Feb 2024 - Oh How He Loves You and Me

He loves me!

No daisy petal wondering here. I know He loves me.

As I mark another year in what is getting to be a lengthy life, His love for me continues to astonish, overwhelm, amaze, comfort, encourage, lift, strengthen…me. Wow!.

One of the benefits of adding years is you begin to grasp why God put you here.

I think I am understanding that the most important message I have to communicate is to help people, including myself, comprehend how incredibly much God loves each one of us. Yes, we surely know this, but do we really comprehend it?

Just listen to these thoughts God has toward us…

“I am a treasure to Him.” Ephesians 1:18 reminds me that I am part of the riches of His glorious inheritance.

“He delights in me.” In Zephaniah 3:17, I am told that God is with me, He takes great delight in me, He quiets me with His love and He rejoices over me with singing.

“I am His joy.” In Hebrews 12:1, I learn that Jesus endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. That joy was a restored relationship with me.

“He died for me.” Because of His great desire for me and delight in me, He was willing to redeem me with the price of His own life. What an incredible love! (Galatians 4:4-5)

“He keeps doing good to me.” In Jeremiah 32:38-41, God promises, “I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will never stop doing good to them. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.”

And what is the response of my heart?

I am so grateful. I feel so loved. I rest securely. I truly want to love Him in return with my whole being. And I can’t help but let that love overflow and touch others.

I pray that you--and I--being rooted and established in this incredible love, may have the power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.

And that is the best Valentine’s gift of all!!

Introducing My Team

When Steve became president of Cru 23 years ago, I knew I would travel and speak and attend meetings with him. But I also wanted to have a project of my own-something that flowed out of my gifts and passions. I love to encourage people—especially God’s daughters—to become and do all God had created them for.

So I began to gather some women to become part of a team we called Women’s Resources. Over the next few months I will introduce you to these amazing women—the ones who are working with me now. There have been many more in earlier years.

So let’s start with the three who keep me and the team going:

Jan Spoolstra—Team Leader

Jan and I became friends in 1985 (I think) when her husband died suddenly, leaving her and their two young daughters. Our daughters played soccer together for years, and we grew close. She first worked with Women’s Resources (WR) establishing a lending library. She has since served as Team Leader—keeping everything running, handling HR and finances, and caring for our people.

Wanda Rodriguez—Executive Assistant

About 24 years ago, Wanda came to work for Cru just as Steve became president. God showed great kindness to me by assigning Wanda to me. An accomplished administrator, she has kept me going, kept the office running, and become a dear friend. And now she is focusing on translating my When You Love a Prodigal book into Spanish.

Diane Gentry—Executive Assistant

Diane was stepping out of a Cru position when Steve needed a new exec asst. Diane stepped in and served him so well. When Steve moved to Heaven, he left a lot of things to be sorted, organized, archived and published. Diane is leading that effort, as well as assisting me on a number of projects.

Oneness in Diversity

You may have noticed I have been introducing you to different Cru ministries and activities over the months. Today I am so pleased to introduce you to Darryl and Gwen Smith, directors of Oneness in Diversity. They joined Cru in 1996, serving in Chattanooga with the High School ministry, where Darryl was our Michelle’s boss when she was an intern. They next directed the High School ministry.

Their journey prepared them to lead as National Directors of Oneness in Diversity in this next season of their ministry, with dependence upon Jesus to help create a unified and culturally diverse environment throughout all of Cru.

Steve and I often had dinner with Darryl and Gwen, who became special friends.

Find out more info on Cru’s Oneness in Diversity efforts