Month: August 2011 (Page 3 of 4)

More devotions from Judy’s heart,,,

This morning I read from Eph 5 about “giving thanks always and for everything” and truly this is exemplified in the lives of these nuns.  . They were so excited about coming to Canaan and have tried to fit it into their schedules for 4 years. They were like calves released from the stall and came so pumped.  They had enthusiasm about everything about Canaan and so appreciative. They noticed the tall trees, the sounds of the loons calling, the rooms with crosses etc.  At meal time they asked us many questions, even about how we met and fell in love etc ( remember they are nuns!) They ate everything served and so complimentary. They were thrilled with each getting a T-shirt with Canaan Logo on and I suspect we will all be wearing ours today. Sometimes it is good to be contagious and I certainly see that right before my eyes.  They are like “Joy bulbs” that just sparkle and give off light. Even one candle can give light to a room and they are just filling Canaan with their lights. Tomorrow, I may have to write more about them.

May we see the wonders of His love all around us through people and things He has placed near us.

More devotions from Judy’s heart.

I think we hear so much today about TIME and we all seem busy and pressed for time. But there is enough time to do what God has for us to do and He wants to arrange our schedules. Recently we were getting a retreatant but another person stopped over and needed prayer ministry too.  I just prayed that God would handle the time element and His timing is perfect. Al gave spiritual direction first and called me in to pray with the first person. And don’t you suppose the very moment we finished our retreatant came to the door. Exact timing!   We all had tea together which worked out good too and I just thanked the Lord for how He just orchestrates everything in His perfect timing. I have had other times where wondered how I could get things done before the next group comes and it seems like everything got done in record time. The secret for me is to give it all to Him and not try to figure it all out. I am not in control…He is and therein lies peace.

Another devotion from Judy’s heart, I hope you don’t mind.

How we respond to difficult circumstances says a lot about us and our relationship to the Lord. When things get tough do we get bitter and complain or do we know that He is with us and will see us through?

We are back from the hospital in Bemidji after seeing my aunt. She was admitted late last night after a fall and got a deep gash in her head with 8 stitches, a big black eye, and broken ribs etc.  Al and I went to see her and to pray for her and then I had time to just sit with her. She began to tell me how blessed she was… first of all that her Dr. had changed her meds and took her off blood thinners a short time ago in the event she would have a fall and bleed to death. Then she was grateful that her pain had lessened, that her kids were there with her, that she had had time with Al and me a couple days ago before the fall, that she had such a caring nurse, that her daughter-in-law put the tourniquet on just perfect to stop the bleeding etc etc. And a wonderful blessing while we were there, a priest came and gave her communion and anointed her with oil.  Well, you can get the picture of her overflowing gratitude, that the Lord was with her through in it all.  As I was reading in Phil 4, may we also rejoice in the Lord and not be anxious about what happens to us, but just give it all to Him in prayer and with thanksgiving. Then His peace will flood us and keep our hearts and minds in Him. Rest well and may we remember all His rich blessings to us today

Another devotion from Judy’s heart

Today I read from Luke 6:37 where Jesus says, “Give and it will be given you. Good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Just before this, Jesus is saying we need to not judge or condemn others but forgive them, and now He is saying we need to go beyond this and seek the best for others. The result is God will give us generously, not meagerly; PRESSED DOWN ( filling all the space in a container); SHAKEN ( so that grain will settle and fill the container even more fully); RUNNING OVER ( so that a rounded heap will form at the top ). Just recently a retreatant came to Canaan that is  poor and lives within a very tight budget. But when she came she brought gifts for her stay here… a big jar of Honey, boxes of tea, and yummy cherries. Now I know she could really use these things herself and yet she had it on her heart to give sacrificially. My heart was touched and I imagined how the Lord feels when we give to Him not out of our abundance but sacrificially. I had the joy of taking her to get clothes for her and her family at an “almost new” place and after we got home I had a knock at our door. Someone  handed me a plate of chocolates and a card with a check for Canaan inside that was much more than I just spent. Truly He gives to us “good measure, pressed down and running over.”  Listen to your heart if you are prompted to give!!!

How often does the Lord speak to us and we are not aware. I believe He is speaking to us continually in many ways…through His word but also through people and through circumstances, through nature etc. This morning as I woke up and beheld deer right out the window who looked right back at me for the longest time. I remember back when I was in Brunswick on the prayer trail and asked  the Lord to reveal Himself to me, as I must have been in a dry time. All of a sudden a deer stood in the trail ahead of me and just looked at me for an extended time. Another time I went to the end of the prayer trail to the river and there was an otter. He would pop his head out of the water, look at me, and then splash and carry on like a little kid. I think at that time the Lord was impressing on me to lighten up and take some time to just frolic and enjoy Him. When I was floating on an air mattress the other day, I just noticed the various trees and that many of them were not rounded out but had barren places in them. How much more beautiful they are when they are symmetrical and filled out.  I know there are are places in my life that are not balanced and need healing and filling out too. The signs of His presence are all around us… I believe we miss so much when we are not attentive to what He puts before us.

There are always lessons to be learned in the berry patch and I think the Lord has so much to teach us through all of our mundane activities. I have been going berry picking alone since Linnea has been on vacation and I used that time for prayer. But it was good to have a companion on the journey today as we were meant to have balance. We need to enjoy being alone but also to be in community. Both are essential!  We started picking in a patch that was quite wild where we found a few berries but not like we remembered from last year’s pickings. Isn’t that the way it is… what once was, is not necessarily so now?  We often had to bend low ( humility)  to find some luscious berries and at other times step into thick brush. But was it worth it?  Yes! Just now I was enjoying a delicious raspberry muffin! When we finished picking each of us swam from our side of the lake to meet in the middle to take a swim together. A reward from our work and so often the Lord gives us those R&R times to just rest from our work and enjoy. We saw a mama duck and all her babies swim ahead of us. We noticed the tiniest sunfish at our feet. How neat to enjoy the beauty of what He has made with someone who also appreciates the Creator’s handiwork.

Instead of words from Kenneth Boa’s book, I want to share a word from Judy’s heart. When I had devotions this morning it was made more real to me about how important it is to do everything for Him and for His glory. I started this morning making 4 loaves of French bread and cleaning the house for the upcoming retreatants. Then later picked berries and made pies etc. All of it seems so mundane but I had a new awareness that it can be all for Him. God  is pleased when we have our focus on Him in all our doings. It made me want to put extra love into the pies etc.. My head has always known that we should do everything heartily as unto Him, but some how my heart is able to say “Amen” to it in a deeper way.  Al and I spend many hours listening to people as they come to Canaan and somehow that seems more spiritual. But even the little things as preparing fresh bread, picking berries for fresh pies can be used of Him when it is done for Him. As you go about your day tomorrow, may the awareness of all you do for Him bring a smile to you as well as Him.

Devotions based on Kenneth Boa’s book, Conformed to His Image

James Mc Conkey said that, “Faith is dependence on God. And this God-dependence only begins when self-dependence ends. And self-dependence only comes to its end, with some of us, when sorrow, suffering, affliction, broken plans and hopes bring us to that place of self-helplessness and defeat.”   It is only as we surrender full control of our lives and plans to Christ, that we come to know His peace. When we lose our lives for His sake, we find His life instead. We become new creatures for He lives in us and wants to express His life through us. We must continually remember that our needs have already been fully met in Him so we don’t need to be grabbers but givers.  If we try to gratify our own needs we will be very frustrated. If we pursue God and His kingdom we will be satisfied and our needs fulfilled. But there is a difference between our efforts to do things for Him and inviting Him to live and manifest His life through us. Let us abide in Him and receive His life rather than creating our own independent life!