Editor’s Note: Pauletta Staley, a Stonecroft staff member for the past decade, recently stepped down from her role as the national director of Stonecroft Military in order to focus on her health and family.
“I know this decision comes with mixed emotions since her service to the Lord through Stonecroft has brought countless blessings not only to her but also to the many women whose lives she has touched,” says Doris Thompson, Stonecroft’s vice president of Outreach. “Pauletta has shared with Stonecroft staff that although she is no longer working full time, she considers herself a ‘wounded veteran,’ encouraging us from the sidelines with her endless prayers.”
The article below pays tribute to Pauletta, who joined Stonecroft’s staff in 2007 as divisional field director for the Western U.S., working out of Boise, Idaho. In 2009, she was tapped to lead Stonecroft Military, an outreach to military wives and servicewomen.
Stay connected to Stonecroft Military outreach by visiting stonecroft.org/military or by emailing [email protected].
“Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.”
– Isaiah 65:24 (ESV)
We don’t often have the chance to call the pastor, our prayer partner, or someone from Stonecroft during a crisis. But it is awesome to know that God is on the job 24/7, “redeeming our lives from destruction” (Psalm 103:4, NKJV), long before we even know we are in trouble.
Pauletta Staley, who until recently served as the national director of Stonecroft Military, keeps a running dialogue with God about what’s going on in her everyday life. Prayer is a conversation with God that she doesn’t skip.
What I love most about Pauletta is her vulnerability and dependence on God. Even now as she faces Stage 4 breast cancer, she is the most upbeat person I’ve ever met. She puts her fragilities and struggles aside to empower others. Pauletta makes you feel like you can do anything because of her energy and faith. She embodies Stonecroft’s motto of “Reaching women: where they are, as they are.”
In a collection of devotionals Pauletta wrote called “Front Porch Prayer,” she takes the complexity we place on prayer and simplifies it for our busy lives. Recently, Pauletta experienced a very real “Front Porch Prayer” moment when she woke in the night to her husband, John, having a seizure. She did what she does best and talked to God about this emergency, Later that day, doctors found John had a cancerous brain tumor. Pauletta rallied her family, friends, our Stonecroft Military team, and other faithful women of Stonecroft to join in her conversation with God.
Military gals face many “Front Porch Prayer” moments too. But unlike Pauletta, many of these women don’t have a friendship with Jesus. Many pray what we call “foxhole prayers.” You know, like a soldier in the middle of war (in a literal or figurative “foxhole”) who says, “Lord, if you just get me through this, I’ll never smoke/drink/swear again! I’ll go to church every week! Just get me out of here alive!”
I’ve been honored to sit under the leadership of Pauletta, who empowered our Stonecroft Military Team to lead military women to a real and lasting relationship with Jesus. It’s a relationship where they don’t have to bargain with God through “foxhole prayers.” They just need to believe in Jesus and know He’s only a conversation away.
Recently, Pauletta’s husband came through brain surgery successfully. He’s now undergoing tests to determine further medical treatment. Please join me in praying for this incredible family during this challenging time in their lives.
Barbara Vernoski
Stonecroft National Military Consultant
Stonecroft Military