A Better Life Brianna's Hope Alexandria Chapter

11/03/2025

08/28/2025

Preparing to leave very early Saturday morning to go to southern France where I will be training missionary trainees with The Pioneer Initiative Training Program in leadership and communication skills. These young people are training as teams to go to dangerous places to share the gospel of Jesus. Steve Brogan

01/11/2025

As God has sought us out in the midst of our addictions and called us to Him through our belief that Jesus Christ died for ALL our sins, then we must share that good news with others we come across in life---family, friends, other addicts, etc. This is our way of glorifying the God who saved us, redeemed our lives from an awful hell here on earth and the real hell when we leave this earth, and finally is transforming us into new creatures, the ones God had created us to be.

With the loss of our dear friend and brother in Christ, Maurice I would remind you that Maurice did just that--he shared his relationship with Christ openly with others whether they were friend or stranger. Let's follow His example. He would be so happy that we did.

Here is a link to a short, 3-5 minute encouragement on communicating love and the gospel ("Good News"). You can click here to read or listen to the devotional.

08/20/2024

Hello Madison County people!

Madison County PATH is a new organization that offer services to those in Madison County who are struggling with addiction and mental health. MC PATH has a 24/7 crisis hotline 765-393-7838, peer recovery coaches and more! Help spread the word to those who might be looking to take the next step and needing more support in their recovery!!

Madison County PATH contacts are Stephanie & Tammy. Here is their web site:

Join us as we hear about a local resource, Madison County PATH.

03/22/2023

Here is an article that may provide hope to you in your recovery:
A Forgotten Champion on the Los Angeles Lakers Has Never Put On His Ring: 'It Wound Up Being the Lowest Moment of My Career, Maybe My Life'
Story by Tim van Straten • Yesterday 12:54 PM

On June 15, 2001, the Los Angeles Lakers captured their second straight NBA Finals win after defeating the Philadelphia 76ers. Shaquille O'Neal finished with 29 points and 13 rebounds, while Kobe Bryant added 26 points and 12 rebounds in the 108-96 victory.

Isaiah "J.R." Rider didn't appear in the series-clinching Game 5. Nor did he appear in the NBA Finals. In fact, Rider watched LA's entire postseason run from the bench wearing street clothes.

It's not like Rider was always on the bench. The veteran played in 67 of LA's 82 games during the regular season. But eventually, his playing time faded, his off-the-court problems persisted, and he received a championship ring that he feels he didn't deserve to wear.

Isaiah Rider was a talented but troubled player
Isaiah Rider spent one season with the Los Angeles Lakers and won a championship, even if he feels he didn't deserve it.
Isaiah Rider spent one season with the Los Angeles Lakers and won a championship, even if he feels he didn't deserve it.
© Christopher Ruppel/ALLSPORT
Rider was born and raised in the Bay Area. After a stellar career at Encinal High School in Alameda, California, the prep star moved to two different junior colleges before joining Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV Runnin' Rebels in 1991. He averaged 29.1 points per game his senior year, the second-most in college basketball, and was named Big West Conference Player of the Year.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, armed with the fifth overall pick, selected Rider in the 1993 NBA Draft. He averaged 16.6 points per game, immediately flashing his talent. The UNLV alum also made the All-Rookie First Team and won the All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest with the now-famous "East Bay Funk" dunk.

But with the talent came the headaches as J.R. was consistently late for meetings, team functions, games, and even his first practice as a pro.

"The kid's got a great personality, but even in Minnesota your pipes can only freeze and burst so many times," former Timberwolves coach Bill Blair told Sports Illustrated. "He had about nine broken pipes and about 42 flat tires."

Over the next couple of years in Minnesota, Rider's stat sheet and rap sheet both grew. He averaged 20.4 and 19.6 points in back-to-back years but had been arrested on multiple charges, including fifth-degree assault and possession of stolen phones. After three years, the T-Wolves dealt their headache to the Portland Trail Blazers, where he averaged 16.9 points in three seasons, including a team-high 19.7 points in 1997-98.

Once again, though, the trouble outweighed the talent. Kerry Eggers, author of Jail Blazers: How the Portland Trail Blazers Became the Bad Boys of Basketball, recalled one of Rider's worst incidents:

"On March 5, Rider missed the team's charter flight to Phoenix by about 15 minutes. Blaming Flightcraft officials, he badgered them to supply him with another plane. When they refused, according to police reports, he became angry and abusive and challenged four employees. They said he screamed obsceneties at them, got in their faces, behaved in a threatening manner, and spit in one man's face from a distance of four to six inches away. He also spat at another employee, who turned to avoid being hit. Rider then grabbed a third employee's cell phone and smashed it to bits on the pavement."
Kerry Eggers
After three tumultuous seasons in Portland, Rider was again traded, this time to the Atlanta Hawks. He averaged over 19 points with his new team, but after he refused another suspension — the team issued several to him throughout the season — the Hawks released him after 60 games.

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Isaiah Rider had a career-worst year with the Lakers before not playing altogether
Rider signed with the defending champion Lakers following another up-and-down season. His time in LA was more of the same ... except with less production on the court.

J.R. appeared in 67 games for the Lakers, starting six of them, while leading the bench with 7.6 points per game. But the 7.6 points were easily his career low, while his nightly minutes went from around 34 to 18. There were also plenty of the usual late arrivals, conflicts with teammates, and drug problems, one of which resulted in a five-game suspension.

Following a down year full of more problems than points, Rider was left off the Lakers' playoff roster. His final appearance in the Purple and Gold came on April 6, when in three minutes he recorded no points and two turnovers.

In 2018, Rider spoke to Jeff Pearlman, author of Three Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty, and recalled his feelings after the Lakers' title. After Game 5, he had walked into a room where head coach Phil Jackson and his assistant coaches were smoking ci**rs and enjoying the fruits of their labor.

"I congratulated Phil and left," said Rider. "A personal dream of mine had been to win a championship, and it wound up being the lowest moment of my career, maybe my life. The guys tried telling me I was a part of it, but I knew I wasn't. Kobe was huge. Shaq was huge. What did I do? I sat there like a loser."

"All these years later, has he worn the ring? 'Never,' he said. 'Never, never never. It's barely mine.'"
Jeff Pearlman
Rider moved on after the season, signing with the Denver Nuggets. He lasted just 10 games before the Nuggets waived him. At 30 years old, J.R.'s NBA career was finished.

After a shortened career, Isaiah Rider is trying to turn his life around
Being out of the NBA didn't stop Rider's legal troubles. In 2006, he was arrested after allegedly driving off with a former girlfriend against her will. The next year, he received a seven-month jail sentence for felony co***ne possession and evading an officer, serving half the time.

"I regret it," Rider told Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports. "I wish I could have it back. I had to face and go through all of that to just get to this point now."

Now 51, Rider has since established the Sky Rider Foundation, personally training and mentoring youth basketball players in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. In a 2013 interview with Bleacher Report, J.R. shared the goal of his organization:

"I just want to help kids," Rider said. "With today's economy, some parents cannot afford to send their kids to the extracurricular activities. It's very costly, there are registration fees, equipment, uniforms, and shoe costs. If a kid has dreams to be somebody, I want to help. I want to stress academics, so if your grades are up, you can get a $250-$500 scholarship to help with the costs."

Although the sting of a career cut short and ring unearned is still there, Rider appears to have found some joy.

How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.

All statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference.

11/04/2022

Don't forget tonight's ABLBH 8th anniversary celebration in Muncie at 5pm. See you there!! [details posted below]

10/31/2022

ABLBH 8th Anniversary
To all members of ABLBH! Please come and celebrate our 8th anniversary for Brianna’s Hope on November 4th at The Garden of Gethsemane on McGalliard rd. in Muncie. Doors open at 5 pm and the meal will be served at 6. We will be having chapter recognition and gifts! If you have ever attended an ABLBH meeting, please come and join us!
Image Friday, November 4, 2022 at 5 PM
Image The Garden at Gethsemane

10/04/2022

Hope this is an encouragement to all of you. Steve Brogan

Listen to Psalm 67 with new ears as it is read by Zambian pastor and author Conrad Mbewe, one of the new voices coming to ESV.org and the ESV Bible app in 2023.

06/22/2022

Jesus Is Not Ashamed of Those Who Are Hurting and Hopeless
June 20, 2022by: Erik Raymond

Christ’s Heart for the Hurting
The man was a terror. Day and night, his voice rang out, torturing the townspeople while mutilating himself. So far from being a prospect for grace, he appeared to be beyond hope and destined for destruction. But then he met Jesus, who has a heart for those who are hurting and the power to do something about it.

We have two pairs of spectacles to look through when reading the Gospel accounts. With one, we perceive what is natural to us and to anyone else who would look in. With the other, we see through the eyes of Christ. This view is as staggering as it is surprising. We neither expect nor can fully fathom what we see. But look in we must, for in these events we peer into the heart of Christ.
He Seemed Hopeless
One such example is found in the fifth chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Readers are greeted by this man almost as quickly as Jesus was. Mark writes in verse 3, “And when Jesus had stepped off the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.” But he’s not just a run-of-the-mill demon-possessed man that we might grow accustomed to when reading the Gospels. This guy is a serious problem for the town.

Mark tells us that he lives in the cemetery. But this isn’t as bad as it gets. We also learn that the people can’t subdue him; he’s uncontrollable. They tried, of course, but they were unsuccessful, as noted in verse 5: “he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.” Imagine this guy living down the street from you or in the town center. His presence would create a perpetual detour for foot traffic. His cries brought anxiety to all within earshot. He was a real problem for the people in the region.

Christ Drew Near
As Jesus drew near, the man hastened toward him. Again, Mark emphasizes the urgency, telling us in verse 6 that “when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.” Anyone looking with natural spectacles–seeing the demoniac kneeling before Jesus–might be tempted to conclude that Jesus had a working relationship with the demonic. But as the story shows, and the greater context of the New Testament reinforces, Jesus is not there to partner with demons but to destroy them. He comes to topple his enemy and rescue his people. This is why he casts out the demons from the man.

Jesus’s incarnation is about him coming into the world to free his people and overthrow his enemy. The demoniac may have seemed far from God and an unlikely candidate for grace, but he’s just the type of person Jesus delights to deliver. Think in your mind right now about the person you think would be least likely to convert to Christianity. They aren’t more hopeless than this demoniac, are they? None are so far from God that his sovereign hand cannot reach them nor his saving love rescue them. Praise the Lord; this Jesus has the heart and power to recover people like you and me who are helpless and hurting.

From Demoniac to Delegate
Some of Jesus’s sheep come from tough backgrounds. Many have memories of who they were and what they’ve done flash into their minds without warning. This can bring a bevy of emotions: guilt, sadness, anxiety, or embarrassment. It’s natural to think that since they are ashamed of their past that Jesus may also be. This is because they’re looking through the wrong pair of spectacles. Put on the second pair, and look through the lens of the gospel. See a Savior who is not ashamed to call people like you and me his brothers (Heb. 2:11).

Jesus’s incarnation is about him coming into the world to free his people and overthrow his enemy.

We see the heart of Christ echoing this sentiment in this passage. The demoniac is a new man after meeting Jesus. As Jesus was leaving, he begged his new Master to let him go with him in the boat. But Jesus has other plans. He tells him in verse 19 to “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.” Jesus deputizes this demoniac as his personal gospel delegate. He sends him out as his representative. And this is exactly what the man did in verse 20 when “he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”

Why did they marvel? Because twenty minutes ago, he was the crazy guy who lived in the cemetery, ran around naked, and terrorized the town's people. And now? He’s boasting about all that Jesus Christ has done for him. So, far from being ashamed of this guy, Jesus makes him the avatar of grace. He’s a billboard for the infinite power and compassion of Christ.

Look again at this scene through the natural lenses and be amazed at the power of Christ to transform such a man. But also, put on the second pair of glasses and marvel at the love of Christ that claims rebels like this as his own. Jesus is not ashamed of people like you and me. He welcomes us into his family of grace so that we’d boast in him and join the multitudes in marveling at him.

Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Watertown, Massachusetts. He is the author of Chasing Contentment: Trusting God in a Discontented Age and a frequent contributor to many websites and periodicals. He blogs regularly at Ordinary Pastor, hosted by the Gospel Coalition.

09/22/2021

How to Pray When You’re Struggling to Understand the Bible
March 12, 2019by: Jen Wilkin

Prayer Changes Our Study
Prayer is the means by which we implore the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our study time. Without prayer, our study is nothing but an intellectual pursuit. With prayer, it is a means of communing with the Lord. Prayer is what changes our study from the pursuit of knowledge to the pursuit of God himself.

You may be familiar with the acronym PART as a memory prompt for the key elements of prayer:

Praise: glorify God for who he is and what he has done.
Admit: confess to God where you have fallen short.
Request: ask God to forgive your sin and to meet your needs.
Thank: give thanks to God for who he is and what he has done.

Pray before You Study
Praise: Begin by praising God for giving us the revelation of his will and character in his Word. If you are in the midst of a book, praise him for specific attributes that your study has already revealed. If you are at the beginning of a book, praise him for being merciful and gracious to grant you the gift of the Bible.

Admit: Know your own set of insecurities and weaknesses as you set out to study, and lay them before the Lord. Confess that you can’t do it and that it feels too hard. Confess any sin that might inhibit your study (pride? impatience? distraction?). Confess your lack of desire.

Request: Ask the Lord for ears to hear and eyes to see as you study. Ask him to help you guard the time you have set aside from distractions; ask him to clear your mind of other concerns. Ask him to reveal his character and your sin. Ask him to make his Word come alive for you in such a way that you know him better and see your own need of him more clearly.

Thank: Thank him that he has revealed himself in the Bible and that he has given you the ability to know him. Thank him for time to study. Thank him for the gift of Jesus Christ.

Prayer is what changes our study from the pursuit of knowledge to the pursuit of God himself.

Pray during Your Study
Praise: As you study, praise God when you make a connection about his character that you hadn’t understood before. Praise him when you notice that you are beginning to ask the right questions of the text on your own. Give him praise when you find yourself enjoying your study, knowing that he is the origin of that joy.

Admit: Confess when you get frustrated with your study. Confess if you find it boring. Tell him what you would rather be doing or what feels more urgent. Confess if you chafe against what the passage is asking of you or showing you.

Request: When you hit a hard passage, ask the Lord to grant understanding. If your mind is wandering, ask for help to stay focused. If you get frustrated, ask him to teach you patience and humility. If you find yourself rushing, ask him to help you slow down. If you are besieged with interruptions, ask him to grant you some peaceful time, or to help you know if it’s time to pack it up for the day.

Thank: Thank the Lord when he brings to mind other passages in Scripture that confirm or reinforce what you are learning in your study. Thank him when you receive correction from the text, or when you are given an example to follow. Thank him each time the gospel reveals itself to you through your study.

Pray after You Study
Praise: Meditate on the aspect of God’s character that your study is revealing to you. Did the passage show God as merciful? Patient? Generous? Wrathful? Holy? Praise God for this aspect of who he is. If appropriate, pray aloud the passage of Scripture that celebrates that aspect of God’s character.

Admit: Confess any personal sin that your study time has brought to light. Confess your temptation to apply the passage to someone else’s sin problem instead of your own. Confess if you let yourself get distracted as you studied. Did your study time heighten your awareness of your lack of understanding? Did you rush to finish? Confess that, too.

Request: Ask the Lord to help you apply what you have learned. Did learning that God is gracious reveal your own lack of grace toward someone? Ask the Lord to help you act on what you have learned. Ask him to bring to mind what you have studied as you move through your day and your week. If your study time felt fruitless, ask him to help you trust that there is fruit you cannot yet see. Ask him to give you the desire to persevere in the learning process.

Thank: Thank the Lord for what he is teaching you. Thank him for the gift of personal insight, and for the men and women who have written the commentaries you use. Thank him specifically for a truth he has shown you during your study.

This article is adapted from Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both our Hearts and Our Minds by Jen Wilkin.

Jen Wilkin is a Bible teacher from Dallas, Texas. As an advocate for biblical literacy, she has organized and led studies for women in home, church, and parachurch contexts and authored multiple books, including the best seller Women of the Word. You can find her at JenWilkin.net.

09/13/2021

Thank you, Lord,
for the morning light
reminding me of your
presence and faithfulness.

Thank you, Lord,
for every breath I breathe
reminding me of your
sustaining mercies.

Thank you, Lord,
for physical strength
reminding me that
all power comes from you.

Thank you, Lord,
for a mind that works
reminding me that
all rationality starts with you.

Thank you, Lord,
for the coordination of the members of my body
reminding me of the
wisdom of your design.

Thank you, Lord,
for food and shelter
reminding me of the
generosity of your provision.

Thank you, Lord,
for work to do and tasks to complete
reminding me of your
incessant work on my behalf.

Thank you, Lord,
for family and friends
reminding me of my
welcome into your eternal family.

Thank you, Lord,
for the body of Christ
reminding me of your
promise to meet my spiritual needs.

Thank you, Lord,
for continuing to rescue me from me
reminding me of your
ongoing spiritual care.

Thank you, Lord,
for those who encourage, comfort, and exhort me
reminding me of the
faithful zeal of your grace.

Thank you, Lord,
for the majesty of your Word
reminding me that
you are my greatest teacher.

Thank you, Lord,
for the illumining power of your Spirit
reminding me of your
zeal that I would know, love, and serve you.

Thank you, Lord,
for the pain of conviction
reminding me of my
need for your sanctifying grace.

Thank you, Lord,
for welcoming and receiving my confession
reminding me that
you are slow to anger and abounding in love.

Thank you, Lord,
for fresh starts and new beginnings
reminding me again and again
of the faithfulness of your forgiving love.

Thank you, Lord,
for my calling as your ambassador
reminding me to
live with your kingdom in view.

Thank you, Lord,
for your guiding hand
reminding me that
my life moves according to your control.

Thank you, Lord,
for suffering and trials
reminding me of
my weakness and your strength.

Thank you, Lord,
for you empowering grace
reminding me that
I was not meant to live on my own.

Thank you, Lord,
for a destiny that is secure
reminding me of the
hope that is only found in you.

Thank you, Lord,
that you are the Lord of Lords
and that by grace
I am your child forever.

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2, ESV)

05/13/2021

Isaiah 41:10
Don't be afraid, for
I am with you.
Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen
you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious
right hand.