May 2025 - On Our Knees
In my now more than 65 years of knowing Jesus, of seeking to walk with God, I’ve learned many things—to be and do, and to not be and do. Surely one of the most important lessons is that I should live on my knees. All the time.
Maybe not literally on my knees, but all the time in conversation with my God. Thanking, praising, asking, just resting in His love.
It seems to me our world is in a lot of chaos, and all of us should be “on our knees.’ In the U.S. we just celebrated the National Day of Prayer, which was designated on the first Thursday of May every year, mostly through the great efforts of my mentor, Vonette Bright.
This is also an intense time of prayer for me and many I know as we move toward the June 2 Worldwide Prodigal Prayer Day. It’s my adopted son’s spiritual birthday—he made a strong commitment to the Lord at age 14, but the years that followed were like a roller coaster. I called it a 15-year prodigal wilderness.
Desperate for help, I asked others to pray. Then others asked me to pray. And the Worldwide Prodigal Prayer was born. We invite anyone who loves a prodigal to give us a first name, and we will pray. We have more than 8000 names on our list. If you would like to request prayer or join us, just reply to this letter. Our theme is On Our Knees.
Here's a picture of Josh and his family on Easter Sunday. He’s a now hard-working water-well driller and farmer with a lovely wife and three beautiful girls.
And Here’s a Prayer Request
I’ve had a dream for many years to tell the stories of what I call Pioneer Women of Cru.
I would hear the stories of the men who opened continents and countries for Campus Crusade ministry. And the stories of creative, daring, effective approaches others have taken over the years. I would thank God for giving them courage and creativity to go new places, try novel outreaches, open doors that were tightly shut. I told many of their stories as we published years of Worldwide Challenge Magazine.
But I would also often think, “They didn’t do it by themselves.” I often knew the women—wives and singles—who labored beside them. I also knew the stories of single women who were used by God to go into new places, attempt daring outreaches, and find ways to pry open long-locked doors where the gospel had never gone.
This book is an attempt to tell their stories.
And the manuscript has just gone to Cru Press, with prayer that it will be completed for our Cru25 conference in July.
Would you pray with us, please?
A Celebration—and a Lot of Naps
About 15 years ago, when our mother died, my three sisters and I looked at each other and said, “If we are not intentional, the only time we will see each other is at funerals. So we made a commitment to get together every year and a half or so.
And we have: Texas, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona. We are on repeats now, and just met at my Round Rock sister’s home.
They love to do jigsaw puzzles—I do some work on the edge. Then I play games on my computer. And this time I slept. I arrived tired, and almost every afternoon I took a nap—for three hours. And slept about nine hours each night.
And we ate. My brother-in-law made scrumptious dinners for us two nights. And on my birthday we celebrated with lunch at Jack Allen’s, which is the place to eat in the Austin area. And they each gave me a bag of fun gifts. It was special.
I Love Books
“Books strengthen my soul, expand my vision, help me think, widen my world, make me laugh…”
That quote is from my website.
I often post two or three books I want to make you aware of. I think this time I’m going to remind you of some of my books.
How the Work Gets Done
A while ago I featured different women who work in Women’s Resources. But then I got distracted, and have now realized I have not introduced you to all of them.
Today I would like to tell you about a woman who keeps us all on track. Elizabeth Watkins is 27 years old and understands all things tech, which the rest of us barely get. She serves as our Digital Content Specialist, but I am especially grateful because she makes me and my work look great!!
I’m especially looking forward to May because I will be with all 10 of my grands.
With love, blessings, and prayers for you,
Judy