Dear Ones,
Hope you had a great weekend. We had a wonderful one in Mora with friends from our previous church. So many blessings! Today I made porkchops with Spanish rice, S.F Choc chip cookies and egg dishes and soon am going to my exercise class. When I get home we are being taken out to lunch by friends. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Once again on Saturday four of us couples gathered together for our annual time of fellowship and lunch together. The couples are very special in our lives as they helped us dream and plan and build Canaan’s Rest when we lived on the Lake. Although we no longer run the retreat house in the woods for Pastors and wives and others, we still meet together to share our lives and how we sense God is leading. It is so beautiful to see how God individually speaks to each one but also that together we seek corporate discernment for the Body of Christ.
One couple is very active with a group called Celebrate Recovery. They meet each week and help so many get free of addictions and introduce them to the Lord. They are like Spiritual parents to men and woman of all ages. I was blessed to get hugs from some of them in recovery who read my book or daily devotions and shared with me a bit of their lives on Sunday morning.
Another couple are mentors to so many in their church. They are examples to couples of what a godly marriage is like. They also help the youth memorize God’s Word and have a passion for missions etc. They show wonderful hospitality as their home is open and welcoming to so many.
The other couple makes a difference in influencing young people for the Lord. He is also man of prayer and prays for his wife who works during the week at a pizza place. It is frequented by hard core young people, heavy into drugs and unholy living. She shares God’s love by her actions and waits for opportunities to tell them their worth in Jesus. Her hubby is also a whiz in the sound booth and makes music for church even when no one on the worship team shows up. Their house is also open any time to their kids and grandchildren as they live out Jesus’ love.
All of us couples are so different but each happily married and serving the Lord in unique ways. We don’t all have the same gifts but desire to use what we are given, as Paul said in Romans 12 (The Message), “Each of us finds our meaning and function as part of His body….Since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other or trying to be something we aren’t.”  Let us not copy or envy the gifts of others but use our gifts for His glory in the way God has designed.
Challenge for today: Ask the Lord how He wants to use you today and don’t miss the opportunities He sends.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy