Forgiven Felons exists to assist formerly incarcerated people in their journey to becoming a productive citizen again or for the first time. Our basic goal is "Helping People with a Past realize their Future." We believe if the men and women behind bars have a reason to stay out of prison then they will never come back. To reach this goal we have to change and/or implement some core values. We believe that instead of trying to hide the fact that we are felons we should operate under a different mindset, see ourselves as a Forgiven Felon. The core beliefs of a felon are as follows: I can't find a job, I can't get my ID, I can't get a ride, I can't find a church, I can't find good friends, I can't find a spouse I can't find a place to live......because I'm a FELON. We believe that we can change our perspective by changing what we value. Instead of valuing the negative elements of being a felon (let's be real, there are a lot) lets implement different values by using the word felons.
CORE VALUES
F-forgive. Ask God, and others to forgive you for the things you have done. Forgive yourself for the people you have hurt or let down. And forgive others when they hurt you.
E-educate. We all get to where we are because of the education we have received and applied to our lives. Most end up down the wrong road because they didn't educate themselves about the right the road. Lack of education is the reason most end up in prison. We didn't educate ourselves enough about the consequences our choices would leave us with.
L-love. The greatest of all the commandments is LOVE God with all your heart, soul, mind, and LOVE your neighbor as your self. You have to love yourself too. So much of why we got into trouble had to do with hate. We hate our lives so we drink, do drugs, assault others verbally and physically. If we hate the right things and love the right things we'll end up much better.
O-overcome. After you've done the first three you will STILL encounter obstacles you MUST overcome in your journey. You can do it. I did it, so can you. It takes perseverance, determination, and a positive attitude.
N-new life. If you wake up everyday and do all of these things you will experience a new life that is simply amazing. New perspective, new direction, new friends, new places to hang out, new things to do, new outlook on life. A new life doesn't happen overnight, but a new perspective on life can happen at any moment. You have to wake up each day and practice your new perspective. We woke up everyday and practiced our old life very well, so we should be able to practice our new life with as much consistency.
S-serve. If your new life doesn't include serving in some capacity, you might slowly slip back into your old ways. Serving keeps the focus on others. Our old ways kept the focus on ME.
