Connie Moss from HeartBeat Magazine

Connie Moss from Heartbeat Magazine e-published this today, Feb. 2, 2012 -- 

"I want to highlight a particular article this month called, "From Pompons to Prison". A classmate of mine from high school was Head Cheerleader and a very popular student, back in the day... when she graduated, because of life circumstances, she fell into a world of drugs and alcohol, which eventually led her to prison. She has written a "nutshell" from her new book, From Pompons to Prison, for this months issue. Her story truly depicts the love that the Lord has for us as His people. Please check it out and if you would like for her to come speak at your church or school or a function of any kind, there are links and contact information on her page."

Here's the online link to my published article in the magazine. If the link doesn't work, you can visit my picture gallery where I have posted some still frames of the page.

Connie is the Founder/CEO of Heart Beat the Group Online, HeartBeat the Magazine and HeartBeat World Community. Connie is a speaker/motivator and is in the beginning stages of her first book called, “Getting Over Depression… with God”. She lives in Dallas , Texas with her husband, Charlie, and her three children, Bethany, Phillip and Benjamin. She loves to travel with her family and her passion is motivating and empowering people (especially women) to be all they can be in Christ!

Renewal Radio and a powerful memory

Yesterday was a lot of fun as I did the radio interview. The program is called Renewal Radio and it airs daily for 15 minutes Monday-Friday.  One guest is featured each week  and Dr. Getz unfolds their story on the air through an interview and then he applies Biblical Principles to Live By through the story. That was my understanding. I really don’t know how it will come together because there will be a lot of work that doesn’t include me. Dr. Getz had contacted me through the website after reading the article in the Dallas Morning News. He asked for a summary of my story and some video clips of me sharing which I sent to him. After going over my information he decided to do a program on God’s Redemption in my life. We then set the interview for Wed. Feb. 1 @ 3. Luckily I was able to have someone cover the model for a couple of hours.

As I stated yesterday I had a rough morning and was feeling out of sorts but by the time I arrived at the studio I was feeling better. It is amazing how prayer and soaking in the presence of the Lord can help plus a quick stop at Starbucks always puts a smile on my face : )

Thank goodness for Iphones and the GPS/maps they have because that guided me to my destination. As I pulled into the office parking lot which is part of Chase Oaks church I looked up the hill at the actual church and remembered my very first speaking engagement for a Seed Sowers banquet  back in March of 2010. The banquet was held in that building. Melanie had attended the banquet to support me (as always) and brought a flip camera and recorded that presentation which we uploaded onto Facebook the next day. That 15 minute video was the first time many of my facebook friends heard my story or what had happened, I was amazed at the outpouring of love and support from my childhood friends.

It was kind of hard for me but after a little thought  I told Melanie to just post it : ))  She texted me later that day because I was working and said “Susan, you’re not going to believe all the comments on the video” I was so very touched . Those were my thoughts as I stepped into the building and told the receptionist I was there to see Dr. Gene Getz.

Dr. Getz came to meet me and grabbed my hand warmly and showed me back to the radio studio. He was so very kind and told me he was amazed by my story. After settling in at the table with the mic and headphones Dr. Getz went to do a few things before we started and his producer came out to brief me on what would take place. Having never been on radio or in a radio station my only reference to pull from was Peri on Frasier. ( She was the producer of Frasier’s radio show )  David was the producer's name and he was so very nice too. He got me some water and I told him I was scared I was going to sound too Texan/Country but he said I would be fine and when I put on the headphones I would be able to hear myself. Taking a sip of water I relaxed a little and said a prayer for God to speak through me and for his message to shine.

Dr. Getz then returned and sat down and we began the interview. He knew my story well and had done his research so in a way he was telling my story and I was adding detail. I have never been in that position before where I heard my life through  someone else’s voice. As he talked about the suicides( David, my dad’s best friend, and my grandfather ), the alcoholism of my mom and dad, mother’s death, Kathey’s death, my addiction, prison, then the death of Sammy’s friend Alex I was in tears and my heart was broken. It is hard to explain the impact it had on me. I was just so sad for the little wounded girl within me and what she went through, it was almost like it was someone else.

It is so hard to describe the emotions I was feeling. But then we talked about my salvation and accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior and I began to smile through those tears because of what I have overcome through my relationship with Jesus Christ. I survived because of HIM. We ended the interview with the end of my father’s life and that amazing moment on Oct. 9, 2010 when I led him to the Lord and he himself accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and then his death on Dec. 13, 2010.

 

Dr. Gene Getz and I after the interview. I also got an amazing Bible :)

Dr. Getz said I had such a tragic story and that he was amazed that I survived and was living in the freedom that Jesus provides. He said many would have laid it down or given up but I was now standing in victory. He then asked me if I ever thought about ending it all and I told him one time I came very close and I will share that moment because ironically enough I told this story to the students at Skyline the day before as well. I thought the program was over but when I finished sharing this part of my story Dr. Getz asked David if he got that (what I had just shared) on tape and he said yes. He said they would probably try and use it because it was so powerful. I will share it with you, I have shared it before but some of you may have not read it.

Let’s go back to April 24, 2001: I was all alone in a motel room off 635 and Ferguson, sitting on the edge of the bed. Crying with my head held between my hands contemplating what to do next. There were so many voices whispering in my ear telling me I was horrible, a murderer, a loser, and a failure. These criticizing voices were overwhelming and I thought it might be better for everyone if I was gone. I was just so scared and I missed Kathey so badly.

It had been a very long weekend and I was basically “on the run.” My kids were gone (thankfully CPS turned them over to my husband’s parents), my husband was locked up with no chance for bond, and I was too scared to call my Dad.  I was all alone in a motel room not knowing what to do. It was the most desperate and alone I think I have ever felt in my life.

I had been calling in sick to work and I knew I had to do something because I couldn’t continue doing nothing. Finally I mustered up the courage and called the GISD benefits office. To this day I can’t remember who I talked to but she was an angel sent from God. Crying, I told her I was a teacher in the district,  in a lot of trouble with the police , on drugs, and  I didn’t know what to do (as I type this I am crying so hard because I can still feel the pain, desperation, and fear I felt at that time). She told me, in the kindest gentlest voice, to calm down because that is what she was there for. She suggested I check into Baylor Richardson Hospital to be assessed, reminding me that I had insurance that I should access. She told me things were going to get better and asked that I please not do anything drastic. I think she was crying too because she was so scared for me and what I might do.  She then offered to call my principal and tell him what was happening. Relief flooded my body because she didn’t judge me, she didn’t think I was horrible, she just knew I was in trouble and needed help. I needed her and her reaction that day.

To be honest I don’t know what I would have done if she had been judgmental. I never thought I would consider suicide because I saw what my brother’s suicide did to my family but I was WITHOUT HOPE that day and I couldn’t see a way out.  I didn’t want people to see the real me and what I had become. I was covered in shame and did not feel I could face anyone. But she looked past all that and treated me with love and respect. I have thought about her often and her impact on my life that day, it was huge.

I have always hoped to treat everyone I come into contact with the way she treated me, I fail sometimes but the memory of the despair I felt that morning  is always close to my heart and when she treated me with love and acceptance it gave me hope. Isn’t it amazing how a little kindness and love changed a potentially tragic situation? It takes so little to be loving and kind. I took her advice and drove straight to Baylor Richardson.

I parked my Silver Toyota Camry and took a deep breath.  My car was a mess because I had basically been on the run, going from motel to motel. I had not been back to my home since the drug bust so throughout the weekend I had to buy clothes, personal hygiene products, etc. I had to buy everything because I had walked out of that school on April 19^thwith only my purse. So I sat in my car mustering up the courage to walk in to that hospital and say I was a drug addict, I had never admitted that before that day. As I looked through my car I picked up the plastic baggie that had the traces of Meth I had left and just stared at it. 

Thoughts began to bombard my mind: “do the rest of the drugs”, “go ride around and finish what you have then come back” to “throw the drugs away and check into that hospital”.  Again I took a deep breath and put the baggie into a paper sack I had from McDonalds and got out of my car. Slowly I walked to a trash can and looked at the bag one last time then shoved it into the trash, turning quickly I ran into the emergency room. Breaking down into tears I told the lady in the admissions that I was a drug addict and I needed help. I was admitted into the hospital and assessed. I was sent to the fourth floor which was for patients dealing with substance abuse issues as well as mental problems. I was so scared but I was also relieved, in a way I had finally surrendered.

I spent three days there. We participated in groups, attended AA meetings, and listened to speakers who came to share their stories, many of the patients on the floor had severe mental problems and for the first time in a long time I felt a little hope because my problems didn’t seem as severe as some of the people I met there.

I also shared this part of my story with the students at Skyline. As I walked the halls of the school there were many posters about Rachel's Challenge and I just believed this story of being kind and accepting would fit right in with Rachel's Challenge. I encouraged the students to treat everyone with kindness because you never know what someone else is going through. They may have smile on their face that is covering the pain in their heart or they may be acting out,  but sometimes we just never know what is going on in someone's life and as I said  "It takes so little to be loving and kind".  It is an attitude that we can all choose to have and you never know when you may change a potentially tragic situation by saying a kind word.

I know, it happened to me.

A sweet e-mail and a sad healing memory

 There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4 NKJV)

I got the sweetest e-mail from a childhood friend’s mother yesterday.  Many of you know Todd Hall; this was from his mother Ione. She knew my mother well and she just sent me a note saying my mother was always so proud of me and even in her addiction that pride showed. It made me cry (I am crying now as I write this). It is so nice to hear that because that is all I ever wanted: for them to love me and be proud of me but they just couldn’t express it because of their pain. She also told me she was VERY proud of me and that touched me deeply.

One thing I always remembered about Ione was her helping me after mother died. Kathey had gone back to Panhandle and daddy to the lake. That left me alone in the house on Van Pelt. Friends had brought food and Ione helped me return the dishes. I didn’t know what to do because I just didn’t have any instruction in that area, thinking the masking tape on each dish with the name written on it was just to tell me who brought what. I was a little clueless.

She was so nice because it had been awhile since momma died and she stopped by to help me and taught me a basic etiquette. I felt ashamed and guilty that I had not returned the dishes but she was so nice when I felt so lost and alone.  Her e-mail made me think about momma and a time when I missed her terribly. It is a very sad memory but very significant to my journey. I think I may go visit momma and David today. Grove Hill is so very peaceful.  

First I will share my memory.  Let’s go back to late fall of 2000. My life was spiraling out of control and I was about to crash and burn. But God led me to my momma; I know he did because there is no other explanation. Grove Hill is HUGE and sadly I didn’t have a clue to where she was buried. Let’s go back...

Things were falling apart in the fall of 2000: I had let the insurance lapse on my car, my car was totaled with no means to replace it, we were evicted from the house we were living in because we weren’t paying the rent, and I was asked to leave the district where I had worked. Addiction changes people and their personalities so total dysfunction and chaos ruled my home.

A day that has always stood out in my mind was a morning that I was driving with my husband down I-30. He had gotten a possession charge a few months earlier and was serving 30 days in the Dallas County Jail. He was released during the day for work even though he wasn’t working. I had just picked him up from Decker (the work release detention facility).

We were fighting horribly,addiction had ruined our relationship.  He was mad because I had done a lot of our drugs the night before and the fight had turned physical. As we passed the Lawnview exit I decided to get out of the car because I was scared he would really hurt me, I just had to get out. As I opened the door my husband slowed down and began to pull over screaming at me to stop, not sure of what I was going to do. When he slowed down enough where I could get out I jumped out of the car and started running.

Tears were streaming down my face and I was just felt so very lost and alone. I ran into Grove Hill Cemetery and decided to look for my mother and brother’s site, I didn’t have a clue where they were buried but I needed to find them desperately. I needed my momma. I ran up and down rows looking for the DeFace name. Amazingly I found them and that was amazing because Grove Hill is huge! After finding the markers with their names I just threw myself down on my mother’s site crying my heart out.

Crying for the mother I missed so badly and never really knew in life. Crying for the girl I had been with hopes and dreams, for the little girl who had been so neglected, and for the sad addicted woman I had become. I knew my life was out of control but I didn’t have the tools or the strength to make the changes I needed to turn it around.

I will never forget that moment of sheer desperation and total helplessness. I know God led me to my mother giving me one more chance to reach out but I couldn’t. Maybe my selfish pride prevented me from admitting what I had become so I just stood up wearily brushing the grass off my clothes. I looked back and saw my husband parked watching me, he was crying too.

