Letter #6 of 30. Each woman who attends the prison ministry weekend I’m volunteering at will receive a hand-written letter from each volunteer. Please pray for our ministry team meeting.
Dear ______,
My heart is screaming for my attention. I can choose to listen, or choose to silence the cries.
If I listen, I can comfort and console my heart. I can learn the problem and find a remedy. I can learn to trust myself, building full assurance that I will not abandon my heart.
If I choose to ignore the cries of my heart, I will cause neglectful damage. When a problem goes untended to, the situation often gets worse.
If a child or a pet were to cry out in need, would I ignore the cry? Would I scream at the innocent one who is begging for my help? Slap them, and push them to the side? Would I teach them not to come to me?
Or would I respond with love, gentleness, and listening ears? Would I reach out a hand to comfort, and provide nourishment? Would I teach them to come to me?
When my heart cries, sometimes I don’t feel like dealing with the problem. But my heart is my responsibility. I’m learning to listen, to respond with love, and to bring encouragement.
I’m learning that my heart cry is not just asking for my attention. It’s asking me to bring my needs to the Lord. Instead of doing things my own way, or trying to control an outside situation, the best thing I can do is bring my heart and all of its needs to God.
When I don’t understand a situation, when I feel like responding with anger or fear, when I need love . . . It’s time to take my heart to God. He is the only One that is the ultimate answer. He provides direction, strength, peace, and comfort. All we have to do is listen to our heart cries, and bring them to God.
A heart cry is simply this: a call to prayer.
Praying for you in Jesus’ Name,
Rachael Hartman
“Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the LORD.” Psalm 31:24
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I’m raising $150 to pay for one female inmate to attend the Kiaros prison ministry I’m volunteering at. It may not seem like a lot of money, and you may think I should just pay it myself, but I can’t pass up this opportunity to share the blessing of having you join with me in prayer and support for this weekend. As well, if you understood the time, energy, and travel commitments of each of us volunteers, you would understand why I’m asking for help in raising the financial piece.
If you would like to donate to the prison ministry, it needs to be in the form of a check made out to: KPMI (which stands for Kairos Prison Ministry International). In the memo put: Pulaski, GA. You can mail it to me, Rachael Hartman, at: PO Box 501, Bloomingdale, GA 31302. If you want a tax credit, include your full name and address on a note and they will mail you a tax receipt.
Thank you so much for your support and prayers! Every $5 goes to pay for a meal for one of the inmates that weekend. The meal will have a tag with your name on it. And we will have a paper chain link that will also have your names on a link to show that you have prayed for and invested into the weekend. Praise God for what He will do! Please keep me in your prayers as I will be speaking on Obstacles to Accepting God’s Grace, and sharing part of my own testimony in the process.
To add your name to the prayer chain (which will be visualized with a paper link chain – your name will be on one link) please leave a comment below. And please pray for Kairos #40 ~ Pulaski Women’s State Prison in Georgia. Kairos weekend happening August 25-28, 2016.
Rachael Kathleen Hartman 