Dear Ones,
Hope your day is full of good uplifting thoughts! Al is at Men’s group and I have been doing lots  of food prep.  I plan to go to Aldi’s when Al gets home and then we have Bible Study this afternoon. Tomorrow morning we have a retreatant coming and will spend the night and Saturday. It’s not the same as he retreated when we lived by the Lake, but perhaps he can make use of the Paul Bunyan trail.  
 Devotions from Judy’s heart
  How important it is what we focus on during our day. It can make or break our day! If we wake up and thinking of negative possibilities, we will most likely have a poor day. But if we focus on the Lord and thank Him for His presence and power with us, we will likely have a great day.
  We’ve all been around people that complain and see the half empty glass rather than the half full glass. As they expound on what is wrong, the problem only seems to get bigger and causes more anxiety. But if we seek Him in His Word and in fellowship with others, and acknowledge Him throughout our day, our problems diminish and God’s power and wisdom is seen greater. 
   Our thoughts are important and we need to be aware of negative thinking that leads to discouragement and anxiety. I read today what Paul said in II Cor 10:4-5 (ESV), “For our weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” How important it is to take every thought captive so that it Is obedient to Christ. The enemy wants to set up strongholds of thinking in our minds that is not in alignment with God’s thoughts. We need to cast down our own thoughts that don’t agree with God’s Word, even though our culture may endorse such thoughts.
  One night I was getting frustrated as I called in for help in making our Christmas card and everything I tried ended up as a dead end. I went to bed and told the Lord that I was giving it all to Him and I was not going to think about it anymore but simply pray. The next morning when I called in I got a designer that spoke English clearly, and she understood what I wanted. It took her quite some time and I simply prayed as she worked and was pleased with the result. I didn’t have to stress or waste emotional energy on negative thoughts but rather had a heart of gratitude to the Lord for how He answered. It is good when we can catch our worrisome thinking right away and take those thoughts captive to obey the Lord.
  Challenge for today: Notice when you get negative thoughts and give your concerns to the Lord.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy