Month: May 2021 (Page 3 of 3)

May 11, 2021

May 11, 2021 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying this nice sunny day! I got egg dishes made and choc covered raspberries to take downstairs for coffee. This afternoon we also have a birthday party and then plan to get to Costco. Correction in yesterday’s devotion…the little dancing girl, Alexandra, is only 3year old!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

One day while reading from a devotional book by Ann Spangler I was especially touched by her story of the “Speak Wall” at Grand Rapids Christian High School. It is literally an 800 foot wall where over 900 students can post whatever they want and remain anonymous if they like. It is not like Facebook where so many show their best face, their lavish vacations and perfect families, but it is where they can post sticky notes about what they are going through. They might say, “I’m lonelier than you might think” or “All I want is to be loved” or “My smile hides a lot about me.” They write about their fears, brokenness, and desire to be accepted. Some write even about attempted suicides, and at times if notes are signed, a counselor may step in and other students can post words of encouragement. It’s a place to be honest and when students pass the wall with over 1,000 notes on it, they usually grow silent and just whisper. Wouldn’t it be great if our churches or places where we work had a Speak Wall? It helps us know that we are not the only ones that struggle and it’s alright to be honest and share we don’t have it all together. God is our personal Speak Wall, of course, because for He waits to hear our cries and is ready to listen and to help. It says in Lam. 2:17a (Amplified), “Arise (from your bed), cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.” He knows what goes on within us, even more than we are aware of. We can tell Him everything! God can also help us reach out to others who are broken and help them plug in to the One who heals all our hurts and loves us unconditionally.

Challenge for today: Be sensitive to those around you who may be hurting but don’t forget to share your struggles too.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

May 10, 2021

May 10, 2021 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I had such a blessed Mother’s Day seeing friends at our former church, steak dinner at the lake with Ann’s family and games and fun. This morning I went to Aldi’s to stock up and to my exercise class.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Maybe we think what we have to offer God is so small and won’t make a difference. When we observe others, who appear to be important and influential, we may look down on our own lives and feel they fade in significance. We may ask ourselves if who we are and what we do in this life matters in the long run. But though we may live simple lives, God uses us to touch others and at times a deed we do makes all the difference in the life of another. I think of the little boy who was willing to give his 5 little loaves and 2 fish to the Jesus, how it was multiplied and fed 5,000 people. Or I think of the little girl that danced before Jesus just yesterday. Al preached at our former church and friends were there with their two beautiful adopted daughters dressed up like little princesses in white frilly dresses. During worship when the music began, Alexandra who is around 4 years old just raised her arms up and down, and began dancing, keeping in rhythm with the music. At times she danced on her toes and twirled around in circles and seemed to have no idea that others were watching her. I was struck by the beauty of her lack of self-consciousness and being able to just do as she felt in her spirit. What I really wanted to do was to go over to her and take her hand and bring her upfront so that others could be blessed by the freedom of this little girl. I have prayed often to be free of self-consciousness and when I see such displays of being uninhibited it touches me deeply. This little girl made a difference and she was not even aware. It reminded me of the words in the song, I Can Only Imagine. “Surrounded by your glory what will my heart feel/ Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still in your presence/ or on my knees will I fall/ Will I sing hallelujahs/ will I be able to speak at all.” I suspect there are many different ways we respond to Jesus and others often witness Him in our lives. It may not be in some big dramatic way, but in simple living out our love for Him, maybe even dancing! Let us not be inhibited by what others think but do what is in our hearts. As I read in Hebrews 13:20 this morning, “May this God of peace prepare you to do every good thing He wants. May He work in us through Jesus Christ to do what is pleasing to Him. Glory belongs to Jesus Christ forever. Amen.”

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to use you to make a difference in your world.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Hold On To Me

May 10, 2021 / Alan Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Lauren Daigle has a new song out titled “Hold On To Me.” One of her former hits, “You Say” was on the charts for months, and I wrote a blog on it as well. I believe these two songs touch something deep in our nation’s current psyche. People feel disconnected. Many pass like ships on an angry sea. They are pilgrims wandering in a wasteland of angry words and conflicting ideas, longing to hear words like “I love you” or “There IS hope” from a transcendent, loving God.

Lauren’s songs have a haunting, searching, mystical feel to them. They seem to be groping for a greater reality, without naming God or getting too preachy with the words and the intent of the message. I can envision that many are touched by her style and words, reaching out to God. The choir in the background gives a sense that one is not alone in the search, giving the wanderer encouragement to keep seeking for firmer grounding in their Creator. To her credit, Lauren leaves pilgrims some freedom to wander, giving space for listeners to cry out to God for mercy, while finding their way back home to their Father’s house, where they can be held.

“Hold On To Me” includes such cries for help as, “When I’m not somebody I believe in / When I don’t feel like I’m worth defending / When I’m tired of all my pretending / When I start to break of desperation underneath the weight of expectation…”

The chorus adds: “Hold on to me when it’s too dark to see You / When I am sure I have reached the end / Hold on to me when I forget I need You / When I let go, hold me again…” At the end are the words of hope – not direct, but giving a subtle invitation to let go into the Father’s arms of love. “I could rest here in your arms forever / ‘cause I know nobody loves me better.”

This is a song for wounded pilgrims needing to come home into the arms of love. I kept thinking of certain words from the prophets. First, our heavenly Father speaks in the feminine to express His love through Isaiah: “Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I’d never forget you – never. Look I’ve written your names on the backs of my hands” (Isaiah 49:15-16 – Message). Secondly, compassionate, fatherly words also come from Hosea: “I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them” (Hosea 11:4).

Men, don’t let the cultural narrative limit your opportunity to know a heavenly Father who delights in you. In the words of Leanne Payne, God is the great “Unseen Real” outside of ourselves. He is the One who gives the gift of “objective reality.” Your heavenly Father is reaching out to you, so you can receive His healing word coming to you. Our problem, due to cultural conditioning, is turning in on self in the “disease of introspection.” This song speaks to a deep, agonizing, introspective search for meaning. If you identify with the song, I encourage you as an act of your will to look up and out to Jesus and receive his healing word coming to you.

Check out https://youtu.be/RWua9o2KEv0 – and hear the Father say through this song, “You are my beloved, I delight in you!”

May 8, 2021

May 8, 2021 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying the weekend! We were so glad to celebrate grandson Lar’s graduation last night…a scrumptious meal with family and friends before the ceremony. Instead of my usual devotions I am sending a prayer for Mother’s Day.

by Rebecca Barlow Jordan on Crosswalk.Com

“Dear Lord, Bless every mother and every grandmother with the finest of your spiritual blessings today. Confirm in her heart and spirit the work of her hands and the love that she has so freely given to those children under Your care. Validate her worth daily so she has no reason to doubt whether she is loved, valued, and cherished in the eyes of her Heavenly Father. Create in her a deep sense of your protection and trust, so that worry and fear will disappear as she places her loved ones into Your care. Let her know that every prayer she has prayed and every encouraging word she has spoken on behalf of her children/grandchildren has been transformed into sweet, fragrant offerings before Your throne. Whisper deep within her spirit the sweet words she longs to hear from You—that nothing can ever separate her from Your love. Help her to nestle daily into the promises of Your Word, standing with faith on the things You declare are true. Let her know that You reward faithfulness, but that true success doesn’t lie in her accomplishments or accolades. Let her rest in the knowledge that she has done all she can—and that she and those she loves—truly belong to you. Bless her with a servant spirit so she can teach her own the joy of hearing one day, “Well done!” Remove any guilt, false or real, and replace them with Your amazing grace and forgiveness. Help her see her children or grandchildren through Your eyes, knowing that in Your hands is the safest place they can ever be. Calm every doubt, and strengthen her confidence in the Only One who can bring good out of any situation. Teach her that she cannot meet every need of her child’s life, but that You can. Give her wisdom and guidance to train those precious children in Your path, and then to leave the results to You, Lord. Help her to love without limitations, to pray without ceasing, and to live without regrets. Bless her with such a sweet dependency on You that she will acknowledge her inadequacies, yet recognize and accept Your reward of praise—and Your sense of pleasure in having her as Your own beloved child. Where prayers may still seem unanswered, and dreams are not yet realized, open her eyes to see beyond this world to a Hope that never disappoints, and to a Father who will never leave or abandon her. Give her courage to persevere even in the most difficult moments of her life. Bless her with honesty, integrity, and a playfulness that shows her children she is human, yet unswerving in her desire to know You. Let her joy be contagious; let her passion be pure; and let her life overflow with all the blessings she deserves—on special days, and on every day of her life. In Jesus’s name, Amen”

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

May 7, 2021

May 7, 2021 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend! Happy Mother’s Day! We are leaving soon for the lake and will stop on the way to see a friend. Then on to the Silver Chateau to have friends for coffee before going to Bemidji for a party for Lars, and on to his graduation. We plan to come back tonight so will be a full day.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

God works in so many wondrous ways and sometimes it leaves us in utter awe. Other times we misread what He is doing and think He is not being loving and kind and is failing to see how great is our need. But it is we who have to adjust our thinking because God is always Love! This morning on Facebook was a familiar story of two angels who visit the mansion of a rich man. They are not warmly welcomed and are given a cold basement room for the night. They notice a hole in the brick basement wall and the older angel fixed it so it couldn’t be recognized where there had been a gap. The next night they went to the home of very poor couple who shared their meager meal and then gave them their bed to sleep on. But in the morning their only cow who gave them milk to drink and sell at market was dead. The younger angel asked why they helped the rich man and why the poor couple suffered a devastating loss. But the wise angel related that things are not always as they seem. She said there was gold in that wall that she closed up and the rich man would never find it! The poor man’s cow died but the angel of death came that night for the man’s wife, but took the cow instead. Sometimes we need a new way of seeing as God views the whole panoramic picture and we don’t. We pray and cast our concerns on Him but how He answers are reason for thankfulness even when we don’t understand. Yesterday at the close of Bible Study here at our apartment complex, needs were shared. One friend who formerly lived on our floor but had moved to her son’s house, was present and asked for prayers to find a new place to live; her son was not in good health and his wife wanted to have this time alone with him. So our friend needed a place to live and as we closed the prayer time, she was told our manager had new hours and was presently in her office. She immediately went there and was told that one apartment was available and it was for the handicapped. Perfect for our friend who looked at the apartment and signed the lease on the spot. Now that is a quick answer and she left with the broadest smile on her face ever. Don’t we all wish our answers came so quickly? Sometimes they not only are delayed but answered in ways we don’t understand. But let us remember the words in Jer. 33:3 (The Message), “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” His answers come in many varied ways, some very quick but not all!

Challenge for today: Give your questions and concerns to God and thank them in whatever way He answers.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

May 6, 2021

May 6, 2021 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We need to give good care to our physical bodies for our spiritual journeys are taken in our physical bodies. Maybe it doesn’t seem very spiritual to show concern for our bodies but when we are all tensed up and tired, it has an effect on our spirit also. Instead of a cup of caffeine, maybe we should have a good rest! It’s important to give good care to our bodies for the physical and the spiritual are connected. All of us need rest and a healthy life style and to honor our bodies that are made in the image of God. Dorothy Bass said, “As the place where the Divine Presence dwells, our bodies are worthy of care and blessing and ought never to be degraded or exploited. It is through our bodies that we participate in God’s activity in the world.” In the past I have not given a lot of thought to my body but lately more and more I have been trying to take better care of it by getting a little more sleep, lots of nutritious food, daily exercise and drinking more good water. I was pleasantly surprised and rejoiced when it showed on my DEXA scan that my bones recognized the difference and have improved and gotten better. Ruth Barton wrote that we need to listen to our body, to rest it, and honor it as a place where God makes His presence known. She calls it a spiritual practice. As we care for our bodies, it helps us realize that we are finite and vulnerable. When we ignore our bodies, we are really telling God that we don’t value the gift He has given us. When our bodies become sick, they try to heal themselves and my dad’s body served him well until he was 100. But one day our bodies will fail and we will go home to the Lord and receive a new body. It will happen to all of us but for as long as we are on this earth, may our bodies feel loved and cared for. Instead of being full of knots and tension, may we may we listen and give our bodies relief. We need to nourish them daily with the Word of God. Even while we walk and exercise, we can use it as a time to talk with the Lord and give Him all our concerns. Our bodies are the place that the Holy Spirit dwells. Paul said in I Cor 6:19 (God’s Word), “Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.” Let us not let our temples get run down but work together with the Lord to be healthy.

Challenge for today: Do some form of exercise today and also nourish your spiritual home with the Word.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

May 5, 2021

May 5, 2021 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying this day. Al had men’s group and two new men came this morning.

I studied and made bars and soon going to my exercise class. Kurt is stopping by on his way to the Silver Chateau at noon and then I have a creative craft class downstairs. Tomorrow we have Bible Study and Bingo so you can tell our place is opening up.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Things are changing rapidly in our country, and so many live with worry and fear of the future. We read of how the suicide rate is increasing many times over and more homes are filled with conflict and unrest. People are robbed of sleep after watching the news and often reach for sleep aids because of worry. But when we know the Lord, it can be a time of greater dependency on Him and a time of growth. Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow, He has it! He holds all our tomorrows safely in His hands. Recently I got a newsletter from Pacem in Terris. a hermitage retreat center in MN. We have been there ourselves and it has many individual cabins in the woods for people to go apart to be with the Lord. Since Covid hit so many have wanted to come that they have had to turn people away and are now constructing 3 more hermitages. Retreatants purpose to get away from the noise and pressures of the world and come to spend time alone with the Lord; they desire to seek to hear what God is saying to them in the quietness of beautiful surroundings. Pacem in Terris is like a cathedral in the woods and there are many trails to walk as they pray. I’m sure many of us wish for such a time, but even if we can’t have a weekend in nature, alone in a cabin, we can ask the Lord to create space for us to just go apart and be alone with Him. We may find the pressures lifted, our worries disappearing and our faith in Him strengthened. As David says in Psalm 62:6-8 (The Message), “He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for the soul. An impregnable castle; I’m set for life. My help and glory are in God, granite-strength and safe-harbor-God—So trust Him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for Him. God is a safe place to be.” God can speak to us anywhere and He desires that we set our focus on Him and not on the changes in our world. He promises to take our cares and worries and let us relax in His peace and rest.

Challenge for today: Find some time to be alone with the Lord and give Him all your concerns.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

May 4, 2021

May 4, 2021 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying the day…a beautiful sunny day but cooler. This morning I studied and made a G.F choc/zucch cake and pork chops with Spanish rice.

Thursday Al will be starting Bible Study here at our apt. complex, as we have not had one since Covid.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Do we truly believe God is on our side and wants the very best for us? He is our closest friend and the One who is always there for us, but at times we may have doubts when negative things happen to us. Often what results is complaining and grumbling. Last Sunday we had a guest speaker, Pastor Wade Mobley, who is President of our Free Lutheran Bible Seminary and College. His sermon title was “Grumbling against God” and his words continue to speak to me. We hear kids grumble but he showed us how we adults are also guilty of grumbling against God when we complain against others. The children of Israel had just experienced the miracle of the waters of the Red Sea being parted so they could walk on dry land and the wiping out of the Egyptian army. But soon afterwards when they were thirsty, they grumbled against Moses which was ultimately against God. They were really questioning if God was among them or not. Providing water was not a problem for God and He simply had Moses strike a rock and water flowed out. It was the grumbling that was the problem. They were really blaming God and wondering, is He really good? When one of our kids was quite young, he often complained when I had him do chores. So, one day I told him I would give him another chore to do each time he grumbled. This went on and on until he was even scrubbing the kitchen floor before he realized mom meant what she said about complaining! Our lives are in God’s hands and we have no reason to complain for He knows everything that touches our lives. He can provide or change the circumstances according to His will. Our grumbling is serious and can keep us from God’s purposes for our lives. We may get bitter as we dwell on the situation rather than having our eyes on Him. Paul said in Phil 2:14-15 (ESV). “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” Let us not get robbed of God’s blessings and grace to us by grumbling, but have hearts of thanks, knowing He is always good!

Challenge for today: When tempted to grumble, stop and remember His goodness and grace.

Blessings on your day and love, Judy

May 3, 2021

May 3, 2021 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!This morning I baked cookies and went to my dermatologist and also to my exercise class. We hope it doesn’t rain so we can get our walk in. Yesterday we saw two couples we knew on the trail and had fellowship together. God’s timing is perfect!

Devotionals from Judy’s heart

What do we see when we look in the mirror each morning? Do we see a person of incredible worth or do we simply see a nobody? How we view ourselves is very important and will influence the decisions we make in our day and our whole life. Some see themselves as beautiful and others perceive themselves as ugly; some feel they are funny and others sense they are boring; or maybe some consider themselves very intelligent while others see themselves as stupid. I was reading on Words of Life what Bobby Petrocelli had to say about how we see ourselves. He is a teacher, counselor, coach and motivational speaker and experienced many losses. He woke up one morning hurt and dazed as he found his wife dead from a crash through their bedroom wall by a drunk driver in a pickup truck. He faced so many challenges, as we also do, but he shares how we must live life with faith and love and hope. He wants us to know there is only one of us in the whole universe in all time, and we leave an imprint on the earth. There will never be anyone else quite like us and there are no nobodies, all are precious. We probably all grew up singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so”; or “Jesus loves all the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, all our precious in His sight!” Each of us matters, each of us is precious and awesome. We need to go to the Word and read how God sees each of us, no matter if we fail. When you think of those closest to Jesus when He was here on earth, they all failed at times but He still loved and used them to change the world. As we watched the Celebration of Gen’s life on Saturday, we could readily see what a difference she made in the world around her. So many touched by her faith and love and zest for life. Jesus chooses each of us and we are precious to Him. He says in Jer. 31:3 (God’s Word), “I love you with an everlasting love. So I will continue to show you my kindness.” Each of us is loved and God has told us He is for us and is always with us. Maybe we need to sing the chorus again, “Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes Jesus loves me! Yes Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.”

Challenge for today: Look in the mirror again and thank Jesus for how He made you just so.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

May 1, 2021

May 1, 2021 / Judy Hendrickson / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,

Happy May Day! We found a May basket on our doorknob today but no name of who to thank. It is a sunny day and hope to get a nice walk in. This morning I did food prep, wrote letters and cleaned the apartment. This afternoon at 1:07 p.m. central time there is a celebration of Gen’s life at https://rmchurch.org I know many of you have prayed for her and may want to watch. She will be missed but we comforted to know she is now with the Lord!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

When we are a follower of Christ, we are to love our enemies, those who have caused us pain. That is not easy to do but we are told to overcome evil with good. We must hate the evil but love the evildoer. That means we can condemn the evil but we give up the need to retaliate. When evil is met with more evil, it seems to grow and multiply. Just look at what is happening in our country. Hate won’t wipe out hate and the only thing is love. Every time we return evil to our enemies, it only gets worse and we are controlled by it. Jesus told us in the sermon on the mount that we are to bless those who persecute us. We are to bless then and do good to them. Now is that easy? Absolutely not in our own strength. That doesn’t mean we can’t stand up for what is right but our enemy may be very surprised when we respond in love. Author Stephen Seamands tells the story that took place in 1915 when over a million Armenians were killed by the Turks in a religious and ethnic conflict. One young girl saw her parents killed and her sisters given to some of the men while she was claimed by the officer in charge. She was treated harshly and sexually abused but managed finally to escape after several months. She became a nurse and worked in ICU and several years later her patient was this very officer who had enslaved her. He was in a coma and she gave him continual nursing care. When he regained consciousness, a doctor told him that the only reason he was alive was because of the constant care of his nurse. He then recognized her and asked why she didn’t kill him when she had a chance and she said, “Because I am a follower of the One who said, ‘Love your enemies.’” Jesus word is to all of us as he said in Luke 6: 27-28 (ESV), “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you., bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you.” Wondrous things happen when we let God change our hearts and give us love for our enemies. We can start today by being a channel of His love,

Challenge for today: Do something kind for your “enemy,” and pray for him or her.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Month: May 2021 (Page 3 of 3)

May 11, 2021

May 10, 2021

Hold On To Me

May 8, 2021

May 7, 2021

May 6, 2021

May 5, 2021

May 4, 2021

May 3, 2021

May 1, 2021

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