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TABLE OF CONTENTS July, August & September 2012 • Issue 2

Publisher, Quincy Dowell EDITORIAL Writers: Quincy Dowell Brandi Ray Brianna Coleman Ashley Dowell QueShena Dowell GRAPHICS AND DESIGN Heidi Hudson, GreenWorx Printing 903-872-5922 PRINTER Jennifer Mueller, SHWEIKI MEDIA PHOTOGRAPHY Quincy Dowell ADVERTISING Quincy Dowell 903-275-3307 ON THE COVER Quincy Dowell CONTACT: 903-275-3307

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Have you not heard? 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. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

2 Message from Publisher, about Good Newz Quincy Dowell 4 Good Newz Brianna Coleman 4 Scriptural Strength Brandi Ray 6 Bounce Back Moment Strength to Keep Moving Patty Smith 10 M’Kenzi’s Moments Sumiko Hogg 13 Strength to live Ashley Dowell 6 Our Journey Justin Prnka 20 Where does your Strength Lie? Brandi Ray

—Isaiah 40:28-31

JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER 2012

Issue 2

2012 Issue on-line subscribe now www.goodnewzmag.com 903-275-3307

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Message from the Publisher Greetings to all the readers and supporters out there! I am super excited that we are back with another issue of the magazine. God has really been on our side and guiding us with the vision. After our previous issue, we received numerous phone calls, emails, and messages on how the magazine made an impact on the lives of people. I believe that we are just seeing the beginning of what God has in store for this generation. As much as many believers hate to admit, we all get a little tired sometimes – some more than others, and some more than they would care to share. I decided to go with the title “STRENGTH” for this issue, simply to encourage those that may be in a weak or tired place, and for those who may feel the weight of the world is on their shoulders. This issue is dedicated to those individuals, to let them know that there is a power that you can tap into that will cause those barriers, and hurdles not to look so bad. Isaiah 40:29 states, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak”. Often times when we think of strength our minds paint a picture of muscles or some other massive structure carrying great weight, but the strength on which I speak of is that of God’s power. David said in Psalm 105:4, “Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always”.

limitations that really exist are the limits that we place on ourselves. Philippians 4:13 states, “I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH.” Therefore, the focus should not be on our ability or our strength, but rather on God’s power. When we tap into his power, life becomes limitless. In this issue, we have targeted certain areas of life that would make some want to give up, but found the strength to move on. This will be encouraging to all readers who could use strength. Enjoy!

Quincy

Dowell

How much could we really do without His strength? Not much, right! It would be difficult to get out of bed, hard to stand, walk, or do anything that requires physical movement. So if this is true about the natural world, how much more is it for the spiritual? If we do not have God’s strength, it would be impossible to stand for Him, walk for Him, or even live for Him. Life has its way of causing you to believe you have no strength or that you are limited. The only

Quincy Dowell, Publisher

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Brandi Ray

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October 7, 2011, a beautiful day indeed. I woke up that morning expecting God to do great things as I prepared myself to speak at women conference at Grace Fellowship Outreach in Eustace, Texas. The theme of the conference, “Do you want to be free”? My husband, Rev. John R. Smith and I had been pasturing Grace Fellowship Outreach for the last twelve years. Throughout the years, we had hosted numerous men and women’s conferences and had seen God do great things in the lives of those who attended the conferences. We were excited about what God had in-store.

ur life that day started like any other but ended like no other. I had been planning this conference for months and was so excited for all that, God was going to do. On that day I arrived at the church, I recall women arriving for the conference. The church house was filling up and there were several women from different churches in the area that attended the conference that night. Seven o’clock quickly approached and we kicked the night off with an amazing time of worship that was followed by a powerful Word from the Lord. The night was ending. My daughter was preparing to come take the stage to end the night with door prizes and a word of prayer, when my husband Pastor John Smith asked if he could say something. I handed him the microphone. He poured out his heart to the women that night. I recall his words being powerful, vibrant and full of meaning as he asked the women, “Do you want to be free, do you really want to be free”. He gave an alter call and I

glanced up to see the women responding and making their way to the front of the church so that Pastor could pray with them. As he turned to hand me the microphone, he unexpectedly collapsed and fell to the floor. My daughter was the first to his side, as she cried out “Daddy” there was no response. That night there were several nurses in attendance at the conference and they rushed to John’s side and began CPR. The crowd begins to come closer to see what was happening, someone from the crowd stepped outside to call 911, while others begin to pray. As they performed CPR, his body was not responding. The nurses worked franticly to save his life. The EMS arrived at the scene and the next thing I know is that we are headed to the hospital. My daughter was in the ambulance with her dad and I and my other daughter followed right behind them. At that point, it seemed like everything was going in slow motion. I could see that they were still working to get my husband back and as we drove to

the hospital, I thought to myself, “He is free. He fought a good fight. He finished his race. John is completely and totally free. He is free from the cares of this life, free from the pain that was in his body—he is free to set at the feet of Jesus.” We arrived at the hospital and the doctor said, “I am sorry there is nothing more that we can do.” It was then that the reality of it all hit me. My life flashed before me. I found myself asking my two daughters, “What do we do now, where do we go from here?” Little did I know that October 7, 2011 would be the last time for my husband and me to share the platform together. My life was forever changed. Everything that I had known for last 33 years was now gone. My mind was overtaken by thoughts. Then I was reminded by that Holy Spirit, “I will be a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless...” I felt so numb yet I knew that God had me covered and that He would take care of us.

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B A C K B O U N C E

I did not get much sleep that night. The next morning when I woke up I heard the Spirit of God say, “I will be your strength and your shield.” I heard it so loud and clear, as if someone was in the room with me. I had a choice to make that day, would I allow God to strengthen me or would I allow bitterness to overtake me. After all John was a Godly man, giving an alter call, how could something like this happen? God this cannot be fair, why God? I just do not understand. Yes, all of these thoughts flooded my mind. Nevertheless, I know that no matter what God is God, he is faithful and he changes not. I have been asked, “Aren’t you mad at God for taking your husband?” I have made a choice for this to make me better not bitter. See, what the enemy means to destroy you with God will take it and use it for our good and his Glory. Though I do not have all the answers and I no longer have my best friend— the love of my life, I still have God. One day I will see John again. I have to look at this as not good-bye, but Babe I will see you again. We do not always get to pick and choose what life brings us but we do get to choose how we face what life brings us. I could be mad at God and live a life of bitterness and hatred toward God and the things of God, but I choose to allow God to take this situation to make me stronger and to mold me and make me into the woman of God that he has planned for me to be. I refuse to allow the enemy to steal my destiny. I can hear John from the sidelines of Heaven cheering me on saying, “Babe, I know that you can do this.”

natural strength that will carry you, when you cannot carry yourself. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” Psalm 91:1-2 God can and will take your nothing and make something, God can heal a broken heart but first we must give him all the pieces. At this time in life I Pastor Grace Fellowship Outreach. I have come to realize that I can do all things through Christ because he is my source of strength. This journey has been difficult and even overwhelming at times but I have found that with my faith in God I am able to overcome the storms of life. I am so thankful for my wonderful daughters and the help of my son in-laws and a great church family. I speak at meetings and women conferences every opportunity that I can. I refuse to allow the enemy to steal the plan that God has for my life. For God is my strength and my shield. He is my provider and protector. He is my everything. He is my husband!

I can do all things through Christ because he is my source of strength Therefore, for me I choose to allow God to lead me, guide me and direct me. It may not always be easy, there are some days that are harder than others are, but I can hear those words ringing in my ears I am your strength and your shield. Truly, God has proven himself to be everything that I have need of. No matter where you are in life and no matter what you are facing you have a choice to allow God to lead you, love you and shield you or you can turn and walk the other way. Allow God to be God in your life. Allow God to give you a super-

PATTY SMITH

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JUST FOR LAUGHS After church one Sunday morning, a mother commented, “The choir was awful this morning.” The father commented, “The sermon was too long.” Their 7-year-old daughter added, “You’ve got to admit it was a pretty good show for a dollar.”

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

– Isaiah 41:10

STRENGTH Proud Supporter of Good Newz Magazine

The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace. – Psalm 29:11

State Hwy 31, Trinidad TX 75163 (903) 778-2952 GoodNewz July, August & September 2012 8 www.goodnewzmag.com

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M’Kenzi’s Moments “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” Psalm 127:3-5 KJV

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Hospital personnel immediately wheels me into the emergency room and the doctor performs one last sonogram before the surgical procedure, while explaining that they were only able to save a child if it was born at 23 weeks. They quickly discover that my baby was 23 weeks and 1 day old! M’Kenzi was born weighing 1 pound 2 ounces. That was my “but God” moment.

On the days I felt like crying, after being in the NICU to see her, I would smile. Every day that she survived was a celebration. It was devastating to have to walk away and leave her, but the NICU team would always say, “We will take care of her”. The tests of my faith were trusting that God would sit his Angels right at her bedside and letting go and letting someone else take care of her.

The doctors told us that the chances of her survival were slim. Through further explanation, they cited that on a positive note, because she was an African American female, research and statistics have shown that her particular demographic has the highest premature survival rate. The newborn intensive care unit (NICU) became our home for several months. Despite all of the odds stacked against her— difficulty breathing, several eye and heart surgeries, ten different medications, and tubes attached to almost every part of her body – I watched this little girl…My Baby Girl…fight for life. Our only way of bonding and attaching was by a mere finger touch, as I was not able to hold her right away.

GOD

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Have you ever watched Grey’s Anatomy or ER? I can vividly recall living out such an episode, the opening scene in which the doctor rushes in, tells you they are about to perform an emergency surgery, and that there is a possibility that your child might not survive. All the questions come flooding in the midst of the pending chaos – questions that have no real comprehension and for which one is unable to respond adequately in a coherent manner since your mind and emotions, at that point, resemble a car driving down a densely fogged road. “Who do you want…? Do you have a…? If this happens who will…? The questions seemed never to cease, and even upon the last of them, I still had little comprehension of what was going on and how I felt. From the nature and severity of the questions being poses, naturally, I was fright-

ened and confused. I did not know what to do. That was until I had a “but God” moment.

rom growing up in a town where “outsiders” think kids from small towns are “different”, to studying the rights and laws for children who have disabilities, I would never have imagined that God was laying the foundation to prepare me for mothering my own child—my child with a disability whom others would see as DIFFERENT!

Being able to leave without crying was difficult at first. However, I continued to see her progress each day: gaining weight, surviving four surgical procedures, and opening her eyes. I was finally able to hold her and know that she recognized

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my voice. It was during these moments that I understood that strength and healing power could only come from God. God’s grace kept me and it was keeping my baby! Four months later, we were able to leave the hospital.

baby

At the age of two, M’Kenzi was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, a neurological disorder that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking and typically have a long term effect on a child and how they develop both mentally and physically. While it is not easy parenting a child with cerebral palsy, it does not mean I am hopeless or helpless. I do not look at her condition as a struggle…I instead see it as an “M’Kenzi Moment.” The good news is that there are now so many options for children with Cerebral Palsy, as it relates to adequate medical treatments, therapy, and social care support that can improve your child’s ability to manage the condition. This lifelong lesson has prepared me not to feel sorry for my child, the situation, or me. It is my responsibility to do above and beyond what she needs to help her progress and live a normal life. My family and I have to be pro-active in making sure M’Kenzi has the best care she needs by asking many questions and educating ourselves.

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M’Kenzi receives therapy and many other kinds of treatment provided for children with special needs. Despite all of the medication, doctor’s visits, etc., it is out love for her and the love she feels from us that continues to help M’Kenzi strive every day. I thank God each day for every little accomplishment she makes. I thank God for allowing me to walk through the door and see her big smile when I say, “Hey Big Girl.” I thank God for allowing me to watch her dance to any Beyoncé song or hearing her laugh endlessly at her big brother. I also thank God for a support system...my family! I now fully grasp and understand what God did and continues to prepare me for, which is to be a resource to help and encourage others as we continue this journey. I want to encourage others to get involved with the March of Dimes, an organization committed to the support and care of premature babies. Their website is www.marchofdimes.org. We walk every year in honor of “M’Kenzi’s Moments,” her accomplishments and in support of all the children that have overcome premature births. We also participate in Baylor’s NICU reunions to reflect on where God has brought us from and see the growth of the other children.

LOVE

God has been SO GOOD! All I can say is--- “NOBODY BUT YOU LORD”! Sumiko Hogg

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Strength to live by Ashley Dowell

I lost The Strength to Live one day And not just saying it metaphorically No longer desired to be alive Life changed with no need to strive For the life I had come to love and know Had changed so quickly How? I didn’t know Life’s circumstances had me down In grief and hurt, I was destined to drown Hopeless, helpless, no healing in sight I lost The Strength to Live one day And not just saying it metaphorically No one understood at least I thought No one would care about lessons I’d been taught No one I trusted to pour my heart out No one would care about this I wanted to shout If I open up, vulnerable I become If I let them know, to criticism I might succumb No one to call. No one to care. Alone in misery this burden I must bear I questioned how I’d ended up here As I had done so many days before To every question came a grim reminder Of the shame, despair, and worthlessness I bore Harboring feelings of insufficiency Coming from those viewed as wise, infinitely I lost The Strength to Live one day And not just saying it metaphorically On one dark, one lonely night It had knocked me down. I’d had enough My only choice Just give up The means was there so convenient to me No strength to fight. No strength to see Overtaken by life. Drained. Mentally.

