Words from Rachael

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Letter #12 to a Woman in Prison

Letter #12 of 30. Each woman who attends the prison ministry weekend will receive a handwritten letter from each volunteer. Please pray for us as we prepare for the weekend.

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Dear _____,

I’m listening to a song called “Do Something” by Matthew West. Here are the lyrics to the first verse:

I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how’d we ever get so far down
How’s it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to Heaven
I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”
Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, “God, why don’t You do something?”
He said, “I did, I created you.”

God created each of us for a purpose to make a positive difference in our world. We can each make the choice to “Do Something.” It might seem small, but single candle in a dark room can change the atmosphere.

We’re called to be “salt and light” to our world. We bring out the flavor. We shine light onto other things. When we eat a meal, we don’t think about the salt. When we look around at the world we don’t think about looking at the light. It’s not about us, but about bringing a taste and a glimpse of Jesus to the world.

Praying for you in Jesus’ Name,

Rachael Hartman
Matthew 5:13-16

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I’m raising money to help pay for this weekend. $150 will pay for one female inmate to attend the Kairos prison ministry I’m volunteering at.

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.

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Letter #11 to a Woman in Prison

Letter #11 of 30. Each woman who attends the prison ministry weekend will receive a handwritten letter from each volunteer. Please pray for us as we prepare for the weekend.

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Dear ______,

We all have “little things” in our lives. The little things can bring us a smile. Maybe it is a bird that has built a nest in the yard. Maybe it is the sunshine as we pass a window. Maybe it is the smile from someone who seems to always be able to smile, even when things are going wrong.

Look for the little things in your life that can bring a smile to your face. The little things can make all the difference.

Zechariah 4:10 tells us not to despise the days of small things. Everything starts small. God is watching us in the small things. Luke 16:10 (NLT) says, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.”

God will give us small things to begin with. As we are faithful in those, He will continue to add more and more into our lives.

Often, it’s the little things that make us or break us. It might be the annoying nit-picky things that make us the most angry. The small mosquitos. In the big scheme of things, they don’t matter. But how we handle them does matter, because how we handle the little things is how we will handle the big things.

I’m praying that today you will notice the small things that are good. Take pleasure in the small things. Be thankful for the small things. The small kindness. The small breath of fresh air.

Acknowledge them. Thank God for them. Dwell on them – the good small things.

Praying for you in Jesus’ Name,

Rachael Hartman
Zechariah 4:10 & Luke 16:10

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I’m raising money to help pay for this weekend. $150 will pay for one female inmate to attend the Kairos prison ministry I’m volunteering at.

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.

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Letter #10 to a Woman in Prison

Letter #10 of 30. Each woman who attends the prison ministry weekend will receive a handwritten letter from each volunteer. Please pray for us as we prepare for the weekend.

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Dear ______,

When Adam and Eve first sinned, what was their response? It was to hide from God. What was God’s response? (Remember, He already knew what they did.) God went looking for them, calling out to them.

When we feel ashamed of our sin, we try to hide it from God, as if we could. But God never desires to be apart from us. He still calls for us, even when we have made mistakes.

Psalm 139 is a beautiful passage of scripture that perfectly describes God’s love for us in the midst of our brokenness and disobedience. God already knows every thought, every way, every word. There is nowhere we can go to get away from God’s Spirit. Verses 7-10 say if we go to Heaven, or if we make our bed in Hell, God is there.

Darkness and light are the same to God. He can see just as clearly about our heart’s condition when we are honest with Him, or when we hide things from Him. And through it all, He has precious thoughts toward us (verse 17).

We can trust God’s love for us so much, that it is safe to pray the prayer written in Psalm 139:23-24. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me. And lead me in the way everlasting.”

Sure, we have problems. But God loves us anyway. And He’s right there where we are at, ready to lead us to a better place.

Praying for you in Jesus’ Name,

Rachael Hartman
Psalm 139

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I’m raising money to help pay for this weekend. $150 will pay for one female inmate to attend the Kairos prison ministry I’m volunteering at.

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.

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Letter #9 to a Woman in Prison

Letter #9 of 30. Each woman who attends the prison ministry weekend will receive a handwritten letter from each volunteer. Please pray for us as we prepare for the weekend.

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Dear ______,

Quiet times. Do you have them? What do you do with your quiet moments?

I’m a quiet person. I like being quiet. I like quiet people. I like loud people too, but I can only be around them for short periods of time because I like the quiet.

I have a family member who seems to be the exact opposite of me. She constantly has the TV going. If the TV isn’t going, she’s talking. It’s as if she doesn’t like the quiet. She even likes to sleep with the TV on.

Even when I’m quiet, sometimes my brain isn’t quiet. My brain is constantly processing everything in the past, present, and future. It’s difficult for me to turn my thoughts off. Do you ever experience that?

When things get quiet and settled down, it gives me a chance to listen to what my heart and mind need to say. It’s also a time when I can clear my thoughts from everything the world has sent my way, and take some time to listen to God and what He has to say.

In 1 Kings 19:11-12, the Bible describes the voice of God as a “still small voice.” Some people say that your conscience is the voice of God, that little voice that tells you what is wrong and what is right.

Every thought we have comes from one of three sources: God, the devil, or ourselves. If the thought we have is in line with the Bible, then it is from God or from ourselves as we seek to glorify God.

If the thought we have is a lie, or is against the Word of God, then it is from the devil. If we try to justify our thoughts or twist the Word of God to please ourselves, then we are falling into the devil’s trap of deception. Like with Eve, the devil tells us what he is saying is coming from God, but he’s lying.

When we are quiet, one of the best things we can do is meditate on the Word of God, the Bible. We can re-program our thoughts to be in-line with the Word of God.

What are your quiet thoughts saying to you today? Where are they coming from? What would God’s response be?

Praying for you in Jesus’ Name,

Rachael Hartman
1 Kings 19:11-12

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I’m raising money to help pay for the prison ministry weekend. $150 will pay for one female inmate to attend the Kairos prison ministry I’m volunteering at.

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.

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Letter #8 to a Woman in Prison

Letter #8 of 30. Every woman who attends Kiaros prison ministry will receive a handwritten letter from each volunteer. Please pray for us as we prepare to go and serve these women.

piper.jpgHave you heard of the cycle of abuse? Or the cycle of addiction? Sometimes we are on the receiving end; sometimes on the giving end.

I never considered these cycles when it came to my relationship with God until today. I am always saying “I’m sorry” and going right back to the same old sin.

The book of Hosea in the Bible tells the story of a prophet (Hosea) who God called to a very unconventional life. God told Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer. Hosea loved Gomer, married her, and brought her into his home.

There was a problem though: the woman was restless. Bored. Gomer left her husband and went back to being a prostitute.

But Hosea didn’t stop loving Gomer. In fact, he pursued her even more. He went and bought her back out of prostitution and took her back home. He forgave her, and continued to love her even though she continued to make mistakes.

God has a reason for sending Hosea to love Gomer. The point was for Hosea’s life to be a picture of God’s love for us. God loves us with the same kind of unconditional love Hosea loved Gomer with.

That’s how God loves you. That’s how God loves me. We keep messing up, going back to old idols, and sinning. But God relentlessly pursues us. He loves us with an everlasting love.

Praying for you in Jesus’ Name,

Rachael Hartman
Jeremiah 31:3

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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.

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Letter #7 to a Woman in Prison

Letter #7. In the Bible, the number 7 represents completion or perfection. Today’s topic is about quite the opposite: sin.

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Dear ______,

Do you know the definition of sin? The dictionary says it is: “an immoral act considered to be a transgression of God’s law.”

I have a definition I came up with a few years ago. I think of sin as: “anything that hurts my relationship with God, with others, or with myself.” I base my definition on The 10 Commandments, found in Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

  1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
  2. You shall make no idols.
  3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
  4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
  5. Honor your father and your mother.
  6. You shall not murder.
  7. You shall not commit adultery.
  8. You shall not steal.
  9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  10. You shall not covet.

The first four Commandments are about our relationship with God. The next five Commandments are about our relationships with other people. And the last Commandment is about our relationship with ourself.

The last Commandment concerns a sin I know well: covetousness. To covet is to want something that I don’t have. When I begin to covet something or someone, I begin to create internal dissatisfaction and long for something other than what I have.

When I covet, I prevent thankfulness and contentment. I create depression. I create restlessness. I create a state of mind that makes me vulnerable to hurt, pain, and disappointment.

Philippians 4:9 tells us that God supplies ALL of our needs. Do you believe God has a provision for your needs? He does. He loves you and wants the best for you.

Today I pray you will find rest in God, contentment in His provision, and obedience to His Word.

Praying for you in Jesus’ Name,
Rachael Hartman

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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.

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Letter #6 to a Woman in Prison

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.
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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.

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Letter #5 to a Woman in Prison

Letter #5 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.

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Dear ______,

Broken dreams and disappointments haunt me like eerie ghosts that can’t let go of their unfinished business. The spirit of discontentment fights for my heart as I press toward fulfilling my responsibilities. The work before me fills my days, and I long for a new season.

I don’t have to ask if you feel trapped. I can only imagine you do. My little brother is in prison. Ten years. A mandatory minimum. He’s done four and a half. No chance for parole.

I feel trapped. I feel trapped with my brother’s sentence, my family’s pain, loneliness, lack of various securities my heart longs for. It hurts me and it hurts our family what happened with my brother. It doesn’t feel fair. It isn’t fair. But were we promised fair? No.

We weren’t promised our dreams or anything really. It’s easy to stop dreaming when you know there is no promise. It’s vulnerable to dream of a different season when the reality is so in your face.

Discontentment is a prison. It traps us in a cell of depression and bitterness. My life hasn’t gone the way I thought it would. I find myself struggling with resentment over it. I look at all the twists and turns, all the unexpected, all of the disappointments.

Does God make mistakes? My head says, “No.” Then why can’t I trust Him in my circumstance? It’s a battle we all face. Our trust in God isn’t going to be perfect. But as we humbly seek Him, step back and stop trying to change or fight our situation, we find God’s presence.

He’s right there with us. The Bible says even if we chose to make our beds in hell, that God is with us (Psalm 139:8). We can’t escape His amazing love for us. His love is greater and deeper than any situation. It surpasses our understanding, our disappointments, and our brokenness.

He loves you. He is with you. Seek Him in your times of discontent.

Praying for you in Jesus’ Name,

Rachael Hartman
Isaiah 43:1-2

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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.

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Letter #4 to a Woman in Prison

Today is a day for writing. I wrote a letter this morning but found myself with a need to write another not one, but TWO, this afternoon. Letter #4 is below. Each woman who attends the prison ministry weekend I’m volunteering at will receive a hand-written letter from each volunteer.

Dear _____,

Have you ever been angry? I have. To be honest, I’m angry right now–not at you. I’m angry because life isn’t easy and people lie and scam and are abusive.

I get angry when other people do me wrong. I get angry when things don’t go as planned. I get angry when other people nit-pick stupid stuff and try to use their “control” over me as a way to feel powerful.

Sadly, I just did that. I just was angry and yelled at someone I love. Probably because I wanted to make someone else feel what I was feeling. Misery loves company. What I did was wrong and I will apologize for yelling.

But I won’t apologize for being angry. Anger is an emotion. It’s not an “attitude problem.” Anger is a real emotion, just like fear, love, and happiness.

And having a feeling isn’t wrong, even if others tell you not to feel that way. You have a God-given capacity to feel angry. God gave you your anger. Wow. Yes, I just said that. And it is true. We are created in God’s image, and He feels angry too.

What matters is what do we do with our anger? Its good (and healthy) to feel our anger, to identify it, and find out what is causing it.

It’s not ok to take it out on others or dump on them in small ways just because we are having a bad day. We have to find healthy ways to deal with our emotions and focus on helping ourselves. For me, it helps me to write – to journal – and to read books that help me learn to manage my emotions.

Praying for you and me.

In Jesus’ Name,

Rachael Hartman

Ephesians 4:26

 

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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.

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Letter #3 to a Woman in Prison

Each woman who attends the prison ministry weekend I’m volunteering at will receive a hand-written letter from each volunteer. I wrote a letter this morning but found myself with a need to write another one this afternoon. Letter #3.

Dear _____,

They say, “When it rains, it pours.” That’s what my life feels like for a while. How about you?

Life is full of pressure. Sometimes it feels unbearable. Actually, it is unbearable. When the heat is turned up, it changes us.

I’ve heard the old example: Will you be the egg or coffee in the boiling water of life? Meaning, will life’s pressure make you hard, or will it bring out a good smell and well-loved drink?

I don’t think it’s bad to be the “egg” though. So what if we harden a bit with life? It may help us survive.

I used to be afraid of becoming too hard emotionally. I guarded against it and tried to stay kind-hearted. I guess that’s a good thing, but my kind-heart keeps getting run-over and it hurts.

How can we find that balance of protecting ourselves and still being a compassionate person who has a soul? There has to be a way. I think it must be impossible in our own strength.

But the Bible says where we are weak, Jesus is strong. We have to run to Him. We have to hide in Him. To allow Him to be our protector and our compassion.

I’ve not conquered the challenge, so let’s pray for each other to be willing to trust God enough each day to let Him be in charge of our hearts.

In Jesus’ Name,

Rachael Hartman

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Matthew 19:26

 

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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.