Power of One

By Wes Ragsdale

Ashes to beauty. Sadness to gladness. Fear to love. Chaos to calmness.

Real-life stories that tell you how to make something beautiful out of your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Dec 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887383828

Wes Ragsdale

Wes Ragsdale served in the U.S. Army as an Artillery Officer in South Korea during the Vietnam War. He was sent there because of The Blue House Incident, which happened in January of 1968. In the 1970s, he was well-known across the Midwest for The Healing of the Broken Hearted seminars. He and his wife were successful small-business owners of a software company named The Power of One from 1991 to 2020.

Book preview

To Rita, Love of My Life

Thirty-five years together, and we still have joy, joy, joy morning, noon, and night. We worked side by side for twenty-four years as God’s chosen stewards of His software company, The Power of One, and we still love and like each other.

You are the primary reason. You go to sleep happy, wake up happy, and the tone of peace you set in our home is so profound many who visit us comment on the deep peace they feel while here.

I said it before, and I say it again with more depth of meaning in my heart.

You are my best friend and daily inspiration.

My love for you is that and more.

In your heart resides all the better:

Radiant light warms my heart.

Gentle brooks alive with life.

Flowers in full bloom.

Sweet peace that refreshes.

Tranquility of soul.

Kindness for all.

More, much more, I could say.

For now, there is this:

You with me.

Complete we are.

Together we go far.

Preface

Free at Last

My name is Geraldine Evans. My husband Jack and I have known Wes Ragsdale since the early 1970s. We have maintained contact with each other and his wonderful wife, Rita, for all these years. Wes told us a few months ago that he was writing a book, and we were thrilled. Wes contacted my husband Jack and me and asked if we would consider reviewing his manuscript before publishing and let him know what we thought. We said yes, and he emailed it to us.

Jack got the manuscript on his PC and read it on his PC screen so that he could enlarge the font. He called Wes shortly after beginning to read it and told Wes that he could not stop reading it. Jack read the whole book in one setting.

Jack then printed it out for me, and I began to read it. I had the same experience. I could not put the pages of the manuscript down. It was ministering to me as I read. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, and it was as if I was surrounded by angels all around. I called Wes and told him what was happening. It was late, and I had to stop and finish it the next day.

It was saying to me to open my heart and let the healing begin. I was overcome with tears of reality of the benefits for each of us in our lives. All praise and Glory to God for His wonderful works in us and the gift of this book to heal our hearts.

In the ’60s–80s, Jack was a sales rep for a company. His territory was Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana & Arkansas. We had no children, so we bought a motor home and traveled his territory together.

A few years ago, during that time, we stopped in Texarkana, Arkansas. Jack was in the process of hooking our motor home up for the night. I was sitting in the driver’s seat with the window open so that I could hear him help park it exactly right. As I backed it in, I noticed a lady in the unit next to us. When I looked at her, there just seemed to be a presence about her. I began to talk to her. We said good night to each other.

I was in the middle of having one of the worst panic attacks ever. Only Jack and very close family members knew about these. This was happening because I was bound by tremendous fear.

The next morning, she invited me to come over for coffee. The Holy Spirit helped me. In spite of the fear I felt, I went over to her unit. While we were having a cup of coffee together, she told me that last night she had a vision of me. She said, I saw you sinking in quicksand, and I need to tell you that you do not have to be a doormat anymore. Then as our time of fellowship continued, she told me that she was the leader of the Women’s Aglow organization in her area.

I went back to our motor home, and the Holy Spirit put this scripture into my mind:

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV).

Slowly, often quoting that scripture either out loud or in my mind, I started conquering this one small step at a time.

In my life, I have experienced many heartaches, panic attacks, rejections, and not feeling loved. Wes Ragsdale had frequently talked to Jack and me about the need to forgive everyone who had ever hurt us the same way God has forgiven us. I struggled hard with this and was not able to truly forgive.

One day a few years ago, a lady who knew I was struggling with forgiveness shared with me to get a chair and place it in front of me. Then, to kneel in front of the chair. She told me to place the ones who had hurt me in the chair in my mind. As I knelt in front of the chair, words just flowed out from within. I had not planned what happened, but the following words suddenly came out of my mouth I do not feel forgiveness, but I choose forgiveness. I was overcome with His presence. One by one, in my mind, I placed each one who had hurt me into the chair and said, This is what you did to hurt me, and this is how you did it. At the end of each prayer, deep sobbing occurred. I felt clean. I knew the Holy Spirit had poured into me the power to forgive.

Over the next few days, several of those people who had hurt me called saying, I know I have hurt you, and I am sorry. They were tied up by my feelings toward them, so they could not release their feelings toward me. What joy we all experienced!

A lot of these memories were flooding through my mind as I read Wes’s manuscript. Then, I was hit hard by the Holy Spirit when He caused me to understand there was still a major issue. I had tried to forget about something I needed to repent of.

When I was a young lady, I made the mistake of falling in love with a man I should not have. We were together for quite some time and finally broke it off.

For all the years since then, day after day, I had what I call a ticker tape running in my mind. I was reminded repeatedly about what I had done. I was tormented about my relationship with him. Now I finally realized I had never repented of it. I repented of my past actions. Now I am free at last. Thank God I am free at last.

Finally, I can now and have forgiven myself. I also fully understand and receive this scripture the Lord gave to me a few years ago, but now it is truly fulfilled in me.

Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed; neither be confounded and depressed, for you shall not be put to shame. For you shall forget the shame of your youth, and you shall not [seriously] remember the reproach of your widowhood anymore.

Isaiah 54:4 (KJV)

Jack and I pray for all who read this book. Please ask the Holy Spirit to show you your innermost pain and do what Wes has so lovingly told us what to do about it in this book.

Author’s note: If you struggle like Geraldine did with trying to forgive, I strongly suggest that you do what her friend called her and suggested that she do. That is, to place an empty chair in front of you, kneel if you can or sit in front of it if kneeling is not possible for you. Then pray what she prayed, I do not feel forgiveness, but I choose forgiveness.

Words

If I could do anything I want at this moment, it would be to bless you. Yes, bless you. For many years I would read that a powerful or wealthy man would bless his offspring. I assumed that he was giving them their inheritance. I began to ponder and study why anyone would strongly desire to have the blessing of the father. I finally understood. With the understanding came the powerful realization of the magnitude that real blessing is. When you are blessed by someone, especially someone of stature and success, it is a profound experience. You see, to bless means to empower another by words to success, prosperity, health, and a long life.

It is not possible for me to bless everyone. I can only bless those who are in close proximity to me. The success and prosperity that I have in my life would require a few days of long heart-to-heart talks to bestow upon you my words that would empower you to success, prosperity, health, and a long life. Now that I am in the wintertime of my life, I am writing this book in hopes that many will read it and receive blessing that I want to so freely bestow upon all who wish it before I leave this life for another more glorious one.

My mind is flooded with many memories of my journey through this life down here on planet Earth and the choices made that have created the wonderful life I now enjoy. The challenge for me, as always, is where to begin.

I am going to begin by talking about words. One of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned is not only are words important but that a clear understanding of what those words mean makes them powerful. That is the greatest secret to my success—words.

Words can heal. Words can destroy. By mere words, men and women are found guilty