Dear Ones,
Hope you are having a good weekend. I went to our Women’s Bible study at church this morning and enjoyed the time of study and fellowship. Our son Kurt and Bo stopped by last night on their way to the Silver Chateau and so good to catch up with them. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
We are all invited into a deeper relationship with the Lord as we respond to His grace. He loves when we notice His presence in the ordinary things of our day and respond like children who delight in the wonder of it all. It helps to be mindful and to live in the present moment and not let our past use up our day. Sometimes we go on autopilot and miss what the Lord is presently wanting us to see in the now. It is easy to slide into a comfortable mode where we sleepwalk through the present, but we blow our opportunity to experience the exciting things He has planned for us. Isn’t it our own egos that get in the way when we think we might miss out if we go God’s way, but that is a lie?  God’s agenda may be different than ours but it is a whole lot more exciting and satisfying. Our way is often to increase our self-image or self-gratification and if we trace its roots, it may go back to unmet needs in our childhood. We’ve all had positive and negative experiences and we need to need to invite the Lord into the broken places and let Him heal us. Otherwise we end up with ego obsessions and act impulsively and life becomes all about us. How much better to acknowledge those things and give them to the Lord and let Him transform us. Perhaps when we think of a deepening relationship with the Lord, we feel we have to memorize more scripture, pray more, go to church more; and although all of this is good, our spiritual lives are really about love. The Pharisees were good at keeping rules, tithing, and memorizing but they left out love. We also can do many things for the Lord but do it out of duty. The Lord wants us to do things from a heart of love which isn’t based on warm toasty feelings but a willingness to forgive and keep our hearts open. What follows affects how we live for we will respond to the needs of others around us with love. In I Cor. 16:14 (NRSV) it says “Let all that you do be done in love.” As I read today, our spiritual progress is measured by the size of our hearts. Let us live in the present moment with our hearts open wide to His love.
Challenge for today: Give your day to the Lord and accept His invitation in love.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy