Dear Ones,
Hope you had a good weekend. Thank you for your prayers and we are enjoying all the good gifts God has put before us as we travel. We had a wonderful time with friends in Chanhassen last night as we fellowshipped. ate together, and prayed together. They sent us off this morning with so many goodies as well. We are at our favorite motel now and only a few blocks from a mall where we shopped and had lunch at Al’s favorite. I had a wonderful swim already and prayed and thanked the Lord as I swam laps. Tomorrow we head to my brother’s in Evansville, IN but may not be able to send out e-mail as I don’t think they have internet. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
When we know the Lord can live in hope because of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection. As we look at the world around us, we can be overcome with feelings of hopelessness and wonder what is going to happen next. But our focus should not remain there on the negative, but rather on the One who is in control. I was reading today from Psalm 33 and the Psalmist begins by telling us to give thanks and praise to the Lord and be in awe of Him. Whatever He speaks will be come to be and He is more than able to handle whatever happens. Verse 18(ESV) says, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love.” He goes on to say in verses 21-22, “For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” When we hope we are in essence saying we depend on God, and He’s everything we need. Our hope is not in the any person or political party, but in God! There are times we may lose hope as we are in a troublesome situation and doubts plaque us. Our faith gets tested and it is good to go to the Word and meditate on His promises. As we do this it helps us to confidently trust Him in our situation again, and then look forward to what God has for us. I know that afterwards, when the answer comes, my heart just overflows with gratitude and praise! Saturday as we walked the Paul Bunyan trail we met again our new friends that I have written about. He shared how they had been through so much lately with several deaths in one month, and one being their own son. He knew they needed nurturance and comfort and healing as they were dealing with all of it; he prayed for an apple, signifying the need to be fed and strengthened with God’s promises. He said God not only answered with an apple but gave them a whole orchard! Each time we meet them we celebrate the Lord together and the hearts of all four of us are encouraged also. Hope grows as believers gather in His name and the enemy wants to keep us apart. But we need to be in fellowship together so we can do as it says in says in Rom. 12:12 “Let us rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering and persevere in prayer.”
Challenge for today: When you feel like your faith is faltering, go to the Word and gather with others that hope may lift you.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy