God Is Good All the Time And All the Time God Is Good
Encourage One Another
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Testimony
marge dewey
A Tribute to My Beloved Late Husband Ed Dewey
In honor of our upcoming 26th wedding anniversary, September 4, I share this tribute to my late husband Ed Dewey.
Our story was planned, directed and written by God. He brought Ed into my life in 1998, and we were married on September 4, 1999 at First Baptist Church in Ashland, Oregon. We happily lived out the wonderful life God gave us together for almost 24 years.
On May 6, 2023, everything changed. My healthy, active, strong husband had an unexpected, sudden heart attack while we were on vacation in Genoa, Nevada and passed into the arms of Jesus as he was being transported in an ambulance to the Carson-Tahoe Hospital in Carson City, Nevada. The Lord granted me a few moments with him to hold his hand and tell him, "I love you, Sweetheart" shortly before he entered heaven.
At the moment Ed had his heart attack, the Lord mobilized a small army to help me that day to deal with the tragedy. A wonderful couple from Reno observed the events and offered to pray, then they drove me to the hospital, where a nurse said the words, everyone dreads to hear, "You need to prepare yourself."
And I learned that Ed had passed away. My new friend sat with me in that hospital room with my husband's body. She encouraged me continually, then helped me find a funeral home in Carson City. The couple also made arrangements for my lodging for the night and stayed with me over 24 hours until my family arrived. My family and friends were very encouraging, and my sister and brother-in-law drove for 2 days from Redmond, Oregon to help me drive home.
The Resort where I was staying went above and beyond to provide lodging and meals for my family and me. That day, the Lord provided so many people to help me that I had no doubt about His goodness and His presence. And even in the very dark days that followed when I couldn't feel or sense His presence, I knew He was there and working on my behalf.
Ed was a man of God who truly exhibited the fruit of the Holy Spirit. He was kind, considerate, generous, loving, patient, reliable and hardworking. He worked various jobs throughout his career, and he built a comfortable place in the country for us to spend our retirement years. We had a wonderful retirement, living in the country and traveling all over the western US.
Ed loved the Lord, and he was trusting in Jesus alone for his salvation. And because of the grace of God, he is in the presence of Jesus and having the best time ever! Revelation 21:3-4, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Because of the death and resurrection of Christ, that is the new reality that Ed is experiencing.
Testimony
kareen powell
My husband, Earl, and I were living on a small farm on Sterling Creek, up out of Jacksonville. We knew this couple, Willie and Robin, from my husband’s work. They were a little younger than we were. They had four kids, and we had six. We had known them for a couple of years, and we knew they were having difficulties in their marriage. He had left her several times but this time he left her and took their three boys with him, and said the boys were his and the girl (Monica, six years old) was hers.
Willie never heard from him again. She tried to find the boys but was never successful. After about a year, she was able to save up enough money to get a divorce and she had met a man that she was planning to marry. Willie came out to our place often and we babysat for her occasionally. One day, she asked us if anything were to happen to her, would we be willing to take Monica, and raise her as our own. I told her, “of course” but also told her she would have to talk to my husband, as he was the “bread winner”, which she did.
About two months later, on December 27, everybody was gone, and I was home alone, and the phone rang. The man on the other end of the line said he was a policeman and said if I wasn’t sitting down that I should be seated. There had been an argument and Willie had gotten into her car and took off, leaving Monica behind. Her boyfriend took Monica to a neighbor’s house and then tried to figure out where she might have gone.
She had headed toward Ruch, from the Applegate, and missed the turn and ended up in a field. A car that has been following her, stopped to help. He saw that she was okay, so he went home to get his dad and return. At the time, Willie’s job was driving a flag car for the transport of mobile homes from Portland. Since she was driving alone, she carried a small pistol in her glove compartment. When the two men returned to the scene of the accident, she had committed suicide!
After my initial shock, I asked the policeman where Monica was. He put me in touch with “Children’s services”, and they came and took me to her, and I was made her guardian. We had her for about two weeks, when the caseworker told us we were to tell Monica exactly what had happened. I thought, “Wow, what a job!”
Monica’s grandfather came up to take care of Willie’s stuff and to have her cremated. A week later, he and his wife returned with the intention of taking Monica home with them. They came out and spent all day Friday and Saturday. We explained to them, how Willie had expressed her desire for us to take and raise Monica as our own. They returned to their home without taking her with them.
I had been raised as a Catholic and Earl was a Christian. We believed the Lord revealed to us what the grandparents were going to say to us when they returned, and it was just as the Lord said it would be. They returned on Monday, and they signed the papers for us to adopt Monica.
Earl and I had talked about it, and we wanted Monica, but only if God wanted us to have her. We decided we would abide by the judge’s decision at the time of the hearing. Everything appeared to be against the adoption! Her grandparents were against it, and Willie had two sisters apt to be chosen, and there was nothing in writing, only a verbal agreement.
Another strike against us; we had six kids and were living in an unfinished house with no indoor plumbing, and Earl had just been declared 100% disabled. (He was a welder.) Also, welfare was required to advertise in three different places in Oregon to try to find the biological father, which was unsuccessful!
But God had appointed us to raise Monica according to His plan, and by May the adoption was final.
After all these things... I started attending church where Monica and the rest of the children were going! By Kareen Powell
(Edited by Sunny Couch, “Many of us know Monica and her love for Jesus!” God has been glorified!)
To heavy to bear
A Glass of Water
During one lecture, a professor suddenly picked up a glass of water and held it up. He stood there quietly, just holding it, as the students began to glance at each other, waiting for an explanation. Ten minutes passed, and he still didn’t lower his arm.
Finally, he asked: “Tell me, how much do you think this glass weighs?”
The students started guessing: “Maybe a couple of ounces!”
“Four ounces!”
“Five!”
The professor smiled. “Honestly, I don’t know either. To find out, we’d have to weigh it. But that’s not the real question. What happens if I hold this glass for a few minutes?”
“Nothing,” the students replied.
“Right. Now, what if I hold it for an hour?”
“Your arm will start to hurt,” one answered.
“Correct. And what if I try to hold it all day?”
“Your arm would go numb, you’d be in serious pain, maybe even need medical help,” another said as the class laughed.
The professor nodded calmly. “Exactly. But tell me—did the weight of the glass ever change?”
“No,” came the reply.
“So why the pain in the arm? Why the tension in the muscles?”
The room fell silent.
Then he asked: “What should I do to get rid of the pain?”
“Put the glass down,” someone said.
“Exactly!” the professor exclaimed. “Life’s problems work the same way. If you carry them in your head for a few minutes, it’s no big deal. Think about them for too long, and they start to hurt. Dwell on them all day, and they paralyze you—you won’t be able to do anything else.”
He paused, then finished with this: “That’s why it’s so important to put your problems down at the end of each day. Don’t go to bed carrying the weight of them. Rest, recharge, and you’ll wake up ready to face tomorrow with strength and clarity.”
Precious truth
jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
pain
jesus knows your hurt - Song by Dallas Holm
The pain some people bear
No one would believe
The hurt that's sometimes there
Makes it hard to see
That in the darkest hour
There is still a way
Listen to these simple words I say
Jesus knows your hurt
Jesus feels your pain
Jesus knows just how you feel
’Cause He's felt just the same
Jesus knows your need
Better than you do
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you
Sometimes you feel alone
Does He really care?
Has He left you on your own?
And does He hear your prayer?
Well, He has never left you
Or forsaken you one day
Listen to these simple words I say
Jesus knows your hurt
Jesus feels your pain
Jesus knows just how you feel
’Cause He's felt just the same
Jesus knows your need
Better than you do
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you
Just hold on to Jesus
He's holding on to you