"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9 This book was written as a tribute to Dean Albritton and to the wonderful women she loved within the "Mourning to Morning" fellowship in Wetumpka, Alabama. God captured Dean's heart with the first four powerful words of this verse - "Be strong and Courageous." These words became the great testimony of Dean's life. After wallowing in self-pity, overwhelmed by the death of her son, Dean felt God calling her just as he had called Joshua. "Jesus came to me, took my hand and said, "Enough of this grieving! It's time for you to become strong and courageous so you can help others who are struggling with sorrow find the joy I have given you!" Dean took Him at His word and spent the rest of her life encouraging fellow strugglers to trust Jesus and move beyond grief to healing, hope and ministry to others.. With remarkable passion, she lifted up Jesus as the Way out of sorrow. Like Joshua, she became a servant of the Lord, her Lord Jesus. After her death at age 88, the "Mourning to Morning" women put a granite bench in the cemetery near Dean's grave. On it are carved the words, "Be Strong and Courageous." Dean's husband, Walter, felt inspired to write this book to encourage believers to trust God for the power to live as strong and courageous servants of Jesus. The book is filled with examples of men and women who are doing so, to the glory of God. Walter's stories will inspire you to believe you too can become a strong and courageous servant of Jesus. Walter Albritton lives just north of the Tallapoosa River near the home where he was born, about eight miles south of Wetumpka, Alabama. He is a graduate of Auburn University, where he studied English and journalism, and Emory University where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. Walter has been a Methodist preacher since 1951. Some of his other books are Struggling with Grief, Finding Peace, When You Lose Someone You Love, Changing Your World, Life's Greatest Adventure - Serving Jesus Christ, God is Not Done with you, When Your Heart is Broken, and Living in Christ - the Only Way to Live.
