Dear Ones,
Happy Weekend! You are getting this early today as we are going to head to Mora for a time of fellowship with our friends of Canaan’s Rest.  It is a special time of blessing for us each summer to gather and share what the Lord is doing where we are all planted now.  
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  Don’t we all want to be people of strength that can stand no matter what is happening to us or around us? But strong people look different in the eyes of the Lord than how the world looks at strength. I was reading on Crosswalk.com what Joe Mc Keever, a preacher for 55 years and writer, had to say about strong people. He mentioned things that only strong people can do; let us ask ourselves how many of these we can apply to ourselves and also what things we might need to work on.
  Strong people humble themselves before the Lord and others. The way up is the way down in humility and God exalts those that are humble before Him and others.
 They serve and don’t look to be served. When something is needed, they step up to the plate and help meet the need. Perhaps they can be found serving at a soup kitchen or mentoring a teen.  
  Strong people admit when they are wrong and know how to say they are sorry. They don’t wait for the other person, but deal with their part in it.
  They also aren’t afraid to ask for help for we all have weak areas and need help from those who know more. Just like when I  ask our pharmacist daughter when I have any questions about a med, for she knows far more.
  Strong people aren’t afraid to brag on those who excel for it doesn’t diminish who they are. Or when others show kindness, they can admit indebtedness to them.
  Strong people can rejoice when others persecute them, for they know their reward is in heaven. (Matt. 5:11-12) You don’t find them complaining.
  They also endure suffering for they know that God is building character in them. They seem to grow even stronger in their suffering and can actually sing in tough circumstances like Paul and Silas in prison.
  Keever also mentions that strong people can serve the very ones that have criticized them and made their life miserable. That definitely takes strength and grace.
   As I read all of these qualities of strong people, there is no way we can have that kind of strength except through the power of the Holy Spirit. As it says in Eph 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
  Challenge for today: Admit where you are weak and ask the Holy Spirit for His strength.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy