Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying your day. We arrived safely at Kurt’s in Kansas City last evening and so nice to catch up with them. This morning Al and I went to Panera’s and a bookstore after grandkids went to school. We are so glad we can see  Lily play soccer tonight and then we will head home to MN tomorrow morning, after a wonderful trip. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
The Lord has so much to teach us if we are willing and open. Sometimes we probably have all felt disappointment as things don’t turn out as we would like, but God often moves in mysterious ways. On our trip I have been reading letters that Francis Fenelon wrote to people who had some urgent needs and wanted his wisdom. Francis was a French bishop who lived in 1651-1715 and was a tutor for the King Louis XIV’s grandson as well as serving a Christian community. It was a time of extravagance, struggle for power, and sexual perversion in the culture of that day, not unlike our own culture. Winn Collier, a columnist, considers Fenelon’s letters a spiritual guide to him to help him navigate through such times today, and others are also helped as they walk through deep waters. God is so gracious to give us spiritual guides when we need them and we can learn much if we are quiet and open to listen. It doesn’t have to be a person with degrees but one who walks with the Lord and is receptive to the Holy Spirit. Years ago, I remember reading some of Fenelon’s letters when I was in nurses training and they spoke to me then, but I am finding they again speak to me now even though I am much much older! Fenelon seems to speak truth in a direct but loving way and points us to the way of humility; he encourages us to let go of our demands on God and what we think He should do and accept when He moves in ways we may not understand. That takes abandoning ourselves to God, even when it may not make sense to us. It is much like a parent who often limits our activity but for our own good. We may not understand at the time. God works much of the time in secret but He gifts us with guides that help us learn to listen carefully and challenges us to a deeper journey. The Lord can use many ways to guide us and sometimes it can be a mentor we can actually talk to, or a message by e-mail; it could be an author who seems to speak right to our situation in life. Isaiah said in Isaiah 30:21 (ESV), “And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’” Our part is to be open, humble, receptive, and willing to die to ourselves and then He will fill us with His love and beauty and grace. What an exchange! Let us trust God, even though we don’t know the details of how He plans to work in our lives.
Challenge for today: Surrender to the Lord and listen as He speaks to you and guides you. 
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy