
only things I knew to do—perform, excel,<br />
a wife, who was I? What reason did I have<br />
I didn’t understand it then, but I now<br />
achieve, and hide my brokenness.<br />
to live anymore?<br />
know God’s mercy was at work, and He<br />
For the next decade, I battled anxiety<br />
Overwhelmed by those thoughts, I<br />
was about to reveal Himself to me in the<br />
and severe depression. I experienced a<br />
grabbed a month’s supply of muscle relax-<br />
most beautiful way.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
19
I had grown up hearing about God. But<br />
at the same time, I was taught to rely on my<br />
intellect and performance. I came from a<br />
long lineage of successful people; we didn’t<br />
need anyone’s help, not even God’s. I clung<br />
to the belief that I was in control and could<br />
achieve anything if I set my mind to it.<br />
But in that ugly place, I finally had a<br />
life-changing revelation: I wasn’t in control<br />
of anything! My intellect, self-efforts, and<br />
awards couldn’t bring me happiness and<br />
stability, nor could they free me from my<br />
emotional and mental prison. I didn’t have<br />
a clue about how to manage life.<br />
I was a homeless meth and heroin addict<br />
who had lost everything that mattered, including<br />
my freedom. It was time I moved<br />
aside and gave up the reins.<br />
Once released to the jail’s general population,<br />
I began attending church and<br />
I became a master at<br />
wearing a mask, and no<br />
one knew a frightened<br />
little girl was hiding within.<br />
Narcotics Anonymous meetings. There, I<br />
learned that God was a loving and caring<br />
Father. This concept intrigued me, and I<br />
began to open my heart to Him.<br />
New feelings, thoughts, and desires<br />
introduced themselves to me. They were<br />
foreign yet strangely familiar, and I felt I’d<br />
come home to where I’d always belonged. I<br />
found a new desire to live and love.<br />
The morning I was to receive my prison<br />
plea, I knelt beside the jail toilet and surrendered<br />
my life to the care of God. “God, if<br />
You want to send me to prison, that’s okay.<br />
I’ll go wherever because I know You’re<br />
coming with me.”<br />
Later that day, I learned that the state<br />
Sheridan’s smile was big, but<br />
the emptiness in her heart was<br />
bigger and led to incarceration.<br />
prosecutor had changed the plea<br />
deal. Instead of serving a threeand-a-half-year<br />
prison sentence,<br />
I was sent to the Phoenix Rescue Mission. I<br />
would remain there for one year with three<br />
years’ probation. I entered the Mission’s<br />
gates wanting, willing, and ready for whatever<br />
God had in store.<br />
I knew God was inviting me to trust Him,<br />
but it’s hard to trust someone you don’t<br />
know. So I started studying His Word, the<br />
Bible. God lit a fire inside me for Himself,<br />
and as I learned more about Him, my mental<br />
illness, addictions, and hopelessness<br />
lost their holds on me. God began to change<br />
me from the inside out. I no longer felt like<br />
a counterfeit version of myself. I finally felt<br />
seen, heard, loved, and accepted.<br />
But then, after seven months in the program,<br />
I was a witness and an accomplice<br />
to another person breaking the program’s<br />
rules. Initially, I didn’t think I would be affected<br />
because I wasn’t the one breaking<br />
the rules. But there were consequences,<br />
and I had a choice: either restart the program<br />
or defer to prison.<br />
I stayed in the program, accepted the<br />
discipline (Hebrews 12:6), and learned<br />
from my mistake. Like David in Psalm<br />
139:23–24, I asked the Lord to highlight<br />
anything preventing me from moving<br />
forward with Him.<br />
The Lord soon revealed something<br />
critical—I needed a Savior. Although I had<br />
recognized my need for God, turned my life<br />
over to His care, learned lots of scripture,<br />
and even experienced a real-life change,<br />
I hadn’t come to know His Son, Jesus, as<br />
my Lord and Savior. I hadn’t accepted what<br />
He’d done for me on the cross. I was still<br />
relying on my good works.<br />
My deceitful action at the Mission revealed<br />
the sinful nature I still carried. I<br />
needed to be born again in Christ to receive<br />
a new heart. I asked God to forgive<br />
me of my sin, and I put my faith in Jesus<br />
for salvation rather than my performance.<br />
I reached out to God through His Son<br />
from that day forward, and He drew me<br />
close (James 4:8). In His presence, both I<br />
and that little girl living within me found<br />
freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17) as we journeyed<br />
through our traumas with His eyes<br />
of love, compassion, and forgiveness.<br />
Healing came through understanding<br />
my worth. Knowing that God wanted to<br />
hang out with a super-sucky person like<br />
me changed everything. I had value now<br />
because I belonged to and was wanted<br />
by God, the Creator of the world. I could<br />
take off the mask and be my authentic self<br />
(Psalm 139:7–8) and still be loved.<br />
The Lord got to work pruning me of<br />
my religious, performing, and conforming<br />
ways (Romans 12:2). He’s continually<br />
ridding me of the things that feed my<br />
independence and self-sufficiency. What<br />
a relief to know that I no longer have to<br />
rely on my limited strength, efforts, and<br />
achievements. I can stand tall in Christ.<br />
In His strength, I can do and overcome<br />
everything (Philippians 4:13).<br />
I am five years into my recovery now.<br />
God’s love has given me a new life. All that<br />
was dead and lost has been restored (Ephesians<br />
3:20). I now have a sound mind (2<br />
Timothy 1:7), am free from addiction and<br />
mental illness, and have the courage and<br />
resilience to face life without drugs.<br />
Not only that, but the Lord has reconciled<br />
and restored me to my family and<br />
my two sons. He has also blessed me with<br />
a godly husband; we were married earlier<br />
this year. I am still amazed at the goodness<br />
of God and thankful that He was willing to<br />
patiently bring me home to Him, where I’ve<br />
always belonged.<br />
You can belong to Him too. Right now,<br />
He is beckoning you to Him, where you’ll<br />
find peace, contentment, and rest. Don’t<br />
give up. There is hope. Jesus Christ can set<br />
even the most traumatized heart and mind<br />
free. And His arms are open to you today.<br />
SHERIDAN CORREA is a biblical counselor<br />
who is trained in trauma-informed care. She’s a<br />
wife, mother of two teenage boys, singer, and avid<br />
runner who has been radically changed by Jesus.<br />
She joined the Victorious Living family in 20<strong>22</strong> as<br />
social media manager.<br />
20 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
STEPPING FORWARD<br />
The Golden Rule<br />
“SO IN EVERYTHING, DO TO OTHERS WHAT YOU WOULD<br />
have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets”<br />
(Matthew 7:12 NIV).<br />
Jesus shared this simple summation to His followers in His<br />
Sermon on the Mount. It’s often called the Golden Rule. Like gold,<br />
this rule is precious, priceless, and has a high return on investment.<br />
Jesus also said that the greatest commandment is to “Love<br />
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and<br />
with all your mind…and...love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew<br />
<strong>22</strong>:37, 39 NIV).<br />
Have you ever thought about how you want to be treated? Take<br />
a minute and respond to these statements:<br />
I wish people would treat me .<br />
I wish people would speak to me .<br />
I wish people would view me .<br />
I want people to love me .<br />
I want<br />
shown to me.<br />
I’m sure, like me, you want to be valued, honored, respected,<br />
loved, and treated with kindness and justice.<br />
Now think about the magnitude of Jesus’s words. How we desire<br />
to be treated, well, that’s how we are to treat others. So whatever<br />
characteristic or action you inserted above, to receive it, you’ll<br />
have to go do that to others. Go be that to others. These acts of love<br />
are what being a follower of Jesus means.<br />
Surely none of us answered, “I wish people would treat me<br />
unkindly. I wish people would speak to me untruthfully.” Or “I<br />
wish people would view me as incompetent and reject me. I want<br />
people to judge, criticize, and show hatred to me.”<br />
How does it make you feel when people treat you in those ways?<br />
It makes me feel cheap, insignificant, and unloved. What purpose<br />
does it serve? Certainly not anything God honoring. So why would<br />
we want to act in such a way?<br />
Interestingly, God is most concerned with our actions, not the<br />
actions of others. The directive from Jesus is for His followers to<br />
love others and move toward them in active goodness and mercy.<br />
It’s the kind of love God shows us every<br />
day. How we feel about a particular person<br />
doesn’t get to play into the equation.<br />
BY SHERIDAN CORREA<br />
God wants our obedience; that’s how we<br />
show we love and trust Him (1 John 5:3–5).<br />
I’m sure there’s a particular someone right now that each one of<br />
us might think, “There is no way I can treat them with kindness!”<br />
Well, I’ve got good news for you. In the verses right before the<br />
Golden Rule, Jesus teaches that if you “keep on asking, you will<br />
receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep<br />
on knocking, and the door will open to you” (Matthew 7:7–8 NLT).<br />
Jesus gives us these three amazing promises to supply and<br />
equip us to do this hard, seemingly impossible thing. The Bible<br />
also teaches that God will provide us with wisdom along the way.<br />
We aren’t left to carry out His commands alone. He is with us, but<br />
we must remember to draw near to Him for help. If we “come<br />
close to God…God will come close to [us]” (James 4:8 NLT). This<br />
verse reveals the loving heart of God.<br />
If we’re honest, there are a lot of times we don’t want to show<br />
kindness or love to others. We’ve just been hurt too many times.<br />
But God can heal those broken places in your heart. He has healed<br />
mine. Ask Him to place His love for people in you and help you<br />
see people the way He sees them.<br />
God can put His desires in your heart and help you accomplish<br />
them (Philippians 2:13). He will show up and make Himself available<br />
to you through His Word and His Holy Spirit as you draw<br />
close to Him.<br />
It helps to remember that you’re not treating people with kindness<br />
for their sake; you’re doing it for God. Your motivation is to<br />
honor the Lord and bring glory to King Jesus.<br />
Take a moment to think of some good, merciful, right, and whole<br />
action or response that you can take toward one person today.<br />
Is the Lord cattle-prodding your spirit in a particular direction?<br />
Keep your eyes, ears, and heart open for opportunities as you go<br />
through your day. Follow His promptings.<br />
Treating others the way we want to be treated is the key to<br />
living a victorious life.<br />
SHERIDAN CORREA is a biblical counselor who is trained in trauma-informed care. She’s<br />
a wife, mother of two teenage boys, singer, and avid runner who has been radically changed<br />
by Jesus. She joined the Victorious Living family in 20<strong>22</strong> as social media manager.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
21
Embracing<br />
God’s<br />
Plan<br />
THE STORY OF<br />
KYLE & BOBBIE ROBINSON<br />
KYLE: Bobbie and I were blessed to grow<br />
up in godly homes. When we were married,<br />
we committed ourselves to continuing the<br />
examples of faith our families had given<br />
us. We went to church, attended Bible<br />
studies, served others, and did our best<br />
to live godly lives. And God blessed us in<br />
many visible ways.<br />
We assumed these blessings were directly<br />
related to doing all the right things. We<br />
believed that if we obeyed God and served<br />
Him, He would protect us from difficulties.<br />
And since our belief system had never really<br />
been challenged, we had no reason to believe<br />
it wasn’t true.<br />
Now that’s not to say we had never faced<br />
difficulties. We had, but it seemed we could<br />
always fix our problems with our minds<br />
or with hard work, perseverance, and our<br />
connections.<br />
So when Bobbie and I couldn’t get pregnant,<br />
we reacted as we’d always done. We<br />
sought our options, developed a plan, and<br />
did what we could to conceive—medically<br />
and physically speaking. And, of course,<br />
we prayed.<br />
We had both always wanted children.<br />
And although we knew going into our marriage<br />
that conceiving might be difficult, we<br />
still had faith. We hoped against all hope<br />
for a child, just like we’re told Abraham<br />
did in Romans 4:18.<br />
While we waited for our little miracle, we<br />
made promises to God. One went like this:<br />
“God, if You’ll allow<br />
us to conceive, we<br />
will give You back our<br />
child to use however<br />
You decide.”<br />
We followed the<br />
example of Hannah in<br />
the biblical account found<br />
in 1 Samuel 1. Like Bobbie,<br />
Hannah had also faced infertility. For decades,<br />
she had prayed fervently for a son<br />
and tried hard to conceive.<br />
The Bible tells us that God heard Hannah’s<br />
plea and blessed her with a son. She<br />
named him Samuel, which meant, “I asked<br />
the Lord for him.” Bobbie and I decided<br />
Samuel would be a perfect name for our<br />
child one day.<br />
BOBBIE: You can imagine our excitement<br />
when we discovered I was pregnant for the<br />
first time. God had even helped us conceive<br />
naturally. Our faith soared!<br />
But then came the miscarriages. Five<br />
of them. Kyle and I did our best to keep<br />
our eyes focused on the Lord. We clung<br />
to hope, reminding ourselves that nothing<br />
was impossible with God. But it wasn’t easy.<br />
Finally, in 2011, our son was born. Kyle<br />
and I praised God for His kindness and<br />
the beautiful gift of our son. We knew God<br />
had a grand purpose for Samuel, and we<br />
couldn’t wait to see it unfold.<br />
Grateful, we set out down the path of<br />
parenthood. It wasn’t long, though, before<br />
my mother’s intuition told me something<br />
was wrong. Samuel wasn’t developing like<br />
other children. He wasn’t using his hands,<br />
making eye contact, or smiling at us. Most<br />
of the time, he just stared off into space or<br />
rocked his head back and forth.<br />
We took Samuel to his pediatrician and<br />
PHOTO BY MARGARET DEBRUHL<br />
<strong>22</strong> <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
PHOTO BY MELISA ROSZEL<br />
to other doctors, including neurologists,<br />
but no one had answers. I had suspicions<br />
of what might be wrong, but the doctors<br />
assured me that Samuel would grow out<br />
of whatever he was going through. Months<br />
passed without change. Desperate, Kyle<br />
and I begged God to show us what was<br />
wrong with our son. It seemed, though,<br />
that God had gone silent on us.<br />
KYLE: As Bobbie and I went from elation<br />
to grief, doubt and confusion began to set<br />
in. God was supposed to be a good Father<br />
with amazing plans. How was what we were<br />
going through good?<br />
We had been faithful servants of the<br />
Lord. We had even dedicated our son to<br />
Him. Where was God? Why was He allowing<br />
this to happen to us? Wasn’t He supposed<br />
to protect His children from hard<br />
times?<br />
Too many nights, Bobbie and I sat on<br />
our bed and just cried. Our dreams for our<br />
son and family lay shattered around us. We<br />
felt like we were walking alone through<br />
the valley of the shadow of death, and we<br />
were terrified.<br />
It was such a dark time for us as we wrestled<br />
with our faith. Nothing made sense.<br />
We’d done everything right and God had<br />
miraculously given us a child, but now,<br />
something wasn’t right with him. He wasn’t<br />
“perfect.” Samuel was an innocent baby—<br />
why would God allow this?<br />
Bobbie and I prayed over Samuel as he<br />
lay in his crib and begged God to heal him—<br />
we knew He could. God could do anything!<br />
Really, though, we just wanted God to make<br />
him normal. We wanted people to look at<br />
our child and see something beautiful, not<br />
someone with a disability.<br />
Surely, we reasoned, God would answer<br />
our prayers. Any minute now, He would<br />
wave His hand or speak a word, and everything<br />
would be okay for us and our son.<br />
Bobbie and I were determined we’d give<br />
Him the honor and glory when He did.<br />
BOBBIE: This was our hope, but as time<br />
went on, we finally had to admit it might<br />
not be God’s plan. I felt like a rug had been<br />
snatched from underneath me.<br />
ABOVE: After 5<br />
miscarriages, Kyle and<br />
Bobbie eagerly awaited<br />
the birth of their son.<br />
Pain gripped my heart every time I saw<br />
another mother hold her child close and<br />
soothe them. I was Samuel’s mother, and<br />
just like those mothers, I was supposed to<br />
be making everything better for my child.<br />
But I couldn’t. And no one around me could<br />
make it better either. Not my parents, who<br />
had always been there for me, not my husband,<br />
not even the doctors.<br />
And God wasn’t making it better either.<br />
Kyle and I continued to beg and plead<br />
and make deals with God. By the time Samuel<br />
was a year old, we had exhausted every<br />
avenue humanly possible. Self-pity, anger,<br />
anxiety, and disappointment overtook us.<br />
But then, one night, we came to our senses.<br />
We got on our knees, threw our hands in<br />
the air, and finally surrendered our son<br />
and how we thought our lives should look<br />
to the Lord.<br />
“Father,” we prayed, “we don’t understand<br />
Your ways. But we choose to trust<br />
You and Your plan, whatever it is. God, we<br />
don’t know what to do. Please help us. Hold<br />
us. Use us. We know You gave Samuel to<br />
us for a reason—take him,<br />
he’s Yours. Amen.”<br />
For the first time, we<br />
recognized that, outside<br />
of God, we had no hope.<br />
We needed the Light of the<br />
World to illuminate our<br />
darkness. Incredibly, as<br />
Kyle and I finished praying,<br />
the Lord whispered<br />
to my heart, “I’ve got this.”<br />
Relief washed over me.<br />
RIGHT: Samuel visited<br />
many doctors before he<br />
was finally diagnosed<br />
with autism.<br />
God was with us, and no matter how<br />
bleak our situation seemed, He still had a<br />
plan. Life for us wasn’t over, and we weren’t<br />
alone in this dark valley. I had heard Psalm<br />
23 before; now I finally understood it. Sure,<br />
I still had questions, but I had peace too.<br />
And that was greater than having answers.<br />
KYLE: God’s presence ushered in His<br />
peace for me that night too. As a husband<br />
and father, I had been anxious and frustrated.<br />
I should have been able to make things<br />
better for my wife and son, but no matter<br />
how hard I tried, I couldn’t change a thing.<br />
Through our prayer, I had cast my burden<br />
of fixing our family’s situation—a burden<br />
God never intended for me to carry—onto<br />
the Lord’s shoulders. And because of His<br />
great love for my family and me, He had<br />
accepted it (1 Peter 5:7).<br />
I physically felt lighter as I came out from<br />
under the weight of my cares. The fog of<br />
doubt, anxiety, fear, and disappointment<br />
WE NEEDED TO RISE OUT OF<br />
OUR SELF-IMPOSED PRISON<br />
OF PITY, FEAR, AND ANGER<br />
AND START FIGHTING FOR OUR<br />
SON AND OUR FAMILY IN THE<br />
SPIRITUAL REALM.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
23
SURRENDER THE WAY YOU<br />
THOUGHT LIFE SHOULD<br />
LOOK. GIVE IT TO THE LORD.<br />
BOBBIE: It was a relief to finally<br />
have an answer, but it brought with<br />
it a host of new questions. What<br />
would Samuel’s future look like?<br />
Would he ever be able to communicate<br />
with us? Would he be able to<br />
had lifted. My perspective pivoted, and I attend school one day?<br />
could finally see our situation differently. We quickly learned that every case of<br />
I understood that, just because life had autism is unique. We often tell people now,<br />
taken an unexpected and challenging “If you’ve met someone with autism, you’ve<br />
turn, that didn’t mean God had left us. He met one person with autism.” Autism<br />
hadn’t messed up either, and He certainly comes in so many forms, and we had no<br />
wasn’t trying to punish us or teach us a way of knowing where Samuel would fall<br />
lesson. God was inviting us to join Him on on the spectrum.<br />
a life-changing journey.<br />
Kyle and I grew tired of fighting for answers<br />
no one could give us, so we focused<br />
As these things dawned on us, Bobbie<br />
and I realized we needed to rise out of our on the one question we could answer: How<br />
self-imposed prison of pity, fear, and anger<br />
and start fighting for our son and our potential? Our response to our situation<br />
could we help Samuel reach his God-given<br />
family in the spiritual realm.<br />
was the only thing we could control.<br />
Bobbie and I had read Mark Batterson’s We knew the sooner we got help, the better<br />
outcome we’d have. We didn’t want to<br />
book, The Circle Maker, with a small group<br />
from church. We had learned the importance<br />
of “circling” something or someone done more, so we began researching avail-<br />
look back one day and think we could have<br />
in prayer.<br />
able resources for children with autism.<br />
We decided to start circling Samuel in The closest center was in Winstonprayer.<br />
We literally took turns walking Salem, almost a three-hour drive from our<br />
around our house, praying that God’s will home in Greenville, NC, and Samuel needed<br />
daily therapy. My parents lived in that<br />
would be done for our son. At night, in<br />
the middle of the chaos, we’d turn on the area and invited Samuel and me to move<br />
floodlights and take turns walking around in with them. Kyle remained home due to<br />
our home, praying out loud. I am sure the work commitments. On weekends, either<br />
neighbors thought we were crazy!<br />
he drove to Winston-Salem to be with us,<br />
When Samuel was 18 months old, we or Samuel and I returned home to him.<br />
finally received a diagnosis of autism. It Our whole world centered on Samuel’s<br />
was what Bobbie had suspected all along. therapy. Many sacrifices had to be made,<br />
and not just by us. Incredibly, my father<br />
put off his retirement to help us cover the<br />
mounting expenses from Samuel’s therapy.<br />
It was difficult to accept help from family,<br />
friends, and even strangers. We had<br />
always been so independent. But Kyle and<br />
I quickly learned that we wouldn’t make it<br />
unless we humbled ourselves and received<br />
help when offered. We also had to learn to<br />
ask for help; the road was too difficult for<br />
us to travel alone.<br />
The facility in Winston-Salem was a godsend.<br />
Within months, Samuel was making<br />
noticeable progress. He began making eye<br />
contact and using his hands. He picked up<br />
a pencil and tapped it on the table. Kyle and<br />
I celebrated every milestone as a gift from<br />
God; we took nothing for granted.<br />
When Samuel turned 3, we heard his<br />
voice. It was the most beautiful sound ever.<br />
A year later, he said the words I’d longed<br />
to hear, “Love you, Mama.”<br />
KYLE: I’ll never forget the day I walked into<br />
the house, and Samuel called out my name,<br />
“Dadda.” Samuel was four, and I hadn’t<br />
known if he would ever understand who<br />
I was. I broke down and cried.<br />
We clung to every victory, big and small,<br />
as we faced the ever-present challenges<br />
of raising a child with autism. We still do.<br />
Remembering how far Samuel has come<br />
enables us to press on through each unpredictable<br />
day. Thankfully, God continues to<br />
give us His strength. The weaker we are,<br />
the stronger He shows Himself to be (2<br />
Corinthians 12:9).<br />
At the treatment center, we met many<br />
families who were walking the same uncertain<br />
road we were. Bobbie and I were<br />
thankful to be a part of such a wonderful<br />
community of people and to have access<br />
to these life-changing services. But we<br />
couldn’t help but think of the many families<br />
who weren’t as fortunate as us.<br />
In one of our prayerwalks years before,<br />
Bobbie and I had both had the idea of starting<br />
a therapy center in Greenville. After<br />
witnessing the effects of therapy on Samuel<br />
and how it had helped our family, we began<br />
to seriously consider the idea. Families<br />
from eastern North Carolina needed access<br />
to therapy. Was God leading us to step out<br />
on their behalf and shine His light onto<br />
their path?<br />
It was an exciting but frightening concept.<br />
We had no idea how to move forward<br />
or what to do. (And if we’d known all God<br />
had in store for us, we might have run in<br />
fear.) Nonetheless, we said, “Yes, God,” and<br />
stepped out in faith.<br />
God quickly revealed our first step. We<br />
were to secure one therapist to help Samuel<br />
and be available for other families.<br />
Friends and business leaders held a tennis<br />
tournament called “Aces for Autism” to<br />
raise funds for that therapist’s salary. That<br />
was in 2015, and Aces was born.<br />
24 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
Samuel is 11 years old now; and he continues<br />
to make progress. This once nontalker<br />
now talks nonstop! It’s unbelievable<br />
how he went from not making any sounds<br />
to having this vibrant personality that says<br />
hello to everyone. Samuel has the biggest<br />
heart, and he puts a smile on people’s faces<br />
Kyle and Bobbie help<br />
families with autism<br />
through their nonprofit,<br />
Aces for Autism, and<br />
by fighting to change<br />
legislation. They have<br />
successfully advocated<br />
for autism therapy to be<br />
covered by insurance.<br />
everywhere he goes.<br />
As a family, we still face many challenges,<br />
especially now that Samuel is growing<br />
bigger and stronger. Every day, Bobbie and<br />
I must trust that the same God who helped<br />
us navigate the obstacles of the past will<br />
continue to provide for us in the future.<br />
He will meet all our needs—Samuel’s, our<br />
family’s, and the needs of Aces.<br />
God has also blessed Bobbie and me with<br />
PHOTO BY MARGARET DEBRUHL<br />
In 2016, we started offering services at<br />
Oakmont Baptist Church. We held an event<br />
there for families to learn about therapy<br />
opportunities. We wondered if anyone<br />
would come. We were shocked at the long<br />
line of families winding around the room.<br />
BOBBIE: There were so many kids like<br />
incredible adventure. Since 2016, we’ve<br />
had the privilege of coming alongside 81<br />
families. And we’ve outgrown several locations<br />
as we’ve added needed services<br />
and therapists.<br />
In 20<strong>22</strong>, Aces will break ground on a new<br />
30,000-square-foot building in Greenville.<br />
Over 300 families are waiting for services.<br />
two more children—a son who is now 6, and<br />
a daughter who is 3. Only by God’s grace<br />
can we maintain balance and ensure that<br />
each of our children receives the love and<br />
attention they need. It’s not an easy task.<br />
Maybe you are walking through a similar<br />
dark valley. Maybe you feel alone and<br />
afraid, or angry and confused. Bobbie and<br />
Samuel, so many families with shattered<br />
To God be the glory. Not only that, God is<br />
I know how you feel. But we want you to<br />
dreams. And here they were, all waiting to<br />
using Aces as a model for centers across<br />
know that there is hope. With God, you will<br />
speak with us! We could see the despera-<br />
the country. And He has used Kyle and<br />
make it. He is with you, and no matter what<br />
tion on their faces. How would we possibly<br />
me to fight for new legislation for better<br />
it looks like, God still has a plan for your<br />
help them? It felt like an overwhelming and<br />
access and accommodations for families<br />
life. And He will bring it to fruition.<br />
impossible task.<br />
with autism.<br />
If you haven’t done so already, surren-<br />
As we looked at the line, Kyle and I re-<br />
We laugh when we think back to our<br />
der the way you thought life should look to<br />
minded ourselves that God was with us and<br />
prayer for God to make Samuel “normal.”<br />
the Lord. Give Him all the pieces of your<br />
that He had not called us to help all these<br />
God never looked at our situation—or<br />
shattered dreams. He will put the pieces<br />
people on our own. He was with us, and<br />
Samuel—the way we did. He had a plan,<br />
back together in ways you can’t imagine<br />
not only that, Aces was His idea. God would<br />
and it was far better than anything we<br />
(Ephesians 3:20).<br />
ultimately provide for these families—<br />
could have imagined.<br />
That doesn’t mean it will be easy or that<br />
not us. All He asked of us was to listen and<br />
Suppose God had answered our prayer<br />
there won’t be any pain. God doesn’t always<br />
faithfully take the next step He would put<br />
the way we wanted. We’d have missed the<br />
protect His children from hard things, but<br />
on our hearts.<br />
joy of Samuel and experiencing God in<br />
He does help us through them.<br />
We were determined that Aces would<br />
such a powerful, personal way. Our situa-<br />
Take one day at a time. Trust the Lord<br />
be more than just a center for services.<br />
tion forced us to rely on the Lord, to trust<br />
to give you His strength, wisdom, peace,<br />
It would be a ministry of God’s love. We<br />
Him as our constant source of provision.<br />
and joy. When He sends people to help you,<br />
wanted to walk alongside these families,<br />
Further, we’d have missed the privilege of<br />
accept their help. Don’t isolate yourself;<br />
provide life-changing tools, and wrap our<br />
knowing and helping hundreds of families<br />
you cannot walk through the valley of the<br />
arms around people. We tell all our fam-<br />
in our area.<br />
shadow of death alone. You need the Lord,<br />
ilies: “You’ll get through this. Yes, it will<br />
and you need community.<br />
be hard, but God will help you. And we’ll<br />
KYLE: It’s been an adventure, for sure.<br />
help you too. Together, we’ll take it one day<br />
at a time.”<br />
Kyle and I had no idea how God would<br />
grow Aces over the years. It’s been an<br />
We’ve experienced incredible highs and<br />
lows, but God has been with us every step<br />
of our journey. Bobbie and I wouldn’t trade<br />
this life for anything.<br />
KYLE AND BOBBIE ROBINSON are the founders<br />
of Aces for Autism. Families seeking support for<br />
autism may contact Aces for Autism by email at<br />
info@acesforautismnc.com or call (252) 689-6645.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
25
NEED A<br />
GOOD<br />
FATHER?<br />
BY KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON<br />
can’t share my life without talking about my parents. Their<br />
love and support positioned my brother, Michael, and me<br />
to walk incredible life paths. I thank the Lord daily for the<br />
gift of godly parents and their Christlike example.<br />
Growing up, I never realized that not everyone’s home life was like<br />
mine. That’s not to say my parents are perfect, but they genuinely<br />
love the Lord, us kids, and others, well. I felt safe, valued, and loved.<br />
It breaks my heart to know that so many people have grown up<br />
under abuse, belittlement, and rejection by those who should have<br />
protected them. If that was your experience, I’m so sorry. This was<br />
not God’s intention for your life.<br />
My eyes were indeed opened to painful childhood experiences<br />
when I entered the world of prison ministry in 2013. I remember<br />
the first time I had to speak after the testimony of a woman who had<br />
been sexually abused by her father. I watched in disbelief as most<br />
of the female inmates nodded their heads as if they understood her<br />
painful upbringing through experience.<br />
26 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
PHOTO BY 252BUZZ<br />
I felt so inadequate at that moment to speak into their lives—I<br />
hadn’t walked in their shoes, so how could my story possibly make a<br />
difference to them? Besides, it just felt wrong to share how good my<br />
parents were to me when others had been hurt so badly by theirs.<br />
I felt God encouraging me, though, to lay aside my insecurities and<br />
share my story as He led. He had brought me to speak behind prison<br />
walls for a reason; it was time to trust Him with my story. God wanted<br />
to use lessons from my water-ski career and stories about my parents’<br />
sacrificial and unconditional love to paint a beautiful picture of His<br />
love. For people who have been raised by harsh or absent fathers, it<br />
is difficult to imagine God being any different, especially since we<br />
call Him our heavenly Father.<br />
I was reminded of this truth just the other day in our weekly Victorious<br />
Living team online meeting. Out of 9 team members, 5 had<br />
been abused, abandoned, rejected, and harshly disciplined by their<br />
fathers. And as a result, they have often struggled with insecurities,<br />
shame, unworthiness, anger, fear, distrust of authority, and a sense<br />
of being unwanted. Each admitted it was challenging not to put the<br />
face of their earthly fathers onto God. I was reminded of how blessed<br />
I am to have a loving father.<br />
I find myself sharing many stories about my dad’s wisdom or actions<br />
when I’m speaking. That’s not because my mother’s influence in my<br />
life is any less significant. My mother, Becky Overton, is a precious<br />
jewel. Mom modeled the Proverbs 31 woman daily. She trusted the<br />
Lord and worked diligently to care for my father, brother, and me.<br />
For 15 years, she served as my daily water-ski coach and helped me<br />
become a world champion.<br />
It’s just that Daddy is way more vocal than Mom. And his incredibly<br />
demonstrative, larger-than-life personality makes for some pretty<br />
lively stories. God has used Daddy’s strong voice and actions to provide<br />
me with direction, correction, and encouragement.<br />
My father, Parker Overton, taught me how to live a Godhonoring<br />
life. I must admit, I rolled my eyes at him a time or two, but<br />
his one-liner lessons sure have stuck in my mind.<br />
Some of these lessons include: Leave a place and thing better than<br />
you found it. Say thank you. Share all you have with others. Be generous.<br />
Notice your surroundings. Be a person of your word. When you<br />
speak to people, look them in the eye. Make people feel important.<br />
Give a firm handshake.<br />
“Protect your reputation,” Daddy would say, “because it’s hard to get<br />
it back once it’s gone.” I heard that one a lot. And you know, he’s still<br />
teaching me even though I’m in my fifties! That’s what good fathers do.<br />
I can’t go anywhere without his voice playing in my head. If I’m<br />
in a parking lot, I’m alert because I remember, “a parking lot is a<br />
dangerous place.” When I fly, I hear his voice prompting me to pay<br />
attention to the flight attendant: “She deserves your respect, baby.”<br />
Last week, I put down my phone to give the lady my utmost attention<br />
even though I’ve flown hundreds of times and can quote the safety<br />
instructions and mimic every hand gesture from memory.<br />
I’m thankful my father cared enough to teach me how to honor God,<br />
people, and places. And he didn’t just preach at me; Daddy practiced<br />
what he preached. Day in and day out, he lived a life of integrity<br />
Parker and Becky are great examples of service and faith to<br />
their family. Pictured above with their son, Michael, daughterin-law<br />
Holly, and Kristi after Parker received The Order of<br />
the Long Leaf Pine Award, NC’s highest governor’s award for<br />
persons making significant contributions to the state.<br />
and excellence in public and private. “People are<br />
watching you, baby,” he’d say. He didn’t realize that<br />
I was watching him, and what I witnessed taught<br />
me volumes.<br />
For example, the way Daddy treated Mom showed<br />
me how my husband should treat me. Even after<br />
56 years of marriage, he continues to open her car<br />
door, hold her hand, and speak well of her in front<br />
DON’T PUT THE FACE OF<br />
YOUR EARTHLY FATHER ON GOD.<br />
of others. He truly loves her as God intends. Not a<br />
day goes by that he doesn’t tell her how beautiful<br />
she is and how her beauty would make “a tadpole<br />
slap a whale,” “a bulldog break his chain,” and “a<br />
momma cat leave her kittens.”<br />
The way he treats his friends taught me to generously<br />
share the blessings and opportunities God<br />
provides me, whether or not someone can (or will)<br />
return the gesture. Likewise, the way he treats his<br />
employees taught me to honor those under my<br />
authority. Daddy has always cared for those who<br />
work for him, whether at his business or our family’s<br />
property. He treats everyone like family.<br />
And he is always at work behind the scenes trying<br />
to make people’s lives better. Like when he arranged<br />
for his dentist friend to give the girl at the Hardee’s<br />
drive-through a new smile. He hadn’t forgotten his<br />
own pain of having buckteeth as a child and how<br />
he felt when he looked in the mirror or was taunted<br />
by other kids.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
27
Growing up, my father experienced many painful<br />
things that he was determined to protect his family<br />
from experiencing. For example, Daddy told me<br />
every day that he loved me. He protected me from<br />
the harmful effects of alcohol and cigarette smoke.<br />
And he made sure that I knew there was a champion<br />
inside of me.<br />
Daddy would come into my room every night,<br />
kneel by my bed, and tell me stories. “Once upon a<br />
time, there was a little girl named Kristi who became<br />
the best water-skier in the world…” Each night’s story<br />
led me on a water-ski adventure that always ended<br />
with victory.<br />
Those nightly adventures laid a solid foundation<br />
for my future success in the sport and in life. Because<br />
of how those stories played out each night, I<br />
never saw myself any other way than a winner on<br />
those water skis and in life. This simple act and his<br />
constant reminders of “you can do it, baby” kept<br />
me motivated and helped me believe that anything<br />
was possible.<br />
ABOVE: In the<br />
early days on Lake<br />
Kristi, pictured L to<br />
R, Parker, Becky,<br />
Michael, and Kristi.<br />
LEFT: Lake<br />
Kristi was built<br />
in 1981. Today,<br />
it is a beautiful<br />
testament of the<br />
power of vision.<br />
Those words encouraged me to get up after a disappointing<br />
fall at the 1999 World Championships in<br />
Milan, Italy. I had fallen short of my goal of<br />
winning that day and had landed myself in<br />
a three-way tie for first place.<br />
I was discouraged and angry as I bobbed<br />
around in that lake where Mussolini once<br />
landed his seaplanes. I tell people all the<br />
time, Satan will find you anywhere. It<br />
doesn’t matter if you’re in a lake, a kitchen,<br />
or a prison cell. He’ll arrive on the scene<br />
at your weakest moment and remind you<br />
that you are a disappointment to others.<br />
I almost believed his lies until I heard my<br />
daddy’s Southern voice yelling out, “You<br />
can do it, baby!” from the shoreline. His<br />
words reminded me that I was a champion<br />
and capable of victory in that moment of<br />
uncertainty. With Daddy’s encouragement<br />
in my ears, I got up and skied myself into<br />
the World Championship title. I am so glad I chose to listen to my<br />
father’s voice and not the enemy’s.<br />
Daddy would have still been right there on the shoreline, ready to<br />
welcome me even if I had lost that day. He would have helped me out<br />
of the water, given me a hug, and whispered in my ear, “It’s all right,<br />
baby. You’ll get it next time.” Then we would’ve walked over and congratulated<br />
the winner. Dad was a stickler about good sportsmanship.<br />
“You have to win and lose graciously.”<br />
When I was 11, my father did something incredible. He built me<br />
a private lake where I could train without the disturbances of other<br />
boaters and pesky critters like snakes and jellyfish. He called it Lake<br />
Kristi. Crazy, I know!<br />
I didn’t grasp the magnitude of what he’d done until I was much<br />
older. It’s incredible now to look back at pictures of that dry, dusty<br />
land. The property’s transformation shows the power of vision, hard<br />
work, and a spirit of excellence.<br />
Daddy saw potential and purpose in that farmland when everyone<br />
else saw dirt. As a result, Lake Kristi has been a venue for world-class<br />
water-ski competitions, collegiate cross-country events, triathlons,<br />
weddings, ministry events, and a safe haven for abused animals for<br />
over forty years.<br />
These are all great things I’ve told you about my dad. But I am<br />
most grateful for the foundation of faith he helped provide. Not a<br />
night went by that I didn’t see my daddy on his knees praying to “the<br />
Good Lord,” as he calls Him. He and Mom took Michael and me to<br />
church and taught us to respect God. They made sure we understood<br />
that everything we have is a blessing from above and intended for<br />
blessing others.<br />
I’ve shared many examples of my father’s goodness in this story,<br />
but you know what? Daddy’s most generous gifts will always pale in<br />
comparison to what my heavenly Father has done for me—and what<br />
He’ll do for you. Jesus said, “So if you sinful people know how to give<br />
good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father<br />
give good gifts to those who ask him?” (Matthew 7:11 NLT).<br />
28 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
Our heavenly Father is generous beyond our wildest dreams (Ephesians<br />
3:20). He even sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sin so that we<br />
could have a relationship with Him and eternal life (John 3:16). There<br />
is no greater demonstration of love.<br />
Not only is He generous, but everything Daddy God gives to His<br />
children is good. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is<br />
from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,<br />
who does not change like shifting shadows” (NIV).<br />
That doesn’t mean everything we experience feels good. But God<br />
our Father will never send evil into our lives to hurt or tempt us<br />
(James 1:13). That’s Satan’s nature; he seeks to destroy the children<br />
of the Most High God (John 10:10).<br />
God is a giver of life, not death. Peace, not chaos. Comfort, not fear.<br />
Love, not hate. Forgiveness, not chastisement. Hope, not despair.<br />
And His good nature and love will never shift based on our performance<br />
or His feelings. Thank goodness! Nothing can separate us<br />
from His love (Romans 8:31–39).<br />
Every day, God invites His children to come boldly into His presence.<br />
We find grace, help, acceptance, contentment, rest, and wisdom<br />
there. All we have to do is approach Him and ask. Daddy God<br />
welcomes your requests and will never rebuke you. (See Philippians<br />
4:6–8; Hebrews 4:16; James 1:5.)<br />
Thinking back to my childhood, I never once needed permission<br />
to approach my daddy. I could walk past his assistant and enter his<br />
office anytime, and I never once felt like I was bothering him.<br />
Likewise, you and I don’t need an appointment to approach our<br />
heavenly Father, nor do we need to go through another person.<br />
Through the name and blood of Jesus, we have unlimited and unhindered<br />
access to God (Ephesians 2:18).<br />
You might be thinking, “There is no way God would want to have a<br />
relationship with me.” That is not true. Your heavenly Father fashioned<br />
you with His very hands (Psalm 119:73) because He wanted to have<br />
a relationship with you. Don’t listen to the enemy’s voice that says<br />
you are unworthy. Study the Bible and see what your heavenly Father<br />
says about you. And then listen to His voice and believe His truth.<br />
I told you how my father had a vision for “little Kristi” to be a champion.<br />
Well, God has an even greater vision for your victory (Jeremiah<br />
29:11). When your heavenly Father looks at you, He sees potential and<br />
purpose, just like my daddy saw potential in me and in that barren<br />
farmland. God is a restorer and fulfiller of dreams, and His vision<br />
for your life never fades. When you come to Him and lay your dry,<br />
barren life down at His feet, you’ll receive beauty<br />
for your ashes (Isaiah 61:3).<br />
No matter who you are, God wants a relationship<br />
with you. Accept His invitation. Everything you’ve<br />
ever desired in an earthly father can be found in<br />
Him. Your heavenly Father will never abandon you.<br />
Understanding God’s love for you and your identity<br />
as His son or daughter will determine your level of<br />
freedom and victory on this side of heaven. Whatever<br />
your past experience with your earthly father, set<br />
it aside. Don’t put the face of your earthly father on<br />
God. Get in the Bible and learn about His nature.<br />
Then, draw close to Him and experience His faithful<br />
loving-kindness for yourself. He promises to draw<br />
near to you (James 4:8).<br />
No matter how many times you’ve fallen in life,<br />
God will always meet you with open arms (Luke<br />
15:17–20). He will help you get up and move forward<br />
victoriously. He isn’t looking for perfection<br />
or performance. He simply wants you to desire a<br />
relationship with Him and to trust His love. That’s<br />
what puts a smile on His face (Hebrews 11:6).<br />
You may be wondering how a relationship with<br />
God is possible. It’s simple. A relationship with the<br />
Father happens through faith in His Son. According<br />
to John 14:6, it’s the only way. Jesus says: “I am the<br />
way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the<br />
Father except through me” (NIV). The minute you<br />
express your faith and accept Jesus as your Lord<br />
and Savior, something incredible happens: God<br />
becomes your Father. He welcomes you just as you<br />
are (Ephesians 1:6).<br />
If you don’t have a relationship with God as your<br />
Father, why not experience it now? Place your faith in<br />
Jesus. God will adopt you into His family and forgive<br />
you of all sin. Then, you can experience the love of<br />
a good Father today.<br />
KRISTI OVERTON JOHNSON encourages and<br />
equips people for victory through her writings, speaking<br />
engagements, and prison ministry. To learn more, go to<br />
kojministries.org.<br />
HAVE YOU EVER<br />
CONSIDERED THAT, NO<br />
MATTER WHO YOU ARE,<br />
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO<br />
IMPACT YOUR CHILD’S<br />
LIFE POSITIVELY LIKE MY<br />
DAD IMPACTED MINE?<br />
You can set a godly example through your words and actions, even from<br />
behind a prison wall. Further, you can bring about effectual change in<br />
their life and yours through your prayers (James 5:16). God can produce<br />
a godly lineage through any willing person.<br />
All you need is faith, determination, and a willingness to make Godhonoring<br />
choices. As you draw close to God and allow Him to work in<br />
your life, others will notice, and they will desire the goodness of God to<br />
flow in their lives as well.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
29
TRANSFORMED LIVES<br />
God<br />
Always<br />
Makes<br />
a Way<br />
THE STORY OF NATE CARRERAS<br />
Nate (right) with<br />
Kory Gordon. Both<br />
are now free men<br />
spreading the Good<br />
News of Jesus.<br />
FATHERLESS CHILDREN MAKE UP A LOT OF THE PRISON<br />
population. I know because I was one of them. I take full responsibility<br />
for my choices in life, but I must admit that my childhood<br />
was a crucial factor in why my life turned out the way it did.<br />
Growing up without a dad was a recipe for dysfunction and<br />
disaster in my young heart and mind. I never knew my father,<br />
and since no man ever stepped up to fill that role, my childhood<br />
was void of any positive male role models.<br />
My mom did her best to raise my brother and me, but then she<br />
got sick. Incapacitated by the treatments, she could not work or<br />
care for her family. Conditions were terrible in our home. There<br />
were no rules or boundaries, and we had complete freedom to<br />
run the streets.<br />
Drugs owned me right off the bat. My life became one long blur<br />
of chemicals and crime, and I began racking up felonies left and<br />
right. My foolish ways led me to reap a fool’s reward (Galatians<br />
6:7). I would face many consequences.<br />
Life got crazy, and I longed to be free of the chaos. There had to<br />
be more to life than what I was experiencing. Part of me wanted<br />
to be the person God had created me to be. But how? All I knew<br />
to do was pray. I was twenty-nine years old when I cried out to<br />
God and said, “Lord, forcefully put me in Your will.” It didn’t take<br />
Him long to answer.<br />
A couple of days later, I was taken by force back to the county<br />
jail. The baffling thing was that I was innocent of the arresting<br />
charges. That was a first! And then, my wife left me after the<br />
pastor who married us advised her to divorce me.<br />
I was confused and deeply offended by the pastor’s advice. I<br />
had expected him to encourage her to stand by her commitment<br />
as my wife. Anger ate at me for a long time until I came to the<br />
end of myself.<br />
In that place of complete brokenness, I finally recognized my<br />
need for God. I had nothing left when God knocked on the door<br />
of my heart. You can believe I was ready to open it and receive<br />
everything He had to offer.<br />
My brother and I had been taken to jail together but were<br />
housed in separate units. We hatched a plan to meet up one day<br />
at the church service. I just wanted to spend some time with my<br />
brother, but God had other plans.<br />
There was something very different about that service. The<br />
message was on the person and power of the Holy Spirit. God’s<br />
Spirit uniquely touched me. I didn’t go forward to the altar<br />
that day, but I did place my faith in Jesus Christ for salvation<br />
(John 3:16).<br />
Some people tell of miraculous encounters with God, and their<br />
stories are so powerful, they can make other people question<br />
their own salvation experience. My story isn’t dramatic, but I<br />
know a miracle occurred in my heart.<br />
God poured out His grace on me that day. Me—a sinner! His<br />
forgiveness washed away the shame, guilt, and condemnation<br />
I carried. Suddenly, I had a new sense of purpose, drive, and<br />
peace. I was a lost son who had found his way back to the loving<br />
Father he had always wanted but had never known existed. And<br />
God welcomed me home with open arms.<br />
From that day forward, I began to walk in freedom from addiction.<br />
I left behind the destructive path I had known since childhood.<br />
My entire life changed when I placed my faith in Christ.<br />
That, to me, is the greatest miracle of all.<br />
While I had genuinely surrendered my life to God, I still owed a<br />
debt to society. I remained incarcerated with the Florida Department<br />
of Corrections for four more years. Instead of letting the<br />
time do me, however, I decided that for this go-around, I would<br />
make good use of it. I committed myself to becoming the man<br />
God had designed me to be.<br />
I learned all I could about Jesus, and I took every class the DOC<br />
offered to better myself. One day, my bunkmate told me about<br />
30 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
TRANSFORMED LIVES<br />
PHOTOS BY RAELYN BUTLER<br />
a former inmate named Kory Gordon, who had been featured<br />
in Victorious Living magazine.<br />
I read his testimony, and in my heart, I knew that I would be<br />
doing ministry alongside him one day. I began writing ideas and<br />
goals in my journal, but I had no idea how quickly some of them<br />
would become a reality.<br />
I attended the weekly chapel service in my unit for the next two<br />
years. One day, prison ministry volunteers told us their church<br />
had just hired a new pastor who had been an inmate at Franklin<br />
Correctional. I immediately knew they were talking about Kory<br />
and felt led to reach out to him.<br />
With favor from the Lord, I obtained the address of the church<br />
where he was pastoring. I contacted him, and he quickly responded.<br />
There was an instant godly connection, and we forged<br />
a friendship. My “knowing” that we were going to be working<br />
together intensified.<br />
I had spent two years before I met Kory preparing myself for<br />
release from prison. When I finished my sentence, I went to a<br />
transitional program in Panama City, FL. I refused to return<br />
home to Tampa Bay. There was too much old temptation there.<br />
I was determined to stay on the path God had for me to follow<br />
and made choices accordingly. The stakes were high—I had a<br />
young son who desperately needed me, and I longed to get custody<br />
of him and get him out of the foster care system. I wanted<br />
to be a godly father to him, something I had never had myself.<br />
The obstacles to parenthood seemed impossible. I was a fourtime<br />
return offender to the DOC. My criminal history could fill<br />
an entire book. I was single and broke with no transportation<br />
or home. I had never been a parent before, and nothing showed<br />
that I could be one. I was up against a stacked deck. I am grateful<br />
that no deck is too stacked for God.<br />
The courts would not even consider reunifying my son and me<br />
I know being a father is what<br />
God has called me to do.<br />
Nate’s reunion with his<br />
son proves all things<br />
are possible with God.<br />
until I completed a list of classes and obtained specific certificates.<br />
I was also required to take random drug screens.<br />
Considering my circumstances, these were not easy or cheap<br />
tasks. I had only a bike for transportation and had to ride far<br />
distances to complete those requirements. By the grace of God,<br />
I fulfilled every one of the court’s demands. Now, it was in His<br />
hands, and I prayerfully awaited the court’s decision.<br />
Around this time, Kory and his wife, Kasey, had me over for the<br />
weekend. Not long after, I decided to step out in faith and move<br />
closer to them. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was supposed<br />
to be a part of their lives and ministry.<br />
The move was a tough decision. If things went wrong, the courts<br />
could deem me an unstable father. With that, they could refuse<br />
to return my son to me. As difficult and risky as this decision<br />
was, I felt God’s peace about it, and at their invitation, I made<br />
the move to the Gordons’ couch.<br />
My faith was stretched and tested, but God’s hand was always<br />
in my situation. Not one detail escaped His notice. His goodness<br />
went before me and made a way.<br />
The Lord began opening doors for me. In no time flat, I had<br />
my own place to live. The job and transportation I needed came<br />
quickly too. God put amazing people in my life who embraced<br />
me in genuine love.<br />
I joined a church and began serving in the food ministry. Even<br />
my employers turned out to be a blessing in my life. We are all<br />
like family. The grace of God met every obstacle I encountered.<br />
When I was in prison, I put so much thought into how I would<br />
get back on my feet. I knew I’d be starting over with nothing,<br />
and my list of needs was overwhelming. But there was never a<br />
reason to worry or stress. God is a God of providence. He supplied<br />
everything, just as He said He would (Philippians 4:19).<br />
After months of earnest prayer, jumping through hoops, multiple<br />
home checks, and regular drug screens, I was finally awarded<br />
custody of my son. We were reunified a year ago. He is excelling<br />
in school and seems to be happy. We have formed a solid bond<br />
while navigating through this transition together.<br />
He doesn’t know it, but we are growing up together. I am learning<br />
this fatherhood stuff one day at a time. It’s not always easy,<br />
but I know being a father is what God has called me to do.<br />
God has carried me through many difficulties, and He has<br />
never failed me. When the going gets tough, I remind myself<br />
of His faithfulness and continue to lean on Him. He truly is a<br />
miracle worker. I regret not giving my life to Him much sooner.<br />
I hope my story will convince you of the goodness of God. He<br />
is and will always be a good Father to anyone who desires a relationship<br />
with Him (Matthew 7:11).<br />
Don’t wait to accept His love. Come to know the Lord today; He<br />
will never fail you. As His child, you’ll find the acceptance and<br />
love you’ve always desired.<br />
NATE CARRERAS was once owned by drugs and crime, but he has been set<br />
free by Christ. As the Director of Development for Damascus Road, he uses his<br />
testimony and passion for Jesus to bring hope to the incarcerated.<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
31
STEPPING FORWARD<br />
GOD’S VISION HAS AN<br />
APPOINTED TIME<br />
BY KORY GORDON<br />
FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION, the<br />
Bible repeatedly speaks of dreams and<br />
visions as communication between God<br />
and man. When I read these verses, one<br />
of my encounters comes to mind.<br />
It happened when I was 19 years old, in<br />
a small county jail in South Georgia. While<br />
there, I had a powerful dream. I saw myself<br />
in that exact jail cell, wearing the same<br />
orange jumpsuit. Except in my dream, I<br />
was dead on the floor.<br />
Suddenly, the cell door swung open, and<br />
a bright light shone in. I was lifted off the<br />
floor and carried out into the bright hallway.<br />
When I looked down, I wasn’t wearing<br />
a jumpsuit anymore.<br />
was showing me how and where He would<br />
intervene in my life long before it would<br />
come to pass.<br />
Twelve years later, on March 7, 2014,<br />
this vision began to unfold in the Pinellas<br />
County jail. At the time, I was a dead man,<br />
walking in trespasses and sins (Ephesians<br />
2:1–2). But then, God’s glorious light flooded<br />
my dark world, and His love lifted me<br />
out of the place where I had fallen. He removed<br />
my graveclothes and dressed me in<br />
His robes of righteousness. And some day,<br />
I will receive rewards in heaven.<br />
It’s been 8 years since the Lord drew<br />
me into His love. Today, I am a free man.<br />
I was, running with the vision that God had<br />
shown me. As they filed into our service,<br />
I knew that God had carried out His will<br />
for my life.<br />
I can’t help but relate to Joseph. (See<br />
Genesis 37–50.) God gave him a vision<br />
revealing his future, yet for many years,<br />
his circumstances looked bleak, just like<br />
mine. But that didn’t mean God’s dream<br />
was void. His visions for our lives are for<br />
an appointed time.<br />
Habakkuk 2:3 says, “For the revelation<br />
awaits an appointed time; it speaks of<br />
the end and will not prove false. Though<br />
it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come<br />
and will not delay” (NIV).<br />
Instead, I wore a military STAND FIRM IN YOUR FAITH AND WAIT PATIENTLY Sometimes, it takes many<br />
uniform, and medals of<br />
years for His vision to<br />
FOR HIM. GOD’S THOUGHTS AND WAYS ARE HIGHER<br />
honor covered my chest.<br />
come to pass.<br />
I could feel the tangible<br />
presence of God nudging<br />
THAN OURS. HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME.<br />
Friend, if you have received<br />
a spiritual dream,<br />
me, compelling me to walk forward down<br />
the jail hallway. As I did, every cell door<br />
swung open and dead men stepped out<br />
of their cells. God transformed each one<br />
into beams of light.<br />
When I got to the end of the hall, I heard<br />
a voice from heaven that said, “I have given<br />
you the ministry of John the Baptist.” It is<br />
a ministry of leading people to repentance<br />
in the Lord Jesus Christ.<br />
I had this dream in 2002. At the time, my<br />
life was very dark. OxyContin and Xanax<br />
had buried me in addiction. Yet even then,<br />
I knew that God was behind the vision. He<br />
Earlier this year, while touring prisons<br />
with Victorious Living, I saw more of God’s<br />
vision unfold. There I was, standing before<br />
other inmates, telling them of the goodness<br />
of God. Men rushed to the altar to repent of<br />
their sin, all of them desperate for Jesus.<br />
There were those dead men, coming to life<br />
as the Light of the World overcame their<br />
darkness.<br />
While on tour, I was given the opportunity<br />
to enter a dorm and invite men to our<br />
service. I had served 11 years in Florida’s<br />
DOC, and not once did I ever see a former<br />
inmate gain access to the dorms. Yet there<br />
vision, or promise from God, trust Him to<br />
bring it to fruition. In our eyes, He might<br />
seem to procrastinate, but His timing and<br />
understanding of the situation are perfect.<br />
Stand firm in your faith and wait patiently<br />
for Him. God’s thoughts and ways are higher<br />
than ours. He is always right on time.<br />
KORY GORDON spent 11 years in incarceration,<br />
where he gave his life to Christ. He’s now<br />
an evangel ist, sharing the Good News that set<br />
him free. In 2021, he founded Damascus Road, a<br />
nonprofit residential discipleship program battling<br />
addiction, recidivism, and homelessness. Email<br />
damascusroad2021@gmail.com for more info.<br />
32 <strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
WANT TO KNOW JESUS?<br />
“Come to me, all you who are<br />
weary and burdened, and I will<br />
give you rest.” —Matthew 11:28 NIV<br />
Jared Emerson, Artist, jaredemerson.com<br />
Do you need rest? Peace? Freedom? Forgiveness? Restoration?<br />
Call out to Jesus, accept Him as your Savior, and be made whole.<br />
Pray: “Jesus, I invite You into my life. I confess that I am a sinner in<br />
need of a Savior. Thank You for saving me from my sins and making<br />
me whole. Thank You for laying down Your life for me so that I can<br />
have a new life in You. I receive, by faith, this forgiveness of sin. Take<br />
my life—my past and my future. Guide my steps and speak to my<br />
heart, Lord. Use me, God. Amen.”<br />
Let us know of your decision so we can help you grow in your faith.<br />
Write to: <strong>VL</strong> Correspondence, PO Box 2751, Greenville, NC 27836.<br />
PERHAPS AFTER READING the stories in this magazine, you’ve surrendered your life to<br />
Jesus. Congratulations—it’s the most important decision you will ever make! But you might<br />
be wondering, now what? Here are five ways to ensure spiritual growth. Remember, the<br />
Christian life is a journey that brings lifelong transformation.<br />
1. PRAY. Talk to God about everything and listen for His response. You don’t need<br />
fancy words, just a sincere heart.<br />
2. STUDY THE BIBLE. God’s Word contains all the instructions we need for life. Get<br />
into a Bible study and discover new revelations daily. Free resources are on page 34.<br />
3. GET BAPTIZED. Although baptism is not a requirement of salvation, the Bible<br />
clearly tells us that we are to be water baptized after salvation. Baptism symbolizes<br />
our dying to sin and being raised to a new life in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:4). Prison<br />
restrictions may make immersion by water difficult, so get creative and let the Holy<br />
Spirit reveal how you can take this step of obedience until immersion is possible.<br />
4. FIND CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY. Join a local congregation of Christ-followers. If<br />
incarceration makes attending church difficult, fellowship with other believers the<br />
best you can. They will help you stand strong and keep you accountable.<br />
5. TELL SOMEONE. Share your decision to follow Christ and tell them what He has<br />
done for you. And then, tell us! We’d love to hear from you.<br />
WHAT NOW?<br />
I’ve Accepted God’s Salvation.<br />
Now What?<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
<strong>Issue</strong> 03 / 20<strong>22</strong><br />
33
MINISTRY NEWS/RESOURCES<br />
Victorious Living Prison<br />
Outreach Update<br />
magazine stories deliver hope to sight-impaired and<br />
novice readers. On-screen transcriptions can help our<br />
listeners learn to read, too!<br />
We are excited about new opportunities for<br />
Victorious Living to impact more lives on both<br />
sides of prison walls.<br />
• Partnerships with EDOVO and PANDO App now provide<br />
one million inmates free digital access to Victorious<br />
Living magazine, our MORE broadcasts, Victorious Living<br />
podcasts, and Victorious Living Storytime.<br />
Family members of our incarcerated family and our<br />
ministry partners can also enjoy these free resources<br />
through pandoapp.tv and <strong>VL</strong>’s online platforms like<br />
vlmag.org, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.<br />
• We are excited about the new release of Victorious Living<br />
Storytime! These computer-generated readings of our<br />
• We regret that due to high transitional rates of inmates<br />
and new correspondence restrictions, we are no longer<br />
able to mail inmates individual subscriptions of <strong>VL</strong>Mag or<br />
our devotionals. Resources are being made available on<br />
prison tablets.<br />
• New digital correspondence opportunities are available<br />
for our inmate family to experience fellowship and<br />
encouragement. Inmates can continue to write to us at<br />
PO Box 2751, Greenville, NC 27836, or email us through<br />
their prison tablet systems at hope@vlmag.org.<br />
• Bulk copies of <strong>VL</strong>Mag are provided to prisons, jails,<br />
recovery, and reentry programs, with or without staples.<br />
Chaplains and program directors, please contact us at<br />
352-478-2098 for these free resources.<br />
RESOURCES<br />
Below are opportunities for free Christian-based<br />
resources for both English- and Spanish-speaking<br />
inmates and chaplains. When you contact the<br />
addresses below, tell our partners <strong>VL</strong> referred you.<br />
VICTORIOUS LIVING<br />
Personal correspondence available in English and Spanish.<br />
Bulk copies of <strong>VL</strong>Mag are available for jail and prison libraries<br />
at chaplain’s request.<br />
PO Box 2751<br />
Email: hope@vlmag.org<br />
Greenville, NC 27836<br />
2ND OPPORTUNITY<br />
Reentry and employmentreadiness<br />
programming;<br />
job and housing referrals<br />
for inmates in<br />
jails and prisons<br />
upon request.<br />
970 N. Oaklawn Ave.<br />
Suite 203<br />
Elmhurst, IL 60126<br />
CLI PRISON ALLIANCE<br />
Personal discipleship<br />
studies by mail for inmates<br />
in jails and prisons;<br />
free Christian books and<br />
Bibles for libraries at<br />
request of chaplain or<br />
authorized personnel.<br />
PO Box 97095<br />
Raleigh, NC 27624<br />
RESCUED NOT ARRESTED<br />
Free NIV Bibles, Bible study<br />
correspondence course, and<br />
NIV Life Application Study Bible<br />
upon completion of study for<br />
inmates in jails and prisons.<br />
Call: 602-647-8325<br />
PO Box 90606<br />
Phoenix, AZ 85066<br />
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP<br />
SUMMIT<br />
Bring world-class<br />
leadership training<br />
and tools to your facility<br />
through the GL Summit<br />
and GL Network. Write to<br />
GlobalLeadership.org.<br />
PO Box 3188<br />
Barrington, IL 60011<br />
34<br />
WWW.VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM<br />
VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM