Issue 1 | 2024

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE Roll Back the Rug Would you like to partner with our magazine to deliver God’s hope and to impact the lives of incarcerated men and women? Your gift enables us to send this magazine into prisons around the nation. Each magazine impacts many lives for years to come. To help, visit victoriouslivingmagazine.com. The Victorious Living team has the great privilege of going into prisons nationwide and meeting individuals who read this magazine, watch our broadcasts on prison tablets, and correspond with us. We refer to these incarcerated men and women as our I-Fam. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ whom we value and love. We recently visited Roanoke River Correctional Institution. There, I shared my life story and a message of God’s hope with hundreds of men in three services. I also heard from many of them how Jesus had transformed and restored their lives. These men were so thankful and incredibly free despite remaining locked up. Their stories and the participation of Roanoke’s men and facility leaders fueled my desire to share God’s love and message of hope even more. The honor of speaking on a platform and publishing this magazine is something the Victorious Living team and I take seriously. We never want to misrepresent God or His message by saying something we think is clever or feel someone needs to hear. There’d be no power in that. Our team prays over every word in this magazine and at our speaking engagements. We want God to give us a message straight from the throne room of heaven, filled with His truth, love, and power. We desire His heart to be revealed through our words. Often, God gives me fresh insight as I’m speaking and writing. And that’s precisely what happened during the last session at Roanoke River CI. I was on the stage speaking when I suddenly heard myself sharing something I’d never thought of before. The men sitting in the chairs had no idea I was hearing the revelation for the first time myself. I was at the end of my message, sharing how God takes the charred remains of our lives and transforms them into something beautiful. Isaiah 61:3 says He gives us beauty for our ashes. I imagine it to be like those specialty jewelers who take people’s ashes and create a diamond to be set in a ring or pendant. It’s an incredible process resulting in a beautiful memorial and ornament that the world can see. Interestingly, the garland of beauty God promises to give us is an ornament others can see too. The exchange of ashes for beauty is something to behold. But as I was relating this familiar thought, I realized that before God can transform the ashes of our past or present ruin and turn them into an ornament of beauty, we must give those ashes to Him. But that’s not usually our first response, is it? Most of us like to hide our pain. And that’s what I saw in my mind’s eye as I was talking. I saw a person frantically sweeping ashes under a rug and then going about their day. It happened repeatedly, and I saw the ashes of sorrow, frustration, disappointment, and regret growing and becoming a mound. People had to walk around it, or they’d trip. I sensed the Lord inviting us to roll back our rugs, expose our pain, and give Him the broom so He could make those ashes beautiful before the world’s eyes (Romans 8:28). You’re about to witness the splendor of God through the testimonies of people who gave their ashes to Christ. As you do, I pray you’ll realize that what God did for them, He can do for you too. Kristi Overton Johnson Publisher & Executive Director PHOTO BY JOMARYS LEON-LORENZO 6 <strong>Issue</strong> 01 / <strong>2024</strong> VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM
Through the stories of Victorious Living, men and women behind bars meet the God of another chance. Testimony of Victorious Living Impact: Jeffrey Pyatt PHOTO BY IVY JOHNSON SPONSOR A PRISON IN YOUR STATE AND IMPACT LIVES TODAY. Visit victoriouslivingmagazine.com. Thank you, Victorious Living, for being there for me while I was incarcerated. Being in prison was a constant reminder that my life was in a shambles. I am grateful for the visits of your magazine. VL reminded me there was hope for my life. God used the testimonies and His Word as shared throughout the magazine to lift my spirits, to show me His love, and to help me see my value before Him. While in the Florida DOC, I counted down the time until the next issue of VL would arrive so the articles could inspire me. I especially loved reading about people who had been in the pits of life, only to surrender to Christ and be lifted into a new life. I still read the articles now that I live on the outside, and they are just as uplifting here as they were there. God has been so good to me. He’s helped me start and operate a thriving business, and He’s given me a beautiful, godly wife. He has also restored my relationships with my kids and helped me stay free of drugs and alcohol for almost 11 years. Because of Christ, life is worth living. Yes, I still have challenges, but He helps me through them all. Because of Him, I will never go back to that old life.
Page 1 and 2: REAL PEOPLE | REAL STORIES | REAL H
Page 3 and 4: ISSUE 1, JANUARY 2024 “But in you
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Page 9 and 10: STEPPING FORWARD When God’s Will
Page 11 and 12: impaired, blacked out, and hit a te
Page 13 and 14: STEPPING FORWARD Give God Your Grie
Page 15 and 16: Syracuse, New York, was home, and h
Page 17 and 18: The Lord redeemed Lauren’s loss a
Page 19 and 20: TRANSFORMED LIVES Jesus spent the n
Page 21 and 22: sought His heart in the matter, and
Page 23 and 24: PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MOERKE FAMIL
Page 25 and 26: STEPPING FORWARD SIT WITH JESUS May
Page 27 and 28: “I DODGED TRAINS, BULLIES, AND CO
Page 29 and 30: TRANSFORMED LIVES Three Cs That Can
Page 31 and 32: PHOTO BY ANNE SAY PHOTOGRAPHY ing u
Page 33 and 34: WANT TO KNOW JESUS? “Come to me,

Issue 1 | 2024

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