Every individual is addicted to something, and every individual has an opportunity to be restored. In the most recent Frontlines, Prison Fellowship CEO Jim Liske recounts the story of a current PF volunteer and former methamphetamine addict who has become a part of the restoration process in the lives of others.
Volunteer. It’s a word we hear frequently. We volunteer at church, at our children’s schools, and around the neighborhood. But is it a word we associate with Jesus?
“Volunteer” comes from a Latin word that means “willing” or “acting without compulsion.”
One January weekend I spent two very full days with my daughter and her husband, renovating one of the bathrooms in their house in Michigan. They wanted to do a real overhaul of this particular room, with new plumbing, electrical wiring, and drywall work.
When God works on the inside of a person, the transformation of their heart inevitably overflows into their life. In the same way, if we are doing God’s work inside the prisons, we will effect change on the outside. What begins behind bars will bear fruit in homes and communities.
It’s a New Year, the time for making resolutions that we never intend to keep! That’s not quite true, of course. It’s good for us to work toward goals and dreams for the future, but let’s face it – it’s hard to keep our resolutions; if we’d all lost all the weight that’d we’d committed to every New Year, none of us would even exist anymore!
Each year, Prison Fellowship recognizes volunteers and employees who have made a difference in the lives of prisoners and their families by presenting them with the Shining Star Award. In the coming weeks, the blog will highlight some of the 2012 Shining Star recipients and their work.