We hope you and your families had a beautiful summer filled with joy and blessings! There have been so many special moments, answered prayers, new opportunities, and memories that we can’t wait to share with you. From celebrating baptisms, spending time together as a family, serving our community, building new partnerships, and simply enjoying God’s beautiful creation, it has been a full and meaningful summer. As we look back over the end of June, July, and August, we invite you to celebrate with us all that God has been doing. There is so much to be thankful for!
Beach Baptisms
On June 25th 2026, some of our women from Freedom and Victory Houses, their families, and friends gathered on Ormond Beach for a powerful, Holy Spirit-filled day of baptism, where 10 precious souls surrendered their lives to Jesus and were raised a new. What a day of divine appointments and overflowing blessing!
This day held such a beautiful surprise. Two children (Gage and Cassie) both around 10 years old, came up to us on their own with such courage and asked to be baptized and surrender their lives to Jesus. To witness that kind of faith in those so young, unprompted, unafraid and simply drawn to Him, is something words can barely capture. Watching them step into the water and rise up new, free, and covered by His love reminded every one of us why we do this. Jesus loves the children. We pray blessings and transformation over these two pre-teens and their families.
The rain came in the afternoon, but it couldn’t stop what God was doing. His plans are never rained out. If anything, it was a picture of the whole day: no matter the storm, we keep showing up, keep gathering, keep pointing each other back to Him. We simply moved our Bible study under the pavilions right by the beach and kept right on worshiping and doing bible study on spiritual warfare because we definitely made the devil mad today. You can’t have these beautiful lives now or ever devil, you lose. What the enemy meant for harm, God is going to use for good, for each and every one of you. Our LORD is not gonna waste a hurt, mistake or tragedy, it will all be used for his glory in each of your lives. Your mess will now be your message. We watched and witnessed every demonic sin and stronghold and all the chains that have held us bound be left and buried under the water. Thank you Jesus.
Kelly, Aubrey, Christina, Nancy, Lee, Sarah, Gage, Cassie, Kathleen and Donna.
Ten lives forever changed. Ten public declarations of new life, new faith, new beginnings. Old things passed away. Behold, He is doing a new thing! We watched sin and shame wash away and pure, sanctified, redeemed children of God rise up out of that water, ready to walk in the purpose He has for them.
Thank You, Lord, for Your divine timing and unfathomable love. For every woman, every family member, every child who stepped into that water today. It is FINISHED!!!
Cork & Olive Dinner
Thank you Antoney and Mary at Cork & Olive in Lake Mary for allowing Armor Up to come and bring some of our board members and volunteers for an unforgettable night out. What a dinner! Such a wonderful way for us to all come together. The food was absolutely incredible, every dish was full of flavor, and the service was warm and attentive from start to finish. It’s clear how much love and care goes into everything at this restaurant. We are all coming back!
Huge shoutout to the incredible owners, Antoney and Mary, for such a generous and thoughtful dinner, your kindness truly means the world to us. Guys, if you want some true authentic Italian cuisine and great customer service this is the place to go!
AB, Helen, Leigh, Barbara and Frankie so glad you all were there and thank you for everything you do at Armor Up!
Celebrating for completion of Boundaries Book Study
Congratulations to all the women at Freedom and Victory house for the completion of our Boundaries book study. Thank you Barbara Macon for leading this study for so many months with me, you’re amazing and I love you. It was a lot of information and I just pray that each and every one of you take all these tools that you learned about setting healthy boundaries into all of your future relationships. It will be a game changer in your life. We celebrated with games and s’mores in our fire pit out back. So much fun! A little hot for June but we didn’t care, it was so worth it.
Fourth of July Party at Victory House
The Fourth of July at Victory House is one of our favorite traditions every year, and this year was especially meaningful as we celebrated America’s 250th anniversary of Independence together!
It never stops touching my heart when someone shares that it’s the first time in years, or even the first time ever, they’ve celebrated a holiday surrounded by love, laughter, and genuine joy. For many of the women in our homes, this wasn’t just another Fourth of July; it was their first holiday spent clean and sober, making memories they’ll never forget.
To everyone who came, brought food, grilled, laughed, encouraged, and loved on our women, thank you. You helped create a day filled with hope, healing, and belonging. We enjoyed an incredible feast, played cornhole, played indoor games, spending time together, and ended the night with an unforgettable fireworks show right in our front yard! Yes I’m a pyromania, I love love love things that go bang and all the lights. Anyone who knows me knows that fireworks are one of my favorite parts of the day!
As I watched everyone celebrating together, I couldn’t help but think back to my own journey. I remember how lonely the holidays felt during my addiction and even in those first years of recovery. That’s why days like this mean so much. Watching these women laugh freely, celebrate sober, build healthy relationships, and wake up the next morning remembering every beautiful moment is a gift beyond words.
This is why we do what we do. We aren’t just providing housing, we’re creating family, restoring hope, and helping women build new memories that replace the painful ones from their past.
We pray God blesses each of you abundantly. Happy Independence Day, and here’s to celebrating freedom, in our nation and in the lives being transformed every day.
Pillow Project Ministry
Thank you Barbara King for allowing our Armor Up girls to stuff pillows for your pillow project ministry. Knowing all the love, prayers, even the personal scripture and the time you take to stitch them so beautifully is just an amazing way to love the broken. I know that each pillow you made and we got to help you stuff will bless each and every individual who gets one. I know this time you were taking them to the coalition for the homeless, what a loving, thoughtful, holy spirit filled gift you are giving them. May every head that touches these pillows and hands that hold these pillows close, may all of you be blessed abundantly and feel God’s love and concern for you. Love partnering with you my dear friend, hope we can work together more and help with more pillows. We all love you. God bless you.
Speaking at Lake Mary Rotary Club
Thank you so much to The Rotary Club of Lake Mary
Michael Dunn who is on our board, was invited to go speak at the Lake Mary Rotary Club. He was representing Armor Up Recovery Homes under his family’s non-profit Dunn Family Charitable Foundation – continuing a family legacy of philanthropy inspired by his grandmother, Mary Dunn, founder of Pace Brantley Hall School, and his father, Dr. Richard Dunn, whose lifelong commitment to charitable service and nonprofit leadership has been a tremendous influence. They have amazing artwork! He was asked to speak and also gave me some time to speak on Armor Up. You did a great job Mike, we value you and appreciate all you do for us and all your support.
It was so nice to see you Rusty, Rusty’s Bicycle Recycle you have always been so amazingly helpful and generous helping our women at Armor Up with all our bicycle needs. We appreciate you so greatly, thank you! You were so deserving to be honored by Lake Mary Rotary Club this week so glad i could eb there for that., you deserve it! YOU DO SO MUCH FOR THE COMMUNITY.
So great to run into Bill Elliott and your beautiful wife.
Nice to see you Christopher McVay and congratulations! He is the new president of the Lake Mary Rotary Club. Chip and Christopher are my friends from the Seminole county chamber and they’re always at the Longwood Lunch and Learn so it was so nice to see so many friendly faces.
Shoutout Antoney, our friend at cork & olive who invited us to the most incredible night at his restaurant! So nice to see you again, we greatly appreciated that wonderful dinner and your hospitality.
It was an honor and excited to come and speak again soon. Thank you for all you do.
Kayaking at Silver Springs
We had such a blast taking 17 of Armor Up’s girls to Silver Springs State Park to kayak, and had a fun day on the water. We actually had one of our male friends and supporters out there with us, so fun. There were so many laughs and memories made. We got to see tons of manatees. Me and Iliana even got in the water with one. Lol. Just making new memories. Lots of turtles and a lot of alligators. The most beautiful birds and ducks of all kinds you’ve ever seen. A few of the girls took a couple of tumbles, and one of our girls even got their own personal lift down the river. It was a beautiful, perfect sunny day with a cool breeze. It is such a blessing to be able to spend time out in God’s breathtaking creation, to make good sober, fun memories, and for some to get completely out of their comfort zones and try something brand new. I love getting the girls out into nature. Seeing God‘s majesty, getting grounded, and seeing his beauty and glory all around us. While being in his presence, in the wildlife, nature, water, and trees, it’s just a whole new kind of peace and joy I get to share with them, thank you, Lord! I can’t wait to do it again with you all soon!
I go out in joy and I am led forth in shalom shalom. The mountains and Hills burst into song before me and all the trees of the land clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12
Iliana’s Graduation Celebration
This post is to commemorate and celebrate Iliana’s recovery journey with us at Armor Up. Wow did you come in as a very broken little girl. I questioned at times in those beginning months if you were gonna make it. Boy did you test me. And did you ever grow me lol. The day that we had our breakdown and breakthrough… I will always remember. God’s love and power over your life were so glaringly evident and you and I both knew it. Everything that came out and came up and got put into the light started your amazing healing journey.
I remember when God told me you were gonna be my first assistant and I was like no way, (God I can’t be hearing you right). But boy did I hear Him right. Those two years of spending two days a week with you is what God knew you needed. We walked through hell together, we cried so many tears, fought so many battles but with God as our guide, He grew us stronger, better, wiser. I saw your compassion grow, I witnessed you truly learn to be vulnerable and transparent, honest, genuine and humble. You kept showing up, you didn’t run away and I’m so very proud of you. We had so many beautiful times also, so many deep, intimate and real conversations. I miss those, you and me and the birds and the bees and butterflies, distracted so easily. All the wildlife right here in my back yard, I feel like we went on a daily safari together. Lol.
God has definitely stepped you into your purpose, as much as I hated to lose you as my assistant, that’s what Armor Up is all about. Helping you heal from all that held you bound and help you grow and become the woman of God that He made you to be and to help you find and to step into your purpose. You are an amazing teacher and as much as I wanted you to stay as my assistant, you are right where you’re supposed to be and I’m so proud of you. You listened to the holy spirit and you obeyed even when your flesh was screaming you couldn’t do it. Well look at you now. I have been and will always be your biggest cheerleader, I love you so much. May God continue to bless you with Holy Spirit wisdom, perseverance, humility, strength, grace and love. I’m so excited to watch you grow and see where God takes you and all that He has for you. Keep your eyes on Him first and foremost Iliana, He loves you so much and so do I.
Longwood Lunch & Learn
Thank you for another amazing Longwood Lunch and Learn put on by the Longwood Council Seminole County Chamber I made some divine connections, so nice meeting you Matthew McMillan thank you for all you do for the community and for The Longwood Rotary Club. Grateful I got to come and speak, thank you for the opportunity. Shoutout to Michelle Attia with Axisara Group, what a beautiful conversation and collaboration we had, can’t wait to see what God’s gonna do. Thank you Chris McVay and Mike Brockman for blessing us with all the extra food pans from lunch for all the girls at Armor Up Recovery, we had a feast on Monday night because we were celebrating completing a book study and even had leftovers. If y’all haven’t checked out Bronx House Pizza the Chicken Parmesan and Baked Vegetable Ziti is off the chain. Thank you for always blessing us.
Speaking at Rotary Club of Longwood
Rotary Club of Longwood, Florida Thank you so much for the honor to get to come and share about Armor Up with all your people. Matthew McMillan you are doing amazing things and I love everything that you are about. Longwood Rotary Club is amazing guys check them out.
Angella’s Testimony at Teen Challenge Sanford (Orlando Men’s Rehab)
Thank you AJ for the opportunity to come and speak to all your men at Teen Challenge, Sanford Campus. What a powerful night it was.
We began the evening worshipping together, with our Armor Up girls, the men, and the staff all joining together in praise. From there, Angella shared her testimony of God’s redemption, restoration, and faithfulness.
The room was filled with the presence of the Lord as she shared what God has brought her through and what He continues to do in her life. At the end of the evening, Angella gave an altar call and two men raised their hands and surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. Thank you Lord for the two lost sheep that you have brought back to You and we believe will now spend eternity in Heaven with You.
These are the moments that remind us why we do what we do. We are so grateful to share the message of hope and redemption with others, and we pray that the seeds planted that night continue to grow in the lives of everyone who was there.
A huge thank you to AJ and the entire Teen Challenge team for inviting us, welcoming us, and continuing to support Armor Up Recovery Homes & Ministry. You guys do amazing work there and we love you and support you and we’ll continue to do so in any way we can. We are so thankful for the opportunity to stand alongside you in this work that we get to do. Our mess as our message. All glory to Jesus. ✝️
And thank you to Pj for capturing the evening through these amazing photos.
Hollerbach’s German Restaurant Meat Bingo Night Fundrasier
Hollerbach’s German Restaurant did it again! Every Tuesday evening, Hollerbach’s hosts German Meat Bingo Night, giving a local nonprofit the chance to be the beneficiary. Last Tuesday was Armor Up’s night and we are so grateful for this opportunity!
The room was packed with laughter, incredible food, and a whole lot of love poured out for this ministry. Seeing our community show up the way you all did never gets old. A huge, heartfelt thank you to Hollerbach’s German Restaurant for welcoming us back with open arms and creating such a warm, fun night for everyone who came out. Y’all are such a gift to Sanford and beyond!
To every single friend and supporter who showed up, THANK YOU. This ministry runs on the love and generosity of people like you, and nights like this are just another reminder that God is always making a way. He is so faithful.
We are so excited to be coming back to Hollerbach’s for another bingo night on November 17th! We also have our Armor Up Bingo Night on September 27th at Christ Church in Longwood, so look forward to lots of fun ahead!
Harvest Time’s Common Ground Breakfast
Thank you Harvest Time International for inviting us non-profits to just come and have a breakfast and connect and collaborate and encourage one another, we appreciate all that you do and your support for the non-profit community
Harvest Time Dinner “Look at what the Lord has done”
Look What the Lord Has Done!
Our Armor Up family was blessed beyond measure to attend the 3rd Annual Harvest Time International Dinner & Celebration. We want to send our deepest gratitude to Harvest Time International for everything you continuously pour into Armor Up Recovery Homes and Ministry, and for hosting such an unforgettable evening.
Sharing a delicious meal, powerful worship and once again Dr. Tapscott delivered an incredible, fire-filled message that left a lasting impact on all of us, and several of our women experienced profound moments of healing, encouragement, and a special touch from the Lord.
We meant it when we said we wouldn’t miss it for the world and we are already looking forward to next year! May God bless you all abundantly. We love you!
Freeway’s Save Our City
What an incredible night at the Freeway Orlando Save Our City Revival! 
We were so blessed to be there Saturday night with all of the Armor Up girls, where we had a table set up to share about Armor Up Recovery Homes and connect with so many wonderful people in our community. There is something so special about gathering together with other ministries who share the same heart: to reach the lost, walk alongside those in recovery, and see lives transformed through Jesus.
The evening was filled with incredible worship, a powerful testimony from a Freeway client and his parents, and an amazing message from Freeway Ministries founder, John Stroup. It was truly a beautiful night of worship, fellowship, and encouragement.
We are so thankful for Freeway Ministries and all they continue to do in the addiction and recovery community. We love that we get to partner alongside a ministry with such a strong heart for reaching those who are hurting and helping people step into the God-given purpose He has for their lives.
Events like this are such a beautiful reminder that we are not meant to do this work alone. We are the body of Christ, and when ministries, churches, and people in our community come together, incredible things can happen. Thank you, Freeway Ministries, for creating a space where so many people can come together, worship, share their stories, and be reminded that there is hope and freedom in Jesus.
We are so grateful for our partnership and for the opportunity to spend this special night with the Armor Up girls and so many amazing people in our community.
May we continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus, reaching the lost, loving the broken, and pointing people toward the freedom and purpose found in Him.
Join us for Armor Up’s Bingo Sunday, September 27th 4-7pm
Get Involved
Please continue to lift our much needed Redemption House in prayer. We know it is God’s will so we do not have to keep turning women in need of recovery away; we are trusting His timing and provision. As always, we rely on your support to make these things happen. If you have it in your heart to give, please visit our Get Involved page to see ways that you can help support our mission, either financially https://armorup40.com/get-involved/#donate or through volunteering.
Thank you again for all you do for ARMOR UP and our girls! We could not do it without you! We appreciate all your love, support, and prayers!
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
May the LORD bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you!
May he turn his face towards you and give you his peace!
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