Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying the weekend! This morning I cleaned our apartment, met in the library with a friend, and did food prep for our picnic at the lake tomorrow after church. We look forward to having family time together.  
Devotions from Judy’s heart
The Lord wants to be an intricate part of our lives and not just on the periphery. When we belong to Him, He wants all of us and to walk in harmony with His will for us. The closer we walk with Him and obey, the more we will be attuned to His voice and have an expectancy for what we will encounter in our day.  Life becomes exciting and full and we will have moments when we just know it is the Lord and He uses whoever He chooses to meet needs in our lives and to bless us.
  Last Sunday on our way to church, I reminded Al that he needed to get someone to trade Sundays for serving donuts and coffee after our church service. He was assigned to serve this Sunday but we planned to go the church where our son-in-law is pastor; plus they would be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Leif’s ordination and we didn’t want to miss. But just as we got in the door of our church, a member came towards Al and motioned for him to go aside as he had a favor he wanted to ask him. Of course, you know what it was! He wanted to trade Sundays with Al as he couldn’t fulfill his assignment either. So, they both went to the kitchen and fixed the calendar so each of them could do what they needed to do.
   The next day, I was talking with a friend in our apt complex and God chose her to meet a need I had for another friend who I often visit in Assisted living. My friend here no longer had any use of what she had ordered on Amazon and it was the answer to the need of my other friend. I’m sure as you go over your day, you might find several instances where you know the Lord’s hand was evident and realize He is concerned even about the smallest things in your life.
   Like professor James Smith said, “The Christian faith is not primarily about belief and practices; it is primarily about what kind of people Christians become.” Is it our desire to draw closer to the Lord that He increases in our lives and we decrease?  Smith goes on to say there is a deep longing in our souls to be wanted, loved, and connected to God for our true self is hidden in the Lord. As it says in Col. 3:3(God’s Word), “You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”  The Holy Spirit wants to make Jesus so real to us that we feel loved and see His hand throughout our day and hear even His whispers, letting us know how loved we are.
  Challenge for today: Ask the Holy Spirit to shape and form you more like Jesus and that He is most important in your life.  
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy