The Source Of My Strength

By Georgia (Jo) Kent

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I am one of those women that never say’s ‘no’ to anyone. I don’t really know why except that I have a heart to serve. I love being busy. On occasion, I find my ‘yeses’ extending beyond my ‘no’s’ Before I know what has happened! I am completely out of fuel, emotionally and mentally tired beyond belief. Sometimes I even feel a little spiritually depleted. It’s during these times, when we allow ourselves to become so exhausted, that we feel insecure and vulnerable. Things that wouldn’t necessarily bother you before are getting to you now because you are sensitive and you don’t understand why. Maybe we find ourselves reacting to situations with a more defensive attitude, feeling impatient or angry. How many of us experience these moment in our lives,? When we realize that we ‘did it again!’ We found ourselves with empty cups at a time when we need them full the most.

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16

Remember this…I am weak. He is strong. Being reminded of your weakness is not a bad thing. It is not a personal message that you are not good enough. Rather, being reminded of your weakness is a call to spend time in God’s presence. It is a personal message of our need for him. It’s through His grace that you can continue to run the race of life. We can relish those times; sit and dwell in the fact that despite ourselves, despite our inabilities and inadequacies, our God makes us strong. He gives us energy for the day. He prepares our body for our needs and He sustains our mind with peace. He restores our soul with confidence. He prepares our heart and wraps it over and over in love.

Are you tired? Exhausted? Drained and just ready to take a nap and call it quits? Meet with Him. He will refresh and renew you, enabling you to go out into the world to serve your family and friends filled with a newfound sense of His peace, love, and joy. I encourage you to cherish this time because it reminds us that when we are vulnerable, we have a source to go to that will make everything right. Instead of beating ourselves up for letting our cups get empty, let’s be thankful, it’s during these times that reminds us who refuels us, who restores our soul and replace’s our weariness with strength, our resentment with thanksgiving, our irritability with patience, and our anxiety with peace.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah 40:28

Sweet Blessings

God Values You Beyond Measure

By Georgia (Jo) Kent

“And God saw everything that He made, and, behold, it was very good.”
Genesis 1:31

God looked, He saw you, and He saw everything He created around you. He saw the reason for your being. He saw a specific need on this earth that you were to meet, He saw the full set of traits and abilities that you would need to have in order to complete your purpose for living. He knew what kind of environment you would need in order to develop your traits and abilities. God looked, and then, He created…He created YOU! And He looked at you and said; “This is good.”

It’s important that you learn to appreciate the way that God made you because other people are going to treat you the way that you treat yourself. If you have low self esteem, you will attract people who don’t treat you well. Several factors cause a loss of self esteem in women, such as abusive experiences, absorbed negative messages from others. Emotional, mental, physical, sexual and verbal abuse, all impact the way you feel about yourself. Many absorb negative cultural messages that erode their self esteem. Negative thinking is at the root of low self-esteem. It feeds your low self esteem and causes you to believe the criticism others make of you. It is vitally necessary to get out of the habit of thinking negatively.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalms 139:13-14

If you are suffering from low self-esteem, you may have difficulty opening up to others and it can cause you to withdraw and seclude yourself from healthy social interactions. The more isolated you become, the more likely your doubts and fears will become magnified. Low self esteem means poor confidence and that also causes negative thoughts which mean that you are likely to give up easily rather than face challenges. It has a direct bearing on your happiness and well-being. Self esteem is crucial and is a cornerstone of a positive attitude towards living. It affects how you think, act and even how you relate to other people. It allows you to live life to the potential that God designed you to be.

“And God saw everything that He made, and, behold, it was very good.”
Genesis 1:31

Satan wants you to focus on all your negetive emotions so that you won’t be able to see the beauty in yourself that God created in you. You can replace low self esteem and negative thoughts about yourself by switching your thoughts to God’s wonderful and perfect image of you!

Sweet Blessings

Never Alone

by Kim McDougal

“The LORD will not abandon his people – for it has pleased the LORD to make you his very own people.” -I Samuel 12:22 (NLT)

My friends and family don’t know exactly how I feel or what I’m going through all the time, but someone does – JESUS. He knows how my heart aches, He knows when my body is sore, He knows when trials come my way how to help me through them. I am NEVER ALONE. There are places in life my hubby can’t go with me, my best friend can’t go with me, times when there is no one in the room but me and I alone have to deal with a difficult situation. I can even be in a room full of people feeling alone, abandoned, even forgotten about…but NEVER with God. I can absolutely pour my heart out to Him, lay out all my feelings and sufferings to Him and He understands. After all, He made me. He made all of us.

He knows how your mind works. He knows how sensitive you are to things in life, He knows how much you can take upon yourself. He sees your wet pillow at night from crying, He sees your anger that you have hidden from the world. He sees how betrayal has turned your heart sad and now untrusting of everyone who wants to be genuinely close to you. He sees the bad decisions you’ve made and what it has cost you. He knows when you’re about to give up and what’s more, He cares.

Remember that God never promised that we wouldn’t be disappointed, hurt, talked about, betrayed, sick, poor, jobless, etc., but what He did promise is much better. He said He overcame the world! He took on all our weaknesses, hopelessness, sicknesses, hurts, and with His power working in our lives we don’t have to feel like or be victims…sad, lonely, and abandoned. He is our best friend for life. While others may walk away, you may even lose some so-called friends, God WILL NEVER walk away from you. All you have to do is believe Him, reach out for Him, and walk with Him.

I thank God today and forever I am NEVER alone again.

Praise God that He knows how I really feel,
And He’s always there when I kneel, 
I am not alone, I am not forsaken,
He even thinks of me when I awaken.
-Kim McDougal

Jesus is My Friend

by Kim McDougal

“Are not two [a]little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, then; you are of more value than many sparrows.” – Matthew 10:29-31 (AMP)

WOW!, the Lord knows how many hairs are left on my head and how many came out onto my brush! I’ve met many people in my almost 50 years’ lifetime and none have ever known me as deeply as Jesus does. He’s not just the Creator of the Universe and all that’s in it, He calls me His friend. There are times when I truly need a friend to talk to that will listen to me…let me air out my frustration or let me cry and Jesus lets me do this. He doesn’t use my weaknesses against me, He doesn’t keep score of my blunders, He doesn’t throw it back in my face, and He never tires of hearing from me. He lets me be me and I’m safe with Him. Sometimes, you can’t reach your earthly friends when you’re in a crisis. You may get their answering machine, or a busy signal, dropped call, no email reply, etc. Truly, there are just those times when you get to the point that the Lord is the only one to talk to and the only one you need to hear from.

Fact is, God sees us as important to Him. He loves for us to talk to Him everyday as we do each other. Our friendship with Him is even more important than any relationship we have on earth. He made us for fellowship with Him and He’s the only one that can truly fill the void left by sin in our lives. I feel lost if I go through several hours and I haven’t prayed. I have to stop what I’m doing and talk to My Friend. Do you feel alone? Are you lonely at times? Talk to the Lord. Tell Him what’s on your heart. Pour out your concerns to Him, just getting things off the chest makes a huge difference. The enemy would love to weigh you down with all kinds of problems, but your Friend Jesus wants you to give Him your weights so you can live in freedom. There’s nothing He can’t handle. He’s not in Heaven trying to figure it all out as He goes along. He knows the ending from the beginning and He has always had a plan for you and me. Let’s get even more closer to Him today. Jesus is your Friend.

Father God, I thank you this morning that you are truly our friend,
The one forever that all of us can depend,
You wipe away our tears, forgives us of our sin,
The enemy pounces, but in the end we win.

Help us Lord to talk to you day to day,
Listen to our cares and every word we say,
For there is no one anywhere so pure and so true,
No one that loves us so complete the way you do.

We are in such need of more and more of your touch,
You always give of yourself to us so much,
And there is no way to thank you than to offer you praise,
Worship, love, our arms we raise.

You are the one who knows us inside and out,
You know what our life is all about,
We may feel that our problems have no end,
But that’s when you come in to bind and to mend.