The top came open so easily Beckoning. Calling. Making a mockery of me Overcome by fear. Certainly not. This hell in which I lived had to stop But in He walked into my life Restored my mind Took away strife In this boggled, overloaded, untapped intellect His words poured out with much effect “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) In doubt I called back into the night Expressing mistrust. Expressing the fright. Again, His voice resounded so clear “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will up hold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) When I heard His voice I hardened not my heart My conscience not seared and insensible His truth made a lasting impression The problem I’d carried with me so long Came crashing down and to Him I had to give Every burden and area of misplaced shame Every hope and desire I’d once given away He gripped them tight within His hands I’m proud to be a descendant of God He gave me strength and set me free I will never forget He who died on Calvary To give that peace of mind to me The beaten, bloodied, ripped and torn skin His life He would give To renew in me The Strength to Live

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A guy arrives at the pearly gates, waiting to be admitted. Saint Peter is reading through the Big Book to see if the guy’s name is written in it. After several minutes, Peter closes the book, furrows his brow, and says, “I’m sorry, I don’t see your name written in the Book.” “How current is your copy?” he asks. “I get a download every ten minutes,” Peter replies, “why do you ask?” “I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I was always the stubborn type. It was not until my death was immanent that I cried out to God, so my name probably hasn’t arrived to your copy yet.” “I’m glad to hear that,” Peter says, “but while we’re waiting for the update to come through, can you tell me about a really good deed that you did in your life?” The guys thinks for a moment and says, “Humm, well there was this one time when I was drivin’ down a road and I saw a giant group of biker gang members harassing this poor girl. I slowed down, and sure enough, there they were, about 20 of ‘em abusing this poor woman, knockin’ her around and all. Infuriated, I got out my car, grabbed a tire iron out of my trunk, and walked up to the leader of the gang. He was a huge guy; 6 foot 4 inch, 260 pounds, with a studded leather jacket and a chain running from his nose to his ears. As I walked up to the leader, the bikers formed a circle around me and told me to get lost or I’d be next. “So I ripped the leader’s chain out of his face and smashed him over the head with the tire iron. Then I turned around and yelled to the rest of them, “Leave this poor innocent girl alone! You’re all a bunch of SICK, deranged animals! Go home before I really teach you a lesson in PAIN!” St. Peter, duly impressed, says “Wow! When did this happen?” “Oh, about three minutes ago.”

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I would like to start by introducing myself. My name is Justin Prnka. My wife and I are the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pastors at Christian Life Center. I live in Trinidad, Texas with my wife Holly and three kids, Chandler, Chloe, and the newest addition Camden.

Our journey started three years ago. My wife and I decided that we wanted to add to our family. After several months with no success and lots of prayer, we decided that the next step was in vitro fertilization. During this time, we considered adoption but we thought that

the cost of adoption was just too expensive. We talked with several of our friends and church members and decided that we would try IVF. A year had passed since we had first begun our journey and patience was wearing thin with Holly. She wanted

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a baby and wanted a baby now. We both continued to have the thought of adoption but Holly really wanted to try to have a baby. Our two oldest children we had no trouble getting pregnant with, so we really were in new territory. Of course, we had friends and family that had went through the struggles of not being able to get pregnant. But it is very different when it is you. We studied and did all the research we could do and finally chose our doctor and scheduled our first IVF appointment. We spent the next few months preparing financially and taking the time off from work to go to the appointments. During this time, I just kept praying that God’s would be done. I knew that God was in control, but I was also ready for God to make it happen. The scripture that kept coming to my mind was Habakkuk 2:3 – This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. Holly and I knew that everything was in God’s time, but when you are in the middle of the trial, it just is not that easy. We had been trying to have a baby for a year and half by now and were really getting anxious. We started our IVF and were so happy to find out that everything was going smooth. We had our first embryo transfer in September of 2010, and could not wait to find out if it had worked. A few weeks later,

we found out that we were pregnant! We got pregnant on our first try, and we were pregnant with twins. That was what Holly and me had been praying for, we were so happy. We could not wait to tell our friends and church family. We had heartbeats at 6 weeks and could not wait until the little twins were here for us to hold.

one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. I pulled in the driveway at the house and told them, Chandler asked, “What happened? Why aren’t we going to have them?” I told them that they had just stopped growing. Neither one of them said much more about it. We went in the house and I told them that momma was lying down and we needed to be quiet and go outside and play while she rested. As we were walking out the back door to play Chloe said, “Daddy I wish at least one of the babies would have lived, that would have been ok” I held back tears as I told her, I know me too Chloe, but

At our 10-week appointment we got the most devastating news that we had ever received, we had a miscarriage. Holly and I had never been through anything like this before. I did not realize how much I was looking forward to having the twins until they were gone. I felt For I know the plans I have for you, declares the like someone had LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give just punched me you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11 in the stomach. The first person I called was my God has other plans for us. pastor; I just needed to hear encouraging words. Pastor Barry The next several weeks were filled called me back and of course prayed with thoughts of “How?” and with me and offer help in anyway. “Why’s?” However, God gave us the When I returned to the room strength to get through it. We decided after calling Barry, Holly was dressed to try a second round of in vitro and surrounded by the employees fertilization. By this time, we had of the clinic. Everyone there were been trying to have a baby for alour friends they knew how much most two years. I was really starting we were looking forward to having to feel like God was leading us in the a new baby, everyone was crying direction of adoption. After the and so disappointed. I was upset second round of IVF failed and and could not stop thinking about several attempts of AI. We then started how hard it was going to be, to tell reaching adoption even more than Chandler and Chloe that we were before. We talked to close friends not going to have the twins. that had adopted and found out that if we adopted through the state, the When we left the clinic, Holly went cost would almost be nothing. We home and I went to pick the kids up called a local agency and began our from the babysitter. Telling the kids process of classes, training and home about the miscarriage was possibly studies to get our license and be

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approved to adopt a child. During this time, we had told all of our friends to keep their eyes and ears open about anyone who wanted to give their baby up for adoption. We said it in kind of a joking matter but in all honesty, I knew that I had seen God do some amazing things in my life as well as others. And there was just something telling me that we were about to see God “show out”. After finishing all of our classes, training, and home study for the adoption agency, there was nothing left to do but wait. A few months passed and we had heard nothing from the agency. I was at work on a Thursday when I get a phone call from Holly. She tells me that her sister Amy may have found us a baby to adopt. My first thought was yeah right, but I still listened to her. Holly said that Amy went to her friend’s hair salon in Sherman, Texas to have her hair cut and her friend had told her when she walked in “hey I may have just found your brother-in-law and sister a baby to adopt”. Amy was surprised when her friend told her the story and gave Amy the phone number to the couple interested in adopting

their baby to a good family. The story was that this couple walked into the salon wanting to get his haircut and her nail done. While they were in the salon, they began to talk about their life situation and how they were having hard times. They said they were being evicted from their apartment the next day and she was seven months pregnant. They said that they had three other kids that CPS had taken from them and they knew they could not keep this baby for obvious reasons.

baby, what do you think” and he said “yeah let’s go ahead and do that.” I knew then that God was at work. I had talk to these people on the phone for less than 5 minutes and they had just said they were going to let us adopt their baby. We continue to talk about their situation and tell them a little about our family. She was so excited to here from me. She said that her and her husband had only had their cell phone for 2 days and had praying for a Christian family to call them and want to adopt their baby. I could not believe When Amy heard their story, she it. When I made it home, Holly was called the couple and asked them on the porch talking to her sister if it was ok if we called them about on the phone. Of course, she was adopting their baby. They agreed, anxious to hear what I had found so she called Holly and told her the out. I told her “God had may have situation. Holly then called me and just opened a door for us to adopt a asked me to call the couple. After baby.” I was still just so amazed that hearing all of this, I really did not God had put these people in our life. want to call the couple I thought Holly should call her. But I decided The next day we drove to Sherman, that I would call the couple on my met with the couple, and worked out way home. When I called her she a plan to bring them to Cedar Creek answered, I introduced myself and Lake. Where we could help them told her that we were interested in with rent, groceries and get them to adopting their baby. When I told and from doctor appointments since her that she turned to her husband they did not have a car. In the next and ask him and I quote “hey this is few weeks, we contacted our lawyer the family that wants to adopt our and he was so skeptical of the

610 E. Corsicana St. ~ Athens, Texas 75751 903-675-1114 ~ beautifulthingsrp@gmail.com Services: Massage, Manicures, Pedicure, Acrylic Nails, Facials, Hair Cuts & Color, Highlights, Hair Extensions, Waxing and Eyelash Extensions

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situation. He could not believe that this couple was willing to give us their child with no catches. What he did not realize is that God was in control. We found in those weeks that she was having a boy and was due January 22, 2012.

lawyer and the judge to sign paperwork on Camden, Holly was back at the hospital getting ready to send Camden on a care flight helicopter to the NICU unit at Dallas Methodist hospital. Camden was flown to Dallas and spent 5 weeks in the NICU at On December 20, 2011, while Methodist Hospital. It was hard to I was at a church staff meeting watch our baby lay there and not I get a call from Holly. She told be able to hold him. But there was me that the birth mother was in such a peace over Holly and me--we labor, I was excited but also worried, knew that God had answered our seeing that it was a month early. prayers. We were able to bring our They arrived at Athens hospital and baby boy home on January 21, 2012, several hours later, our baby boy and on March 20, 2012, we finalized was born on December 21, 2012. the adoption. Who would have ever Being born a month early meant that thought that we would get our baby Camden’s lung were not as strong from a couple who walked into a as they should be. While I was at salon in Sherman, Texas? That’s what the courthouse meeting with our happens when God shows out! I

would like to end with this scripture. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Stay encouraged and never give up, because God is our leader. He is our strength, and He will never ever let us down. Justin Kyle Prnka Children’s Pastor Christian Life Center 2611 W. Main St. Gun Barrel City, Tx 75156 903-887-5429 office 903-641-9763 cell

GoodNewz July, August & September 2012 19 www.goodnewzmag.com

nowledge is key to Christianity. In order to fulfill the promise that God has for your life, you must first know what that is. In order to overcome the hardships that life guarantees, you must know where your strength comes from. Philippians 4:13 reads: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. This is a powerful statement because it does not say I can do all easy things, nor does it say I can do most things. It says ALL things. But most importantly, it says through God. God is the source of our strength. With God, no thing is impossible. Now, the same way we must know where our strength lies in order to tap into it, the devil also seeks to

find our strength, because if he is able to identify our strength, he can set traps that attack our strength. Just as in the biblical history of Samson and Delilah, Judges 16, the enemy sought out the source of Samson’s strength in order to defeat him. As he guarded his source, he was able to overcome each attack sent forth from the hands of his adversaries. However, as soon as he lowered his guards and shared his God-given promise, the enemy took him captive. But a key point is that although it was the hair that was removed, it was the loss of God’s, the source that caused him to lose his strength. Judges 16:20 but he did not know the Lord had left him. When you are not in tune with God, or you have no

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personal relationship with him, you are without your strength. You are an easy target for Satan because you are out of the arch of safety. If life’s trials and tests seem to be defeating you, evaluate your relationship with God. Consider the source of your strength. Do you have knowledge of the fullness of God? Are you aware of each and every promise that God has for you? Where does your strength lie?

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Peace & Blessings It is our prayer that something you read touched your heart as it did ours. Please don’t hesitate to share the good newz with anyone, we thank you for the support and the love, and we continue to live by the motto: “the best is yet to come”. Salvation the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ by faith are born of the Holy Spirit and thus become children of God Perhaps you have never accepted Jesus as your savior and some may even think that you have to get it all right first and then turn your life over, NOT TRUE. Jesus said “come to me all who are tired of carrying heavy loads and I will give you rest” Matthew 11:28 So you will be saved, if you honestly say, Jesus is Lord, and if you believe with all your heart that God raised Him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this (Romans 10:9-10). Is there any good reason why you cannot turn your life over to Jesus Christ right now?

How to give your life to Christ: 1. Admit you are a sinner and need forgiveness. 2. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave. 3. Through prayer, confess that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and commit to live for Him for the rest of your life. If you gave your life to Jesus and submitted your way for His way, we here at GN would love to hear from you. Also we would love your feedback and testimonials please don’t hesitate to write us or email us at the contact info below. Also if you would like to be a blessing and give into this ministry and help us with our efforts of spreading Good Newz please feel free to send your gift large or small in a Money order to the info provided below

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