He Promised

By Andréa deCento

Andréa deCento is a tried and true warrior who has pushed through the lines of resistance to taste the sweet victories of accomplishment. Now, she offers that part of her soul to each of us on the written page. This book serves as much more than just inspirational words written at a writer’s desk; it is distilled wisdom coming to you from the table of a champion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664234345

Andréa deCento

Andréa deCento has been writing most of her life, currently authors two blogs, and has published several articles. She has an international following on the Promise for Today’ blog (where this book was birthed), and a diverse audience on the Don’t Be Such a Boob’ social media blog that chronicles her journey of overcoming breast cancer. Andréa draws deeply from her vast and varied life experiences, using common sense and a keen sense of humor to write with the hope and passion of helping others get through the day. Admin by day; mentor, mother, and grandmother, being Granna is her favorite. Andréa shares a home with her daughter, son-in-love and Max - an old, very spoiled fur baby - in the Texas Gulf Coast region of the U.S.

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Copyright © 2021 Andréa deCento.

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-3435-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-3434-5 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 8/25/2021

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New

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Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright ©

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Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living

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Scripture marked (ERV) taken from the Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV),

International Edition © 2013, 2016 by Bible League International and used by permission.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

From The Author

By Way of Introduction

Can You Take the Heat?

Worth the Effort

Buried Alive

Blazing A Trail

What’s the Difference?

Losing My Marbles

I Had No Choice

Fresh Bread

Starting Position

Where Ya Goin’?

You Did This on Purpose?

A Lifetime Guarantee

Reminded

Holding Hands

Fear of Failure

There’s an App for That

No Other Choice

A Light to See

If It Fits

The Makings of a Hero

After the Valley

In a Fog

Are You Chicken?

Are You Putting Me On?

For Those Days

I Have Half-a-Mind to…

Have You Lost Your Mind?

Wanted: Dead or Alive

Making Decisions

Time for a Change

Dry and Thirsty

Huffing and Puffing

Myth Busters

A Secret Life

I Believe I’ll Testify

Past the Storm

Self-Inflicted Conflict

Measure

Alt Ctrl Del

When the Wind Stops

Promise Forever

At the End of the Rainbow

Mutual Trust

Rest Area

A Letter

Worse Than Not Knowing

Working for More

Throwback Thursday

Every Last Detail

A New Wardrobe

A Storm’s Coming

Common Sense vs. Uncommon Faith

Fatal Bruises

Would You?

Hearken

Truth in the Making

What Came Before?

Get the Picture

Supply and Demand

What to Wear

Clean Up, Aisle 6

Managing Your Stress

Modern Day Faith

Voice Recognition - or - Learning to Communicate

Full-time Ministry

The Image of…

You’re All Wet

Second-hand Knowledge

Making the Most of the Moment

A Go-By

It Wasn’t Me

Single Track with Garbage

How Much More…?

The History of His Stories

I Don’t Know, but I Can Read

I’m Gonna Tell

A Loving Answer

How Can You Not?

Miracle in the Making

Hey, It’s Me

Good All Over Again

Camping Standards

Mercy

Taking Time to Not Worry

Making Plans

Then

Shhhhhh, Hear Him?

Sit Still

Standard Procedure

Cloudy with a Glimpse of Son

Be An Example – Leave a Mark

Blessed Assurance

Ready or Not, Here I Come!

In Spite of the Storm

Can You See It from Where You Are?

For Such a Time as This

What Do You Say to That?

Holding Hands

Comforting Thought

In God We Trust…Maybe

Such a Thing

Is There a Storm Brewing?

Warning – The Day Is Coming

Write It Down

DEDICATION

To my children, Valerie and Aaron, who by the

Grace of God made it to adulthood,

and who have - depending on what day it is –

contributed equally to keeping me sane or giving me more grey hair.

I love you always and forever. ILYMTT…click

To their respective spouses, Michael and Donna, thank

you for being a willing part of our family!

God has blessed us beyond measure with the two of you! I love you. More.

To my adopted Buckley Bunch: Thomas, Cynthia,

Alec, Maeghan and Ezra, Chris, Ryan,

Drew, Alexandra, Amelia, and Isabel – ilyBtto!

To Abigail Grace, you are my very own special gift from God.

Mere words will never suffice. ILU

THANK YOU

To my sister, Michelle, for never giving up on me

To my best friend, Denise, who always believes in me

To Char, who first made me believe I could

To my Life Group girls

I don’t want to do life without you

and to my Ya-Yas

You know who you are

Special thanks to Mrs. Joyce Holloway and Mrs. Hope Skibinski

for believing in He Promised.

FOREWORD

Truly impactful devotional books are not just written; they are first lived, then written. Each lesson on the page must first be carved like a steppingstone on the path of a life lived in the trenches, the battlefields, the fog, and the valleys – as well as mountain tops, victory dances, and banquets.

