Cons Helping Cons Free to Serve (CHC), is a faith-based, 501 (c) 3 not for profit public charity corporation. Cons Helping Cons Free to Serve Mission Our mission is to take the experiences of ex-cons who have successfully reintegrated into society and use them to help newly released men and women. We accomplish this through… Continue reading Who is Cons Helping Cons?
There are many ways you can help us at Cons Helping Cons! If you would like information on our giving levels for our Cup of Love Fridays Ministry, follow this link. For giving cash for gift cards or to make a general gift, follow the buttons below. Thank you, we appreciate your support! *We are… Continue reading You Can Help!
The Cup of Love Fridays Ministry The Lord put the Cup of Love Friday’s ministry in the heart of an inmate in 2005. The inmate had a 130+ year sentence. When he was sentenced, the Judge said he was “retiring him from the free world for the rest of his life.” God had other plans for… Continue reading Cup of Love Fridays!
Today I would like to spend a few moments telling you about an old fashion recipe called the “ Touch of Hope. This “ special blend of ingredients might help you,as it help me,with your spiritual growth.
The first ingredient of this special delight is honesty. I struggle for many years with this one in my life. I couldn’t come to grips with being honest with myself, others, and most importantly God. This life controlling issue resulted in a judge retiring me from the free world and sentencing me to 130 years in prison.
While in prison I read a book by a dear Christian sister called “Anatomy of a Lie. In the book she made a profound conclusion that there isn’t any justifiable lie. In the same manner the word said’s “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue last only for a moment.
The simple truth is that you might get over on yourself and maybe others, but God is always watching and knows the true condition our hearts.
The next stapled of this recipe is openness. I know for myself it took a lot for me to open up and let the Spirit work in my life. However, I did open up and then there was a abundance of peace and comfort.
David came to the same conclusion when he wrote” You do not delight in sacrifices or I would give them to you(God). He then goes on to say,” sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite heart.
We can never please God by Our outward actions, no matter how good, if our inward heart attitudes is not right. Are we truly sorry for our sin? Do we genuinely plan to stop? God is pleased by this kind of humility.
I’m just going to let you know the next ingredient was tough for me, it’s patient I have a hard time navigating the grocery store without getting upset.
God knew my limitations and because of it gave me a stern directive in prison to “ Be still and know I’m God. “ I patiently waited on God for many years and by his mercy and grace I’m writing this on the outside of the fences.
God’s timing is perfect and when we wait patiently on the Lord everything is rightly handle.
Last ingredient in this recipe is effort and requires all of us to give something special of ourselves.
John F. Kennedy once said, “ ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” As believers we should embrace the same concept and ask not what God can do for us, but what we can do for God. For myself that was to start Cup Of Love Friday’s a ministry of Hope and sharing behind the fences and beyond. Upon my release, God also had me co-found a outreach and transitional ministry call Cons Helping Cons Free To Serve.
In closing, my prayer for you is the words of Paul “ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
-Pastor Bob
Let me start by telling you how I grew up. I viewed success with the amount of money that was disposable and by how many people envied you. So with that type of mentality, you can only imagine what sort of lifestyle I led. Money, Sex, and drugs not necessarily in that order but that’s all I cared about. I never thought about the affects I had on the people I stepped on to get what I wanted.
I have manipulated countless people, I sold other women’s dignity and self-worth all to make a profit, and if that wasn’t enough I would steal from big businesses to cover my losses of spending too much the week before. There was no limits no boundaries as long as I maintained my morals. Which now I realize how distorted that thinking was.
As my addiction worsened so did the type of people I associated with. The enemy had me hook line and sinker. My friends were just as ruthless as I had become. I began to build an extensive criminal history, even the Federal government had a file with my name on it. At this point I could no longer trust anyone. I hated life. I hated myself. I began running and hiding from what was inevitably going to happen, Prison.
Most would find this condemning, for me it was Grace: God’s blessing. I was rescued, not arrested. My Loving God allowed me to rest. I never realized how exhausting that lifestyle had become, until I was forced to sit still. In that stillness I discovered God’s Mercy and the Love of Christ. I began building a relationship with God with Jesus, something I had forgotten it even existed.
I realized with the time in prison why God brought me to this point in my life, and it was to find him. I surrendered my life to God, I gave it all to Him. I wasn’t going to worry what was next when I got out of prison. I knew He would take care of me and allow me a place to grow spiritually.
Cons helping Cons was where my Savoir placed me. The help I’ve received since I stepped out of Prison would amaze anyone, I literally had nothing, but I had God and he sent people to provide everything I needed so I could continue to seek him. I thank God and I thank CHC every day. If you truly want joy and happiness seek God and He will place you in places where you can find Him. I continue to grow and that’s what I am able to do here. Thank you all.
-Chandra
Cons Helping Cons Free to Serve 