Category: Uncategorized (Page 1 of 4)

Dear Ones,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Happy weekend. Hope you wake to a sunny day. Each morning as I look out my window the trees are budding and everything is starting to green up. Today Ann’s family is taking us out for lunch!                                                                                                                                                                                    Devotions from Judy’s heart                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             The Lord is after our hearts and wants us to know Him in a deep way. We can pray and ask Him for decisions about who to marry, what field of work we should go into, or whether we should move etc. But those things, though they are important, they are not the most important for first it is to really know the Lord. The more intimate we know Him, the more we will be able to discern what He wants in our lives. Because I know Al so well, I can almost predict in situations what He will do. There are many times I could finish his sentences and he mine. It’s because we spend time together and share together and know each other well.                                                                                                                                                 As we spend time in the Word and prayer with an openness to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will reveal more of the Lord to us. Some of the questions we are asking may be answered specifically in the Word and we don’t have to wonder if it is His will, for it is only a matter of obedience. Through our times with Him, we may find our hearts are being enlarged and softened and we come away with a desire to express His love to others around us. It is not something we feel we have to do, but it becomes something on our hearts we want to do.

One thing we discover as we draw closer to the Lord, there is no room for unforgiveness towards anyone. Jesus forgave those that put Him to death, and we must also forgive everyone who has hurt us. We are going to need His power to do that, as it is one of the most difficult things He asks of us. But if we do not forgive and become revengeful, it is much like poison in our bodies. It may show itself in depression, anger, bitterness and anxiousness. But as Paul told the Colossian believers, “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Col. 3:13) If we do not forgive our Heavenly Father will not forgive us. (Matt. 6:15)                                                                                                                                                                                                 Let us give our hearts fully to the Lord and let us be known by Him and become like Him.                                                                                                                     Challenge for today: Open your heart in new ways to the Lord and to others.                                                                                                                                                  May you have a wonderful weekend full of blessings and prayers and love, Judy

When I read of Jeremiah’s life, he spent a lot of time alone and yet he had several close friends; one who even saved him from being murdered under King Jehoiakim. There is also much written of Baruch who a very faithful friend and a scribe who wrote down what Jeremiah dictated, delivering it when asked. He was loyal and didn’t abandon Jeremiah though they went through one hard time after another.  Another friend was Ebed-melek, the Ethiopian Eunuch, who risked his own life to rescue Jeremiah out of a cistern, where he was left to die.

 Not many of our friends have physically saved our lives but I am full of gratitude for those friends that have helped me in my spiritual journey and who I can count on. I am especially grateful that they were willing to listen to my heart and speak truth to me when going through hard circumstances and praying over me and giving encouragement. I have also wept and prayed with friends as their burdens were shared. King Solomon says in Eccl. 4:9-10, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and had not another to lift him up!” Friends are important and a gift from the Lord. We need to be open to new friends as well as old. I often meet with a longtime special friend on our way to KS, and we will just seem to pick up where we last left off.

We are rich when we have friends who listen well, keep confidences, share truth, forgive, desire to grow in the Lord alongside of us, and give encouragement. Let us be that very kind of friend that we want to have.

The Lord will not only give us peace in our struggles but also comfort and deep joy. Sounds unbelievable but many of you have maybe experienced it, and it is hard to explain to others. The Message translation says that he cares for the needs of all who mourn and gives them bouquets of roses instead of ashes and messages of joy instead of news of doom, and a praising heart instead of languid spirit. The Lord is right there with us through it all and we can experience His peace and even a deep joy. Debbie writes a prayer that you may want to pray for yourself or send to a loved one who is going through a dark time.

Dear God,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  In this season of Lent we’re reminded of our own difficulties and struggles. Sometimes the way has seemed too dark. Sometimes we feel like our lives have been marked by such grief and pain, we don’t see how our circumstances can ever change. But in the midst of our weakness, we ask that you would be strong on our behalf. Lord, rise up within us, let your Spirit shine out of every broken place we’ve walked through. Allow your power to be manifest through our own weakness, so that others will recognize it is You who is at work on our behalf. We ask that you would trade the ashes of our lives for the beauty of your Presence. Trade our mourning and grief for the oil of joy and gladness from your Spirit. Trade our despair for hope and praise. We choose to give you thanks today and believe that this season of darkness will fade away. Thank you that you are with us in whatever we face, and that you are greater than this trial. We know and recognize that you are Sovereign, we thank you for the victory that is ours because of Christ Jesus, and we are confident that you have good still in store for our future. We thank you that you are at work right now, trading our ashes for greater beauty. We praise you, for you make all things new.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Happy Labor Day! Hope you take time to celebrate. We are home now after a fun time at the lake. We enjoyed a wiener roast with about 20 relatives one evening, went to our former church and dinner at Ann’s afterwards, and then headed home when the thermometer reached 100 degrees! 
I am making egg dishes and cookies and then we are going for our walk on the trail early before it heats up again. 

Work is good but like my mom use to say, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!’ We need balance in our lives or we will actually get exhausted, bored, and less sharp when we work continuously. We can thank the Lord for the ways we experience His goodness in our work but then also take some time off from the constant pressures and to relax and play.

I thought I would share with you the prayer that Roberts gave for today:

“Gracious God, thank you for what we learn about work from Genesis. Thank you for being the first worker. Thank you for doing good work. Thank you for creating us in your image. Thank you for creating us to be workers and for giving us good work to do. Thank you for resting on the seventh day, giving us the gift of sabbath.

Help me, I pray, to see how I experience goodness in my work. Teach me to take delight in this and to give you thanks.

Help me also, Lord, to see where my work falls short of what you intended from the beginning. May I be committed to doing all I can to help those with whom I work to be treated as beings created in your image, starting with my colleagues and direct reports. 

In the classic words of St. Ignatius, when it comes to my work, ‘Grant, Lord, that all my intentions, actions, and operations be directed purely to your praise and your service.’ Amen.”

Challenge for today: Thank the Lord for the gift of work and find a new way to relax and rest.