God has a precious daughter named Suzanne who has a serious medical condition called gastroparesis, which makes it very difficult for her to eat. Suzanne is a strong Christian and has been suffering for a long time.

Are we gonna mount up like eagles and pray for her or what?

Passed the exam for PowerPoint today! Afterwards I walked outside the classroom and stood near the railing. An old Mexican guy we call Coach was enjoying a break at the same time. He walked up beside me and started talking.

Coach has been involved with the prison's hospice program since 2007. A lot of other guys who were in it have paroled or been transferred to other prisons. in the next couple months, they will hold a training for a new batch of hospice volunteers. Coach wants me to sign up for it.

I'm thinking about it, but I don't want to overbook myself. I'm still waiting to see whether I'll get selected for the Inmate Mentor Certification Program. That is my first choice.

Every Tuesday evening I go to a group which gives me instruction in public speaking. Today we had to get up and give three-minute speeches on our struggle. I had forgotten the assignment, so I had to prepare what I would say while the other guys got up before me.

Needless to say, I was nervous, but I'm glad I overcame the fear and did it. They say Im getting better. Each time I get up I pick out one thing to improve. The agony of training is worth embracing.

One day each year, nurses march out to all the housing units and offer each of us a flu shot. Today, about half the inmates said "no" for fear of the conspiracies they've been listening to. I said "yes" and took the shot. My left shoulder is sore where they injected me.

I took the pre-test for the PowerPoint exam today and got the first nineteen questions right. Then I ran into some unfamiliar stuff. Now I know what to go back and study.

After school I walked by my last work assignment and socialized. Then I walked to the housing unit, changed into workout shorts and ran 12 laps around the track. Felt good.

Today I received a postcard from someone who is following my online journal. Thank you for the encouragement!

After work I saw a man sitting in front of the housing unit who had disrespected me loudly in the chow hall last month. That day he really got under my skin. About twenty minutes after the chow hall incident, I had seen him walking on the hallway in front of my cell and tried to approach him to clear things up, but he got embarrassingly loud again. Every fiber in my body felt offended. I walked away and cut him out of my life, but I was guilty of holding on to bitterness. 

My spirit has been convicting me of that. Today after work, when I saw him sitting alone on the bench in front of the housing unit, I spoke to him. I made the first move last time he disrespected me too. That time he later apologized, this time he didn't. The important thing is, after taking the first step, I feel less burdened by resentment.

The module we are studying in TUMI now is entitled "Foundations for Christian Leadership." It lays out the qualifications for being an elder or deacon. They are to have impeccable character, be strong in wisdom, strong in faith, spiritually mature, eager to serve the church, and treat fellow church members as members of their own family.

As I meditate on these qualifications, the Spirit points out areas I still need to grow in. Too often when we're aggravated, what comes to mind is an image of how our old self would have responded. We curb the impulse but it's still a battle to move beyond some offenses. What we need is a dynamic mental image of how a true elder would respond. This module is helping me imagine that.

In my life I only knew two men who fitted this bill and neither of them were close enough for me to learn under, in my youth. My grandma's brother Jimmy stayed in Belize and her cousin John happened to stay in LA, but died when I was in the fifth grade. I used to look up to both of them, but after not seeing them for a while I got influenced by lesser images of manhood. So I can relate to how the youth make bad decisions and understand how much they need deacons and elders to step up to the plate and get involved in their lives.

The hight standard for the deaconate is inspiring me to step up and make more changes.