A few months ago I was assigned a case at work which involved a girl being raped. I work as a sex crimes investigator and often have to investigate things that are horrible. I will call the girl Taylor. She came into my office for an interview. The moment I saw Taylor my heart sank. She looked dead. She was thin, pale, hunched over and had scars all over her body from cutting. She honestly looked like a walking corpse. It was not just that she physically looked dead; I knew that she was bound by the spirit of death. Just by looking at her you could tell that Taylor had serious problems that she was dealing with.
As we began to talk about her rape she became physically sick. I turned my recorder off and decided it was time to step out and speak truth to her in love. All I remember saying to her is, “You look dead.” Taylor looked at me in a weird way. I told her that Satan was after her to take her life. I told her that I was going to pray for her and she was not comfortable with me praying. However, we talked for a few minutes about her life and she let me pray. She told me that the day before she was talking to a longtime friend who told her about Jesus and how much he wanted to heal her and deliver her. I tried to speak encouragement over her heart. Taylor stated she thought it was weird that I was saying the same things her friend said to her (of course, that is how cool God is.) As I prayed for her she became sicker and had to leave the room. I almost called an ambulance that is how sick she became. I know that the Enemy did not want her to hear truth.
Taylor was raped and abused growing up. She turned to drinking and drugs and was only 18 years old. Taylor worked as an exotic dancer and was very depressed and hopeless. Her eyes were dark and empty. As she was throwing up in the bathroom I just began to pray over her. I knew this was a divine appointment for the both of us. Taylor left shortly after that and I did not have contact with her a long time.
A friend of mine called me out of the blue one night and said she knows Taylor and that she came to a pray meeting that night. You see Taylor knew about God but had never encountered him in a real way. My friend said Taylor was talking about a Detective that told her she looked dead. She stated to my friend that really impacted her life and made her stop and think. My friend knew that I was the Person she was talking about. I found out that Taylor changed jobs and was no longer an exotic dancer. I actually ran into her shortly after that and her accountants had changed. She had hope in her eyes; she did not look dead but alive. She smiled and looked better.
You never know how your words will impact someone. Sometimes God allows us to see the results but often He does not. I encourage you to be courageous and speak out. Not only will you blessed the person God sent to you, but you too will be blessed. We were made to be courageous!

Just A Girl (My all time favorite! This video was my first introduction to No Doubt at age 12.)

Don’t Speak

Hella Good

Simple Kind of Life

Oi To The World

It’s My Life (Awesome cover)

Hey Baby

Spiderwebs (Last one…)

Words cannot express how excited I am right now. September 25, 2012 is the big release date for the new No Doubt album! I have loved this band since middle school. Tragic Kingdom was my first CD. I can’t wait to see what they are putting together for this new album and am hoping that I’ll finally get to see them in concert! Here is the first Webisode for the new album giving us a bit of a sneak peak of “Push and Shove”

Enjoy…

How incredibly adorable are these guys!? I was playing cards with my mom and grandparents and they strolled right through the back yard. I had to stop the card game to feed them some bread. Oh they’re so adorable! I took a short video, but I’m talking in my “baby voice” for the little ones. I’m afraid posting the video may be a bit too embarrassing. However, if I get enough feedback wanting it…I’ll suffer through the embarrassment to come and post it.

The pursuit entered my county and I was the closest to the area. As I approached the pursuit I could see at least seven police cars chasing a vehicle. I was on a four lane section of road and noticed that the vehicle being pursued had been spiked, meaning several of the tires where flat. I saw that the vehicle was moving slowly due to flat tires so I pulled into oncoming traffic to block the vehicle in and to keep the vehicle contained. As I pulled in front of the vehicle I saw the driver put a gun out the window and point it directly at me.

It seemed that everything was in slow motion; I heard the shots and then I heard the bullets hit my cruiser. All I could think of was to “get small” and duck in the seat. After I passed the vehicle the driver ran off the road and took his life with the same gun he shot at me. I stopped my vehicle and got out to look for bullet holes in my cruiser. I know without a doubt that 4 bullets hit my car. When I got out and began to look I only found one bullet hole which was located in my light bar directly above my head.

Every day before I leave my driveway I pray for God’s protection over my car and myself, due to the fact that I have had too many accidents with poles and ditches. I believe it was that simple pray that I prayed asking for the Blood of Jesus to cover that saved my life. Multiple bullet casings were found at the scene and several officers heard the shots being fired at me. I believe that the driver took his life because he thought that he killed a cop.

Someday when I get to heaven I believe that God will show me how he protected me that day. I know without a doubt that 4 bullets hit my car but I serve a higher God and a more powerful God. You cannot tell me that Jesus does not do miracles because I am living proof that he does.

By: Sarah Preston, KY Detective specializing in sex crimes

I have known Sarah now for 10 years. When we first met she was my campus minister, but has now become a dear friend. I am encouraged by our friendship and by her passion for God. I had the privilege of doing a couple of ride alongs with her last year and was introduced to a whole new side of Sarah that I had not seen before. She has a passion for justice and for being a full time minister in her “non-ministry” job as a detective. I look forward to having many more posts, like this, from my friend to share with you all. Feel free to leave a comment, I know she’s love to answer any questions you have.

I’ve recently discover the awesomeness of Josh Garrels. This, “The Resistance,” is my favorite of his songs. Such powerful lyrics.

Now, if that is what really happen then I’d be tempted to give those parents a piece of my mind. Maybe even my fist! (Only kidding…) Of course that’s not what happened! It was in fact quite the opposite. The parents cheered the little girl on, picked her up when she fell and stood her up again and again. The little girl just giggled and smiled the whole time. Everyone around watched with big grins on their faces. This is right, this is normal and I believe it is an expression of the Fathers love for us.

I think often times when we’re learning something new or coming into a new season we can sometimes see God as the parent in the first part of the story here. So impatient, so easily frustrated. With a Father like that, it’d be easy to give up quickly and count it all as lost. However, the good news is that God is not like that! God is so patient, so joy filled, so gracious, so loving and so encouraging. Like parents when their child is learning to walk, He just smiles and cheers us on, helps us up when we fall. He is filled with joy to see us learning and growing and entering new stages of our walk with Him. (See what I did there? Ha!) He is so completely understanding. With a Father like that it makes it a lot easier to try new things and fail.

I saw this video and realized about half way through that my cheeks were hurting because I was smiling so big. I think this is a great image of how God is with us. Such a good, such a loving Father. So, if you’ve been giving yourself a hard time in an area you’re growing in and feeling like you’re just not getting it good or quick enough… Just take a moment to close your eyes and imagine Father God sitting with you in this manner. Cut yourself some slack, because I guarantee He is.

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