Prison Break: Breaking Free from Stronghold and Other Inspiring Stories.

By Ruth Kriner

Everyone has a story. Everyone knows the struggle.

If you've ever thought your situation would never change or ever wondered what it would be like to lead a better, more fulfilling life, the testimonials in Prison Break offers the hope and inspiration you need.

Inside, you'll discover the stories of people who've been on the brink of despair and beyond, and despite all the obstacles in front of them, found their way to healing.

Whether you or someone you love are enduring the pain of addiction or searching for a path to fight the battle in your mind, the stories compiled in this book will resonate with you, give you hope, speak to your experience, and change your life.

Pick up your copy and start reading today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ruth Kriner
• Release date: Dec 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393347910

Book preview

DEDICATION:

––––––––

I dedicate this book, along with my life, to Jesus, who saw my captive state and freed me from the clutches of hell. Too many of us struggle for freedom from a myriad of strongholds that take us captive.

What little of mine will forever be His. I empty myself into His care for eternity. I am His servant and yet a daughter of The King, for He is mine and I am His.

May the words written within this book bring hope and courage to every reader. May peace and comfort be found for every one of you seeking a Saviour.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:

––––––––

I have to acknowledge the patience the Lord has for this simple writer. He called me, of all people, to write. He asked the world's worst speller and most grammatically-incorrect person I know to represent Him on the printed page. I do so with great humility.

Secondly, I want to thank the writers that laid their hearts bare to bring us these stories. They are worthy of notice because of their brave transparency and vulnerability. Bearing their testimonies is also a process of healing and growth, and I am grateful for the time they spent to make this book happen.

Thanks to my daughter for introducing me to some of the participants, whose stories have inspired me. And for your support and contributions to this project, I want to thank the Daughters of Heaven.

I recognize the daunting task of editing my writings, so I want you both to know, Leslie and Myrna, that I couldn't publish anything if it weren't for your expertise.

And to you, Zinc, belongs my award for the most creative book covers I've ever seen. Your gift comes from the Giver of all good gifts.

ii

And finally, the prayers you, my friends, have placed before the throne of grace on my behalf, will be generously rewarded.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Broken Chains...............................................3

My Quest.....................................................15

Deliverance From Bondage to What Others Think  20

Her words Saved My Life, and I Never Said

Thank You.............................................................29

Never Good Enough....................................41

My Pakistan Miracle Story..........................50

The Bunny Gloves........................................62

Fear of Being Without.................................69

The Bag of Chicken Food.............................75

Bethany's Journey........................................81

Dolly.............................................................92

I've Been Freed! Victory in Christ Over Multiple

Prisons.........................................................................99

My Friend! Love...Hate..............................117

Why I Love Jesus........................................121

INTRODUCTION

––––––––

Throughout our lives, we struggle with strongholds that hold us back from a free-flowing relationship with Jesus. What I mean by free-flowing, is a relationship without any hindrance.

Circumstances, bad choices, and unwelcome victimizations have played a part in bringing about chains that hold us captive. Apart from Christ's intervention to set us free, we languish in a state of imprisonment.

The testimonies you are about to read are a sampling of different kinds of chains that bind. These stories are personal victories because of Jesus breaking those bonds. He came to set the captive free. You will see, in many cases, it took years to work out His plan for freedom and belief. But in the end, each willing heart found the victory they were longing to receive.

Each chapter will identify the obstacle that was their stumbling block so you can relate to their struggle. Unbelief, shame, sexual addiction, making judgments against self, and drug abuse are a few of the giants that needed slaying in the name of Jesus.

Join the triumphal procession of victors by allowing Jesus to give you the freedom you deserve.

PREFACE

––––––––

Children with little or no foundation struggle with finding where they fit in society. Everything becomes a challenge. What is a family supposed to look like? Am I to follow my mom or my dad when their lives are nothing alike? Is it the same for every kid as for me? How should I act in the classroom at school, on the play ground? In their search for identity and the desire to fit in, there is a certain response: If I can’t be good at being good, I’ll excel at being bad.

CHAPTER ONE

BROKEN CHAINS

I was born in Chelan, Washington, in 1980, and my parents worked in the orchards there. My dad was an alcoholic and often abused my mother. My older brother, Josh, and I are sixteen months apart.

When I was three months old, we moved to Seattle to live with my grandparents, my mother’s parents. Shortly after that, my father went to the store to get alcohol and didn’t return and chose not to live with us any longer. Consequently, we moved to Marysville, Washington, where I spent most of my childhood. To support us, my mother worked full-time at Sears. My father picked us up occasionally on the weekends to visit, which was an awkward experience for us because he never showed us love or affection. When I was four years old, my dad came to pick up my brother and me and, for some reason, hit my mom. That was the last time I saw him until I was fifteen years old.

Since my mother worked full-time, we were placed in daycare. We were often disobedient there, so we usually got kicked out. My mother resorted to hiring older neighborhood kids (who were not the best influence) to watch us.

The summer I turned eight years old, I was reported to the police twice—once for shooting pennies at cars from my wrist rocket and once for throwing eggs at the city transit. That same year, I started smoking cigarettes whenever I could steal them from friends, parents, or my grandmother. I also started fighting with kids at school and in my neighborhood. Fighting made me feel good about myself because I was good at it. I first started fighting because I got beat up by the school bully a couple of times and then, one day, he picked on my brother. I ran over and shoved him. At that moment, I saw fear in his eyes and knew that I didn’t have to be afraid of him any longer. We fought several times after that, and I beat him every time. Older kids in the neighborhood encouraged me to fight kids in our community. Nothing felt better than winning those fights.

Another thing that drove me to fight was my brother’s verbal abuse. Out of his own anger and hurt, he put me down by calling me fat and stupid. Every day I got verbal abuse from him, which caused us to begin fighting each other.

Eventually, my mother got us into sports, which were my favorite activities growing up. Sports kept us out of a lot of trouble, but the pain from the verbal abuse and the abandonment by my father lingered. When I was 13, I found a way to turn all those bad feelings into good feelings. I was hanging out with at a friend’s house, and we got into her dad's liquor cabinet. I stole his vodka. Drinking made me feel better than I had ever felt. With liquor, I could escape all the terrible

feelings of not being good enough and being abandoned and, at the same time, I felt more alive than ever before. Shortly after that, I smoked weed for the first time. Weed didn't have the same effect as alcohol, but I continued smoking every chance I got. Before long, I started failing classes and skipping school because hanging out with friends, smoking weed, and drinking was way more fun.

The first time I got arrested and put in handcuffs, I was 14. My brother and I and a couple of friends stole our friend’s mom’s car and then tried to steal beer out of the fridge in the back, when a neighbor called the cops. At the age of 15, I used acid and mushrooms. My father also came back into my life, but now he was a heroin addict. At 16, I started using meth and coke. The meth definitely made me feel like a million bucks and gave me confidence and energy. Meth lasts a long time, so I wanted more and more, but the come- down is horrible.

My life became a medley of getting high, sleeping with girls, getting drunk, and beating people up. I was too young to be wrapped up in so many chains; I hated myself and my life. That's when my Savior revealed Himself to me. I went to a church called Christian Crusaders, a biker church in Snohomish, Washington. When I got there, my friend’s mom started singing, and God began singing right into my heart. I couldn't stop crying. After the sermon, my friend took me up to the front of the church while his father prayed for me. I felt God breaking the chains that bound me and filling me with

His peace and love. From that