May 2026 - Spring Revelry
It’s that time again: Worldwide Prodigal Prayer Day on June 2.
My son Joshua had a long up and down journey: big losses, adopted, struggles with school, wrong friends, dangerous choices. He met Jesus at 14, walked away at 16, came back and left again several times. At 30 he began slowly to seek God again, and now in his 40’s is asking God what He desires for him for the rest of his life.
June 2 is his spiritual birthday, and I, and an always growing number of people who love a prodigal, have joined Prodigal Prayer Day to pray for their own loved ones and for others.
The theme this year is Transformation—for our wanderers, and also for us. Five words that have been written into my life by God as I have walked this journey have been transformational for me: thank, love, grace, mercy, bless.
I write a weekly post to help us be ready to engage the battle with our—and our prodigals’—enemy. In the first post I talked about “thank”—how learning to give thanks in everything had changed my life—and eventually my son’s life.
I just posted the second word: It’s all about the amazing, never-ending love God has for our loved ones, and for us. And His desire to pour out that love through us, to our prodigals, and to everyone we encounter.
You are invited to join with us in praying for those you love and others who request prayer. You can share first names and requests with us—many will pray. https://www.prayerforprodigals.com/
Time for a Little Celebrating
My friend Carmen LaBerge wrote a fun “anthem to spring” and all the things we celebrate in these months, especially after the cold of winter and before the heat of summer.
Enjoy this brief excerpt, and click over to read the rest if you wish:
There is so much to weary and worry us so let’s just take a few moments to revel.
Let’s revel in the recent trip around the moon and the perspective we gain on ourselves, God and the Earth. Let’s revel— and dare I suggest reclaim—secular Spring holidays like Earth Day, Arbor Day, May Day, May the 4th, Mother’s Day, Graduation, Memorial Day and maybe you’ve got a wedding day or anniversary in there as well! Yes, I’m going after all of them today!
We could do a deep dive into each of these but for the sake of time and attention, I’m going to skim the surface and trust you can dive deeper in the ones that resonate with you. Here we go! Reconnecting the eternal with the everyday when it comes to:
Artemis II
The astronauts did the work here for us already, the mission commander and pilot expressed the connection directly. Ahead of the mission, Victor Glover stated, “We need Jesus — whether here on Earth or orbiting the moon”. He noted that viewing the cosmos firsthand fortified his belief in a Creator, turning scientific engineering into a spiritual experience. He also led worship aboard the Integrity, continuing the practice of celebrating the Lord’s Supper in space. Then, upon their return, the mission Commander.
Reid Wiseman asked for the ship’s Chaplain as soon as the crew was aboard the Air Craft Carrier that picked them up in the Pacific ocean. He had clearly had a spiritual experience that he wanted an opportunity to express and explore. He has since focused on the humbling nature of the mission and the view of Earth and the perspective he has gained on life and humanity. So, what is Man that God is mindful of us? The moon makes its debut in Genesis 1:14-18 and then is most frequently referenced in the Psalms where it appears along with the Sun and the stars. Psalm 104 is worth a read as you consider God in light of our recent trip to the far side of the moon.
Tomorrow Is the National Day of Prayer
This special day—the first Thursday in May--is set aside for the people of our nation to pray for our nation. Let me tell you a little backstory on how that came to be:
Every year, usually in May. the President of the United States would declare a day of prayer. Many believers wished it could be a designated day. Vonette Bright (co-founder of Cru) agreed.
Her son Brad was working on a Senator’s staff at the time, so she asked him, “If we wanted to get a national day of prayer on a specific date, what would be the process I should follow?”
Brad replied, “You need to get sponsors. You need to get a Democrat and Republican sponsor in the House and Democrat and Republican sponsor in the Senate. And then you need to start calling members, lobbying for this to happen.”
“That’s all she needed to know,” Brad said. “She lived on the West Coast and most of them were usually on the East Coast. So she got up at 4 a.m. to call them before they headed out for the day. Day after day. Pure tenacity.”
And on May 5, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill designating the first Thursday in May as a National Day of Prayer. Vonette gave leadership to National Day of Prayer activities until she turned it over to Shirley Dobson.
With all the turmoil in our world, I plan to pray. I hope you join me.
I Have a Prayer Request
I hope you have had the opportunity to read the wonderful book Cru published last year: Her Calling, Our Legacy—Pioneer Women of Cru. I helped to write it and loved telling the stories of some of the women who helped launch and expand the ministry of Cru/Campus Crusade for Christ around the world.
And there are more. We are working hard now to tell the stories of another 20 women (among many) who have taken the initiative to go new places, take courageous steps, try new approaches: to be pioneers.
Our goal is to have Volume 2 out as part of Cru’s 75th Anniversary celebration in October. We are experiencing a variety of challenges. My prayer request: That God would enable us to connect with the rest of the women whose stories we want to tell, to find the writers who can tell those stories, and to pull it all together in the next 4-6 weeks. Thank you.
And for some smiles
I spent a delightful long weekend with Josh and family at their farm. These two grandgirls bring great joy to me.
May God surprise you with His amazing blessings,
Judy