If I know anyone with such life experiences, it would be Andréa deCento. She draws from ministry experience gained while working with the teams of some of God’s generals like Joyce Meyer and Becky Fender, as well as serving as the administrative assistant to the pastor of a megachurch. Andréa has rolled up her sleeves and gotten her hands dirty in the trenches. She has raised a family, worked in ministry, and maintained a successful career as a businesswoman. Her life is rich with tragedy and triumph. She is no novice and her writing is not merely hollow inspiration. She is a tried and true warrior who has pushed through the lines of resistance to taste the sweet victories of accomplishment.

Now, she offers that part of her soul to each of us on the written page. You need to read this book, because it serves as much more than just inspirational words written at a writer’s desk – it is distilled wisdom coming to you from the table of a champion. Take this step to start making better life choices and push yourself to be victorious.

Bryan Cutshall, Th.D.

President of International School of the Word

President of Church Trainer, Inc.

FROM THE AUTHOR

He Promised was birthed as an emailed Promise for Today. It was a way of keeping myself accountable to stay in the Word of God. It began in 1996 and went to a few family members and a handful of close friends. It’s basically a journal of my journey as I follow Jesus. If what I learn along the way can point the way to Him for someone or can help someone else as they follow Christ, then praise God!

For it is by His grace and all for His glory.

MOST IMPORTANT

My prayer is that this book will help you in your day-to-day relationship with Jesus. If you don’t yet have a relationship with Him, then the most important thing I can do for you is to tell you this:

The Bible (God’s Word to us) tells us everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. The Good News is Jesus (God’s Son) died on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sins so we can be forgiven, and the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

How do we accept the gift? The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9-10 NLT,

⁹ If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Are you ready to do that now? If so, let’s pray this prayer:

Dear Jesus,

I know I am a sinner, and I ask You to forgive me. I believe You died to pay for my sins and that You rose from the dead and are alive today. I choose to turn from my sinful ways, and I ask You to come into my heart and guide me in how to change my life to live for You. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name I pray. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, there’s a celebration taking place in Heaven right now! *

Welcome to the family!

Would you openly declare your faith by sending an email to [e-mail] to let me know?

God bless you!

Andréa

Italics denote Scripture reference from the following:

Romans 3:23 NLT-New Living Translation

Romans 6:23 NLT

* Luke 15:7 NLT

BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Hebrews 12:1-3 The Message

My choice for the new year or a new season is Every Day - His Way. I want my life to reflect my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In order to do that, I must make the choice to let go of my will and embrace His, for I know that God only wants the best for my life. Trials will come, but they provide opportunities to grow in grace and to develop Christ-like character. By God’s grace and with His direction, my life will be changed according to the choices I make in obedience to Christ. As always in life, it’s all about the choices.

New Year’s Day marks the anniversary of the first Promise for Today that I emailed to a handful of friends and family members in 1996. When I first started the Promise, I used other people’s devotions from books I had and then later, I purchased more. We went through quite a few over the years. Sometimes, I’d take them directly from a book, but I always let people know what book we were using. And sometimes I would elaborate and add my own comments. Those of you who know me know that written words are my passion... but I started with the works of others.

Then in 2007, my beloved former pastor, Doc (the late Dr. Howard O. Jameson) challenged me to step up, to make it personal and write from my heart about how God’s Word affects me, rather than from someone else’s heart and perspective. It has been the most challenging commitment of my life.

Back in 1996, the Promise for Today started with a reference from one of Max Lucado’s books, When God Whispers Your Name. It’s all about the choices we make on a daily basis. We are starting a new year or a new season and doing it one day at a time. What choices will you make?

Prayer:

Father,

We choose You. Thank You for the power of Your Word to change our lives and to change our choices for how we live the life You have given us. Give us the courage to walk in the conviction of Your Word. Father, we ask that You guide us in EACH step of life. I pray Your provision and protection over those You have allowed me to touch with Your Word. Let us be ever mindful of You, Lord, the Author and Finisher of our faith. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen

CAN YOU TAKE THE HEAT?

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

1st Peter 1:7 KJV

Have you ever worked with ceramics? The clay is cast onto the potter’s wheel or cast into a mold. When it’s finished on the wheel or the mold is removed, it has a shape, but it’s not very sturdy. It can be broken very easily, just by brushing against it. A fingernail can scratch it irreparably. When you try to add color to it by covering it with glaze, it’s still pretty colorless. It looks nothing like the finished products we see in stores. But when you put it in the kiln and fire it up… wow!!! The dull, weak vessel becomes a thing of beauty with colors blazing and the strength to actually be a vessel.

The past year may have been tough for you. What part of it will you focus on? The bad? The tough times? Or will you thank God for what He has done for you in those times? The