Posts by Carol Kent

Now, 23 years into our son’s life sentence, we’ve learned some things that I hope will be helpful if you are facing a hard Christmas yourself—or if you know someone in that situation.

Happy Thanksgiving! We’re writing to you from behind the razor wire to say THANK YOU for your ongoing prayers, support, and encouragement.

Several years ago, about two weeks before Christmas, I was startled by the doorbell. It was 9:15 p.m.—way too late for a delivery and it was an unusual time for unexpected company to stop by the house. I hurried to the front door, turned on the porch light, and peeked out. Gene joined me. We opened the door and discovered no one was there. No cars were in sight and no one appeared to be anywhere close to our home.  Looking to the left, a brightly wrapped package caught my eye. The streetlight bounced off the metallic paper and I noticed a card on top of the gift. It simply said: Mom. 

My hopes were high!  Following more than two decades of incarceration, we were praying for a favorable response to Jason’s application for a commutation of his sentence to a set number of years.  That might have been a sentence of 35 or 40 years, instead of life without the possibility of parole, but since he had just turned 25 at the time of his arrest, it meant he might walk in freedom before the end of his life.

This morning I opened my Bible and considered the shepherds.  “That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord…

If you’ve struggled to find joy in 2020, you’re not alone. It’s been a year like nothing we’ve ever known. Disruptions in our lives, our jobs, our ministries, and our families have…

In the past couple of weeks our lives have been turned upside-down due to the unanticipated invasion of COVID-19.  I’ve seen empty shelves, anxious parents, fear of the future, loss…

The 2018 Speak Up Conference is over—and the faculty tells me every year that I say, “It was the best Speak Up ever!” But it was! At every turn there…