In you, we are complete,
And one day soon, we will all meet,
 But while we’re here, we’ll remember you are our friend.
In Jesus’ mighty name, AMEN.
– Kim McDougal

I Need God

by Kim McDougal

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” – Matthew 5:3 (NLT)

Everyday is a new day, full of uncertainties. I have no idea what I might have to face. I can have my agenda ready with the list of things I need to get done and one interruption changes my whole plan, what then? I realize very quickly that I need God to help me adapt and adjust. When my plans get changed and suddenly I’m thrusted into a situation that I wasn’t prepared for, I need God. I realize that I have to pray throughout my day not just in the morning when I wake up. My need for God grows more and more everyday.

He is the only one that can calm my storms, strengthen me when I have to do things I’m nervous about, and comfort me when I grieve.

Some of my good friends are going through hard times and just talking to them to try to encourage them, I need God. For my words are just words, but what God would say through me will touch them in a way I cannot. I need God.

When I have deadlines from clients, I’m not feeling well, and my task list is growing, I need God. He can help me balance it all out. He can tell me what’s important and what can wait.

When things break down in the house, or the power goes out, I get frustrated. But God can help me be patient while things get fixed. I realize how much I need God.

I fail at times, but God never fails. I’m weak, but He is strong. I struggle through life’s problems, but there is Nothing too hard for God.

When I need courage and boldness, He gives it to me to do His will.

I grieve over people and things a lot. God comes in and wraps me in His love and comforts me. He helps me come out of despair.

When someone has hurt me and I need to forgive them, God is able to help me get over the hurt, truly let it go, forgive the person, and yet earnestly pray for their well being.

Sometimes, I don’t feel like praying or praising and worshipping, I’m tired mentally or physically. But God helps me to push past my feelings, my fatigue, and He helps me sing a song of praise, or to just talk to Him.

And in the midnight hour, He is there with me keeping me safe. And I can call out to Him if I need to.

When I used to be afraid of everything, He placed me in situations to help me overcome fear. He strengthened me along the way.

When I go off the beaten path and have no idea where I’m going, He is my compass and sets my paths straight.

When I need an attitude adjustment, He knows just how to chastise me to get my thinking right.

No concern can I ever bring to Him that He doesn’t know how to handle. In Him is the solution.

Everyday, I realize how frail I am as a person and it only makes me realize how much I need God.

Morning Glory

By Georgia (Jo) Kent

“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” ~ Psalms 118:24

Nothing is more helpful in Christian living than the habit of getting a verse or phrase of Scripture into the mind and heart in the morning. Its influence stays through out the entire day, weaving itself into all the day’s thoughts and words and experiences. It also gives you armor for any spiritual warfare that might come your way through out the day.

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 NIV

What do you think about when you first wake up? Schedules, deadlines…. Do you ask yourself “What was I worried about yesterday that I need to start worrying about again today?” You know the old saying “You are what you eat”? Well, your life is all about what you think! So whenever possible, especially during those first few minutes of a brand new day: Greet your Heavenly Father and ask him to help you to be aware of all the beauty that surrounds you and to help you to think only of lovely and joyful things.

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV

Imagine the sun as it begins to rise-or better yet go watch it. Take inventory of all of your abilities: sight, hearing, thinking processes, etc- and be grateful for each one. Think to yourself “I am here for a reason and there is joy in this day just waiting to be found.” Then set out with expectations of finding it. Life is meant to be lived through, not worried through. Tomorrow when you wake up, give yourself a gift of a joyful morning.

“Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, 0 Lord, in the light of Your countenance. In Your name shall they rejoice all the day: and in Your righteousness shall they be exalted. For You are the glory of their strength: and in Your favour our horn shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king” ~ Psalms 89:15-18 (KJ)

Sweet Blessings

He Lives

by Kim McDougal

“The LORD lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted!” – Psalms 18:46 (NLT)

When I’m in my darkest hour, I need a God that I can talk to and He will answer me. There are times when I feel lonely, afraid, frustrated, angry, nervous, sad, confused, sick, or anguished and those are the times I need my Lord Jesus the most. How can a statute help me during those times? How can a God who’s buried in the grave help me? What good is it for a sinking man crying out for help and he’s reaching for a boat that’s sinking too? Let’s face it, we need a LIVING, BREATHING GOD who is there for us! And thank God, we have one! The Lord Lives! He Lives! And He Lives Forevermore! I’m so glad He rose and went up to Heaven and now all the glory and power belongs to Him on earth, in Heaven, and under the earth! He is the all powerful, all magnificent, all knowing, everywhere present, able to help you all day long, 24/7 Living Jesus!

When He’s your Savior, you don’t need a ticket to ride on His train, you don’t have to go through His secretary to get on His calendar, you don’t have to leave a voice mail, text, or Facebook Him to get His attention. You can simply cry out to Him wherever you are! And He’s there. He’s been there all the time and He will never leave either! What a God we serve! When I think of all the times He has protected me, saved me from death, provided for my needs, been with me when I was alone and single, held me up when I had to face tough situations, comforted me as I lost my mother, 1st husband, step-grandfather, grandmother, back to back, kept me strong when we nearly lost our livelihood… I can’t help but shout to the hilltops that my Lord Jesus is alive!!!!!!!! And He’s in my heart! Think about all the stuff you’ve been through and thank God He rose! He rose so that you can call on Him morning, noon, and night! You can have Him as your best friend! Oh Hallelujah! Praise God my rock, my salvation, HE LIVES!

Jim’s Testimony

by Jim Kent

I am a living breathing miracle. Because I am here, not in pain, or even feeling bad at all. A short time back, Ed came up to me and told me that God had something in store for me and I didn’t know what he meant. 
I told him that whatever it was I didn’t think that it included speaking in front of people and that I didn’t even feel good being called to pray out loud. He said that I might be surprised what God had in store for me. Last Thursday or Friday, I found a message on my phone from Rob. He said that God had put me on his heart and was lead to pray for me.
 I wasn’t able to call him back that night and thought of it early the next morning but it was too early to call. But then I forgot to call him back.

So on Sunday, I told him that I had received a message from him. He said that he didn’t know what it was, but God had put me on his heart and told him to pray for me. I told both men that I needed all of the prayers that I could get and thanked them. I told my wife, Jo, about it but didn’t know what it was about and I wondered why God hadn’t impressed on me what it was about. But now I know that he knew that I didn’t need to know because he already had it under control. Tuesday morning, I was working in the flower garden by our fifth wheel and Jo called me in to have lunch. I told her that I needed about another half hour and I would be in. When I went in to eat lunch I felt very fatigued and my arms were starting to ache and I was very hot. So I went back outside to cool down, but felt worse and was afraid that something was going on so I went back into the house and sat back down and tried to eat my lunch. But I still didn’t feel like eating so I was just sitting there. Jo noticed that I wasn’t eating and asked me if I was alright
and I told her that I was very hot and didn’t feel like eating until I cooled down. She kept after me to find out if I was ok and I kept telling her that I was, but I started feeling worse. At that point, I had a feeling that it was my heart so Jo gave me an aspirin and I also took a nitro glycerin that I have. But I still felt bad. She kept bugging me to go in and get checked out so I finally agreed to, but was afraid it would be a false alarm and just cost us a lot of money.

When we reached the emergency room at the hospital, they came out and got me and took me right in. The doctor gave me an electrocardiogram and told us that it didn’t show anything bad, but there could still be something going on. After that, I don’t remember how things progressed but I know that I started to have extreme pain in my chest and my arms. I do remember things went into high gear in the emergency room. The doctors and nurses there started asking me about my pain level, and it was off the charts.

I always thought that when you arrive at the hospital that, that would be the height of the problem and from that point on things would start getting better, but that wasn’t the case. I had only been at the hospital about 10 minutes when the wheels fell off and I was in deep distress. I could hear the doctors and nurses scurrying to save my life. I was calling out to Jesus and asking him to forgive me of all of my sins and anything that I had forgotten to confess in the past.

At that point, I knew that I was ready to go to Heaven. There wasn’t any fear for me after that. Then things started to turn very fuzzy and I closed my eyes and just waited for God to take me home. Someone said at that point my blood pressure was only 40 over 20
but all of a sudden the doctor grabbed me by my face and yelled at me. He said open your eyes, just stay with me, don’t close your eyes. When I opened my eyes, off to my right was my wife Jo and my Pastor George. It broke my heart to see their faces in such anguish. I started to cry, because I didn’t want them to be sad for me. I asked to have Pastor come and pray for me and he came over and called on the Lord to take control and guide the doctors so that I would be spared. God answered his prayer.

At that point, I felt the pain start to subside in my body. But that isn’t where God’s healing started with me. It started when God impressed on Ed to pray for me and when God laid me on Rob’s heart to pray for me even though they didn’t have any idea what they were called on to pray about. He sent his angels before me and they prepared the way for my recovery. I have always prayed that God would go “before” me and prepare a way for me that I would follow. And to keep me and my loved ones in his hand and to completely cover me with his other hand and he did. Within minutes, I was being prayed for by literally hundreds of people from all over the country. I was instantly put on prayer chains and Heaven was bombarded by prayer warriors. I am so very thankful to everyone for the prayers and I thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for answering those prayers. I was life flighted to the hospital in Eugene and was taken right to surgery. I received three more stints in the same artery. Out of the hospital on Thursday and home by noon. God is so good!

The Power Of Faith

By Georgia (J0) Kent

“He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings, his faithful promises are your armor and protection”. Psalms 91:4

This scripture has a very specific meaning for me today. My wonderful husband had a heart attack this week. One is never prepared for such an abrupt emergency. As Christians, we think we are girded with scripture and faith. However, when you are standing in the moment and watching someone you love so much fade away from you, it’s very hard to have the presence of mind to even think rationally. I am so thankful that, even though I was not able to think clearly in that moment, my faith never wavered. The words from the famous poem called “Footprints” came to my mind…“My son, my precious child. I love you and I would never leave you, during your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you”.

In looking back to last Sunday at our church, a dear man of God came up to my husband and shared with him that God had placed him on his heart. He had been praying for him. I believe that God was sending his Angels out before his heart attack. “I am sending an Angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and bring you to the place I have prepared”. Exodus 23:20

There were so many miracles on this day that it would be hard to tell them all. We arrived at the hospital ten minutes before my husband had this heart attack. Within twenty minutes our church, family and friends were praying and many had placed us on the World Wide Web to form intercessory battle prayers.

I share this personal story, not only because it is such a miracle, but that it is a testimony about faith in the mighty power of God in times of great need. Sometimes, when you stand before a mountain that seems too high to climb over, this is where you have to trust in your faith. Faith will carry you over the top. It’s about faith. God wants us all to have faith and believe what it says in his word…

“For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you”. Matthew 17:20

Today, five days after this experience, my husband is home with a new love and appreciation for the power of faith in prayer.

“Whatever you ask in prayer you will receive if you have faith”.
Matthew 21:22

Sweet Blessings

Below is my husbands personal testimony…

We Are Royal Heirs

By Georgia (Jo) Kent

“The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs of God and co- heirs with Christ’ if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” Romans 8:16-17

We are Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. We are God’s heirs, not because of our own righteousness, but because of His grace. When we ask God to come into our lives he becomes our Heavenly Father. We become part of a royal family of heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven. This makes us children of a Royal Priesthood. As heirs of god, we have inherited riches and the promise of his blessings.

“Now we are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has also made you an Heir. Galatians 4:7

This great honor also comes with responsibilities. People are watching our behavior. What we do, what we say, how we act and how we live. This is a part of allowing others see Christ through us. Our Heavenlly Father is watching our behavior also. What does the world see within our behavior? Do we give honor to our Father in everything that we do and say? Do we show happiness and contentment? It is a big responsibility to represent our Father, who is perfect in every way. He leads by example and he gave us a book of instructions…the Bible. I pray that when I stand before my Father in Heaven that he will be able to say to me ‘Well done my child’! God is faithful, I shall be completely happy and unspeakably blessed.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, Come those who are blessed by my Father; “Take your inheritance, the kingdom, prepared for you since the creation of the world” Matthew 25:34
Sweet Blessings