As I walked to the car he said that was the saddest thing he have ever seen, me running through the cemetery looking for my dead mother.  Not knowing how to respond I just got into the car and leaned back, exhausted from the experience.  Sadly we returned home to do more drugs.

Revisiting Skyline

Next Tuesday I am going to continue my journey revisiting places from my past. I am so very excited !!! At  11 I am going to meet Sandy Wilson, president of the Skyline Alumni Association,  and we are going to go have lunch at Pizza Getti then go to SKYLINE!!  The Skyline newspaper is going to interview me and take photos. I don’t think I have walked the halls of Skyline since May of 1979. So many memories are flooding my mind. Most of the places I have revisited recently are places where I lived in defeat and bondage:  NTTC, Van Pelt, My Rockwall Probation Officers office, etc.

But Skyline was my saving grace at the time since I didn’t recognize Jesus, I think he gave me Skyline. At Skyline I felt popular, accepted, and loved. I know it seems silly but cheerleading was so important to me, it just made me feel that I was maybe okay. At home there was so much neglect and I felt as if I didn’t matter to anyone. My  self -worth was declining as my mother’s alcoholism deteriorated so because I was head cheerleader it made me think that maybe there was some worth. As I said I know it seems silly but that kept me on the right track for a long time, the recognition and acceptance I received at Skyline. I am thankful God blessed me with that.

 So I am super excited to return this place which was an integral part of my history. I am literally doing cheers right now and thinking back…….. .  I can picture myself running down the aisle of the auditorium doing aerials as the band played the fight song  “ Hit the team across the field ……………” then getting up on stage for the pep rally which we always ended with” V-I-C-T-O-R-Y  , victory , victory is our cry”.   That victory cheer has so much more meaning than I ever thought it would because I am living in the VICTORY that Jesus Christ has provided which is available to everyone. I want to share that hope and victory with everyone I can.  I will take you on this journey with me, stayed tuned. I appreciate all you so much:)

Hilltop and Scrabble: Memories from a decade later! I can't believe it has been 10 years.

It has been 10 years since I pulled chained from Dawson State Jail in Dallas to go to TDCJ at the Hilltop Unit in Gatesville. I can’t believe it!!! Sometimes when I think back to my time in prison it is almost like I am thinking of another person and in a way that is true because I am a new creation in Christ. Old things have passed away and all things have become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)  This was one of the scariest moves of all because we were going to our unit, would get a job, and probably be at this location for awhile. Before this we had been with people who just got to prison, we had all arrived at about the same time from our different counties. I didn’t have a clue what to expect all I know is I was terrified.

We arrived at Hilltop in the morning and were assigned our jobs and dorms. Thankful that I got to be a librarian instead of the dreaded hoe squad I went to the chow hall to eat lunch. It was there we were separated from our group and I started walking to my dorm by myself carrying my commissary bag, the sheets that felt as if they were made of sand paper, the rough wool blanket, the whites which were the clothes we wore daily, black slip on shoes with no support, and the green coat that had been issued to me. The only thing I knew about my dorm was it was called the Big Timer dorm, I didn’t have a clue what that meant, honestly there was a popular rap band at the time called Big Tymer’s and I thought it might be a group of inmates who enjoyed rap music : )

Once I stepped into the dorm the officer pointed to my bunk which was right by the guard station. This was a different set up than what I had experienced before. At both Woodman and Dawson we were in huge barn like dorms with rows of bunk beds and you had one little space to keep your commissary. At Hilltop we had cubicles that were L shaped, the wall was only waist high but it was like we had our own little room and some privacy from the other 50 or so inmates in the dorm. I was just so excited to have a little space of my own. After unpacking I decided to walk around the dorm and introduce myself to people. I didn’t want friends but I didn’t’ want to appear unfriendly either.  Looking across the dorm at the different women I wondered what they had done, how long they had been locked up, and how long their sentences were.

The majority of women I had been with since I arrived were drug offenders. One girl had been convicted of intoxication manslaughter but most had been convicted of various drug offenses. I was looking around and said hi to the girl who was in the cubicle next to me and she said hi back but wasn’t very talkative. She was a small, older lady and the only thing that was distinctive about her were the tear drops tattooed on her face as if they were coming out of her eye. There were three tear drops. My thoughts were that she had been in a gang and the tear drops represented people she had killed but I wasn’t sure why I thought that : if that came from some movie I watched or when I had training on gangs when I taught school in Amarillo. All I knew is I wasn’t going to ask her a question about the tear drops.

Scanning the dorm I looked at one woman who seemed to be pleasant, I based this assumption by the look on her face. Walking over I introduced myself by saying “My name is Susan and I am a drug offender doing a two year sentence” She looked me up and down with disgust and hissed that she was in for killing her kids. Shocked by her admission I just turned and started walking back to my bunk. As I was going down the row a woman who was quite intimidating motioned for me to come over to her. Looking around to make sure she wasn’t talking to someone else I walked over because I was scared not to. In a firm voice she said “This isn’t summer camp and you need to quit walking around trying to make friends telling these women about your little sentence. This is called the big timer dorm because most everyone in here is doing big time without the possibility of parole or it will be at least 40 years until they have a chance.” I was dumbfounded and just stared at her then she started pointing to people.

The first girl she pointed to was looking around frantically, her hair was wild and out of control and I could see mental illness in her eyes as they darted around looking at the other inmates fervently. My new prison mentor said “That girl decapitated her parents and tried to sew the heads on the other body, she was just released from the mental ward unit” My first thought was who in their right mind determined she was sane because as we were talking she started crawling around on the floor. Swallowing hard I looked to where the inmate pointed next bracing myself for what was to come.

She pointed to another girl with short spiky hair and as I looked at her eyes I saw evil, there was no other way to describe it. She just looked hard and evil “That girl micro waved her baby and tried to feed it to her husband" I just shut my eyes, shocked by what I was hearing and leaned back against the concrete post we were standing by.

Lastly she pointed to another girl; this girl appeared to be educated by the array of books stacked in her cubicle. She had make up on and her hair pulled back in a pony tail with her bangs styled and seemed to be the most stylish of the inmates in the dorm. My mentor said “that girl was a teacher in Richardson and killed her two boys the day after Christmas because she lost them in a custody battle.  If you were in the Dallas area you may have seen this on the news as it was a high profile case”

Shocked and overwhelmed I went to sit on my bunk and tried to think what to do. I was in a murderers’ dorm and I was sure they had made a huge mistake. Quickly I went up to the guard and told him that I thought there had been a mix up because I was a VERY VERY NON VIOLENT drug offender (With a lot of emphasis on the many verys and non violent). He looked me in the eye and said there was no mistake and that I need to go to my bunk. I walked the two feet to my bed and sat down. For the first time very thankful that I would be sleeping right by the guards.

As time went on I got used to living in the murderers’ dorm. My bunk mate with the tear drops was doing a 40 year drug sentence, that is what she said at least and I just accepted it. I never asked her what the tear drops were for. I spent most of my time on my bed reading but that would get very old so one day I went to the sitting room which consisted of 5 metal tables with metal chairs that were all welded to the ground. They couldn’t be moved because they could be used as weapons if there was a fight.

The inmates could watch TV or play board games in the sitting room. The favorite game to play was Scrabble and the women played it all the time. This day I decided to join in a game or at least observe. Approaching one table I watched as one of the women (she had murdered her husband because he pissed her off ) was laying out her tiles on the board.  As I looked at the “word” she played I decided to help with the game. As a former teacher I prided myself in my vocabulary skills and ability to spell which are huge assets for game of Scrabble. Looking at the “word” on the board I politely said “what you played is really not a word” thinking they would appreciate my knowledge and help. The murderer looked up sharply and started to stand as she said, well really screamed , “IT IS A WORD”. I slowly put both hands up and said “oh yeah, it is a word, I was mistaken” The murderer smiled smugly and sat back down and the game went on with a variety of “words”. Scrabble was a free for all!!!

Later I would come to refer to this game as Spelon with Felons, purposely misspelling the word because it was fitting for how Scrabble was played in prison but I guess not surprising when you think about it. Some of the inmates referred to me as "Schoolteacher" and at times they would ask me to come settle a dispute but I would always decline because I learned if a scary murderer says a word is a word it is !!! At least it was in prison.

The Hoe Squad and Big Timers from Susan DeFace Washington on Vimeo.