Canaan's Rest

Canaan’s Rest represents a quiet place “set apart” for the purpose of hearing God's voice, growing in intimacy with the Lord, and being renewed in soul and spirit.

December 2, 2024

Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are now in Advent in preparation for His coming.
What a win for the Vikings yesterday and exciting until the last minutes. Today I am going to bake Al’s cookies, go to Aldi’s and my exercise class and a tree decorating party in the afternoon.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Today, it seems that more and more people no longer welcome people into their homes but opt for going out to eat and then finding a hotel room. What happened to the gift of hospitality, when we opened our homes, inviting others to a meal and a night of rest? We get busy but we also miss the blessing the Lord may have for us.

We just recently went to our son’s home for Thanksgiving and felt welcomed and cared for. In fact, we had the whole lower level to ourselves, a comfortable king bed, our own bathroom, and in the morning had our devotions by the warm fireplace in soft chairs. But hospitality can be shown in much smaller ways as well, as recently we were offered a regular sized bed, a shared bathroom and managed just fine. In fact, growing up and spending time at the cabin, we all shared one room and a porch with beds and had to go to the outhouse, but hospitality was shown with wonderful meals and time together.

Hospitality is shown when hearts are open to one another and we offer what we have for the comfort of another. It is a selfless act and we die a little more to our wants and desires and think of others before ourselves. Maybe our home isn’t in the neatest condition with a toddler or baby to tend, but when we sit around the table and share the Lord, our hearts are warmed and we feel at home.

Peter says in I Peter 4:8, “Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully.” He goes on to say we should be generous with the everything God has given us. I saw hospitality practiced so often in my home growing up and I don’t ever remember my mom complaining but found joy in welcoming others into our two-bedroom home. At times she and dad gave up their own bedroom for others. Let us not miss the blessings the Lord has for us, but show love and hospitality to others.

Challenge for today: Let us use opportunities to practice selfless love by showing hospitality as the Lord prompts us.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

November 30, 2024

Dear Ones,
Happy weekend to you. I am sending this early to you since we will be on our way back home early tomorrow morning. Appreciate prayers for a safe journey. We have had a wonderful time here in KS with family and have full hearts and tummies too. We got to see Paige and Devin’s apartment and watched the game.  Hope you have had a wonderful and grateful Thanksgiving also!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
On our trip to Kansas, I was reading II Corinthians 5 from the Message translation and Paul tells the Corinthians, “Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing and that’s what we aim to do regardless of our conditions… His love has the first and last word in everything we do! Our firm decision is to work from this focused center…Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look …now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new.”

When we know the Lord and His love that is put within us, we view others from a different perspective. We are done with being antagonistic and argumentative and we settle our differences and make things right. Others are also viewing us and looking to see how we respond and if we are quick to forgive. Because we are grateful for what the Lord has done for us, we express it in our lives by treating others with compassion and generosity and meeting their needs which may include not only physical needs but emotional and spiritual.

We might give ourselves a checkup, especially as we may be gathered over the holidays with relatives and friends that we don’t often see. Do we focus on petty differences or are we living wide open spacious lives with hearts open to include others in God’s love. Can they catch the aroma of the fragrance of God’s love. that seems to spill out on them or do we cancel others out because they don’t agree with us? Let us follow what Paul had to say and view them as ones for whom Christ died and can make new, and then live at peace with one another.

Challenge for today: Catch yourself when you find yourself judging others and reach out to them with God’s love.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

November 29, 2024

Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and overflowed with gratitude. We enjoyed a relaxing day with games and sharing together and then went to Devin’s grandparent’s house for a wonderful feast. We are so full of good food and thankful hearts. Today we will spend some time with Paige and see her apartment etc and tomorrow we head home.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
God’s ways are above our ways, and we don’t always understand them, especially at the time. But even when we don’t comprehend what He is doing, we need to surrender our way for His, and that takes trust. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” We need to ask ourselves do we believe that? Does He really have our best in mind? Do we dare trust our way to Him?

God isn’t someone we can talk Him into things and twist His arm to force Him to do our will. But He is so worthy of our trust for He is all-knowing, all-wise and sees the end from the beginning. We see such a small portion of the whole and dare we tell Him to do things our way! I’m sure we have all had times when we were young and our parents forbade us from doing certain things. We may have thought they were uncaring and even mean at the time, but later, we realize how they spared us from heartache later. How many times I have thanked the Lord for the breakups I had with guys before meeting Al, for I could have missed God’s best to be my husband.

We can pray however, with tenacity and persistence, but always with trust! God you know better than I do so I want your will! We can ask the Lord to help us accept when His will is different than our own or when He seems silent. At those times, it is helpful to spend time in quiet in His presence and give our situations or place the person we are concerned about before the Lord. Then accept whatever His answer is and surrender to Him, just like Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane to His Father’s will that He would die for us. We place it all in the Lord’s hands in trustful surrender.

Challenge for today: When tempted to settle for your will over God’s, ask for grace to accept what God has for you. It is always best!!
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

November 28, 2024

Dear Ones,
A blessed Thanksgiving Day to each of you. Thank you for prayers as we made it safely to Olathe, KS yesterday afternoon in rain and lots of traffic. We had a feast for supper with our son’s family and time to catch up. Today we are going to have another feast at Devon’s grandparent’s house with his family and all of us.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Happy Thanksgiving Day and a blest day as you celebrate whether it be alone or with family and friends. In a real sense, every day should be Thanksgiving Day as we express our gratitude to the Lord for all His many blessings to us, starting with the gift of life itself. It is good to give thanks and we are told over and over in scripture to do so. Way back in I Chron. 16:34 we read a few words from the song sung by Levites, “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His steadfast love endures forever.” President George Washington in 1789 set aside the 4th Thursday of November for our nation to give thanks to the Lord and also to ask for pardon and forgiveness. It is a good thing to do both even today as we celebrate for His gifts to us have been many but also the ways we have transgressed have been many.

I was reading on crosswalk.com about Professor of psychology, Robert Emmons, who has done research on how gratitude affects our lives. He said that when we express our gratitude, we reap benefits like a lower blood pressure, better sleep, more joy and pleasure, more compassion, stronger immune system, and less loneliness. He said just writing down a list of what we are grateful for seems to help us be more optimistic and to feel better. Even in our workplaces, gratitude helps workers to be more effective in their jobs and get along better with coworkers. Grateful people are also healthier with less visits to the Doctor.

All these reasons are well in good but let us thank the Lord because He is so worthy of praise and thanks. Let us daily be people of gratitude and thanksgiving that our hearts may be changing to be more like the Lord. I will close by a prayer of Pastor Mark Roberts,
“Gracious God, you deserve our thanks because of your inestimable goodness to us. Our giving of thanks recognizes your grace and honors your goodness. Plus, it’s just plain polite.
Yes, in your goodness, you have made us so that when we express thanks we also benefit. There’s no way we can ever out-give you, Lord. Even when we thank you, we are blessed.
May my life be filled with gratitude, not just this week but every week. To you be all the glory, Amen.”

Challenge for today:  Take some time to just express your thanks to the Lord and share with someone else something you are thankful for.
Blessings on your Thanksgiving and prayers and love, Judy

November 27, 2024

Dear Ones,
I am sending this out tonight as we are leaving very early tomorrow morning to go to Kansas to be with our son’s family for Thanksgiving. Appreciate prayers for safe travels. We will be having a Thanksgiving dinner when we arrive and then another one on Thanksgiving at the home of Devin’s grandparents. Hope each of you will have a very blessed thanksgiving!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Our hearts matter! The Lord looks on our hearts and sees what is real and not our glowing words that are not backed by reality. I am in the book of Isaiah now and Isaiah was called of God to awaken the people’s hearts, warn them of what would happen if they didn’t obey God and encourage them to go God’s way. The Lord was sick of their sacrifices because the people were at the same time being unfaithful to Him. In Isaiah 1:11a the Lord says, “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me (unless they are the offering of the heart)?” He goes on to tell them He has had enough of their hallow offerings and says, “Learn to do right! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” (verse 17) In other words let your actions show what is in your hearts.

This word is also for us today for our actions speak volumes of what is really in our heart. We can give a big check in the offering plate on Sunday morning, but yet our heart can be far from the Lord. God’s love is to be the motivating factor for all that we do. In fact, others will know that we belong to the Lord by the love we show to everyone. (John 13:35). That doesn’t mean just showing love to those who treat us well but even our enemies. (ouch! That is a hard one)  But we become more selfless, and our lives will begin to overflow with kindness and generosity to all, even those who mistreat us. We also share what the Lord has given to us and in selfless openness to the needs around us. We are to be guided by the Spirit and He often leads us to surprising places to share God’s love. All the while we are learning more how to die to our own selves and be faithful to Him.

Let us not forget the Holy Spirit is our helper and wants to guide us and help us respond with His love that will splash out on others. May we continually let Him change our hearts like the song goes, “Change my heart O God, Make it ever true; Change my heart, O God, May I be like you. (Chorus) You are the Potter, I am the clay; Mold me and make me, This is what I pray.”

Challenge for today: Let your prayer be the words of the song, Change my heart O God.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

November 26, 2024

Dear Ones,
Hope you have a peace-filled day. We have snow and hoping we don’t get more as we will be heading to Kansas tomorrow morning for Thanksgiving at our son, Kurts’. Since we will be gone from home, I put the Thanksgiving decorations away yesterday and took out our Christmas ones. So today I need to clean and pack.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
I’m sure we have all met Me-Me people that are self-absorbed and that subscribe to “Look out for Number One.”. Their conversation is only about themselves and what is good for them, but that should not be for the life of one who knows the Lord. He is to be first and that should prompt us to think of others next and ourselves last. I think from the time we are infants until the day we leave this earth that we struggle in learning to die to self and become self-less.

We might say, that’s not me you’re talking about as being self-centered but maybe is it true of all of us? Do we get concerned about our self-image and fail to respond to needs of others we see because we aren’t sure how others will view it? Do we compare ourselves with someone who appears more spiritual or more successful? As I read Albert Haase’s book, The Sacred Moment, he writes how his spiritual director told him, “I think what would give God the most pleasure and delight is if you became the best Albert Haase that God created you to be. That’s the real secret to spiritual formation and contemporary holiness.” We were never meant to become just like someone else so why compare but instead gladly receive who the Lord made us to be and to do the works He has for us to do.

Perhaps we see that even spiritual leaders deal with self-absorption and though they rejoice in what God may be doing, secretly want to be the one through whom God is doing it.  Maybe they see the powerful move of the Holy Spirit and want to be one getting the credit for their many prayers; or perhaps find it hard to rejoice if God is blessing the church in a big way down the road. The more we die to self the more we can rejoice in how God uses others, even if we are in the background. Let us have selfless responses and rejoice however God works and whomever God works. (Gal 2:20)

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to show you when your ego gets in the way and to help you respond to the Holy Spirit’s promptings.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

The Gender Gap exposed (#2)

The recent election has exposed a gender gap in our culture.  Mary Eberstadt wrote a very concise article in First Things on this subject.  She begins by observing, “Red and blue Americans are locked in a hostile custody battle” with an awareness that”the gender gap has never been wider.”  The Wall Street Journal reported in July of young men leaning more rightward than young women.  She noted the influence of online “alpha males” where young men hear, “the song that today’s young men sing among themselves sound the same – and only the political right seems to be listening.”  

“The Intellectual Dark Web”  is populated by men finding a fusion between repudiating identity politics and standing for freedom of expression.  In regards to identity politics, there seems to be a “synergy between enthusiasm for sports and contempt for political correctness.”  The doomed 2023 Bud Light ad,  united bros found a “cause that their enlightened betters couldn’t shut down,” in a rebuke of gender bending.  Forbidden wisdom can be heard on the Web: “men and women are different, sterilizing kids is wrong, marriage and family are the way to go.”

Eberstadt observes, “Today’s New Right, like today’s populism, is powered in large part by a search for male authority, direction and amour propre – a triad visible to anyone who can spell ‘Jordon Peterson.'”   “Today’s young men,” believes Eberstadt,  “don’t need another nanny……. they need something…….lacking at home and searching for in politics.” They need a “daddy.”  She observes in our day, “superior players haven’t a clue anymore about what makes young men tick – whether it’s driving fast, failing to ask strangers for directions, treating Sunday football like church, or saving a subway car full of strangers from disaster……these players haven’t only lost the script about young men.  They’ve unlearned the alphabet of human nature.”

Eberstadt notes the need for “male self-respect.”  “It’s grounded in the belief that rules exist and retain their authority, from baseball to church to war……The real mystery in the political sex imbalance isn’t about boys and men, but girls and women.”  Since the 1960’s we’ve heard the same message, “men are bad; the future is feminine, career first, egg-freezing next; the best ending after falling for someone and making a baby together is to get rid of it.”  

Eberstadt ends by noting how the creation story has been passed over by seeing men and women as  “minor anatomical variations.”  “If that were true, the gender gap wouldn’t exist in the first place.  Politics didn’t create this divide.  But in the political quarterbacking to come, its real origins demand a closer, more empathic look than they’ve yet gotten anywhere.”

Wow, I rejoice in a strong Catholic woman saying what I’ve needed courage to say.  Our culture has, “not only lost the script,” but we have “unlearned the alphabet of human nature.” The real origins of male and female will “demand a closer, more empathetic look then they’ve yet gotten anywhere.” I began writing this blog in the summer of 2009.  That is 14 years ago, when I was 68.  Through the 70’s into the confusion of our day, I have attempted to help men with their masculinity.  In 1968 the gender issue was not such a hot topic as it is today.  I have watched male issues change and evolve.   

The exposing of the gender gap, at least for me, is a wake up call to continue with the “wild man journey.”  I ask all who read this blog to join the struggle.  “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” ( II Cor. 15:58)

 

 

November 25, 2024

Dear Ones,
Hope you had a good weekend! What an exciting Viking game yesterday and barely a win.  We had a Thanksgiving service last night with many kinds of pies afterwards. Today I have my treatment and then my exercise class.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Soon it will be Thanksgiving, and we will hopefully take time to think more closely of our blessings and give thanks to the One who has blessed us with countless gifts. We take for granted so many blessings and go along in our day like they are expected rather than the gifts that we have been given.  Sometimes we need to stand back and take time to enjoy and appreciate the life the Lord has given us, live it more fully. How do we exactly do that?

I am reading a book by Ester De Waal called Lost in Wonder and she feels it is essential for each of us to take times apart to live a fuller life. She suggests a space to appreciate and be attentive to the world around us but especially to the presence of the Lord. Sometimes we are on overload as our lives are too busy but there are also those who have too little to do and whose lives feel empty and lonely. Both miss living a life to the full and need to stop and take time apart to become aware of the pattern of our lives and to discover more about God and learn how to use the gifts we have been given. We need time to be renewed and DeWaal  is saying we need refreshment and come with open hands, open mind and an openness to mystery, for we are made up of body, mind and spirit.

Al and I have been to the Trappist monastery of Gethsemani in Kentucky many times and visited Thomas Merton’s grave. We have read his books and he often said while teaching that God is looking for the whole self, the fullness of all our senses, not the cutting short of self. We probably all need to be more balanced, more open and life-filled and to live alive with all our senses. God is always speaking to us and we need to be alert and responsive to His voice. We are told to not harden our hearts but be open to Him and all that He puts before us each day.   (Heb. 3:7-9 and Prov 28:14)

Challenge for today: Delight in ordinary things today and keep an open space in your heart for the Lord and give thanks.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

November 23, 2024

Dear Ones,
Happy Weekend to you! We had a big Birthday party yesterday and welcomed some of the new residents also. Our retreatant came afterwards, and we spent time eating, sharing and praying.  Today he will have some alone time with the Lord, maybe a walk on the Paul Bunyan and wants to take us out for supper tonight. Praying he goes home rested and refreshed and renewed!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
We have probably all seen strong willed children throwing temper tantrums to get their way and it tries the patience of not only the parents but all those within hearing distance. But I wonder how many of us are like them, only not so obvious, but yet determined to get our way. I was reading a devotion from Joyce Meyers and she asks the question, “What is the first thing you turn to when you need to overcome a problem?” She goes on to say that whatever “that” is, that is where we are placing our trust.

