Obey right away!
I started this journey with God & the Missouri Capitol in the spring of 2021. I had NO idea what He was doing or what I was doing. I just got up every day and tried to do my best to listen to the Holy Spirit and obey.
When my sons were little, this phrase was our mantra, "Obey right away, all the way and with a good attitude every day!" We said it & sang it & clapped it & talked about it ALL. THE. TIME.
The lesson was that if they couldn't obey their dad and I - who stood right in front of them and spoke in clear English - then how would I know they could obey a still small whisper when the Holy Spirit spoke to them? That's how I want to live and it's how I want my sons to live - walking every step they take with the Lord.
With all my heart, I believe now more than ever that the Holy Spirit and our personal, intimate relationship with Him is the ONLY way we win. At anything. But especially in this war for freedom our nation and the State of Missouri is in.
Now, my goal is to do what I taught my sons, "Obey the Holy Spirit right away, all the way and with a good attitude every day." I don't always get it right. In fact, I OFTEN don't get it right. But I promise I'm trying.
gather the believers
In the spring of '21 when I was at the Capitol standing on the second level of the rotunda, He gave me a vision of a gathering of Believers across the State. I wasn't sure what it would look like exactly, but He planted a seed in my spirit that day.
A lot has happened since then and there's not room here to give you every detail,but it's time now to move forward. It's clear and He's been very consistent in His message to me to "gather the Believers," so that's what I'm going to do.
I believe we are gathering for multiple purposes.
We are gathering to seek Him FIRST in a way we've never done before.
We are gathering for worship, prayer, fellowship, testimonies and education.
We are gathering to lay hands on our sisters & brothers in Christ and pray for every piece of brokenness - whether in spirit, mind or body.
We are gathering to build relationships and to walk through whatever lies ahead hand in hand.
We are gathering to pick up our swords & our trowels. Our sword for supernatural power and wisdom & our trowel for getting the practical work done.
We'll be gathering regularly online as well as in person at events we'll host across the state.
jodi grace ministries is born
We created a faith-based nonprofit, Jodi Grace Ministries, to serve Missourians.
Our mission is to inspire, educate and empower Believers to seek FIRST the Kingdom and deeper relationship with Him so they can actively pursue the calling He has placed on their lives. We believe this will lead to a righteous cultural change in Missouri.
We are registered as a nonprofit and operating as a 508c1a, which means that all donations will be tax deductible.
If you appreciate the work I've done and will continue to do, and if you would like to join me from the ground up in cultivating change in Missouri, I'd love for you to partner with me!
awakening at the wall
We are incredibly excited about our first series of events which will kick off in Jefferson City on Saturday, August 19th!
Named for Nehemiah's wall building efforts around Jerusalem, we are calling all our wall building believers in Missouri to gather for great worship, the Word, prayer, fellowship and education.
The worship team is coming from Kingdom Church in St. Louis. You are going to LOVE them!
It's going to be a great day! Think of it like an annointed revival service with the addition of an afternoon full of practical education about what's actually happening here in Missouri.
Presentation topics in the afternoon will include a 2023 Legislation Recap & Human Trafficking right here at home.
Please plan on coming and joining me. You'll be inspired, educated and filled with hope!
Click the link below to see the schedule and get all the details. Then register & reserve your seat!
I can't wait to see you on the 19th!
the movie: Sound of freedom
I saw the movie Sound of Freedom this morning in Jefferson City. It's playing only for a few days, so I hope you'll find a showing in your area and go watch. It's worth a drive even if it's not playing in your town.
If you haven't heard about it, it's a movie that documents Tim Ballard's experience working as a federal agent catching pedophiles and then rescuing children from trafficking.
I knew it would be heavy. It was.
The little boy in the movie had dark skin, hair and eyes like my youngest son. Grant (my baby) is 12 now, but when he was younger he looked a lot like Miguel in the movie. I found myself thinking about my own boys throughout the movie. I'm sure you'll do the same and connect your own kids or grandkids to the story.
Human trafficking is a horrendous reality for millions of children as well as adults. And although the movie focused on children from far away lands, please make no mistake that it is happening more than we can fathom right here on our own soil. Right here in Missouri.
missouri foster care IS LOSING OUR KIDS!
When you walk into the movie with an awareness that the Missouri foster care system is LOSING kids and NO. ONE. is screaming about it, you leave with a heaviness that isn't easy to explain.
Yes. You read that right. Missouri is losing kids!
Kids in our foster are system are going missing at a rate that is so alarming it makes my stomach turn. ANY rate would be too many. But according to The Missouri Independent, a federal watchdog reported 1,780 kids went MISSING from Missouri's foster care system within TWO AND A HALF YEARS!!
How in the world does any one system lose nearly 2,000 children!?
And if they were missing, WHY IN THE WORLD wasn't someone screaming about it!? That's part of what makes me furious. Why isn't it in the news? Why aren't we hearing Amber Alerts, seeing social media posts or news casts about these kids?? And where are the PARENTS?!
I mean.. I know there are parental issues if they are in the custody of the State, but I can't imagine 1,780 Missouri moms just don't care about their kid gone MISSING.
Losing kids is bad enough, but this article published September 30, 2021, states they "...frequently failed to notify local and federal authorities they were missing."
ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME!? Kids go missing and you don't report it!? This is Missouri's reality.
These bureaucrats, abusive foster parents & neglectful administrators of group homes need to be prosecuted!
"During the times in which the children were missing from care, Missouri frequently failed to comply with requirements that could have aided in locating them. Nearly half of the case files contained no evidence of Missouri reporting the children as missing, as required, to either local law enforcement or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Additionally, for many missing children, there was no evidence that Missouri made the required notifications and contacts to seek information on the children’s potential whereabouts.?
Foster care isn't the only place kids are vulnerable to trafficking and I'm not claiming any one person or organization related to our foster care system is responsible or trafficking each one of these 1780 children. But this is a HUGE problem and I can't un-know it.
I got involved in politics in Missouri because I was worried about the future for my sons. I can't know these things about kids right here in Missouri and do nothing. I just cannot look the other way.
2023 Foster Care Legislation
Along with a brilliant friend of mine, I have reviewed every bill the legislature passed this session except the budget bills. I was surprised to find that the Missouri General Assembly actually passed legislation regarding missing foster kids.
SB 186 is an omnibus public safety bill and includes specific procedures that the children's division is supposed to follow when a child in foster care is missing. A couple screenshots are below, but the bill is too large to include all the foster care language here. If you are interested to read it, please click the link to the left to see the final version of the bill. You can click "Control + F" and type "foster" in the search box. It will take you to each place where foster care is mentioned.
This bill has been delivered to the governor but it has not been signed. I expect it will be, although I'm not pleased with everything in this piece of legislation. I'll be talking more about this bill in the future.
That said, the fact they passed this language for missing foster kids is an admission that they NEED it to be in place for the protection of our kids. They don't pass legislation for no reason.
Two Frustrations
The movie was well worth seeing, but I had two frustrations with it today.
1. I wish they'd made the focus of the movie American children. That wouldn't have been Tim Ballard's story, I understand. But the movie did not show even one American child being trafficked. I think it would make an even bigger impact on our culture if it had.
2. What now? They told a horrific story and highlighted this epidemic in our culture, and they didn't give any suggestions of actions you could take to make a difference. Education without activation is a waste.
TAKE ACTION
This topic is one I've felt passionate about for a while, but honestly I haven't taken the time to dig in and find a way to be involved. A simple online search led me to lots of information and lists of ways to help fight trafficking. I'm going to share a few links with you here.
I'm praying about what, exactly, the Lord may want for me to do in this fight, specifically here in Missouri. I'll definitely be sharing when He gives me clarity.
At the very least, I'll be writing and sharing more here as I learn. So stay tuned & be sure to subscribe if you don't want to miss anything.
LINKS
Deliver Fund is a non-profit org made up of former vets, law enforcement officers, Navy SEALS, CIA, FBI & NSA who are now working to fight human trafficking in the United States.
