Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. It is a special day today as it is our daughter’s birthday. We plan to celebrate this afternoon as I have a big chocolate cake made with 14 eggs in it! No flour!  This morning I made porkchops smothered with apples and went to Aldi’s and my exercise class. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Have you ever been really really thirsty? I mean where you felt parched and longed for a cup of cold water? I remember once when Al and I were in the mountains and away from any source of food and water. We went to ghost towns and out of the way places and there were no McDonalds or any kind of a campground faucets. I was so thirsty in the hot sun and came home with a bad headache. I needed water and couldn’t find it as we were not in the right places to find any. But more sobering is our spiritual thirst that cannot be quenched by things of this world. It can only be satisfied in an intimate relationship with the Lord. Until that happens, we all have restless hearts that are dissatisfied. I am reading Gerald Sittser’s book, “Water from a Deep Well”, and he writes about the lives of saints. They are remembered for their faith like St Augustine who lived in AD 354-43. When he was a teen, he left the faith of his mother and indulged in all sorts of wild fleshly pleasures. But they didn’t satisfy and he later surrendered to the Lord and confessed, “God must always be first in our lives because God is the center, source and end of all existence.” Professor Sittser also writes about the martyrs who didn’t hesitate to pay the ultimate price of their lives by confessing Christ. They knew that life in this world is not the most important life there is but what is yet to come. One such martyr was Perpetua, who was young, married mother to a new born and imprisoned because of her faith. When she was marched to the amphitheater for her death, she was calm and radiant and sang a hymn, knowing she would soon be ushered into glory. But even those back then who despised Christianity admitted that Christians obeyed the laws, took care of their families well, blessed others even when persecuted, did good, took care of the poor, and showed love to all no matter their status. We know today that Christians are dying for their faith all over the world . Some disappear in the night and others are beheaded. Martyrdom is not a choice but a calling and a gift that God gives only to some and is a witness to His grace. People in our country may lose their jobs for Christ, but very few have lost their lives. But let none of us be silent about our faith but share it with those who are parched and thirsty and need the Living Water! May streams of living water flow from within us. (John 7:38)
Challenge for today: Ask the Lord for holy boldness to share Him with others He brings into your life.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy