You Can Still Win: Becoming a Champion Behind Bars || Victorious Living Podcast

Welcome to the Victorious Living Podcast. You are about to hear real stories of real people who have discovered the real hope of Jesus Christ. I am Christi Overton Johnson, the founder and publisher of Victorious Living Magazine. Since 2011 I have had the privilege of sharing the most amazing life stories. I never cease to be amazed at the life transforming power of Jesus Christ. Today in our podcast you are going to go deeper into these amazing God stories and hear from those who have overcome incredible odds and discover how they found a life of freedom. You can discover it too. I trust that you will enjoy today's conversation between our host and our special guest. Thank you for listening and be sure to share the hope you hear and the mission of Victorious Living. I'm here with Christi Overton Johnson officially on a podcast. We've been trying to do this, but you've been so busy traveling and everything, but, um, I'm very honored and, and I want to take a moment right here at the beginning. I know that, uh, hopefully one day we'll get a chance to talk to Brooke, but, um, she's getting married and busy, busy, busy, busy. And, uh, we've tried to schedule something, but I want to kind of just, you know, this is your podcast. This is your ministry. God gave this to you. God led you to start it. And, uh, Christi, it's great to be here with you today and have this privilege as I was sharing right before we started. It's with great anticipation that I'm sitting here with you, but do you have any thoughts you'd like to share about the podcast, the history of it and Brooke, just for a moment, even though we might have a moment with her down the road, but just for now. Yeah. So the podcasts were, um, they grew out of the ministry of the magazine. And when we're trying to tell stories of people in anywhere from 1600 to 3000 words, it's impossible to tell someone's whole life story. And so we just really hit on some themes. We felt like the Holy Spirit's pulling out, but the podcasts are a way for our, um, listeners and our readers to be able to get to know the featured stories, these, these people in a deeper way to see them, to hear them laugh, to also hear more of the story. And we get to just dive in. And at the beginning I was doing those at the beginning of doing everything. And, uh, this was an area I was like, you know, as much as I love it. And that's my problem is I love all of it. I love going to the prisons. I love going to the jails. I love mentoring people. I love writing the magazine and speaking and all those things. But I was like, you know, I can't, I can't do everything. Um, I can, but you can only do so much. Um, and my heart for this ministry, is it not just

be what I can, I'm sorry, this, this is not a hairy armpit right here. This is my dog. I was getting worried, man. Yeah. Yeah. So the other three are outside the dog, but I left him in and I think he thinks that that is his invitation to get snuggles, which that was not the intent. But, um, yeah, so this was the podcast was something that I first handed over to a lady. Um, named Ricky and Ricky, uh, she did it for a couple of years. It was just like, Hey, I need to, life's getting busy. And so we, Brooke, I met Brooke. And so Brooke did this for many years and she just did an excellent job. She has such an understanding of the word and just, um, it would, they were beautiful teaching videos. And when she stepped away and said, Hey y'all, I'm, I'm getting married. It's a new season of life. And that's what we've always realized that people are here for seasons. They're here for reasons. Um, and sometimes they're here for a really long time, but we're very grateful for the, just the excellence that she served this ministry with. She made everyone feel very welcome, which is a huge thing for me and this ministry where to be authentic. And she did a great job. And when she rotated out, Sharon and I were like, who are we going to get to do this? Cause she and I couldn't take on another thing. And we're like, Randy Kins, Randy Kins can do this. And that is our nickname for you. Um, so anyway, yeah, that's it. That's the history. I've been having so much fun and. Uh, man, I love it. And the opportunity to do this has, has been really magnificent for me. And, uh, I I'm, I'm so humbled and excited. So time to dive deep using a nautical term, because that fits your career, right, dive deep, although you wanted to stay on top of the water. I didn't want to dive deeper. That was mine. Yeah. I wasn't a diver and I didn't want it. And I think, I'm so sorry about these dogs. That's okay. Can you hear them? No, no. And everybody's enjoying them.

Think of the people that are on this. They're whining and whining. So let me just open the door. Okay. Let's see what happens here. So diving deeper. Yeah. So I was one who did at the water skier. You don't want to be diving in, but you, I wanted to be going deeper and deeper, um, in the past, deeper in my skill, deeper down the rope. Um, yeah, so I love that term. And in my life, I really want to go deeper with God. And that doesn't mean it always happens, but it is my heart, but it does take the same exact discipline. Um, that it took on the water to be able to do that. Well, you're, you're laying a foundation and for our listeners to know that you and I have not sat and discussed what I was going to ask, there's no script, but you've, you've laid a foundation for exactly where I want to go. Okay. Good. Um, two years ago, right about now, Pat Avery. Uh, I think, you know, him, Mr. Mr. Pat talked to me about you and you know, my career, my life was in a completely different direction. So you didn't know about me. I didn't know about you. I mean, but I've learned so much in the last two years and the word champion. And I've, I've looked you up. There's a Wikipedia page about you.

And, and it's like, Whoa, this is pretty interesting. So, because I hear world champion, I hear hall of fame and, but there were so many other events along the way. So many other events that lead up to that, I guess. Right. And, um, like, like golf tournament, the masters. So where, where I want to go with this, Christie is champion. You are known in your career in life, in the secular world as a champion, a champion, water skier, world champion, not just, I mean, you were a champion of various events. You were the world champion. Do I have that right? I mean, the champion of the world and hall of fame. Okay. Now, so what is, what does it really take to be a champion? And, and, and then comparing that to living the Christian life, to being a champion for Jesus, a champion for Christ, you know, to, uh, minister to others. So I want to ask you questions because when you, when you add glitz and glitter to the idea of being a champion, maybe, I mean, it clearly, it doesn't always tell the entire story. And tell hardly any of the story. Okay. And that's, that's where I want us to dive a little bit into today, because I think that'll be encouraging. Yeah. Go ahead. Oh, it's perfect. This is patches. You want to be a champion? Yeah.

So it's really interesting that you're bringing that up because I've been writing a lot about this and the last year and a half, two years, I've really been diving in, thinking back of all the things that I did on the water and off the water, because people don't realize that it's not just things that you did on the water, it was the visualization of off, you know, laying in bed at night before I even get up in the morning, getting my mind right. It was the gym. It was eating right. It was stretching. It was traveling. It was all these things on and off the water. And so many years ago, over a decade ago, the Lord said, just whispered to my heart. The very things that you did to become a champion, a world champion athlete are going to be the very things that you have to do to carry out the plans and the purposes that I have laid before you. So to do what I've called you to do, you're going to have to do the same things that I, that you had to do on the water. And so, you know, there's big things like showing up every single day, showing up on the dock, getting off the dock, and saying, hit it to the power source. And these are things that I often talk about and have messages, you know, if you've ever heard me speak in a prison, there's this whole message of hit it, like, what are you saying hit it to? I had to say hit it to a boat driver. But it was so much more than just making a decision to go. It was who was I connecting to, who was in my boat? What was I saying hit it to and getting off the dock every day. So those are really big things that like make a lot of sense. But what people don't see are all the things behind the scenes that have to be done just to show up to the dock and to overcome the fear, to overcome the possible disappointment and the possibility of failure.

Those are the things that, yeah, those are where champions are made. It's that fight. Was there ever times when you felt failure? Of course, I felt every day, you know, I started skiing at age four, at age five, I was competing. And there was always a fall. There was always, I could have done more. My failures weren't so much as, I mean, yeah, there were tournaments I went and I didn't win. I mean, I was one of the winningest female slalom skiers, but I lost more than I won. I mean, that's just sports. Wow. That's a big statement right there. You lose more than you win and you fall more than you stand up and you cry more than you shout the victory. And those are the things, everybody wants to stand on the top of a podium. And I'm telling you, there's something amazing about it. Hearing the national anthem, the flags going up, you've won for your country. I'm getting chill bumps. Yeah. I mean, I cry when I see the pictures and you can see the tears in my eyes then. But very few people want to do what it takes to get there. And it's the same thing spiritually. You know, Joyce Meyer was one that God used early on, wanted to show me that God could use a woman in ministry because I had been raised that that was not a place for women, at least not to speak. And it was so weird because God kept putting me in positions and calling me, I wasn't putting myself there to to encourage people and to share my story. And so God used Joyce Meyer to show me that he could use a woman. And she's the first to say God could use a donkey, he could use a woman. But also to teach me, you know, about the mind.

And there was something I was going to say, what were we talking about, Randy? Just plowing through everything that you lost more than you won. Yeah. But she was saying, there's so many, I had a lot of hits to the head, seriously. But she was saying, there's so many people that come up and say, I want to do what you're doing, Joyce Meyer. I want to stand on stage. I want to teach the word. I want to be famous. But the thing is, do you really want to do what she has done behind the scenes? Do you really want to do what Billy Graham did behind the scenes? I mean, these ministers, and, you know, we can, I need to do more of the behind the scenes things. There's a lot I do behind the scenes. But we are all just people. But there's this moment of discipline that you've got to choose the things of God. Or if you're an athlete, the things of your sport and the things that are going to prepare you for that podium. It doesn't just happen. Well, we would agree that something that we need to convey, and I loved how you talked about how you, I mean, really lost more than you won, but yet you were a champion, a world champion. You're in the hall of fame. And that is life. That is life. We encounter things. We encounter situations. We encounter circumstances that none of us want to endure. But the. He is plowing through, pushing through,

whatever your nautical term might be. You just keep going, right? You keep going, no matter what, you don't quit. You don't quit. And that's what the message of Hiddit is. And that's what the Lord, when he called me to prison ministry, he's like, go tell people the story of Hiddit. Hiddit's what I would say every day to the boat driver. We've already covered that. But it represented a choice that I'm gonna hit it, I'm not gonna quit it. And every time I fell, every time I came to the dock and the water was cold, or the snakes were there, the alligators were there, the wind was blowing, or the competition was like standing on the dock, or the crowds booing you, parents are coming up telling you they hope you fall so their daughter can win. I mean, these are things. And so you are making a choice to say, I'm going to still get in that water. Even though all these people want me to fail. Even though my coaches are now on the dock with me, rooting on the girls standing behind me, because they've cut me loose. I'm still gonna get in the water. I'm not gonna be bitter here, but I'm gonna go focus and I will show them what's up.

You know, I am gonna go and still say, hit it. When you have fallen and all of a sudden, like this is at the masters, the whole pavilion you hear in the middle of your run, because you went down, you hear, oh, all in unison. Like if you ever watch golf or something, it's all in unison. The applause, the whispers, the yay. And so you would hear that and I would stay under. And especially like the trick of it, jump, you had three chances. The jump event, you went over the ramp three times. So you crashed, you crashed, you still had a third time. Tricks, you had two passes, but you really need to stand up on them and do your best. So if you fell early in your first run, you still had to suck it up buttercup. You had to grab hold of the rope, wipe the tears, even though you knew, you know what? It might be over, but it may not be. And so I had, there are so many times I fell at the beginning of the run, but then I was like, you know what? I'm gonna finish strong. And the way that I finished gave me enough points to still make it to the finals. And then, you know, there's slalom event where if you fall getting up, you're done. You fly all the way to Australia,

you fall around the first buoy, you're done. You're ski bright, it does not matter. Like you get one shot. And that was, I jumped, I tricked, and then I specialized in slalom because of the physical, my pelvis needed to be reconstructed. And so I had to stop jumping, I had to stop tricking, but I was focused on the slalom. I had been a world record holder in tricks. I had won the masters and all of that and tricks, that's what I was known for. I turned tricks in a different way. I turned tricks on a water ski and got paid to turn tricks, but it was water ski. And then slalom, I was good at, but I really started to specialize in it and be coached by world champions when I was 18. That's when, I had slalomed all along, but I was like, you know what? I got to let this other two things go and I've got to focus here. And that's the direction the sport was going anyway. But you fell every day and the winner of that sport was the person who fell or missed at the furthest part of the course. So you keep running six buoys, they shorten the rope. Six buoys, they shorten the rope. It's eventually going to get too short or you're going to miss,

but whoever missed at the furthest point was the winner. So shortening the rope was a part of the competition. Oh yeah. Yeah, so we were already, the pros were already maxed out at top speed. Men, 36 miles per hour, women, 34. And so when you get to the end, you run your six buoys, you sink. And within 30 seconds, the judges have, I mean, they got timers going and you hear beep, beep, beep. And they've already pulled the rope into a set, they're set increments. Every rope's the same to the, I mean, the centimeter. But yeah, it's shortened. You run six, it's shortened. And so like the world record, the rope was over four feet short of even reaching the buoy. So you're sacrificing yourself. So you knew before you even stepped off the dock, you were going to fail. And the message of HIT IT is that you can still fall and fail and still be a champion. You can still. to fall and fail and be a world champion water skier, but you can also fall and fail and be God's champion. And we see in the word of God, example after example, after example of people that fail. Samson had his eyes gouged out. He kept falling over some women. Delilah, we've all had some Delilah

or some male version of Delilah that tripped us up. And we ended up getting our eyes gouged out, you know, and we find ourselves chained up and God set him free. And at the end of his life, in the midst of blindness, God used him to do something greater than even in his lifetime. You think of Daniel, I mean, Daniel, I don't see the failures, but by the world's standards, it looked like a failure thrown in a lion's den. His friends are thrown in the fire, but yet God gave him the victory. Because sometimes you fall because of what you do, but sometimes you fall because someone pushed you. Someone threw you in the dungeon. Someone threw you in those places that were very, very painful. But it says in Romans eight, that God, when we are weak, God falls into those places. It says he helps us in our weaknesses. That word in the Greek means that he falls into that place to help you. Now, God's not walking around and just tripping. God, he is purposely jumping in, pulling you out, pushing you out, hoisting you out, however he needs to get in there with you and help you. You just gotta be willing to get out and say, okay, God, I'm gonna hit it with you again. Different sports have different terms.

And where I wanna go with this next segment. In basketball, it would be pivot, change directions. In racing, it would be shifting. I don't know what it would be. We change edge. You're changing edge. You're creating an arc to round the buoy to go in a different direction. That's where the water sprays up. Beautifully, okay. Yeah, but it's all happened in the pre-turn. So I need to do an interview with you, Randy. Okay. Because a lot of the people watching, they don't know much about you. So I would like to do another segment where I get to hear about your NASCAR background. But when I read your writings, it's very easy for me to understand. And I actually went to Bob Bondurant's racing school. Check you out, yeah. Check me out. I'll have to send you a picture of me and Bob in my gear. And my husband went and raced the Formula One cars and I did the Mustangs. And we were on open track. But all of the same arc, all of the thing coming in and the points that you're... You're not aiming at the turn. You're not aiming at the obstacle.

You have already made your turn. And it is just exact same thing. If you think about the buoy being the turn on that track, you've already initiated a turn. That's the first thing, like in the slalom course that my dad or my coach would say, you don't look at the obstacle. You don't look at where you're... It's already done in the work in the pre-turn. And the thing is, when you do all of that, you go around the obstacle. I was able to get around obstacles that were humanly impossible because I was using the power of the boat, the arc of the line, and then I was releasing and you just... It was just a rhythm. It wasn't power. It was being tapped into the power of the boat. And it's like that in our spiritual life. It's a rhythm with God that He not only gives you this desire to do what pleases Him, but it says He gives you the desire and the power. But we're trying to overcome drugs. We're trying to be a better wife, a better mom. We're trying to write magazines and go get money for ministry in our own strength. And that's when we run out of gas. That's when we get out of position.

That's when we crash. That's when we burn. That's when we miss the turn and we crash into the wall. Or in my case, you go tumbling, head over heels. Because you weren't in position. Let's pivot here or edge here, okay? Or shift here, all right? So career. That was a stage of life, a part of life where there was... So much focus you and I talked about this two years ago because we talked about how You have all of these years of a certain focus and then that stops that comes to an end and then But was You know the adrenaline rush okay, the focus all the things all the efforts you put forward that adrenaline rush of Being a champion of competing of being busy of being and doing things and things begin to change and shift And I'm trying I'm trying to draw Kind of an analogy here, you know a way for people listening to this who are at a point in their life Whether it's because they've committed a crime and they're in prison Or whether something major has changed in their life and all of a sudden this there's just this what do I do now? And you you talk to me and we'll elaborate that on that more someday But you know about being on the sidelines and ever since you said that to me I used that I was sharing it with somebody The other day about okay you have this career going and and then things changed and now you've been on the sidelines and so what he You made some decisions about ministry, you know, why ministry? Why not business why did you choose ministry? Because of God and that's not to say everybody has to go into ministry because ministry

Isn't necessarily a father one c3 you do ministry every single day of your life Oh, yeah, you can do that as if you're a school teacher if you're a prison guard even in your incarceration Incarceration You can have a ministry to other people who are incarcerated You can you can serve there you can love on people. So for me, I was at the end of my career and I knew I said I didn't want to be at the end of my career, but After all the surgeries my neck fusion my back my pelvis reconstruction my knee my wrist all these different things I just I Was falling apart and I was in a lot of pain. I was not able physically to do And that's hard when you have been the best in the world to then All of a sudden you you can't anymore and to even on even admit that You're standing on the dock. And so most athletes like to be able to go out like yes, I Like You know, you're the champion and for me When I got to the end I Couldn't win anymore. I mean it was like my last year I did I did win the Masters the year before but the next year my Torn the ligaments in my hips that were holding my pelvis in place. I had a hip dysplasia issue in both hips I could barely walk and So I am In pain in pain and I remember oh gosh, I've never even shared this. I just pulled egg off my chin Really fast in between some meetings I had egg yolk on my chin But yeah, so I remember being in California at an event and My I shouldn't have gone. I was in so much pain and I remember like feeling this thing. Don't go you shouldn't be there. Don't go and I packed my bag Anyway in North Carolina, we had one last set. My husband pulled me before we left you and you pack everything up

Wrap it also it survives the airplane right out there and don't get broken and I'm standing there My ski is on the the picnic table and I'm wrestling inside Do I ski do I not ski I mean I've already made the trip like I should not ski I Get ready to grab my ski to go to the dock my ski flies. Nobody's there Nobody touches it. It does a 360 off the the the pet the picnic table and lands on the concrete Something that I'm always protecting it let anybody carry my ski and the only one that touched it was my husband or my coach And I'm like, I think that's my son and But I went anyway, I was so stubborn and I skied so bad But I didn't know who I was apart from being Chrissy the skier and so wrestle wrestle wrestle it was just miserable and I'd already started some ministry things At this point, I was doing some church services at the events. We would have church service under the pavilion, but I was still trying to hang on to my career even though I could sense God shifting me. He had shown me very clearly. He said, okay, I always hate it when someone says God said this, but when you walk with Him enough, you know when it's Him speaking. I was driving down the road, and I heard in my spirit, all these years you have been faithful to stand on camera, like ESPN, whatever camera, hold up your ski, and it had a fish on it, which means you're a Christian, and say, I want to give God the credit for this win. It's like, kudos. You have never once told anyone how they can know the one that you give thanks to. I was 30-some years old. I'd been raised in the church. I had never once told someone how they could know Jesus, ever, and the Lord showed me. He had given me that sport to introduce people to a power source that would never fail them. Wasn't about a ski boat.

It was about me learning life lessons, me building relationships with people, me then having a platform as a world-record athlete to then go into places as a speaker. There's just something, because we've studied it this morning, Randy, the world looks at the outside, so there's something about, I mean, as soon as you walk in with that medal or your track suit or whatever, it was like, there's a world champion. Everybody runs up. Let me clear this up. Everybody runs up. What was the Olympics like? I was never in the Olympics because water skiing was never an Olympic sport. Back in the 70s, it was an exhibition. We would make it close. We would make it so close. I skied Pan Ams, Worlds, Masters, U.S. Opens, all that kind of stuff. The highest our sport had, but we did not, other than the Pan American Games, ever get to go to the Olympics, but it's like people get excited about that. That's why God allowed me to have that, was to then be able to have relationships and have opportunities to do what he was calling me then in the next season. But the thing is about seasons, we think when we're shifting out of one season that God's never going to use what's in that past season. He has used everything I've ever experienced for this season. Well, this is actually kind of the third season. The first season was all the ski and the second season was me trying to find my identity and then going into this water sports ministry and all of that. And then after 12 years of that, you know, I'm settling in as a mom, we've adopted kids, all of that, then God has me actually let go of water sports, give that whole ministry away, which was thriving, and march into prison to share the message of Hit It. And so it's been a very organic journey for me with a lot of highs, a lot of lows, a lot of me learning about myself and the performance aspect that I'm so addicted to. But God also, to be a world champion, it takes performance.

Let's not just be, we can't just pretend that doesn't happen. You got to be able to perform under pressure. You got to be willing to keep going, to keep going. And I think that's what God was meaning. I'm going to use that tenacity and that ability to pack up. I mean, little things, pack up and go, pack up and go. You know, that's what I did my whole life. Pack up my ski, I'm out the door. I come back, wash this stuff, go out train, bam, bam, bam, rest for a half day, then gone. And the Lord has given me, I believe, a supernatural ability to fuel up fast and then be able to do the work he's called me to do. But it takes a lot of discipline. Like this morning you were like, oh, it's feeling good about your walk around the block. And you know, for me, it's like, I've got to get up early. You know, I called JC, our mom's on the way home. It was like, I don't know, seven o'clock this time. I'd already been. He was already in the gym. He was on his second gym at five something in the morning, Arizona time. And he'd already been there. And, you know, there's just, it's extreme. It really has to be extreme sometimes. But you just got to make sure. don't burn out. But to do what God has called all of us to do, it may not be as extreme as I'm making it, but it will take a lot of discipline because your flesh is never going to feel like it. I never woke up one morning and said, yes, ain't nothing hurting, let me go ski today. It was, oh my goodness, how am I going to make it to the shower? I can't get out of bed. I can't walk. I can't bend over to even put my slippers on, much less bend over to put a ski on. How am I going to do this? But yet, because of your desire, you would find a way. And so if

there is a desire to know God, to be used by God, it doesn't just happen and you're going to wake up feeling like it. It's a wake up and say, this is more important to me than how I feel. Walking in that victory over there, being free of drugs, that means more to me. To be a good mom, a good dad, and to walk closely with God is so much more important to me than this momentary high. And I've got to say no to this so I can say yes to this. And to be able to do that, it's going to take some healing. I'm not naive. It's going to take some healing of why are we reaching for this in the first place and letting God reveal what it is we're running to for that comfort and that peace and to hide or bury down all the pain because it's there. And that was one bad thing that as an athlete, I never process my pain. I always push through it and so that was not healthy. So I'm having to learn even now to stop and process something. Take a minute and process it and feel it because as soon as I came out of the water after a failure, I had to smile and put a smile on my face and I had to pretend everything was okay and it wasn't okay. And that was just something I was taught. Keep yourself together. Don't cry out here. If you want to cry, go to the toilet, the portal-it. Everybody, okay, this is gonna be gross. Everybody always wants to know why do I go to the bathroom so fast. It is because I spent 30-some years in portal-its at water ski events. So when I go in, I'm getting my business done and I'm coming out. So I don't know why that's there, but that trained me for jail bathrooms and prison bathrooms. You get in, you get out. So anyway, where did that come from, Randy? I don't know. And BJ, do not edit that out. So in summary, let's you and I create some talking points. Okay, just just boom boom boom talking points. So anybody could make the effort to become a champion. How? Well, first of all, you have to realize that you can be a champion and I want to look somebody in the eye right now. I'm gonna look at this camera, not you, Randy. There is someone right now, no one has ever told you that you are a champion or that you can succeed and excel in life. You've been told you'll never amount to anything, that you're gonna be just like your daddy, that you're never gonna be more than, you know, an incarcerated person, an inmate or

