The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer! The Holy Bible is my code of conduct! Faith, prayer and the Word are my weapons of warfare! I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire!

I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity! I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this Army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out.

I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable! If my God needs me, I am there! If He needs me in Sunday school, to teach children, work with youth, help adults or just sit and learn, He can use me, because I am there!

I am a soldier! I am not a baby! I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pepped up!

I am a soldier! I am not a wimp! I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me handouts! I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to!

It was late and I was tired, wanting to go to sleep, but God wanted to talk. It was about midnight, but it dawned on me that God does not sleep. His question made me restless: "Where on earth does man keep his most priceless treasures and valuables?"

I said: "Lord, usually these treasures like gold, silver, diamonds and precious jewels are locked up somewhere out of sight with usually guards and security to keep them under lock and key." God spoke: "Like man, My most valuable treasures on earth are also locked up."

The foundation of the recovery process is his or her relationship with our loving heavenly father, as personalized in Jesus Christ.

A central theme and belief of this work is that healing is possible through faith in God’s grace. To some degree or another, everyone can experience freedom from the damaging effects of a less-than-nurturing environment. As our wounds heal, we become functional members of the Body of Christ.

Working the Twelve-Steps helps us reclaim our birthright as children of a compassionate God. We were created in His image and have gifts. These steps are intended to awaken us to God’s grace and give us an opportunity to experience peaceful and productive living. Feelings of unworthiness, anxiety and inferiority diminish and are replaced by spiritual strengths and virtues. Focusing on our new relationship with God transforms our obsessive need for other people’s approval. Our attention is, instead, captivated by the promise of new life in Christ.

Peace With God

STEP 1. We admitted we were powerless over the effect of our separation from God--that our lives had become unmanageable.

"I know nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out" (Romans 7:18).

Karla Faye Tucker

On June 13, 1983, Karla and her boyfriend, Daniel Garrett, broke into a Houston apartment and murdered the two occupants with a pick ax. At her brief trial, Karla admitted her guilt outright and told the jury that no punishment was severe enough for her crime. But while Karla requested a life sentence, the jury recommended the death sentence, after a mere 70 minutes of deliberation.

On February 3, 1998, Karla was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, the first woman executed in Texas since the Civil War. She asked for clemency, and a number of human-rights and conservative Christian groups rallied behind her, but their cry fell on deaf ears. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied her request for clemency (16-2 vote), and Governor Bush refused to grant a reprieve. Karla is now in the wonderful presence of the Lord.

Happy Mother's Day! When my mom heard that I had received Christ fifty (50) years ago on May 23, 1975, she rejoiced along with the angels. According to her, I was the black sheep of the family; the prodigal son turning from his sins and returning home to the blessings of his Heavenly Father. Jesus said:

". . . there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away" (Luke 15:7, NLT).

A Mother's Answered Prayers . . .

I had to concede that I needed the mercy and grace of God to change the course of my life. 

Happy Father's Day! I encourage you to reach out to your dad this Father's Day. Remember the good times, and if there are none, forgive and make new memories before he's gone. If he isn't available, enjoy your Heavenly Father, Who is always present with His love and acceptance for meaning and purpose in life. In the prodigal son parable, Jesus said:

"So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long ways off, his father saw him coming, filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him" (Luke 15:20, NLT).

The Prodigal Story . . .

Jesus told this story to reveal how much your Heavenly Father loves you. 

Our mission is to enlighten others to the need for prison outreach. We believe we will help build the church behind prison walls that will not only effect the way prisoners see God, but their families as well.

We intend to reach the lost, the backslidden, the unchurched and the unproductive, and make them whole through knowing the love of God, and launch them into productive, personal service. We now reach hundreds of thousands of people around the world. We never use control or manipulation.

A family is a group of persons related by marriage and blood ties and generally living together in the same household. In our case, most of the families we reach out to are not living together, because of separation by prison walls. One of the exception would be our outreach to victims and their families.

God's ideal for the family is that it be a harmonious unit, where love for God and neighbor are instilled into each member. Jesus was asked: "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matt. 22:36-39 NLT).

Cheryl, our web site administrator, recently asked, "Do you realize how many mothers come to your site, Charles? They come there because their sons and daughters have gotten into some type of problem, and they are desperately seeking ways to help the situation."

I recall the pain and agony that my own mother and family went through because of my crime. My mom and dad went to their graves with their hearts broken and their son still in prison. Thankfully, both of them knew Christ, so now they are rejoicing in heaven with Jesus, awaiting my arrival.

Our hearts go out to all those who have been victims of crime. It is getting harder and harder to find someone in this day and age that has not been a victim of some type of criminal activity. We pray that in some way this site will minister to your heart.

I don't know a single Christian prisoner, out of the thousands I've known, who doesn't feel a genuine concern for their victims and families of their victims. Those who do not deal with their guilt and shame are held in bondage to their past. It is our calling to minister liberty to them.

Ideally, we'd like to see victims and offenders come together as victors with a vision to reach the world for Christ. But realistically, many victims and offenders are not ready for reconciliation in Christ. We have our work cut out for us to reach out to those who are hurting. We'd suggest contacting the late Chuck Colson's Justice Fellowship for information on reconciliation programs.

Restorative Justice

Pastor Al Whittinghill writes, "In the world system when something is broken, it is set aside. But in the Kingdom of God, He sets aside the unbroken thing. It is the precious, broken thing that He uses to confound the wise and show the world His glory through vessels of clay."

Do a large percentage of those in the church view prisoners and their families as broken in a way which is no different than the world? Are those who are unbroken in the church set aside by God, while the precious, broken things confound the wise and show His glory as vessels of clay?

There are many links scattered throughout our site on the subject of forgiveness. We are cautioned throughout the Scriptures how unforgiveness can damage the heart, soul and body.

In Dr. Don Colbert's book Deadly Emotions, he says, "Those who choose to forgive are those who decide to give up resentment and the desire to punish. They have a willingness to relinquish all claims to exact a penalty for an offense. They actually cancel the debt they believe another person owes them."

The following is the story of the daughter of one of Charles' victims, who forgave him while on a visit in prison.

It was like any other day in prison, 4:00 p.m. mail call, usually meaning news from family and friends. After reading through the letters, there is always time to reflect on what was just read about the world outside.

The following is the continuing story of the daughter of one of Charles' victims, who forgave him while on a visit in prison. The first part of this miraculous story is The Miracle of Forgiveness.

Suzan's parents were murdered in the summer of 1969. Even though she understood the victim's plight, she never allowed others to cast her into that roll. Rather, she chose to remain open-minded, not knowing what the future held. Then, eighteen years later, she took the bold step of forgiving me, even after I had committed such a horrible crime against her. 

Identifying Teenage Depression

Teenage depression is a complex, subtle and dangerous phenomenon. It is complex because of its many complicated causes and effects. It is subtle because it almost always goes undetected, even by the teenager, until a tragedy occurs. It is dangerous because depression can result in the worst of happenings -- from school failure to suicide, even murder.

What Place Cars Had In My Life

I was born in 1945. During that year a bomber struck the Empire State building; the war in Europe ended after Hitler's suicide in Berlin; Franklin D. Roosevelt died and was succeeded by Truman; Rocky Graziano was named "Boxer of the Year"; the Nuremburg war-crimes began and ABombs were dropped on Japan, starting the atomic age and ending the war. It was also the year automobile production was resumed in the U.S. after having been halted during World War II .

The last cars rolled off the the assembly lines in January 1942, so that tanks, trucks and guns could be built for the war. It was not until after the war, in 1945, that cars would return to the assembly line for the 1946 models. My family's car was a blue '50 Packard, which I could kick myself for not restoring before I left home in 1967.

Defining moments are times when decisions were made that defined our lives with either positive or negative consequences. By identifying these, we become more effective in sharing our testimony in Christ with others.

Likewise, defining moments are found throughout the Scriptures, such as the scarlet thread of redemption that brought forth payment for sin and salvation to the world through Jesus Christ.

”I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly.” (Psalms 40:10, NKJV).

MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

My parents took me to church and held me as a baby in their arms, while singing and hearing God's word. I remember how friends of the family shared God's love with me at Church and Sunday school. I memorized John 3:16, the Apostle's Creed and many hymns, such as "Jesus Loves Me This I Know" and "The BIBLE, That's The Book For Me." I even sang in the choir as a teenager, while Rita Beth played the piano.

The key to living in God’s presence is to meditate your covenant, experiencing yourself united with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection throughout the day. King David knew the importance of the Ark of God, representing God’s covenant with His children. It had been housed in the wilderness tabernacle’s Most Holy Place where the Shekinah glory of God dwelt during the old covenant.

Later in the Old Testament, David and his men rescued the Ark and “They brought the Ark of God and placed it inside the special tent David had prepared for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.” He exhorted the people to “Remember His covenant forever — the commitment He made to a thousand generations” (1 Chronicles 16:1,15, NLT).

The world is full of dummies when it comes to Christianity. The need for someone to explain what it means to be a Christian is evident. We see the Catholics shamed by the actions of the priests. The Episcopalians have their genders confused. In the Protestant church alone, there are several hundred denominations who can't agree. Do we have to be a part of these organizations to be a Christian?

The church is made up of those individuals who are called out of a confused world, not an organization confused by the world. Today, many are leaving one church organization while shaking their heads in disgust, only to join another. Many are looking for someone to agree with their judgments. Others feel dependent on the church organization they belong to for their salvation. What is the truth?

I'm asking the youth of today to be rebellious, boldly opposed to the works of the devil, who is the real enemy, and not rebellious toward parents and those in authority.

This is an empowerment message -- fighting back against evil things. We fight by harnessing our natural rebellious attitudes and rebel against those things that are trying to steal, kill and destroy our lives. Rebelling against evil is the wise thing to do, so that we can have a life free from bondage! Jesus said, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life" (John 10:10, NLT).