Here are photos of my time at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in Louisiana last month where I spoke and sang. (I had to crop many of the photos not to show faces of the inmates.) I will be sending them copies of my music CDs to share next week. The inmates really liked the song, "Honest Life," so I am making them copies. I look forward to returning to share more about all God has done in my life whenever I am back in Louisiana speaking at Angola next year.
Whenever I share my testimony, I tell of how I used to have a long list of things I needed God to give me in order for me to be happy, when He surprised me one night in prayer by speaking to my heart, "Let Me be everything to you." Well, He has certainly made me happy today, and I realize that I am very unworthy of Him
wanting to be everything to me. He sure does want me to need Him intensely and lean on Him with all of my being. He never tells me to back off when I come to Him with my fears and problems.
He only wants me to love Him more. 
So, when I sing about Him, it is all about His love for me. That love is amazing. I am so indebted to Him for loving me like that, and it seems like too small a thing to give Him all of me in return, but that is "all" He wants.
He has never once disappointed me when I have trusted Him in obedience. He has been a faithful Shepherd every step of the way.
And when I have disobeyed, He has never come to me in condemnation. Rather, He has convicted me in His love, reminding me that I belong to Him and my life is not my own.
So my relationship with God is with a God who is near to me and not far away. He lives in me. My enemies cannot win, because "no weapon formed against me will prosper" as I walk in His truth. He fights my battles for me.
And everything He has promised me in His Word He will do. The Bible protects my path and keeps me from danger, so my heart can stay in a safe place where I am happy and at rest. Even in times of trouble or loneliness, I am never alone. My relationship with God is the greatest gift I will ever know, and everything good and worth having is a reflection of His love.
Counterfeit "gifts" come along, but they are really not gifts at all. Everything pure and true and honest...is where the real LIFE is for me. I can only have this wonderful life because of Jesus. If it were not for Him, we would not have a God of morals Who promises to possess us and live inside us through the Holy Spirit. Honestly, the only good in me is Him, because without Him I could be the worse sinner on earth.
It is quite miraculous. As supernatural as the resurrection of Jesus is God's love for me. When I speak, it would be so boring if it were not for the testimony
Jesus has given me. He is the One who has done it all. He gets all of the credit for my love for Him, because He is the One who put it there in my heart, and He promises to keep me right where He wants me to be no matter the cost. He promises to keep me close.
This is why the 23rd Psalm brings tears to my eyes, especially when I think of how many specific times He has rescued me from danger when I, like a dumb sheep, was heading off into a dangerous direction. He lovingly comes to stop me every time, because He loves me.
This is why His grace is so "amazing." Why would He love me like that? Why would He want me--all of me?
When I get down on my knees, I always say, "Thank You for loving me. Thank You for wanting to be everything to me."
The Bible says, "We love Him, because He first loved us." Well, I love Him, because He first loved me. He loves me so much, and I will never be worthy. Giving Him my life is nothing compared to the LIFE He gives to me.
As I was sharing my testimony (which is defined as sharing about why I am a Christian and all God has done for me), I was totally comfortable and at ease. As I sang my song, "Honest Life," it could not have been more perfect. Yet, my "honest life" is plain from the world's perspective. It is not about money or fame or anything the world says we need to be happy. My favorite verse is Galatians 6:14--"But may it never be that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Being crucified hurts. It hurts deeply, but God's love always meets me there in any moment of pain I experience as a result of
not living for myself, and His love--His AMAZING LOVE-- which lives inside my heart makes it worth it. Therefore, I can "boast in the cross"--the same cross the world mocks--because it is only through the deep pain of the cross that the deepest joy my soul could ever know abides. It is not something I could fake, and no "religion" on earth can offer it. If Jesus never rose from the grave, I would be the most foolish of all and delusional. But I am not delusional. He truly lives in me, and I thank Him. As much as I enjoy the outreaches I organize and do in evangelism, and as much as I enjoy singing and writing a song,
my relationship with Jesus is what my life is all about. This is why I have a testimony, and I can boldy say, "My life is hidden with Christ in God." When Christ is revealed in glory, then I will be revealed. People will have to look twice when they see me, because my life is "hidden" :-) with Christ in God.
Whenever I share my testimony, I tell of how I used to have a long list of things I needed God to give me in order for me to be happy, when He surprised me one night in prayer by speaking to my heart, "Let Me be everything to you." Well, He has certainly made me happy today, and I realize that I am very unworthy of Him wanting to be everything to me. He sure does want me to need Him intensely and lean on Him with all of my being. He never tells me to back off when I come to Him with my fears and problems. He only wants me to love Him more. 
So, when I sing about Him, it is all about His love for me. That love is amazing. I am so indebted to Him for loving me like that, and it seems like too small a thing to give Him all of me in return, but that is "all" He wants.
He has never once disappointed me when I have trusted Him in obedience. He has been a faithful Shepherd every step of the way.
And when I have disobeyed, He has never come to me in condemnation. Rather, He has convicted me in His love, reminding me that I belong to Him and my life is not my own.
So my relationship with God is with a God who is near to me and not far away. He lives in me. My enemies cannot win, because "no weapon formed against me will prosper" as I walk in His truth. He fights my battles for me.
And everything He has promised me in His Word He will do. The Bible protects my path and keeps me from danger, so my heart can stay in a safe place where I am happy and at rest. Even in times of trouble or loneliness, I am never alone. My relationship with God is the greatest gift I will ever know, and everything good and worth having is a reflection of His love.
Counterfeit "gifts" come along, but they are really not gifts at all. Everything pure and true and honest...is where the real LIFE is for me. I can only have this wonderful life because of Jesus. If it were not for Him, we would not have a God of morals Who promises to possess us and live inside us through the Holy Spirit. Honestly, the only good in me is Him, because without Him I could be the worse sinner on earth.
It is quite miraculous. As supernatural as the resurrection of Jesus is God's love for me. When I speak, it would be so boring if it were not for the testimony Jesus has given me. He is the One who has done it all. He gets all of the credit for my love for Him, because He is the One who put it there in my heart, and He promises to keep me right where He wants me to be no matter the cost. He promises to keep me close. 
This is why the 23rd Psalm brings tears to my eyes, especially when I think of how many specific times He has rescued me from danger when I, like a dumb sheep, was heading off into a dangerous direction. He lovingly comes to stop me every time, because He loves me.
This is why His grace is so "amazing." Why would He love me like that? Why would He want me--all of me?
When I get down on my knees, I always say, "Thank You for loving me. Thank You for wanting to be everything to me."
The Bible says, "We love Him, because He first loved us." Well, I love Him, because He first loved me. He loves me so much, and I will never be worthy. Giving Him my life is nothing compared to the LIFE He gives to me. 
As I was sharing my testimony (which is defined as sharing about why I am a Christian and all God has done for me), I was totally comfortable and at ease. As I sang my song, "Honest Life," it could not have been more perfect. Yet, my "honest life" is plain from the world's perspective. It is not about money or fame or anything the world says we need to be happy. My favorite verse is Galatians 6:14--"But may it never be that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Being crucified hurts. It hurts deeply, but God's love always meets me there in any moment of pain I experience as a result of not living for myself, and His love--His AMAZING LOVE-- which lives inside my heart makes it worth it. Therefore, I can "boast in the cross"--the same cross the world mocks--because it is only through the deep pain of the cross that the deepest joy my soul could ever know abides. It is not something I could fake, and no "religion" on earth can offer it. If Jesus never rose from the grave, I would be the most foolish of all and delusional. But I am not delusional. He truly lives in me, and I thank Him. As much as I enjoy the outreaches I organize and do in evangelism, and as much as I enjoy singing and writing a song, my relationship with Jesus is what my life is all about. This is why I have a testimony, and I can boldy say, "My life is hidden with Christ in God." When Christ is revealed in glory, then I will be revealed. People will have to look twice when they see me, because my life is "hidden" :-) with Christ in God.