convicted felon or whatever. That is a lie. God has called us all to be fruitful. That is the very first thing. He gave us life, says he has a plan and a purpose for our life, and he has called us to be fruitful. He doesn't call us to be fruitful. Being fruitful, being a productive person in your life, what does that mean? It means you're not living for yourself anymore. You're living for God and for others. You will love the Lord God with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and you will love others as you love yourself too. So that's where that self-care and all of that comes in, but you've got to realize you are a champion in God's eyes, and he has plans and purposes for you, and not only will he help you to do it, he wants to help you to do it. He wants you to help you overcome, but you've got to make a choice, so then it comes down to choice. Realizing you're a champion, and then choosing daily a path that's going to lead you to a fruitful, God-ordained purpose-filled life. When you go into prison... And thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so, yeah, but when you go into prison with a couple of people, a group, a team, and you come out, what is that moment like when you, when you come out, what, what are you feeling, what are you thinking, what's, what's going through your mind about what just happened? Well, it's, it's interesting. People don't realize, okay, I got to, I got to tell you how I feel going in first. So going in, I feel, I know that I've got to be prayed up. I know that I've got to rely on the Lord. And so I continually, for me, it's a continuing trying to humble myself before God and not to ever take it for granted. Jack Murphy and I, and I try to drink out of his cup a lot. He painted this, Murph the Surf. He was my mentor. He says, never be afraid when you go into jail or prison, but never forget where you are. And so the fact is there's so many people that are excited to have you and to welcome you. But there is also at work there, some forces of darkness that don't want you there. And so I met yesterday at the jail. I could tell you, I was staring eye to eye with someone that had some, some demonic activity going. I could feel it. I could sense it. I could see the glare in the eye coming at me. Like it was very strange. It's not to be afraid of that. It is to be suited up in the armor of God. And sometimes, especially on the, the week days that I go into jail, I can forget that, you know, cause I'm just going in and it's part of my routine where when I'm doing these tours, you know, you're there and that's your whole purpose. So you go in and you're just trying to be a vessel. And when you're being a vessel for God and with two hour program, people don't realize like the word channeling is very strange, you know, and it almost sounds, but you are, it's not channeling. You are a vessel that God is working and you are an open vessel. The last thing I want to do when I go into a prison or a jail is to speak Christi's words, what I think you need to hear or what I want to say or what I think is good. I need it to be what God wants. So you're there, you're an open vessel and there's things just flowing out of me and there's things happening and you're watching God move. And so when you leave, there's this mixture of excitement because you have experienced God do something that you knew it was God because you didn't plan to say those things. But there's also a sense of, and it especially hits you when you get home. There's been days we've done three events in one day. I've, I've gone and done nine events in three days by myself. I don't recommend that because I'm drooling. You are so exhausted because not only are you facing physical things, but you're in a spiritual battle. And then finally, when I leave, my heart is very heavy. Like it's rejoicing, it's excited, I'm exhausted, but my heart feels very heavy and sometimes I feel even guilty if I'm going to be honest. Because the first thing a lot of times when I leave is I go get me something to eat or might be getting me a Starbucks and then I go back to the hotel room. And I mean, we're not living it up in the Ritz, but we, you know, we go into our La Quinta or our Holiday Inn and I'm in a comfortable bed. And then I, I pray. I thank God for what happened. I thank God for what he's doing. But I pray for the men and women that we just encountered and I have to wrestle because I feel so bad that I'm in a bed. So then I have to fight those things. Does that make any sense? Absolutely. I mean, yeah, I mean, I think about that stuff too. I, and, and I guess too, what I wanted to touch into was the adrenaline rush. Oh, yeah. I remember Pat saying to me, just come in and check it out. Just come in and see what, and I was blown away.

