Starting Over Workshops

You may have seen a post a few weeks ago about the 60 baptisms that took place in the last six months at the Fremont Correctional Facility in Colorado. Each baptism represents a life being restored and a future being rewritten.

Here is a picture of a few of them when we gathered to encourage them towards a deeper commitment to Christ. We wanted to assure them that we, as Chaplains and the body of Christ within that facility, are here for them, along with the churches outside.

We provided resources to help these men grow in their relationship with Christ. Please pray that they, along with those not pictured who have been released, will remain steadfast in their walk with Him.

May their lives be so radically transformed by Christ that other inmates will notice the incredible difference He makes in a redeemed life and will ask them about the reason for the hope within them!

To learn more and to be part of the life-changing ministry of Starting Over on the Inside, click here:
https://startingoverworkshops.com

A month ago, my father-in-law, Norman, passed away. I knew him for 40 years. His celebration of life was powerful—not because it was perfect, but because it was meaningful.

And it made me think…
One day, someone will stand up and talk about your life. What will they say?

What if you could read your own obituary today?

There’s a story about Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. A newspaper accidentally published his obituary while he was still alive, calling him “the merchant of death”—a man who made his fortune by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before.

He read it… and it shook him.
He realized, this is how I will be remembered.

So, he redirected his life and went on to establish what we now know as the Nobel Peace Prize—choosing to leave a legacy of peace rather than destruction.

Here’s a question we all need to consider:
If your life were summed up today, would you be proud of what’s written?

For some of us, the honest answer might be no. Maybe it wouldn’t reflect the life we hoped for… or the person we wanted to become.
But here’s the truth—we are not finished yet.

The story is still being written.
When you look at Scripture, even Moses didn’t step fully into his calling until he was 80 years old.

Which means this:

It’s not too late.
Not too late to change direction.
Not too late to forgive.
Not too late to live with purpose.

But it does require a decision.
The life you are living today is the story that will be told tomorrow. So if something needs to change—change it.

Your legacy is not what you say it will be; it is defined by your choices, starting now.

In your darkest moments, when trials and opposition surround you, and there seems to be no way forward, remember this: the same God who parted the Red Sea for the Hebrews is still in the business of making a way where there is no way.

The Hebrews faced trials they never imagined after their great deliverance. They cried out, “How long will this last?” Many of us know that cry all too well. We long for simpler days, for the comfort of what once was.

It’s natural to feel that way. But here is the beautiful truth: you can’t go back, and you don’t have to go back. God is not calling you backward—He is leading you forward into something new and good.

Your troubles may feel overwhelming, but they are not greater than the Father’s love for you. The One who spoke the stars into existence, who holds entire nations like a drop in a bucket, is the same One who is intimately acquainted with every detail of your life. He sees you. He knows your fears. And He has not forgotten you.

Think of Jacob—running for his life, exhausted, sleeping with his head on a stone in a strange land. In that lonely, uncertain place, God met him and spoke words that still echo with hope today:

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Jacob woke up in awe and declared, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it! How awesome is this place!”

Even in your hardest season, God is with you. He is watching over you. He is working behind the scenes in ways you may not yet see. His presence turns ordinary, difficult places into holy ground.

You are not alone in this. Your life—every breath, every step—belongs to the Lord. As Scripture says: “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:8)

Let that truth be your soft pillow tonight. No matter what tomorrow holds, you are deeply, personally, and unconditionally loved by the God of the universe. He is faithful. He is good. And He will see you through.

So take heart, friend. This season will not last forever. And the One who holds your tomorrow is already holding you today.
You are loved. You are seen. You are never alone.

When you put your head on the pillow tonight, know that you are indescribably loved by him, and that is enough.