Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and it probably wasn’t celebrated in the same way as last Christmas…but hopefully very meaningful. Today I cleaned the apt and got 2 spaghetti squash pies made and now we are going to be off to Costco.  
Devotions from Judy’s heart
The Lord continually blesses us but I wonder how many blessings go unnoticed as we go about our lives often on autopilot. The Lord has to remind me to be present, and as I do this more and more, I find life to be richer. I remember at our Bible study Christmas gathering, I took a moment to stop and just praise Him for His presence. And on Christmas eve day at our daughter’s home, I paused to savor the time while we opened gifts and visited etc. Later on the way home, I found my heart was full up to the brim! Maybe we are sometimes on empty because we aren’t living in the present moment and simply trudging along without noticing God’s hand of blessing. Jesus often does things in unassuming ways and we have to be awake and alert to catch that it is Him. I think of the wedding at Cana when He told the servants to fill the water jugs when the wine ran out. The guests at the wedding knew the wine was exceptional but did they know why? Jesus doesn’t always choose people of status and power but often comes to the least and those who feel left out. We don’t need to feel excluded for God came to the shepherds who had no status in that culture and revealed the most wonderful news of Jesus coming. He also chose to spend time training unlearned fisherman to catch souls for the kingdom. I personally remember one Sunday when I was kneeling at the altar rail for communion, before COVID time. When Pastor gave me the communion wine, I felt something like electricity go through me. I’m sure Pastor didn’t know that it happened, and I was taken by surprise and wished to just stay there. Then this week I was awakened in the night as I heard the singing of Silent Night. I wondered at first if I was dreaming but I got up and went to the window to see if there were carolers outside. Of course weren’t at 2 am.! I asked Al in the morning if he had heard the music but it was only for my ears. I was later reminded to think of the words of the song and take the message to heart for when we spend time with the Lord in silence and quiet, all becomes calm within. We have Emmanuel, God with us, and we need to be present for He makes Himself known to us in so many different ways. John said in I John 5:20 (The Message), “And we know that the Son of God came so we could recognize and understand the truth of God-what a gift!- and we are living in the Truth itself, in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.”
Challenge for today: Before you go to sleep, think over your day and where you saw the Lord at work.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy