Dear Ones,
Happy weekend! Hope you can enjoy some downtime to relax! The weather is warmer so we will be going outside for our walk today!! This morning I have been busy in the kitchen. I just finished making a veggie stirfry,  and a new cookie recipe which I doubt I will try again. Al loves to be the taster and also bowl-licker so will let him give me the final verdict! Emoji
Devotions from Judy’s heart
   Is there a disconnect between what we believe and how we live? Does our walk match our talk about the Lord? We all fail and fall short and we have so many examples in scripture of men of God who blew it many times but confessed their sin and were forgiven and used of God. We have only one life to live and we can’t do it over, but we can learn from our mistakes and failures and let Him restore us.
  It’s good to acknowledge our weaknesses and insufficiencies and rely on the Lord and not our own strength. We can never measure up on our own but He makes us new creatures in Christ and we are righteous in His sight. As the apostle Paul wrote in Eph. 2:8-9 (ESV). “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works. So that no one may boast. “I am so thankful that we don’t have to try and try on our own and become discouraged when we fail again and again. But salvation is a gift that we receive by faith and then daily walk it out in our lives.
  We can trust the Lord to take care of us, and the deeper our trust is in Him, the closer it brings us to Him in intimacy and dependency. Sin is refusing to trust God and vitally connecting to Him. We need the Lord and when we try to protect ourselves, rather than rest and trust in God, we lose ourselves and become distant from Him. Yes, we go through hard times as all people, but even in our suffering we can grow through it as He draws us closer to Himself that His glory may be seen.
  Let us always be growing in our relationship to the Lord and know that we are loved without end. May the life we live today match our talk and bring Him glory.
  Challenge for today: Trust God no matter what happens to you throughout your day and let it bring you closer to Him.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy