Dear Ones,
Happy weekend to you! Hope you have a good weekend and take time to rest too! I plan to clean the apartment today and make a new dish for Al to try. Two of the men of our apartment complex went to the hospital and are needing prayers.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  We were not designed to work, work, work with no rest for even God rested after creating the heavens and the earth and all that is in it! Today it seems like people place their importance on being super busy and end up getting stressed out. No time for a sabbath rest! But if we choose busyness over times of rest, we miss that sweet fellowship with the Lord, and in fact are saying our work is more important than Him.
  We are created to work, but when we overdo it and don’t take time to rest, we are really saying other things come before the Lord. In fact, we end up going in our own strength because He has not asked us to overdo. I was reading on Crosswalk.com and the writer was emphasizing that resting is not laziness or selfishness, but rather a time to refuel and celebrate what God has enabled us to accomplish. When you think of it, why do some executives spend all their time at the office and never get away to enjoy the fruit of their labors? It’s when we rest that we can get fresh vision, get regenerated and ready for all that the Lord has for us next.
   In Matt. 11:28 (Message) Jesus said, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Ge away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Doesn’t that sound heavenly to live freely and lightly and not be weighted down with heavy pressures and working steady 7 days a week? When we are yoked with Christ, He shoulders our burdens as long as we stay in the harness with Him and keep to His time schedule. Even when we have deadlines to meet, we need to pause in the midst of our work, share our burden with Him and thank Him and then let Him refuel us for the work ahead.
  He often gives us fresh vision, a new way of looking at the tasks before us. Let us not fall prey to the influence of our culture that puts work before God.
Challenge for today: Take little mini rests during your work day, praising the Lord and sharing with Him your concerns.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy