Our Stories

  • I Want to Work it Out With You

    July 9, 2024 “I have a praise report!” Inmates don’t typically have praise reports. Usually, I hear a complaint or…

  • The Day We Will Know

    June 24, 2024 On my first day teaching at a men’s prison, an inmate made the statement that he had…

  • I Can’t Forgive Myself

    June 17, 2024 Apparently, I am not excused from Matthew 25:35-46. In the story of “the least of these,” Jesus…

  • I Couldn’t Have Been More Wrong

    January 2, 2024 I honestly believed our work in ministry would slow down as we aged, but I could not…

  • You Won’t Believe What Happened – Nov 2023

    I could not be prouder of Sheila and the ministry she leads. For more than a decade, Simply Sisters® has…

  • Have I Mentioned This?

    Rob Benson is an executive and corporate coach. He says, “Communicate your core values. If they are really core, they…

  • Significant or Not?

    Significant or Not? A big announcement to me may seem like a small one to you. We have so many…

  • Where Did it Go?

    Financial accountability of ministries is important. That’s why I am taking the next few sentences to report on the funds…

  • Things That Are Given But Never Sold

    Simply Sisters® is not just about Sheila Shields. There’s Rachel (who recently had her first baby – a girl named…

  • An Inmate’s Admission

    He’s been in prison since 2001 and is likely to remain there another 5 years. By his own admission it…

  • We Have the Money to Help Ukraine

    We have money. Not enough to solve all of the problems, but enough to help Ukrainians who are struggling against…

  • You Could Have Said It

    It’s so simple that either you or I could have said it, but someone else beat us to it. Though…

  • The Road Leading Home

    I grew up on a farm in the rolling hills of eastern Iowa. We didn’t own the farm or the…

  • The Yalewane Miracle

    The day will be forever etched in my mind as the day an extraordinary, undeniable, miracle took place in the…

  • Influence is Leadership

    What Happened in Topeka?

    I sensed the Holy Spirit speak to me on April 21, 1990 while driving past an old school building in…