Greetings

Introduction
Hello. Let me introduce myself. My name is Jodi Sue Kruse. I am a Christian, saved by grace, and am 34 years old. Please leave a comment and let me know a little more about you, what God is teaching you, how He has blessed you, what your thoughts are on what you read here, or what you would like to be prayed for.

My Husband
I am happily married to Hugh Kruse. In October, we celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary on a cruise to Mexico that my parents bought for us. Thank you, Mom and Dad. My wonderful mother-in-law Carmeleta flew over from Tennessee and babysat our eight children while we were away. Thank you, Carmeleta. My husband loves God and draws me closer to Him each day. He loves God's people and has no deeper desire than to share the good news of Christ with all he meets. He loves to encourage others in the Holy Spirit and in the Truth found in the Bible. He is bold and not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. He is a unique creation of God and I love that I am married to a one-of-a-kind man after God's own heart. He sees people through God's eyes. He trusts that God is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in someone and never judges people by the world's standards. He never brings condemnation to those who are in Christ but encourages others by proclaiming that the "law of the Spirit for those in Christ Jesus have been set free from the law of sin and death." I am blessed by how hard he physically labors for our family to provide for us, and am overjoyed by the time he spends with us in prayer, study of God's Word, discussion, and praise and worship to our loving Saviour and King of Kings. I love the fun memories he has created for our family. He is a loving dad who gives each of our children "The Blessing" and loves us all in every love language. He is my best friend and there is no one I would rather be with, in this life, than him. He gives his love unconditionally and never holds a grudge towards anyone. He is humble and in love with God and desires to give his life for His Kingdom. Thank you, Honey, for all that you are and all that you do. I love You!!!

My Eight Children
As I said earlier, God has blessed us with eight children: David Anderson-15yr old boy, Destiny Jane-14 yr old girl, Devin Friederick-12 yr old boy, Emma Victoria-11 yr old girl, Mercy Susanna-9 yr old girl, Jared Brady-6 yr old boy, Abigail Rose-4 yr old girl, and Jonathan Issac-3 yr old boy. They are all amazing and inspiring. They love people and are very outgoing. I am in complete awe of God's goodness to us. All my children have been given the gift of faith and honor us, their parents, and respect others that have authority in their lives. They all love God and are pursuing Him and maturing in His standards every day, of course, at varying levels of maturity because of their age differences. They receive correction and instruction with respectful countenances and are in loving relationship with us and their siblings. They love to learn and play. They are very creative and delightful to be around. They all love to laugh. They are not perfect, as none of us are, but the Holy Spirit is obviously at work in their hearts and for all that He has done in them, I give him praise and thanksgiving.

My Parents
Their names are Ken and Dottie Anderson, who are the role model for parents, grandparents, and Christians. They are always giving and laying down their lives for others. They spend a lot of time helping people with their health and finances through their business/ministry. They invest in the lives of people, especially their family, and make us all feel like we are their favorite. I don't think anyone could ever say a mean word about them. Their marriage is also an incredible example of biblical covenant. I have never seen them really fight and that always brought me security. My dad greatly loves my mom and my mom highly respects my dad. They are always there and I can talk to them about anything and know they will encourage me in the ways of God. Their love is never doubted because they prove it every day in practical ways that matter most. They have raised my siblings and I in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and have taught us to study His word and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and trust that all we need would be added to us as God sees fit. My mom is also my best friend. They have their 30th grandchild on the way. All those kids come from their 4 children. I have two older brothers and one younger sister. I am also blessed to live on my parents property. They have blessed my husband, children, and I more than words could express. We are in the process of becoming debt free, after the Lord brought us under that conviction about a year ago, and they have been a huge factor in our ability to do so. Thanks again, Mom and Dad! I love you both!

My Siblings
My oldest brother, Troy Anderson, set up this blog for me which I am thankful for. He lives in Washington and is a worship leader in his church and an assistant pastor. He is the only family member that lives too far away, but we had a wonderful visit when his family came to visit us here in Southern Oregon for Thanksgiving. I love him and miss him and his family greatly. I have always loved Troy and wanted to marry someone just like him. Turns out, I married someone quite opposite, but with the same heart after God. Hugh was his best friend, which made him mine. I think I am the most like Troy in my family. We have the same taste. I love his sensitivity to the Spirit of God and am always begging him to lead us in worship. His heart reminds me of David, beloved of the Lord. His wife, Heather, is a dear friend. We had inspiring talks and walks together when she was here and we always pick right up where we left off. I am encouraged by her love and devotion to the Lord, her family, and God's people and I praise God for her. They have six wonderful children.

Next, I'll talk about my sister, Tami Goldman, who is also my best friend. She is like no one you have ever met. She encourages everyone, loves and serves others beyond words, and blesses all who know her. We laugh a lot together and people never understand why we are laughing. We know what each other is thinking and usually are thinking the same thing at the same time which always amazes us. She is a magnificent wife and awesome mother to her eight children. She is pregnant with her eighth now. So join me in praying for her and her baby as well. She is married to Steve Goldman, who is a man with absolute conviction in the truths of God and gifted with a prophetic anointing. He is a blessing to our whole family and church body. He can fix anything and is always willing to use his abilities to help us all. He is a lover of history and diligent in studying God's Word. He is also inspiring to listen to and learn from. Steve, Tami, and their children are great musicians and have a bluegrass band/ministry. They are also the worship leaders in our church. Tami is also a beautiful song-writer and poet. She is the perfect listener, loves kids and animals, and making everybody feel completely at home, comfortable, and happy. She is constantly thinking about others and willing to go and love on them at a moment's notice. I love her spontaneity and fun loving spirit. My kids love to go to Aunt Tami's house, as do all of us. We do almost everything together and talk just about every day. I hope you can meet her one day if you haven't. She is the best!

Then there is my brother, Kenny Anderson. He is also the pastor of our church. He has a lot of wisdom and is a great counselor. He inspires me with His love and passion for God, theology, and education. He has a great sense of humor and could be a professional stand up comedian. He is willing to help all of us with any computer problem or technical issue and never asks for anything in return. He also tutors a 3 hour class, 5 days a week for our high school children, who are all cousins, without charging us a dime. (We all home school our children.) I love to learn from him and admire him very much. His wife is also amazing. We had a double wedding and have been close ever since. She is a woman of virtue, with a meek and quiet spirit. She is a servant and very hospitable. She creates beauty with whatever she touches and blesses others through her ministry as a pastor's wife. They also have eight children.

To Come
I will have to post about each of my children separately on another post as this is getting way to long. But you can read more about how precious they are by going to their blogs. You will be able to see what God is doing in their lives and how He is molding and shaping them for His glory and purposes on the earth. I praise God for every one of them and feel unworthy of all the blessings God has bestowed upon my husband and I.

My Blog
I am excited to post but praying for wisdom, balance, and the Spirit's leading for this blog. I think I will begin with just posting what I normally write in my journal during my morning devotions. They are normally long and personal reflections on what God is teaching me or stirring in me and I pray they will be a blessing to you. Our God is a Providential God, and if He brought you here, I pray you will grasp whatever it is He wanted you to receive. God bless you and draw you ever closer to Him in every possible way.

In Christ,

Jodi Kruse