Page 7 - Preacher of Righteousness Magazine - Volume11 Issue 2

I’m sure all of us have met great women in our lifetime, and they have creased our life—whether it’s Mom, a grandmother, a sister, a teacher, a friend, or your own wife. My wife Vickie is a great woman of God. My daughter Dawn is a great woman of God. My daughter Trish is a great woman of God.
Margaret Hicks was the wife of
Dr. Roy Hicks, a great Foursquare minister of the gospel and world- renowned teacher. He was also one of my fathers in the faith. Margaret was a great lady. She brought peace to us all every time she walked into the room with her smile and positive attitude. She was a rock. I watched how she took care of Dr. Roy and how much she strengthened him. Many times her one-liners would adjust us and keep us on course. She was pure and lived pure. She was holy and lived holy. What a great woman!
I have been blessed by great women in my life. My grandma was a great lady. She sure loved us grandkids, and she took good care of us. She was always there for us as we were growing up. She went to Heaven while I was in Vietnam, but sweet memories of her have stayed with me all my life.
My mom earned my respect as all four of us Barclay boys were growing up. I watched the struggle and pain she went through and the price she paid. I watched her when my dad got sick and died when I was around ten years old. She protected us kids. I watched her when we had little to nothing and how she sacrificed everything, just to feed us. I watched her at my dad’s funeral. I watched her at my brother Matt’s funeral. I watched her at my brother Jon’s funeral. She stood strong. I watched her live to the age 90, and she was still strong-willed and living her life the way she saw fit. All through the years, she believed in me and told me she was proud of me and that she loved me. What a great woman!
MY GRANDMA
MY MOM
THE SHUNAMITE WOMAN
RITA EVANS
I have Bible heroines as well. I love the Shunamite woman. When I read her account (2 Kings 4:8-17) and how she sowed in the natural yet reaped in the supernatural, it changed my life forever. I have fol-
lowed her example now for many years. What a smart woman!
It changed my life when I read the account of the widow from Zarephath and how she, in obedience to God, took care of the prophet, even at her own expense. When she and her son were threatened by poverty and lack, God sustained her and honored her sacrifice (1 Kings 17:10-16). What a courageous woman!
THE WIDOW FROM ZAREPHATH
One of the dearest ladies I have ever met in my life is Dodie Osteen. Her husband, Pastor John, adopted me as a son. He was my pastor for almost three decades. Dodie probably doesn’t even know how much she has forever changed lives everywhere.
DODIE OSTEEN
Many of us have been hugged and spiritually encouraged by her, but her personal note writing alone has lifted me up and placed me back in the battle. I have met many ministers who have received fresh strength and were stood back up again because of the anointing of God on Dodie’s special personal notes. She told me one day that she has written thousands of them throughout her ministry life.
I think Gloria Copeland is a class act! She is always a lady, always kind yet strong and decisive. She is highly anointed and a skilled Bible teacher. She is a spiritual mother to a multitude of believers. Gloria stands by her man while having a great impact on their entire global gospel operation. Vickie and I love how she loves both the Word and Spirit. We notice how many women of God around the world pattern themselves after this great example. What a woman!
Many people have been healed as Dodie prays for them. Only God knows how many people she has prayed over, laid hands on, and visited in
the hospital.
There are so many powerful things to say about these great women but little space in this magazine to say them. There are many other great women who have creased my life but little room to write of them in this small article.
She loved my pastor, and it showed. She loves her kids, and it shows. She loves her church family, and it shows. She loves us, and it shows. Even when she is battling things herself, she has an encouraging word for others. What a great woman!
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I met a lady in the early years of my ministry named Rita Evans. Rita was the wife of Dr. George Evans, who was one of my fathers in the faith. She was an extreme student of the Bible and a very strong, holy woman of God. My life was changed by her dedication to the Scriptures and to the ministry of Jesus Christ. I knew her for almost 40 years. Not one time have I ever been in her presence that she didn’t tell me how proud of me she was, and how much she believed in me. What a great woman!
MARGARET HICKS
GLORIA COPELAND