Dear Ones,
  Hope you wake up this morning in the awareness that God has placed unique gifts in you. Your question today is to name one of them that you are grateful for.
Today Mark’s family is leaving the lake and coming by to take us out to Poncho Lefties for lunch and dessert at Culvers as Birthday celebrations…Two of our favorite places.  What a wonderful time they have had at the lake and now will be heading back to North Carolina.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  When I was quite young, one of the verses of Scripture I memorized was from Matt. 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Jesus included these words in his Sermon on the Mount so must be important when He tells us not to hide our light but put it on a lamp stand for all to see.
  That doesn’t mean we go around announcing to others the good things we may do but it also doesn’t mean that we deny the giftedness that God has given us. When we make light of those gifts from above, we are not giving praise to our Giver. Often others may be able to see qualities that shine out of us, but may be invisible to ourselves. But we are to use the gifts God has given us and to shine, shine, shine.
    Author Michael Casey quotes Marianne Williamson who first published these words: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
   How important it is that we can all be our unique selves and let others see who we really are. To believe that we are not good enough is is to deny God’s gift in us and our light goes dim.
   But let us remember we are His child bursting with unique gifts He has put within us to shine for His glory and bring others into freedom to be themselves.
   Challenge for today: Thank God for the gifts He has put within you and recognize them in others as well.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy