Living Proof Ministry

Sobriety isn’t just about the day you decided to quit.

It’s about the days that come after.

The hard days.
The lonely days.
The days when old habits start whispering.
The days when life hurts and you remember how you used to numb it. Except nothing was ever really numb you just didn’t care.

Staying sober means learning to run to God instead of running back to what almost destroyed you.

It means calling someone when you’re struggling. Showing up to Living Proof and church on Sunday when you’d rather isolate.
Praying when you don’t have the words. And sometimes, it’s telling yourself over and over, “I just have to make it through today.”

You don’t have to fight tomorrow’s battle today.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” — Matthew 6:34

If today is hard, stay. Send a message here…. Call any of us in leadership and we’ll talk to you as long as you need.
Never forget that us “leaders” fall short every day. We all crawled up out of the gutter to get where we are today.

Stay sober.
Stay connected.
Stay in the Word.

Stay long enough to see what God can do with the life you thought was ruined.

And if you slipped, don’t let shame convince you to keep falling. Get back up.

Recovery is about becoming LIVING PROOF that your struggle didn’t keep you from Jesus.

Come as you are. You don’t have to have it all together. ❤️

What If God Is Answering Your Prayer Differently?

Have you ever prayed for something, only to realize that God's answer might require you to make changes you weren't expecting?

We pray for freedom, but when God brings accountability into our lives, we resist it. We pray for healthy relationships, but when He begins showing us our own unhealthy behaviors, we become defensive. We ask Him to help us grow spiritually, but then struggle to make time for His Word.

And sometimes we pray for God to change our circumstances when He's trying to change US.

I've been thinking about how often we ask God to move in our lives while holding tightly to the very things that may be keeping us from moving forward.

What if the answer to your prayer looks different from what you imagined?

Isaiah 55:8–9 reminds us that God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours. We don't always understand what He's doing, and we certainly don't always like the process.

Think about the person who's been praying to get sober. Maybe you've asked God over and over to take away your desire to use. But what if part of His answer involves walking into a recovery meeting, entering treatment, finding a mentor, or finally telling someone the truth about your addiction?

Maybe you've been praying for your marriage, but God is showing you that you need to learn how to communicate differently, forgive, listen, or take responsibility for your own behavior.

Maybe you've been praying for peace, but you're unwilling to establish boundaries with people who continually bring chaos into your life.

Or maybe you've been praying for a closer relationship with Jesus, but every time you feel prompted to put down your phone and open your Bible, you find something else to do.

Sometimes we want the results without being willing to participate in the process.

And I've had to ask myself a difficult question:

Am I truly seeking God's will, or am I asking Him to bless the way I've already decided things should happen?

In 2 Kings 5, we read about Naaman, a powerful military commander who suffered from leprosy. He went to the prophet Elisha hoping to be healed, but Elisha didn't respond the way Naaman expected.

Instead, he sent a messenger instructing Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River.

Naaman was furious! He had imagined the prophet coming out, calling on God, and performing some dramatic act of healing. Washing in the Jordan wasn't what he had in mind.

But his servants challenged him to reconsider, and when he finally obeyed, he was healed.

I wonder how often we miss opportunities to grow because God's instructions don't look the way we expected.

We want the miraculous moment, but sometimes God calls us to take an ordinary step of obedience.

We want instant transformation, but He teaches us faithfulness through daily decisions.

We want Him to remove every difficult person from our lives, but sometimes He uses those relationships to reveal something in our own hearts that needs attention.

And sometimes His answer really is to walk away.

That's why discernment matters. We can't assume every obstacle, uncomfortable situation, or opportunity is a message from God. We need to compare what we're sensing with Scripture, pray, and seek wise counsel.

Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts rather than leaning on our own understanding, acknowledging Him in all our ways.

That requires surrender.

For those of us in recovery, surrender is something we talk about often. But surrender doesn't end when we put down the substance. We continue learning to surrender our pride, our need for control, our relationships, our plans, and our expectations.

And for someone still struggling with addiction, perhaps you've been waiting for God to change your life while He's been placing opportunities for help right in front of you.

You don't have to wait until you feel ready to take the first step toward freedom.

Ask for help. Reach out to someone in recovery. Talk to a pastor or counselor. Consider treatment. Allow trustworthy people to walk alongside you.

God can work through ordinary people, difficult conversations, and practical resources.

And remember, not every unanswered prayer means you haven't been obedient enough. Sometimes we do everything we know to do and still have to wait. Sometimes God's answer is no. Sometimes we simply don't understand why things happen as they do.

Faith isn't a guarantee that everything will turn out exactly as we hoped.

It's learning to trust God even when it doesn't.

So today, I want to challenge you to think about something.

What have you been praying for, and are you willing to follow God if His answer requires something different from what you expected?

Maybe the next step is a difficult conversation. Maybe it's asking for help. Maybe it's repentance. Maybe it's waiting patiently instead of forcing something to happen.

Whatever it is, bring it before the Lord.

And perhaps instead of praying only, "God, please change this situation," we can also pray:

"Lord, show me what You want to change in me. Give me the wisdom to recognize Your direction and the courage to obey, even when Your answer looks different from what I had in mind."

