God has put a burden in my heart to do this page because there are people out there who are so lost. Maybe you feel like you're in a hopeless situation. Maybe you feel like you're the only one that could ever be going through rough times. Well, I'm here to tell you that there are people out there who have gone through what you are going through & God has set them free!! I am a prime example! Please open up your heart as you read my testimony & know that if God can do this for me, he can do it for you, too.

First of all, I will tell you a little about myself. My name is Deed (Thompson) Camp. I graduated from Atlanta High School in Atlanta, TX, in 1985. I then left home & went to college on a cheerleading scholarship at Henderson County Junior College (later renamed Trinity Valley Community College) in Athens, TX. I never graduated at that time, but went back to school in 1990 & got my cosmetologist license from Nicolet Technical College, Rhinelander, WI. (I have lived many different places including Bastrop, LA; Minneapolis, MN; Rhinelander, WI; & Texarkana, TX). I have a son, Michael, from a previous marriage, born 7/94, & another son, Seth, born 11/98! I've been a born-again, Spirit-filled Christian for about 6 years now (radical, "on-fire" Christian for only about 2 years!!) I remarried, November 1, 1997, to Benny Ray Camp, Jr., the sweetest Christian man I know (besides my Daddy, of course!) He works very hard so that I don't have to!! (THANKS HONEY!) (and thank you, also, for putting up with my late-nighters at the 'puter...) *GRIN* I have twin step-sons now, Jeremy & Jordan (born 1/91), who are just precious! I love those boys like they were my very own. We definitely have our hands full, but God has truly blessed our lives & is continuing to do so! I thank God every day that he has given me such a wonderful family.

After a load of mistakes these past 10 or 12 years (drinking, immoral lifestyle, failed marriages), I finally came to the conclusion that Jesus really is "The Way, The Truth & The Life." For so long, I tried doing everything MY way, which proved to cause me much heartache down the road. One day about 2 years ago, I wasn't happy with relationships or any friendships I had. I began to pray about it a lot & the Lord came to me & said, "Deed, why do you look to man for what I want to give you? If you'll give your whole life to me, follow my commandments & be obedient, I will give you the desires of your heart & I will make you like NEW." To me, this meant that He would take away all the hurt & confusion from my past & make it like it never happened. And if He could do that, then I was bound & determined to let Him rule in my life & quit trying to take on the world by myself. I also knew down deep in my heart that God would bring a Christian man to me & Michael who would take care of us & give us the family I always wanted & He would give me the friendships that I needed. So from that point on, I stayed in prayer consistently, my relationship with God grew & my "old ways" were of the past. I also had a great church home, First Assembly of God, Atlanta, TX. I made a commitment to stay in church & learn as much as I could from our pastor, Pastor Leon Morrow & our Youth Pastor, Brent Underwood. It is very important to have a church family who will support you & guide you spiritually through the valleys, trials & temptations. Oh sure, even I still have days when the devil tries to throw my past up in my face, but do you know what you do when that happens? You stand on the Word & know without a doubt that God has forgiven you:

John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

I learned to fight back with the devil instead of letting him pull me down to his level. God doesn't want us to fall prey to satan. He gives us His Word (the Bible) to show us what we should do to protect ourselves. God performed the perfect act of love when He sent His only son to die on the cross for OUR sins... He loved us that much!! (refer to John 3:16) I don't know about you, but if the Lord told me I had to sacrifice my son, I don't believe I could do it. I know I couldn't. My child is the most precious thing to me & I couldn't imagine having to watch him suffer like God watched Jesus suffer on that cross. I KNOW I couldn't do it.

Ephesians 6:11-13 says, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints."

Don't ever forget - When the devil reminds you of your past & tries to bring doubt & confusion in your mind, REMIND HIM OF HIS FUTURE!! He doesn't have a future & he knows that! That's why he's stuggling in every way he can to keep all of us from submitting our lives unto the Lord! If he has to "go down," he's going to try & take as many of us with him as he can. I don't know about you, but I sure don't want to give in to him!! There is NO future in hell. It will be an awful place of torture, mentally & physically. If you want to read a good book that gives you an idea of what hell is like, read "A Divine Revelation of Hell -Time Is Running Out" by Mary K. Baxter. This story is based on visions God gave to her over a forty-day period to remind each of us how important it is to choose life (salvation) through the grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Reading this changed my outlook on life!!

Now every day I look forward to what God has in store for me to do & for us to do as a family to introduce more people to Jesus. Do you know Jesus? Would you like to know Him? If so, I'd love to lead you in this short prayer & I'd especially love it if you'd e-mail me & let me know you said the prayer! Or if you have any questions or comments, I'm a great email-pal!! Please, please, please don't pass up this opportunity! We never know how much time we have left on this earth & we should all accept Jesus Christ into our hearts TODAY!! I don't think we have a whole lot of time left here because Jesus is coming back to get "his bride"!! Any day now, God will send His son down to earth once again, but this time to bring us all back home with Him!! Isn't that exciting? Don't you want to go, too? Please don't get left behind....
pray with me!!