We all have a choice of where we will choose to put our trust. Do we turn to the Lord first or are we determined to get our own way by our own power? If we try to solve things by our own will power, we may go on for a while, but it will give out, I promise you, and often about midway. The Lord, however, can save us all the energy spent and time wasted for He asks us to come to Him. He desires that we turn to Him first and He will release His mighty power into the situations of our lives to accomplish that which we were never meant to on our own. John says in I John 4:4, “Greater is He that is in you, than He that is in the world.” Apart from the Lord we can do nothing!

There is great power in the name of Jesus, and often I just sing the song, especially when I know my need for Him is great. “In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, we have the victory! In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, demons will have to flee. Who can tell what God can do. Who can tell of His love for you. In the name of Jesus, Jesus, we have the victory.” I also find it really helps to just start praising Him when I feel attacked by the enemy. If I am in the car, I praise Him at the top of my lungs! Often the songs are scripture set to music and what can be better than to sing back scripture to the Lord and personalize it.

Let us always remember that the Lord is for us, and when we turn to Him when attacked by the enemy, His power is far greater than any power of ours or of the world. Let us put our trust in Him, not ourselves or any other power.

Challenge for today: Put a scripture to memory that speaks of the great power of the Lord and speak boldly when you feel attacked.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

November 22, 2024

Dear Ones,
Today is Party Day here and we will be going to Costco early to get the cake. Later this afternoon we have a retreatant coming who will spend the night and all day tomorrow with us. We pray he will have a special time with the Lord and get refreshed and renewed.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
We are soon to celebrate Thanksgiving Day and it is a time to remember all the ways the Lord has blessed us and to give Him thanks. Too often our hearts neglect to give Him praise and thanks due Him, for all that we are and have comes from Him. I was reading what Mark Roberts from Fuller Seminary wrote as he invites all of us to do something that I think can help us have grateful hearts and make our Thanksgiving rich. He shared from a Psalm 103 that I memorized some time ago and it starts out, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His benefits.”

Sometimes we need to be intentional about giving attention to all that the Lord has given us, for we sail along in our day taking for granted His many blessings. Our hearts are lightened as we express gratitude and take our minds off of ourselves on the One who is worthy of all praise. Roberts invites all of us to take one hour to write down everything we are thankful for and especially things from the last year. He shares how he starts out naming every family member and the impact on his life. Then he moves on to things like health, work, home, pastor, church, things that happen in the world, and also big things like our salvation, the gift of the Holy Spirit, His grace and mercy.
I plan to accept his invitation and spend an hour before Thanksgiving since we will be traveling to Kansas to our son’s family. But if you choose to also do this, let your mind roam free, thank the Lord for not just for major things, but the small everyday things, and also the hard things He has taken you through and the lessons learned. The Psalm 103, says, “all His benefits” and often we learn more through those struggles than when having smooth sailing. As our hearts give thanks, our Thanksgiving time will take on a deeper meaning and all praise goes to Him.

Challenge for today: Purpose to take an hour to write down all that is in your heart for which you are grateful for and pray Robert’s prayer:

“Gracious God, thank you for the encouragement of Psalm 103. I do want to bless you, not just with part of me, but with ‘all that is within me.’ And I don’t want to forget all of your benefits. Help me Lord to remember…and to be grateful. I’m thankful that you are present with me at all times. But I’m also grateful that you meet me in special times, especially when I can get away from all that distracts me from you. Help me, Lord, to make time the next few days for intensive and extensive gratitude. Help me to remember all of your benefits and to thank you for them. May this truly be in my life a season of thanksgiving for you! Amen.”
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy
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