From Prison to Church Leader

For those I got the chance to see on my visit to Winona last weekend, it was great to catch up with you again! It was such a special blessing for me to get to sing on the worship team with my Pleasant Valley family and to be able to share personal stories with you about what God has been doing through my role with Consumed Ministries. Here are some highlights from the past month!

From Prison to Church Leader:
Meet Christopher
Jake and I have been going inside the Lino Lakes Men's Prison to do ministry inside throughout this past year. We always walk away from our ministry visits there being super encouraged by the desire of these men to transform their lives through Christ. Each visit is truly an amazing experience!
    I recently was part of leading worship at a church that has services specifically for people in recovery programs and for those who have been released from prisons. One of the people who was on the worship team I was a part of was this man, Christopher. Christopher was an inmate inside the Lino Lake's prison for 6 years and got involved in the ministry we partner with while he was there, called IFI (InnerChange Freedom Initiative as part of Prison Fellowship). Through this ministry, Christopher's life was completely transformed by the saving power of Jesus and when he was released, he started serving at this church in Minneapolis, helping others who have been released from prison to experience the power of Christ in their lives. This is why I LOVE prison ministry! It was so powerful for me to get to lead worship with someone who's gone through the ministry program that I'm currently involved with at the Lino Lakes prison and to now get to lead worship together on the outside. Praising God for His power to transform lives!!

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Financial Peace University
"What would happen to the Kingdom of God if the people of God were out of debt? How much of this world could we as believers change?" When Jake and I were engaged, we took Dave Ramsey's financial course called, Financial Peace University. This course, which is based on Biblical principles for handling money, really helped us learn how to manage money, pay off our debts, better communicate with each other so that we could be on the same page when it came to finances in our marriage, and ultimately taught us how to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us so that we can give back to the work of God's Kingdom.  And now, Jake and I have been facilitating our own class, hosting it at our apartment each Wednesday night. We are loving getting to watch the change that's taking place in the people who are part of this 9-week course! To see a video preview of what this involves, click here.

On a personal note...

10 years ago on this past Sept. 27, I was at InterVarsity's fall retreat as a freshman in college. It was at this retreat that I surrendered my life to God's control and started following Jesus. My life hasn't been the same since!

Before having a relationship with Christ, I was a "happy" person, but I still always carried with me a feeling of emptiness and loneliness deep down. I realized that was because I was looking to things that only gave me temporary fulfillment to fill this empty void like: seeking people's approval, getting good grades in school, maintaining a good reputation, seeking recognition for my accomplishments and letting myself be defined by what I had achieved in life. I craved these things- they defined me. But 10 years ago, I discovered the one thing that can replace this void with permanent JOY, and that was beginning my relationship with Jesus as my Lord and Savior and now living a full life in Christ.

I wrote a song a few years ago, that puts my story to music. It's called "Identity". Hope you enjoy taking a listen!

Song: "Identity"

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