June 14, 2021

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a great weekend! You will hear more about ours in today’s devotion. This morning I made choc chip cookies and went to Aldi’s and my exercise class. Looks like  our walk on the trail won’t be as hot today!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

The Lord is our Source, our strength, and all that we will ever need. Other things fade into the background when He is the center of our life. I was reading from a devotional book by Billy Graham and He stresses how the Lord must be uppermost in our lives and how important it is for us to trust Him to lead us. He said, “You can be miserable with much, if you are out of His will; but you can have peace in your heart with a little, if you are in the will of God. You can be wretched with wealth and fame, out of His will; but you can have joy in obscurity, if you are in the will of God. You can have agony in good health, out of His will; but you can be happy in the midst of suffering if you are in God’s will. You can be miserable and defeated in the midst of acclaim, if you are out of His will; but you can be calm and at peace in the midst of persecution, as long as you are in the will of God.” Our joy, our peace is conditional on being in the center of His will.  Like the familiar song goes, “Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” When we do our own will we are robbed of the joy that would be ours if we went God’s way. David prayed often that the Lord would teach him to do God’s will. He said in Psalm 25:4-5 (ESV), “Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” It’s wonderful to give the Lord our day when we wake up and willingly go in the way He directs into. When we have open hearts and minds and listen for the Holy Spirit to direct us, we have no idea what the day will hold. Early on Saturday I told the Lord a few things I would like to do, but asked Him to lead us as we were going to the lake. I surprised a friend in Assisted Living in Hackensack as she had not read my e-mail. We had time to catchup and pray together. Then on to Camp to see the family of Jodi, whose young hubby recently died. They were having a family reunion and we had time to hear the details of how God went with them through this hard experience. After that we got to see neighbors who we haven’t seen since last fall and then time with our own family down by the lake with a beautiful breeze. The day was a joy filled one and God arranged so we could see so many in one day. Let us not miss what He has for us by demanding our own way.

Challenge for today: Give the Lord your day and be open to all that He has for you, even if it isn’t what you had in mind