Verna McCrillis

The story of Verna's journey...

My story is really different from Beth's. We continue to be amazed how God brought two people from such different backgrounds and with opposite personalities to work together on the same team.

My parents accepted Christ as their Savior when I was a baby and I grew up in Bible believing churches. I was introduced to the Lord at an early age and accepted what Christ had done on the cross for me when I was four. In high school I lived in a town that had only a few Christians my age. Bible camp and retreats were my main fellowship but my loneliness brought me close to my Heavenly Father. I decided to attend Multnomah Bible College for my first year of college because I wanted a good foundation of spiritual truth before I headed out on my own.

The following year I attended the University of Idaho where I met and married my husband. Upon graduation he became a Navy pilot and shortly thereafter we had our first of five children.

We worshiped in Bible churches each place the Navy moved us and I began teaching ladies’ Bible study as a young mom, along with the many tasks that kept me very busy serving my family and church.

When I was first introduced to the Establishing God's Peace Prayer Journal I had spent the last 20 years studying God's word but was too busy to spend time alone with Him on a daily basis. It was Beth who first challenged me to read Scripture looking for what it said about God instead of what it said about myself. That challenge became a turning point in my life.

What a journey the last 17 years has been for me personally! Not only has God grown me in knowing Him but also in trusting Him to be at work in my life. As God has changed me it has been a privilege to share the truths and tools with others on this adventure of letting "God's divine influence on my heart reflect in my life" (Strong's definition of grace). It is amazing to think that God can use this website to touch even more lives and I am humbled that He can use an everyday wife, mother and grandmother to help spread this gospel of grace.

All of our five children are now married (2017) and we currently have sixteen grandchildren which we enjoy. The transformation God is doing in me has benefited our whole family. It is such a delight to see the principles of grace being lived out in our children and now our grandchildren as well.

Dick and I have had the privilege of coming along side other young couples who are at the beginning of raising families to encourage them to look to God for answers and direction. Together we put together the courses, Understanding Grace in Marriage and Parenting by Grace to better mentor others about how to access God's power to live those relationships in a way that reflects Him. My daughters and I have also created a website, www.joyfulnurturing.com to help parents bring up children in nurture of the Lord.