As I lay on my bunk at the Smith County low-risk facilities in Tyler, TX one hot July evening in 2006, The Lord gave me the words and music for this song.  I was a "guest" there, so to speak, awaiting sentence because of a recent DWI charge, my third.  The title for the song was WHILE THERE IS TIME, which eventually became the title for a whole CD project I later recorded.

God was merciful in my situation.  The charge was dropped from a felony DWI to a misdemeanor because my first DWI in 1981 was deferred adjudicated.  I had already spent six months in jail, thinking I was going to do prison time eventually. But God had other plans for me. When I finally got to court, the judge pronounced a "time served" sentence, along with no fines and no court costs!  I was free!

I had previously made arrangements to go to Calvary Commission, a ministry in Lindale, TX that provides a discipleship training program for ex-offenders.  After my prison time had been completed, this was where my new life was going to begin.  So, when I was released from jail, without having to go to prison, I contacted the Dean of Admissions and told him of how God had turned the situation around.  A few weeks later, Calvary Commission became my new home.

During my one year stay at this wonderful ministry, The Lord healed me of my past hurts, delivered me from a hardened heart, and restored my spiritual condition.  Also, I met a beautiful woman who eventually became my wife.  Vicki Harrison (hailing from Portsmouth, New Hampshire), was the Residence Coordinator for The Refuge, Calvary Commission's discipleship training facility for women recently released from prison.  We met and got to know one another while ministering at a Mardi Gras outreach in Galveston, TX.  On March 6, 2008, we were married.

This is just one of many examples of how God will take what Satan meant for harm and turn it around for our good and His Glory!

Hallelujah!

Kelly Perkins