Just Jerri

What you will read on these pages is the JUST JERRI column which has been found weekly for many years in Central Georgia Newspapers - here's a sample from the Preface of the book - again, these are real life stories and experiences from the pen of Jerri Tuck:In 1997 my precious husband decided to make a run for the office of Bleckley County Commissioner. The current commissioner was retiring and this was a special election. I was so proud of him and I knew he would do a fantastic job if elected. Charlie had been the Bleckley County Tax Assessor for the past five years and also had initiated the first Bleckley County Building Code in our community. There was no doubt that Charlie knew the county inside and out. Who better to help our county?As his wife, I was determined to back him with everything in me. In fact, our whole family got caught up in the 1997 special election and we were his biggest fans and sup-porters.In addition to running ads and wearing tee-shirts advertising, “Charlie Tuck for Bleckley County Commissioner,” we also had signs printed up, which I personally installed around the county at strategic intersections.Not just trusting in our physical efforts, I took to my knees in fervent prayer. Every Monday I devoted myself to fasting and praying for God’s will in the election.*While in prayer one day I heard a voice saying, “Judy Sherling (editor of our local newspaper, The Cochran Journal) is going to ask you to write a weekly column and you’re to tell her yes!” What???That had nothing to do with the price of tea in China and I was absolutely sure that, either I made up that thought, or the devil put it into my head. I promptly discarded that thought, saying to myself, “Where did that come from? I’m too busy to write a weekly column!”About a week later I walked into the newspaper office to bring an ad for Charlie’s election campaign. I had spoken just a few minutes to the receptionist, when running breathlessly from the newsroom into the reception area, came Judy!“Jerri,” she said with a big smile, “How about writing a weekly column for the paper?”You guessed it. With my jaw dropping, I looked at her and said, “Sure!” What else could I say? I can tell you I walked out of that office absolutely stunned. The exact words that God told me, Judy would say to me; she had just spoken!Thus, began the 20 years of me writing the Just Jerri column for both the Cochran Journal and the Twiggs New Era. It has been a great journey and has been a source of amazement to me personally, that the Lord gives me ideas every week about what I am to write.A few years ago, Charlie started encouraging me to compile some of these weekly columns into a book. His thought was that these articles would not only preserve some of the best Just Jerri articles for posterity, but would also encourage readers if it was in a weekly devotional format. The 52 Just Jerri columns, one for every week of the year, are followed by daily Scriptures pertinent to each article with declarations we can make to encourage each of us in our Christian lives. It is my prayer that these stories and Scriptures will help you enjoy a life of victory and abundance in every situation you may be facing. *Oh, by the way. God did have His will accomplished, just as we prayed. Charlie did NOT win the election. I guess you figured out, just like I did; no one is going to vote for the tax man!Jerri TuckCochran, Georgia