As you all are probably aware, our motto here at Crestline New Life is “Love Spoken Here” and while it is truly an ear catching phrase and rolls easily off the tongue, it’s not just a platitude here; the members of this growing family truly do take this motto to heart and strive live it! How do I know this? Well, to put it simply…it shows in their actions! For instance, the congregation of Crestline New Life were recently given an opportunity to help the distant family of one of our own, Dave and Jean Nightingale. It was an opportunity for us all to reach out in love, as the Lord has commanded us to do and share with a family in need and as you will see in the response below, the love of God was truly communicated tangibly to these beloved children of God in their most urgent time of need. I thought it might be encouraging to you all to share the letter we received from them as a response to the gift we sent as it will show that when we really ‘put feet’ to our words of love, the Lord touches lives and His people are encouraged in their faith. As the Lord Himself has told us, “…it is more blessed to give than to receive!” and as we continue to learn to obey Him in our giving, and give abundantly with cheerful hearts, THEN He will bless us with more resources to give with! Just as He said in Luke 6:38

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." - Luke 6:38 (NKJV)

I know the world and fleshly logic says that in order to have more, we need to work harder and give less but, as in many other areas of life, God says just the opposite!

The world says “I’ll believe it when I see it” but God says “Believe it then you will see it”; the world says “Want more, don’t have enough? Keep more, give less!” but God says “Want more, don’t have enough? Keep less, GIVE MORE!” I know for me personally, this keeps me totally dependant on HIM as my provider and thankfully that’s an AWESOME place to be!

Keep these things in mind as you read this touching, heartfelt letter, and be blessed!

To Pastor Ron and members of the congregation of (Crestline New Life Christian Fellowship) from the Greenwood Family, (and to) each and every one of you… we want to thank you for your sympathy, support, concern and generous donation when they were needed so much.

We are so blessed to have Jean and Dave in our lives to support us during this difficult time and they are blessed to have such a strong, wonderful church family to support them. Words cannot express how sincerely touched we were when you all came together ready to help Jean and Dave help us in any way you could and by your united, loving gesture, demonstrated unconditional love you all share to help your fellow man. Please know your kindness made this sad time for us easier to bear. Thank you.

My husband, Leonard Greenwood, was born and raised in Sacramento, California. We met and married in Los Angeles, California in the summer of 1978. It was during the time of disco, Studio 54, "Saturday Night Fever", and John Travolta was the rage. I, Carolina Greenwood, was born and raised in East Los Angeles. When I relocated and moved to Sacramento with my husband, I was depressed. I never knew what culture shock was until then. From life in the fast lane to cow town. Go figure.

We started a family three years after we got married and had two girls, Courtney and Amanda. Leonard was a chef by trade and loved what he did. At home, he could make a complete meal out of a potato and a tomato and had us wanting seconds! Then came the day where he was out of a job. We decided then that I would work and he would stay home and be with the girls since daycare was an expense we couldn't afford on one paycheck.
Leonard became Mr. Mom. And he was from day one. AND he was good at it. He enjoyed taking the girls to school, going on the field trips, skipping rope and raising every kind of farm animals that came to the girls' liking because "daddy said I could have that if I want to". Not being a fan of picking up poop at every turn and complaining about it every chance I got, the girls learned quickly that if Mom said no, ask Dad. AND Dad would pick up the poop. Yeah! I know that all the time that he spent with them during the growing years were the most fulfilling for Leonard. He was fun - "Mom wasn't". But that was really OK with me. He taught them how to tie their shoes, comb their hair, "dress" themselves, and had a knack for getting them excited about "going to the kitchen to wash dishes"! He would then say, "yeah, you wanna"! And they'd respond, "yeah Dad let's go"! Well as you can guess, it was too long before that excitement to wash dishes came to a screeching halt! As teens, he taught them how to change a tire and check the oil, "because my girls are not going to become helpless females". Oh, OK honey. He was the nurse who made them chicken soup when they got sick, the disciplinarian when they misbehaved, and nurtured them every step of the way. He was their protector and he was proud of it. He was the one who did all the work. AND he was the only boy they knew who wasn't gross, didn't have cooties and it was really OK to give him a hug and a kiss in front of their friends. Courtney and Amanda are the greatest gift God ever blessed me with (with a little help from Leonard too of course) and I love them more than life itself. My girls are who they are today because of their dad.

Let me share with all of you just a little of what my husband Leonard was all about. First was his family - his wife and his girls. He was a good ol' boy who was all about the good ol' US of A. He was proud to be an American. He was all about country - The lifestyle, the music and he himself was a cowboy and proud of it. Anyone who knew him knew that. You can bet that the music on the radio was ALWAYS on country. Hank Williams Jr., George Strait, George Jones, Tim McGraw the list goes on (oh can't forget Montgomery Gentry) but his all time and absolute favorite was Waylon Jennings.. He loved Waylon. He loved him so much that we named our daughter Amanda after one of his songs (his choice). My choice was naming Courtney, our first daughter, after a character that Natalie Wood played in a movie. He loved going fishing. And later in life he developed a love of building remote-controlled hobby airplanes. He was like a kid with a new toy and it was refreshing to see him get excited again especially when he was already experiencing health problems.

Leonard had always said that he was ready to go when it was his time. I was with him when he peacefully went to sleep when God came calling. Although it makes me sad and I begin to cry, it gives me comfort that Leonard reached out to me one last time to let me know he loved me before he quietly slipped away and began his journey to Heaven where he's told me several times that he'll be waiting for me on that special bench and wont' go any further til I get there.

On the morning of Leonard's passing, it was sudden and unexpected. Feeling completely devastated and unable to comprehend Leonard was gone, it brought tears of happiness to my eyes to hear that my sister Jean called to let me know she was with Dave and they were on their way to Sacramento to be with me. She was there with warm hugs to give...a strong hand to hold...an open ear to listen...a shared several happy memories.
Leonard, I know we will see each other again. I (will) feel your warm embrace again and our souls will unite for an eternity together in heaven… Len, you will always be remembered and you will always live in our hearts for as long as we live. I love you so much.

Your wife, Carolina Greenwood

May the preceding letter serve to encourage you all to continue to be faithful to His command and to love, to serve, and to give to one another generously, that the Name of The Lord will be glorified through your every action!

Rick Ingraham

CNLCF impact Youth Ministries