{"id":388,"date":"2012-01-31T12:49:00","date_gmt":"2012-01-31T12:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=388"},"modified":"2012-01-31T12:49:00","modified_gmt":"2012-01-31T12:49:00","slug":"old-county-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=388","title":{"rendered":"Old County Jail"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For my Mom\u2019s 70th<\/sup> birthday, my sister and I took her to Bardstown, Kentucky to see the Stephen Foster musical, \u201cMy Old Kentucky Home.\u201d We stayed in a bed and breakfast that had been the county jail for many decades. It was a whimsical evening and one we will never forget. The inn keeper sold some souvenirs: a key ring with \u201cJailer\u2019s Inn\u201d inscribed on it and t-shirts with hands wrapped around cell bars that read, \u201cI spent my time in the old county jail.\u201d I had to have these items, so I purchased them on our way out. As we left, the \u201cjailer\/inn keeper\u201d quipped, \u201cIf you come to stay with us again, you\u2019ll be a repeat offender.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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I returned to Colorado with my reminder key ring and t-shirt in hand. The key was added to my keyring with my mail box, car, and house keys. But the t-shirt was another story. I realized that I couldn\u2019t wear it anywhere. I was on staff at a church, so it wasn\u2019t appropriate work apparel. I am known in the community, so I thought it might not be a great witness to those I came in contact with to wear it around town. So with no other alternative, the t-shirt hung in my closet, hidden from the world.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Several months later, I realized that this t-shirt had a greater message for me. So I pulled it out and it is now hanging in my closet where I can see it everyday. This t-shirt reminds me that I was once held in bondage by my sinful nature. I had been confined within the four small walls of that prison cell where God could not use me. And I knew that I didn\u2019t have to be held in that bondage any longer. I could break free. Yes, a prison escape! Free to live a life of freedom without condemnation. Galatians 5:1 says, \u201cIt is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.\u201d<\/i> \u00a0Without the chains and prison bars, I am no longer burdened. What a weight is lifted when we can walk away from that prison cell.<\/span><\/div>\n
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We also have the promise from Jesus in John 8:34-36. \u201cI tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.\u201d<\/i> How thankful I am for Jesus, the Son and what He has done in my life. The gift of freedom is more precious than ever each time I remember the sacrifice of my Savior. We no longer need to be slaves to sin. He has set us free.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Combined with the key, the t-shirt has a greater message. The key can unlock the prison doors. The prison doors of my sinful nature can be thrown open because Jesus has given me the key to do so. I no longer have to live in that prison cell. I can be free!<\/span><\/div>\n
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Oh, I occasionally go back to the jailhouse of bondage, and in despair ask God for forgiveness. And when I see my key and my t-shirt, I know the life I\u2019m intended to live. I don\u2019t want to hear the words of the jailer, \u201cYou are a repeat offender\u201d ever again. I can live, not as a captive, but as a free woman living life abundantly.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/span><\/div>\n
Donna<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For my Mom\u2019s 70th birthday, my sister and I took her to Bardstown, Kentucky to see the Stephen Foster musical, \u201cMy Old Kentucky Home.\u201d We stayed in a bed and breakfast that had been the county jail for many decades. It was a whimsical evening and one we will never forget. The inn keeper sold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,22,27,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asking-god","category-believing-god","category-remembering-god","category-seeing-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}