You know, just by the authenticity, the, those that are there, that are mentors, and I'm talking about incarcerated, that, you know, they're in there for years and years and years and years, or maybe even decades. They're doing what they can to be a champion, and that's really kind of where I wanted to go today. I mean, not only talk about you, I appreciate and love you. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be here doing this to be going out there doing that. And, you know, but it's, it's, it's just great to be used of the Lord and, and it's great to see what's going on in the world. And it's great to see what's going on with you and what you've done with this ministry and the magazines go into over how many. It's on, well, it's on over 2 million prison tablets. It's also, we ship in 84,000. I think it was this last printing, but the broadcast, the podcasts, the prison events, the writing correspondence, Mr. Pat answering the phone, the Caroline, it's just, it's been so beautiful and God's unfolded it. And there's so much more that we want to do because it's not about doing, but it's about the lives. We just want to deepen our ability to touch lives in the space that God's given us. And I'm glad you're on this journey. And can I show you one thing? We'll pause for this commercial. Oh, there she is. All right. So, sorry about this, but we never know where we're going to talk. We were talking about being a champion. And so I proposed the question to the guys at Marian. Can you, is it possible? And I just received all of this. Yes, it is possible to be a champion. Yes, it is possible to live a purpose-filled life. How can you be a champion? How can you live a purpose-filled life behind bars? Can you, is it possible? And I just received all of this from individuals that yes, it is possible to be a champion. Yes, it is possible to live a purpose-filled life. And so my next task is to read through all these. The way I live a purpose-filled life behind bars by keeping a good attitude, even with life gets hard and oppressive. I also smile a lot and laugh to keep my spirits high. I mean, every one of these is a different answer. And there's, I don't even know how many. So now I've got to go through these and want to do a series on how to live a purpose-filled life behind bars. That's really awesome. Yeah, but it is, it is possible. And however, our ministry can come alongside to the best of our ability. You know, you can write to us. You can call in and be patient. Mr. Pat, he's one person, I always say that. He's answering every time it's ringing to the best of his ability. Sometimes he does have to go to the bathroom too, if we're talking about bathrooms. He's not as quick as me. But yeah, so we have a lot of fun and it is our greatest joy to come alongside people and to help them in their journey. And I'm just forever grateful. Randy, this morning you asked, we do a devotion. They're wondering why we were diving in this morning. Our team was doing a devotion and you asked, was there ever a time where your life turned out differently than you had anticipated? And you're so glad it did. I thought my life would have always been water sports. It would have always been, you know, I was on a speaking career type thing and I thought I was going to be like speaking at corporations, maybe on camera, all this kind of stuff. But God shifted. It wasn't for the free world. It was for the world of corrections. And he took me out of the sport of water skiing and he put me in this world of corrections. And I'm so glad that he did because it has been the ride of my life. We're just getting started. So thank you, Randy. Hey, thank you. Give me five. Give me five. Hey, so it's been great having you today. Thank you. You are gonna shoot me for this, but I encourage anybody that sees Chrissy ask her to tell the story of flushing the turkeys. Well, we got to tell it now. No, I'd rather you just say, okay, goodbye, everybody. Thanks for being here. Flushing and toilets, all sorts of stuff. Flushing the turkeys. That's right. Thank you for watching our broadcast. Are you an incarcerated brother or sister who needs encouragement? Write to us at Victorious Living Correspondents P.O. Box 2751 Greenville, North Carolina 27836 or email us at hope at VL mag.org. To view Victorious Living magazine in its entirety, please have your chaplain contact us at 352-478-2098 or email us through our website at VL mag.org. We are happy to provide our Victorious Living magazine free of charge in bulk with or without staples.