January 14, 2022

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! Hope you have some time to relax and get refreshed. Today we are having an early  birthday celebration for our daughter Ann. I hope the meal turns out good as it is done in a very hot oven, and last time i made such a meal it set off the fire alarm!! 
Devotions from Judy’s heart

Our loving Father wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him. The closest thing we may compare it to is two lovers who have eyes only for each other and hold one another in their hearts. We were created to have fellowship with the Lord and to be intimately connected in love to the One who is love.

When we read the Word, it should not be to simply get information and learn more about the Lord, but rather to let our heart be open to love Him. It’s more than cerebral, for our hearts need to be engaged as well. When I was young gal in Nursing school, we were not allowed to get married until the last 6 months of our 3 years of training. That was a long wait for Al and me as we were in love and already knew that we were to be married. Al was a student pastor in a church near Colfax, WI and would preach on weekends and then spent the summers there. That meant very little time for us to be together, besides our studies. We didn’t have cell phones then and every long-distance call cost us money that we had very little of as students. So, in the long summer times, we would write each other every day. Now I wanted to know what Al was doing and all about his day and his work in the church etc. but if his letters were just all informational, I would have been disappointed. Instead, they were filled with expressions of love and I would read his letters over and over again. In many ways we got to know each other more deeply, as we shared what was in our hearts, rather than filling our time going places and doing things.

When we think of our relationship with the Lord, He wants to be our first love. Yes, He wants to hear about our day, but even more He wants us to love Him and draw closer to Him. He says in Deut. 6:4 (ESV), “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

One of our friends who has a sharp inquisitive mind shares how he is seeing his need to be less rational and to live more with an open heart. Deep emotions have been overflowing as he finds expression and great joy in writing poetry, which has been healing in his life.

We all need to remember to use not only our minds but express with our hearts our love for the Lord and for one another.

Challenge for today. Go for a prayer walk and just unload your heart and express love for the Lord.