The Jules Show The Jules Show

That our children will sleep in their own bed each night is just a normal thing for most of us. But thousands of kids across Georgia, for a variety of reasons, aren't sleeping in their own, personal bed. Thankfully, there is an organization called Sleep In Heavenly Peace seeking to remedy this situation.Check out my interview with Greg Watts, along with a lot of volunteers, is helping to ensure every child gets to sleep in their very own bed each night and sleep in heavenly peace.

I think it's fair to say one of the first things we learn when we accept Christ into our hears is that we are forgiven for our sins. It's the single greatest blessing we'll ever receive. We're also instructed by Jesus that we are to freely forgive others, just as he forgives us. So we freely forgive the person who cuts us off in traffic, or the family member who doesn't return the casserole dish we left with them at the last family get together. But how do we forgive someone who hurts us profoundly? In this episode of The Jules Show podcast, I spent some time talking with Mary Ann Otley, a woman who suffered the kind of abuse most of us would consider impossible to forgive. What happened to her and how she worked through it to ultimately be able to help others who have been in her shoes, is an incredible story of how God, when we surrender our will to His, can do the impossible. If you have ever thought, "God, I just can't forgive this..." then I urge you, please, to spend some time listening to Mary Ann's story. God worked a miracle in Mary Ann's life, and she shares with us how He can do the same in our lives, if we are willing to let Him. Mary Ann's website: www.lovetriumphs.com
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It was a hot summer morning and Scott Rigsby woke up to face it like he did every other day. He went to work at his job as a landscaper, a position he took after his recent high school graduation to earn him a little extra money to take with him when he went off to college in the fall. He had no idea that day, which had started out so incredibly ordinary, would be the last ordinary day of his life. Unbeknownst to him, his reality was about to change forever. Scott and a couple of his coworkers were riding in the back of a pick up truck, headed to the next landscaping job, when, in a split second, they were in a horrible accident which ultimately left Scott as a double amputee of both his legs below the knees.In my time with Scott, he details the events of his accident, the dark days trying to come to terms with how his life was going to change forever, and ultimately God's plan and purpose for how Scott could use his experience to do something unthinkable - to be the first double amputee to complete the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon - and help other amputees reconcile their circumstance and overcome, all to the glory of God.
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These days, Don Nelson has what in anyones mind would be a nice life. A satisfying career as a college professor at the University of Georgia, a lovely wife, two kids and a comfortable home. He's done well for himself. So when he's teaching a class called Breaking The Cycle, a course on life skills for people experiencing homelessness, no one really believes him when he tells them "I understand, because I have been where you are." In this episode of The Jules Show, Don unwraps his story of growing up in a Christian home, going to a very traditional church. It left him feeling numb, ritual but no relationship. To Don, it didn't seem like the people around him bore evidence of being filled with the spirit. So while he had a logical, knowledgeable belief in Jesus, he had no real relationship. During his teen years and in his twenties, Don took some wrong turns with drugs and alcohol, leaving him essentially homeless. Amazingly enough, he managed to muddle his way through graduate school and was even able to secure a teaching position. Fast forward a few years, when he's finally enjoying success as a college professor.  As you might guess, Don is a very logical and reasoned individual. Finding an emotional connection to Christ wasn't easy for him. Additionally, he desired to see evidence of how faith really played out in other believers lives. Without realizing it at the time, he was searching for a spirit filled and spirit led church. In our interview, he shares with me how he found one in a most unlikely place at a most interesting time in hi life.
You can reach out to Don at https://www.heclab.org/
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Have you ever asked yourself, "How did I end up here?" That's a question Amy Washington asks herself all the time. Shortly after graduating from the University of Georgia with a degree in marketing, Amy had a friend who had this great idea - "Let's go to Africa on a mission trip," her friend suggested. 
 
Amy, ever the planner, was like, "Wait, what? Where in Africa? That's a continent, not a country!" 
 
And so began her journey from a homebody, farm girl growing up in rural Northeast Georgia to a woman running a home for teenage unwed mothers in Uganda. She left behind everyone she knew and loved, because she believed God had a plan for her to help young women whose families had thrown them out. She wanted them to come to know they had a heavenly father who would never throw them away and who considered them priceless. 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 28 to "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations...". This is called the Great Commission and it's probably the second most familiar scripture in the New Testament after, of course, John 3:16. But have you ever found yourself wondering what this means for you in your day-to-day life? Exactly how are we supposed to live this admonition out? After all, the apostles set a pretty high bar for service; and I can't help but feel, sometimes, I will never be able to meet their level of dedication.Thankfully, the Bible also tells us we are all gifted differently; and we can serve the Kingdom in countless different ways. So for some folks, that means being a missionary in a country halfway around the world from home. But for others of us, it means serving right where we've always been. My friends, Shirley and David Duncan, are prime examples of serving right where you are. And for the Duncans, that doesn't mean serving in their town or in their church. It means serving, quite literally, in their own home.Their story begins one hot afternoon in Middle Georgia. The Duncans live in a modest home in an average neighborhood in Macon, GA. David is handicapped, having lost both legs to complications from diabetes, so he is home most afternoons. On this particularly hot afternoon, a little neighborhood boy came by the house and asked David if he could have a cup of water. A lot of folks would have brushed the kid aside, but not David. He brought the boy a cup of water with crushed ice.It was just a small gesture of kindness. But that simple cup of ice water turned into a snack a few days later, then into snacks for another kid a few days after that and pretty soon...well, you know what happens when you feed kids and cats! Now, less than a year later, the school bus stops in front of their house and deposits over 20 neighborhood kids into their care EVERY DAY for after school snacks. Yes, you read correctly - they feed snacks to over 20 kids EVERY DAY!"Wow, that's great, but how is this a ministry, Jules?" I'm glad you asked! The Duncans have upped the ante. They are now serving a hot meal for supper on Friday nights, which they have affectionately dubbed, 'The Hot Dog Club'. However, they're not just providing a hot meal, they are also leading a Bible study for the kids and their families - many of whom have never heard the Gospel. It's like a Bible Block Party every week at their house. The Duncans also help these kids learn manners, respect for others, and the value of sharing and thinking of others. The kids are seeing up close and personal how virtual strangers are willing to show them kindness and love.In my interview with Shirley and David, they share how the Lord placed it on their hearts to help these kids. Most of them come from single parent homes and virtually all of them are low income. David shared with me that this ministry should not even be possible since they are approaching retirement age and are on a fixed income themselves. They never know from week to week if they are going to have the resources to support The Hot Dog Club. But somehow, they always do. People and resources just show up, quite literally, like manna from heaven. Through the generosity of people all over Macon, the Duncans are able to share...