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His Story and Her Story are about to be The Team Jones Story… But Haley lives on the other side of the Planet, in Gothenburg, Sweden. In this episode Haley shares how the Florida Hurricane Seasons led her parents to Alabama… and how a Google search from her Sister Abi, and a visit to Church of The Highlands (which her Dad called “Jesus World”) would create a desire in her to abandon her career and life in Europe…

James and Haley return with the best of the best from Season 3 of The Straight Outta Prison Podcast… Stay Tuned! Season 4 drops September 7, 2021! Team Jones is working on a few exciting things that will be announced…

James and Haley recap Season 3 of The Straight Outta Prison Podcast, and talk about what’s coming next… Haley’s favorite was episode 10 “Denver Colorado” because she is fascinated with the story of James finding his biological Father. James says his was episode 5 “Leonardo’s” and we learn some additional details in this episode. You’ll also hear about reactions from other family members, fact checks (and corrections), their first hate mail (or text), and how James superimposed his face onto a $50 bill as a publicity stunt… To close out this season, James reads the first letter he received from Voula, Greece in 2007… Stay Tuned! Good things are coming in season 4, and Team Jones is working on a new podcast telling the story of The Culverhouse Murders…

It had been 18 years since James uncovered a family secret that had been neatly concealed, and the summer of 2007 was the time to uncover it… Listen to the season 3 Finale as James tells Haley the miraculous story of driving across the country to find someone who has no clue that he even exists… It was like searching for a needle in the proverbial haystack, because the information he had was painfully thin… Tune in for the Season 3 Finale!

From a Prison Cell to Business Owner in 7 years… James takes Haley on a journey through the first few months of being a Restaurant Owner. The highs and lows, the stress, the fears, and the uncertainty of being in business. The shock of being arrested again (for his original crimes) sent James into a tailspin, but the way things worked out strengthened his faith and helped him understand he was right where he was supposed to be… Guerrilla Marketing, a front page story in The Birmingham News, and a surprise invitation to cook on T.V.

James finally gets to a place where everything he’d ever dreamed of is coming true…but he’s learning that sometimes dreams don’t always work out for the best… In this episode he recounts to Haley the origins of his first business, and the long process required to get to opening day. The obstacles were overwhelming, and the Team working with him were all Shana’s family members… There was plenty of friction and pressure coming from all sides, but he explains to Haley that by this point he was in too deep to give up.

James finally arrived at a place that held everything he’d ever dreamed of… home, car, resources, influence, a new business… and finally the girl he believed was “The One” … But things don’t always work out the way we plan them… Tune in to find out why Haley says this was “the most interesting episode to record” and James thinks it’s “The most awkward one yet” …

James is continuing his “Straight Outta Prison” journey through what he describes to Haley as the most productive years…He has found good success in business, in his community, in his finances, a new home, and almost everything he ever dreamed of… but it seemed empty without someone to share it with…

After a very hard first year “Straight Outta Prison” James recounts to Haley how it all turned around when he began a new job at Leonardo’s Italian Restaurant in November of 2000… how Tony Falletta was like a Father to him, and the impact he had on his life: teaching him to cook Italian from scratch, how to make people feel special, to love life and live every second of it, to tell stories, take vacations, entertain people, to value Family above all, and to never stop working toward his goals. Tony called out Leadership potential in James, and invited him into his family. Leonardo’s was a gift to James during a very precarious time, and it helped him get over the hump of beginning a new life, in a new city, with the stigma of being a Convicted Felon, and not much family close by… James says these were the “good ole days”…

In this episode James recounts his first year to Haley… It seemed as if everything that started off great began to fall apart… His relationship with Tommy, the exciting Job at Rossi’s, World Victory Church, and more… It was all fun and games to start with, but now real life had settled in and James had to learn to navigate hard times… There were many high points though, the main one being his first apartment and the first time James was really on his own…Adulting… This episode also has the “Release The Grease” story, which James says is the funniest Church Story you will ever hear.

In Season 3 episode 3 “Birmingham” James tells Haley all about his first days in his new City… His job waiting table’s at Rossi’s, making his rounds with all the Volunteers that helped him get there, World Victory Church, and his instant love for the city and it’s history… James is “Straight Outta Prison” and ready to see what’s next…

Season 3 is here! In episode 2 “Halfway House” James explains to Haley what a Halfway House is, and all the different versions that exist in our world today… You will meet Joel Brumbach, the Director of Shepherds Fold, and his assistant Habbey, who drove James nuts! James talks about the violent neighborhood, the environment of poverty and his revulsion to it, and all the rules he had to adhere to for his first 4 months “Straight Outta Prison”…

Season 3 is here! In this episode “Free at Last” walk with James and Haley through his first day of freedom. The exhilarating ride away from Donaldson, his first meal at Shoney’s (and the tears over Milk), meeting the Pastor of World Victory Church, the confusion over Cell Phones, his first interview with the parole officer, and more….

In the Season 2 Finale, James is battling a mixture of excitement and fear as he approaches his first parole hearing. When Chris left the year before, he left behind a trail of unmet expectations with all the “free world” people that helped him get out of prison. Because that was recent, James decided that all the volunteers were jaded by Chris, so he wouldn’t be asking any of them for help… To his amazement, a huge outpouring of support came from across the spectrum of volunteers, including a “Parole Plan” crafted by Steve Longenecker… James felt like he knew he would make parole, but found himself paralyzed by the fear of messing it all up…

James and Haley return with the best of the best from Season 2 of The Straight Outta Prison Podcast… Stay Tuned! Good things are coming in season 4, and Team Jones is working on a few exciting things…

James and Haley recap Season 2 of The Straight Outta Prison Podcast. They do fact checks, answer questions from listeners, and give updates about Season 3 “Free At Last!” …

In 1999 with The Honor Dorm fully established, good things were happening and James was living the dream. Then suddenly, everything fell apart… James was encouraged to begin counseling with Steve Longenecker. It was some thing he did not want to do, but knew that it was necessary. He had a word from Jesus written in his journal that said “I won’t get you out of here until you allow me to heal what got you here.” Sobering words, but James was ready to face this challenge and enter a new level of Freedom.

Things were beginning to make sense to James. He helped establish The Honor Dorm at Donaldson Correctional Facility and the momentum for good things just kept rolling… eventually one whole side of the most violent prison in Alabama was filled with men and volunteers desperate to do something different. They were on a positive wave, and James was astonished to see all that was happening in such a short amount of time… The new Prison Commissioner came in for a tour and was blown away by what he saw happening in The Honor Dorm. He ordered every Facility in The Alabama Department of Corrections to install an Honor Dorm, and they used the Structure crafted by inmates (one of which was James) to make that happen.

James is facing his fears and giving Donaldson another shot after realizing the Administration would keep him locked down indefinitely. After 6 months in Lockup he is still terrified about the realities of life inside the Alabama Department of Corrections, but he knows the only way out is through…

James said he would never live in the “Christian Dorm” the Kairos Volunteers were trying to establish… But when Chris and Glover decided to go, they put his name on the list. The only reason he went was because his friends were leaving him, but it didn’t take long for James to understand this was part of the plan all along. James would get to be a part of groundbreaking change that would impact not only Donaldson, but the entire Alabama Department of Corrections.

Day 1 at Donaldson Correctional Facility left James feeling scared, dazed, and confused. As he tried to go to sleep locked in a cell all alone his mind began to wonder if he had done something wrong… The previous 9 months had been transformational, and he just couldn’t believe the events of the last 24 hours. That night he was glad to be all alone because he cried himself to sleep. Some time during the night he woke up and noticed his well-used Bible lying on top of all his stuff. He got up, grabbed it, and went back to sleep with it in his arms. He didn’t understand what happened, but somehow James knew everything was going to be okay. The realities of 24 hour lockdown would test every part of his being, but he figured out a way to make things manageable…

James was happy in his new life, but got a jerk back into the reality of life inside The Alabama Department of Corrections when they woke him up to go on transfer…He was slated for Saint Clair Correctional Facility, but when an inmate worker wrote “WDCF” on his brown paper transfer bag, he was confused. What could “WDCF” stand for? The transfer ride was one of the most terrifying trips he had ever taken. From Montgomery, through Birmingham, and down a long highway that never seemed to end… into what looked like a thickly wooded forest…They would eventually arrive at the most violent prison in the State of Alabama...There was an old timer sitting next to James on the van, and he looked over at him and said, “What does WDCF mean?” he looked at James kind of hopeless and said “William Donaldson Correctional Facility” ... James was a little confused because he had never heard of that camp and kind of shook his head at him like he had no clue what he was talking about. James will never forget the words that came out of his mouth next. “It’s West Jefferson. It was renamed William Donaldson because that was the name of an Officer who got killed there...” When he said that it scared James so bad that he thought he was having a heart attack. West Jefferson! What is happening…

James is making the most of his time in transit at Kilby. He’s learning plenty…from “Jail-House” Religion, Rejection from a Bible Teacher he admired, Mentoring from an Officer, Leading other inmates into a real relationship with Jesus…and becoming a Target from the 2 main Hate-Groups in The Alabama Department of Corrections…

I’m showing you how I make a Charcuterie Board (or Grazing Board) from start to finish. Going step by step through my charcuterie board compilation. Teaching you how to do one yourself! How to make Charcuterie Flowers, Salami Flowers, Salami Roses and Pepperoni Roses, and more… I’m also sending you to other videos to let me teach you how to make Bacon Jam, how to make Pimento Cheese, how to prep Veggies, Meal Prep, Kitchen Hacks, and more… This is an easy recipe for beginners to make on special occasions.

In Season 2 Episode 3 “Kilby” James is headed off to Prison in The Alabama Department of Corrections. The thing that struck him the most was how old and outdated Kilby looked, and he felt like he had traveled back in time. He was full of faith and hope, but in the days ahead all that would be tested by devastating news about the “3-Strikes-You’re-Out” law that had become popular during the 90”s…Tune in for more.