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<![CDATA[AriseandShine.org - May 2012]]>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 03:32:12 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[My Birds: Soon to be Evicted]]>Mon, 28 May 2012 13:48:40 GMThttps://www.ariseandshine.org/may-2012/april-14th-2016My beloved sparrows, that have provided me with lots of sweet music each day, may soon be gone...

It's only a matter of time now before their isolated nest that they've built for themselves in a hole in the outer cinder block wall gets broken apart by men with chisels and pickaxes.

With the end of winter, the gradual demolition of the outer cinder block walls of every building throughout the prison is now taking place. It was a project that was begun last year by a large group of outside contractors. Winter brought an end to the project, temporarily. But now they're back chopping away at the outer walls, and then replacing every old block with a new one.

It's a laborious effort, with construction workers chopping away at the blocks by hand. Looking from my window, I can see about a dozen men with hardhats working away under a hot sun. They're on the final stretch of the building next door. So, perhaps within a few weeks, they'll be starting on my building next. I shudder to think what will happen to the nest where my sparrow friends have been living since before I moved here some several years ago.

As I have shared in previous journal entries, almost every morning without fail, and no matter what the weather, a flock of sparrows would gather along my window's ledge and grace me and the empty courtyard with their songs. What beauty! I have always thought them to be a special gift from God, as they would never perch on any window ledge but mine.

But, alas, just around the corner from my cell I can hear the continuous beating of men and their tools. Boom, boom. Chop, chop. Each strike of their implements is bringing them closer to the nest. I could feel the vibrations of their strikes because each blow causes my walls to vibrate.

Of no surprise, the birds have been in a restless tizzy for weeks. Survivalists by nature, they know what's coming, but seem to be waiting until the last minute to evacuate and try to find a new place to call home. Maybe they have newborns who are too tiny to fly or fend for themselves? I don't know. But the impending destruction of their nest might be a sign for me to move on, too.

D.B.

]]><![CDATA[Always Abounding]]>Thu, 17 May 2012 13:19:38 GMThttps://www.ariseandshine.org/may-2012/always-aboundingTherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye
know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58

My heart continues to burn with passion for the northern regions of Canada...

During the past week, I have sensed an urgency to pray more intensely for the Northland. Not for any particular reason other than I believe this is what the Holy Spirit has been pressing upon my heart to do. And with this being the case, early this morning, after a time of prayer in my prison cell, I felt a prompting to write a letter to friends in the province of Nunavut. This is what I wrote:

Dear Beloved Brethren in Christ...

I pray this letter finds everyone in the body of Christ continuing to grow in the grace
and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. The name of Jesus is above all names. To this
name heaven and earth must bow. It is only by the name of the Lord Jesus that we can
be saved (Acts 4:12).

You have been on my mind a lot these days, and I have been lifting you up in prayer. As
always, I am asking the Lord to touch hearts and lives with His love, and with the power
of His word. My greetings to Rev. Kayy Gordon and to everyone at Glad Tidings.

I am writing this letter from inside a prison cell. God is doing miracles behind prison walls.
His light shines the brightest where sin and Satan have created great darkness. But as the
Scripture says, "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (I John 4:4).

I am trusting that you are persevering in the faith. Some may turn back to the empty
things of this world. They may begin to follow a lie. But God is married to the backslider.
So there is still hope for repentance, renewal, forgiveness, and for a fresh start. The Lord's
mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:21-26). With much love. . .

Brother David

My letter should reach the Northland in about ten days.

D.B.

]]><![CDATA[The Wild Ones]]>Wed, 16 May 2012 13:02:56 GMThttps://www.ariseandshine.org/may-2012/the-wild-onesI'm almost, sixty years old...

I've been in prison for 35 years and I have seen many changes within the prison system. Not only with rules and regulations, but with the men who are now entering the system. Each year they seem to be younger and wilder. Many come in with some kind of gang affiliation. They're very materialistic, too. I view them as a lost generation in need of hope. Most of all, they need Christ, who is the source of the hope I'm referring to.

Recently, a friend whom I correspond with described these younger inmates as simply being "unchurched." I winced when I read this because to describe them as 'unchurched'- having never grown up in a Christian environment or having much if any familiarity with Christ - is too mild a term. It is true that for the most part they are unchurched. But the reality is, they're almost feral. They're wild and violent. They come from dysfunctional homes. They've usually grown up without fathers or good male role models.

These men have grown up in the streets. They've gotten their education - if I could call it an education - in the same place. Very sad. A national tragedy. But the good news is that as they begin to mature in the prison environment, some of them are repenting of their criminal ways. They're leaving what they have discovered to be an empty and unfulfilling lifestyle, with its dangers and betrayals. And this is a good thing.

Instead, some of these younger men are coming to the Lord for the new life Jesus offers to all who place their faith in Him. And this is what I'm here for, to point a generation of wild, sin-laden precious souls to the Savior.

D.B.

]]><![CDATA[Difficulties]]>Fri, 11 May 2012 12:47:09 GMThttps://www.ariseandshine.org/may-2012/difficultiesThe Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him; and I am helped...
Psalm 28:7a

These past several months have been a season of trials, difficulties and challenges, as well as good spiritual victories...

But concerning the difficulties, as is often the case, they've been coming at me from different directions at once. As a result, weariness will sometimes settle upon my body and mind. So this week I have been seeking encouragement from the book of Psalms.

In Psalm 28, for example, King David had been going through a period of obvious difficulty and was crying out to the Lord for help. David was even raising his hands toward heaven to beckon God to come and answer his pleas. God, of course, because He loved David, answered the king by giving
him divine strength to sustain him during such a challenging time.

Then, after experiencing the Lord's love and help, King David penned this psalm. David was able to recognize God's sustainment through his trial, and that it was the Lord who kept him both sane and safe. King David, therefore, gave thanks and praise unto the Lord in return. Now I find myself doing the same. God has been good to me as well.

D.B.

]]><![CDATA[Parole Board: The Day After]]>Wed, 09 May 2012 12:36:34 GMThttps://www.ariseandshine.org/may-2012/parole-board-the-day-afterYesterday I went to my sixth parole hearing...

I had been debating almost to the last minute whether to attend, or not. Finally, I sensed a peace about the matter, and went. Although few may understand it, what moved me to go was the Scripture, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

As stated in my previous journal entry, if I went, it would be to express my remorse. But I also wanted to be a witness for Christ. And I believe that by God's grace I was successful at both.

I was, however, surprised how long the hearing took. Perhaps forty minutes, which is rare. I thought I'd be before the board for far less time. Unbeknownst to many, much of one's parole hearing involves having the charges of what you're in prison for be read aloud by one of the commissioners into the stenographic record of the hearing. He or she will read off the list of crimes for which you've
been charged, and the sentence for each charge. Also, the names and ages of the victims are read into the record, as well as the time, date and place where the crime or crimes occurred.

Doing this usually runs the clock, so to speak. In other words, a bulk of the hearing consists of rereading both to you and the commissioners the facts of your case, as if neither you nor they didn't already know, decades later, what you're in prison for.

Next comes an array of anticipated but painfully annoying and agonizing questions as to why you did what you did. For instance, "Where did you get your weapon?" "Why did you choose this particular victim?" "What were you thinking?" "Were you high on drugs?" "Did you think about what would happen to you if you got caught?" "Tell us about your childhood?" No surprise questions, really. But they're asked with a degree of anger, and with an emotional intensity that leaves you sweating and squirming in your seat. It's much like being in a courtroom and being on the stand all over again. By no means an easy task of having to relive your misdeeds, trying to explain everything as if it all happened last week rather than many years ago.

Then comes the soft-pedaled questions. "So, what have you done with your life since being locked-up?" They will ask what your goals are should you be released. If you have family and a place to stay. If you have a job waiting for you. "Any hobbies?" "Have you learned your lesson?" "Are you going to behave yourself on the outside?"

I felt as if I'd been a naughty kid sitting in the dean's office at school being admonished and scolded for setting off a firecracker in the classroom. Unpleasant memories of my own misbehaviors as a child and having to give an account of them.

The reality is, your life and future is on the line. The parole commissioners have the power to release you on parole or order you to do more prison time. And parole itself is not necessarily a bargain due to its exceedingly restrictive nature, and how easy it is to violate any of its excessive rules.

Yesterday the most vocal of the commissioners, as expected, spent a lot of time revisiting the past, which was most unnerving. But then he switched gears to the present. He asked about my accomplishments and how it came about that I found faith in God. This I gladly explained with both courtesy and simplicity. He acknowledged my good progress, or words to this effect. In other words, the hearing was not all negative.

I'm glad I went to the hearing. Thankfully it was much different than the utterly dreadful parole hearing I experienced in 2010 which left me depressed for weeks. Two years ago, three mean-spirited commissioners spent their time hurling insults at me. They looked at me and spoke to me with utter contempt. There was only venom in their voices. One even stating that she hopes to fulfill the wishes of the justices who sentenced me, that I die in prison. Oh well. I wasn't expecting the commissioners to buy me lunch. But I didn't want or need the abuse, either. A lesson learned. One never knows what to expect when he appears before the parole board. Well, it's over now. Thank God!

D.B.

]]><![CDATA[Another Parole Hearing]]>Mon, 07 May 2012 11:09:48 GMThttps://www.ariseandshine.org/may-2012/another-parole-hearingAnother parole hearing is scheduled for tomorrow morning...

This will be the sixth one since my initial hearing in 2002, having then completed the minimum time on my sentence of 25-years to life. Right now, I am seeking the Lord's will as to whether or not to appear. It's my choice. Either way, the outcome will be the same - two more years.

It's all routine, really. In my situation, such hearings are not a big deal. For the media, it may be something to spend a few minutes chatting about. Or, for periodicals such as The New York Post, it may make for a mostly meaningless and redundant article. After all, what is there to say now that hasn't already been said?

If I decline to attend tomorrow's hearing, it will only be postponed until the following month, thus affording me another opportunity to decide to attend, or not. This is standard policy and procedure. The same would apply to any prisoner in New York, be he doing a sentence of one to three years, or "life."

Anyhow, my prayer is that the hearing, if I do go, will be quick. Maybe fifteen minutes, tops. Then it'll be over with, and I won't have to deal with this again for two more years. If I do attend, it would be to apologize for my past criminal actions, which is what I have done during every previous hearing, either in person, or by letter. My deep remorse and contrition has been well publicized and documented.

D.B.

]]><![CDATA[Homeless in Puerto Rico]]>Sun, 06 May 2012 10:57:05 GMThttps://www.ariseandshine.org/may-2012/homeless-in-puerto-ricoBrother Otto came to the United States from Puerto Rico when he was seventeen-years-old...

Today, he shared his poignant and gripping story in church.

Before coming to the mainland, Otto, due to a heroin addiction, found himself homeless. His family, with the exception of his grandmother, had pretty much disowned him. They vowed not to let him return to the house he'd grown up in until he overcame his habit, which he said he was unable to do.

Overcome by heroin as a teenager, Otto had to eat out of trash cans to stay alive. But in a desperate attempt to hopefully break the cycle of addiction, his beloved grandmother made arrangements for Otto to relocate to New York City to live with relatives.

However, it was not long before Otto was again getting high. Once in the City, he said, Otto had even easier access to the drug than when he was in Puerto Rico. And once again, he found himself homeless and unwanted.

Wandering the streets, Otto resorted to stealing to obtain money for drugs. This caused him to land in jail many times. Finally, having gotten caught committing an armed robbery with a handgun and firing it inside the premises in the process, Otto was off to do a long stint in the State's prison system.

Now age 31, Otto told us that he received the Lord while attending an evangelistic service at another correctional facility. Later he was transferred to Sullivan, where I first met him.

Thankfully, Otto has been staying faithful to Christ, and since coming to this prison he has continued to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. Thus, he was able to testify not only of God's goodness and mercy, but also about God's power to break the chains of sin.

So it was encouraging to hear his story of hope. Rail thin and weighing far less than what would be considered normal for his height, Otto unfortunately has to deal with some serious health issues that are related to his years as an addict. Truly, he's a survivor!

Yet the best part of Otto's fifteen-minute talk was when he told his audience that God doesn't hate you. Rather, he hates the sin that is in us. This spoke volumes to me.

D.B.

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