June 30, 2021

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having a wonderful day. This morning I did food prep and Al is glad he has choc covered raspberries in the freezer again. I am going to my exercise class now and this afternoon have crafts, friends coming, and tonight is Bible Study.

 Devotions from Judy’s heart

When we come to receive and know the Lord, we become part of the family of God; we are bound together with brothers and sisters of every tribe and nation who also call Him, Father. The family keeps expanding as new members are continually added, and we are blessed and enriched in ways we never dreamed of. We belong, not because we are so good, but because we know the same Father, One who loves us unconditionally and desires that we love Him in return. Not long ago my brother was visited by his adult son, that for many years he never knew he had. Paul was his father but the rest of the family didn’t know he existed either. Well, this weekend he plans to come to our family gathering at the lake, and aunts and uncles and cousins will meet him for the first time. We will open our hearts and will welcome him and include him and get to know him.

In the same way at our church, many new people are coming with the desire to join our church and pastor is starting a second new members class since Covid. We are excited and each person brings along with them their specific gifts that enrich the family. They add something special and unique and an essence of God’s presence in their lives that spills over on all of us. Just as we look forward to being with our extended family this weekend, each time we are with others in our spiritual family, it is a time of blessing. We care for one another and as Apostle Paul said in I Cor. 12:26 (God’s Word), “If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts share its suffering. If one part is praised, all the others share in its happiness.” It is because of the greatness of God’s love that we can become His children and we feel the hurt of other brothers and sisters when they have heartaches and are happy to share in their victories when they flourish. Like Bill Gaither’s song goes,

“From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King,

No longer an outcast, a new song I sing;

From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong,\

I’m not worthy to be here, but praise God I belong!