Because sometimes the answer to our prayers doesn't look like the miracle we imagined.

Sometimes it looks like the next step of obedience.

Recovery. Restoration. Redemption. — Hope & Healing 🌿

Don’t forget to join us for this powerful testimony!
Today Saturday September 26
Meal 530
Service 6
Kids class 6pm

2216 W College

Good morning Living Proof Friends and Family !! It’s the middle of the week and we can’t wait to see you this Saturday!
This week we have a powerful testimony that a lot of us can relate to. God does mighty and powerful work in people. You just gotta believe in Him. Repent from your sins and accept him as your Lord and Savior!
This testimony is going to have a lot of you on the edge of your seats and I’m certain your life will be changed moving forward. If Steve Martinez can do it ….. so can you !
Pastor Brooks Williams is going to be giving the message and we’re praying for a packed house and lives being changed !!!
We will see you Saturday…. 2216 W College
Meal 530pm
Service 6pm
Kids class 6pm

Hello Living Proof family!!
We can’t wait to see you all tomorrow, Saturday Sept 19 th !

We will have an amazing word. We know that where two or more gather in the name of Jesus His will shall be done. The spirit of Jesus will be in the room !!
Come join us so we can pray for you and love on you, we even have an amazing meal prepared! Come hungry.

🍽️ Meal at 5:30 PM
🙌 Service at 6:00 PM
❤️ Living Proof Kids at 6:00 PM

📍 Hope & Anchor Church

Rock bottom is where freedom in Jesus begins. We don’t care if it’s day 1, year 20, or no clean time at all. Come join us !
Come as you are. Bring the kids. Bring a friend. We’d love to see you at Living Proof.

ATTENTION EVERYONE ….. 💥

Our regular Saturday service at Living Proof will **NOT** be held this week , Saturday Sept, 5th.
We will have pizza and prayer available for anyone who shows up that didn’t get the memo.
Please share this post and tell your friends.

We would like to encourage you all to attend the event with One more 24. It’s going to be an amazing God filled day!

We will see you all back next Saturday Sept 12 !

See the flyer below for details !
2812 E Grand, Spfd

Brooks Miranda Wendi Carrie Shylah Charles

MIDWEEK REALITY CHECK 👀

Today is Wednesday….

What have you been feeding more this week….. your FAITH or your FEAR?

Fear says, “What if it all goes wrong?”
Faith says, “Even if it does, God is still God.”

Fear says, “I can’t handle this.”
Faith says, “I don’t have to handle it alone.”

Fear says, “Nothing is changing.”
Faith says, “God is working even when I can’t see it.”

Sometimes the biggest battle of the week isn’t happening around us , it’s happening between our ears.
Lots of times I don’t see God moving but that’s why we’re supposed to trust in Him. We shouldn’t have to see it to believe!

So here’s your midweek challenge:

Turn the noise down.
Pray before you panic.
Give God what you’ve been carrying.
And keep going. 🙌

We’ve still got some week left.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10

Hello everyone 👋
Let’s talk about our needs in kids class !
What we do with these kiddos matters. ❤️

Every Saturday, we get the privilege of loving on them, teaching them about Jesus, listening to them, encouraging them, laughing with them, and reminding them that they are valuable, loved, and seen.
Our current volunteers are incredibly thankful for the sweet time we get with these kids. We love serving them—but we also want to build a team big enough that our faithful volunteers can take a Saturday off when they need to without worrying about leaving the children’s area short-handed.

That’s where YOU come in.

You don’t have to commit to every Saturday. Serve where you are able.

Weekly.
Every other week.
Once a month.

It all helps.

Sometimes serving looks like teaching a lesson. Sometimes it’s helping with an activity, sitting beside a child who needs a little extra attention, giving a high five, listening to a story, or simply being another safe and loving adult in the room.
We have “big kid” and “little kid” classrooms ! Each class is age specific and have different requirements.
You may think you’re “just helping with kids” for a couple of hours.

But to a child who needs consistency, encouragement and people who genuinely care about them, those couple of hours can mean so much more.

Our children are worth showing up for. ❤️

If God has put it on your heart to serve—even if it’s just one Saturday a month—we would love to have you join our Living Proof Kids team.

Please contact Miranda Branch for more information or send a direct message here to our Living Proof social media page.

Goooooooood morning Living Proof family 👋

This week we’ll hear a powerful testimony of a life transformed. All glory to the man upstairs. Help us welcome Alan Mead ! Brooks will be giving the word and this is a weekend you don’t wanna miss !
We can’t wait to see you at service for Living Proof on SATURDAY at Hope and Anchor church !
Meal at 530
Service 6pm
Kids class 6pm !

Call 417-229-9794 for free transportation !

Let’s us know in the comments if you’d like us to be praying for you on anything specific !

Today was a good day !

Thank you Jesus for everything you do for us !

We will see you all tonight for service at Living Proof

Hope and Anchor church
2216 W College

Meal 530
Service 6pm
Kids class 6pm